barbara mikulski was chairman of the appropriations committee. we had a meeting the other day, before she brought the secretary of defense hagel and secretary shinseki together asking for further cooperation. there's no question, no one disputes this, that historically these guys in the v.a. and d.o.d. have looked at each other as not as contesting agencies rather than cooperating agencies. we need far more cooperation. >> why is that? can you explain that? >> i think it's the culture of, you know, the d.o.d. has its mission, which is to fight wars, and the v.a. has its mission, which is for take care of the people who return from wars or veterans. and they've looked at each mission in a different way. what we understand is you're dealing with one human being. you were in vietnam. you were in iraq. you were in afghanistan. you served this country. we're proud of what you've done. now you're home. we're going to do our best to support you. you are one human being. and the systems have to work together in a much stronger way than they have in the p

barbara mikulski is fighting hard to make sure that this sequester that is slowing down growth that we start to see growth slowing down because of furloughs and cuts in defense spending a whole bunch of stuff that was a well thought through come with guy to make sure we got a budget that doesn't push our economy back down. we need an economy that pushes our budget back. the american auto industry is thriving. american energy is booming. american ingenuity has the potential to change the way we do almost everything thanks to the determination of the american people, we've been able to clear away the rubble of the crisis appeared were now progress, but her work is not done in our focus cannot drift. with got to stay focused on our economy and putting people back to work in raising wages and burning manufacturing back to united states of america. that has to be what we are thinking about every single day. [applause] the middle-class has been taking a beating for more than a decade. folks in washington are willing to fight back on your behalf, every single day because every single day you

[applause] you have got outstanding members of congress led by your senior senator barbara mikulski.ou're own leader in the house of representatives, he is doing a great job every single day and he loves this state, steny hoyer. [applause] so we have got some extraordinary folks here. eli -- elijah cummings is here. [applause] but more importantly, elijah's mom is here. [applause] and we are so proud of elijah, but his mama apparently prays for me every day so i'm grateful l oftheall of your members of congress, every single day are working and fighting on your behalf in terms of making sure that we are growing, an economy that creates outstanding middle class jobs. that's the challenge that we should be rallying around every single day. and i know it can seem frustrating sometimes when it seems like washington's priorities aren't the same as your priorities. i know it often seems like folks down there are more concerned with their jobs than with yours. others may get distracted by chasing every fleeting issue that passes by, but the middle class will always be my number one focus, p

they need because they know what a hell it's like to go through this kind of stuff. >> bill: barbara mikulski turning fema into a political football. the big question, brian williams spent time talking about this last night on nbc news, the building code for these areas. it is striking that there were so few -- there are -- almost nobody has a basement because of the condition of the soil and there's a lot of moisture. there's a lot of clay. they just don't build there with basements which certainly safest place to go in the sense of a tornado. only maybe 10% of the homes had safe rooms. and you can even get money from fema for safe rooms. they cost about $10,000 but wouldn't you think that in this area which is tornado alley, i mean it is prone to tornadoes, the worst tornado on record went through there 14 years ago. almost the very same path of destruction. they've rebuilt but they didn't rebuild with safe homes or with basements. don't you think that they should be required in areas like this, look i've never lived in tornado country although now we have them outside of washington. but gr

as secretary arne duncan wrote in a letter to chairwoman barbara mikulski about the effects of the sequester"education is the last place to be reducing our investment as the nation continues to climb out of the recent recession and to prepare all of its citizens to meet the challenges created by global economic competitiveness in the 21st century. indeed, irk i can assure that you our economic competitors are increasing, not decreasing, their investments in education, and we can ill-afford to fall behind as a consequence unfortunate indiscriminate across-the-board cuts that would be required by sequestration." secretary duncan goes on to explain that sequester will create particular hardships for recipients of impact aid, which includes schools that serve native american students and children of military families. in addition to investing in education, we should be build being up and repairing our nation's infrastructure. cuts to economic -- the economic development administration will hinder the ability to leverage private-sector resources to support infrastructure projects that spur local

