you'll hear from bachus.'ll also hear from the whistleblower who says bachus's trades are questionable. i'm kudlow. please stay with us. i'm robert shapiro. over a million people have discovered how easy it is to use legalzoom for important legal documents. so start your business, protect your family, launch your dreams. at legalzoom.com, we put the law on your side. "for starters, it didn't cost me anything." "and i got a one-hundred dollar cash bonus for rolling over by april 16th." "i like bonuses." "plus at scottrade, there are thousands of commission-free investments." "and if i need help, i can find it online, by phone or at one of over five-hundred scottrade locations." "it's why more investors with i.r.a.s are saying.." "i'm with scottrade." ♪ [music] mber the day my doctor told me i have an irregular heartbeat, and that it put me at 5-times greater risk of a stroke. i was worried. i worried about my wife, and my family. bill has the most common type of atrial fibrillation, or afib. it's not caused by

is bachus alone in doing this? is this the tip of a stinking iceberg that we have only just do discovered? >> he's definitely the most aggressive. he had 40 options trades where he shorted the market and went long. but he's by no means the only one. and to a certain extent, the timing of this leak about his investigation is a little suspect to me in that the sense that the congress has been under a lot of criticism for watering down the stock act. so it's almost conceivable that he could be the sack official lamb, as it were. i'm critical of the trades he made, but this is not just about two corrupt individuals. this is about a compromised system. >> isn't the whole thing, henry, and you lived through this as a poster child for an ethics breach in the context of your experience out of merle lynch where the they used people as poster childs for a system and then they never repair the system. you were a classic poster child, but the culture of the system got bigger and we end up with 2008. this a classic example. now

under investigation for possibly traaing stocks using inside inf. pnformaaion.congressman ppencer bachused stocks just shortly after closed oor meetings with igh ranking finance officials onn the eveeof the great receesion. bachus denied during a t december hearing for a new law thaa would prohibit insider trading byylawmakers. 3 "when an accusation is made, it has an effecc, even when it's a false accusation" accusationn "even if it's totally false" false"both he house and senate passed the law last week. 3 a major government office accidentally sends out a dirty email to a whole lot of people. how a joke about busts could cost one man his job. this is tte reason i'm here. you know i'm here to honor my fallen hero ssrving those pho served to protect freeeom. how one ggieving mmther is purning her loss into a new and yoo're looking live downtown. it's clear now, but mooe winter weather but two storms... headed for p i'm meteorologist emily gracey trackinggthese storms. when the first part of thhs one two punch will arrive and how much snow you'll see in your neighborhoodd 3 ♪ [ male anno

surprisingly common. "60 minutes" reported in november financial services committee chairman spencer bachus made investments after closed-door briefings on the economy. john boehner dabbled in insurance stocks during the health care debate and nancy pelosi took part in an exclusive visa i.p.o. while considering legislation on credit cards. and several members of the house itty-bitty titty committee are shorting the over the shoulder bolder holder market and how is that not illegal and how did i stay that without tripping up on the words? i don't know. (cheers and applause) really? are your standards for me that low? (laughter) this gentleman got through itty-bitty titty committee. i say we carry him out on our shoulders. look, the report on "60 minutes" made some real waves on capitol hill. members vowed action. we must make it unambiguous that this kind of behavior is illegal. >> we should not be shielding congress from laws that apply to other americans. >> jon: yes! congress should obey the same laws as everyone else. i believe that was in the no (bleep) sherlock act of 2000 and always.

and i do want to acknowledge that last night we did receive some proposals from senator bachus. and i know we'll get to those in a few minutes. but for today's purpose, i want to talk about the agenda we have, which includes reforms to the extension of the nation's primary welfare program, tanif, or assistance for needily families. regulatory relief, also known as boiler mack, a provision in the house bill that assures unfounded federal regulations are not harming our economy and costing families their jobs, and bonus deappreciation, another jobs provision in the house bill that promotes investment and hiring. i believe there will be broad agreement on tanif. so we allotted about 30 minutes of time for discussion there. there will be 45 of discussion on boiler mact and 45 on bonus deappreciation. we'll follow the same orders yesterday. senate democrats followed by senate republicans followed by house democrats and house republicans. so with that i would like to open up our first topic, the difference on the senate and house bill on extending tanif benefits. this is a house polic

