begich: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. mr. begich: i ask that the quorum call be vacated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. begich: for the purposes of presentation on the floor on the shaheen-portman bill. mr. president, thank you very much. i come to speak on the support for the shaheen-portman bill, otherwise known as the energy savings and industrial competitiveness act, otherwise known as i like to put it, it saves money, saves energy. keep it simple. it comes at an important time. it is no surprise as someone from alaska, i care about oil and gas issues. i care about energy issues, energy efficiency. and this is a bill that is important to talk about, but also hopefully pass, and pass it and move it to the house, and hopefully they'll take it up. conservation makes sense. it saves money. it makes people more comfortable in their homes and workplaces. it also is good for the economy and the environment, particularly important to alaska. when you think about alaska's per capita energy costs, which are the highe

mark begich sits on the veterans affairs committee. the response, if there is a problem they need to fix it. itch there is a problem? four years ago the va inspector general failed the office in 13 of 14 areas. now some senators are blocking bipartisan legislation to shake up the va and enforce accountability. tell senator begich when veterans are dying it is a problem. >> first of all, the ad is a karl rove special. i get a kick out of the republicans when they carry on. here is pat toomey, not a bad guy. he believes that -- they need to pass a bill allowing veterans to sue. when do republicans want any one to sue any body. the va. actually a pretty good system. the problem with the va is the problem, not enough primary care doctors. the reason why. expensive to go, expensive to go to medical school. they come out with loans, they can't go into primary care. if anything needs to happen. the va needs to give scholarships so people come into primary care. that's what they need. a management problem. not shin seki's problem, shinseki nee

begich sits on the veterans affairs committee.e's a problem, they need to fix it. if there's a problem? tell senator begich, when veterans are dying, it is a problem. >> and it's the same ugliness in arkansas, with republican tom cotton using the va to go after senator mark pryor. >> mark pryor's response to the scandal? silence. he sides with obama. >> he does side with president obama. he wants these problems fixed. that's what all americans want. but using a tragedy as a political football, that's bad politics and bad taste. joining me now are ryan grim and goldie taylor. thank you both for being here. >> thank you, reverend sharpton. >> ryan, outrage over the va is really bipartisan, so why are republicans trying to make it political, and could that back fire on them? >> it could, and you're seeing senator richard burr in north carolina having major problems because he politicized this and started attacking a veterans group there, which then lashed back at him and he had never served in the military and in north carolina, you

. >>> in alaska there is marvel at the campaign run by begich, long considered one of the vulnerable democratic incumbents but he's open firing at a top republican contender. dan sullivan appears to be the strongest g.o.p. candidate to win the republican primary in response to sullivan's latest ad accusing begich of not getting things done. he's running this. >> this is the plant that sullivan is run on. here will other places that he could film his nexted a "p next ad where i have extended jobs. >> reurgeaccordinghillary rodham clinton's book comes out next week. she wrote, quote: >> reporter: finally the washington re redskins football team, harry reid urged the team to change its name. the redskins responded by saying tweet at reid saying what they think the name means to them. most supported reid saying that the name is racist and insensitive. most accused dan snyder of being an idiot. yet again that view is not news. that's today's power politics. >> donald sterling's wave shelly has greed to sell the los angeles clippers, the price tag, $2 billion. they signed the agreement las

mark begich sits on the veterans affair committee.is response, if there's a problem they need to fix it. if there's a problem? four years ago the inspector general failed the v.a. office in 13 of 14 areas. now some senators are blocking bipartisan legislation to shake up the v.a. and enforce accountability. tell senator begich when veterans are dying, it's a problem. >> willie, i get this. because just a couple minutes ago nicole said i hope nobody's as big a sleaze bag -- >> i didn't use that word. >> -- that would politicize this would be a sleaze bag. >> that's made by the karl rove group. >> smart people involved there. i don't like this issue as a political issue. i said that already. >> does it make you sad? >> listen. it makes me uncomfortable that we don't even have all the facts and we're already using it as a political issue. >> are you going to call karl rove in is. >> no. i'm not going to call anybody anymore. i'm throwing my phone away on the way home. >> it's going to be straight out of "breaking bad." leave the chicken

