the state statute was directly in the teeth of gramm. then allow the states to adopt laws on the subject of citizenship requirements for federally supported welfare programs. the other said that the statute must be a value-added. we hold that this violated the protection clause of the united states. do you applaud that decision? >> [applause] [laughter] you should know that we have a dual constitutional system. every state has a state constitution. the highest court of the state is the last word under the state constitution. they also field federal constitutional issues when they are brought to us. they can be viewed by the united states supreme court and maybe we went wrong. but we did resolve the issue. i think it is consistent with what the court has held today. >> i believe that case involved legal permanent residents which is a slight variation karen >> it is not forswear in any way. -- which is a slight variation. >> is not a forswear any way. -- it is not a foursquare in any way. if you do not mind, i want to repeat the words of p

when you start with gramm, aliens are entitled to protection under the law. but, little by little, the cases have gone and the other direction. mostly, they have talked in terms of preemptions. it is very hard, in this case, to see a connection between public health and the need for public health and the duration of somebody's residents in the united states. the supreme court has upheld the kind of restriction in recent years. i have no idea as to what they would do in this case. i have found it from my own standpoint that what the panel asked and commented on is if you are getting close to a constitutional issue and the statute is not clear, and i am not dealing with an alien case, then you have to be -- you have to make congress say what it wants to say. if you're going to take away from the people, a right that the people think that they have, such as privacy, then congress had better be sure about it and accept the public reaction in the electorate. if they do not do that, then i am not sure that the courts are obliged to think about that or fill in what

senator lynch gramm, i know you have other things to do. if you wish to be excused, it is your option. thank you, a very much. we have received letters from both senator byrd and senator hayden. they regret the they could not be here today. they have asked that i submit their support for judge catherine the goals. >> i would just announced that senator byrd also gave me that statement and did express his regret and his strong support for the nominee and the person that is fair and has the intellect and integrity to be a fine judge. >> i appreciate that. i would also added that judge eagles has presided and been unanimously rated as well qualified the american bar association. we look for it to her testimony. i would also submit at this time at center of boxer's statement. she regrets she is unable to be here. she is asked me to submit her statement in support of profs goodwin liu. i would also like to recognize members of the house of representatives. representative mike honda is here today. also, we very much welcome you. thank you very mu

senator lynch gramm, i know you have other things to do. if you wish to be excused, it is your option. thank you, a very much. we have received letters from both senator byrd and senator hayden. they regret the they could not be here today. they have asked that i submit their support for judge catherine the goals. >> i would just announced that senator byrd also gave me that statement and did express his regret and his strong support for the nominee and the person that is fair and has the intellect and integrity to be a fine judge. >> i appreciate that. i would also added that judge eagles has presided and been unanimously rated as well qualified the american bar association. we look for it to her testimony. i would also submit at this time at center of boxer's statement. she regrets she is unable to be here. she is asked me to submit her statement in support of profs goodwin liu. i would also like to recognize members of the house of representatives. representative mike honda is here today. also, we very much welcome you. thank you very mu

the chief of staff talked with senator gramm on friday. when i look at both of those issues and look at the u.s. senate, there is an accredited calendar, but i would say that our dependence on foreign oil, the national security problem is creates, the environmental problems it creates demonstrates that it has to be a priority. i would say if you look at what has happened in arizona and the implications that that type of law would naturally drive each state to creating its own immigration rules. that is because the u.s. has failed to act at the federal level. i think there is room for progress on both issues. the president will continue to work with members of both parties to see that happen. >> to follow up quickly. which is the higher authority for the president to push at this moment, climate change or immigration? >> i think whichever bill has the support it needs to pass, then that is what will move first. i would say to you that i think we can make progress on more than just one issue. senator gramm, senator kerry, and senator lieberm

there are discussions and negotiations of a compromise with senator gramm. would it amount to the president buckling under political pressure? >> i do not know whether the letter -- i do not know what part of transit that is in. there is nothing new that i know of. we are a few weeks from a decision. we are looking at many possibilities, based on the fact that congress became heavily involved in the potential choosing of venues for such a trial. we understand the security and logistical concerns that a city like new york has. given those concerns and given the congressional prerogatives, we are looking at all available alternatives. >> on the ratification in the senate, do you have any real indication of whether any of the republicans in the senate plan to block it or try to block it? do you have any early read since you announced it? >> i will check with nsc. when people get an opportunity to look at the text of the treaty, which will have been in short order, they will see, as i said earlier, that this is strongly in our national interest. i do not think t

