i congratulate debbie wasserman schultz and henry cuellar for their new responsibilities. if we all look forward to working with them. how proud we are of their leadership, and debbie wasserman schultz of florida, henry cuellar of the great state of texas. with that, all the members here would be pleased to take some questions. >> un bel leader talked a lot about jobs and the debt. do you ever read that you did not use the two years you have democrat-controlled to focus more on jobs and especially the debt was a margin as a matter of fact, we in the house of representatives on any number of occasions so bent positive paid for jobs initiatives to the united states senate where they were held up by the republicans in the senate. it is hard to believe that they might want not to cooperate when it was a question of creating jobs, whether jobs building infrastructure of america, related to new green technologies to keep america competitive in number one. no, we have no regrets. we over and over again sent to the senate legislation for job creation which the republicans in the se

has asked to extraordinary members of the congress of the united states, one from florida, debbie wasserman schultz, who is the speaker indicated, was cardinal when we were in the majority on the appropriations committee, but more than that, debbie wasserman schultz has traveled all over this country, has listened to people, listens to their constituents whether they be in grocery stores taking her by the shoulders or anyplace else in this country. she has heard their message and she understands what we need to be doing in terms of focusing on jobs and growing the economy. in fact, making it in america, succeeding in america and making it, manufacturing it in america. she will be conveying that message not just to you, not just on the floor of the house of representatives, but to the american people as well. we still confront the challenges that were present during the course of the election, we still are and the 9.5% unemployment and we need to get people back to work by focusing on jobs. to the extent that our republican colleagues do just that, they will find us willing partners to seek common g

florida congresswoman debbie wasserman-schultz was in the room at the time. you describe this as feeling like a "miracle." tell us what happened. >> well, i was... we all were so full of joy to be able to be by the bedside of our good friends gabby and never expected anything like what happened. we were just talking to her like girlfriends talk to each other and urging her on and encouraging her recovery and at one point senator gillibrand, kirsten, was holding her hand, rubbing her hand and gabby was rubbing back with her thumb and kirsten was talking about "gabby you've got to get better quick. we're going to go out for pizza like we did a couple weeks ago." then i said... we vacations with them for the last couple summers so i said to her "gabby, you've got to get better as quick as you can because we're expecting you back in new hampshire this summer." and right when i said that she... her eyes started to open just a little bit with slits but definitely you could see she was struggling to get them open and mark, her husband, said "oh, gabby, honey, if you

. >> reporter: which friend like fellow congressman debbie wasserman schultz describe her as warm andcaring. >> she is someone who has the most open heart. she treats everyone as though they are incredibly special. >> reporter: she loves cruising through arizona on a motorcycle. in fact, she has been a champion of motorcycle riders' rights in congress, but she'll also hike a trail or even go on horseback. she and her husband, nasa astronaut, navy captain mark kelly, celebrated their third anniversary in november. >> she loves mark with all her heart. and she loves her stepdaughters. and they are an incredible family. >> reporter: in a "new york times" feature on their wedding, captain kelly said he proposed because gabrielle giffords had it all -- beautiful, smart, hard working, balanced, fun to be with, and she laughed at my jokes. when he was on the space shuttle "discovery" in 2006, she chose a wake-up song, u2's "beautiful day." yes, she's a member of congress, an active one, but she hasn't always been in politics. she's certainly not from washington. she grew up in tucson, the th

>> just when debbie wasserman schultz and i were there with speaker pelosi and she squeezed our hand, it was very clear to us that she understood everything we were saying. she's a fighter. she will overcome this. i think we can all take a lesson from her. gabby is one of the most nonpartisan people i ever met. she truly epitomizes what the president said in his speech, that we, as a nation, need to be better than we are. that's who gabby is. she comes to service with the idea of helping people and bringing people together. she really is someone we can all look to, as she struggles through this because of her drive, because of her courage. we can all take from our strength and, hopefully, as ourselves, be better than we are. >> she certainly would be a voice in our conversation? >> absolutely so. and she was before this incident. she was somebody who called us all to have a better discourse, to respect each other's positions. we had tough issues. there are so many difficult issues right now. an economy is still suffering, being so close to a 10% unemployment rate. in new york, familie

