as chair of the congressional black caucus, mr. cleaver used his position of leadership to help elevate and embolden us to address some of the great social and economic challenges of our day, not just for african-americans, but for all americans. which remines me of the evening in north carolina at the -- reminds me in the evening in north carolina at the sdratic convention when he gave that fiery speech that brought everyone to their feet. he reminded us in america that our strength is rooted in our nation's most profound gift, its diversity. he reminded us no matter how difficult times may get or may be that we must hope on. that is the power of our hope that drives us to not give up when we have failed but to try again until we get it right. as i complete my first term in congress, let me thank the chairman for his counsel, his guidance and his friendship. he's provided advice and wisdom that as a newcomer to washington has been invaluable. he's stepping down as head of the congressional black caugs, but we will all continue to

i hope they will never forget why he earned a congressional gold medal.se] >> ladies and gentlemen, the singer-songwriter vince gill will now perform "you've got a friend." >> that is a pretty tough act to follow right there. [laughter] i just want to say thank you for the personal invitation from arnie to come sing for your great, great award. you received this award because you are a gentleman, because you have earned it, and you deserve it. you are the most beloved man in the history of sports in my eyes. god bless you. [applause] ♪ when you're down and the troubled and you need a helping hand and nothing, whoa, nothing is going right close your eyes and think of me and soon i will be there to brighten up even your darkest nights you just call out my name and you know where ever i am i'll come running to see you again winter, spring, summer, or fall all you have got to do is call and i will be there, yeah, yeah, yeah you've got a friend ♪ ♪ if the sky above you should turn dark and full of clouds and that cold north wind should begin to blow keep your

. >>> with just four days before the deadline, president obama meets with congressional leaders today in hopes of reaching a compromise. >>> and less dairy for your dollar. without action by congress by new year's day, milk prices could skyrocket. >> if we want to continue to eat, the bill needs to be passed. that's where we get our food, people. captioning funded by cbs >>> this is the "cbs morning news" for friday, december 28th, 2012. good morning. good to be with you. i'm duarte geraldino. this afternoon president obama will meet with congressional leader to try to come to a deal to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. they've been called into a sunday evening session just in case some deal can be reached. boehner is expected to attend the white house meeting but he's made it very clear. the next move is up to the senate. tara mergener has more. >> good morning, duarte. both sides say they are eager to talk and ready to strike a deal. the fiscal cliff is still a few days away, but business owner don carlino says he's already feeling the impact. >> a lot of our customers are holding b

you are so well deserving of this congressional gold medal i can only begin to express my thrills and happiness that we are able to present this to you today in this special place, a very special woman. thank you. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the senator from the state of arizona, the hon. john mccain. >> at my age i try to be realistic about how many more times i will be surprised by a wonderful turn of the events. i am not sure i expected that i would have the honor of welcoming my personal hero, aung san suu kyi to the united states, that you could travel abroad without fear of being barred from returning to the country she loves and served so well. i consider myself an unfortunate to have lived to see this day and to know the people of burma whose dignity and rights aung san suu kyi has sacrificed so much to defend and will one day be free to live with dignity and justice and hope. is a testament to the courage of the burmese people and the person they call simply the lady that that day is approaching. i have known a few brave and inspiring people but none more so than the

of congressional management foundation.f you'd like to get involved in the conversation give us a call. the numbers are on the bottom of your screen. you can also reach out to us via social media, twitter, facebook, and send us an e-mail. for the last week-and-a-half, two weeks, the freshmen members have been going through orientation, most behind closed doors. tell us what they've been doing. >> first an indoctrination into the rules that will govern their personal lives to some extent. there is a new ethics regime. you have to disclose all the information related to your personal assets, your spouse has to disclose all of his or her information. you get a quick indoctrination into the committee assignment process so they are taught how to go for committee assignments. also involved in leadership elections. the house and senate both have their leadership elections in november where they determine who their leaders are going to be. so if there's any competition -- which there wasn't this time but sometimes there is -- for l

