in the 112th congress. and i yield back the remainder of my time. >> some cohen, i thank you for your generous remarks at the opening. i appreciate that. the statements of all members will be made a part of the record without objection. and i am told that mr. smith and mr. conyers would like to make opening statements and i recognized the distinguished gentleman from texas the chairman of the full committee, mr. smith. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and mr. chairman, thank you for chairing this particular hearing which i think is going to be one of the most important of the year. as you said, i also welcome our former colleague david mcintosh and david, i hope we get to talk a little bit more later on but appreciate you being here, too. mr. chairman, the american people in november voted for real change in washington. one change they want is to stop the flood of regulations that cost jobs and smothers job creation. yet, another is to make washington and congress more accountable. the reins act makes that chang

do you see him pushing that in the congress? not that he hasn't made any moves in that area. >> i think because he's now claire that he won't do anything unless it's necessary, right? chairmen tend to pull back and wait to see what's important before they put their chop on the line. but as necessary. >> final question -- with today's telecommunications world, are the rules governing it outdated at this point? would you like to see an overhaul of the telecommunications acts? >> i think there needs to be an examination of several issues. if this net neutrality issue can't get worked out reasonably quickly, then i think that that is perhaps a reason to open up larger issues. again, it's kind of been talked about for a while. that is the difficulty with telecom policy is that you have these technologies that are continually changing and it's difficult to kind of hit the moving target when it comes to making sure the government is very responsible to its voters. >> the communications act is divided by sector, and, of course, we are s

gibson:if the congress, within 21 days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both houses that the president is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the vice president shall continue to discharge the same as acting president, otherwise, the president shall resume the powers and duties of his office. mr. goodlatte: i now yield to the gentleman from illinois, mr. holt gren -- mr. hultgren. mr. hultgren: amendment 26, passed by congress march 23, 1971. ratified july 1, 1971. section 1 the right of citizens of the united states, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the united states or by any state on account of age. section 2 the congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. mr. goodlatte: i now yield to the gentleman from tennessee, mr. fincher, who will read the last section of the constitution. mr. fincher: amendment 27, originally proposed september 2

much of this has been initiated by what congress did in the 111th congress, a most active congress which saw the enactment of the national insurance -- health insurance reform, regulatory reform of financial services, and a number of other important pieces of legislation. although they did enjoy enough support to be enacted, they generated a fair amount of political opposition which manifested itself in the 2010 congressional election, which the democrats suffered when president obama referred to as "a shellacking." i think it caused many people to question whether or not these things -- health care reform, regulatory reform, other things -- were actually authorized by congress's power under article one of the constitution. article one by its very size and scope tells us a lot about what the framers of the constitution were thinking about. when you or i may cut all list of things to do or a grocery list, we usually list the things that are most important at the top of the buy list. this is what james madison and alexander hamilton and all of the other members of the founding generation d

>> i know that what the congress wants to do is we are a creature of congress and do what congress tells us to do and the congress is going to take a look at it and certainly is an area of concern that i have. >> if it were to you how would be conducted differently? >> it would have been more rapid in a timely manner and i think the conditions would be specific. there be in excess caused by the merger to the conditions and their artistic whole host of the fall/winter conditions that are extraneous to the deal. >> commissioner attwell baker, eliza mentioned congress and there is a new republican house and the 112 congress, and one of the things that they've talked about several members of the energy and commerce committee especially talked about is bringing the fcc to task and hearings up on the hill. how do you see that? >> i expect to spend a lot of time on capitol hill the next few months. as late understand the first order of business is to look at our network neutrality rule and as you know, this is something i have objected to and if we want to talk about all of my objections to thi

and much of it has been initiated by what congress did in the 111 congress. and most active congress which, of course, saw the enactment of the national health insurance reform, regulatory reform, financial services, a number of other very important pieces of legislation. which, although they did enjoy it enough support to be enacted in congress, generated a fair amount of the political opposition. opposition which manifested itself in the 2010 congressional election, which the democrats suffered what president obama was characteristic, referred to as a shellacking, a term of art used among politicians. and i think cause many people to question whether or not these things, health care reform, regulatory reform, other things were actually authorized by congress' power under article one of the constitution. article one of the constitution by its very scope tells us a lot about what the framers of the constitution were thinking about. you know, when you arrive make up a loose, whether it's a list of things to do or a grocery list or something, we usually list th

congress. it was proposed by senate bayh on behalf of senator reid and the order says they shall come in and they will swear in new members and enter a period of what is called morning business a -- which means a certain kind of discussion provided for by the rules. so they already baked in from one congress to the next that the last congress shall control the next congress. now this is interesting from a legal standpoint, if one actually buys all this conversation about the continuing body and how that works. i differ with brian hon the legalities of this but the important point is, they're in disarray on this. they went out creating a fundamental problem for their back benchers who are going to come in and try to blow the place up tomorrow. it'll be fascinating to see how they work this through and see how they work out the results. i'm looking forward to seeing it. >> i reserve the balance of my time. >> thank you all for your kind attention. thank our panelists again for this presentation.