bachus denies wrongdoing and says he welcomes the opportunity to set the record straight. just yesterday, the house passed a bill explicitly prohibiting lawmakers from trading on inside information. until today's sell-off, stocks had been on a steady march higher, helped by stronger economic data. tonight's market monitor thinks it can last. we caught up with jim stack president of investech research at the world money show in orlando. >> last summer we had that crisis in confidence that surrounded that august 1 deadline over raising the debt limit, and what happened, we had a plunge in consumer confidence that took the market down 90% of the dow declining in that correction last year over a three-week period around august 1. however, since then, consumer confidence has rebounded, and the markets rebounded rebounded, with a surprising amount of tickical strength and also good strength in those macroeconomics statistics. >> tom: do you think the lows we saw on labor day last year are going to hold through 2012? >> yeah, i think it will. going into an election year, the mark

congressman spencer bachus is under investigation for possible violation of insider trader laws.essy it may get. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, carl. spencer bachus, chair of the house financial services committee and somebody who came into the spotlight with a "60 minutes" report late last year which alleged that members of congress and spencer bachus in particular may have engaged anyone sider trading. the office of congressional ethics opened a probe. spencer bachus talked to larry kudlow after the original allegations came out. >> i buy non-financial stock etfs. i don't buy financial stocks, and when "60 minutes" called and said you short a g stock and you bought etfs in the financial sector i said i don't think that's right. let me get back to you. i can't imagine doing that. it actually scared me. >> reporter: since the news of this congressional ethics investigation broke, we've got a written statement from congressman bachus saying he respects the ethics process. he looks forward to a full exoneration, that he's followed the rules governing congress but neel kas

we asked spencer bachus? no, no, no. no, he didn't.'t think we asked him. >> we did ask someone, maybe it was the chairman we talked to about these issues but, wow. we'll have to revisit this and go back to washington. but here at pebble beach, the captains of industry, big-time sports and movies stars, former cabinet members, they all get a chance to play for charity. there is a lot of fun that happens here but plenty of buzz about business, the health of the economy and greece. that's what happens when you put all of these people together in one place. yesterday we got the chance to catch up with the former treasury secretary, larry summers, and we spoke with him about the implications of what would happen if greece ever did leave the euro. >> that could be a very major event. certainly for greece. the greek banking system stability depends on its having access to the european central bank just as our bank stability depends on their having access to the fed. if greece is not part of the euro, they're unlikely to have that kind of acc

. >> the office of congressional ethics is looking into whether congressman bachus violated. the republican said he welcomes the opportunity to present the facts straight. >> now the race for the white house. mitt romney and the other republican candidates for the nomination are speaking today at the conservative political action conference in washington. the big question is does mitt romney fit in with the message of conservatives. >> he was a punching bag at times today. newt gingrich and rick santorum took swipes. for mitt romney it must have felt a little bit like a test. he had to prove himself to a massive audience of right wing that skeptics. >> for mitt romney, it was a place to affirm once singular belief. >> i know conservatism. >> he tried to shore up the credentials. he touted pro-life smaller taxing, smaller government. >> i fought against long odds in a deep blue stay, but i was a severely republican governor. >> for the ultra right, it is still a hard sell. >> he needs to secure his position. he seems like a flood clobber to a lot of people. >> we are wondering

bachus, an alabama republican, said he is cooperating, and expects to be fully exonerated. both the house and senate have now passed bills barring lawmakers and white house officials from insider trading. those are some of the day's major stories. now, back to jeff. >> brown: and we turn to the european debt crisis-- in two parts. the greek government has signed off on a new round of austerity measures in exchange for another bailout. but european finance ministers in greece and at the moment it's not possible to work with them, for example. or in spain, or in portugal because in this moment, they have no credit. so we had to reduce this company. so we cannot work with them. >> warner: all of italy is hurting, from the fashion and financial hub of milan to the country's many small towns, business is bad. >> earnings have changed. what's in the drawer at the end of the day, it is very easy to work a lot and earn very little. >> warner: we came from germany to the prosperous north italian region of lombardi to see why italy's economy is losing ground. the stakes here are enor