he met with congressional leaders one on one for a last make it or break it negotiation. fox's ed henry takes a look at where things stand just days away from the fiscal cliff. >> timing is we're out of time. we got to do it now. that's why i said the next 24 hours will be very important. >> reporter: with the nation on the verge of the largest tax increase since toward war 2 president obama called congressional leaders to the white house for one last desperate shot at a -- world war ii, president obama called congressional leaders to the white house for one last desperate shot at a deal. some republicans believe the meeting with the president is really just for show. >> when the president calls congressional leaders to the white house, it's all political theater or they've got a deal. >> reporter: democrats insist the president tried for weeks to get an agreement on plan a, a $4 trillion debt deal, and after the failure of speaker john boehner's plan b mr. obama has taken the initiative to bring plan c to the meeting today. >> this is not for show. this is a last ditch e

so congressional leaders left here. other than house minority leader nancy pelosi i'm now hearing senate majority leader harry reid has joined her in making comments back at capitol hill. we'll let you know what they say as soon as that is transmitted to us. there are other directed comments they made little progress something they have been saying after the meetings the last few months. adam? >> we're looking to turn around reid's comments so we all can hear them. when you talk about the president he is up-or-down vote, someone referred to this as plan-c. is this the offer you reported on a while back where he would move the bottom line tax increase to 400,000 for the upper incomes as opposed to 250,000? is that on the table. >> we don't know if that is the specifically the offer on the table. it started at president's opening offer 250. you could see a pathway forward to raise the threshold up to 400, $500,000 a year, any amounts below that don't get tax increase. any amounts above that get tax increase. end of the ye

the president summons congressional leaders to the white house. what will it take to get a deal and prevent your taxes from going up? >>> winter blast. we're tracking yet another big storm. tonight, the latest on where it is headed and how it will impact holiday travel. >>> caught in the middle. tonight, hundreds of children and families with shattered dreams. why has the russian government banned adoptions by u.s. citizens? >>> and new revelations about ronald reagan's relationships with two of the most powerful women in the world, the queen and margaret thatcher in documents released three decades later. "nightly news" begins now. >>> from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. >>> good evening, i'm natalie morales in tonight for brian. it is down to the wire now with about 80 hours until the fiscal cliff deadline. and on what is a holiday weekend for many, that is not the case for congressional leaders in washington. there was a sense of urgency today as the president met with house and senate l

you know what congressional people do when money seems cheap. they spend more of it than they have. >> mandy, this is something we talked about yesterday in the absence of -- of market pressure. >> right. >> you know, what is the impetus for policy makers to concede their points? >> good point, absolutely. we agree on that one. >> thank you, guys. happy new year. if we don't see you later. i think we will see you later. >> where are we siting? about 50 minutes away from the "closing bell." at this stage the dow is back above the 13,000 mark. a lot of the leaders have already gone behind closed doors. we'll wait to find out anything, anything at all that, comes out of the very important white house meeting. >> and when we come back, which dow components will be darlings and which will be the dogs of next year? our market watchers give you their fix coming up. >> plus, the ceo-of-starbucks appears to be confused about what the fiscal cliff is and why it is so important. >> we'll get into that. plus, after the bell, michigan congressman sander levi

." >> brown: then, we turn to another congressional battle. kwame holman reports on sparring in the senate over proposals to change rules blamed for partisan gridlock. >> majority democrats want to put limits on the phil buster, a tactic used to delay legislation but republicans say the tool is key to protecting their minority rights. >> warner: on the eve of world aids day, ray suarez updates the hopes and frustrations in the fight against the deadly disease. >> brown: mark shields and david brooks analyze the weeks news. >> warner: and is the grand canyon 60 million years older than we've long thought? we ask science correspondent miles o'brien. >> brown: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> and by bnsf railway. and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> warner: washington's clock ticked another

