the problem with congress, inaction with congress does not stem from presidential leadership. it stems from republican leaders not seemingly the full faith of their own people. i just think it makes it all the more important for the president to look at where he can double down and look at ways that he can help americans even in congress doesn't choose to do so while he simultaneously continuing to work with congress. >> what tools are available to congress, john, if the president as forecasts tells congress here's what i'm going to do. i'm going to start doing things on my own within my power. >> as i mentioned earlier, a lot of presidential power goes out of discretion. congress can start writing more specific bills. start curtailing that discretion in the laws that they pass. now the challenge of course is the president needs to sign those laws. debates and bargaining over discretion become part of the process. but i think there is a real irony here about the discussion of whether the president isn't doing enough or whether congress isn't doing enough. can the president do

congress itself. there are reports that the president plans to do more by executive order in this coming calendar year. and lloyd sanders is that less ideal. is that something the president should first try to do by legislationing only when he can't do it any other way. >> that would be outside of what he can do, and it will be unwise politically. enwith it comes to smaller things there's a lot of room. i think the biggest fear among republicans that you see is that he seems to be increasingly willing to be broad, in how he interpreted his ability. >> is this sort of a last resort, when doing tut other way has been almost impossible. is it fair to say. that doing it the other way -- >> i don't think that's fair at all. one thing that commentators on both sides of the aisle have talked about, a lot, is that the president doesn't seem really willing to do a lot of those -- a lot of reaching out to congress. he leave as lot of things, delegate as lot of power, to nancy pelosi. he himself is very aloof. a

everyonen is that wants to blame congress including members of congress. audibly around the 1980s, members of congress ran against the institution. they said government does not work but elect me to congress. there is a way in which people in government run against government. a lot of that has contributed. more and more, you have people who are going to washington and are using that as a platform to say washington does not work. that is a strange disconnect and that feeds on the cynicism of people. people say government does not work because people are going to washington who don't want government to work. as to the question of obamacare, it has become a matter of faith that this is the single most important issue in the republican party. it's interesting to hear from across the pond, their idea of a fetish. states, people would recognize that as well. not a new issue with this congress that people don't think the legislative branch works. people have been writing about this for more than a decade now. host: we will focus more on this but if you want to t

congress knew this with happen. a.c.a. didions of the expressly state that members and their staff could receive tax-free subsidies to purchase health insurance but that language was not included in the .c.a. as it was ultimately passed. after the act was adopted an amendment was proposed which would have permitted the payment tax-free premium federal by the government but as senator johnson pointed out, that was passed. unfortunately, what has happened having chosen to make this solidarity with those who would lose their coverage doesn't now turns out really want to feel their pain. to avoid the ay premiums to pay these would be to change the law. but as senator johnson pointed this ongress has not done and does not appear to want to take a vote on the issue. so, what has happened, as has happened so frequently with the as it is written is being ignored. getted promise you will a rule -- promise you will promiulgated a rule that government with almost three mechanical civilian a small is actually employer for purposes of

the only member of congress to have delivered three times as a member of congress. we want to hear from you over the course of our coverage. a number of ways you can join in -- our phone lines are open. the numbers are on your screen. #cspan chat on twitter. to of your says she hopes hear a plan about tax and income inequality. tell us what you think? what do you want to hear from the president? what do you want the president and congress to address in the year ahead? we have the senate historian. behindk in with him on the scenes on what happens and also how various technologies have changed over the years. the white house at a big push for social media and this yours state of the union address. >> for many years because the only people who could hear the address where people who sat in that gallery, the 19th century and early 20th century, presidents would send them a message and newspapers would cover the story. beginning in 1923, they can started -- then movie started -- then tv started covering it. the 1990s, they began streaming video worldwide essentially. re

congress. a classic example is the senator who does not like the war in vietnam. he brings a court action to challenge the legality of that action. a -- in a sense is the exact opposite. they have indicated that congress specifically considered the question of whether or not members of congress should get their health care in the same way that their constituents do. they made a conscious decision and boat after boat to create -- both after -- vote after vote. if it turned out to be a boon, then the votes would rise together. otherwise, they would suffer through the same problems. they experience those problems firsthand. role,s sense, the opm this is the part of the talent that has been filed today. it really interferes with the congressional judgment. it stops what happened in the halls of congress and effectively relaxes the impact of the decision that congress made to make congress and its staff members directly deal with the exact same health care situations as their constituents here in --