begich's chances this fall will go way up. >>> hillary clinton's new book "hard choices" will be released in two weeks and one of the chapters is about the beak in libya, and some republicans would like to question clinton. she writes, quote: 666. >> : >> finally everyone in the nfl debate over washington redskins name. senate majority leader join 49 other senators in urging the team to change its name. the redskins front office by responded asking fans to tweet at reid and say what the name means to them. most of the tweets supported reid stating that redskins was racist and insensitive. and accused dan snyder of being an idiot. we were just talking about some of the efforts that snyder has made and pointed to an article. highways been reaching out to indian groups to get them to say nice things about the redskins, and they're refusing. >> i don't know what is worse, his refusal to change it or the team's pr attempt to change culture about how people feel about the name. bad all around. >> reporter: yes. >> president obama will soon have a new chief spokesperson. announced that jay carne

senator begich who would be giving everyone a raise. that's a comfortable place to be on a ballot. the democrat running for re-election in colorado, senator mark udall. his opponent is named cory gardner who has a long history of supporting and sponsoring anti-abortion he measures that would ban the pill and other forms of conception as well as criminalizing abortion. since he decided to run for senate in colorado he has changed his position on the bills. he's now trying to convince the state that he's not against contraception. that's why last week was a good week for mark udall. he's been pushing the issue about cory gardner being against contraception. in the middle of cory gardner trying to convince the state he doesn't want to outlaw contraception anymore. in the middle of the fight cory gardner got endorsed by rick santorum. the guy who came in second to mitt romney in the republican primary after campaigning as the guy who would use the presidency if he got it to advocate against birth control. contraception according to rick santorum is not okay. >> one of the things i will

you can keep it. >> have a doctor you like, keep your doctor. >> keep your doctor. >> tell senator begich to stop parroting obama. >> you can keep it. >> people remember those ads and very subtle, weren't they? anyway, we'll be right back after this. true business-grade internet comes with secure wifi for your business. it also comes with public wifi for your customers. not so with internet from the phone company. i would email the phone company to inquire as to why they have shortchanged these customers. but that would require wifi. switch to comcast business internet and get two wifi networks included. comcast business built for business. >>> hey there, everyone, i'm alex witt. here's what's happening, author, poet, professor maya angelou has died. she passed away this morning in her home in north carolina. angelou was 86 years old. >>> and ex-nfl player aaron hernandez has pleaded not guilty to killing two men in a 2012 drive-by shooting. police say hernandez shot the men after an altercation in a nightclub. i'm alex witt, back to "hardball." >>> welcome back to "hardball." well, the t

i think mark begich in alaska is running a good campaign up there.ve made it clear to their state that they are not barack obama, that they do not align themselves with him. that they've distanced from him on key issues. voters in those states are smart enough to recognize that. they voted for pryors in arkansas for years and voted for begichs in alaska for years. the biggest factor here for all parties, all candidates is that the electorate is going to be different. and that's different nationally. that's something that just happens with the cycle. and it's not as if one state is going to suddenly have great turnout. >> oh, not with us. got it, cool. i understand. there's quite often a disconnect between the media, the commentary and the folks in the country even though the commentary likes to act that is not the case. right now in terms of where the media elite folks are on foreign policy and interventionism, i think is completely out of step with where the folks are "the wall street journal"/nbc poll shows a record percentage of people who want am

you can keep it. >> have a doctor you like, keep your doctor. >> keep your doctor. >> tell senator begich parroting obama. >> you can keep it. >> people remember those ads and very subtle, weren't they? anyway, we'll be right back after this. mine was earned in korea in 1953. afghanistan, in 2009. orbiting the moon in 1971. [ male announcer ] once it's earned, usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection. and because usaa's commitment to serve current and former military members and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. you wouldn't have it she any other way.our toes. but your erectile dysfunction - it could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medic

this is mark pryor of arkansas and mark begich of alaska.tarting to show strength in recent polls. pryor appeared with the president in arkansas when obama went down there to see tornado damage. this allows him to push back against critic whose say he's running away with the president but appears in a setting to make it tough for opponents to use it against them. >> those two races, big for the republicans if they lose those. >> battle royale in georgia. tuesday is a critical primary day. we'll see a nine-week runoff. the question is going to be what do the outside groups that have sat out in this race, the groups on the right, senate conservatives fund, big spending groups that got involved in primaries. whether or not they'll galvanize behind the candidates. who they're looking at is karen handle, the former secretary of state in georgia. if she gets into the runoff, expect the groups on the right to start to put money behind her potentially and this becoming another tea party versus establishment war. >> in that note, i had a peek at priv

