our guest this week, fcc commissioner mignon clyburn. she is going on two years of service now on the fcc commission. she is a democrat. howard buskirk is the associate managing editor of -- daily. >> guest: commissioner you came to the fcc from somewhat of an atypical background in that you were a state commissioner. can you talk to us a little bit about making that transition from going from working for the state to working at the federal level? how difficult of a transaction transaction -- transition has that been? >> guest: i will affirm it is not an easy is coming from a relatively small blue state in the southeast to the big city of washington, to the capital city, dealing with major significant organizations and persons that you read and hear about so from that perspective, it has been somewhat of a challenge. at what i think it has given me and a very solid foundation to know and to affirm what the people on the ground think. i spent 11 years on my state commission. i spoke with consumers. i took part in evidentiary hearings. i w

clyburn. when i heard that this bill was coming forward, i had an opportunity to reflect on the fact that i had been having conversations with my constituents. and in each case i posed to them how we are proceeding here in congress. and asked them if in fact they could accept a small across-the-board percentage decrease for f.y. 2011. invariably each and every one said yes. i have been on record for many months as suggesting that we can solve this problem, walk away from the ideology that's dividing us, and simply reduce spending by 2%, which i think if one does the math gets us to the position that our friends on the other side of the aisle would like us to adopt. it is clear to me after practicing law for more than 30 years part of which was a j.a.g. officer in the united states air force that clearly this is an unconstitutional piece of legislation and is nothing more than spinning in the wind. i had the opportunity the other day when i saw te make up of this bill to write to the speaker, m

cly bush talked -- clyburn tked about the constitutional authority to bring this bill to the floor. it's truly a mysty how you can take an oath of office to protect the -- and defend the constitution of the united states, bring a bill to the floor in violence of that, and justify it actually. i have heard the distinguished chairman of the rules committee, mr. dreier, say that we had some visiting parliamentarians here who were watching this debate to see if america, congress can get its job done. please don't pay attention to this. what you see on the floor today is no example of democracy in action. it's silly. the republican leadership is asking its members to make a silly vote. and it's time for us to stop that silliness and get serious about the creation of jobs. get serious about not shutting do government. abdicating our responsibilities and shutting down government. i have heard mr. hoyer earlier today talk about how we got here in tms of this budget deficit. we all know that we must reduce the deficit, that's why during the clinton years as mr. hoyer said, we reversed the fi

clyburn. when i heard that this bill was coming forward, i had an opportunity to reflect on the fact that i had been having conversations with my constituents. and in each case i posed to them how we are proceeding here in congress. and asked them if in fact they could accept a small across-the-board percentage decrease for f.y. 2011. invariably each and every one said yes. i have been on record for many months as suggesting that we can solve this problem, walk away from the ideology that's dividing us, and simply reduce spending by 2%, which i think if one does the math gets us to the position that our friends on the other side of the aisle would like us to adopt. it is clear to me after practicing law for more than 30 years part of which was a j.a.g. officer in the united states air force that clearly this is an unconstitutional piece of legislation and is nothing more than spinning in the wind. i had the opportunity the other day when i saw the make up of this bill to write to the speaker,

clyburn: thank y, madam speaker. madam speaker, i yield three minutes to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. andrews. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for three minutes. mr. andrews: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. andrews: thank you, madam speaker. i thank my friend from south carolina. there was some good news today finally that 214,000 americans went to work last month. that's not neay good enough. there's radio more work -- there's a lot more work to do. one of the ways is to come to an agreement on a responsible budget. i'm hopeful there will be such an agreement next week. hat senseably reduces spending but pro-- that sensiblely reduces spending but leads to a repeal of health care. the other side believes we should. whether or not to defund planned parenthood. we believe we shouldn't. most of the other side believes that we should. leave those discussions to another day and keep the government functionin

commissioner mignon clyburn. howard buskirk is the associate managing editor of "communications daily." , he is our guest reporter. >> commissioner, you came to the f.c.c. from a somewhat atypical background in that you were a state commissioner. can you talk to us a little bit with that transition from working from the state to the federal level, how difficult of a transition has it been? >> i will confirm it hasn't been the easiest coming from a relatively rural state in the south coming to the capital city dealing with major significant organizations and persons that you read and hear about. from that perspective, it's been somewhat of a challenge, but what i think it's given me, a very solid foundation to know and to affirm what people on the ground think. i spent 11 years on my state commission. i spoke with consumers. i took part in evidentiary hearings. i would hear them on the stand. i read testimonies and filings from companies. that gives you a very unique perspective that you cannot, especially after 1