everyonen is that wants to blame congress including members of congress.ly around the 1980s, members of congress ran against the institution. they said government does not work but elect me to congress. there is a way in which people in government run against government. a lot of that has contributed. more and more, you have people who are going to washington and are using that as a platform to say washington does not work. that is a strange disconnect and that feeds on the cynicism of people. people say government does not work because people are going to washington who don't want government to work. as to the question of obamacare, it has become a matter of faith that this is the single most important issue in the republican party. it's interesting to hear from across the pond, their idea of a fetish. states, people would recognize that as well. not a new issue with this congress that people don't think the legislative branch works. people have been writing about this for more than a decade now. host: we will focus more on this but if you want to touch o

is doing a bad job they just need the president to act like he knows that congress is do it . welcome to tonight's special state of the union politics panel joining me marc harrold libertarian commentator attorney and author of team o'mara president of the young democrats of america and newsome national advisory council with the project twenty one black leadership network thanks for all all of you for joining us but it's great to have you with us. shouldn't we just as a starting point shouldn't we really be talking about congress's failures not president obama is i mean they've been. from from two thousand from january twentieth two thousand and nine the night that obama was inaugurated and fifteen republicans and newt gingrich and frank luntz got together at the caucus room restaurant and basically swore a blood oath to do everything they could to block any any success on his part i mean the agenda that the republicans have always had is ruin the economy to prevent him from having any success and then blame him for all of it and the american people i mean you know this is the

congress for u.s.a. today, thanks for coming by, we appreciate your time tonight. the president hasn't gotten along with congress all that well when he is trying to work with them. how is this sentiment? >> it depends on who you are talking to. so coming up here and reminding the person public that congress has not gotten a lot done is good for the president's politics. house speaker, john boehner, said if president tries to go it entirely alone, he will hit brick walls. >> and brick walls with members that won't do what he says. he is speaking to the american people tonight. what's the message he has to get across there? >> the president is coming up here at a precarious time. the six-year slump. i think he needs to remind the american people about why they should believe in him and his agenda and bring aspirational goals. the trick is whether or not the american people tuned him out or not. >> the last 20 years or so, state of the union ratings have gone down and down and i don't think you have to be a

i'm working around congress.hen we have those three pieces of real progress just in the last month and a half. >> on that molotov cocktail hate to have to pass -- >> saved by the bell. >> we'll leave that flaming here for awhile. we'll come back to it, wolf and john? >> anderson, good discussion. john king is here with the magic wall. the house of representatives, is it in play. >> less likely than right after the government shutdown. remember the conversations then when republicans were take the blame for the republican shutdown, everyone thought perhaps the democrats would get the majority back. let's go back in time a little bit. i want you to look at all the blue. look at the blue. i'm going to circle areas. this is just after president obama won his first election. this is what the congress looked like. the house of representatives. these are house districts in 2009. look at the areas i'm circling. i want you to watch something. that is early 2009. this is what happened after the 2010 mid terms. again look a

but he'll need congress' help on those. and while congress has been unwilling to act on many of those measures, the president tonight will be talking about executive actions, things he can do on his own to help jump start his second term. >> pelley: as we were just watching the first lady taking her place in her box with the president and first lady's guests as we wait for the president to enter in a short time here, bob schieffer, one of the things the president's staff has told us today is that the president is going to say he will work with congress where he can but he will bypass the republic house where he has to. how do you think that's going to play? >> he has not done that in the past. he has been -- has used executive power sparingly, much less so than any of his predecessors in the modern presidency. i'm angst to see how this is going to go over. you know, he announced today that he's going to increase the minimum wage for government workers, but what he's talking about, those that are employed under future contra

but it has to be within the power that congress has previously delegated. >> and congress has been veryfic about blocking that. i want to bring in more people into the conversation and talk about the president who most used executive orders. you want to stick around to find out who that was and what it means, ahead. >>> we're back with senator jeff merkley, we're also joined by dorian warren, associate professor of political science at columbia university. msnbc contributor josh barro, also politics editor. here's the chart that made me sit up and think art how should i feel about the imperial president executive power? here is the history. something i'd have no occasion to visit except for this. basically in context there's a bunch of presidents then there's fdr. that huge bar you see there is fdr. there's everyone else, they're around once in a while and fdr absolutely using this as a main lever. dorian, fdr is our hero in many ways as liberals but he was also unquestionably in some ways the most aggressive about executive power of any modern president. how should a liberal feel? >> o