whenday's medical alert, gramm was beating those cravings by eating those high-fat foods during pregnancy, she may have been putting you or your kid at risk for breast cancer. the risk was present even if the rats had eight sons and that male went on to have a daughter. meanwhile, a chart red meat increases the risk of developing bladder cancer. this is according to a study that followed 1800 people for 12 years. people in the lot of steak, pork chops, and bacon, were most at risk eating them well done increase the odds even more. tonight differences did play a role in that study. you're running as my nabih anything to do with allergies. new research in canada says it might be caused by second-hand smoke. patients suffering from chronic runny nose are more likely to be around people who smoke. many things are considered addictive, but what about tanning? a study on college students in the north east supports that claims. a third of the city and indoors meet the criteria for a tanning addiction telling them that it can cause cancer is not enough. it would be more effective to create the an

senator lynch gramm, i know you have other things to do. if you wish to be excused, it is your option. thank you, a very much. we have received letters from both senator byrd and senator hayden. they regret the they could not be here today. they have asked that i submit their support for judge catherine the goals. >> i would just announced that senator byrd also gave me that statement and did express his regret and his strong support for the nominee and the person that is fair and has the intellect and integrity to be a fine judge. >> i appreciate that. i would also added that judge eagles has presided and been unanimously rated as well qualified the american bar association. we look for it to her testimony. i would also submit at this time at center of boxer's statement. she regrets she is unable to be here. she is asked me to submit her statement in support of profs goodwin liu. i would also like to recognize members of the house of representatives. representative mike honda is here today. also, we very much welcome you. thank you very mu

the army has uninvited franklin gramm to a national day of prayer service at the pentagon. they resented his invitation because of negative comments made about as long after september 11. >>> the signs they are giving that she could be a mother again. >> the rain will put an effort -- will the rain put a dent in your weekend plans? >> we have the redskins' no. 1 pick and grew up in texas. he is cornfed and hand-spanked. they're getting ready for game 5 at verizon, later in sports. >> of the white house correspondents' dinner goes green, and the first lady sit down with oprah to launch her new book. >> washington becomes hollywood kind up a week from tomorrow. it is bringing constant stars as a night goes the entertainer, jay leno. and the dinner is going green for the first time. the association that puts on a scholarship dinner is a carbon credit to offset leno's travel and the president's motorcade. president obama will speak before jay, and the first lady will get out scholarships. look who is 80 years old next week, and james baker. dinner and dancing, you are invited f

it is trying to do something that i believe i efficient affair gramm. -- believe i have seen in your program. why do i need someone to take interest in my health? if i find myself as its of american and believe that everyone agrees with me -- every american believes. i am eating less fast food which may be good for my health, but is it good for the economy? this is going to change my eating a diet, because i come home and i use hydrogenated or real, which is not allowed in york anymore. -- in new york anymore. this is non intrusive to try to change my eating habits. guest: the government has been seen as an appropriate agency burn -- a private agencies. trans fat is being is not being used. the government has a moral responsibility to help make food safer there trying to lower medicare costs. raising the tax on alcohol, to reduce consumption, improve health, and give the government money to pay for health programs are preventive programs. some said the government has no business doing that. the center for science of public interest and many others feel quite differently. host: thank

jim gramm says no way. he is servicing the area where people are coming into the city. they want to go out and go to the bars and go home late. other members say this is a great time for them to conduct drop work. you remember the 10 cent surcharge went into effect. that would disappear. they would raise the rate by 25 cents. riders would only really feel a 15 cent hike, and most of seem ok with that. -- most seem ok with that. >> you need to improve your services, we do not mind a fare increase. but at the same time, service has got to improve. >> under the possibility that metro were to raise the fare 25 cents, the minimal welfare would be $1.90, the minimum bus fare would be -- the minimum rail fare would be $1.90, the minimum bus fare would be $1.50. it is unclear when we will get a final decision on this. the fiscal year 2011 budget will go into effect on july 1. >> thank you for that. we have breaking news out of prince george's county where police have discovered a body. investigators say the body was discovered off country club road and hawthorne street. there i

. >>> the chief of staff for council member jim gramm faces new charges, the grand jury adding additional counts of bribery, conspiracy to commit bribery, making false statements, and a distortion. prosecutors say he offered more than $30,000 of cash, it gives, and trips for favorable legislation. >>> the county's board of election in maryland needs 23,000 signatures, but opponents are trying to stop the plan to bring slots to our rundle mills mall. -- to and around the mills mall. >>> budget cuts mean layoffs at some governments in frederick county maryland. the county government will lay off 53 employees and also plan to eliminate 79 other positions. >>> nine people are shot, four people are dead. one of the men suspected in the massacre may be on the loose. >> cathy lanier is angry and pleading for information. what she is commanding officers's actions, grieving families are outraged over the deadly attacks. a stunned grandfather still cannot comprehend how his little girl ended up where she did. >> when she left out saturday she said, granddaddy, i will be back. >> rashana brown did n