. >> thank you, senator bachus. i want to thank you for holding today's hearing, and welcome you, secretary geithner, to the committee. let's begin by noting the total public debt is over $15.3 trillion, larger than the size of our gdp, the debt to gdp ratio over 100% puts us in the ranks of the european ranks currently in a debt crisis, we need a budget that addresses this debt crisis, yet last year the president delivered a budget that was rejected on the senate floor. it did not receive a single yes vote, even from senate democrats and i'll be interested to see if my colleagues will vote for this one. the president laid out the most recent plan, and it will never be brought to a vote, because it does not address the crisis, we have not seen a budget resolution from the senate budget committee in years despite it being legally required. last year the president's budget s did eventually get a vote, but the senator majority leader has no inclination to debate a budget on the the senate floor saying that they do not

point before i get into hopefully a question, senator reed, because aim i am g the follow chairman bachus' recommendatioreck m mendation of opening up a dialogue through questions, but when you treat this as emergency spending and not pay for it, and if i heard you correctly, i would have to say i disagree with that. as member of the freshman class that came in 2010, i'm very concerned about the size of the national debt, and the attitude of washington that i think that historically has been on display of, well, it is an emergency, and too tough to pay for it, so we will kick et down the road and we will pay for it later. i have to say that i'm here to disagree with that sentiment, and that attitude has to change in washington and my constituents back at home when i was back this weekend again told me, we have to start paying for what we are doing out of washington. again, that is a common sense comments that i offer for everyone, and hopefully we can change that attitude and be an example of this, of that changed attitude through this conference committee. but i want to defer back to you

this, if you had poorly drafted transition rules, for example, as part of a tax reform and chairman bachus certainly is sensitive to this as is senator hatch, i can't see any kind of warning lights other than those kinds of issues which i think there would be a lot of sensitivity on both sides of the aisle. i mean, i respect you on the absence of being able to do a quantitative analysis. any warning lights? >> even the qualitative statements depends on the specifics, as i said in the last sentence. it is quite possible to design a reform of the tax code that would have the characteristics of broadening the base and lowering rates with appropriate transition rules. that would make the economy strong. it's possible to do it badly and end up making the economy worse off. but your presumptions seem to be that it would be done in a reasonable fashion. >> my hope is you get asked to do the qualitative analysis, sooner rather than later, because i think this has been very helpful today to have you lay out the two alternatives, both of whom should strike any reasonable person as unacceptable for t

. >> thank you, senator bachus. want to thank you for holding today's hearing, and welcome you, secretary geithner, to the committee. let's begin by noting the total public debt outstanding is over $15.3 trillion. larger than the size of our gross domestic project. a debt to gdp ratio above 100% is clearly unsustainable and puts us in the ranks of the many european countries currently in a severe debt crisis unable to borrow. the nation deserves a budget that responsibly addresses this debt crisis. yet last year the president delivered a budget that was unanimously rejected on the senate floor. it did not receive a single yes vote, even from senate democrats and i'll be interested to see if my colleagues will vote for this one. yesterday the president laid out his most recent budget plan. unfortunately, it similarly fails to show the fiscal crisis and it probably will never be brought to a vote. we haven't seen a budget resolution from the budget committee in years despite it being legally required. last year the pr

words and you heard the strong words today in opposition of the obama's plan come from the senator bachus, and the central finance committees chairman and the chairman of that sub committee, and there is no willingness on the part of the republicans to work with the administration on this part of this as they see it as all of the recipe to win in november. >> the headline at national journal.com, obama's house trumpets re-election themes available at national journ journal.com. thank you, stacy caper. >> thank you. >>> and how does this plan differ from previous proposals, just one question that was presented in the white house briefing room. >> reporter: obviously, several problems with this idea put forward in the last three years and a couple in the last administration that tried to use fha to refinance people, and none of them have really worked that well, so what is sort of fup damt fundamental different about this program this would get it through congress to suggest it would work even when you have had every minimal success. >> i talked earlier about the fact that there are a while