intelligence agencies are meeting to discuss global threats with congress it's no surprise they're talking terrorism but there's also concern over leakers like edward snowden is this intel fear mongering more than that in just a moment. the states of the union did the president say anything groundbreaking last night or was he upstaged by a congressman who threatened to throw a reporter off a balcony more on that coming up. and we'll take a look at the shocking number of people dying and police custody and local u.s. jails lives lost to new due to the failure of staff to administer routine critical medicines will hear stories from the families affected later in the show. it's wednesday january twenty ninth eight pm here in washington d.c. i'm liz wall and you're watching our team america. well begin tonight with efforts to earn edward snowden the nobel peace prize the former n.s.a. contractor was nominated for the nobel peace prize today his name was added by two norwegian politicians that say he has made the world a safer place one of the nominators said quote the public debate and changes

congress dead-set against his agenda. and those who support his policies aren't sure he can get things done. the president's number one job, tonight, convince them he can. >> we want to go into the room tonight. we want to go in the chamber. show you some of the things that's happening. we think the first lady's arriving. here, the cabinet coming in. and jonathan karl is right there, inside that room. jon, tell us what you're seeing and what you've been hearing so far. >> reporter: the first lady came in just a few -- about a minute and a half ago. and what you're seeing here is the president, more than anything, wanting to tell the people in this room and the rest of the country, that he can turn the page on that horrible last year, the worst year of his presidency. you know, diane, when we were here a year ago, the president asked for a series of things from congress, ranging from raising the minimum wage to passing gun control. he got none of it. now, the overwhelming message tonight is he can act even if congress does

democrats in congress in the 20s. republicans in congress in the teens. so the position, the standing of everybody here in washington is very low and one of the reasons for that clearly is obamaobamac. to a certain degree i think the president will focus on income inequality or opportunity as he puts it because he wants to change the subject from obamacare and the problems well documented with the roll-out to this question of helping the middle class and trying to show that he is sensitive to people's concerns on issues like extending unemployment benefits, raising the minimum wage and that republicans are insensitive to that. it's a good issue for him. >> and one of the other things it seems we can be certain on his agenda tonight is immigration reform. and it appears there is some movement on the republican side in the house to where there may be some compromise coming, not 100% of what the president wants but compromise which would be unique in recent years. >> absolutely, that is one of the few areas tonight you'll hear the president and as you've sai

we'll look to work with congress where we can. as we have seen over the last several years now, congress is sometimes a little slow to action. we're not going to wait for that because we believe the american people are looking for concrete proposals to see progress and opportunity for everybody. >> joining me now is josh ernest. thank you for taking the time to tell us all the secrets you didn't want out there for the president's state of the union. forget the embargo. i feel like the president is going to enter the coliseum tonight and the spectators want blood. there's been a lot of talk about the president using the power of the pen and the telephone and the executive action to effect as much change as he can. is this truly the beginning? are we going to see executive orders on environmental issues? is he going to issue limits on new coal plants? are we going to see a real movement on epa concerns through executive order? >> sure. well, alex, as much as there is likely to be a coliseum like atmosphere, the real audience he want

he can ask bu. >> if he can't do it, congress, the republicans in congress were hurt last year that led to a shutdown because they were not able to get ahold of the far right of their party. the tea party. but everybody forgot about that when obamacare showed up. >> i disagree with joe. he said americans have a short-term memory. there are a lot of americans who remember the shutdown in '96. you saw the opinion polls, they got hurt badly and that's why they didn't try to shut down the government again. but it doesn't mean that there isn't a new era of bipartisanship because of that. there will have to be some bone thrown to the tea party. >> can't you make an argument that in the aftermath of the government shutdown, which we were talking about a moment ago, there have been a bunch of deals. >> well, short of a budget deal. it's not a new budget, that's the way congress is supposed to happen. it's let's take the old budget off the shelf and pass it. >> and a bit of a farm bill. that suggests that perhaps there is some--i'm not going to suggest a lot of room--for some things. baby steps

congress was right. the house was more right than the senate, and congress was more right than three different administrations. now we're being asked, oh, just don't do anything. trust the president. he'll do the right thing. the fact is that we're told by the administration we can adopt new sanctions in a mechanic -- nano second should he decide if that is important. what the administration means is they can adopt it if the administration agrees with them. if they don't, the capacity for delay sanctions has been proven. it was proven effective in 2009, it was proven effective eight years priority of the administration. what are the choices? we can act now and adopt sanctions that go in to effect in july, but also schedule a vote in july where congress could decide by joint resolution to suspend or prevent from becoming effective. we would do so. we can have a comprise approach. right and conference on the sanctions. and schedule a vote affirmative vote of both houses of congress without delay, without f

