senator barbara mikulski is fighting to put an end to that. prescription drug shortages has been an issue. she talked about it at the university of maryland medical center. pharmacies buy a big amount of pills and juggle them to other companies and it puts patients in jeopardy like josh. >> my dream depends on that. >> he said he feels guilty when he's able get the drugs he needs, wondering who will not be able to get it. >>> here we are, the fifth annual brick bodies challenge. six teams are vying to lose the most weight and take home the top prize of $10,000. charley crowson introqueueses -- introduces us to two women. >> reporter: they better get used to their treadmills, planks and squats. they're on a mission to change their lives. she said her motivation comes from two different places. the first and most important, improve her life-style and get off medication. >> i've exercised but not really stuck to it. this is a new beginning, an opportunity to start all over. >> reporter: the second, her big day is coming up in september when she w

it was barbara mikulski. off we went. we went to the refugee camps and we saw starvation and we saw the effects of genocide. then when we were in a camp, wendy was there with me. we wanted to see what they were doing. we sat in a circle and the little girls and boys sitting around and a little girl sat next to me. i turned to her and her her story. she had been taken out upper mother's arms, put in a truck, they get to a forced labor camp, and managed to escape. i turned to her and said, "what can i do for you?" she said take me with you. i said i cannot do that for you today, but i will help you find your mother. the un called and said they cannot find her mother. are you ready to be her mother? i said, yes. i thought i could not do this to this little girl. [laughter] she has already been through enough. [laughter] so i reached out to the cambodian heritage society and we found her a real home and a real mother and father. i am happy to say she is here in the united states, married to a man in the building trade, has fo

>> when it looked like nasa was about to pull the plug on the hubble space telescope, it was barbara mikulskielped save it alive. it's now brought mikulski an honor no one else has on capitol hill. >> reporter: it wasn't just any flesh being pressed. >> all of my favorite nobel prize winners. >> reporter: at the space science institute in baltimore, a standing room crowd honored senator barbara mikulski for her support of hubble, when nasa was poised to let the telescope go dark. they wanted to upgrade the telescope and keep 500 marylanders on the job. >> no better tribute we could make than to name this super nova in her honor. >> reporter: super nova mikulski 1 is a star that exploded 7 billion light-years away, and whose light was just captured by hubble this past winter. >> when i was growing up in east baltimore, of course i wanted to be a star. but i didn't know i'd grow up to be a super nova. [ laughter ] [ applause ] >> reporter: it wasn't the only honor bestowed. the institute also named its enormous collection of data after mikulski. not just from the hubble, but information collect

it was senator barbara mikulski who was keeping it alive. brought mikulski an honor nobody else has on capitol hill. >> reporter: it wasn't just any flesh being press said. >> all of my favorite nobel prize. >> reporter: at space telescope science institute in baltimore, a standing room crowd honored senator barbara mikulski for her support of hubble, when nasa was poised to let the telescope go dark. they had a final mission to keep 500 marylanders on the job. >> no better tribute we could make than to name this super nova in her honor. >> reporter: super nova mikulski 1 is a star that exploded 7 billion light-years away, and whose light was just captured by hubble this past winter. >> when i was joing up in east baltimore, of course i wanted to be a star. but i didn't know i would grow up to be a super nova. [ applause ] >> reporter: it wasn't the only honor bestowed. the institute also named its enormous collection of data after mikulski. all space telescopes in orbit now and in the future. available to researchers worldwide. >> i am deep

it was barbara mikulski. off we went. weent to the refugee camps and we saw starvation and we sawhe effects of genocide. then when we were in a camp, wendy was there with me. we wanted to e what they were doing. we sat in a circle and the little girls and boys sitting around and a little girl sat next to me. i turned to her and her her story. she had been taken out upper mother's arms, put in a truck, they get to a forced labor camp, and managed escape. i turned to her and said, "what can i do for you?" she said take me with you. i said i cannot do that for you today, but i will help you find your mother. the un called and said they cannot find her mother. are you ready to be her mother? i said, yes. i thought i could not do this to this little girl. [laughter] she has already been through enough. [laughter] so i reached out to the cambodian heritage society and we found her a real home and a real mother and father. i am happy to say she is here in the united states, married to a man in the building trade, has four childr

