that's one of the reasons the president signed the lilly ledbetter law.at was basically an empowerment tool for lawyers and litigators. we do see some women and losthe workforce weight potential because of the time they took off. same thing happens to men who leave the workforce. one person writes -- let's go to rochester, new york, democrat. what mona said earlier that she thought in an ideal world, her ideal world, that 30 years old with a well- established career and a house and then you can have children -- that doesn't pass the giggle test as far as i'm concerned. when most of wage earning people in america say they're making less than $10 an hour, those are facts. i go back a long way. under ronald reagan, that is when those people had to be working, husband and wife. under him, both of us had to go out and make enough money to survive in this economy. in your household? caller: that's right. and i had a good job. but both of us had to go to work to make ends meet. thats during that time most americans, husband and wife, had to leave the household.

three so-called liberals on the court said congress it is in your court now, like we did with lilly ledbetter. the court has extremely narrowly read title seven and we want to update it to make sure it is in effect. and it is up to congress update. well, as we know congress doesn't do anything. >> michael: all right. mike sacks you are like the cliff notes of the supreme court. really appreciate. up next, immigration seems to be getting a little lost in "the war room" this week. wayne slater joins us with the latest right after this. >> ...and a distinctly satirical point of view. >> but you mentioned "great leadership" so i want to talk about donald rumsfeld. >> (laughter). >> watch the show. >> only on current tv. >> michael: has immigration reform inches along, the fight is getting louder. just minutes ago, the senate ended the debate on the border surge amendment. it would require 350 more miles of border fencing, 20,000 more border agents and $4.5 billion versus of surveillance technology positioned all across the border. ofrjs the floor of the senate today, corker said this amendment sh

. >> the lilly ledbetter fair pay act makes filing discrimination suits easier's with women earning lesse the equal pay act was enacted. >>> plaque back to this day in 1972 a triple crown sek ksecretariat. the ninth triple crown in history and only two more won since. the last winner affirmed in 1978, and this weekend, nope. no triple crown winner but upset at belmont stakes. taking first place, palace malice. the 3-year-old beatout preakness and kentucky derby winner. congratulations, palace malice. >>> up next, surveillance scrutiny. how much access does the government really have over your e-mails and phone calls? we ask a senior attorney behind a group working to defend your digital rights. >>> you're watching msnbc. [ male announcer ] with free package pickup from the united states postal service a small design firm can ship like a big business. just go online to pay, print and have your packages picked up for free. we'll do the rest. ♪ we'll do the rest. fso you're worried about housef fires? stop smoking. manage your wires. watch out for space heaters. clean the chimney. get one o

the latest intervention by congresswoman marsha blackburn of tennessee who voted against the lilly ledbetter sunday to widespread astonishment that women don't want equal pay laws that come out of congress. >> they don't want the decisions made in washington. they want the power, control and ability to make those decisions themselves. >> now, i'm not sure what miss blackburn thinks she's referring to, but she hasn't spoken to my wife, my two daughters or any of my esteemed female colleagues whom i work with every single day on this broadcast. because they are extremely angry. they're extremely angry that the pay gap between men and women actually increased last year with women earning only 80% of what men earned for doing exactly the same job. they're extremely angry that according to the national women's law center, a typical full-time working woman will miss out on almost $500,000 in earnings over a career purely because women are paid less than men for doing exactly the same work. this means for a woman to achieve the same income as a man, they'd have to work 12 years longer just to break

congresswoman marsha blackburn, popular mascot for the gop lady issues, a woman who voted against the lilly ledbetter act, the paycheck fairness act and the violence against women act. putting a woman at center stage on a woman's issue was not the only republican bid at sanity or at least semi-sanity. following franks' comments last weekle house also quietly added exceptions to their bill for rape and incest. this is important to note that this exception only applies if the victim reports the crime before getting an abortion. in the end, the house may pass the bill but it has zero chance of becoming law. as proof, yesterday the white house issued a veto threat. this bill is a direct challenge to roe v. wade and shows contempt for women's health and rights, the roles doctors play in their patient's health care decisions and the constitution. and yet, it is full steam ahead for the gop. this morning blackburn took to the airwaves to defend the bill's integrity. >> representative franks has apologized for his comments and the bill has been amended which does allow the exceptions for rape and incest and

