. >> reporter: republican senator judd gregg complained. by law, those bailout billions have to go back to the treasury. >> for the reduction of the public debt. it's not for a piggy bank because you're concerned about lending to small businesses. and you want to get a political event when you go out and make a speech in ashwood, new hampshire. >> reporter: up in gregg's home state, the president agreed. more than a trillion in red ink this year and next will stain our future. >> these deficits won't just burden our kids and our grandkids decades from now. they could damage our markets now. they could drive up our interest rates now. they could jeopardize our recovery right now. >> reporter: senator gregg proposed a bipartisan commission to drive down the deficit. the president agreed. and gregg, who is an influential republican, says he might be willing to take part in one of these balance-budget panels even if it's one put together by the president. live from thehill, i'm steve handelsman, news4. jim, back to you. >> thank you, steve. >>>

today the president was in senator gregg's home state. that's what was really getting him upset, too, talking about this proposal which senator gregg clearly does not like, clearly will not support, clearly believes will add to the deficit, and he was upset that there the president was in new hampshire and here he was in washington, and he was going to grill peter orszag about it because he was mad. >> but it's not just republicans, either. democrats, like kent conrad who for a long time has been very aggressive about deficit reduction, also questioning the idea. there has to be more going on here. did the president jump the gun a little bit? >> you know, you'll be shocked to learn that the white house is trying to have it both ways, right? it's very politically popular right now to take from wall street, people are angry about the wall street bonuses, and so the president is saying we're going to take this money from wall street, which is repaid back to the american taxpayer, and we are going to use it to give to small businesses which h

judd gregg and jack reed actually are moving along very, very well.rk warner and i have moved along exceptionally well. we are almost there. again, the dodd and shelby teams broke down last thursday night. i feel there is no reason we cannot go forward. it is a question of whether you want to try to get to yes or whether you want to try to get to no. that is what i have been observing. financial regulation. if we cannot pass a bipartisan financial regulation bill, i do not know what we can pass around here. it is an issue that has a lot of substance. there is one issue that is semi- polarizing. to me, it is something we need to move ahead with it. the citizens of tennessee gave me a six year lease to try to do as much as i could to make our country stronger. i think this is one of those things. guest: you are not the only republican senator who tried to hash out a deal. chairman baucus and senator grassley came up with a jobs plan. they released it on thursday. then senate majority leader harry reid moved a smaller version of that. that upset senator

senator gregg underscores this point during consideration of the conrad-gregg amendment.enator gregg said, quote, one presumes who whoever goes on this task force is chosen by the lead orse they have party in the senate, whether senator reid or senator connell, ms. belohse or mr. boehner is going to reflect the viewpoints and flossnoifs different parties. it will be a bipartisan report or won't be a report at all. then it comes to congress and has to be voted up or down by a supermajority. once again, it moots the ability to game it. one side can't game the other, the proposal must be bipartisan and fair. end of quote. and any attempt to raise taxes would never see the light of day on the house floor. the bill is carefully crafted to ensure a bipartisan process to the to the protect the right theefs minority party. given the enority of the challenge, the commission needs to be able to look at every component of our fiscal policy to fairly assess where we stand and how we can best move forward on a sound financial future. the language is clear nirk changes in the tax code

i like senator gregg.ow that fiscal commission that i just talked about. that was gregg's proposal. that was his proposal. it was senator judd gregg and senator kent conrad, and they had been advocating this for years. mitch mcconnell, the republican leader, had just a few months ago said this was the way to deal with this. so i said great, let's do it. and suddenly they are gone. now, not judd. judd is still supportive of it, so what we're going to try to do -- we're going to try to do it by executive order. my point is the easiest thing to do in politics is to point fingers, to figure out, you know, who to blame for something or to make people afraid of things. that's the easiest way to get attention. that's what reporters will report on. you call somebody a name. you say look what a terrible thing they have done, and they are going to do more terrible things to you if you don't watch out, and you'll get a lot of press attention, and in some cases you can win elections, particularly when unemployment is

jack reed and judd gregg are going to get a consensus.er and i will get to consensus on systemic risk and resolutions making sure that the entire notion of too big to fail leaves the american vocabulary and people know that if a company fails, it will fail. >> you can see the entire interview on newsmakers, today at 6:00 p.m., 3:00 pacific. >> updated and released in time for presidents day, c-span's "who is buried in grant's tomb"? the unique and comprehensive guide to the resting places of this nation's presidents. norton smith is a contributor. >> a wonderful way to consumer eyes and personalize the past, taking events and movements that otherwise might seem impossibly remote. there is something universal about the fact that we are all one day going to be on our deathbed, we will all have to face growing old. we all have to face in mortality and mortality. those are some of the themes that run through all of this. frankly, it is also entertaining book. there are a lot of stories and anecdotes designed to humanize these people. >> avail