begich. >> thank you for having his panel. as an elected official, the most meaningful issue i can fund is sending men and women in harms way. we have the second highest per capita veterans in our state. it is a personal issue for me and it is why i am proud to serve on this committee. i am encouraged that folks in washington are suddenly interested in access to health care for veterans. in most cases, it is long overdue. before i got here, the v.a. did not have mandatory funding, and they did not have forward funding. given my close association with veterans issues, i'm approached by veterans every time i go home, and that is almost every weekend, and the overwhelming majority of those folks are appreciative of the care of v.a. in montana, and when they have issues and concerns, they are not bashful, as veterans are not, about telling me about it, and when i get back to my office on monday, i work with those concerns, often with you to. aren the allegations i hear very troubling. if any of these allegations in phoenix or else

with senator gregg's retirement to their credit, senator coats and senator begich pitched in. so we know that there has already been a lot of bipartisan work on comprehensive tax reform, and suffice it to say, again building on this bipartisan lineage, my colleague from utah, the senior senator, senator hatch, and ambassador baucus and chairman camp in the other body have also put in years of work and laid a strong foundation for tax reform. so once the united states senate passes the expire act, the job of the finance committee will be to focus in a kind of laysor-like -- laser-like fashion on a bipartisan plan that's going to give all americans the opportunity to get ahead. i want to emphasize that, mr. president. if i were to sum up my philosophy about tax reform, i want everybody in america to have the opportunity to get ahead. all our small businesses, all our americans who are trying to deal with an extraordinarily challenging economy. so, frankly, that would be my first choice, mr. president, to be out here working on comprehensive tax reform, but it was clear to me, wi

begich. >> thank you for having his panel. as an elected official, the most meaningful issue i can fund is sending men and women in harms way. we have the second highest per capita veterans in our state. it is a personal issue for me and it is why i am proud to serve on this committee. i am encouraged that folks in washington are suddenly interested in access to health care for veterans. in most cases, it is long overdue. before i got here, the v.a. did not have mandatory funding, and they did not have forward funding. given my close association with veterans issues, i'm approached by veterans every time i go home, and that is almost every weekend, and the overwhelming majority of those folks are appreciative of the care of v.a. in montana, and when they have issues and concerns, they are not bashful, as veterans are not, about telling me about it, and when i get back to my office on monday, i work with those concerns, often with you to. aren the allegations i hear very troubling. if any of these allegations in phoenix or else

so this is a way for manchin and landrieu and begich and those guys to say, no, we're in touch with realityg the pressure at the pump, and we're going to do something about. stuart: we're told that the president's going the pick up his pen and pick up the phone, and he's going to push for climate change legislation, tighter fuel efficiency on cars, for example, just one of the items. it occurs to me that that is not going to be politically popular, but he's doing it anyway. it's like delaying the pipeline. not politically popular, but he's doing it anyway. >> right. stuart: what's with this pivot towards climate change legislation? >> well, what they're wanting to do is to control the economy and control industrial output and production. and the president couldn't get cap and trade through on a bipartisan basis there's opposition. he can't get it through congress, so what he's trying to do now is use that pen and phone and do it anyway, because he doesn't need congress. and, stuart, we see this all the time. they try to go around us. stuart: but it's not a politically popular move. i mean,

senate democrats and some politically red sedates like senator landrieu, displart pryor, senator begich in alaska, all of them signed a letter to the president, saying look, we need to build this thing, it's really important. all of them were co-sponsors on that keystone bill. the politics are acute enough certainly for them to make sure they're on that letter, they're on that bill. but the fact they didn't have a vote on it, again i think senator lan dreu it dpeacts her a little bit. >> let's put the politics aside for keystone for a second. the american effects could you synthesize what those would be? >> a pipeline that's going to send about 700,000 barrels per day, it's already -- you have that southern leg of the pipeline that's already being built. that basically is to relieve a glut of oil built up in curbing oklahoma where they have those tanks sitting there. the southern leg of the pipeline was meant to relieve that. that is going to get more oil out to the coast which actually it probably will help them a little bit as far as pricing is concerned. gasoline prices are going to