that's why the first bill i signed into law was the lilly ledbetter better pay act.hat's why as valerie mentioned, i created the first ever white house council on women an girls which is working to close that gap. and valerie's council, this council, is doing a great job bringing the experiences of women into our federal policies as well. it's why i established a national equal pay task force to help crackdown on violations of equal pay laws which, by the way, they're doing at a record rate. and through education and outreach, they're also helping employers develop tools to comply with the nation's equal pay laws on their own. and that's why earlier this year i signed a presidential memorandum directing the federal government to close that gap for good for its employees. right? we have to set an example. it's also why we're using latest technology to help workers get what they need to figure out if they're underpaid. thanks to innovators like rachel and lequita up here, we can now say -- there's an app for that. but as long as this gap persists, we're going to have m

in this last session in texas, things like the lilly ledbetter act. republicans opposed to that.enating women in the suburbs. it can't just be about hispanic voters, black voters, asian american voters, it has to be about youth. we have to put together the coalition. >> the other interesting opportunity. the story of the south going con seventive and republican, a reaction of generally white voters to the national democratic party. now we're in a new phase where republicans control almost everything in the south and reaction to republican leadership. that's what the wendy davis thing spoke to. one thing that it's getting them. >> we talked about this a little bit. we talked about this about to end. and there is in obama to vote in some way. is hillary clinton able to change numbers in the south a little better. ty and tennessee it will make it easier in the south. given the nomination of hullry. if that were the person. i think there are factors to look at. >> thanks to jeremy bird with the obama re-election campaign. president obama found a way around congress on climate change.

we had the lilly ledbetter act passed. laws alone will not solve the problem.he public and the private sector working together. i am proud at what we have done at deloitte. you talked in your speech but the young lady sitting right here. i am living the american dream, and my firm helped be due that. i am happy to represent the 60,000 people and 3000 partners who defined our organization. we have lots of policies in place today to make sure there is equal pay, people are of value weighted, no retaliation for people who and speak up, and that is important. it is important for companies and what we do. when you pay based on performance, when you pay based on a job well done him a that is what is good for companies what is good for america. that is what we are about as a country. now it is my honor and it is an honor to introduce a man who has led on this issue and has championed the cause of fair and equal pay from his first day in office. ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states, barack obama. [applause] >> thank you. thank you, everybody. thank

important change starting with lilly ledbetter act and on to obama care and supreme court appointmentsot a lot done. and then we lose the house. john boehner comes in as speaker. and things kind of slowed down. right? because particularly -- >> kind of. >> bill: they got nothing done. so now the president came out -- a lot of it was republicans said well, we're not sure the american people supported his agenda. we won't do anything until they re-elect and give people a chance to change horses. well, they didn't. they said no. we like this guy. we're going to stick with him. given that, is the second term going to be anymore productive? >> well, you know, there is a midterm election in the second term too. >> bill: what you're saying is nothing ain't going to happen. nothing is going to happen until 2014. >> so during the campaign, obama's people were asked a lot about this. so if we re-elect you and we keep the republican house, that was clearly what was going to happen, why should anybody think this is going to be different. there is an argument of electing romney just because -- why

i was proud to cast my first vote in congress for the lilly ledbetter fair pay act, which restored women's right to challenge unfair pay in court. but there's more work to do. over the past 50 years, the equal pay act has never been updated or strengthened. that's where the paycheck fairness act comes in. it strengthens and closes loopholes in the law. so let's get this done and send an important message that work is work, no matter who is doing it. let's pass the paycheck fairness act and yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman rom utah seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. stewart: mr. speaker, i am honored to represent the great state of utah and salt lake city. forbes magazine recently rated utah as the best state in the nation for business and careers. in salt lake city, it was recently ranked as the best city in the country for new graduates. but while the state of utah is doing very well, the rest of our nation is not. as a small business owner, i know that government does not create jobs, the private se

lilly leaddge to the better at, the first bill president obama -- ledbetter act, the first bill that president obamas signs. this is really important because of theake up over 50% work force and 40% of the families have women as the top toadwinners to continue enhance economic security, we will keep working to enhance the health and well-being of america's families. democrats are proud to be advancing the affordable care act provision to build a healthier nation. we are working with constituents and small businesses and families, advocacy groups, state and local officials to implement the bill into law. progress is already being made. the kaiser family foundation shows the affordable care act saved consumers $2.1 billion in lower premium costs. in california, the new health- insurance marketplace is encouraging. there will be 13 options for california consumers. small businesses are receiving rebates from blue shield and and anthenmoved cost -- and m will cross. elsewhere, 90% of those projected to a role in 2014 will have about five options to choose from -- an average of five optio