our guest is damian paletta of the wall street journal. the covers finances and congress and the white house. his work is available online. from the senate floor yesterday, these comments by the senate democratic leader harry reid. [video clip] >> the speakership all members of the house back to washington today. he should not give let them go. they are not here. they are not here. john boehner seems to care more about keeping his speakership than about keeping the nation on sound financial footing. it's obvious what's going on around here. he is waiting until january 3 to get reelected as speaker before we get serious with the negotiations, because he has so many people over there that will not follow what he wants. that's obvious from the debacle that took place last week's. host: referring to the vote oesterday on speaker b ehner's plan b. guest: they might feel they have better numbers in the house than they do now later. he would be able may be to push a plan through without as much republican support. i doubt it. it would be really r

host: thanks for being with us, damian paletta. guest: my pleasure. >> you're looking at a live picture of the white house. about a half hour from now, senate and congressional leaders meeting at the white house with president obama. we're standing by to hear from john mccain, scheduled shortly to speak on the subject of filibuster or form. we will stand by to bring you news as it happens. we had a chance as part of our ongoing series covering the impact of the impacts of the fiscal cliff on health care. let's take a look at that. host: we will continue our look at the so-called fiscal cliff and its impact on taxes on spending. today we focus on the issue of medicare. our guest is mary agnes carey, senior health correspondent for kaiser health news. how is medicare funded? guest: it is funded by payroll taxes. part b is the outpatient services and funded by premiums and general revenue. host: does it pay for itself? guest: the needs are met and the trustees say the program is funded through 2024 with the reduction in the healthcare

our guest will be damian paletta. then an interview with randallotoole. then a discussion on the economy, poverty, and hunger. an urban's snr fellow. "washington journal" live every morning on c-span. >> california's representative lynn woolsey is retiring this year. she represents the 6th district in california. we spoke with her in november about her time as co-chairman of the progressive caucus as well as her opposition to the iraq and afghanistan wars. this interview is 30 minutes. >> representative lynn woolsey retiring, 20 years in congress. why are you leaving? >> well, i had my --ly say it this way, i was elected 20 years ago on my 55th birthday. do the math and 20 years and 75 years old and it is time for me to retire. >> what is next? >> i'm president for americans for democratic action. i was just re-elected for a second term. i follow in the footsteps of george mcgovernor and others and i will have a national presence and i will be traveling around the world to developing countries with the organization. >> what are you going to be doing with

our guest will be damian paletta. home ownership of interest the u.s. with randal o'toole. discussion on the economy, poverty, and hunter. alisha coleman-jensen and caroline ratcliffe. 7:00 eastern on c-span. >> there are cynics who say that a party platform is something that nobody bothers to read and it does not amount to much. whether it is different this time than ever before, i believe the republican party has a platform that is a banner of bold, unmistakable colors with no pastel shades. >> you see the evil lucian of ronald reagan, his mind, his philosophy as a politician -- you see the politician of ronald reagan, his mind, his philosophy as a politician. it is a more progressive optimistic view of the world than 1976. you can see his anti communism is evolving. his cultural view is evolving. he has not yet to gain or acquired the tax cut philosophy that fits so nicely to his optimistic outlook of empowering individuals to determine their lives. >> saturday night, ronald reagan. f general norman schwarzkop died at the age of 78. supreme court justice stephen briar ta