congress does that as it passes laws. the agencies are required to do that under longstanding executive orders. the problem that i see that has happened, and report on the congressional review act as a way of addressing that, that balancing act of the particular type of mandatory requirements that it said in a regulation versus the benefits this not come back to congress for review once legislation has been enacted and the regulatory agencies have been empowered to act. we passed in 1995 the congressional review act as one way to increase that formally, but as was pointed out earlier it has only been used one time, and it is difficult for the political configuration to work where typically you have got to have a resolution of disapproval go through both the house and senate and signed by the president. i think the only time it did work was when president clinton's administration proposed a rule and congress acted and prevented a bill about that regulation. and so you saw the political baton being handed from one party to

i was the first hispanic elebo-ed to congress but i'm in ipired -- hispanic woman elected to congress sta in, m ned by all the hispanic women and men who will be part of this nwhame bked th congress there were only ten hispanics in congress when i came to futuris futured this new congress will have 23 Ö ispanic ming thebers in the h and two in the senate. now, we may not always see eye to goog, but on all the issittes and we may even sit on opposite sides of the aisle but we are all commited to gonsuring that the latino community continues to pro, mer. noof the it is my great hono introduce the new chair of e as pi, congressman chaing go noal, w. [applause] >> thank you. and i t t intend on b conngfiery, very brief. and of course to miss virginia and naturally tha fb youfiery much for your presence and the contribution that you m3 e in our go thor ar and to my dear friend who has alwa lea been very blunt when i e aomes to cey dationan iss tells me exactly that my vote was wrong, with a smile. erut if you think about it, and i want to touch on this at the very beginning of myfiery go r

do you see him pushing that legislation in the 112th congress? that's if he hasn't made any moves in that area. >> guest: yeah. i think because he's now chair he won't do anything unless it's necessary, right? chairmen tend to hold back and see what's important before they put their chop on the line. as necessary. >> host: final question. with today's telecommunications world, are they outdated at this point? would you like to see an overhaul of the telecommunications acts? >> guest: i think that will does need to be at least an examination of several issues. if this net neutrality issue can't get worked out in a consensus fashion reasonably quickly, then i think that is, perhaps, a reason to open up larger issues. again, it's kind of been talked about for a while. that is the difficulty with telecom policy is that you have these technologies that are continually changing, and it's difficult to kind of hit the moving target when it comes to, you know, making sure the government is responsible to it voters. >> guest: for your viewers, the communic

on "the communicators," a look at potential telecommunications and technology policy in the 112th congress. our guests are former staffers patricia paoletta and catherine mccullough. >> well, with the new concourse in place and new leadership in power, we thought we would take this opportunity on "the communicators" to look at telecommunications policy and the 112, chris. joining us are two former congressional staff members, patricia paoletta was a majority counsel in the house of representatives for the republicans in the 1990's and catherine mccullough was the former senate council on the democratic side. thank you for being with us. we appreciate it. joining also is juliana grenwald, technical daily dose of the national turtle. catherine, if i could start with you, you wrote in a recent blog comlawblog.com did you look for two things, high degree in the upcoming congress and a high degree of cooperation. why did you write that? >> i think there is going to be a high degree of cooperation on certain issues. for instance, tv spectrum allocation. when it comes to the idea of deciding on t

we answer to congress. the only thing that i would say is that we're building out these 4g finishes now, and for it to be, you know, as cost effective as possible, we need to move forward. >> host: i understand that next week the fcc will be laying the technical groundwork for the interoperable network. when is it that americans can hope to have this network working? >> guest: i hope as soon as possible. >> host: there's no specific time frame? whereupon the pressure's going to be rising as we come upon the tenth anniversary of 9/11 and we still don't have it, but there's no ballpark figure? >> guest: you know, i don't control the agenda at the fcc. all i can do is encourage all of us to work together to find a solution. >> host: this is c-span's "communicators" program. our guest is meredith attwell baker, guest reporter eliza crigman of politico. next topic. >> host: another issue that you guys are going to be looking at in february is reform of the universal service fund. could you delainuate for us what