chairman. >> senator gregg? >> thank you, mr. chairman. and i want to associate myself with senator biden, drilled into your record for authority and the range and the regulatory authority that should retain. i do think it's important that you are a major player in the atmosphere. and i do believe that although there are obviously airs that occurred across the regular machines, that you're so no more grievous than anybody else's. and in fact, i think in many ways more, less egregious. to get into this issue, however, which senator bayh sso, senator vitter has touched on, which is what is the tipping point. you basically allude to the fact that maybe sooner than later if the markets lose confidence in this. the international market especially. and we have had a budget presented to us which puts us on a path as you described of it up unsustainability because deficits well run at five to 7%. that will triple. and the public debt, the gdp will hit 80 percent by 2015, 2016. and we hit 60% this year actually. so the question becomes what do we n

as long -- as well as decisions by other senators, you know, such as senator gregg, et cetera, theseeople are promoting fiscal responsibility. these people are focusing on the future and they are disgusted not just with partisanship, but the ideological divide and the stalemate that we face. it's one thing to have a stalemate in washington when things are going well. because after all, government can and listen to me carefully, muck things up. that started with an m. but when things aren't going well and when they're deteriorating with the passage of time, having the stalemate is a disaster. and that's where we are right now. so i want to commend president obama for recognizing the problem. his steps with regard to fiscal 2011 budget were modest. they were modest with regard to the short term. they did not have the type of really, goals that we really need to see but i do want to commend him for recognizing that we need a fiscal commission. it's sad but we had seven profiles encaving, in congress when seven sponsors of the conrad gregg bill didn't vote for it when it came up for a vo

hello, i'm gregg jarrett. new details emerging in the wake of a deadly quake in chile.ntry's state run television reporting at least 350 people killed alone in the coastal town of constitution. some of the deaths apparently caused at waves from a tsunami swept through the area. the country's president saying the entire death toll from the magnitude 8.8e magglio quake stands at 708 and that number expected to go higher. >>> secretary of state hillary clinton will arrive in santiago chile testimony. the week long tour expected to be dominated by the tour in chile and she is scheduled to make stops in guatamela, uruguay and costa rica. >> why should we believe that things going to get better? >> you weren't aware of the fact that there was a serious acceleration problem with your vehicles until just a few months ago? >> why did it take you almost a year touring this to the attention of regulators? >> and it went on and on. you know what all of the lawmakers grilling toyota's top executive have in common. in they all got campaign dough from the united auto workers union. th

obama was in new hampshire today pitching the job idea, new hampshire's republican senator judd gregg was back in washington trashing the idea in a verbal joust with president obama's budget director. >> the law is very clear. the money's recouped from the t.a.r.p. shall be paid into the general fund of the treasury for the reduction of the public debt. it's not for a piggybank because you're concerned about lending to small businesses and you want to get a political event when you go out and make a speech in nashua, new hampshire. e that's not what this money is for, it's to reduce the debt of our children that we're passing on to our children. >> now, on the subject of the debt and the deficit, republicans keep trying to get back on offense, as you heard right there, and you saw in the invisible frustration in senator gregg's face. but the president is not ceding them that ground right now. today for a second day in a row, he pilloried senate republicans for bailing on a bipartisan debt commission. a number of republicans that originally supported that idea ended up voting no when i

. >> reporter: that did not sit will with new hampshire republican judd gregg, who helped write the tarp law and read it back to the president's budget director. >> the law is very clear. the moneys recouped from the tarp shall be paid into the general fund of the treasury for the reduction of the public debt. it's not for a piggy bank. >> reporter: judging by the cool reception to the president's budget today, tax expert clint stretch thinks congress will find many reasons to reject the corporate tax hikes the administration is also proposing. >> it's making the investments that get people buying plant and equipment and producing jobs. and then it's the ability of our companies to compete in the global marketplace. those are all powerful kinds of issues. >> reporter: over the next ten years, the administration wants to raise an additional $400 billion from business. if congress says no, much of that money may be borrowed instead. darren gersh, "nightly business report," washington. >> susie: another big push for the obama administration: limiting the risks big banks can take. the man le

he made the pitch during a town hall in new hampshire, and senator judd gregg wasn't happy about it. he laid into peter orszag. you'll remember senator gregg almost became president obama's commerce secretary, though he withdrew his nomination at a relatively early point in that process. listen to this. >> the law is very clear. the monies recouped from the t.a.r.p. shall be paid into the general fun of the treasury for the readdition of the public debt. you said a political event when you make a speech in nashua, new hampshire. this is to reduce the debt of our children that we're passing on to our children. you ought to at least have the integrity to be forthright about it, and say that's what you're doing, you're adding to the debt our kids will have to be back when you're claiming at the same time that you're being fiscally responsible. let me ask another question, because clearly we won't agree and you're not going to follow the law. >> excuse me, we will be following the law. >> then you won't be able to do it unless congress gives you the authority to do it. >> yes, exactly. >