barbara mikulski. off we went.e were in those refugee camps and we saw a starvation and saw the effec dis of genocide. into a forced labor camp. and make her way to the refugee what can i do. hy thought i can't do this to this girl. [laughter and applause] >> she has already been through enough. so i reached out to the cambodian society and we found her a real home and a real mother and father and i am happy to say she is here in the united states in waldorf maryland. married to a man in the building trade with four children take care of it from the day she arrived at the airport and is now ambassador wendy sherman who is my chief of staff and she was the one that i called and said i think i am going to be a mother. [laughter] >> and she says oh god lists are many stores i could tell about my time. i will be grateful that a congresswoman and the congresswoman's caucus got on an airplane to save the children. that is what we need to think more of. where it didn't matter what party were. it matted you wanted to save

senator barbara mikulski. she was honored at the archives for space telescopes in baltimore. the institute serves as the science operations center for the hubble space telescope. the archive is one of the largest in the world, housing thousands of images gathered in space. she was presented with a photo called supernova mikulski. 5 northeastern states are up next in the republican primary race. rick santorum's home state of pennsylvania is shaping up to be the biggest battleground. the washington bureau reporter has more in the election 2012 report. >> rick santorum is undeterred. his sights are set on the keystone state. trailing by nearly 400 delegates, rick santorum shows no signs of bawling out. -- bowing out. [inaudible] >> after mitt romney's clean sweep in wisconsin, d.c., and maryland on tuesday, rick santorum is in pennsylvania, where it can be do or die. >> this is his home state. somehow mitt romney stumbles and texas follows and maybe there is some momentum. >> please help me beat barack obama next november. >> mitt romney is targeting pennsylvania voters in fully

still ahead, barbara mikulski has been serving for a decade. she is a 6--- she is a fixture in the night sky. . >> big changes for some city fire houses. i am live in downtown. the story coming up. >> we all remember this scene of chaos as a mass a tornado ripped through the dallas-fort worth area. here to press he recounts how he mm, these artisan bagels are so tasty. hey, what do you think "artisan" means? it's latin. for what? really, really good bagels. dunkin's new artisan bagels are as authentic as it gets. soft, chewy, and delicious. grab one today. honey, that's my cup of tea. yours is over there. oops. dunkin's iced tea is freshly brewed to delicious perfection. right now get any size for just 99 cents. >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning. welcome back. >> i am sarah caldwell. john collins as a look at the day's forecast. >> a good one today. we are starting with temperatures mostly in the low 40's. we have clear skies this morning. there is a disturbance to the south of was producing some rain

. >> as the longest serving woman in congress, maryland senator barbara mikulski now has a super nova named after her. the senator is well known for her support of this space exploration. >> i really believe in science and technology. it made our country great, it is creating jobs. >> mikulski was presented with a framed photograph of her supernova. the center will be the signs in mission operations center -- and an mission operations center for space telescope after it is launched. we are more than a week away from the deadline to file your income tax returns, and a national survey has received surprising answers about what americans plan to do with their refunds this year. chris clackum explains. >> credit card companies and anyone who extends credit will like hearing what americans plan to do with refunds this year. >> 42% planned to use the windfall to pay off debt and pay bills. >> the survey asked 2000 people about their saving habits. most would rather be financially than physically fit. >> 84% of women would rather have $10,000 in the bank tha jennifern -- than jennifer anisto

senator barbara mikulski wants that to stop. there was a round table discussion today. they're trying to deal with the drug shortage problem. it's believed some fake pharmacies are buying certain medications and transferring them to wholesale companies they own and selling them at a prompt it's a prob -- profit. it's a problem for some patients like josh who needs the medicine. >> the prognosis depends on how fast the tumor shrinks. we shouldn't have to live with that. >> reporter: josh williams said when he gets the drug, he feels bad because he wonders who will be going without. the senator is pushing for a better deal with drug companies. >> all right. take a look outside, bright and sunny. we have improving weather across baltimore, across maryland. 75 degrees but, again, bone dry on the humidity. winds northwest at 18. that's going to begin to change the temperature profile. we lock for colder weather arrive overnight and into the next few days. it will moan a cooler day for opening day on your friday. first, lock at the clouds earlier today giving way to sunshine.