senator gramm made an eloquent argument.round the world. it was supposed to expire in december 2009. this amendment removes the budget authority. i hope we can pass this amendment. the problem now is that tarp has taken on a life and flavor that no one had envisioned. if you had told me that it was going to be used to bail out car companies, i would not have voted for it. the reason i voted for it was because i thought it was when to avoid a financial meltdown. these $44 billion have ceased to serve their purpose and it is becoming a slush fund. the authorization needs to expire. we are well past the time it should have expired. it took as a long time to do away with the spanish-american war phone tax and i do not want tarp to be around for another 100 years. it is not needed. >> i thank the senator for his evaluation. tarp ends on october 3 of 2010. that is three days into the fiscal year. based on the cbo projection, we assume that $148 billion of the tarp funds will not be used and will not add to the debt. i think all of

secondly, it brings me back that i currently urged the court to go back to gramm versus richardson. a unanimous decision in this court that has been set into law mainly alienage is a suspect -- >> we can allow benefits to a narrow standard of review, and it is reasonable to make an eligibility depend on the character and duration of residence. now, we did have a foot note on what the state can do, but [inaudible] so you cannot really go back to graham. >> justice sloviter, if we go back to what congress has done in these various areas, we see that in matthews, they spoke with crystalline clarity. the court embraced deferential listen. some justices would not disagree on this because it is so except in the canon of constitutional law that aliens deserve protection. they are lawfully here, and these particular individuals are refugees. she has satisfied arizona's requirement. hearst special case cries out for participation on an equal basis -- >> you would say we need to find a d.c. statute as unconstitutional? because that would follow from that proposition, would it not? >> not all.

senator lynch gramm, i know you have other things to do.if you wish to be excused, it is your option. thank you, a very much. we have received letters from both senator byrd and senator hayden. they regret the they could not be here today. they have asked that i submit their support for judge catherine the goals. >> i would just announced that senator byrd also gave me that statement and did express his regret and his strong support for the nominee and the person that is fair and has the intellect and integrity to be a fine judge. >> i appreciate that. i would also added that judge eagles has presided and been unanimously rated as well qualified the american bar association. we look for it to her testimony. i would also submit at this time at center of boxer's statement. she regrets she is unable to be here. she is asked me to submit her statement in support of profs goodwin liu. i would also like to recognize members of the house of representatives. representative mike honda is here today. also, we very much welcome you. thank you very muc

i know senator gramm had an amendment earlier this morning regarding that our funds. i have a potential side by side to his. it is a slight modification. it is to put all the tarp funding -- eliminate all the tarp bunning that has been paid back and put it back to paying down the deficit. the only thing we do is set aside $30 billion for small business lending in my amendment that is being passed out right now. it is almost exactly the same except for one variation, and that is that we put into reserve, put aside $30 billion for small business lending. if the congress in the future decides that is the focus, which i believe it is, it is a huge gap in our market. i know in alaska, with 52% of hiring employment generated by small business, this is a huge gap that is out there. put it toward the deficit, put it back to where the american people see it is having a positive impact now that is being paid back. eliminate the remaining authorization, but leave $30 billion as a reserve for the purpose of small-business lending. why would not be surprised if folks from either s

senator gramm, could i get your attention for a moment?e i understand the full implication of your amendment. the you want to take a moment and take me through what your intention is? >> it is pretty simple. it is my understanding there is $44 billion in the tarp program, which was supposed to expire in december of 2009 and is staying around in life support. $44 billion that is not obligated, that we all agreed the banks are in good shape, that they are paying this guy, so who would get the $44 billion? -- pay this back, so who would use the $44 billion? none of us appreciate using this money to bail out car companies. i voted for tarp, leaving the financial system was melting down, and the next thing i know -- believing the financial system was nothing down, and the next thing i know we are paying for car companies, and if it is not taken off the table, my fear is it will be spent on things unrelated to tarp or tangential issues that do not go to the heart of the matter, and i think he made the best case that the program did work when it

jim gramm says that he expects such a proposal serious scrutiny arizona law has sprouted protests in arizona and across the country. >> friends and admirers are paying their respects tonight. sam ford is live. >> his body is lying in repose at the organization's building on pennsylvania avenue. the public viewing of the closed casket will begin at 6:00 p.m. she was a woman who lived a full life in her 98 years. today, we talked with people in the city whose lives she touched. they gathered on mass at the headquarters of the national council of negro women this afternoon to honor the woman who led the more than half a century, par-3 -- dorothy ivory heights. >> she was a quiet and spoken woman. but when she opened her mouth, she had a lot to say. >> to see her thriving at 98 years old, with all of her faculties -- she could read without glasses. she was an amazing woman. >> when i first met her, she embraced me and gave me a hug. >> she has such a strong legacy. sometimes people like that tend to be a little standoffish toward students in college. but she was the total opposite. >> th