clyburn. when i heard that this bill was coming forward, i had an opportunity to reflect on the fact that i had been having conversations with my constituents. and in each case i posed to them how we are proceeding here in congress. and asked them if in fact they could accept a small across-the-board percentage decrease for f.y. 2011. invariably each and every one said yes. i have been on record for many months as suggesting that we can solve this problem, walk away from the ideology that's dividing us, and simply reduce spending by 2%, which i think if one does the math gets us to the position that our friends on the other side of the aisle would like us to adopt. it is clear to me after practicing law for more than 30 years part of which was a j.a.g. officer in the united states air force that clearly this is an unconstitutional piece of legislation and is nothing more than spinning in the wind. i had the opportunity the other day when i saw the make up of this bill to write to the speaker,

clyburn: thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from new york, mr. weiner. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for two minutes. mr. weiner: my friends, one of the experience we had in the opening days of experience that we read the constitution and i think one of us had the great good fortune to read article 1, section 7, every bill shall have passed the house of representatives and the senate shall before it became law be presented to the president of the united states. he has how a bill becomes a law. now, this is how eric cantor on 3/30/11 said a bill becomes a law. the senate's gotta -- this is just the transdescription. i just assume it's the southern thing. the senate's gotta act prior to the expiration of the c.r. if it does not act, meaning, if the senate does not do something, h.r. 1 becomes the law of the land. that's not true. that's not constitutional. that's not fitting of this body. now, it is, however, consistent with the

we would be lost if we did not have james clyburn. on the other hand, i truly believe that the type of politician that i desire, that i want, especially african-american politian, can and should be able to win the 35% district. i just think they should have that ability in a 35% district go out and reach across lines. >> 35% -- >> african-american district. >> so -- the majority white, but 35%. >> yeah, i mean, i think at is a very winnable district that's very playable. but in south carolina, it's a very interesting dynamic. i mean, it's in your face. i mean, we talk about race. we always talked about race. and in the foreseeable future, we will -- i think the discussion should be about the haves and have nots. because some of my older colleagues, they kind of let me get away with it, because of my father. but i always say that the division that we have now is not black and white anymore. it's the haves versus the have nots. and that's the discussion i like to have. however, when the confederate flag is still flying in front of your

clyburn: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i thank my friend for yielding me this time. we have heard from our republican friends that they are transforming medicare. they call it a move to premium support. they also say they are just fixing the flaws in medicaid. they say they are being brave and finally tackling entitlement reform. but earlier today on one of the morning shows i heard my friend from texas, jeb hensarling, being finally candid about the republicans' view of medicare, medicaid, and social security. he called them cruel ponzi schemes. so there we have it. this isn't about being brave or transformative or making a few changes to save the economy. republicans are pushing the same agenda they have always had. ending the safety net programs they view as fraud lebt. -- fraudulent. and the republican budget does exactly that. it ends medicare and results in a huge cost shift from--and forces seniors to pay $6,000 per year out of pocket. it block grants medicaid, slash ing aid, and will lead to 50 different benefit programs across the country. that takes us back

we would be lost if we did not have james clyburn. on the other hand, i truly believe that the type of politician that i desire, that i want, especially african-american politician, can and should be able to win the 35% district. i just think they should have that ability in a 35% district to go out and reach across lines. >> 35% -- >> african-american district. >> so -- the majority white, but 35%. >> yeah, i mean, i think that is a very winnable district that's very playable. but in south carolina, it's a very interesting dynamic. i mean, it's in your face. i mean, we talk about race. we always talked about race. and in the foreseeable future, we will -- i think the discussion should be about the haves and have nots. because some of my older colleagues, they kind of let me get away with it, because of my father. but i always say that the division that we have now is not black and white anymore. it's the haves versus the have nots. and that's the discussion i like to have. however, when the confederate flag is still flying in front o