spencer bachus is a target of insider trading investigations. that he's looking forward to defending himself. >>> overseas, the bloody conflict in syria spread to the country's second largest city. up to 25 people were killed in two explosions. the u.s. is hoping that turkey can play a lead role this helpihel -- in helping to resolve that situation. >>> we're hearing from the social worker for the first time who took charlie and braden powell to visit with their father last sunday. she describes how helpless she felt. >> there was no way -- there was no way to stop him. there were no ind carrots. i never saw any suicidal indicators from him. i never saw anything other than earned the, loving care to the boys. he didn't look like a monther. like somebody who was going to kill his children. >> she says after slamming the door, she heard powell tell his son he had a big surprise for him. you can see more tonight at 10:00, 9:00 central on a special "20/20"." >>> now, diane sawyer with a preview of tonight's "world news." >>> we're going to tell you

bachus. anybody know where that is? north dakota. everyone knows prudhoe bay and these are both bigger. oil companies hiring hundreds of thousands of people to get crude out of tf of the ground. stock, like clean harbor or aog, continental resources, schlumberger, back to where it was in 2008. these are marching to the same oil tune. finally, the consumer herself. she ain't stupid, pretty much saw it coming. first time gas goes to 4 bucks, you freak out. second time, you aren't freaked out, but you aren't angry. you don't staytrade down to wal or dollar tree or per igo. those stocks are acting terribly. bottom line, i'm not saying just wait, paint at the pump hasn't happened yet, i'm saying we can adjust because things are better this time around and more prepared for an energy crisis. and if israel attacks iran, all bets are off. discretionary stocks go higher because business is getting better, and, yes, i'm an optimist and it can mask of pain of handing $75 to the guy at exon and finding out you're 7 bucks high. >>> tom in ohio. >

. >> reporter: house republican david camp and senate democrat max bachus made the final deal in the wee hours this morning. >> this is very important for a lot of people, 160 million americans maintaining the federal tax cut. >> federal workers do not have to pay more toward pensions as republicans demanded. the deal extends the 2% cut in payroll taxes through 2012 to keep the rate at 4.2%. it renews $300 a week extended jobless benefits for at least 63 weeks, down from 93 weeks. and it protects doctors from cuts in medicare reimbursements. house democratic leader nancy pelosi gave the credit to president obama. >> good morning. >> reporter: she said he created the drum beat that forced republicans to make the deal. >> remember, public sentiment is everything and the public overwhelmingly supported a payroll tax cut for 160 million americans. >> reporter: republicans had blinked. they backed off their demand for spending cuts and they're in no mood to credit barack obama. >> this is an economic relief package because the president's policies have not only failed. they've actually ma

spencer bachus is a target of insider trading investigations.up and keeping me warm. i feel very warm and toasty. let's get to the boards. how about this a picture of chicagoland, ladies. how about that? we're talking about a little bit of snowfall in these areas. lit get going. here's the totals, from detroit to chicago, to pittsburgh also involved in this washington, d.c., we think will pick up snow. here's the cold air that rushes in behind it. dropping down the cool temperatures. >> fantastic friday in times square. marcus, come here. come here, come here come here. we want to say good-bye to marcus. you're off to -- we can't say the station. it's a competition. but you're going cleveland. >> cleveland. >> we're saying good-bye to marcus. we love him so much. his last day. >> what a terrific guy he is. congratulations. we wish you all the best. >>> here's what's coming up. marc anthony, why he's joining forces with jennifer lopzez again. >>> those are the women about to be pro posed to. they have no idea. it's a huge "gma" live event. >>> an

. >> you think of the investigation of bachus for buying options and betting on a broad decline after closed door meeting with paulson and ben bernanke. how is that not -- >> mark is not going to like this. part of the reason for the investigations is the ethics draining of the swamp that pelosi put in place, where they decided getting serious about ethics investigations. >> i agree with that actually. >> you do? >> absolutely. >> you cannot have the ethics investigations toil away and she knew when she did it of course you'll catch republicans and democrats, and i'll say one more thing. pelosi recognized and the people are pushing, it's not just the stock act, it's got to be the disclosure and the constitutional amendment if we are going to have real change, and i feel like, there's real momentum putting the pressure on congress, because when those members went home and had nothing to show for their time in washington people are like what have you been doing. we may get these things, maybe watered down but we will get things. >> here is the problem, all the things that you named. sto