congress forced some dissent on that. we acted to congress. the only thing i would say is we are building out these 4g networks now. for it to be as cost-effective as possible, we need to move forward. >> i understand the fcc will be laying the technical groundwork for the interoperable network. what is the timetable to have this working? >there is no ballpark figure? >> i do not control the agenda at the fcc. i can only encourage us to work together to find solutions. >> this is c-span's communicators " wall -- c-span's communicators " " -- c-span's "the communicators" program. >> you are moving and it is a little bit technical and confusing. >> i use the word on crunching and confusing. it is an $8.80 billion fund. the contribution factor was fitting 0.5%. what that means is that it is a 15.5% tax on everyone's -- a contribution factor was 15.5%. it is clear that the fund is not sustainable. needs reform. we have commitment from all five of the commissioners to move forward. congress is interested in this. if congress has more ideas on how t

that's congress.the merits of h.r. 10, the regulations from the executive in the yesterday act. it also gets a chance to discuss the appropriate role of their regulations in american life, a conversation i suspect he will continue after subcommittee. although they do not explicitly say proponents appeared to believe that almost all regulations are bad. all their arguments focus on the purported cost regulations would impose on society based on this premise we have heard rhetoric about job killing despite economic growth and impaired personal freedom. such arguments do not seem to fully appreciate the regulations can also benefit the economy but police and reckless private-sector behavior that can undermine the nation's economic well-being. came very close to in 2008, lack of regulations. regulations facilitate economic activity by providing clarity for the applicable statutory language and leave unnecessary confusion or even litigation. regulation that also serves societal values and may outweigh econ

congress and the 111th congress was very much concerned about the possibility that detainees who wereeld at the u.s. military prison in guantÁnamo would be brought back to the united states for trial. this is a very, very big issue in washington and that is of course whether or not the so-called article iii courts are capable of trying these detainees. congress has exercised about the possibility, the article iii courts will be more lenient with these detainees. i mentioned the kayani in court said this is exactly what's going to happen. civilian juries are going to be much more lenient. what transfer these people back to the united states by using the appropriations process and denying him the money to do it. and also, you know, forbidding him by law to do it. well, what has happened is something very interesting. and that is during the bush administration, the democrats were highly critical of president bush for signing fills that were politically difficult for him to veto, but appending to these builds upon signing them, something on a signing statement. and this is something presi

gibson:if the congress, within 21 days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both houses that the president is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the vice president shall continue to discharge the same as acting president, otherwise, the president shall resume the powers and duties of his office. mr. goodlatte: i now yield to the gentleman from illinois, mr. holt gren -- mr. hultgren. mr. hultgren: amendment 26, passed by congress march 23, 1971. ratified july 1, 1971. section 1 the right of citizens of the united states, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the united states or by any state on account of age. section 2 the congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. mr. goodlatte: i now yield to the gentleman from tennessee, mr. fincher, who will read the last section of the constitution. mr. fincher: amendment 27, originally proposed september 2

congress. led by outgoing speaker nancy pelosi, this news conference is little more than half hour. >> good morning. as you know, tomorrow the 112th congress will be called to order. house democrats will keep our focus on the creation of jobs. putting the american people to work. we will measure every policy from both parties as it comes forth as to whether it creates jobs, whether it's strengthens the middle class, and whether it reduces the deficit instead of keeping me mountains of debt on our children and grandchildren. we pledge to work together with our republican colleagues to address the challenges facing america's working families. we must solve their problems. and when the suggestions put forth are problem solvers for the american people, republicans will find in the democrats willing partners. some focus has been made to keep job creation front and center. house to permit -- house democrats will continue to protect the gains we have made for the american people. but in terms of the h

madam speaker, in the coming congress, this congress, we will focus.we will refocus our efforts on fulfilling our constitutional duties in a transparent and responsible way. we will be reform-minded and accountability-oriented. and we will be driven by the number-one concern of the american people, getting our economy back on track. madam speaker, form dictates function. and these new rules will set us on the path toward greater economic growth and confidence for the american people. and with that i urge support of this very important resolution and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from new york. ms. slaughter: madam speaker, i want to yield one minute to the gentlewoman from the district of columbia, who as i said is disenfranchised by this rule, millions of americans will be under-represented, ms. norton, one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from the district of columbia is recognized. ms. norton: i thank the gentlelady from new york for yielding.