. >>> congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz, you are a good friend of gabby giffords. in fact, you were down here this week. you came when the president came. what is your lasting impression of what happened? >> my lasting impression is that out of an evil act, we have had an opportunity to see the overwhelming goodness that exists in this country, and as horrific as this act and tragedy has been, the opportunity that we have had this week to see how many incredible people there are in our country and having been here a number of times to campaign for gabby and having talked to gabby about the pride that she has in representing tucson and the eighth congressional district, every ounce of that pride was evident and warranted this week. >> how is she doing? you're going to see her again. you've seen her once. >> yes, yes, you know, she's doing better every day. wednesday was just a miracle to witness that myself and our good friend, senator kirsten gillibrand and leader nancy pelosi were able to be by her side with mark and her parents and have her open our eyes just in

host: congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz, thank you very much. guest: thank you very much.t: we have about 45 minutes left in today's "washington journal." coming up next, we'll talk to a new republican member, frank guinta, a republican of new hampshire. first, on education -- a lot of that was mentioned today from our callers. here is "the new york times" on that. "china requires nine years of education and india just eight. laws vary by state. rules in the united states are mostly tougher." many of the papers had this this morning. "the washington post" had this headline on education. "u.s. students falling short in science." -- "theverag average student was stumped when asked to examine a temperature graf or explain an example of heat transfer." roseburg, ore.. bill is a republican. what did you think of last night's state of the union? caller: i enjoyed it. it was interesting to read what i thought was interesting -- it was interesting. i heard a caller say that the federal government got paid more. if my wife had not been at the v.a. hospital for as long as she had, -

florida rep, debbie wasserman- schultz, spoke about rep giffords today. >> by every indication, the fighter that she is, showing the full strength, she, from what i was told by her staff last night, she woke up, responded to mark's voice, moved her arms and legs. >> this is her husband. >> yes. her husband. then, they served -- and they sedated her again. for anyone who has ever met her, she is the most open, warm, sweet woman. the best way to describe her is she is the kind of person who tries to see good in everyone. even when she is in the midst of the kind of strife that is going on in southern arizona with the immigration laws and the battleground, she always looks on the bright side. >> surgeons at university medical center in tucson, ariz., said rep gabrielle gifford remains in critical condition but is responding to commands. about one hour or so, we will open up the phone lines again and take some more of your calls and get your reaction to the news of the last 24 hours or so. let's bring you the hospital news conference with spoke about the condition of the representative and othe

my colleague, debbie wasserman schultz, his breast cancer survivor. the fact of the matter is, the specter of those recurring illnesses is always there if you are rich in the notion you could not get care, getting it paid for it is pretty intimidating. dr. cohen, we would like to hear from you. >> good afternoon. i stated before, my name is a debt cut in -- odette cohen. i am on member of a small practice in new jersey. i think chairman miller, chairwoman delauro, leader policy, and the members of this committee for inviting me here to testify. small businesses are the backbone of our economy. in new jersey, we account for 98.5% of the state's employers. and another 590,000 new jersey residents are self-employed. on behalf of the new jersey small businesses, i think you for the work you have done to enact legislation to make health care were better for us. as a small business owner, i opposed efforts to roll back protections and benefits of the healthcare law. both my business and my patients stand to lose important benefits if the law is repealed or

country and debbie wasserman schultz also an honorary ben lujan senior, new mexico's speaker of the house, are you here too? and of course, last but not least, a very special guest from the secretary of labor. [cheers and applause] did i miss anyone? if i missed anyone, i'm so sorry, but come join us. [applause] i think everybody's here. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [applause] they are the ones who did the work. [inaudible conversations] let everybody see their welcome back. once again, congratulations to all of you, our newest members of the 112th congress. we are so proud of you. i am privileged and honored to be here to welcome you back. we trust in you. we hopefully look forward to a better america under your leadership. so god speed because we need it. we also would like to recognize some other -- i guess we got out of our distinguished guests. but as we close, i do think it's important to remember our sponsors and their generosity who have been able to not only help us with this event tonight but most importantly the young people who have been able to help sha