of congressional ethics investigating some of the transactions on republican congressman spencer bachus. this comes after the house passed legislation to tighten up the rules. >>> a bay area man who needs a kidney transplant is getting a new chance at life now. an undocumented immigrant has been waiting 6.5 years for a new kidney. ucsf hospital has placed him on an inactive status. thanks to 140,000 online signatures, donations, and as well as international coverage, ucsf did it about face. >> we believe he has a long- term coverage. he's moving up the list. perhaps in 3-6 months he might be at the top. >> the hospital says it was never about his immigration status this whole controversy. they said it was about the uncertainty of his insurance. while he is now approved for surgery, only 350 of the 5,000 patients at ucsf will get kidney transplants this year. >>> 18 minutes after 5:00 let's go back over to sal and check in on the commute. what are you keeping an eye on, sal? >> we are looking at everything. so far so food. last few days we've had fog problems and we are looking at that.

congressman spencer bachus says he is cooperating with the investigation.des made right about the time of the 2008 financial collapse. we'll be right back. an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement, if your car is totaled, we give you the money for a car one model year newer. liberty mutual auto insurance. so i'm glad it's with fidelity. they offer me one-on-one guidance to help me choose my investments. not just with my savings plan here at work. they help me with all of my financial goals. looking good, irene. thanks to fidelity, i can stay on top of my financial future, huh? good one. why, thank you. whether it's saving for retirement, college, or anything else, contact a fidelity investment professional today. ♪ home was an airport lounge and an ipad ♪ ♪ made sure his credit score did not go bad ♪ ♪ with a free-credit-score-dot-com ♪ ♪ app that he had ♪ downloaded it in the himalayas ♪ ♪ while meditating like a true playa ♪ ♪ now when he's surfing down in chile'a ♪ ♪ he can see when his score is in danger ♪ ♪ if you're a mob

congressman spencer bachus a republican from alabama says he's cooperating with the investigation and benefited financially from stock trades made right about the time of the 2008 financial collapse. [ male announcer ] we know you don't wait until the end of the quarter to think about your money... ♪ that right now, you want to know where you are, and where you'd like to be. we know you'd like to see the same information your advisor does so you can get a deeper understanding of what's going on with your portfolio. we know all this because we asked you, and what we heard helped us create pnc wealth insight, a smarter way to work with your pnc advisor, so you can make better decisions and live achievement. [ roger ] tell me you have good insurance. yup, i've got... [ dennis ] ...allstate. really? i was afraid you'd have some cut-rate policy. [ kyle ] nope, i've got... [ dennis ] ...the allstate value plan. it's their most affordable car insurance -- and you still get an allstate agent. i too have... [ dennis ] ...allstate. [ roger ] same agent and everything. [ kyle ] it's like we're c

the office of congressional ethics is looking into a number of suspicious stock trades to see if bachusally used nonpublic information to guide his investment decisions. for the first time since the meltdown at 3 mile island the u.s. government has approved a construction of two new nuclear reactors inside the u.s. the $14 billion reactors will be built in eastern georgia and could be online as early as 2016. gabby giffords is endorsing her former aide ron barber's bid to finish her term in congress. barber who was shot twice in the attack that nearly killed his boss says giffords asked him to run in this spring's special election. even if he wins it is not clear whether barber will seek a full term in the fall. going to be a heck of a race. >>> three of the four republican presidential candidates are set to speak at today's gathering of conservative republicans in washington, d.c. they're trying to make the case to rally conservative support in the coming contest. joining me now on the phone is nbc's jamie novagrad. thanks so much for joining us. >> good morning. >> jon kyl who is in t

senator bachus of mt., who is still there came in -- elected in '78, he has said the senate dining room, we used to eat together, democrats and republicans and that doesn't happen anymore. senator dashle and susan collins, now senator, have said you have to find ways for people to interact more. so i think that there has been a loss there. but i also think it's a harder media than it ever was -- >> let's talk about that. money is significant, and let me just vouch for that. the amount of time members of the house and senate, republicans and democrats spend, is an outrage and has to be addressed. talk about media. media world has changed. right now, if in the house and senate, you give a sphynx if you're doing commit year, it's going to be televised on c-span or elsewhere. that wasn't the case back then. but what does that mean in terms of how people related to each other, et cetera? >> well, it's a complex question but i think we have so much media and so much coverage that to some extent, it cheapens the debate. in the senate that it described, if you heard that frank church was going