maryland senator barbara mikulski thinks one the next cuts could come from the top. this afternoon she told nbc news she is not ready to call on secret service director mark sullivan to step down yet but she has indicated he may resign. three secret service employees have already resigned since some were accused of bringing prostitutes back to their hotel last week in colombia. lawmakers say more resignations and dismissal may come sometime today or tomorrow. >>> a troubling scene in northeast washington. a man was found beaten to death early this morning here in an alley near the intersection of oats street and bladensburg road. police say the victim is 36-year-old aaron henderson. his nickname was peanut. one man who did not want to be identified said he knew the victim. >> had a troubled life and, i mean, you know, it's the way things go around here. >> police are offering a reward for information that helps them solve this case. >>> a d.c. daycare worker is now behind bars after charges of child abuse. we first told you about the allegations yesterday at 5:00 and

the space institute named a supernova after barbara mikulski. of supernova mikulski's home galaxy. her supernova discovered on january 25th. it's huge. it's the explosive death of a star that's eight times as big as our sun. it's also really really far away. 7.5 billion light years away. it seems miraculous we have images of it at all, but there it is. that green dot on this very grainy picture is what counts as a close-up of supernova mikulski. as taken by the hubbell telescope. scientists are hoping that studying supernova mikulski will help them understand star formation in the early universe. and i'm sure this isn't relevant at all but it should be noted senator mikulski is the chair of the senate subcommittee that's in charge of

cowering over the vertically challenged senator barbara mikulski and me. one senator present said something i haven't forgotten. said she, thank you for doing this. we never talk to each other any more. many former colleagues in this room will agree. our current, exquisite congressional dysfunction highlights why the safe political space at the wilson center is so critical. and why it is so critical to salute problem-solvers like secretary clinton and secretary lagarde, from synchronized swimming to strategic networking, christine lagarde's career included managing director of a major international l.a., finance minister of france, head of the world's primary financial institution, and maybe a little later president of france? she is a big player with big ideas, with courage, insight and humor. at the women in the world summit in new york last month, she observed we might have avoided financial meltdown if lehman brothers had only been lehman sisters. you should applaud that. come on. at the first spring meeting of the imf last week, director lagarde gave

. >> senator barbara mikulski joined health care professions to spled the word about physical and mental health. it is at the university of maryland's health and wellness conference. the goal, to educate the public about the future of medicine. attendees were able to participate more than two dozen sessions, exploring yoga, hole stick therapies and stress management. >> i think give people some tools and ways that they can help themselves. and help them manage what they're doing with their conventional medical care. >> this event ended a year-long celebration of the 20th anniversary of the founding of the university of maryland center for integrated medicine. 100 years ago tonight, titanic was about to hit that iceberg. one century later, folks in baltimore paying homage to the biggest, fastest, most luxurious ocean liner of its time. >> well, a little rain approaching us. and some really big storms out in the central part of the nation. we'll talk about both coming up mm, these artisan bagels are so tasty. what do you think "artisan" means? i believe art is latin for "well-crafted" and

the white house endorsed a bill last week co-sponsored by senators barbara mikulski mick and ben cardinre to protect students from online attacks. the safe schools act requires schools to have a reporting standard the bills ties bullying standards. officials estimate that 20% of children and teens are victims of the 21st century form of school yard teasing. curbing the cyber-harassment will require joint efforts of school systems, parents, and teens. all parties must understand that the simple click of a mouse can have a deep and lasting effect on another person. maryland. prevention and intervention are the next steps to provide a safe online environment for our teaspoons. -- teens. for more information go to wbaltv.com and for more information go to wbaltv.com and

. >>> maryland senator barbara mikulski has been honored with a supernova. she was named after one of the stellar experiences after the senator. the maryland democrat supported the hubble space telescope mission when nasa was ready to let it to go dark. she saved 500 maryland jobs in the process. >> when i was growing up in east baltimore of course i wanted to be a star but i didn't know i'd grow up to be a supernova. i am deeply. deeply touched today and thrilled and honored. >> supernova mikulski, one star that exploded years away from earth. >>> the recently released movie "bully" received a narrating. the company says the -- a new rating. the company says the rating for the film has been lowered to pg- 13. it was originally given an r rating for language. the documentary examines school bullying by following five youngsters over the course of a school year. the newly edited version will be released next friday. >>> it was once a washington icon. but more than three decades ago the howard theater was shut down and most people thought it was shut down for