after that, senator grassley has the right, but if he is not available, senator gramm, and we will bringenator grassley back into the rotation. and then senator carton on our side and then senator cornyn. senator schumer? >> thank you. and i want to thank you, mr. chairman. you have done an excellent job so far in during this hearing. [laughter] -- anin sharing this hearing. [laughter] and you have done a good job as well as secretary. my first question relates to something that is bothering me and that is securing the city's program. securing the city's is a federally funded effort to protect nyc from the threat of a makeshift nuclear device or a dirty bomb. every time yorkers hear about a potential terrorist attack from al qaeda -- every time new yorkers here about potential terrorist attack from al qaeda or extremist groups, it sends chills down our spine. i remember every time i think of the stories of those who live in my neighborhood and i knew closely. ray kelly has done a great job to make sure that we are never attacked again. and i know that is mostly a federal responsibility.

it also wants them to evaluate agencies like money gramm and western union. there to keep $400 of payments, spend $100 a shopping, as sen $4,200 to western union and a service charge to western union. people put the check in and are out that $2,000 because the check is bogus. it bounces. i'm telling people that my office has nothing to do with any kind of shopping or anything other than taxes. >> what worries him about the scam is the way the check looks, way too similar to an official check from the state of maryland. >> you look at this check with my signature and the treasures signature and, believe me, you will think it is a real check. and it is not. it just shows how good the graphics are, i guess. these people should go to jail because these are really tough economic times. >> if you have any questions about a check that looks like it is coming from the state of maryland, give them a call to verify. >> and as we said just said, if you have questions about a check you may have received, you can call the state comptroller's office at 410-260-7801. >> ray

i think secretary napolitano for leading our efforts and i thank senator schumer and senator gramm forth those of a bipartisan consensus on a primer for moving forward. i welcome the commitment of house and senate democratic leaders. i will continue to consult with the democrats and republicans in congress and 11 current republican senators voted to pass immigration reform four years ago. i am hopeful they will join with democrats in doing so again so we can make progress the american people deserve. indeed, our failure to act responsibly at the federal level will only open the door to irresponsibility by us and that includes the recent efforts in arizona which threaten to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as americans as well as the trust between police and their communities that is crucial to keeping us sick. i have instructed members of my administration to monitor the situation and examine the civil rights and other implications of this legislation. if we continue to fail to act federal level, we will continue to seek misguided efforts (the country. as a nation, a

caller: i want to preface this to say that when the gramm's the to say that when the gramm's the energy bill to caller: there is a national guardsmen who has been here for a long time. i have a friend whose family has been here since before there was a united states of america. he speaks spanish. the was walking down the street -- if he is walking down the street with his wife or his kid saw and he just wants to speak spanish to the officer, on face value it looks like the south african apartheid. guest: under those circumstances there is no grounds to do any kind of even questioning about the person's immigration status. this law requires reasonable subsume division based on how observable facts -- reasonable suspicion based on observable facts. speaking spanish, being spanish, that is not browns for someone to report -- for some to suspect -- that is not browns for someone to suspect that you are here illegally. host: what would be grounds? guest: there is one situation that i can think of, you are near a federal detention center and you see someone running away from it in an orange j

phil gramm and entire republican party. glass-steagall act went by the wayside. your enemy today is the business-friendly democrats running that party. and your enemy is the mind set of the business community where we're in it for ourselves and we'll sell this worthless paper back and forth just to increase our bonuses because, that's exactly what they were doing on wall street, those bankers. bankers were selling useless paper back and forth putting their own value on it. bottom line, it was just a piece of paper that had no real intrinsic value except what they put on it. and it increased their bonuses. what they were doing, playing a game. >> host: john, let me ask you a question. what do you think of the current administration? do you see them as business-friendly democrats? >> caller: let me tell you something. you have summers in there. you have geithner in there. you know, i don't, i'm not too enamored with obama to tell you the truth. it is not, i'm just not too enamored with him. until people start going to jail, you have a mind-set that is, you know eve

i do not direct this to lindsey gramm, only. there are 40 other republicans. take a look at this proposal. it is a good-faith effort to move forward. we say, come and talk with us. work with us. you say the problem is broken. we said the problem is broken. let's work together to fix it. >> we're facing the reality of the controversial law in arizona, which is going to be challenged as to whether it meets the most basic and fundamental test under our constitution and test of fairness. we come here with the reality that we know it is our obligation to act and move forward. senator schumer has helped us move to this moment, establishing a framework for a bill that will bring about comprehensive immigration reform. all eyes are focused on arizona at this moment. their focus on the law enforcement officials in arizona who are charged with implementing and enforcing the new law. it is worth quoting what they have said, "we strongly urge the u.s. congress to immediately initiate the necessary steps to begin the process of comprehensively addressing the immigration is