we're joined by judd gregg. he's not attending today. he said last night this will be a bit of a kabooki dance going on. thank you for joining us. >> thank you for inviting me. >> what makes this all theater? >> i hope it isn't all theater, to be honest with you. but i think if you look at the position that is happening, if you look tt at the president's proposal on monday, it's obviously this is about trying to get the high point from a public relations standpoint, i believe. because the president's proposal on monday didn't speak to republicans. it spoke to his left in the house. he said to the house, here are some ideas that address your issues such as we will raise the level of deductibility for insurance, this price control mechanism which basically sets in price mechanisms on insurance, which is a basically absolute industrial management to all of us. >> there's a lot of critics on that one. >> so these are not ideas that are going to moderate on the republican side. they were supposed to resinate on the lib rat side. so if you're

republican senators in this body to know those who are blocking her confirmation that it was judd gregg, the senior senator from new hampshire, the senior republican senator from new hampshire, who first recognized susan's capabilities and potential. in 1991, the then-governor greg, appointed susan carbon to be a part-time district court judge. after i became governor, i appointed susan to be a full-time judge. because of her commitment to ending domestic violence and her expertise in family law, she was named the supervisory judge of the family division in new hampshire, a position that she still holds. susan carbon is exceptionally qualified to serve as the director of the office of violence against women. she's the leading voice in new hampshire on domestic violence and family law and she's been the driving force behind so many of new hampshire's efforts to strengthen legal protections for victims of domestic violence. susan also has become a national leader on domestic violence. she frequently serves as a faculty member for the national judicial institution on domestic violence and

megyn: time now to check in with gregg jarrett for a look at the top stories we are watching. >> leadersing relations with china. the husband of a woman accused of killing three of her coworkers say she was in an intense battle with co-workers for tenure. the government is getting involved in the census and putting it inside 2 million fortune cookies. got to love that. put down your chop sticks. get involved in the census is one of them. megyn: i'm look forward to that. where to hold the 9/11 trials. what to do with the detention camps down in guantanamo bay and the controversy over how the administration handled the attempted christmas day bombing. these are some of the challenges president obama has faced in his first year as commander-in-chief. but have the criticisms gone too far. former attorney general john ashcroft is our guest on some of the hard lessons being learned by the new team in the white house. thanks so much for being here with us. >> i'm delighted. megyn: let's start with the ksm trial. trielts of the 9/11 terrorists. that's one of the things the administration has bee

i am sorry senator gregg is not here. i know he has difficulty.i know you and he have worked on a number of issues that are important, and i hope to work on them, too. >> thank you. thank you very much for being here. now we turn to the rest of the witnesses. dr. reinhardt, professor of economics and director of the center for international economics at the university of maryland. very timely for you to be here. please proceed with your testimony, and then we will go to dr. johnson. >> thank you, chairman, and other members of the committee, for the opportunity to comment on the u.s. economy and the risk to the budget and debt. i am a professor at the university of maryland. i suspect i was invited today because for more than a decade my research was focused on various types of financial crises, and that includes fiscal implications and other economic consequences. one of the main lessons the emerging is that across countries and over time, severe financial crises followed a pattern. . follows financial crises. the recession's following severe pos

. >> republicans making their own promise to put the brakes on new spending and as gregg boswell reports then there is the unemployment numbers. >>> the white house says a report due friday will show more jobs were lost than previously believed. >> we doesn't get her overnight we won't get out of that hole overnight. it will take a concerted effort by the president and congress working together, both parties. >> reporter: president obama summoned democratic leaders to the white house to talk about a sharpened focus on jobs and the economy. >> we are dedicating this year to a lot of things but or number one emphasis is going to be creating jobs rerler senate democrats vowed to battle double digit unemployment and pass a jobs bill by next friday and wept a step further promising it would be bipartisan, republicans are skeptical. >> i can't not recall any bipartisan bill that did not increase spedding, expand government and increase our debt. >> reporter: gop leaders h also doubt the president's proposed three year freeze on some domestic spinning in the current budget proposal. >> now the