congressional voting records that were passed out the previous forum, you can see that senator barbara mikulski has 100% record on those measures that are listed. so i just have a question specifically for megan darby of planned parenthood. with everything that's going on in states like oregon, montana, texas, with the ultra -- or the transvaginal ultrasound bill, what can states like maryland do? what can voters and residents do to help out from the sidelines, i guess? is because it's easy for of us to sit back and rest on our laurels, because in our state, things are relatively okay. >> that's a great question. so -- sorry. so i guess the first thing they tell you is, you know, educate. and talk about it. that is the most powerful thing you can do. to go back to mississippi, we are very fortunate that not only it picked up steam nationally, because people were outraged and they knew about the issue and talked about it. i mean, i could tell you, facebook feeds were just full of talk about mississippi. and that's how really it gets the ball rolling. and that really could help. i also would say

if you want to see more women like nancy pelosi and amy klobuchar and carolyn maloney and barbara mikulski and all of these wonderful women, then we are on the same team. if you want to see another shirley chisholm rise, we are on the same team. if you want to let more women serve on the supreme court like elena kagan and sonia sotomayor, then we are on the same team. if you want to see more women like hillary clinton over at the secretary of state, being head of that office, then we are -- >> on the same team! >> if we want to see more melissa harris-perrys and rachel maddows on television telling our story, we are -- >> on the same team. >> if you want a fair pay act in your lifetime we are -- >> on the same team. >> if you want to see the tea party disappear, we are -- >> on the same team. >> if you want to reach that 51% that you heard about this morning in the united states congress, then we are -- >> on the same team. >> all right. if we want a congress that's responsive to our needs, then we are -- >> on the same team. >> if you want to keep title 9, as our sister spoke about this m

. >> senator ben card-in and barbara mikulski have co-sponsored a bill to protect children from bullying. maryland is one of 45 states with a clearly-defined policy. lawmakers are doing their part. prevention is the next step to provide a safe online environment for our teens. for more information on cyber-bullying, go to wbaltv.com and click on "hot ho >> good morning. welcome to "11 news saturday morning." i'm jennifer franciotti. >> and i'm lisa robinson. our top stories in just a moment. first let's take a look outside with meteorologist john collins. what has happened to spring? >> i know. >> actually, over the past few days, our temperatures have been a little below normal. on the whole, the month was still running above average. you would not be able to tell that from the last couple days. >> we're spoiled. >> that's right. also our rain chances have been a little higher. we're beginning to catch up on that deficit. and and we'll have more opportunity later today as a new storm system is coming in. we've had this on-again, off-again kind of thing. today we have rain in the forecas

barbara mikulski placed a hold on the measure last month. netflix shares could take a hit today. they are predicting a slowdown. they did post a second quarter profit. don't forget about apple. they are out with earnings after the close today. a bit of a higher start. we did have a pullback yesterday appeared more worries about europe and financial troubles in the netherlands. political uncertainty in france with their elections. the hotel industry is in hiring mode as hotels need people with skills that cannot be outsourced. staff at marriott will rise 6% this year. at the new york stock exchange, i'm jane king, bloomberg news, for wbal-tv 11 news. >> many americans rely on social security checks for their retirement. you have some discouraging news for the baby boomers who have been paying into the system for 45 years. >> the funds for social security have been dwindling. in the report says the social secure system is in worse shape than we thought. i will have more on that and what baltimore is not considered a pizza city. >> thank you. >> 38 degrees on tv hill. christmas in a

the white house endorsed a bill last week co-sponsors by ben cardin and barbara mikulski requiring schools to go more. the safe schools conduct act retires a code of conduct as well as a reporting standard. the bill tied the action to federal funding to assure compliance. officials many say many kids are victims of the 21st century form of schoolyard teasing. this will require joint efforts of schools and teens. all parties must understand that the simple click of a mouse can have a deep and lasting effect. maryland is one of 45 states with a clearly defined policy, so lawmakers are doing their part. prevention and intervention are the next steps to provide a safe online environment for our teens. for more information go to wbaltv.com and click on "hot topics."