some question as to whether they are subject to the gramm-leach-bliley act et al., to the extent they are, they would be subject to it as implemented by the federal trade commission which is not implemented a detailed regime like the taking registers have for the banking industry. so i think we need to look at this, drill down a bit and look at this question, both for the banking industry which has been the trend once of the world would have been heavily regular. and then these other ventures that may or may not be subject to any regulation where the problems that we've seen have occurred. >> briefly. the federal reserve has always worked closely with banks and consumer agencies and other stakeholders in the payment industry. and has looked towards collaborative efforts to remove barriers to innovation where they have existed. and serve as a catalyst for discussions of these matters. i think i will stop there. >> we can go to the floor. i would just finish that thought. i spent some time on the hill, and at one point, some of the security issues. you mentioned, bob, nine 9/11 and shut

senator kerrey, senator lieberman, and senator gramm are working on it.host: what is your proposal? >> our proposal deals with utilities that are cole based. -- coal based. we want to help with the transition into clean energy manufacturing. we are not ready for that now as a country. we have been picking winners in our economic and finance system. we need some border adjustments so that if the chinese or whomever to not enact the right environmental rules they cannot undercut our manufacturers who do follow the rules. cohost: you have called for a 50% tax on bonuses from wall street. you also call yourself a populist. guest: to me, populism means standing up for the little guy. wall street companies and banks do not need more representation in washington. they are doing fine with their armies of lobbyists. host: the tax on bonuses? guest: i was watching in this other room the citizens against government waste. we have to deal with a lot of these budget problems long term. 10 years ago we had a surplus. we were going the right direction. then we went to a

through that gramm-leetch bill.clinton had nothing to do with it. if you all recall, it was a weapon of mass destruction, monica lewinsky. it was the republicans that put that bill through. host: let's move on to nashville, tennessee. john on our line for independents, good morning. caller: hi. host: joan, i'm sorry. caller: i just wanted to mack a comment about the followup to the lady who indicated they was a member of the tea party. they just don't seem to understand that the loans -- and i know that they mean african-americans when they talk about the fannie mae and freddie mac. those institutions, one of them was started in the 1930's, and the other one was started in the 1970's. and they were started primarily to benefit whites. and bringing it up to today, when african-americans went into those mortgage countries, places like that, they did not hold those lenders. those people decide that had they should make money by the amount of amount of loans that they wrote. and they did what was was necessary to keep u

the gramm-leach-bliley provides these firms to provide annual privacy notices to opt out having their information shared with third parties. since this practice is already prohibited by law, these confuse the consumers that receives them. h.r. -- this bill will not allow any financial institution that is prohibited by the fair debt collection practices act to share private information to third parties. this will reduce confusion for consumers who may incorrectly think that the companies have the right to share their personal information with third parties. this should not be confused with the privacy policy institutions when they provide to consumers when they open the account. i urge my colleagues to support h.r. 3506 and i reserve the balance of my time, madam chair. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota. mr. paulsen: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. paulsen: well, madam speaker, i rise today in support of h.r. 3506, the eliminate privacy notice confusion act. this bill will help reduc

i do not know help my friend, lynn to gramm, i can say this kills energy. it is up to him.i specifically said the questions we are directing are not directed toward lindsey graham. there are 40 other republicans. he cannot logically use immigration as saying -- as an excuse to not help with energy. [inaudible] >> we are looking for republican support. all of you know the rules around here. they have been pushed into my mind. you have to be able to get 60 around here. talk about getting a bill on the floor, without help, we will not have a bill on the floor. >> senator schumer, thank goodness you got a question. >> you have been talking to republicans. what is their reaction? >> for instance, today, i was with judd gregg who is very interested in the parts of the bill about the labor force. the republicans i have talked to this week when i laid out what happened, they said send me some details. now we have details and a framework. what we tried to do is be true to our democratic principles, not everybody would agree with the specific provisions, but at the same time, show th

senator gramm, can i get your attention for a moment?>> yes, sir. >> let me make sure that i and a stand -- that i understand the full implication of your amendment. please take a moment and take me through what your intention is. >> yes. it is pretty simple. it is-standing that there is $44 billion that were supposed to -- itqou'derstanding that there is 44 buildings that were supposed to be in the tarp program that are on obligated. the banks are in good shape. who would get the $44 billion? none of us appreciated the money be used to bailout car companies. again, i voted for tarp believing that the financial system was melting down. next thing you know, we are bailing out car companies, which was a different purpose than what i intended. if this $44 billion is not taken off the table, my fear is that he will be spent on tangential issues that cannot go to the heart of the matter. the program did work when it comes to banking and we're well on our way to get some stability. we have a lot of needs in this country. the $44 billion is han