. >> reporter: spencer bachus first surfaced in a 60 minutes report last year, now we've learned today the office of congressional ethics is investigating. he put out a statement this morning saying he has faith in the ethics process, that he will be ultimately exonerated. he didn't violate any congressional rules. we'll have to see whether the congressional ethics organization establishes that as well. >> john, thank you. >>> the economy and housing clearly central themes for the election year. today ben bernanke speaking before the nation's biggest home builders about the housing market and where it goes from here. our diana olick is there at the big meeting in orlando. welcome, diana. >> reporter: well, that's right, simon. as you can see, the fed chairman is still speaking. he finished prepared remarks and now taking questions. the first one was about credit. that's the biggest issue right now. not just to get to build new homes and given that demand is beginning to increase and supply is so low for new homes, but also getting credit to borrowers. especially first-time home buyers.

there was also a gentleman at that meeting named spencer bachus who's the current chairman of the house financial services committee, he left that meeting and the next morning bought something called proshares ultra short qqq. now, what on earth is that? okay, i'm not a financial guy. that is a options trade that is a leveraged buy that you're shorting the markets. you're betting the market -- or in this case knowing -- that the market is going to go down. he literally made that trade the next morning. and he made $10,000 while putting a couple thousand dollars at risk. in baucus' case as he was having these series of meetings, as he was writing t.a.r.p. legislation, as he was the ranking republican on the house financial services committee, he literally engaged in 40 options trades that seemed to be particularly well timed, and he made a lot of money. his insistence is that he does not trade on inside information, but to my mind if this were a corporate executive rather than a member of congress, the sec would take a huge interest in this. okay, there's the republican example. we'll be

>> one, this "post" story is pretty fascinating on spencer bachus, the chairman of the financial services committee now under investigation, it's clear from this outside ethics panel for insider trading. >> they had a big vote on insider trading, right? >> a big vote. everybody's against it now. before everyone kind of liked it. >> yeah. >> it stems from this "60 minutes" report a couple of months ago that was a fabulous piece based on a book, but it's clear that spencer bachus was insider trading in every single assistance whether it's transportation on the transportation committee or overseeing financial institutions. as you well noknow, i'm a cynic and this committee will have to have the ethics committee investigate, which will probably do nothing. by the time they do anything, he'll have done well on his investments. >> what are you looking at today? >> i think this fight in the white house with how they've dealt with this contraception battle is fascinating. there's a great piece in our publication today with tons of detail about the internal debate where he basically had this group

republicans spencer bachus was one of several members of congress who were the focus of a "60 minutes" story in november. yesterday the house passed legislation to stop potential insider trading by lawmakers. >>> the white house is ready to soften the order to cover birth control in employee health insurance. >> president obama's decision has been denounced. norah o'donnell is with us now. norah good morning. >> good morning. cbs news learned that president obama as early as today, could announce some new guidelines dealing with this contraception policy. this follows what has been an internal debate within the white house that pitted some of the male advisers including vice president biden and former chief of staff bill dailey against some of the female advisers. in the end, the president moved forward on the rule which is already law in a majority of the states in this country. 28 states. we're expecting more as they think there's been a lot of misunderstanding about this policy. >> the president was meeting with the prime minister of italy in the oval office thursday. but when pepp

republican spencer bachus was one of several members of congress who were the focus of a 60 minutes story in november. yesterday the house passed legislation to stop this. >>> the crisis in syria this morning is spreading. bombs went off at two security compounds in aleppo. state tv says at least 24 people died and rebels in the city of homs say syria's president bashar al-assad wants to wipe out all opposition. one local activist made this video blog which shows the impact of a week of constant army attacks. >> this is filled with another rocket landed on the civilian's houses. this is happening every day. where's the u.n.? where's the humanity? where's america? are we supposed to live like this our whole lives? >> about two years old. he got hurt at the bombing when it hit his house. is this when the u.n. is waiting for? is this what the u.n. is waiting children? >> our foreign correspondent clarissa ward is reporting inside syria. she has a story of rebels in one town who are fighting to overthrow the 40 year dictatorship. >> reporter: they march together carrying their dead on their s