to talk about the work of congress. and i think this is just a great program and perhaps the congressmen can fill you in more about it. although congressman bob carr of michigan hasn't arrived yet, i was wondering if i could call on congressman to come up and begin to talk a little bit about his experiences in congress and how he sees things from the perspective of being a former member. terrific, good, ok. we now have a full come pleament, good morning congressman carr. i was explaining to the students yesterday you are one of those rare members who had a truly competitive seat and much of what you hear about the comfort of incouple bepts is something you never enjoyed. i would like to have our panelists join me up here. congressman bob carr of michigan congressman sarah sin of -- sarasin of connecticut. well, i would like to kick things off by asking -- whether you formed any early impressions of what's going on with this 112th congress. >> me have an opinion? [laughter] -- i spelt it right -- the first order of busin

congress? guest: i have always been a passionate about government did when i was 20, i was on the county board. it was probably a few years ago, a couple of years ago, maybe three now, when i was really passionate about what was going on and i was talking to michael pilot. we were on a flight one time, it -- talking to my co-pilot. we're on a flight one time, and it was one of those "what is wrong these days" discussions. host: have you decided to live here or at home? guest: i will keep might main residence at home. i have an apartment here, but it will be a crash pad for a few days. i will be back home talking to the american people. that is the most important, keeping the bridge to the american people. people feel left out. host: what is the average length of your days since being elected? guest: pretty long could close to 18 hours, sometimes less -- pretty long. closed 18 hours, sometimes less. i hope this never wears off. this is just a real honor. you realize you are executing a responsib

and the leader in the congress.ese are going to be tougher times for democrats but that's just what is so important to stand by the principles that have motivated our work and, indeed, your work of such a very long period of time. principles our security and opportunity for all americans, and all working people. for four decades in the majority in in the minority, in times of prosperity and times of trial, the congressional black caucus has led congress and the democratic caucus in the work of living up to the promises and principles and hope and vision and opportunity of the declaration of independence, and of the constitution whose words we will read tomorrow on the floor of the house of representatives. those words have always been compelling, but as the congressional black caucus knows better than any other group in the congress of the united states, words alone are not enough. words are not self executing it they require the blood, sweat and toil of literally millions of people, some who are famous in so many w

>> today is largely about of pomp and circumstance of bringing in the new congress. the highlights of today will be the election of a new speaker and the adoption of a rules package that congress passed late last night that will make changes to the operations of the house that the republicans ran on in november. host: about the election of the speaker, it will presumptively b. john boehner, but some made expressed displeasure with nancy pelosi. >guest: in a secret ballot, heah shuler was an alternate for nazi policy. he said he will vote for himself today on the floor rather than vote for nancy pelosi. he expects a number of other a moderate democrats to follow suit. a few of his colleagues in the blue dog coalition said they plan to vote for mr. shuler as well. it will be interesting to see where that number comes in. in 1987 when newt gingrich was running for that position, he had some ethics problems and there were nine republicans that voted for someone else or voted "rresent" for speaker. it will be interesting to see where that number comes in. host: this accor

congress authorized a war. attorney general and justice department is part of the national security team. i hope as the deputy attorney general cole has rethought this. i say that the recess appointment there is odd. one thing that it's the foreign service offices to held up for ambassadorship. but recess appointment for the deputy attorney general of the united states when the senate seemed unwilling to bring it to the floor to have a debate and vote is unusual. i think the justice department with holder and cole is vulnerable area for president obama. >> i think they did try to get cole before and i think it was held up by the republicans. they haven't had assistant attorney general in justice department, haven't had an active one. the other thing that's important with cole, cole said he's not really for trying terrorists in the military tribunals and wants to try them -- >> he said they're criminals, not warriors. >> exactly. congress has already said when basically not giving you money to try these guys in

congress. she explains the obstacles she surmounted and how she got there. >> one of the reasons i became the leader and one of the reasons i became the speaker, is that i had a plan to win. i was really pretty tired of democrats losing at the polls again, i wake up every morning thinking 1-5 children live in poverty, the risk to the middle class of policies that are not in their interest. and that and so my appeal to my colleagues to elect me leader was that i believe that i have a plan to win the house. and it's going to be a little bit different from what you are used to and it's going to be you know, focused, disciplined, plan cold-blooded to win the house. and that is why they elected me. and then when i won, then they elected me speaker. and elected me leader, i think and then we went from there. >> pelosi says she was ready to lead for other reasons, too. >> i had no intention of ever running for leadership. i spent my time in appropriations committee on the intelligence committee and et

in by congress.onstraint on the president's power. and the concern was maximal with respect to military and foreign affairs. we often think today the president has to have more military and foreign affairs because that's what the stature needs and hope you have a multi-power at the military and foreign affairs? that the framers very much believe that congress would play a role in constraining the president. it's from the pre-constitutional history. the declaration of rights by parliament in 1689 wanted to end the royal prerogative to maintain standing armies. it was to the raising or keeping a standing army within the keeping of time of peace is not allowed to must it be with the consent of parliament. it's against a lot to do with the consent of parliament. and if you think -- i don't know if your family read the declaration of independence that every july for, but it's a tradition i try to enforce with limited success. [laughter] one of the most stirring lines in the litany of grievances against th