of weeks ago when kent conrad and that republican hypocrite from the hampshire whose name is judd greggoints about that is whatever decision they came up with would be binding. they had seven of the republican side on to the bill. they, when it came time for the vote, the seven republican disappeared. even the president was talking about that. now the president is issuing an executive order to get it done but it is not binding. this democrats that they don't have the political will to do it, to make those tough choices. they can't do it. it is like they need intervention. he asked this question as though you witness a person burning down a house and you ask a question, did that person do it. host: question for you. of the voters responsible? caller: i tell you what, they are. a lot of them speak in the bumper sticker -- the gentleman called from cincinnati, andrew, he had it on the mark. 99.9 percent are republicans. they speak in this bumper sticker mentality as opposed to what is reality. so they did. the media kind of helps pushes it. there are a few people on your show, your colleag

i'm sorry senator gregg is not here. i know he has difficulty getting here. you and he had worked on a number of issues that i hope to be able to work with you, too. >> thank you, senator. thank you for being here. we will now turn to the witnesses. dr. carmen rhinehart, professor of economics at the university of maryland. it is timely for you to be given developments on the international front. please proceed with your testimony and we will go to dr. johnson and dr. marin. >> thank you anmembers of the committee for the opportunity to comment on the u.s. economy and e@@@@@@@g@ @ @ h@ @ @ @ & @ @ @m that includes other economic con sequences. cross-country's and over time, severe crises followed similar patterns. in a paper over your ago, we examined the slump that inevitably followed financial crisis. the recession's following severe post-world war two crises tend to be protected affairs. asset market collapse were deep, prolonged and realizing -- housing prices declined at least 35% for this decline stretched out over six years. equity prices collapsed on

many of you have heard me do this -- introduced in december, a bipartisan proposal by senator judd gregg one a republican, one a democrat -- that enjoyed pretty broad bipartisan support. normally, 50 votes would carry the day. this proposal got 53 votes when it needed 60. seven cosponsors of the legislation ultimately voted against the legislation. so you need 60 votes in this environment to get something done. >> democrats have 60 votes. >> no. i think very soon we're not going to have 60 votes. >> but when you had that vote on the debt commission, you did have 60 votes. >> we did have 60 votes, but we didn't get the 60 votes we needed. we lost seven republicans that supported the bill. look, some democrats don't support it. i get that. if we would have simply gotten all of the people that either voted for it or said they supported it, we would have gotten far more than 60 votes. mitch mcconnell, who i had the pleasure of sharing a sunday show with, had supported this two months ago -- except when it came time to vote on it. >> i guess my larger question is, aren't these the tough decis

as long as, as well as decisions by other senators, such as senator voinovich, senator gregg, et cetera, these people are promoting fiscal responsibility. these people are focusing on the future. and they are disgusted, not just with partisanship, but the ideological divide and a stalemate that we face. it is one thing to have a stalemate in washington when things are going well, because after all, government can come and listen to me carefully, muck things up. that started with an intimate. that when things are not going well. and when they are degenerating with the passage of time. having the stomach is a disaster. and that is where we are right now. so i want to commend president obama for recognizing the problem. his steps with the go to the fiscal 2011 budget were modest. they were modest with regard to the short-term. they did not have the type of really goals that we really need to see, but i do want to commend him for recognizing that we need a fiscal commission. it's sad, but we had seven profiles indicating in congress when seven sponsors of the conrad gregg bill didn't vote f

get back on offense, as you heard right there, and you saw in the invisible frustration in senator gregg's face. the president is not seating that ground right now. today for a second day in a row, he spoke to republicans for bailing on a bill. >> this law failed by seven votes. when seven republicans who had cosponsored the bill -- had cosponsored the idea, suddenly walked away from their own proposal after i endorsed it. so they make a proposal, sign on to the bill. i say, great, good idea. i turn around, and they're gone. what happened? now, it's one thing to have an honest difference of opinion on something. there's nothing wrong with that. you can't walk away from your responsibilities to confront the challenges facing the country because you don't think it's good short term politics. we can't afford that. >> mr. obama teed up republicans on the stimulus package today as well, another subject on which republicans have been trying to stay on the offense, president obama again no longer letting them. >> so the very same folks in congress who opposed the recovery act and claimed that it

i'm sorry senator gregg is not here. i know he has difficulty getting here.know you and he had worked on a number of issues that i hope to be able to work with you, too. >> thank you, senator. thank you for being here. we will now turn to the witnesses. dr. carmen rhinehart, professor of economics at the university of maryland. it is timely for you to be given developments on the international front. please proceed with your testimony and we will go to dr. johnson and dr. marin. >> thank you anmembers of the committee for the opportunity to comment on the u.s. economy and the budget and the debt. & department of economics at the university of maryland. i suspect that i was invited here today because for more than a decade, my research has been focused on various types of financial crises. that includes the fiscal implications and other economic consequences. one of the main lessons of emerging from this work is that across countries and over time, severe financial crises followed a similar pattern. in a paper written over one year ago with my co-author, we ex