. >> the space telescope institute has named a supernova after barbara mikulski, the longest servingistant, exploding script star that was spotted earlier this year by the hubble telescope. >> i really believe science and technology has made our country great and created jobs and prosperity. >> she was presented a with a framed photo of the supernova. it serves as a science operations center for the hubble telescope. it will be the missions operations center for the james webb space telescope after its loss. unemployment in -- unemployment claims fell to the lowest level in four years after employers boosted hiring. what is really behind the numbers? details on that coming up, new at 6:00. >> peeps are not just for eating, they are for creating. we'll take you to carroll county for a peep show for the whole family. x a very sweet exhibit in downtown westminster may have your mouth watering. >> it is called a peep show and has art is crafting a special designs and out of those little marshmallow treats. jennifer franciotti takes us there. >> it is a peep show that everyone can see at

supernova barbara mikulski was spotted earlier this year. >>> they unveiled a rare piece of history,s part of a collection belonging to them and will severe as serve as a centerpiece and is ,,,,,,,,,,,,,

senator barbara mikulski from maryland.t serving woman in congress.a fedays ago, she is also a supernova. supernova mccullski. the space institute named a supernova after her. her supernova was discovered on january 25th and it's huge. supernova mikulski is eight times as big as our son, and 7 billion light years away far away. so it seems miraculous that we have any images of it at all. but that green dot is what counts as a close-up of supernova mikulski, as taken by the hubble telescope. scientists are hoping that studying supernova mikulski will help them understand star formation in the early universe. and i'm sure this isn't relevant at all, but it should also be noted that senator mikulski is the chair of the senate subcommittee that's in charge of nasa's budget. so while this could be a case of deeply politicized supernova naming rights, eve

. >> barbara mikulski has received a number of awards for being the longest serving woman in congressest honor. that's at 6:33. >> and they might look like bunnies. there's long ears and all, but why australians want to replace the easter bunny with the easter bilby at 6:40.

. >> after that, see a tribute to maryland senator barbara mikulski. last month, she became the longest serving female member of congress. >> i am is still a fighter and still a reformer. i am still-young girl in the blue jumper -- i am is still that young girl in the blue jumper. i will continue to work with all of you in this room. you are here because you make a difference. let's continue to work together and make change and may the force being with us. [applause] >> then a tribute to two former senators for their combined 100 years of public service. >> it is a great honor and a genuine privilege to serve with each of you. i know you wish i had learned more. quite frankly, just simply to know you both. >> reporting on war and conflict and said he is to barbara mikulski, howard baker, and bob dole. it is tonight starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> tonight on c-span 2, it is "book tv" in prime-time. first, the story of the u.s. army's first line active duty officer. and then a look at the israeli- palestinian conflict. after that, the rise of

maryland senator barbara mikulski will be recognized later today at the dedication ceremony of the barbara largest in the world. it houses thousands of images gathered in a senator mikulski will be presented with a photograph of a distant supernova. >> today a lot of sunshine, a few scattered clouds around baltimore. temperatures today will be in the 50's to near 60.

can you e-mail your tax questions to wbaltv.com. >> barbara mikulski joined health care professionals word about miscal and mental health at the university of maryland's health and wellness conference. the goal was to educate the public about the future of medicine. >> i any it will -- >> maryland's top universities and top business entrepreneurs in "education alert." we'll tell you the result. >> and if you happen to be an avid reader the towson library is where you need to be this weekend. we'll explain. >> first a look at last night's winning lottery numbers. we believe keeping kids healthy can start with healthy hands. with the lysol no-touch hand soap system healthy hands can be automatic. for healthy tips and more, visit lysol.com/missionforhealth. >> maryland's top businesses are being paired with entrepreneurs. and this is where some of the magic happens. the governor stopped by promoting new legislation called "innovative maryland." it takes new ideas from public and private institutions across the state and commercializes them for start-up companies and entrepreneurs. >> fro

. >>> well, from earth to outer space, maryland senator barbara mikulski gets a stellar honor, a supernovaed after her. the hubble telescope spotted superknow va mikulski 7.4 billion light years away. she was presented a framed picture of the massive exploding star that's eight times bigger than the sun. they named the astronomy archive after her. the senator has been a strong supporter of space exploration. a fitting tribute to the senator. let's check in with tom kierein to get the latest on the forecast. >> right now we're getting into the 50s throughout much of the region. and with this dry air and the wind swirling around, the pollen count has jumped. it's not quite as high as it was last week, but allergy sufferers are noticing it's mostly oak, mulberry and sick moo tree pollen. it will range in the high range today and tomorrow. we may get relief on sunday with the showers coming in. we have signs of spring around the region. i took this picture a few days ago. this is the south side of the memorial bridge. you can see the kennedy center in the district between the fir trees there.