. >> incriminating evidence investigators found and the latest on the wounded congress woman's condition. >> jerry brown, his plan for solving the state's $28 billion budget problem. >> bundle up, another cold and frosty start we will take a look at those frigid temperatures in just a few moments. >>> and emily morning construction may slow you -- early morning construction may slow down your commute. >>> good morning it is monday the 10th of january thanks for joining us i am sydnie kohara. >> i am elizabeth wenger. time now is 4:30 a.m. new developments in the mass shooting in arizona that left six dead and an arizona congress woman critically injured the suspected gunman is set to face a judge for the first time today. investigators searching his parents home found incriminating evidence and doctors are showing optimism in the congress woman's recovery she was shot in the head during the political meet and greet saturday. sankara hughes is in hue son -- sandra hughs is in tucson. >> reporter: 22-year-old jared loughner will face a host of charges when he appears in federal court inclu

there must have been an agency in the congress created by the congress. it must have been given some of authority. but there is a point and never having studied it i don't know what that point is where there is an unconstitutional delegation of essentially legislative authority to in the agency, and i suspect again without knowing that multiple examples could be found in the obamacare and the new bill, the dodd-frank bill regulating the commercialism. let's put it this way. in reading articles about the consequences of obamacare time and again you run into an analysis that says we don't know today how this bill will ultimately affect x, y or z aspects of medical care because the regulator has never come out with the regulations. the congress should never enact a law without knowing what its impact is going to be. >> thank you. i just wanted to ask about term limits, because i had initially supported term limits but then i have seen what has been enacted in some states, the particular example i am thinking of is ohio, which i have some familiarity with, wh

as you can see by this chart congress has done it many times before. but treasury secretary tim geithner said thursday that the country's current debt limit, you see it here. $14.29 trillion could be reached as early as march 31. question to both of you. do you know specifically what will happen if the debt creeling is not raised in in specific. senator paul first. >> well, i can't imagine voting to raise the debt ceiling unless we're going to change our ways in washington. i propose we link raising the debt ceiling, link a budget rule, ironclad rule they can't evade. they have shown themselves to be untrustworthy. you're right, they raise it every six months or every year and then they never change anything. even if we attach token spending cuts to it, that's not enough. we have to change the rules and we have to say to washington balance the budget. you have to do it by law. and then i'll vote to raise the debt ceiling. but only if we have an ironclad balanced budget rule that we attach to the debt ceiling. >> bret: but senator paul, we heard the adm

the ability to think in congress. when i entered the senate in 1970 i was presented with a study that had just been completed by the bar association of the city of new york which had concluded that the workload of the average congressional office had doubled every five years since 1935 but once upon a time service in congress -- citizen service -- congress's concession, six on seven months of the year, the activities reward on -- everyone was expected to be there to hear what was being said. you could think things through. there was comedy of all members. discussions on and off the floor. it was relaxed. with the doubling and redoubling the point came where there were not enough hours of the date to accommodate thought full discussion and analysis of the issues and so it has become in my personal experience--that complicates things. in my personal experience became almost impossible to do a decent job of what the primary responsibility is which is public policy and to come out with solutions to. nevertheless in the id

what kills jobs is paral sis in congress -- paralysis in congress. what kills jobs is ignoring the economic problems of this country. no it's not simply the right vote on the merits, it's the right vote because this is the wrong bill at the wrong time. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas. mr. smith: madam speaker, we only have one more speaker on this side and we're prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. conyers: how much time have we remaining? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan has 3 1/2 minutes remaining. the gentleman from texas has 1 3/4. the gentleman from michigan. mr. conyers: i yield myself a minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. conyers: i'd like -- because this is the judiciary committee and so little has been said about the constitutionality, i am pleased to quote from the dean of the law school of the university of california who said that opposing health care ref

congress. so how it will come out, i really am not sure. i would guess that the bill, the health care reform legislation will be upheld in the end. even this supreme court may not feel like it should overturn this massive piece of legislation. it should perhaps leave it to the elected branches. >> tony, there is in the supreme court and traditionally been the presumption of constitutionality and congress, there has to be something glaring for them to find an act of congress unconstitutional. >> well, that's right. that's the tradition. it's a tradition that fades away. you get five votes to strike something down. and that has happened fairly often. in fact, senator specter, who is departing from congress unvoluntarily, he made a speech after speech about how the supreme court is dising congress, it isn't differential to congress and its enactments. i think he had a good point in a way. of course, if congress enacts something that's obviously patently unconstitutional, that's what the supreme co