clyburn: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, to begin this debate i yield four minutes to the distinguished democratic leader. democratic whip. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman for yielding. april fool's, america. this is a joke, america. this is not real, america. as a matter of fact, mr. woodal of georgia says it's not real, it's not going to pass the senate. he made that very clear. the majority leader just said if the senate won't take what we give them we're going to shut down the government. that's what he just said. and that's what i believe to be the case. the last time the government shut down was not when we had a republican president and a democratic congress. but when we had a democratic president and a republican congress. they shut down the government in 1995 and 1996. they shut down the government over christmas, as a matter of fact. the griverage who stole the government's operations for almost three weeks. we're about to do it again. mr. woodall who has been here now a few months was 10 years old when i

clyburn who is now the assistant majority leader. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. clyburn: thank you very much, i thank my friend for yielding me the time. madam speaker, my republican friends bring to the floor today a transparent political ploy that's an insult to our men and women in uniform and their families. it sa that the republican majority is willing to put up the funding to arm and equip our troops fighting overseas for the remainder of the year. but they won't find a way to fund the rest of the federal programs that assist their spouses, children, and parents who are making significant sacrifices keeping the home front together while their loved ones give all that they have to keep all of us safe and free. no, they are happy to submit them, their families, to the whims of a budget debate that i'm concerned is rapidly moving toward a shutdown that many of their supporters are clamoring for and seem pleased to have happen. this is no peace of mind for a soldier fighting in the field

clyburn who is now the assistant majority leader. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. clyburn: thank you very much, i thank my friend for yielding me the time. madam speaker, my republican friends bring to the floor today a transparent political ploy that's an insult to our men and women in uniform and their families. it says that the republican majority is willing to put up the funding to arm and equip our troops fighting overseas for the remainder of the year. but they won't find a way to fund the rest of the federal programs that assist their spouses, children, and parents who are making significant sacrifices keeping the home front together while their loved ones give all that they have to keep all of us safe and free. no, they are happy to submit them, their families, to the whims of a budget debate that i'm concerned is rapidly moving toward a shutdown that many of their supporters are clamoring for and seem pleased to have happen. this is no peace of mind for a soldier fighting in the fiel

clyburn who is now the assistant majority leader. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. clyburn: thank you very much, i thank my friend for yielding me the time. madam speaker, my republican friends bring to the floor today a transparent political ploy that's an insult to our men and women in uniform and their families. it says that the republican majority is willing to put up the funding to arm and equip our troops fighting overseas for the remainder of the year. but they won't find a way to fund the rest of the federal programs that assist their spouses, children, and parents who are making significant sacrifices keeping the home front together while their loved ones give all that they have to keep all of us safe and free. no, they are happy to submit them, their families, to the whims of a budget debate that i'm concerned is rapidly moving toward a shutdown that many of their supporters are clamoring for and seem pleased to have happen. this is no peace of mind for a soldier fighting in the fiel

clyburn. no one present for mr. clyburn. mr. rossman. no one present for mr. rossman of new jersey. host: we hope that gave you a flavor of what happened yesterday. but the hill goes opb n to writ the presiding officer tried to close down the vote about a more democrats chose to go from no to present. democrats vote present said steny hoyer shouting at his colleagues who tried one by one to switch their no votes to present. paul ryan the architect of the official budget shouted shut it down to close the vote and count the tally before democrats could switch enough to advance the amendment. at one point jesse jackson jr. stood on a chair and pointed at the presiding officer to keep this vote open. this was on the r.s.c. version, republican study version of the bill. the vote failed. it was 119-136 with 172 democrats voting present. a little bit from the action yesterday. watertown, new york, william, republican, good morning. caller: good morning. i justment to say i think the -- i just want to say the biggest problem is the republicans have stopped voting. i quit voting when there w

the shared culture, but then i visit all the other features i told you and i know that if scott or clyburn where they want to make a point. general mcnabb, my final question, with regard to refitting railcars, what's the status of refitting the old railcars as opposed to buying new? >> yes, sir. our service deployment distribution command has been looking at that and have basically decided that refurbishing old probably makes more sense from a business case. right now we've been asked by osd to take a look and say okay given everything going on what should that number d., 4000, 5000, where should that be in there? right now they're doing that study with osd. >> and to conclude, this is a bit of history there. where retrofitting occurs in south carolina is the site of the first scheduled railroad in the world between charleston in 1832. thank you. >> thank you. mr. johnson. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and to mr. wilson, i would comment that when i've been to south carolina, charleston, i've enjoyed myself in that area, but i would also point everyone out, or point everyone to the fact that