begich: i ask permission to speak as if in morning business to talk about one issue, i.r.s. overreach. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. begich: before i do that, i do want to say to my friend who just spoke on the floor, i'm one of those who loves biennial budgets. i think it's a great idea and one we should continue to work toward. we get a little longer planning horizon. mr. president, i come down to the floor because there has been a lot of talk recently in different areas about the i.r.s. and virtually none of it is good. let me be clear, the i.r.s. going after taxpayers for debts allegedly incurred by their dead relatives is shocking. tax delinquent employees at the i.r.s. getting performance bonuses is offensive. targeting individuals or groups for their political beliefs is unacceptable. but today i want to talk about a different issue -- vital industry in my state crushed by overbearing i.r.s. enforcement of their own incomprehensible regulations. folks who have been to alaska know we have some of the most beautiful terrain in the world. most

chairman. >> thank you, senator begich. senator moran. >> thank you, mr. chairman. secretary shinseki, thank you are remaining for the testimony. i appreciate you being here. when there is a topic about the assessment going on, the face-to-face review across the country. one of my congressional colleagues have a conversation with va personnel in jackson mississippi after the assessment presumably took place. this is a bit of a paraphrase of his or her report or what they heard about the effect that. we ask about their face-to-face review. they stated the team came in on monday and reviewed quirks and supervisors may didn't find any evidence of scheduling issues. no veterans were interviewed. what struck this person with the apparent superficiality of the so-called audit, a day at most is that they did not come through the electronic system or audit any reports is not indicative of a thorough review. that's what i try to reason my opening statement is one more review that is to be completed within two weeks. we have 1700 facilities across the country. so in part, my

. >> senator begich? >> thank you very much, mr. chairman for holding this meeting, ranking member burr for offering an opportunity of this discussion, oversight of the va and issues that are surrounding the schedule but also many other issues that the va faces. let me first say to our two panelists, thank you for your service to this country in both way have done. secretary shinseki, immediately after the phoenix story broke, i sent a letter very quickly, outrage, unbelievable what is hearing but now after a few weeks it's now become a systematic issue that i've now seen others as you've indicated to your own conversations i've had with you. it seems an issue that is occurring in other va clinics. i will say from a state that is 77,000 veterans, the highest per capita in the nation, it is impactful in determining whether you get the care. we've been fortunate to be very frank with you the work we've gotten with the va to give the great access to our health care services that has been able to cut some of that we can out but get bett

i would like to associate myself to the comments made by senator isakson and senator begich. when cases are found, serious and appropriate action should be taken. if that means people have to be fired, so be it. that's what has to happen. however, we believe that a thorough analysis to understand the depth of the situation across the system should be completed before any final decisions about the v.a. leadership are made. at this time, p.v.a. stands behind secretary shinseki and he is committed to fixing these problems and should be afforded the opportunity to get it right. the narrative that has been created by the media does not necessarily reflect what is happening inside the walls of the v.a. health care system. committee wants to gauge what is going on and how the quality of care is being delivered, i would ask you to spend a day walking around inside the local hospital talking to veterans and discussing their health care experiences, not sitting in front of a pre-selected panel of veterans to support sweeping jenlizations and to stoke public outrage. the fact is that th

begich is second generation. the families have become part of the fabric of those states. can get through the wind. your thoughts? >> there's two ways of looking at it. i think republicans would essentially say, sure there are name, but that's not going to help them in state where is it's very hard to cobble enough democratic votes to get to 50%. to your point, chris, these are no-names. it's hard to to say this person is just a rubber stamp for president obama. if that is true, the senator we should be talking the most about is kay hagen in north carolina. if it winds out being you have deep roots in the state or not, kay hagen is different than landrieu or pryor. >> isn't keystone going to be a great opportunity for separation politics here? mary landrieu and begic would say i'm with keystone, i'm sorry that's what i believe in. that could separate them from obama because he's probably going to be against it. that could help them be re-elect popped. >> i definitely think you're going to see democrats take that position. look at senator pryor in arkansas. this is the seco

senator mark begich sits on the veterans affairs committee. his response, if there's a problem, they need to fix. if there's a problem? >> is that appropriate, that kind of using this scandal, these deaths, in politics? >> i wouldn't use anything like that politically. i will tell you this, i have tried since i've been the charm of the committee to work with both side of the aisle, my ranking member and i have received briefings together. we have worked on the subpoenas that the committee has, in fact, passed only two, because we've been waiting for the department to do what they're supposed to do. but this is a bipartisan issue. we're talking about americans, people that have worn the uniform. it should not be a political football and we on the house side have not done that. >> chairman miller, thank you so much for your time. appreciate it. >>> what's the president's next move after this explosive report? and new calls for his v.a. secretary to redesign. >>> he talked about his hatred for anyone living a normal life, even violently assaultin