who to watch in the 112th congress congress. the gop newcomers are setting out to overcome obama victories. the vote, which republican leaders would occur before the president's state of the union address, is intended both to appeal to the tea party influence and to emphasize the muscle of the new party in power -- in power. it could produce an unintended consequence, a chance for democrats to try their case in support of the health care overhaul before the american public. democrats, who, in many cases looked on the lot as a rabid beast best avoided in the fall elections, are reversing course, preparing for court needed, all- out effort to preserve and defend it. under the law, consumers are already receiving tangible benefits that republicans would take away. also on the health care law, "the wall street journal," congress target spending. the health care repeal is not expected to go anywhere in the senate. it will only save about $25 million from the federal budget. that is "the wall street journal" this morning on the republ

i think about medicare when my dad was in congress. he served on the congress committee and helped to write the medicare law. medicare today looks very little like it did when he served. he will be 90 in march and it has changed and improved and changed with medical times and this is a platform for a new health-care system, for access for people who have never had access to affordable coverage and for the new rules for insurance companies. as we go forward, we look forward to working with and discussing with congress ways that can be improved. >> it sounds as if the new republican leaders are getting to test the administration's receptivity to change. they have said over this repeal vote that they intend to pick apart piece by piece parts of the new law that they dislike. one part of a particularly demonize and the polls show the public is not crazy about is the so-called individual mandate which would require most americans to carry health insurance. this is not something the president was initially in favor of. what are your views as

congress was intending to protect a subset of individuals and it defined the term "individual" to mean u.s. citizens and lawful permanent residents. so not all individuals would be protected by the privacy act. now, congress did that, not because had it used the phrase "personal privacy" it would have been extending rights to corporations and foreign governments, but because personal privacy would have been too broad in that it would have -- even though it would have been limited to individuals, it would have included a set of individuals that congress wanted to exclude, that is, everybody who is not a u.s. citizen or lawful permanent resident. >> can i ask you a question. i'm not sure i understood your response to justice scalia. if there is ambiguity, if a term can be given two meanings, and it's not clear -- and i know you're challenging the clarity question here -- i thought that congress's intent to have full disclosure would necessarily mean that where there's ambiguity as to the meaning of an exception then we should change the narrowest meaning. >> well, i think we disagree, an

host: what would you change about congress? guest: when you look back at the institution, and other institutions around the world, it is an amazing place where we have been able to debate and create policy. those are good things. if i could change anything, i think we would have a higher level of intellectual engagement. everything is done in this 24- hour news cycle, and sometimes it is important to step back and take a breath and look at the real facts and act on that. not just because it happened to be the last thing you see on the news. host: there has been a call for republicans and democrats to get together for a bipartisan retreat. democrats were supposed to have their own, republicans as well. have you heard anything about the prospects of that? guest: i have heard about it but nothing more than that. let me say this. there are important and critical policy differences from the republican majority and democrats in congress. it is critical for us to have these discussions to enable the american people to understand what

what is this new congress? what tax issues do you think will be breiner which lists, which tax list do you wish were off the table. >> we say tax issues? >> the wood mackenzie had particular issues -- there were particular tax initiatives. >> fundamentally -- [inaudible] >> well, i think it's a more fundamental question. and i think what drives the discussion and what drives those who feel the need to impose additional taxes on the oil and gas industry. it generally is driven by the need for additional revenue. so if revenue is the issue, that must go to a revenue can be found from the oil and gas industry and that's in the development of new resources, where we can also complement that with new job creation. and the revenue coming to the federal government, which the wood mackenzie concludes will be much more significant than if they change the tax code to impose direct taxes on the industry. we need to encourage development of our domestic energy resources, not discouraged to go elsewhere. these investment do

the members of congress all get a chance. they have had to debate it during their collections, they have had the chance to discuss it, and the fact is the committees are not constituted yet and we want to begin action. i believe it is fair. when it comes to spending, you'll remember that we called for the 2008 spending levels to be enacted going back to august in a speech that i gave in cleveland, ohio. on september 24, we made clear that we want to go back to 2008 spending levels. if we had been able to move on september 24, we would have been able to go back to 2000 spending levels. but we are halfway through the year. i will say this, we will meet our commitment to the pledge in this calendar year, no ifs, ands, or buts. >> the democrats are upset that within the gop rules, there appears to be a rule to allow paul ryan to set the budget lel for the next fiscal year. it talked to the ordinary american about why it is possible for that without a democratic vote? >> the democrats in the house last year did not pass a budget,