. >> and lastly, chris, we ought to mention new hampshire, too, that's the judd gregg seat. that's a pretty big field on the gop side. the democrats already house member paul hose, that's trending toward democrats in recent years. >> you know what's great about politics, inevitably even in a tsunami year, somebody wins going the other direction whether it's biden back in '72, but also, the unbeatable guy, the unbeatable woman who can't imagine ever losing an election also goes down in a tsunami. that happens, too. >> remember 1980. remember the names? the biggest names of the democratic history in the united states senate. >> mcgovern. >> they were giant names. >> and culver. >> you're absolutely right, chris. kentucky's in play. we didn't even mention that. florida's in play, we didn't mention that. we may have 20 senate races in single digits, or flipping on election night. i'll be honest, i'm pretty giddy about that. that's a lot of fun. >> a lot of tea party action there. >> there is. >> cuban-american guy down in florida. charlie crist making a bit of a comeback, out th

a wonderful bipartisan measure, the conrad-gregg bill, completely bipartisan and a bipartisan fiscal responsibility commission brought up for vote, we had 60 votes. but only 53 people showed up for work. 7 people who had been original co sponsors of the measure suddenly got different ideas when the moment of truth came. so mr. president i'm thankful you have appointed a presidential fiscal responsibility commission with allen simpson to force us as a congress and force the nation to address the fundamental problems. if you love medicare, you need to act to save it fast. every day matters. a report will come out issued by the treasury department, it comes out every year and comes out in the next few days. it uses really account to go describe america's fiscal problems and the news is not pretty. it will reaffirm what is discussed here about medicare and medicaid and other vital american programs deeply in the hole. the opportunity had cost for delay is extraordinary. so we can face these problems, mr. president, we can some of them with political will but talking points won't do t we

i hope it will be an opportunity forñr the congress to reconsider its rejection of the conrad- greggeach --o treat the president's proposal in a similar manner. meanwhile, as you mentioned,? te former chairman of this committee and i have launched a bipartisan debt reduction task force that we hope will demonstrate that republicans and democrats can work together to produce a sensible and viable debt reduction plan. under the auspices of the bipartisan policy center, which was founded by senate leaders, we have launched an effort that we profoundly hope will show that crafted a bipartisan deficit reduction plan is not an impossible task. we have recorded an impressive group of citizens, former elected officials, and budget experts, i will attach a list, and we will report by the end of the year. we hope to support the efforts of an official commission whether statutory or created by executive order or whatever. in any case, to make our recommendations available to the public and to the congress for further discussion and debate. we will be happy to assist this committee in any way th

number of different venues, including in november on cnn spoke quite passionately for the comrade greggn. the president weighed in and supported the conrad gregg commission, right, which is set up very similarly to the wolf-cooper proposal that leader boehner supported in the house. we put that up for a vote. now, if each party is serious in dealing with the deficit, we wouldn't normally think that you would need 60 votes in the senate where all you -- you could pass something based on a majority, you wouldn't think you would need 60 votes if each was serious about working on the deficit, right? but alas, that's what was asked for, 60 votes, right? let's rewind and talk about what happened in that vote. they got 53 votes. not all republicans supported it. not all democrats supported it. that's fine. we got 53 votes. seven short of the necessary 60. those seven votes could have been gotten by the six co-sponsorsç of that bill in december that decided not to vote for it, and an active co-sponsor that also decided not to vote for it. there's the seven votes. but, look, chip, the president

it was co-sponsored by senators conrad and gregg -- but it was blocked.i will create this commission by executive order. i asked both parties to join in this serious effort to address long-term deficits. with the politics put aside, the reality of our fiscal challenge is not subject to interpretation and is not partisan. there ought to be a debate about how to close our deficits. what we cannot accept is business as usual and we cannot afford it grand standing at the expense of actually getting something done. during our meeting we also touched briefly on how to move forward on health reform. i have already announced that in two weeks i will hold a meeting with people from both parties and look forward to a constructive debate with plans that need it is to bring down costs for all fellow americans and for the federal government. does it provide adequate protection against abuses by the insurance industry? does it make coverage affordable and available to tens of millions of working americans who do not have it right now? does it put us on the past -- path

but others, like senator judd gregg of new hampshire, denounced the measure. >> i understand that the issue of the economy is critical, and the issue of getting people back to work is critical. but i don't think you get people back to work in this nation by loading more and more debt onto the next generation. i think, probably, you create an atmosphere where folks that are willing to go out and invest and create jobs are a little >> reporter: all of this came as consumer confidence fell in february, by the most in 10 months. the decline was driven by concerns about jobs. and new home sales hit a record low last month, despite recent improvements in other housing indicators. federal reserve chairman ben bernanke forecast a continued slow recovery today, in his twice-a-year economic report to congress. he said record-low interest rates are still essential to help promote hiring. >> some recent indicators job losses have slowed considerably, and the number of full-time jobs in manufacturing rose modestly in january. notwithstanding these positive signs, the job market remains quite weak,