that's going to be a close race just like six years ooh ago when begich won but a few thousand votesd stephens. >> will this be a wave election that carries the republicans to a larger majority in the house and they take the senate. >> i think there will be a larger republican majority in the house. it's too early to say how much larger. right now my crystal ball web site has republicans picking up five to eight seats and in the senate, very close. i think republicans are going to pick up seats. the minimum they'll pick up is around four. they need six to take control. they could go to eight or more if there is a way, and we never see a wave coming until late september or october. so, we'll just have to wait on that part of it. >> we can wait. thank you very much. >>> they're comping, wildfires, droughts, hurricane. is this climate change or just summer? y to new york state. the numbers are impressive. over 400,000 new private sector jobs... making new york state number two in the nation in new private sector job creation... with 10 regional development strategies to fit your busines

the thing is, if you can connect the koch brothers as senator begich is trying to do, if you can connectntry in his race to what they do in alaska, they have a factory that pollutes, they've laid off people, then maybe you can get a local angle on it and it might work, but it's hard with people worrying at wages, foreign policy, cultural issues, to say the real problem here are the guys you've never heard of, who are flooding money with these campaign ads that you don't know what to make of. >> the only thing i can see changing this, and it's so political an assessment, for example, hillary clinton gets elected for eight years of democratic rule, followed by two and a half years more of president obama, at some point during the course of that decade, they might be able to shift the supreme court back to something reasonable about the money and speech. but remember, it seems to be as long as you got discord, even with kennedy on it, you're not going to get a good result. >> that's true, but the history of reform as a political matter, you know this, is there's no impetus in congress for c

, as i said tonight opening the show, i think there are senate candidates incumbents, like pryor, begich, landrieu, and, of course, andrew cuomo and perhaps charlie crist. there could be a sweeping democratic victory in these races i'm talking about, if you get out there and fight and let them attack you and fire back like she just did, that is the m.o. for victory. let them belittle you, then overpower them, stick them at their own game. thank you, david corn. i love the guests tonight, joy reid. good luck with your afternoon show. we're always there. >>> coming up, chris christie's problem just keeps growing. new testimony provided what many have suspected, a direct link now, a missing link between his government and his campaign operations. the whole idea of checking out who's with him and putting in the punishment. >>> plus, for the first time, president obama speaks out about the va scandal and this is no phoney irs or benghazi nonsense, this is a big deal. the president is going to have to get on top of it. we'll see. so far, no one is fired, that could be the problem. >>> also, th

mark begich from alaska said i would take a pay cut. i called his office in d.c. and as well as the office in anchorrage. i haven't back from him either. he is in one of contentious toss-up races for senate in november. that is something he said he would do at the time. a lot of people said that would be great for him in 2014 and poll well very well back home in alaska. we don't know as i called this morning we don't know if he has given that as well. jon: hypocrisy i think voters hate the most in politicians. one thing if you want to, you know, don't tell me you're going to give the money back if you're not. just don't do it. >> right. it's a silly lie. since everybody else didn't promise it there was no reason to make the promise if you weren't actually going to follow up and do it. if you said you were going to do it it is important you actually did do it. goes to issues of integrity which voters always care deeply about. about. so far there is no everyday they actually did it. >> they have not followed up to tell us whether or not they have. jon: ellison barbe

mark begich says the same thing, mark pryor in arkansas says the same thing.we may not be talking about it in washington, but those senators in those tough races really are focusing on those issues at home, and i think it's going to serve them well. >> in senator lander's case, running away from the obama administration on energy, i think that's a sign of the -- >> local, local, local politics, i think, in the end is what in those tough races will do it. i'm going to cut it off here. thanks, ramesh. because if i don't cut it off here, we won't get to see this great picture of you with your mom -- >> i have to say mother's day to my mom. happy mother's day, mom. love you. >> and this is susan paige with her family and her husband, carl. happy mother's day to her, and you with your children. so happy mother's day to all those moms, ours and ourselves. i don't know how to do that. anyway, thank you all very much. >>> up next, overwhelmed and needing help, a frank discussion about what women really want. ♪ norfolk southern what's your function? ♪ ♪ hooking up the