the democratic side, the senate proposed, nancy pelosi proposed chris van hollen and congressman clyburnhe delegates on the democratic side. to hear theg republican names that will come out to be a part of this commission. and the president's going to have to -- i tnk the vice president is the one who's charged with dealing with this. and he's going to go up to the hill to be a part of it. we've all got to get serious. we'll see what happens if they can come together. host: another round of talks. another series. guest: we've been down that road. i think, again, there's aot of healthy skepticism about this. we saw the health care proposal, deficit initiatives. some of them never even got out of the starting gates. it's not always the best sotion. i think there have been many plans on the table. people want to see get to the process legislati a lot faster difficult to want to take issue with one ofhe points about i think it's a false argument about raising taxes on the rich because we know perfectlwell many of the people based on the way they file their taxes, these small business owners

. >> host: mignon clyburn, fcc commissioner. as always, thanks for being on "the communicators." howard buskirk, "communications daily," thank you as well. >> guest: my pleasure. >> you've been watching "the communicators," c-span's weekly look at the issues and people affecting telecommunications policy. if you missed any of this program with fcc commissioner mignon clyburn, you can see "the communicators" again tonight and each monday night at 8 p.m. eastern here on c-span2. >> ahead on c-span2, a look at u.s. strategy in afghanistan, libya and the middle east with author and political commentator ann coulter and americans for tax reform president grover norquist. then members of the commission on wartime contracting in iraq and afghanistan hear from government officials on eliminating obstacles to changing contracting procedures. >> all week you can see -- all this week you can see booktv program anything prime time featuring replays from our "after words" series as well as selections from recent history, biography and political programs. it begins tonight at 8:30 eastern as a

. >> host: mignon clyburn fcc commissioner, thanks as always for being on "the communicators" and howard buskirk thank you for being on "the communicators." >> guest: my pleasure. .. dhaka as he died last year in september but we are joined by his son who will probably need no introduction of anybody watching this. watching this. he grew up in new york. let's see if i know your resume, use to be my boss, harvard university, worked for william bennett in the education department and now it's a fine magazine where i used were called the weekly standard. >> guest: very well done. >> host: i thought we would start by talking about your dad's life because i think neoconservatism and a lot of american conservatism flows out his life and the first thing i want to ask you about is his upbringing, the social class he was raised in a and, but i guess your grandfather did and because i think that those routes and formed a lot of his writing later on. >> guest: i feel he says in this book he didn't realize he was poor in his neighborhood in brooklyn. the poor working class, his father, my grandfathe

clyburn. mrs. bonomask. mr. rothman. opt no or present. mr. paschrel. opt no or present.ir: on this vote the yeas are 120. the chair: on this vote the yeas are 119. the nays are 136. the amendment is not adopted. >> that vote came following a series of votes. those alternatives were defeated. now the floor debate on the rhine and budget resolution. during this debate, some spectators caused a disruption in the gallery and were arrested by capitol police. and in all, nine people were arrested, three more outside. this is 50 minutes. the gentleman is recognized. mr. mccarthy: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to first start by thanking the chairman of the budget committee, mr. ryan, and the entire budget staff and members on the house side. >> mr. chairman, the house is not in order. the chair: the gentleman is correct. conversations please cease, clear the aisles, bring your conversations to the cloakroom. the gentleman from california. mr. mccarthy: i'd also like to thank the democrat members on the budget committee as well. what we are taking up today is the point of where

the democratic side, the senate proposed, nancy pelosi proposed chris van hollen and congressman clyburn to be the delegates on the democratic side. to hear theg republican names that will come out to be a part of this commission. and the president's going to have to -- i think the vice president is the one who's charged with dealing with this. and he's going to go up to the hill to be a part of it. we've all got to get serious. we'll see what happens if they can come together. host: another round of talks. another series. guest: we've been down that road. i think, again, there's a lot of healthy skepticism about this. we saw the health care proposal, deficit initiatives. some of them never even got out of the starting gates. it's not always the best solution. i think there have been many plans on the table. people want to see get to the process of legislating a lot faster difficult to want to take issue with one of the points about i think it's a false argument about raising taxes on the rich because we know perfectly well many of the people based on the way they file their taxes, these