. >> are the voters or members of congress paying attention? >> tell congress to make this happen. give america a raise. >> on the left, stephanie cutter. on the right, s.e. cupp. in the "crossfire" -- mo elleithee who helped shape the message for the democratic party and sean spicer, the message chief for the republicans. opportunity agenda or a road block for job creators? tonight on "crossfire." >>> welcome to "crossfire." i'm s.e. cupp on the right. >> and i'm stephanie cutter on the left. in the "crossfire" tonight, both political parties top message men. one of president obama's biggest applause line last night, remipding america that women still earned 77 cents on the dollar compared to men. it seems nonpartisan to to say it is time to close the pay gap. watch this video closely. not everyone was very excited about it. keep your eyes on house speaker john boehner. >> women deserve equal pay for equal work. >> you might have noticed it took speaker boehner some time to figure out if you're having a woman giving your state of the union response you better stand up to support t

of course, to reach millions more, congress does need to get on board. today, the federal minimum wage is worth about 0% less than it was when ronald reagan first stood here. tom harkin and george miller have a bill to fix that by ifting the minimum wage to $10 .10. this will help families and give businesses customers with more money to spend. it does not involve any new bureaucratic program. join the rest of the country. say yes. give america a raise. give them a raise. there are steps we can take to help families make ends meet. fewer are more effected than the earned income tax credit. right now, it helps about half of all parents at some point. think about that. it helps about half of all parents in america at some point in their lives. but i agree with republicans like senator rubio that it doesn't do enough for single workers who don't have kids. let's do more to help americans get ahead. let's help americans save for retirement. today, most americans don't have a pension. social security check often isn't enough on its own. and while the stock ma

congress made to make congress and its staff members directly deal with healthcare me situation as theirconstituents. so, that, too, really makes this where, unlike past efforts by legislators to hit court and unlike these other instances in which his administration has not implemented the law that congress passed, this is a real case for the s senator and his staff to raise this objection directly in court. so we do think away feel confident there is standing and to having the opportunity to hit gate there there is standing and we look forward to having the opportunity to hit gate there issue in court. we are happy to open up to questions. and naudible] how do you your staff get health insurance and if you are successful what o you think is the most fair way for this situation to be remedied? ould you would to return to [inaudible]? > my wife went on the d.c. exchange and stopped almost immediately because first of all she couldn't get through and did just the, among personal information she had to fully consists she was aware of the lack of any kind of security on the website, she want

more interesting is this idea of trying to get around congress. not everybody likes it, but these executive orders do give him a hands to back up this idea of a year of action. i actually think it's important. >> to quote the "wall street journal", past speeches have been proposal graveyards. it's not that the president couldn't announce something significant tonight. it's just that it seems unlikely, especially if you consider that what he called for last year, tightening gun laws, addressing climate change, overhauling the immigration process, even increasing the minimum wage. i'm not sure we've seen much movement since he asked for those things. >> immigration reform passed the senate. it's really up to the house. we have seen some conversation, discussion, by house leadership that after the republican primaries, they're going to take that issue up. i think minimum wage is an issue where, you know, that's going to move when people feel the pressure to do it, and i think what the president is about to talk about tonight is not just federal actio

congress is in recess for the mlk holiday. auto show will be at the washington convention center on saturday. welcome to the sunday edition of "washington journal." we continue our series on america's first

my friends, the constitution gives the power to declare war to the congress but congress has not formally declared war since june of 1942, even though our nation has been involved in dozens of military actions of one scale or another since that time. there is reason for this. the nature of war is changing. it's increasingly unlikely that the combat operations that our nation will be involved in will resemble those of world war ii, where the standing armies and navies of nation-states squared off against those of rival nation-states on clearly defined fields of battle. rather, the conflicts in which increasingly we find ourselves and for which we must prepare will be murkier, harder to reconcile with the traditional notions of warfare, they may be are more limited in their objectives, their scope and their duration, and they likely will not conclude with a formal surrender ceremony on the deck of a battleship. the challenge for all of us serving in congress is this: how do we reconcile the changing nature of war with congress' proper role in the declaration of war? mr. mccain: it's not exa