whether it's begich alaska. you have the big democrat in kentucky running. does that work? do you think that can work based on your sense of history? these two women may have a better shot, even though they're novices in many ways than some of the more regular democrats in there including imcome bents. >> the democrats are counting on it. we've seen marry landrieu overperform democratic performance in louisiana time and time again. boone landrieu's daughter gets through. they trust the brand prk they trust the name. when she makes the case, right? when a family heir of sorts, a member of the political dynasty whatever you want to call them says i put louisiana, arkansas, georgia, kentucky, whatever it is first, an older voter in midterm might say, you know i did know sam nun. he was pretty good. i did know that. >> so they're not the tail of obama's dog. >> they have at least a shot of denationalizing the race a little bit. >> which is important. >> obviously in these red states it is. >> let me ask you about the ironies of politics. i always noticed that even in the year w

begich alaska. on the v.a. everybody so they had to rip off the bandaid. it was a totally, politically, i think, pressure cooker that the president was in and he had to deal with it and ideally they wanted to find somebody and get a replacement and have that ready. that's not the case. they didn't have time to do that. i think timing dictated this a little bit. he's going over the -- the president is going overseas next week. a big remembrance that's very important to a lot of older veterans. d-day. the 70th anniversary. s at the end of the next week. he couldn't let another week go by and having this issue of more people calling for shinseki 's resignation without doing something. he had to rip the bandaid off. the dhaj now is he has to find somebody that's going to come in and be willing to break some eggs and be willing to fix the bureaucracy because it's a huge problem. what's going on, this has been a problem that's befuddled multip multiple administrations. the president made a pledge in 'o'8 that he would fix it and the fixes they tried haven't work

going to be popped in, but tam ron, you mentioned the politics, and grow are mary landrieu or mark begich and you can say, look, i disagree with the president of the united states, and i'm not a republican or democrat on all of the issues, but it is good politics for them, but i'm not shure if this comes to the vote and it passes whether it amounts to anything, because this is something that president obama could easily veto and the ball is going to be in the white house court on this. >> and what about the critics who say that the white house has a, mishandled this in the estimate, and this morning in the conservation on "morning joe" where joe and other c conservatives believe that the people who do not want to see this pipeline are big money d donors who vote on the single issues. >> well, it is a tricky situation for the white house, and we have been talking about since 2011 and 2012, because it was precisely an issue that divides the democrats. you have organized labor groups who want approval and the red states who wanted it approved and then liberals and environmentalists who don't

thankfully, with his retirement, senator coats and senator begich stepped in. and so we know it can be done. it can be done. but that task will simply be harder if the senate fails to pass the expire act. the first thing people are going to say is, well, if the senate couldn't deal with these extenders on a temporary basis, how in the world would the senate be able to take up comprehensive tax reform? now, fortunately at a time when many think that washington is just utterly broken, senator hatch, the distinguished senior senator from utah, was willing to work with me, to meet me halfway in terms of producing a comprehensive, bipartisan effort to move forward on these extenders. it wasn't easy but it got done. and it got out of the finance committee with an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote. the bill may not be perfect, but the committee got it done with the kind of bipartisan approach that americans want to see more of. the senate, i hope, will want to do the same thing. i was encouraged by the procedural vote that we had earlier this week. so i simply, with toni

. >> reporter: alaska democrat mark begich wanted to know if shinseki would hold others accountable if allegations prove to be accurate. >> without getting ahead of decisions, i would say, manipulation of data, of the truth, is serious, with me. >> would you fire them? >> i will do everything i can. >> that's not the question. >> there is a process here, senator. let me not get out ahead of it. >> ifill: tom tarantino of iraq and afghanistan veterans of america. >> we can't sit around idle while investigation is underway. veterans need to see the secretary step out in front on this issue and lead. we want a proactive secretary, not a reactive one. >> ifill: but disabled american veterans director joseph violante, spoke in support of the embattled veterans chief. >> while it may be weeks or months before the investigations and audits are completed, we continue to have confidence that the v.a. led by secretary shinseki can and will correct any problems identified or uncovered. >> reporter: veterans' groups also said access can be approved by providing more funding for veterans' care. >>