after congressional republicans released their plan yesterday, which gives them everything they want and promises democrats that they might get something undefined that they might want maybe some time in the future. we'll talk about it later. after they put forth that sweet deal, this was the reaction from the beltway's conservative class. this is genius. sadly, this plan leaves conservatives wanting. wanting what exactly? the declaration that mitt romney is actually president? wanting what? a pony? there's a conservative guy who didn't get his pony. let's add the pony. how are you happy? still not happy? this is a game. republicans put forward an offer in which they get everything they want. democrats get nothing, even though democrats won the election. then the republicans have the people on their own side squawk and complain as if what's just happened is such a compromise. they must be giving so much to be upsetting their own side so much. it's total bull puckey. it's fine. everybody knows they are doing this. but if you have been following the back and forth in washington over th

on monday we hit the congressionally set debt ceiling. the record of four years of deficits at trillion dollars levels. the national debt at an all-time high. social security running a deficit for the second year in a row and now democrats: republicans to raise the debt ceiling again. despite the fact they raised it by 1.2 trillion less than a year ago. sounds like our leaders have to make a few financial resolutions this year. here are my suggestions for them. don't spend more money than you take in. pretty basic stuff for most of us. this year the fed spent $29,691 per household. they borrowed $3.20 of that of every $10 they spend. now i've got to tell you come up will require some discipline cutting spending, in other words you can't tax your way to the fiscal solvency. my next resolution. plan ahead. make a budget. the senate has failed to do this in for the last four years. he can't get ahead if you don't know where you're going. and stop lying. the federal budget is full of gimmicks that are just stinky life like the automatic spend

captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> brown: after talks between president obama and congressional republicans stall, the house moves toward a vote on speaker boehner's plan-b for limited tax increases. good evening, i'm jeffrey brown. >> suarez: and i'm ray suarez. on the "newshour" tonight, we sort through the state of play and the latest political maneuvering with congress watcher norman ornstein and political editor christina bellantoni. >> brown: then we look at the suspension of the u.n.'s polio eradication campaign in pakistan, after the killings of nine aid workers. >> suarez: from capitol hill, kwame holman reports on two congressional hearings today where state department officials accepted blame in failing to protect the u.s. diplomatic mission in libya. >> we have to do better. we owe it to our colleagues who lost their lives in benghazi. we owe it to the security professnals who acted with such extraordinary heroism that awful night to try to protect them, and we owe it to thousands of our colleagues serving america with a great dedication every day in diplomatic posts

this afternoon president obama will meet with congressional leader to try to come to a deal to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. they've been called into a sunday evening session just in case some deal can be reached. boehner is expected to attend the white house meeting but he's made it very clear. the next move is up to the senate. tara mergener has more. >> good morning, duarte. both sides say they are eager to talk and ready to strike a deal. the fiscal cliff is still a few days away, but business owner don carlino says he's already feeling the impact. >> a lot of our customers are holding back, they're apprehensive. they're not committing to projects. they're waiting to see what happens with the fiscal cliff. >> hope is fact if congress can get it done before january 1st. even congressional leaders are skeptical. >> the american people have a right to be very upset with this congress. >> president obama has invited nancy pelosi, john boehner, mitch mcconnell, and harry reid to the white house this afternoon for a fiscal cliff summit. >> here we are five days from the new year, a

how we draw congressional mats and legislative seats is politics, right? it's played by both sides for the advantage of their side whenever they can. what is different now is that republicans are talking about crossing a rubicon here that has never been crossed before. and in these states, there is not necessarily anything to stop them. this is not just going to be how we decide who goes to congress. if they get their way, this will be forever how we decide who goes to the white house. i get congested. but now, with zyrtec-d®, i have the proven allergy relief of zyrtec®, plus a powerful decongestant. zyrtec-d® lets me breath freer, so i can love the air. [ male announcer ] zyrtec-d®. behind the pharmacy counter. no prescription needed. >>> in addition, we should consider reforms to the redistricting process for state and federal offices so that districts were drawn in a way that is neutral, that promotes fair and effective representation for all, and that can't be abused to protect incumbents and undercut electoral competition. >> attorney general eric hol