senator barbara mikulski from maryland. she is the longest serving woman in congress.rnova. supernova mccull ckucullski. the space institute named a supernova after her. her supernova was discovered on january 25th and it's huge. supernova knonova mikulski is e times as big as our son, and 7 billion light years away far away. so it seems miraculous that we have any images of it at all. but that green dot is what counts as a close-up of supernova mikulski, as taken by the hubble telescope. scientists are hoping that studying supernova mikulski will help them understand star formation in the early universe. and i'm sure this isn't relevant at

. >>> this afternoon maryland's senator barbara mikulski who sits on the senate intelligence committee, told nbc news she thinks one of the next resignations could come from secret service director mark sullivan. >>> there is new surveillance video that could give police the break they need. the d.c. police say this man is a person of interest they call him. in a recent break-in at the city auditor's office. somebody stole two lap tops over the weekend. it is unclear what might be on those lap tops. the auditor's office works for the d.c. council. it examines government accounts and operations but it does not handle criminal investigations. >>> the shuttle discovery is settling into its new home near dulles airport and starting tomorrow it will be on display for all of us to see. erika gonzalez joins us from chantilly with more on today's move-in ceremony. erika? >> reporter: doreen, thousands of people have been here all day long. they've been outside and there have been a few that have a pass inside this one room to see discovery really come in with precise precision. you can still h

. >>> from the halls of congress to outer space, maryland senator barbara mikulski gets a stellar honorntists have named a super nova after her at the space telescope science institute in baltimore. the hubble space telescope spotted super nova mikulski 7.4 billion light years away. scientist presented the senator with a framed picture of that massive exploding star that is eight times bigger than the sun. they [ technical difficulty ] >> i don't think the governor would appreciate that either. >> they want to keep it in the district. >> that's right. >>> the nationals break out the -- break out the champagne. the nationals are tied for the n.l. east. >> it's a little premature. the first game of the season but a good start. promising. the nats started their campaign on the road against the chicago cubs. steven straussburg pitched seven innings giving up one run. the tie was broken with the rbi single. and brad lidge helped preserve the victory. the nationals win 2-1. they are back at it against the cubs tomorrow. the d.m. brice harper also off to a good start. he made his debut with th

. >>> an out-of-this-world honor for maryland senator barbara mikulski. the hubble space telescope spotted super nova mikulski 7.4 approximately light years away. can you believe they can spot things that far away. scientists presented the senator a framed pictures of the stellar explosion. the senator has been a strong supporter of space exploration. congratulations. >> absolutely. >>> a jaenz ghost ship drift -- japanese ghost ship drifting for the past year is deep under water. the u.s. coast guard opened fire, sinking it off the coast of alaska. last year's tsunami dislodged that ship, which then began drifting in the pacific ocean. the coast guard said the ship was floating in the middle of a high-traffic shipping lane so they had no choice but to sink it. >>> if you've ever run a marathon, you know it is not an easy thing to. do you're hot, sore, and generally you look like you ran a marathon. >> i wouldn't know. >> i've seen it on tv. >> one guy's generating buzz on line. he managed to make a ten-k look like a walk in the park. this photo is being

and given who voted for it, our own senators, our own good new york centers for it, barbara mikulskied for it. what does that do to him she should be indicted? and what does this new law do to the structure? >> well, those are very important questions. i'm not talking about whether people should pass law, shouldn't pass law. i'm talking about the laws that are already on the books, and these laws have been on the books, the anti-torture act, wiretapping law, the defrauding congress. by the way, defrauding congress issues in the prosecution of people in watergate, top aides to nixon, and it was used in connection with the iran-contra prosecution. so that the statute that is well-established that i'm not talking about should they have passed an act, should they have not passed this act. we don't have to go there. i'm just talking about the laws that are on the books right now. and why aren't they being in force when it comes to the president of the united states? the our books, there are laws on the books right now about bank fraud. and they weren't being enforced. and the american peo