senator coats has joined senator begich in this effort, and we're not alone. senator camp -- chairman camp has put forward an ambitious tax reform draft that lays out several ideas as well on how the make the tax code simpler. >> senatorwideen from earlier -- senator wyden from earlier. we'll take you back to the senate there floor, extending a5 tax breaks that expired at the end of 2013. south carolina senator lindsey graham on the floor. live coverage on c-span2. unborn child protection act, s. 1670, which is my legislation, and s. 1696, the women's health protection act by senator blumenthal. i -- just very briefly, what i'm trying to do is to have an opportunity for the body to talk about two pieces of legislation that relate to the abortion issue, the role of the federal government and very quickly, my legislation would ban abortion at the 20-week period, the fifth month, based on the theory that the child can feel pain at that point in the pregnancy, and that the standard of care for the medical community is you can't operate on an unborn fetus at the 20

senator begich has done good work. so that has long been my first choice, mr. president. when chairman baucus went to china, i realized it wouldn't be possible in the few months that remain in this session to enact comprehensive reform, and the senate shouldn't hit our economy once again with immediate -- i say immediate tax hikes as work goes forward on the broader reforms that senator coats and i feel so strongly about. senator hatch and all the members of the finance committee work cooperatively and help produce a bipartisan tax extender bill. and this is, mr. president, essentially the first piece of legislation on my watch as chair of the committee. the process was totally open. every member of the finance committee had the opportunity to weigh in and offer proposals, and i want to just briefly describe some of the extraordinary bipartisanship that went into the bill that we will have an opportunity to vote on today. senators schumer and roberts built on the good work of another bipartisan duo, senator moran and senator coons and improved the research and development

tell senator begich, when they're guying, it's a problem. >> they're air that ad in alaska.kansas. mark pryor is the incumbent there. there this is a brand new ad. >> even if they agree secretary shinseki should requin, mark pryor refuses to clean up the mess. he says silence, he sides with obama. our veterans deserves a stronger leader than senator pryor. >> jacqui, those are two of the most competitive senate races but two races where democrats have felt better about begich and proyor. do you find it interesting? >> i think in states where obama is unpopular, absolutely you're doing see -- i'm surprised there are not more ads in some of those states and i think that's why you're seeing candidates like allison lundergan grimes in kentucky. >> we saw that in kentucky and georgia. you have the democratic incumbents who so far their leadership has been asking them to hold their fire. how long can they hold it? >> this is a challenge for the white house, too, here. look, rule number one in crisis management is you want to cauterize the wound. here you want to fire shinseki. it'

senator coats as joined senator begich and i in this effort, and we're not alone. senator camp -- chairman camp has put forward in the ambitious tax reform draft that lays out several ideas as well on how to make the tax code simpler. all of these proposals contain the kinds of ideas we ought to examine as we look to reform our tax code, and once the issue of these extenders is settled, i look forward to working with senator hatch and all our colleagues on a broad-based tax reform plan that will grow our entire economy. but in the meantime, it would be a mistake to leave american families and american businesses out in the cold. temporary provisions of the tax code continue to expire, leaving jobs and innovation and investment and people's homes in limbo. by providing some certainty to businesses and families for the next two years, the expire act creates the space needed for true tax reform. and i don't want us to lose sight of that during this debate. these extenders are important, but we're also going to talk on the floor about building a bridge to reform, refor

. >> senator begich. >> i'm going to follow up on the senator's questions. we have had a similar problem and i thank many of you because you had concerns about what i'm about to talk about, but you were good in helping figuring this out. we have a large american native population in alaska. we have an indian health care system which was not very, very good. in alaska, the tribes took it over. and now deliver, we consider the best health care in this country, in my opinion and i think in many other's opinions. c.m.s. has had some of the best health care in the country and because we don't have a veterans hospital, we are trying to figure out a system to create better care, access is what it's about. if you are living in nome, alaska and come into anchorage into the clinics, you could spend lots of money. we have 800 veterans in nome, squea that are native and nonnative and built a new facility for indian health services. it is given the check to the tribal consortium that then delivers health care because of the work you did with our office, we now have acces

tester from montana who agreed to cosponsor, senator warner from virginia, senator hagan, senator begich, senator manchin, senator donnelly and senator walsh. and i really want to thank them and other colleagues who have decided they may not want to cosponsor the bill that will be introduced later tonight but they may very well vote for it, and i really appreciate it. i know this has been a very contentious issue for many because people have very strong feelings about this particular pipeline called the keystone x.l. pipeline. some of us who support it have a little trouble understanding why such a big deal, but i do appreciate that there is strong feelings on the other side of this. but for those of us from states like louisiana and texas and oklahoma and north dakota particularly that's affected by this pipeline, it's clear that the technology that is really -- we should be proud of and is extraordinary and is exploding and in some ways unprecedented and unexpected is creating a real opportunity for america and for north america, and that opportunity is for us to produce more oil and g