president obama will meet with congressional members later today. >> president obama and congressional leaders need to make progress. today's meeting at the white house could be a final opportunity. >> may be the president might make a new offer in getting toward the 11th hour of the negotiations. >> without a deal, taxes will go up on every worker and next week. et in.pending cuts sai >> the government is supposed to be working for the people and i do not see that. >> senators came back from their christmas break early. nt overblicans have bee backwards. we wanted an agreement. but we had no takers. >> we are in the same situation we it been in for a long time. we cannot negotiate with ourselves. >> house members will come back to work on sunday and will work through the new year if needed. republic and say they are willing to compromise on taxes but not more government spending. the goal is to get a deal before midnight monday. a growing number of lawmakers doubt that will happen. danielle leigh, wbal-tv 11 news. >> today marks two weeks since the shooting tragedy in newtown, connect

but there is a way in which congress, and particularly congressional republicans may actually be helping president obama out right now. everybody's always known two things about the cliff. you're almost certainly going to get more taxes in a deal after you go over than in a deal before you go over it. that's because after you go over the cliff, taxes already go up for everybody. so anything you do, any reasonable deal congress reaches, it will be a big tax cut. but the other thing about the fiscal cliff is you don't want to be blamed for going over it. it is going to be bad for the economy. it's bad for the country. what speaker boehner's done is create a situation in which we're going to go over the fiscal cliff. but the people who want higher taxes, the democrats, they're not going to be blamed for it. after all, it was john boehner who walked away from negotiations to try plan "b" last week. then it was john boehner who planned to pass plan "b" that very same week. then it was mr. boehner who said it was up to the senate, someone else's problem. just from a pr perspective, what john b

so far three of the big four congressional leaders left.ting on senate majority leader harry reid to leave the west wing. but at his point, three out of the four left. didn't say a word. we don't expect the senate majority leader to do anything different and actually talk to us about this one. so we're basically waiting for congressional aides to leak it to us. david: one thing that was just leaked to us, house speaker boehner is not going to the capitol. again they will have, they will meeting tomorrow. they may even meet sunday or even on new's year day, seems like things are wrapped up as far as john boehner is concernee. rich edson, thanks very much. shibani? shibani: goldman sachs ceo lloyd blankfein one of the ceo's set to speak with the president in an hour's time on latest details on the fiscal cliff talks. the financial sector on track for its biggest gain in nine years. what remains ahead for financials and what is at stake stake for the industry with the fiscal cliff looming? let's ask marty mosby, guggenheim bank analyst. let's

president obama and congressional leaders just wrapped up a meeting at the white house. we stand right now at three days and counting until that new year's deadline when taxes would go up for all u.s. taxpayers and steep spending cuts would kick in across the board. nicole collins has the latest. >> reporter: john boehner back in washington immediately heading to the white house, which brought the president and congressional leaders together the first time since november, but it's unclear if it brought the country closer to avoiding the fiscal cliff. >> when the president calls congressional leaders to the white house, it's all political theatre or they have a deal. not that it's all political theatre. >> this is not for show but a last-ditch effort by the president to bring congressional leader together to try to get a small package at least, a small deal together before the new year. >> reporter: the president called the meeting as lawmakers pointed fingers in this high- stakes game of chicken. >> the republicans who are holding hostage the middle class in america soci

at the white house, congressional leaders with the president and vice president.ere is maybe a little bit of a kumbaya feel or them at odds, which will really set the tone for what we're expecting here. >> you mentioned the markets. the markets will take it hard by all accounts if we go over the cliff and we hit the debt ceiling on monday. timothy geithner will take extraordinary measures not to do so. once we lose our credit rating as well, that you can't reverse. prix an bre anna keeler, thank you. >>> and look no further than the dow to see what might happen if we go over the fiscal cliff. investors sensing little hope for a fiscal cliff compromise. and announcement of a fiscal cliff meeting at the white house, and reversal of fortune. dow bounced back before finishing slightly lower. >>> the most popular american general since world war ii, and tributes are pouring in for stormin norman schwarzkopf. he testeam rolled the iraqi military is in 1991 gulf war, liberating kuwait. he may have been the perfect front man for the first war who played out live in your l