i would just want to add to what gregg was saying.he amount of hours worked actually increased in this, as did overtime, and wages were pretty good. those people who are working are doing better. and i know it's hard to look at a 10% unemployment rate and say, how do we ever get out of this. in fact, the recession ends, it's the fate of the 90% who are employed that will find our way out of this recession. if they work longer hours and make more money, the economy will come back that way. >> interesting. steve liesman, greg ip, thank you for getting us behind the numbers this morning. it's always very important to do that. >>> up next, today's top ten in the 2010. which governors are ripe for the picking? plus, another big blow in illinois politics. this is the democrat running for lieutenant governor. >> i assure you, i promise you, i never touched the woman, i never tried to cut her throat, i never did anything like that. >> well, there you go. >> oh, was that a campaign slogan or -- >> i didn't cut her throat. wow. >> well, we'll d

who from the very beginning from his overture to the republican party saying, you know, we want judd greggbe involved as i think it was secretary of commerce or something. and so it extended that from the very beginning and has routinely taken a conciliatory stance, you know, reaching across the isle. but he's been met with such vitriol, even i think joe wilson thing, you lied, which is really unheard of in very bad to koran. and so, maureen dowd's article when she heard, you lied, she said well, you have to the boy on the end of that. the second concern i have is there a sort of an undercurrent of racism it seems to me. and while it's unfashionable to express our racism, so we sort of sublimated into tea parties and so on and so forth. klesko in the interest of time, you think we understand your direction and will give the congresswoman a chance to respond. >> guest: yeah, a couple of things there. here again, expressing what we hear continually. the american people are tired of talk. they want to see action and they want to see problem solved. and they want the laid out clearly. give a t

host: this morning in "the washington post" they write about judd gregg and can conrad, a proposal ofe senate budget committee, respectively. the views of fred hiatt in the "the washington post." tennessee, stand on our democrats lined pad caller: you usually cut me off right away. bush started out with $360 billion surplus. i wish obama had that to start out with. instead of the terrible situation he was left with. two wars that basically were crazy. $12 billion off of a truck in iraq. they did not pay for either. they took it off the budget. and scorn hatch -- they did not pay for no child left behind -- ask orrin hatch why you are talking about obama keeping spending in line. he says, why didn't you do that when you were in power and he says, it was standard practice in power not to pay for anything but now he wants to pay for everything. $700 billion deficit under paulson and bush under this recession. this is crazy. host: stan, thank you for your views. thank you for all of the calls in the segment and more coming up. we turn our attention to the role of independent voters in 201

i'm sorry senator gregg isn't here. know you and he have worked on a number of issues that are important and i hope to be able to work with you. >> thank you, senator, again, thank you very much forever being here. now we'll turn to the rest of the witnesses, dr. carmen reinhart, professor of economics and director of the senator for international economics at the university of maryland. very timely for you to be here given developments on the international front. please proceed with your testimony and then we'll go to dr. johnson and dr. maron. dr. reinhart. >> thank you, chairman conrad, and other members of the committee for the opportunity to comment on the u.s. economy and the risks for the budget and debt. i'm a professor at the department of economics at the university of maryland. i suspect that i was invited here today because for more than a decade my research has focused on various types of financial crises and that includes fiscal implications and other economic consequences. one of the main lessons emerging

one is that we have a president, who from the very beginning, said, we want judd gregg to be involved think it was as secretary of commerce or something. they extended that from the beginning and have routinely taken a conciliatory stance in reaching across the aisle. but he has been met with such big three all -- vitriol. it is unheard of and very bad decorum. when she heard, "you lie," we have to put, "boy," on the end of that. there is an undercurrent of racism, it seems to me. it is unfashionable to express our racism, so we sublimat into -- the sublimate it into tea party. host: i think we understand your direction and we will give the congress woman a chance to respond. guest: a couple of things. again, and expressing what we hear continually that the american people are tired of talk and want to see action and want to see problems solved. they want that laid out clearly. give us a timeline of how we are going to move forward to address some of these problems. when it comes to being the party of no, which is something the mainstream media as many times said about the republicans