second it is not what barbara mikulski says about how he stood up to predatory lenders or functions in terms of insuring failed labor practices. i would conclude my remarks by thearyland chamberf commerce. and typical -- chamber of commerce, absolutely 100% chamber of commerce and they said this. mr. perez proved himself a pragmatic public official who was going to bring different voices together. the maryland chamber had the opportunity to work on and a ray of issues of importance to employers and the business community in maryland from unemployment housing and foreclosure crisis, regulation of financial institutions, worker safety and professional licensing. despite differences of opinion mr. perez was always willing to allow all parties to be heard. we found him to be fair and collaborative. we believe our experience in maryland would bode well for the nation. i hope we move the nomination forward. >> further debate, mr. chairman? >> you can be recognized and i can count so i know the outcome of this election. i feel compelled to just note for my colleagues that when mr. perez was h

second, it's not what barbara mikulski says about how he stood up to predatory lenders and how he functioned in terms of ensuring all the fair labor practices. i would like to conclude my remarks with the maryland chamber of commerce. the maryland chamber of commerce is they typical maryland chamber of commerce. they are absolutely 100% chamber of commerce and they said this. mr. perez proved himself to be a pragmatic public official who was willing to bring different sources together. the maryland chamber had the opportunity to work with perez on an array of issues of importance to employers in the business community in maryland. from unemployment to housing foreclosure crisis, regulation of financial institutions, worker safety and professional licensing. despite the differences of opinion mr. perez was always willing to allow all parties to be heard. the do we found him to be fair and collaborative. we at the chamber believe that our experience with him in maryland would bode well for the nation. i hope we move the nomination forward. >> thank you senator mikulski. further debate? >> mr.

the women of the senate have been getting together this way ever since barbara mikulski started thisong time ago. >> twenty years ago. it was a very good conversation, a lot of it was about the budget and what impressed me the most is republicans and democrats alike in that room, and we run the range, liberal or a conservative, were very serious about the budget issue. and in that room to almost to a person i think said on willing to take a test but if everyone does. that gives me hope. so i think for the 20 women and around speakers i've heard this a number of times. [laughter] i don't disagree on that. last question and then a silly out question. but if there's no deal this year, is it fair to say there's not a deal until after the next presidential election speaks well look, here's how i would answer that. the american public, all of us, are tired of managing by crisis. it is hurting the businesses. it's hurting our families. and when i took on the supercommittee, the one thing i said was i want to find a solution to the deficit problem, but also want to show the american public t

cut to the women of the senate have been getting together this way ever since barbara mikulski startedhis a long time ago. >> 20 years ago. it was a very good conversation and a lot of it was about the budget. what impressed me the most is democrats and republicans in the room, and we run the range, were very serious about the budget issue. they said they were willing to take a tough vote if everyone was. that gives me hope. a we can put 20 women in room, we can probably come out with a deal. >> ever heard that a number of times and i don't disagree. question and it's kind of silly. but if there's no deal this year, is it fair to say there will not be won until the next presidential election? >> the american public, all of us, we are tired by management -- of management by crisis. it's hurting our businesses and their families. i said i wanted to find a solution to the deficit problem but i also wanted to show the american public that a democracy can work. if we are forced through another budget crisis, manufactured way of getting to a budget deal, that's going to reinforce that we can

barbara mikulski is on the appropriations committee; she's fighting hard to make sure that this sequesterhat is slowing down growth, and we're starting to see growth slowing down because of furloughs and cuts in defense spending, and a whole bunch of stuff that wasn't well thought through -- we've got to make sure that we've got a budget that doesn't push our economy back down. we need a budget that pushes our economy back up. the american auto industry is thriving. american energy is booming. american ingenuity in our tech sector has the potential to change the way we do almost everything. and thanks to the grit and determination of the american people, we've been able to clear away the rubble of the crisis. we're now poised for progress, but our work is not done, and our focus cannot drift. we've got to stay focused on our economy, and putting people back to work, and raising wages, and bringing manufacturing back to the united states of america. that has to be what we're thinking about every single day. [applause] the middle class has taken a beating for more than a decade. you deserve