how we draw congressional mats and legislative seats is politics, right? it's played by both sides for the advantage of their side whenever they can. what is different now is that republicans are talking about crossing a rubicon here that has never been crossed before. and in these states, there is not necessarily anything to stop them. this is not just going to be how we decide who goes to congress. if they get their way, this will be forever. how we decide who goes to the white house. a lot of weight, c-max has a nice little trait, you see, c-max helps you load your freight, with its foot-activated lift gate. but that's not all you'll see, cause c-max also beats prius v, with better mpg. say hi to the all-new 47 combined mpg c-max hybrid. pretty sweet, huh? cute. but don't you have any apps on your phone that can make your life easier? who do you think i am, quicken loans? at quicken loans, we'll provide you with myql mobile. this amazingly useful app allows you to take pictures of your mortgage documents using an iphone or android smart phone... so you

how we draw congressional mats and legislative seats is politics, right? it's played by both sides for the advantage of their side whenever they can. what is different now is that republicans are talking about crossing a rubicon here that has never been crossed before. and in these states, there is not necessarily anything to stop them. this is not just going to be how we decide who goes to congress. if they get their way, this will be forever how we decide who goes to the white house. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't unstuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels speeds relief to your worst cold symptoms plus has a decongestant for your stuffy nose. thanks. that's the cold truth! thanks. we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of tim and laura. it's amazing how appreciative people are when you tell them they could save a lot of money on their car insurance by switching to geico...they may even make you their best man. may i have the rings please? ah, helzberg diamonds. nice choice, mate. ...and now in the pr

one of those congressional members is lying. either the republicans are right on cutting taxes on small business also add jobs, or the president's stimulus policies are fuelling the economic recovery in this country. joining me tonight to sort out the facts, david cay johnston, pulitzer prize winning journalist and author of "the fine print. let's start with the job growth. unemployment hit rock bottom near the beginning of the -- under the bush administration. you can see this right here. and this of course the changing the color here is when president obama took over in january of '09. who is responsible for this turnaround? >> absolutely the president. and it would be a better turnaround if the republicans had allowed a bigger stimulus. we'd have many more jobs. >> you'd make the case we didn't spend enough on the economy? >> not only did we not spend enough, but we wasted 40% of it on tax cuts for small business, which is inherently savings and not stimulus. it was a real policy mistake. >> so considering where we are, and n

president obama will be meeting with congressional leaders later today. danielle leigh joins us. >> that meeting in many ways a last opportunity for the president and congressional leaders to reach a deal and get something done before this year is over. if this meeting is unsuccessful it could seal this country's fate, as some developments yesterday. house members no longer on stand by. ready to come back sunday. to take a vote. when these tax cuts expire just about every worker is going to see their paycheck reduced. it's going to eliminate unemployment extensions and initiate spending cuts across the board. >> how will people see this in their paychecks and in their taxes? >> workers will feel it immediately in their paychecks. those paychecks will be reduced. those making 40,000, 50,000 are going to see 1700 less a year. it continues as the wages increase. so people are going to feel this in their pocketbooks. >> all right, danielle, thank you. >>> last night on the rachel maddow show, debbie stab nau talked about the looming fiscal cliff. >> i'm not s

congressional hearings today where state department officials accepted blame in failing to protect the u.s. diplomatic mission in libya. >> we have to do better. we owe it to our colleagues who lost their lives in benghazi. we owe it to the security professionals who acted with such extraordinary heroism that awful night to try to protect them, and we owe it to thousands of our colleagues serving america with a great dedication every day in diplomatic posts around the world. >> brown: spending versus saving: amid the last-minute holiday rush, paul solman weighs the economic benefits. >> holiday season grand central terminal and a key question: is consumerism kind of a bad thing that's overdone this time of year? or is it the key driving economic and moral force in our society? >> suarez: and we close with another in our series of interviews with newly elected congressional members. tonight, north dakota's senator- elect, democrat heidi heitkamp. >> brown: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160