he is working with congress. he has said let's pass the legislation that has been introduced in the senate and the house to raise the minimum wage, but should he have to wait because of the obstacles that are placed by republicans or because the republicans would prefer to shut down our government? i think he's saying, i'll do what i can as the executive of this government. but i'll try to do as much as i can working with congress. i heard a report earlier this morning that the president in the state of the union last year, he gave us 41 different items to pass. of those 41 different tasks that the president, who had just gotten re-elected by a wide margin put before congress. how many of those items did congress get to work on and pass? two. two. if we want to see another year of do nothing because congress is unwilling to act but wants to obstruct or shut down, then we won't get very far. the president says let's go as far as we can and if congress finds it difficult to walk and chew gum, he will do what he can

this has been the practice within the congress and without addressing others. this has been always the decision made by the party. >> accepting the initiative proposed by others, the absence of confidence in our political proceedings is attributed to individual reasons. and lack of the desire to take part in the process as a tactual move. however -- tactical move. however, the national congress believes that more arrangements, more arrangements and more reform are required for the political process to the better. this also applies to the constitution, and the other political measures whereby the transparency, democratic and integrity of the competition is guaranteed. without any recession, should believe that we have the final say. this will be judged by all of us and by others. we should act in genuine intention, and all the sudanese should take part with goodwill and genuine intention. the call is meant for them to take part and contribute. the freedom of political process is not limited only to election. yet it is the most ma mast manit of it. >> you've been

i think that angst and discussed about the way congress operates -- and disgust about the way congressates is common. i can understand that feeling. ask lobbyistsyou or business groups, a lot of people on k street did not want the government to shut down -- i would say almost all of them did not want the government to shut down. --did not and it was a smart they did not think it was the smart move. when you ask lawmakers why it happened, a lot of people said voters were upset. people in my district, constituents did not want the affordable care act to happen. the shutdown was part of this strategy to try to make that happen. it didn't work. the affordable care act is going forward. essentially, i think that was the response to constituents and voters and something that really wasn't responsive to k street. you can see -- even now in 2013, congress, washington was responsive to voters. host: kevin bogardus is with "the hill" newspaper. you can see his work at thehill.com or follow him on twitter. thanks for joining us today. that will do it for today on the "washington journal." see you

that proposal died in congress. last year in the wake of newtown, he ended his state of the union with a call for congress to reform gun laws. >> gabby giffords deserves a vote. the families of newtown deserve a vote. the families of aurora deserve a vote. the families of oak creek and tucson and blacksburg and the countless other communities ripped open by gun violence, they deserve a simple vote. >> easily the most powerful moment of any state of the union the president has given. and yet president got his vote in the senate, not in the house. but gun reform went nowhere for him. he also called on congress to pass a sbunbudget and do it wit brinksmanship. they were able to hammer out a two-year deal but only after a 16-day shutdown. immigration, any other policy that the president may push tonight may seem familiar. >> raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour. make high-quality preschool available to every single child in america. i'm announcing the launch of three more of these manufacturing hubs. new college

-- congresses that worked better than the current congress does. the care and feeding of the fisa regime which has gone through a great many rewrites over a long period of time, current following changes so quickly, it actually requires regular revisiting not just for the oversight reasons, that you the be, but also because technology changes and it bhoims out of date. the point bruce made about congress is, it is -- it can be devastating. it becomes harder and harder to reach a point where the congress with work in a bipartisan fashion, and this legislation always has to be bipartisan on a technically dense area of enormous legal complexity. when you create these oversight issues that the executive has to a work with, it creates huge burden, and it is actually an enormous problem. caps cans captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- [captions copyright national cable satellite corp 2014] >> the situation doesn't bother me, access bothers me. i had access to the information before. d.n.a. felt that the ow is from booz allen.