potential of africom being located in charleston and i would ask my colleague, chris mant space and clyburnere here they would want to make a few points to you and that is charleston is the transportation hub to the united states transportation command as well as the primary port for the container traffic between the united states and the south atlantic. the charleston air force base provides all the strategic airlift support for africa for the government to include embassy support. the leading provider for the command control and communications for the role in africa. the relationships for the charleston medical community which would be so helpful in the event of an emergency in africa, the medical university of south carolina is located in charleston, the war class facility. we know that most of the rapid deployment forces that would be used in the african operation include special operations that are in the southeastern part of the united states. charleston is the hub for all military transportation, air lift, sealift and repositioning to africa and then there's an extraordinary cultural

clyburn: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, to begin this debate i yield four minutes to the distinguished democratic leader. democratic whip. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman for yielding. april fool's, america. this is a joke, america. this is not real, america. as a matter of fact, mr. woodal of georgia says it's not real, it's not going to pass the senate. he made that very clear. the majority leader just said if the senate won't take what we give them we're going to shut down the government. that's what he just said. and that's what i believe to be the case. the last time the government shut down was not when we had a republican president and a democratic congress. but when we had a democratic president and a republican congress. they shut down the government in 1995 and 1996. they shut down the government over christmas, as a matter of fact. the griverage who stole the government's operations for almost three weeks. we're about to do it again. mr. woodall who has been here now a few months was 10 years old when i

clyburn. mr. rossman, no for mr. rosman of new kersey. >> on this vote, the nays are 120. >> mr. the amendment is not adopted. >> the house of representatives has approved the 2012 budget plan introduced by budget committee chairman paul ryan. that vote came a series -- following a series of votes of amendments to replace it with alternate plans. those alternatives were defeated. the floor debate on the rhine budget resolution. during this debate, some spectators caught the destruction in the gallery and were arrested by capitol police. in all, nine people were arrested in the gallery, three more outside. this is 50 minutes. i want to first start by thanking the chairman of the budget committee, mr. ryan, and the entire budget staff and members on the house side. >> mr. chairman, the house is not in order. the chair: the gentleman is correct. conversations please cease, clear the aisles, bring your conversations to the cloakroom. the gentleman from california. mr. mccarthy: i'd also like to thank the democrat members on the budget committee as well. what we are taking up today is

the democratic side, the senate proposed, nancy pelosi proposed chris van hollen and congressman clyburn to be the delegates on the democratic side. to hear theg republican names that will come out to be a part of this commission. and the president's going to have to -- i think the vice president is the one who's charged with dealing with this. and he's going to go up to the hill to be a part of it. we've all got to get serious. we'll see what happens if they can come together. host: another round of talks. another series. guest: we've been down that road. i think, again, there's a lot of healthy skepticism about this. we saw the health care proposal, deficit initiatives. some of them never even got out of the starting gates. it's not always the best solution. i think there have been many plans on the table. people want to see get to the process of legislating a lot faster difficult to want to take issue with one of the points about i think it's a false argument about raising taxes on the rich because we know perfectly well many of the people based on the way they file their taxes, these

. >> tonight on "the communicators," fcc commissioner mignon clyburn on the wireless industry and theommission's role in the proposed purchase of t-mobile by at&t. >> we're a little bit different from the department of justice which concentrates on the antitrust and sherman act type of oversight. we are responsible, we have a public interest standard which includes looking at competition, you know, how the market looks, how the existing players in the market will be affected, how consumers will be affected. >> "the communicators" tonight on c-span2. >> join us later today when booktv will have an exclusive webcast. author francis fukuyama will discuss his new book from the politics and is prose bookstore here in washington. that gets under way at 7 p.m. eastern, and you can see it streaming live at booktv.org. >> all this month we've been featuring the top winners of c-span's student cam video documentary competition. now, meet the top two winners and see their videos tuesday and wednesday mornings. watch their documentaries at 6:50 eastern and meet the winners live during c-span's "w