>>> "d" day for president obama and congressional leaders. automatic tax hikes and smaller paychecks hang in the balance. >>> an american military here row the four-star general known as stormin' norman schwarzkopf has died. >>> 16 deaths blamed on the most recent winter storm with another one on the way. >>> a fiscal milk cliff could be humaning. thieves clean out a walmart, including guns, and bears over the bruins in the holiday bowl. "early today" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "early today" for friday, december 28th, 2012. >>> good morning, i'm mara schiavocampo. even as the finger pointing continues on capitol hill this morning there is new hope for a deal to avoid that pass cal cliff. president obama will be meeting with congressional leaders later today. nbc's danielle leigh joins us live with the latest on capitol hill. danielle what is the datest in terms of what we can expect in the next coming days and the likelihood that they can reach a deal? >> reporter: mara, good morning. well, this meeting that is the last meeting a

congressional leaders have arrived at white house. they arrived there about an hour ago with three days to go before we go over that proverbial fiscal cliff. they are meeting with the president and the treasury secretary timothy geithner, and they are trying to hash out a deal. but reports that the president has nothing new on the table has ended up spooking wall street in a big way just in the last hour, and as bill said we finished down near the lows of the day, down about 157 points for the dow. settling up right now. down what, about 165 at the very low, bill? >> i think so, yes. >> and the nasdaq finishing down 25 points and the s&p off by 15, a fifth straight day in the red. well, it is the last friday of 2012. it's in the books. check. still no deal in sight and no new offer either on the table from the president as eamon javers told us a little while ago. what now for the markets? we have our guests and our very own rick sell sebak with us. rick, let me get to you, first of all, because you're here on the set. what now for the

i want to work together because the issues of the 15th congressional district are very similar to the congressional districts throughout the bay area, and we have jobs, transportation, housing, our seniors, they all have the same issues in the bay area, and i've actually worked very closely with my colleagues already about what we're going to do together in the 113th congress to help the folks back at home. >> i wonder if you feel if because they didn't support you that you have a measure of independence that perhaps you wouldn't have had if you had run with their support and they had helped you raise money and that kind of thing. >> we did arrive here on our own. it was a very grassroots local campaign supported by local volunteers and elected officials. but the campaign is over and now folks want us to come back here and work together, not just with my colleagues in the bay area but with folks across the aisle. that's what i plan to do. i do plan to keep that independent streak with me knowing that i do have to work with others, compromise when necessary, but the principles of growi

chief congressional correspondent for the "washington examiner".eeing dianne feinstein there on the senate floor. it is vacant on the house side. so in truth how much is really going to get done? >> well, gregg, a lot of this negotiations are really taking place between the leadership levels right now. we don't really have to worry about what is happening on the house floor. it's about what is going on at the white house. now, the president today is going to meet with congressional leaders from both parties, both chambers. they will sit down. they will talk about a potential deal. the president might offer something that maybe the republicans could go for. it wouldn't be a sweeping deal. gregg: like what? >> might be something smaller. well, it would be something that could potentially avoid the major tax hikes coming in january. that is the most politically treacherous for these members. they need to find a way to stop taxes going up for everybody. if there is a deal it will probably focus on the range of taxes that are coming. gregg: susan, the h