intelligence agencies are meeting to discuss global threats with congress it's no surprise they're talking terrorism but there's also concern over leakers like ad words no doubt more on that in just a moment. and we'll take a look at the shocking number of people dying in police custody and local u.s. jails lives lost due to the failure of staff to administer routine yet critical medicines we'll hear stories from families affected later on. it's wednesday january twenty ninth five pm here in washington d.c. i'm liz wall and you're watching r.t. america president obama addressed the nation last night for the annual state of the union speech after that speech the situation turned to grim for one reporter covering covering the event and then why one news reporter was interviewing representative michael graham and asked him a question about an investigation into illegal fund raising for the congressman's campaign all this outrage graham would then resorted to threatening the reporter and it was all caught on camera. you're. the. one with no. graham defended his actions but later apologized to

at that congress is trying to keep this in the dark. well congress is keeping it in the dark there is that it is that the broader issue is that there is unfortunately a collaboration between the administration and congress to give this in the dark one of the arguments as you say for the reform of mutes of the military is that there would make it more transparent but the. the administration could make the current policy more transparent right now without moving it from the cia this is an intelligence committee passed a provision that would require the administration to report on civilian casualties from georgia that could happen right now even if it's in the cia so in a way this issue of cia versus military is a distraction because both congress in the administration could move right now but to make the policy more transparent without moving anything from this yea to the military which is a more complicated reform well interestingly it's not just president obama that has expressed some concern about switching this program over even the c

the records show when they discussed congress has the power to declare war, they changed it from congress have the power to make war. they specifically said they want to make clear the president reserves the power to repel sudden attack. they did not know about terrorists that they knew about sudden attacks and they understood the president would need the ability. i believe the constitution provides guidance. it does not give all of the answers. some of the answers have been filled in by historical practice. the arguments made by executive branch is officials and what congress has or has not done as well. quietly will talk about some of asse changes in this segment we go through the history of emergency presidential power. is "emergency presidential power." you want to talk to chris, who serves as the -- our phone calls are open. -- as we are waiting for folks to call him, in your book, 9/11, everything changed when it came to emergency presidential powers. take a look. guest: vice president cheney said everything changed after december 11. i am not sure everything really changed. united

the president will not sign the republican congress' agenda. we can extend unemployment benefits if 1.6 million americans and pass farm and immigration reform and infrastructure or more. no one will get everything they want. also, the president will say he will not wait. he has a pen and he will use those to move the ball forward. >> there have been presidents before such as ronald reagan and a number of them who is dealt with congresses of different party and gotten things through, a lost serious stuff. can can't this president? >> we have a budget this year, he has a legislate we record that stands up to any, the affordable care act and wall street reform and an array of issues with made progress on. last year, the american people looked at washington, dc, with the shutdown, the near default and they were frustrated is the president has tried tory build the trust with the american people and make progress. they want progress. either in congress or from the president. >> how much can you do, say the big thing is to get legislation, that is how

drone attack on yemeni soil and another potential mistake that's comes while some members of congress disagree with president obama over whether the pentagon or the cia should control the u.s. drone program that story right ahead and a two p.p. trade deal could benefit hollywood internet activists worry that the pack will put too much power in the hands of the entertainment industry we'll tell you more coming up. and it's been one week since the chemical spill and west virginia's elk river officials have told residents it's all right to drink water unless you're pregnant or have an update on the week later in the show. it's thursday january sixteenth five pm in washington d.c. and we are david and you're watching our t.v. we begin today with the news that another innocent civilian has become the victim of a u.s. drone strike in yemen the attack was thought to have been intended for suspected islamist militants in the southeastern part of the country however it took the life of a farmer instead witnesses say the farmer had been walking home in the village of a how to early wednesday wh

our fall and winter sale to its controversial soak the legislation through congress. now supporters of the free internet away that's in the same provisions that when soap but are being treated in the trans pacific partnership the a a laugh. a defenders of digital rights of the trade deal could undermine free speech on the internet janine service providers into copyright cops was happening in the lives of actual legal and is taken down because it is no consideration for weather and the answer and it's no use his right to use on in his commentary is that the case on sunday. the pre web. media consolidation is part of the problem very few teaching groups controlling senate majority leader in this country. by the way into politics to do. you might need to sew for people who represent a grave threat to democracy and the states can dot com the founder of the file sharing site made up note with the rest of the new zealand base of an american criminal copyright and that when he ducked our te puke i knew that it was based on politics you know they have to be some kind of. and