gibson:if the congress, within 21 days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both houses that the president is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the vice president shall continue to discharge the same as acting president, otherwise, the president shall resume the powers and duties of his office. mr. goodlatte: i now yield to the gentleman fromllinois, mr. holt gren -- mr. hultgren. mr. hultgren: amendment 26, passed by congress march 23, 1971. ratified july 1, 1971. section 1 the right of citizens of the united states, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the unitestates or by any state on account of age. section 2 the congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. mr. goodlatte: i now yield to the gentleman from tennessee, mr. fincher, who will read the last section of the constitution. mr. fincher: amendment 27, originally proposed september 25, 1

in the 109th congress, 78% of the time they did. 110th congress, 56%. a lot less than the 109th congress. in the 111th congress, 14 of 15 measures the majority leader filed the amendment on, hed that a 97% rate. that shows the majority leader uses this to control consideration of with the majority wants and reducing the ability of the minority to debate. why is this important? i think for the most part, that a new perspective allows us to get a better understanding of the ways in which the senate is broken. just because the numbers say one thing, doesn't necessarily mean the senate is the best institution, doesn't mean we should change or shouldn't, it just lets us have a better understanding. the numb of cloture motions filed, if you take out the same-day cloture motions, newspapers and others say, we have x numbers of clotures, in the 111th, 136 cloture motions were filed if you take out those that were filed on the same day, it's 98. if you take out the second day, it drops to 80. if you take out the third day of cloture, the number drops to 77. it's

>> our position is that congress hato act. and that the clock starts running once the application is complete. >> yesk si, sir. >> jonathan tyler from "the tribune." how do you square that with the finding that the disaster was a result of systemic problems that could repeat? >> the way i would swear it is that the companies that have not been implicated in this specific spill and that had been carefully inspected by mms immediately following the spill were judd to be in compliance with all known requirements and to have had an exemplary safety records are ready. over here. edward falker with "energy guardian." the they determine it was inherently unsafe formation and should not have gone as far as it did? that at some point they shoul have abandoned the macondo well? >> i do not think we did conclude that. i know that is not the opinion of the industry. tom? >> as the well was drilled, operator recognized that there were inherent dangers to go further in drilling the well. so they stopped short of their ultimate target and de

host: what can congress do?y have this vote to repeal it, and then they will go after it piece by piece. what do you expect republicans to do? guest: i think your question implies that democrats will be strong enough to block these actions. not, the president would ultimately stand in the way. the next thing to do is to have a series of politically charged fight over these things. one thing that makes sense is, in the new health care law, you have cuts to medicare advantage, which is the most market- oriented part of medicare, which has a pretty high satisfaction rate among the elderly. one thing republicans will be tempted to do is restore those funds and pay for and by delaying the implementation of these new benefits. therefore, you create a logger time period id which to fight to get the entire obamacare program -- longer period of time a fight to get the entire obamacare program repealed. it is giving more to seniors and taking away from others. and we do have a problem about the fact that the budget is thi

we have 435 members of congress. if you rank them in terms of volatility, gabby is probably in the last one-half of 1%. and it just seems so ironic that she would become a victim. and she is clearly not a hot head or somebody who is prone to create controversy. >> congressman labrador, this is an introduction, horrible introduction to congress for you. you're a brand new member, freshman member from idaho. your wife, you were telling me before we started, was particularly shaken by this. >> she was. and, you know, first of all, my condolences to the families. it's been a terrible week. and it's a terrible end to the week. all i've heard about gabby -- and i don't know her. i'm the only person on this panel that doesn't know her. i've heard both from republicans and democrats what a wonderful woman she is and what great service she was giving to her constituents. i just want to make sure that we understand that she was doing what she was supposed to be doing and she was doing exactly what all of us should be doing, ta

with the other members of congress and soon to be members of congress talking about cutting deficits and everything else, entitlements still sit out there. that is really the monkey on the american taxpayers' back. and a billion here a billion there and after a while, we're talking about real money. we're talking about trillions of dollars. will this new congress really be able to address any of that? >> you didn't see it here in the last panel. you didn't see the willingness to take the two big issues on. anthony weiner started saying that the republicans don't want to protect social security and medicare. look, when medicare part-d was put into place, the first thing we did was means test it. we said we're going to do this prescription drug but only for those who can't afford to do it for themselves. if you can't afford, we're going to phase out some of the benefits. it's got to be on the table. it's not popular or easy. social security is an easy one to solve because it's money in, money out. but the money doesn't balance. >> smith: baby boomers who start collecting on january 1.