will meet with congressional white house. it may be too late for a deal.ays left before the fiscal cliff deadline. jive to be very honest mr. president, -- >> i have to be very honest mr. president, i don't know time-wise how it can happen now. >> reporter: senate majority leader harry reid]vtkÑ lashed ot at speaker boehner accusing him of running a tar forship. >> john boehner seems to -- >> reporter: republican leaders blame democrats for the standoff and say there are limits to a compromise. >> republicans aren't about to write a blank cheque or anything senate democrats put forward just because we find ourselves at the edge of the cliff. that wouldn't be fair to the american people. >> reporter: president obama flew home early from his hawaii vacation yesterday. speaker boehner call the house back into town for an unusual sunday session. members of congress understand the 11th hour acts may not be enough to appease the public. >> the american people have a right to be very upset with this congress. >> reporter: the fiscal cliff would bring massive tax

the president with congressional leaders at the white house. as soon as mr. obama arrives to the podium, will bring it to live. >> there is heartbreak tonight for hundreds of american families were trying to adopt children from russia. their dreams were dashed. >> latimer cutin signed a bill into law banning adoptions by american families. -- vladmir putin signed a bill into law banning adoptions by american families. >> this blanket were to go with us for a trip to russia. >> the room was ready. the four year-old special needs child is currently in a russian orphanage. >> she is beautiful. she is so bright and full of life. we want to be able to share that with her. >> their adoption might be in jeopardy. russian president vladimir pugin just signed a law banning americans from adopting -- putin just signed a law banning americans from adopting russian children. it goes into effect january 1. the state department issued this caution, saying, we're for the concerned about statements that adoption already underway may be stopped. the national council for adopt

we have, congressional and white house and presidential salary, for each day we don't get it done. cut it in half and again and come up with something that puts the pressure where it should be which is on the politicians, not on everybody else. you go to parties and people watch the ball drop and wonder why we have a self-inflicted economic crisis. self inflicted. not from the markets but from the congress. >> that sounds great but i think you and i both know that's not politically feasible talking about something that's politically feasible over three to four days, what are we looking at here, michael? what at this point has the greatest chance of getting through both houses of congress? >> i mean, i think it's really hard, the people i have talked to suggest it's very hard to see what gets through. i think the closest that people get to some kind of agreement is this idea that peter alexander talked about. is there a way that john boehner finally concludes to have some smaller subset of republicans in the house combined with democrats in the house and push something through? i ha

he read the congressional record every night. i said, somebody told me you read the congressional record every night. he said, don't you? i said, of course, and we moved on there. [laughter] if you are in a debate with him, you better bring a light lunch. he loves the phrase "combat." one would've thought after he had enough of that, when he was the hero of deadly combat, he said it was still fun and somewhat safer in the senate. he always wanted to make things work. that is a sick idea, but it is valid, to make something work and get off your can and get it done. he came up one day to dole and said, where is my bill? immediately coughed it up and he immediately got on with it. he liked progress and not procrastination. if you are damned if you do and damned if you don't, then do. that is his philosophy. we can think of so many. i was in a tough floor debate. these guys were good. i was feeling very vulnerable. i was defensive and i was on fire. i was really getting worked out. i was ranting rightly, i thought. there was a break

president obama meets with the top congressional leaders. no deal can be reached impasse without their meeting. so far the fiscal talks have been when all four of these leaders have been present. >> whether he meant it or not, it seems exhaustive. >> i mean what's going on here? >> what indeed. president obama returned to the white house in a grim mood. he met with no congressional leaders and said nothing about his efforts to avert the fiscal cliff. talks continue between senior white house and congressional staff, but that's been true throughout then tire saga. with the deadline looming there were dire predictions. >> come the first of this year, americans will have less income than they have today. >> and rekrimm nations. >> now republicans have bent over backward. we've stepped way, way out of our comfort zone. we wanted an agreement, but we had no takers. >> the senate's top democrat said it has nothing to do with phone calls but house republican obstruction. >> thehouse of representatives is operating without the house of representativ