, when congress disagrees with him. well, here's something, madam president, the president can legitimately do unilaterally. he has the authority to open the door to these 42,000 jobs, and i hope this evening that he will announce his intention of acting on approval of the keystone pipeline. another thing i hope the president will do tonight is encourage the majority leader to tank dozens of jobs bill -- to take up dozens of jobs bills that passed the house of representatives. many passed the house with bipartisan support and could pass the senate the same way. there's no good reasoning why the majority leader has decided to let them languish. surely we could take up a few of those bills. in the same spirit, i hope the president will call on his party in the senate to approve trade-promotion authority legislation, which would help -- which would help create u.s. jobs by giving farmers, ranchers, entrepreneurs and job creators in this country access to 1 billion new consumers around the globe. republicans hope the presid

the, congress is not going to rubber stamp the president's agenda. the president is not going to sign the republican congress' agenda so we have to find areas where we can work together. start by extending unemployment benefits for 1.6 million americans, pass a farm bill, pass immigration reform, infrastructure. there is a range of things we can do together. no one is going to get everything they want. but also the president can say to the country he is not going to wait. he has a pen and a phone. he'll use those to move the ball forward to create opportunity. >> but presidents before -- ronald reagan, a number of them -- have dealt with congresses of the different party and have been able to get things through -- a lot of serious stuff through. why can't this president. >> we have made progress. we have a budget this year. the president has the legislative record that stands up to any affordable care act. wall street reform array of issues we've made progress on. last year the american people looked at washington with the shutdown, near default and

a do-nothing congress. congress has single digit ratings. is his view shared among conservatives that it is better congress is an active? >> absolutely. a lot of republican theory is that federal government should do less and should not be intervening in people's lives. they should not be passing as many bills as they're passing, whereas democrats believe the opposite. democrats are in the majority. they're in session more. they believe it is the role of government to help people. republicans believe conservative republicans -- let's stay out of people's lives. when he said gridlock is not a bad thing, i think you would hear the speaker of the house say the same thing. they do not believe the idea of congress to keep passing laws in their view getting in the way a people's lives. they believe the state have -- the state should have more control. >> social conservatives will not get anything passed through a democrat-controlled senate. it is a challenging times it you might as well hope nothing on the social

and that is that this has been the least productive congress in the history of congress. and the president didn't talk about that in a structure -- as if congress has structural problems. he didn't talk about gridlock in washington. was that a deliberate strategic decision on your part? >> i think it's consistent with his philosophy, which is to look forward, to constantly look for the jest. people, to reach out his hand and tell them that he was willing to work with them, both sides of the aisle. but a very important point he did make is what he's not justice going to do that. he's going to take action on his own. just as today he announced he's going to raise the minimum wage for new federal contracts. he's going to look for other opportunities for executive actions. he's going to use his convening powers for mayors and governors and state legislators around the country. a very optimistic agenda ahead. there's so many things that give us reason to be optimistic. he's not going to put all of his eggs in one basket. >> i thought the moment in the speech -- this is chris h

we have worked very closely with congress and congress has been an excellent partner in that effort. the senators who have been discussing action in the current time period have been leaders thon issue. so we have -- leaders on this issue. so we have shared their objectives and commitment. >> you've been crystal clear on that point but ever since the white house issued that first veto threat, and said it in exactly those terms, we've had more democratic co-sponsors of this bill. so i'm just wondering, this is a top -- correct me if i'm wrong -- this is a top foreign policy priority for the president, if not the first this year. and yet you've had several top democrats simply say, no way. we're going ahead anyway. >> i think that you also have -- >> why don't you give the white house the benefit of the doubt? >> there have been a number of white house senators coming out strongly today urging this bill not to be voted on, urging this bill not to -- senators, their colleagues, not to support this legislation now, precisely for the reasons that the president has said. so you'll have to

he's making threats to congress he'll take unilateral action at the same time he's reaching out to congresswork together. let's achieve some common goals. >> he's got to thread that needle, wolf, and it won't be easy to do. he comes into a situation where as john was pointing out, he has a low approval rating, he has a public that's very pessimistic about what the rest of his term can achieve. the thing that he has going for him, wolf, is that he's more popular than the congress is right now. so if he says to people, look, i came to washington and i tried to change the way washington works but he wasn't successful at that, what he's going to say is i'm going to try to work around washington. when you look at the polling, a majority of the people say, look, if you have to work around them and you can get something done, whether it's through executive action, do it. get something done. i think what he's going to try to tell the public, listen to me. i think i can actually work with them on certain things and work around them on other things and i'll get that message through. because they need

he will not get anything done with congress.ere is not a lot he can do through executive order. i think he is trying to suggest that he's going to get things done to spur the economy. but he is very limited in what is available in that realm and the kinds of things that are tossed around as possibility are not the things that will turn around an economy such as an inneragency task force on competitiveness and small bureaucratic changes, that is not going to do the job. >> brad, there is not a lot of arrows in the quiver? >> i disagree, i think there is a lot of arrows and the president a mended law by executive order and administrative directive and law. the president motus oprand i. you tonight like it sue me. the president said i upon not waiting for congress. president's don't wait forss to president's lead congress to action. that issa i difference. the president saying if i don't get what i want, i will do it in executive order and there is i limit to presidential power. >> there is a interesting gall up poll out there toda

congress as well.