it was senator mark begich. end of round two. sam stein, 800..d. level. this is 300 points each. we'll put 100 seconds on the clock. we're going to decide the game right here. lights will dim. you're welcome to compete with this question. boxing champion was elected as the mayor of what major ukrainian city? >> kiev? >> 300 points for mike. legislation pending in this southern state is signed into law the state will become the last in the nation to repeal bans on liquor sales. >> south carolina. >> it's pending there. 300 points. . on wednesday this pennsylvanian became the sixth member of congress to voice his support for gay marriage. >> charlie dent. >> in a press conference thursday morning, john boehner aroused controversy when he said he's not qualified to address what topic? >> climate change. >> that's correct. 300 points. the house voted last thursday night to spend an additional $19.5 million to bolster a national database used to block gun sales by certain criminals and maintain by what agency? >> mike? >> bureau of alcohol, tobacco a

in alaska, you've got begich way ahead.e republicans say so extreme on side issues like benghazi and obamacare. >> extreme. i'll let you answer in a moment, anna. the red and blue states, let me stay with that. it's mind-boggling when you look at this. we have this for you. there are five blue states, here you go, in the northeast that has never, ever once elected a female democratic governor. allison schwartz trying to break through in pennsylvania, and gina romando in rhode island. you have these five blue states sending scores of women to congress. you know, yet they never elected a female democratic governor. >> that is a shame. it's a crime. you've got a lot of red states in the same situation. but we're supposed to be the party that does better. i think we'll stick to that this year. keep holding democrats accountable, we should be doing better with regard to women. the republicans have been doing pretty well the past couple of years with regard to women. democrats can't rest on that forever. >> they've been trying, a

senator begich supports it. you know, senator tester supports it. senator heitkamp supports it. but as my friend on the republican side should understand this. when boehner says he can't take up an issue unless the majority of his caucus is for it, they all jump up and down and say go, speaker boehner, yes, that's the way to go. yet when harry reid tries to stand up and say listen, i'm going as far as i can go here, the majority of my caucus doesn't support keystone but i'm going to allow a vote on it and they want to just, you know, push that aside as if he is not cooperating, is disingenuous. it's hypocritical and it is unfair. now, harry can fight his own battles, he doesn't need me to fight them for him. but let me just say to the other side i don't want to hear from any of you all, we can't get that done because even though we have the votes in the house we don't have a majority of republicans. this is about republicans and democrats sometimes crossing the aisle to do things that are right for our country and maybe not being held hostage by the side wings of our parties and

democrats to be able to vote on keystone and go back if you're mary land rue or mark prior or mark begichnd jean shaheen -- not jean shaheen. kay hagan in north carolina. they wanted to go to enforce their approval of keystone they can go back and say they fought. but i think they're going to turn around and say it's mitch mcconnell would have allowed a vote because there was a problem off and on to vote on it next week. host: a couple headlines from different outlets on who is to blame here on the keystone vote. obstruction is the headline rom town hall. your thoughts on the keystone vote. guest: number one, maybe i'm -- my opinion is that president obama could have unilaterally acted on this. so by not doing so for years now he has essentially put democrats especially mary land rue in a tough bind where now it's not happening, it's hard for her to argue that her tenure and her way as a u.s. senator will help increase american energy or exploration because clearly it's not happening here. i think this is a very symbolic issue. i think the symbolism is much more important. i don't think t

going to wait until after the legislation to do that because they don't want it to hurt senators like begichnd landreau. >> i thought it was fascinating having the canadian ambassador here last week. he kept doing the talking points that i thought came from the koch brothers, i asked him where he got it, he said, oh, the state department study. >> our state department? >> our state department. >> this is one of the most widely overpoliticized decisions. >> a lot of very rich liberals don't want barack obama to pass this legislation. and what do they have to worry about? because they got millions and millions of dollars. it's just the 50,000 people that aren't going to have jobs because of it. i hope that makes you feel better. go to your yacht, polish it -- you won't polish it, you'll have somebody else polish it. that would be a really good paying job that makes you feel bad about yourself. have them buff your fingernails, too. >>> coming up on "morning joe," we're going to be talking to senators rob portman and john tester about some of the most pressing issues in washington including the