talks about the friends of congresswoman giffords, and in the kingston gillibrand and also debbie wasserman schultze of florida. -- kyrgysztan gillibrand and debbie wasserman shoals of florida. -- kirsten gillibrand. this article talks about her recovery. we will be following if there is an update from the medical center. they have been doing noontime briefings. we will see if that takes place again today. go to daniel, republican caller in colorado, joining us to talk about if there should be a fairness doctrine. members of congress have called for the fairness doctrine in the wake of what happened saturday to try to be in more stability and balance to the media. caller: i think it is a bunch of nonsense. the fairness doctrine is nonsense. it should be called the progressive doctrine. host: why? caller: they want the progress of work to get out there and the people do not want to hear the progress of word. that is why the mainstream media is huge -- is losing its audience. that is why -- nobody wants to hear the progressive doctrine because it is ugly, mean- spirited and it is a way to direct this

we're joined by two women who were in the room, senator kirsten gillibrand and congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz. thank you both for getting up so early this morning. congresswoman, let me begin with you. bring us by that bedside. tell us exactly what happened. >> george, it was just the most amazing thing. kirsten and speaker pelosi and i walked into the room. we hugged mark. we went to gabby. we were able to hold her hand. kirsten was holding her hand and rubbing the top of her hand. and we each started talking to her about the experiences we had had with her. kirsten had just gone out to pizza with their husbands. she was saying, you have to get better so we can go out for pizza as quick as possible. gabby and mark and my husband and family and i vacationed at our house in new hampshire for the last couple summers. so i said to her, gabby, come on. i'm expected you back in new hampshire this summer. so you better get through this quick. all of a sudden, at that point, she started to open her eyes, just a slit. and nobody could believe it. i mean, we were just -- we were stunned. mark got so e

yesterday for the first time since the shooting, new york senator krill brand and congresswoman debbie wasserman-schultzas in the room. they join us now. ladies, good morning. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> daniel spoke of the elation of the people in tucson heard when the president mentioned the words that gabrielle opened her eyes. how powerful a moment was it in the room? >> it was eblxtraordinary for m. we were overwhelmed with joy. we were there to tell gabby how much she was inspiring all of us, how she was inspiring a nation with her courage and strength. and we were talking about all the things to do as soon as she got better and the things we hope to do with her and we knew she was responding and she was holding our hands and caressing our hands and squeezing them and moving her a rms, moving the legs and the most amazing thing is starting to open the eyes and when her husband saw her making this earth he urged her saying gabby, open your eyes, open your eyes. sure enough, she then and then the question can you see us? can you see us? give the thumb's up and then later she not only gave a

there are a couple of senators including senator schumer and debbie wasserman schultz who are proposing that they pass a bill that is supposed to reprimand china for currency inflation. does the white house have a position on that? do you guys support that? is there any coordination between you and the senate leaders as they go -- >> welcome again, i would point you to those individuals for some discussion on their legislation. i think -- has it relates to currency, i think you've heard secretary geithner's and other south line that while they've taken some limited steps that more has to be done. and that's the message that the president will bring to his meetings. >> is the president support of the legislative effort by these senators who are members of the democratic leadership? >> again, i don't -- i think the message the president will bring to his meetings with president hu is exactly what others have outlined. yes, sir. >> thank you, robert. two brief questions. first, to follow-up on jacob's question regarding for president duvalier's return to haiti. you said that any former lea

we will talk to chris van hollen, charles grassley, city of -- debbie wasserman schultz, and congressman frank guinta "washington journal" begins at 7:00 a.m.. didn't we just created new entitlements on top of the other ones that we have. we owe the country to protect. and republicans chose paul ryan to respond to the president's state of the union address. find out more about them in the more than 300 c-span appearances on line at the c-span video library. it is washington your way. >> the house passed a resolution today agreeing to reduce federal spending to 2008 levels. the bill specifically exempts and defense and homeland security. here's the debate on that resolution. we began with rules committee chairman david dreier. this is just over an hour. mr. dreier: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on the resolution that is before us. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. dreier: madam speaker, one of the indelible and enduring images of 2010 was that of violent protesters on the str

condition and its return, i'm a cancer survivor, ovarian cancer survivor, my colleague, debbie wasserman schultz, is a breast cancer survivor. there may be others who have had similar illnesses. but the fact of the matter is the specter of those recurring illnesses is always there if you have gone through it and the notion that you can get care and you can't get the care you need and have it paid for is pretty intimidating. dr. cohen, we'd like to hear from you. >> good afternoon. i stated before, my name is odet tembings cohen, owner of sunlight pediatrics, a small practice in new jersey and a member of the new jersey main street alliance. i thank chairman miller, chairwoman delauro, leader pelosi and members of the committee for inviting me here today to testify. small businesses are the back bone of our economy. in new jersey, we account for 98.5% of the state's employers. and another 590,000 new jersey residents are self-employed. on behalf of the new jersey small businesses, i thank you for the work you've done to enact legislation to make health care work better for us. as a small business