and given who voted for it, our own senators, good satyrs to veto senators voted for, barbara mikulski, what does this new law do? >> those are very important questions. i'm not talking about whether people should pass slowly come shouldn't pass block if his half time talking about the laws store on the books and fees have been on the books, the antitorture that, the wire tapping law and converse and is used in the prosecution of people in watergate, the top aide to nixon, and it was used in connection with the iran and contra in prosecution. i'm not talking about should have passed this act, should they not have passed this act. we don't even have to go there. i'm just talking about the laws data on the books right now, and why aren't they being enforced when it comes to the president of the united states? there are always on the books right now about bank fraud and they were not being enforced, and the american people were upset about the we don't have to go there. we aren't saying they shouldn't go there we are just talking about messages sent in the future if the laws we have that

a tribute to barbara mikulski 4 rulings of service in congress. -- for her length of service in congressrrow, a look at race in america. that is live at 9:00 eastern on c-span2. a tin cup 45, live coverage continues on c-span -- at 10:45, live coverage continues on its east and -- on c-span. that is tomorrow on c-span2 and c-span. a discussion of political gridlock and the 2012 presidential campaign. from today's "washington journal," this is 40 minutes. i have been in politics since the late 1960's and early 1970's. there is such difficulty getting together on core values, that it leaves me disturbed. you have narrow ideological groups with vast amounts of money supporting candidates and politics is like anything else. it's almost impossible that a candidate would ignore those providing the bulk of their funding for their campaign, whether it's independently or not. so that's one thing. the other thing is the party organizations themselves reward those on the left and the democratic case, the right in the republican case. you have re-districting on the congressional level which certainl

. >> after that, see a tribute to maryland senator barbara mikulski. last month she became the longest serving female member of congress in u.s. history. >> deep in my heart i'm still that congresswoman from the third congressional district. i'm still a fighter and i'm still a reformer. i'm still that young girl in that blue jumper who went to ind with the mayor's daughter and i'm still that person who wants to light one little candle and curse the darkness. i will continue to work with all of you in this room. each and everyone are here because you make a difference. let's continue to work together and make change and may the force be with us. [cheers and applause] >> and then a tribute to two former senators howard baker and bob dole as they're honored by the bipartisan policy center for their combined 100 years of public service. >> it was a great honor and a genuine privilege to serve with each of you. to learn from each of you. i know you wished i learned more, bob, but to learn from each of you. and quite frankly, just simply to know you both. >>

. >> reporting on war and conflict and tributes to current senator barbara mikulski and former senators howard baker and bob dole, it's all tonight starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> "washington journal" continues. host: on your screen is mark kantrowitz joining us from pittsburgh, the founder of a group called finaid.org, and he is going to talk to us about student debt. and i want to start by showing some headlines here. this headline from "huffington post" -- and in "politico." can you give us a quick snapshot on what's happening with student lone debt, where it's trending? >> well, student lone debt hit a couple milestone. it exceeded credit card debt for the first time and now exceeds auto loans and late last year it hit $1 trillion. this makes it clear that it's a macroeconomic factor with the potential to impact the economy. it's about -- the total student a lot payments are about .4% of g.d.p. the practical impact on consumers is that when they have too much student loan debt they delay life cycle events. they delay buying a car, buying a house, getting married, having

senator of course nancy kassebaum and barbara mikulski.honor her on the senate floor by noting that she has served longer in deny states congress than any person in history of this country as a woman. [applause] >> she came, she beat a record of the woman from massachusetts who came here in 1925 and left in 1960. and barbara mikulski has broken that record. so, and i of course served with bob dole also. i heard very closely what senator biden said about bob dole. i was a relatively, relative newcomer during most of the days of senator dole, because you're always a newcomer and the shipping 25 years. senator dole, just like senator biden said, never ever tried to do anything to embarrass a new member. in fact, he went out of his way if there is a problem he saw that he could alleviate, he would take care of that. i have such admiration for him. for a number of reasons. not the least of which is the friendship that is unsurpassed between him and dan inouye. these two men were both badly injured in northern italy. face been used together in a

senator barbara mikulski said it well when she said that this is local politics.his is a code politics. everybody has their opinion. people are in an uproar and other people are afraid if we don't do something now, the postal service will go under in the next year. >> when it comes to senator lieberman's bill, what are some of the elements? >> are a number of things it will do. the first thing is allow the postal service to recoup $11 billion refund. this is a set of money but postal service over paid into federal retirement accounts. it will allow the postal service to take the money back and use the surplus to give incentives, about $25,000 worth of incentives to people who want to retire early or paying -- or separate on their own accord. it will also delay the postmaster general plan to make a whole bunch of drastic changes to the post office. so, the postmaster general -- general was to get rid of overnight delivery for first- class mail, eliminate saturday delivery and this bill would basically keep him from doing so for several years. bill also slows post o