one of the great ironies of the story, gregg, is on one hand monica lipinski was office of independentar witness. they needed her. they had to take the position of everything she said was the truth except for one thing and i was their treatment of her when they first confronted her in the ritz-carlton. on that front the honor likely have to argue she was not telling the truth and in fact she wasn't about to talk about during this time. in the end as you know from later on in the book i disclose there was an internal investigation by the justice department. >> host: joanne harris. >> guest: joanne harris appointed by ken starr's successor, robert ray, to conduct an investigation of allegations against ken starr's office about a host of things, it the one piece of it where joann harris concluded there were problems was their handling of this brace of monica lewinsky, the grace being -- >> host: confronting two yet >> guest: confronting, yes. there was no planning. the prosecutors told me they thought naively. this happened quickly. they went in thinking they would be there 15 minutes tal

the president weighed in and supported the conrad-gregg commission, which is set up similarly to theoofl-cooper proposal. we put that up for a vote. now if each party is serious in dealing with the deficit, we wouldn't normally think that you would need 60 votes in the senate where you can pass something based on a majority, you wouldn't think you need 60 votes if each were serious about working on the deficit. but that's what was asked for, 60 votes. let's talk about what happened in that vote. it got 53 votes. not all republicans supported it. not all democrats supported it. but we got 53 votes, seven short of the necessary 60. those seven votes could have been gotten by the six co-sponsors of that will bill in december that decided not to vote for it and active co-sponsor that are also decided. they're the seven votes. but, look, chip, the president laid out $17 billion worth of spending cuts, 60 votes. the president laid out 20% in spending cuts this year and we hope to get those. if congress wants to do better than that, the president is happy to look at it. the president talked

i'm sorry senator gregg is not here. i know he has difficulty getting here.know you and he had worked on a number of issues that i hope to be able to work with you, too. >> thank you, senator. thank you for being here. we will now turn to the witnesses. dr. carmen rhinehart, professor of economics at the university of maryland. it is timely for you to be given developments on the international front. please proceed with your testimony and we will go to dr. johnson and dr. marin. >> thank you anmembers of the committee for the opportunity to comment on the u.s. economy and the budget and the debt. & department of economics at the university of maryland. i suspect that i was invited here today because for more than a decade, my research has been focused on various types of financial crises. that includes the fiscal implications and other economic consequences. one of the main lessons of emerging from this work is that across countries and over time, severe financial crises followed a similar pattern. in a paper written over one year ago with my co-author, we ex

i'm sorry senator gregg is not here. i know he has difficulty getting here. and he had worked on a number of issues that i hope to be able to work with you, too. >> thank you, senator. thank you for being here. we will now turn to the witnesses. dr. carmen rhinehart, professor of economics at the university of maryland. it is timely for you to be given developments on the international front. please proceed with your testimony and we will go to dr. johnson and dr. marin. >> thank you anmembers of the committee for the opportunity to comment on the u.s. economy and the budget and the debt. & department of economics at the university of maryland. i suspect that i was invited here today because for more than a decade, my research has been focused on various types of financial crises. that includes the fiscal implications and other economic consequences. one of the main lessons of emerging from this work is that across countries and over time, severe financial crises followed a similar pattern. in a paper written over one year ago with my co-author, we examine th

should point out that is an idea that had strong bipartisan support and was introduced by senators greggell and the republican leader in the house, john boehner, go ahead and fully embrace what has been a bipartisan idea to get our arms around this budget. it is why we are restoring pay as you go. congress cannot spend a dime without cutting a done elsewhere. this will help lead to the budget surpluses of the 1990's and is one of the most important steps we can take to restore fiscal discipline in washington. you can read more about the budget and budget.gov. very easy to remember. we simply cannot continue to spend as if deficits do not have consequences. as if waste does not matter. as if the hard earned tax dollars can be treated like monopoly money. in order to meet this challenge, i welcome any idea from democrats or republicans. a one-out walk and, what i reject is the same old grandstanding when the cameras are on. it is time to hold washington to the same standards businesses and families hold themselves. it is time to spend what we must and live within our means once again. than

megyn: thank you gregg. >>> oh yeah, you thought campaign season was over? you thought wrong. that's the music. so it's official! everyone back on the campaign buff. check on the polls places -- polling places, yes, it may be february 2010, but we are getting new reports today on what president obama is planning for his 2012 campaign. wendell goler has the dish at the white house. lot, what is he doing? >> >> reporter: megyn, the 2008 campaign manager, david plouffe, said to be having private conversations with others involved in the 2008 effort, some, including presidential counselor david axelrod, working for the president right now, others including plouffe himself who are not white house staffers, the president himself says he hasn't given much thought to the 2012 bid, he told ab c's diane sawyer he'd rather be a really good one-term president than a mediocre 2-term president. officials say no significant planning has been done here at the white house yet but one senior democratic official calls the report disconcerting, he notes there are a number of democrats up for reel