congressional leaders meeting at the white house right now, and there is -- the question is is there chance there's a deal before we hit the cliff, or do we just hunker down and wait for spring? gosh, i hope not. lance roberts, ceo of street talk, joining me in a fox business exclusive. lance, thank you. look, they are meeting in washington now. i don't know whether we should be excited or not. what do you think is the outcome? when do you think we'll get something done? >> not until after the first of the year. ashley: what! how late into the new year do you think? >> well, here's the bottom line, as we look at this and what is going on, there's no resolution over the weekend, and, really, before monday, there's too much at stake here for the republican side of the bench. a lot of these -- the republicans come up for election again in 2014 so this is a very important game for them at this point. they got to please their constituents so, you know, the battle's over who do you raise tax rates on, what level, and, of course, more importantly, what's spending will be cut? that's why i d

speaker, the nonpartisan congressional budget office has stated in the health care were enacted, the federal government alone would save $48 billion over the next 10 years. other studies have shown the savings to be much higher. some as high as $200 billion annually overall in health care which indeed constitutes, as my colleagues know, nearly 1/5 of our entire economy. tort reform helps in defensive medicine, which is the largest cost drivers in health care. when physicians are forced to order these excessive tests simply to avoid malpractice suits, health care costs go up and patient safety goes down. if the gentleman would yield an additional 30 seconds. mr. ryan: 30 second. mr. gingrey: i believe that the health act will improve health care delivery in this country. this is the type of commonsense market-based reform that our health care system requires. mr. speaker, i fully support h.r. 6684, and more specifically, the immense benefits that the health act will not only have on the federal budget but on the health of our nation. and with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore

. >> congressional democrats operating like they don't have to compromise on spending or taxes. >> elections have consequences. the president campaigned, made it very clear. made very clear that he was supporting tax cuts for the mile-class, thathe wanted the expiration of thetax cuts for the high end. >> very little progress among the inside player so ar, the president plans to keep pressuring republicans from the outside. meeting with the nation's governors on tuesday and then addressing the business roundtable on wednesda. lou: thank you. ed henry, fox news chief white house correspondent. joining me now, a pulitzer prize-winning journalist, campaign strategists, former reagan political director of, veteran democratic campaign strategists. we thank you all for being here. let's turn, if i may, to you. this is an impasse, a stal i'm going to be the one who raises taxes, but you're going to be the ones to cut medicare. if you want cuts in entitlements, but the mob. i'm not going to do both for you. lou: here is a thought. that is, the obama white house has made a rare mistake, miscalculatio

. >> former congressional leaders discuss what washington learned from the 1990 deficit agreement that eventually helped frame the federal budget into surplus. speakers include tom fully. this is just under three hours of. >> ok. welcome. i am the director of public administration program. i want to welcome you to the session, which we are calling looking back to move a forward. this is co-sponsored by george mason university and the bipartisan policy center. it is our pleasure to put this on and to recognize with all the frenzy about the fiscal cliff that we have a history. some of the history is successful in resolving deep seated hard choices. that is will we will look back and talk about today and see whether we can learn any lessons from the experience. we will go over the detailed program in a few minutes. i want to introduce our keynote speaker tom davis. he has covered many basis. he was the county executive of fairfax county. he was the representative to congress and became a chair and it did many important hearings and remains very active as a speaker and a policy observer. h

(cheers and applause) well, the congressional black caucus representative marcia fudge-- that's right, you heard me-- (laughter) marcia. (laughter) actually, congresswoman fudge is one of our nation's most hardworking and i can only assume delicious congress people. (laughter) she had a theory about ambassador rice. >> any time something goes wrong they pick on women and minorities. >> come on now! >> i have a real issue with that. susan rice's comments didn't send us to iraq and afghanistan. >> uh-huh! >> well -- >> somebody else's did. i'm probably not the most educated person in this house. >> you're an attorney. >> but i'm close. just go on and hate on. but look in the mirror and hate yourself, not the people who do this work. thank you. uh-huh! >> jon:oooh! (cheers and applause) first of all, why isn't every press conference like that? (laughter) a press conference infused with life and emotion. she just turned the house of representatives into tyler perry's "house of representatives." (cheers and applause) the only problem is -- the only problem is i think they might be wrong. >