towering over the vertically challenged senator barbara mikulski and me. one senator presence of something i haven't forgotten. thank you for doing this. we never talk to each other -- we never talk to each other anymore. many former colleagues in this room will agree. our current exquisite congressional dysfunction highlights why the political space at the wilson center is so critical. why it is so critical to salute problem solvers like secretary clinton and director christine director christine lagarde, for synchronized swimming to strategic networking, christine lagarde's career includes managing director of a major international law firm. finance minister of france. now head of the world's primary financial institution, and maybe a little later, president of france? [laughter] [applause] she is a big player with big ideas. with courage, insight, and humor. at the women of the world summit last month in new york, she said that we might have avoided financial meltdown if lehman brothers had only been sisters. [laughter] [laughter] >> you should applaud

congressional voting records that were passed out the previous forum, you can see senator babs -- barbara mikulskihas a 100% record. with everything that's going on in like oregon, montana, texas with the ultra or the transvaginal ultrasound bill, what can states like maryland do, what can voters and residents do to help out from the sidelines, i guess? because it's easy for us to sit back and rest on our laurels. because in our state things are relatively okay. >> that's a great question. so -- sorry. so, um, i guess the first thing i'd tell you is, you know, educate and talk about it. that is the most powerful thing you can do. to go back to mississippi be, we were very fortunate that not only it picked steam up nationally because people were outraged and they knew about the issue and talked about it. i mean, i could tell you facebook feeds were just full of talk about mississippi. and that's how it really gets the ball rolling, and, um, that really can help. i also would say donate because everything, this is an expensive fight everywhere. and i would also say, you know, locate the people that

we begin with the democratic senator from maryland, barbara mikulski. >> mr. president, i support the buffett rule, because i do believe in fundamental fairness. if you live in the united states of america, you benefit from the united states of america. its national security and its public institutions and the public progress, the costa published education, land grants, that you need to pay your fair share. this is what america is. all is fairness. -- this is what america is all about -- fairness. host: the republicans responded. here is one comment from senator john kyl, a republican of arizona. >> how about the 50% of households that pay no taxes and yet received the same or greater benefits than those who ? is that fair? the joint committee on taxation estimates to 81% of all households, which includes filers and non-filers, has either zero or negative income tax liability in 2009. people who do not share the sacrifice of paying taxes have little direct incentive to care whether the government is spending and taxing too much. maybe that's why the president

who is head of the clean slate program to really go and place great emphasis on seeing senator barbara mikulski from maryland. because she's on the senate appropriations committee, and she is the longest-serving woman in the united states senate, and she has great influence over how much money is spent in many programs. and so i would like to ask you to send a delegation to the maryland congressional delegation, to congress, but start with senator mikulski, then go to senator cardin. of course, you have the support of congressman elijah cummings. we really need to hear what you are saying in the halls of congress. because you would be shocked how these organizations take advantage of the first amendment right to petition the government for redress grievances. so please have your conference, but please bring them to washington, or to the district offices of that congressional delegation so they can understand how severe the problem is in the state of maryland. >> all right. >> i'm doctor -- really quick follow-up. completely agree with everything that you just said but i would also like to add t

looking at the congressional record's passed out in the previous four you can see that senator barbara mikulski has a 100% rescue on the measures listed. so i just a question specifically for finnegan of planned parenthood. with everything that's going on in states like oregon, montana, texas with the trans vaginal ultrasound bill what can states like maryland deutsch and voters and residents do to help out from the sidelines i guess because it's easy for us to sit back and rest on our morals because in our state things are relatively okay. >> that's a great question. i guess the first thing they tell you is educate and talk about. that is the most powerful thing to do looking back to mississippi we were very fortunate not only that picks things up nationally because people were outraged and they knew about the issue and talked about that i could tell you facebook feeds were just full of talk about mississippi and that gets the ball rolling and that really could help. let's say donate because everything -- this is an expensive fight everywhere and i would also say look at the people you think a