in gramm-leech-bliley, we call derivatives a bank product. we understand that then.nguage, because it's so destructive to our competitiveness as a nation, really. i mean, this is the type of thing, as i said earlier, you would have seen in argentine tha--argentina in the 1950's, an tashing on entities simply because they're large and because obviously there's a populous feeling against them. winds up, by the way, significantly -- which ends up, by the way, significantly affecting mainstream in a negative way. look at a argentina, in 1945 -- 1937, somewhere in that period, they were the seventh-best economy in the world. now they're like 54th or something. it is because of this populous movement which has driven basically their ability to be competitive offshore. so now we have this huge populous movement here. i'm trying to think, what really is the rationale here other than just rampant pandering populism? a vote occurred in the budget committee last week, which i happen for ranking member on, which crystallized the situation for me. senator sanders from vermont, wh

certainly, when it went in front of the banking committee, and then chaired by phil gramm, they did not have much appetite for it. that idea was essentially pushed aside. now she can take her victory lap. host: more on this from twitter -- does the president have any influence in shutting her down directly? guest: i think it was more the administration itself. alan greenspan had no interest in regulating derivatives. he was a hard hurdle to get beyond in the debate. host: louise story, an answer to my question of any one person that you would like to interview? guest: yes, i would like to know how much money goldman sachs made from the mortgages, negative betts. they have spoken about the money that they have lost. in 2008, they took a $1.7 billion writedown on their mortgage investments and pointed to this as evidence that they did not number the housing market was going. but i know many people that worked there who say that they also put that on the other side which made them profitable. of love to see their books to see how they'rir bets lay out or a multi-tier period. host: kara sca

resumed in hopes of making a comprehensive reform bill, introduced by charles schumer and lindsay gramm, the republican from south carolina. that is the latest on the immigration reform in congress. the majority leader has said that the attempt to deal with the regulation came as a surprise. the immigration legislation may come before climate change and a step some people by surprise. the democratic officials spoke about this and the arizona governor is going to act on immigration enforcement, this is the associated press. they are nearing a deadline to act on the toughest legislation against illegal immigration. this landed on the gas -- on the list on monday. but will allow the bill to become law in the future. what do you think about the approach of president obama to wall street? caller: i was there disappointed -- this was very weak. i compared this to the speech in november, when jamie dimon avoided him. he was scared to death in november. he was going sideways. we compare this to when he campaigned, the fight for the health care bill. they're just going through the motions. host:

lyndsey gramm in particular has been a real health and supporter. -- a real help and supporter. it has that support of many business leaders, many labor leaders, many veterans groups, many faith leaders of all kinds of different faiths, and of course, most of the environmental groups. it is really a broad based in the congress by a -- bipartisan, and outside interests across the board are saying it is time to move forward. it is a win-win-win. host: we have time for one more call, san antonio, texas. caller: i have been washington -- watching the "washington journal" for many months and it seems like the majority of calls are questioning the real simple facts of our global warming. i realize that the decision makers and politicians are pretty much like you pointed out, the republicans and democrats with greed, but you do not mention much about out. and thougi would suggest that wo through -- some people should mention the history of the research. like margaret thatcher from england brought it to worldwide attention way back when reagan was president. and george force senior said

you take an example like phil gramm -- a lot of the deregulation led to enron. many of the home mortgages that have been claimed to have caused a lot of problems -- which we saw the warning signs years before. no one did anything. now the government, certainly not the businesses who are perpetrating a problem. host: thanks for your call, rick. this comment by twitter from john. alan is joining us from portland, ore. on the independent line. go ahead, please. caller: yes, i wonder, why doesn't all the money the banks are given to help, while they require to give 10% of all the mortgages they owed? it would do a lot to get things rolling if they had to forgive it 10% of all the mortgages that they hold. host: to go. we will continue the conversation on line. our sunday roundtable is coming up in a moment. two other headlines. mixed reviews for the new governor. the republican has won after two democratic governors have been in office. that is in the commonwealth of virginia. here is the front page, a strong first quarter is another sign of a rebound in the u.s. au

. >> i agree with you on that and i want to associate myself with senator gramm's remarks. i think that his standard that we should be flexible, pragmatic and aggressive in making those decisions are good ones and i have confidence and of leaving that decision to issue and to the people that surround you and the national security establishment three on the question of interrogation and the use of miranda mornings it is my -- with an on this committee a couple of years and fined exposure to the problem with interrogation is if you're doing this effectively you have to begin in a tradition with a strategy and that street she's developed by trained professionals who are experts in this specific area and the information i have is a bad strategy can include and on numerous occasions actually has included a provision not miranda warnings to the subject of the interrogation of a part of the experts best practice of a tradition in that particular case. is that not true? >> that is right. one of the ways which we took to the fbi interrogators we talk about the need to establish the