there are a couple of senators, including senator schumer and debbie wasserman schultz who are proposing that they pass the bill that is supposed to reprimand china for currency inflation. does the white house have a position on that? do you guys support that? is there any coordination between you and senate leaders as they go -- >> well, again, i would point you to those individuals for some discussion on their legislation. i think -- as it relates to currency, i think you've heard secretary geithner, and others outline that while they have taken some limited step, more has to be done. and that's the message of the president will bring to his meetings. >> is the president supportive of the legislative effort by these senators who are members of the democratic leadership? >> again, i don't think the message of the president will bring his message to president hu is exactly what others have outlined. >> thank you, robert. two brief questions. jake's question of regarding former president duvalier return to haiti. you said that any former leader coming back should concentrate on human righ

conyers: i recognize the distinguished gentlelady from florida, debbie wasserman schultz for two minutes. ms. wasserman schultz: thank you madam speaker. it's important to address the notion of job killing versus job creating. we have heard a lot of talk about the title of this bill and the jobs that it supposedly kills. let's look at the facts here though, of the 1.1 million private sector jobs documented that were created last year, 200,000 of those were in the health care sector or 1/5. we had an average of 20,000 jobs per month created in the health care sector alone over the course of the last two years. there have been no job losses in the health care sector, none. and i challenge our colleagues on the other side of the aisle, on the republican side of the aisle who are advocating the repeal of health care reform on the premise that it is a job killer, to name one area of health care, one, where there had been job losses. i would suspect that we would hear crickets chirping because there are none. there isn't a single area, not before and not since. and also, i think it is importan

conyers: i recognize the distinguished gentlelady from florida, debbie wasserman schultz for two minutes. ms. wasserman schultz: thank you madam speaker. it's important to address the notion of job killing versus job creating. we have heard a lot of talk about the title of this bill and the jobs that it supposedly kills. let's look at the facts here though, of the 1.1 million private sector jobs documented that were created last year, 200,000 of those were in the health care sector or 1/5. we had an average of 20,000 jobs per month created in the health care sector alone over the course of the last two years. there have been no job losses in the health care sector, none. and i challenge our colleagues on the other side of the aisle, on the republican side of the aisle who are advocating the repeal of health care reform on the premise that it is a job killer, to name one area of health care, one, where there had been job losses. i would suspect that we would hear crickets chirping because there are none. there isn't a single area, not before and not since. and also, i think it is importan

and one of the representatives, debbie wasserman schultz was in the hospital room, and she says, it shows you what a little girl power can do. she was kind of joking, but there's merit in those words. >> i think she's joking, but we know it's true. when people are sitting vigil and her husband is there and the television is on, you recognize -- patients will tell you afterwards -- that they are surrounded. but then there's a new voice that's familiar and it makes your brain work a little harder. and if it's a girlfriend, yeah, there are chemical changes, there are emotional changes. so it's what i would call thought science. there is something to it. but some thing pushed her a little bit. it was that familiar voice in an unfamiliar setting. and then, of course, the doctors asked them to leave because they didn't want to exhaust her. but a phenomenal sign. >> and doctors are saying now that they're going to start aggressive physical therapy with her. i know they've sat her up and they're going to, i think, put her in a chair, try to sit her in a chair today. >> they're not so worried abou

my colleague, debbie wasserman schultz as a breast cancer survivor. and maybe others here who have had similar illness but the fact of the matter is the specter of those recurring illnesses is always there if you have gone through it, and the notion you couldn't get care if you can't get what you need and it beat and paid for is pretty intimidating. dr. cullen, we would like to hear from you. >> good afternoon. i stated before my name is odette cohen. i'm the owner of son light pediatrics, a small medical practice in willingboro, new jersey, and i'm also a member of the new jersey main street alliance. i thank chairman miller, chairwoman delauro, leader pelosi and members of the committee for inviting here today to testify. small businesses are the backbone of our economy is in new jersey, we account for 98.5% of the states employers. and another 590,000 new jersey residents are self-employed. on behalf of the new jersey small businesses, i thank you for the work you've done, enact legislation to make health care work better for us. as a small busines