had a majority vote for the conrad-gregg statutory commission. under the senate rule we had to get 60 and it doesn't pass. while i prefer a statutory commission i prefer a presidential commission to nothing. >> right. now, one of the arguments you make in the book which i think is particularly interesting in advancing the case of the commission is that this is the way to create a consensus in the country for action on fiscal policy. and i think the book -- to my mind it regards it as the most important thing. stepping back from the details we have a bigger appetite for public services in this country than we have a willingness to pay the taxes that are required. you know, how do we bridge that gap? i just wanted to pressure you on how much a commission might make to that -- it's an issue of national attitudes can can people be made to change their minds about this? >> well, first i believe there are two critical elements that have to be present for a commission to be successful. in addition to having capable, credible and committed people on it a

that's why i think judd gregg was absolutely right. i support him on this.'re going to set up by executive order a commission to do this. but i want good ideas. it is not in my interest to blow government with wasteful problems because every time i spend money on wasteful programs that don't work, that's money i'm not spending on early childhood education that would make a difference in a child's life or on college scholarships to send kids to school. we have to use our money more wisely but that can only be done if both parties are responding to the interest of the american people and not their short-term politics. all right. young lady up there. yes, you. yes! you sound surprised. wait, wait, wait. i i saw another lady in the black box. sorry about that. it is nice to see you, though. >> my name is ashley and i attend nashua high. [applause] during your campaign there was a lot of promises of transparency but lately a lot of stuff in the media says most of health care has been behind closed doors. i was just wondering how you would grade yourself on your t

apparently you thought that was a procedure that was appropriate to pass, as a matter of fact judd gregg when he was criticizing us for criticize regular con sailuation said what's wrong with a majority vote? we think there's nothing wrong with a majority vote. there's a filibuster in the senate, that's under their rules. i think those rules are impeding the work of the american people, but be that as it may, they are the rules. there's also a rule that provides for consideration of legislation through a process that is call red conciliation, a fancy name for simply saying there are things that are important, you can put them on the table and you can pass them in a time frame but as americans would expect, a majority of the people -- of the representatives of the american people have to vote for it. . it's the expression of the majority leader's expression, we prefer not to use that not because we think it's a wrong procedure but because we'd like to create a broader consensus if we can. i will tell my friend in terms of -- i think he to some degree misquoted me. i think you could draw t

he clashed with judd gregg in terms of the payments to help out small businesses. >> one of the linger financial markets is access to credit to small businesses. it's why in this budget -- >> no, no, no, you can't make that kind of statement with any legitimacy. >> okay. >> you cannot make this statement. >> they're not suffering -- >> let me tell you what the law says, let me read it to you again because you don't appear to understand the law. the law is very clear. the money's recouped from the t.a.r.p. shall be paid into the general fund of the treasury for the reduction of the public debt. it's not for a piggy bank because you're concerned about lending to small businesses. and you want to get a political event when you go out and make a speech in nashua, new hampshire, that's not what this money is for. this money is to reduce the debt of our children that we're passing on to our children and you ought to at least have the integrity to be forthright about it and say that's what you're doing, you're adding to the debt that our kids will have to pay back, when you're claiming at the

gregg? >> reporter: bill, that's right.buse scandal broke last year, pope benedict xvi spoke about betrayal and shame that he felt in terms of that and said he'll be writing to the irish faithful and now he has brought in two dozen bishops to rome to talk to each one, about this, and try to frame some sort of response, to the abuse scandal and i remembered is not that big, this is a huge crisis, for the church there, because the country is overwhelmingly catholic, and recent report talking about how endemic the sex abuse it was, in church institutionses. and, so it's certainly a problem pope benedict xvi is taking seriously, here, as you said, four bishops offered the resignation and one has been accepted and others will be and it will be interesting to see how sweeping the reorganization might be. and he could really make some major, major changes, in the irish church. the bishops are talking about repentance and that of course is very timely, with ash wednesday, starting on wednesday. and what we know is pope benedict xvi

our leader on the issue, senator gregg on the matter and we need to get our budget in order.ll have much more to say on the individual pieces of this blueprint including the administration's priorities on our national and homeland security. but now it's crystal clear that this budget is more spending, more taxes, and more debt. more spending, more taxes and more debt. anyone listening to the american people knows this isn't what they support. it's not what our country needs. and it's not the way to grow good jobs. mr. president, i yield the floor. >> now to the pentagon for a briefing on president obama's fiscal year 2011 budget request for the defense department. you'll hear first from defense secretary robert gates and joint chiefs chairman admiral mike mullen. they'll be followed by an overview with the quaudreniel defense review. this is an hour and 20 minutes. >> first of all, let me say the full text of both my and the chairman's statements will be available immediately after the briefing. the statements are kind of long. and so just put your minds at ease, we'll have a