he has got, with the congress he has to dance with, he can only do so. >> when he said "it congress wants to help", he comes in with the executive order, and pretty much ignores congress, and then says "if you want to help", one of the things he spent time on was raging the minimum wage. that's something congress has to do and he repeatedly said, "you should do this." give america a raise was the line he used. that was something that stood out. i was amazed that it was almost 45 minutes before he even mentioned foreign policy, and that is the end of a mark of a country that is safe and secure and not worried about the rest of the world or a place where he doesn't want to talk about some things going on. >> again, i think it was a domestic speech. he was aiming at the congress. he was also running another issue, immigration. he mentioned it, but didn't poke the republicans, he said, "let's work together", now that there's potential movement with the republicans in the house on an immigration bill. foreign policy was at the end of the it was iraq, afghanistan, middle east. i would hav

i came to congress to help empower people. not politicians. to grow the working middle class, not the government. and to ensure that everyone in this country can find a job, because a job is so much more than a paycheck. it gives us purpose, dignity, and the foundation to build the future. i was single when i was elected. it was not long before i met brian, a retired navy commander and now we have three beautiful children, one who was born just eight weeks ago. like all parents, we have high hopes and dreams for our children. we also know what it is like to face challenges. we got news no parent expects. cole was diagnosed with downs syndrome. the doctor's told us he could have endless complications, heart defects, even early alzheimer's. they told us all the problems but we looked at our son, we saw only possibilities. we saw a gift from god. today, we see a six-year-old boy who dances to bruce sprinsteen and reads above grade level and who is the best big brother in the world. we see all the things he can do. not those he cannot. cole and hi

in terms of how long congress i have communicate with congress saying we thought the ability to manage through the debt limit being hit on february 7 would it is maybe to the end of february or early march. it's a very unpredictable time of the year. in terms of cash flow. host: those were his comments last week. this is the headline from "the hill.com." of thethis is a slip tongue that harry reid had where he talked about a lack of urgency in dealing with the debt ceiling. beingked about it something that can be within late may and his office quickly walked this back and said he was just responding to something he read in the media and nothing from treasury. this is a bit of a slip and it's on but it's an important issue. people should not think the fiscal fights of going away. the debt ceiling officially runs out on february 7. the treasury department can use a drug. measures as it has in the past to extend that deadline and make it fuzzy. thisjack lew says is that is not going to be months and months of extra ordinary measures. it will be something that congress needs to deal with.

when congress passed the telecommunications act of 1996 it was my second term in congress. my first term on the committee, and there were just 11 references to the internet. the word internet, and only one mention of broadband across 128-page bill. many proponents of updating the act have cited this as evidence that the act is outdated. and unable to keep up with changes in technology. but as chairman wheeler affirmed last week, the communications act continues to provide the fcc with ample authority to exercise its role in this new environment. the court's decision yesterday, i believe, furthers this argument by upholding the fcc's existing authority to yoefsh see broadband services. and i think that's very important for consumers across the country. i make these points not to discourage the subcommittee's review of the act. i join with the chairman to review this. i think that's it's a worthy exercise. but rather we need to ensure that we know what problems we're trying to fix before undertaking a multi-year examination that include hearings, stakeholder meetings, white p

of course, to reach millions more, congress does need to get on board. today, the federal minimum wage is worth about 0% less than it was when ronald reagan first stood here. tom harkin and george miller have a bill to fix that by ifting the minimum wage to $10 .10. this will help families and give businesses customers with more money to spend. it does not involve any new bureaucratic program. join the rest of the country. say yes. give america a raise. give them a raise. there are steps we can take to help families make ends meet. fewer are more effected than the earned income tax credit. right now, it helps about half of all parents at some point. think about that. it helps about half of all parents in america at some point in their lives. but i agree with republicans like senator rubio that it doesn't do enough for single workers who don't have kids. let's do more to help americans get ahead. let's help americans save for retirement. today, most americans don't have a pension. social security check often isn't enough on its own. and while the stock ma