it's going to be a template for the future of this 112th congress congress. are we going to actually deal with fiscal discipline even when that's inconvenient with our political agenda? and the answer for the american people is yes. are we going to protect the progress that we've made that benefits all of our constituents when it comes to these insurance reforms and are we going to have an open process on this body so that those of us who have different points of view will have an opportunity for an up or down vote. by the way, that's not giving us the opportunity to present our amendments but letting our constituents know where we stand, because at the end of the day, that's the only basis upon which they can decide whether to send us back here or send us packing. i would like to recognize the gentleman from north carolina, representative price. mr. price: i thank the gentleman for yielding and also for engaging in this dialogue with other members about the challenge that we're facing. to reduce this country's deficit spending and reduce the accumulating deb

and the leader in the congress.uring our focus on those issues. we all know that these are going to be tougher times for democrats. but that's just why it's so important to stand by the principles that have motivated our work and indeed your work for such a very long period of time. principles of security and opportunity, for all americans and all working people. for four decades in the majority and in the minority, in times of prosperity and times of trial the congressional black caucus has led congress and the democratic caucus in the work of living up to the promises and principles and hope and vision and opportunity of the declaration of independence and of the constitution whose wosheds we will read tomorrow -- words we will read tomorrow on the floor of the house of representatives. those words have always been compelling. but as the congressional black caucus knows better than any other group in the congress of the united states, words alone are not enough. words are not self-excuting. they require the blood,

but, you know, that's life as a member of congress.hey're not about to retreat from doing that because they feel like that's part of their job. gwen: it's actually life as a public official. any kind of public official. eric holder, the justice department, the attorney general, had this to say about that very issue this week. >> without question, threats against public officials, whatever form they take, continue to be cause for concern and vigilance, but i do not believe that these threats are as strong as the forces working for tolerance and peace. gwen: so what does the justice department -- what do federal officials do with these threats, with what we presume to be threats we don't even know about? >> well, i think you're seeing two things happening. you are seeing members of congress go to the police and f.b.i. and do an inventory of what -- who they think might be a threat to the member of congress. who's been stalking them or sending them threatening letters? they take it much more seriously now. we've seen f.b.i. abblets and ot

congress woman shot in the head at pointblank range. a federal judge and a 9-year- old are among the dead. >>> this is not the america that any of us want. >> local lawmakers react to the shooting in tucson. what they say could be a motive. >>> six people were shot this week. oakland's new mayor hits the streets to help improve the city's east side. good evening. i'm ann notarangelo. a congress woman shot in the head, in a deadly shooting rampage in arizona. at least six people killed. including a federal judge and a 9-year-old girl. nine other people were injured, including a number of the congress woman's staff. and tonight, the suspected gunman who claims he acted alone is in custody. the shooting took place while congress woman gabrielle giffords greeted constituents in her district in tucson. that's where karen brown is with more on the congress woman's condition. karen? >> reporter: i can tell you she is listed in critical condition. and her surgeons say the next 24 hours will be critical in how her prognosis goes. i can also tell

madam speaker, in the coming congress, this congress, we will focus.we will refocus our efforts on fulfilling our constitutional duties in a transparent and responsible way. we will be reform-minded and accountability-oriented. and we will be driven by the number-one concern of the american people, getting our economy back on track. madam speaker, form dictates function. and these new rules will set us on the path toward greater economic growth and confidence for the american people. and with that i urge support of this very important resolution and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from new york. ms. slaughter: madam speaker, i want to yield one minute to the gentlewoman from the district of columbia, who as i said is disenfranchised by this rule, millions of americans will be under-represented, ms. norton, one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from the district of columbia is recognized. ms. norton: i thank the gentlelady from new york for yielding.

, not as an adversary to congress or a handmaiden to congress but a partnership to achieve the objective of the title of your book, making our democracy work. to the extent that the courts accords congress the respect not to hold it to the stupidest inadvertent language that will come out in a statute but to the purpose for which the statue to was intended, it motivates congress to transparency and the ability to really reflect what is going on in the congressional debate. you don't hear them very often. there's something quite novel about this book. >> you can have anything novel in law. you are only a good lawyer if you have never done anything for the first time. the point of precedent. novelty is and what i'm after. but that is a compliment and i appreciate it. than you go to a different area. administrative law. and there you have an approach that i would follow that looks at the comparative expertise, the nasa administrator knows more about space than most judges or more about the environment and you look at the statute and see what is an issue and the judge compared the expertise