the choice is based are gramm according to the congressional budget office. health-care costs are soaring. medicare and medicaid will cost more than $800 billion this year -- host: minneapolis, richard on the republican line. talking about extending unemployment benefits and whether it is an incentive not to work. that is what "the wall street journal" said. caller: larry summers should get out of the house and mike allen greenspan appeared -- like alan greenspan. i think they could start by lowering minimum wage to get people to work and stop the illegals coming into this country. there are a lot of people who have been here for years and years and can't find a job. the other thing they should do is stop the age discrimination. a lot of the people on unemployment are older people, and they have been let go by their companies through a trick or something like that because they have been at age discriminated against. fairview health systems here in minneapolis, they do a lot of age discrimination. host: cleveland, tennessee, on the democratic line. caller: i w

i believed it was led by phil gramm, the republican senator from texas at the time. this seemed to give an implicit guarantee to the investment banks that when all these complicated derivatives and collateral debt obligations just collapsed, it gave an implicit government guarantee that it happened, we taxpayers bail out these firms, so we bailed out aig and allowed taxpayers to pay for aig and goldman sachs. isn't it time we institute -- we reinstitute glass siegel to do it again? guest: i would not go there. let me offer a general fought and zero in specifically on your question. by the time this is all said and done, volumes and volumes will be written about what caused this financial collapse. but i think there are some underlying lessons here. number one is there really was this concept that if you were of a certain size you were going to be protected, that if you got so big, so big that the government could not allow you to collapse, the too-big-to-fail phenomenon. that is just terrible. that is the wrong approach to policy. no one is too big to fail. if you ar

caller: i want to preface this to say that when the gramm's the energy bill to be bombed by immigration is outrageous. -- lyndsey kurram's energy bill to be bumped by immigration is outrageous. i have a friend whose family has been here since before there was a united states of america. he speaks spanish. the was walking down the street -- if he is walking down the street with his wife or his kid saw and he just wants to speak spanish to the officer, on face value it looks like the south african apartheid. guest: under those circumstances there is no grounds to do any kind of even questioning about the person's immigration status. this law requires reasonable subsume division based on how observable facts -- reasonable suspicion based on observable facts. speaking spanish, being spanish, that is not browns for someone to report -- for some to suspect -- that is not browns for someone to suspect that you are here illegally. host: what would be grounds? guest: there is one situation that i can think of, you are near a federal detention center and you see someone running away from it in an

for example, the gramm-rudman targets were far too severe. they were blown away.imits that were put into effect in the 1990 bipartisan agreement, the first president bush should give great credit for that. the 1990 agreement had pay-as- you-go rules and caps on non entitlement spending that were set at realistic levels, and they were adhered to. that was continued in the 1993 clinton agreement, and those were in here too. in 1997, there were spending caps on non entitlement spending put in that were far more severe, and they got blown away. it was partly because the deficit disappeared and there was less need, but also they were so severe, they got blown away. also in 1997, although it medicare savings did not take effect except for one big one. this was the physicians the thing. it was poorly designed in 1997. it was originally designed for modest savings. it turned out there was a formula that caused a huge cuts in fees to physicians. . . >> you have to change the law and then enforce that with budget discipline. iboth parties messed up on budget targets, discre

caller: i want to preface this to say that when the gramm's the energy bill to be bombed by immigration is outrageous. -- lyndsey kurram's energy bill to be bumped by immigration is outrageous. i have a friend whose family has been here since before there was a united states of america. he speaks spanish. the was walking down the street -- if he is walking down the street with his wife or his kid saw and he just wants to speak spanish to the officer, on face value it looks like the south african apartheid. guest: under those circumstances there is no grounds to do any kind of even questioning about the person's immigration status. this law requires reasonable subsume division based on how observable facts -- reasonable suspicion based on observable facts. speaking spanish, being spanish, that is not browns for someone to report -- for some to suspect -- that is not browns for someone to suspect that you are here illegally. host: what would be grounds? guest: there is one situation that i can think of, you are near a federal detention center and you see someone running away from it in an

was just on, during the clinton -- senator that was just on, during the clinton era, senator lindsey grammed a part in appealing the glass stiegel laws. some people mention that. this exemption accepted credit derivatives and credit default swaps. this was signed by president clinton. this was a republican who wrote the bill, approved the bill, and a democrat president signed the bill. host: looking at global economic situations. the imf warns the country's debt poses a major risk. that story in the "usa today." santa rosa, california , bill. caller: when we fill out our taxes, we can choose to donate to federal elections. perhaps i would like to see an optional page where there could be a number of things where we could direct our tax money to work. even if it was not a large amount of money, it would be good feedback for our elected officials to see where people would like to see their money spent. host: so something where you could allocate money for specific projects, certain interests? caller: yes, if you think that they are doing a good job, you can say, keep doing that. if you think

. >> i agree with you on that and i want to associate myself with senator gramm's remarks.that his standard that we should be flexible, pragmatic and aggressive in making those decisions are good ones and i have confidence and of leaving that decision to issue and to the people that surround you and the national security establishment three on the question of interrogation and the use of miranda mornings it is my -- with an on this committee a couple of years and fined exposure to the problem with interrogation is if you're doing this effectively you have to begin in a tradition with a strategy and that street she's developed by trained professionals who are experts in this specific area and the information i have is a bad strategy can include and on numerous occasions actually has included a provision not miranda warnings to the subject of the interrogation of a part of the experts best practice of a tradition in that particular case. is that not true? >> that is right. one of the ways which we took to the fbi interrogators we talk about the need to establish the bond, a l

fast forward to phil gramm and his wife wendy who put through a favor for enron which caused the firm to go out of business. you have the same actors again, fast forward -- the clinton, robert rubin, greenspan, the entire republican party. the glass-steagall act whereby the whistle. your enemies today is the business-friendly democrats running the party, in your enemy is the mindset of the business community. -- the glass-steagall act whereby the wayside. they are in it for themselves just to increase the bonuses. it is exactly what they're doing on wall street, this bankers. they were putting their own value on the paper. the bottom line, it was only a piece of paper. it had no intrinsic value. it increased their bonuses. they were playing the game. host: what do you think of the current administration? are they business-friendly democrats, john? caller: you have larry summers in there, tim geithner in there. i am not too enamored with obama, to tell you the truth. until people start going to jail, you have a mindset -- is every man for himself. let me get control of this corporation

after that, senator gramm. then senator carvin. senator schumer? >> thank you. i want to thank you, mr. chairman. you are doing a great job so far. i want to thank you. you have done an excellent job so far, as well. my first question relates to something that is bothering me. that is curing the city's program. securing the city is a federally funded effort to protect new york city from the threat of a makeshift nuclear device or dirty bomb. every time you workers here about the threat of a potential terrorist attack from al qaeda or other groups, it sends chills down our spine. everyone remembers 9/11. the guy played basketball with who died or a firefighter who lived in my neighborhood who i worked with. this is really important. in new york has made extraordinary efforts on their own. -- to make sure that we are never attacked again. i know that is mostly in the federal responsibility. one of the things we have done is set at the securing city's program. it provides new yorkers that the reassurance that their government is working hard to protect them from a

phil gramm back in the clinton years, the republican controlled congress, and chipping away, the constant chipping away at financial regulations. i think i heard it said at one point that a regulation -- regis -- legislation was passed with the regulation was that congress had no power to regulate, so the lobbying efforts at this point, what is going on, almost seems to mimic the lobbying efforts during the health care. in no, these bills, it is costing the american taxpayer money. we could have had a much cheaper health care bill. we could have had a public option, a by in where people had to pay full premiums for medicare. the same thing now for financial regulation. the republicans are again the party of no, saying no, and they will not allow for common-sense regulations and i fear that the board of that would be set up to oversee -- i forget what the exact name is -- the community board, the civil board, will be beholden to them -- will have an exclusion where they would have to answer to another board that will again put back the same kind of nonsense regulation that has been hanging

are now saying that this year it is not possible in their view, and that includes senator lyndsey gramm from south carolina, senator john mccain from arizona, and senator john cobb from arizona. these are three key republicans who have supported during immigration reform in the past. -- during immigration reform in the past. but this year they are saying that government should just focus on border security. the democrats do not agree. they put forward a proposal hadera usain is -- but they are saying is out there for the republicans to come to the table and negotiate. they are trying to invite republicans back to the table. of course, you cannot escape the politics of this. it is an election year. majority leader read is facing a and collection battle back in nevada. senator john mccain is facing reelection battle in arizona and he is being attacked on the right for not being strong enough on border security. his position is to go forward with borr security bill even though he supported comprehensive reform in the past. host: to this story from yahoo!, obama takes immigration reform of

in gramm-leech-bliley, we call derivatives a bank product. we understand that then.eem to have forgotton now. you know, i have real estate been trying to figure out what's behind this type of language, because it's so destructive to our competitiveness as a nation, really. i mean, this is the type of thing, as i said earlier, you would have seen in argentine tha--argentina in the 1950's, an tashing on entities simply because they're large and because obviously there's a populous feeling against them. winds up, by the way, significantly -- which ends up, by the way, significantly affecting mainstream in a negative way. look at a argentina, in 1945 -- 1937, somewhere in that period, they were the seventh-best economy in the world. now they're like 54th or something. it is because of this populous movement which has driven basically their ability to be competitive offshore. so now we have this huge populous movement here. i'm trying to think, what really is the rationale here other than just rampant pandering populism? a vote occurred in the budget committee last week,