gerrard of nebraska to be district judge for nebraska. despite the president's action on recess appointments. during the last session we acted responsibly in considering the president's nominees. even the majority leader acknowledged this. he stated -- quote -- "we've done a good job on nominations the last couple of months, actually in the last three months we have accomplished quite a bit." end of quote of senator reid. i will have more to say about the recess appointments. but with regard to this nomination, i hope my colleagues understand that even though we are proceeding under regular order today, it is only because this unanimous consent agreement was locked in before the president demonstrated his monarchy mentality by making those recess appointments. i'm not going to hold this nominee accountable for the outrageous actions of the president. however, as this is a matter of concern to my republican colleagues, as it should be to every one of the 100 senators, we must consider how we will respond to the president and how we will re

>>neil: sow hanging this on nebraska and not washington? >>guest: it is nebraska.olks in nebraska claim otherwise. i don't know why. >>guest: why did they call a special session and shut down the pipelinest ask the people in nebraska they say six more months minimum because they can get a route and a permit. >>neil: always a pleasure, governor. mitt ain't the only one holding back so are a lot of wall streeters with want him in only he is delaying releasing his taxes. they're delaying getting their bonuses. we will connect. you decide. . i'd race down that hill without a helmet. i took some steep risks in my teens. i'd never ride without one now. and since my doctor prescribed lipitor, i won't go without it for my high cholesterol and my risk of heart attack. why kid myself? diet and exercise weren't lowering my cholesterol enough. now i'm eating healthier, exercising more, taking lipitor. numbers don't lie. my cholesterol's stayed down. lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who have heart disease or risk factors for hear

we will start with nebraska governor. he addressed the state legislature and the capitol of lincoln and some of the topics addressed during their remarks include changing the state income tax and providing relief to the middle class. this is about 17 minutes. [applause] >> thank you. [applause] thank you very much. mr. president, mr. speaker, members of the legislature, tribal chairman, distinguished guests, friends and fellow nebraska in some. i'm pleased to be here at the beginning of the 2012 legislative session. and i want to acknowledge and recognize that line of your members will be leading the legislature at the end of this year. they include duralast and speaker, a steady and rock-solid appropriations committee chairman, a superb revenue share, a tenacious transportation committee chair and effective natural resources committee chairman, an excellent banking committee chairman, a fighter for western nebraska, an advocate for children for fiscal and conservative. senators will come white men, cornet, fisher, how wo

that is nebraska.n, save communities, good jobs, great schools, affordable homes, and an unmatched quality-of-life. whether it's arlington, wahoo, north late, kearney, grand island, your green a burden lincoln, omaha or sarpy county, nebraska communities are the american dream. we have faith and confidence and nebraska, the families and our communities. we believe in freedom dhaka hard work and self-sufficiency. we believe in providing every child the opportunity to receive a quality education. let me sing it again, nebraska has a hard working american families want, safe communities, good jobs, great schools, affordable neighborhoods and an unmatched quality-of-life. america's elite cities are too expensive for middle class families. these cities have high taxes and burdensome regulations, both of which discourage job creation. today, technology connects us like never before, and now americans can live and work anywhere. this provides nebraska an opportunity for growth like we have never before seen t

witness that could put in context the nebraska as the motion and what nebraska is doing that the state department objected because they don't sit on the same panel as a state witness. the head of the nebraska department of environmental quality is worthy enough to sit there and because of time constraints, the ability to answer questions had to be deleted from this panel and our am frankly disturbed by that. but we are going to get in to the false excuse of using the state of nebraska as the reason, reading your testimony, as the reason for the denial. in fact, the bill was written so that you wouldn't have to make that decision and we will get into those statements. i yield back. >> i thank the gentleman. i might say also that last night the president in his state of the union address talked about the importance of infrastructure for america to remain competitive. >> i would like to really going to have to say regular oil isn't -- the five minutes is up so we should proceed because the regular order is up. it is up, mr. chairman. >> when you said that there were still 30 seconds left.

>> can you not sign this until nebraska has a route.l: i was scratching my head and i thought i got to call the nebraska republican governor. governor, good to have you. >>guest: neil i'm glad to be here to set the record straight. >>neil: what happened? he is blaming you and officials in your state not getting your act together. tell me. >>guest: well, first of all, i like the governor but the fact of the matter he is he is protecting his democratic buddy, president obama. we ought to put party politics aside, do what best for america, and the president should have said yesterday, i approve the pipeline, transcanada was willing to begin construction of the northern border and the southern border, headed to nebraska, there are three states above us and below us, and they would have to construct the pipeline before they get to nebraska, while we conclude a final supplemental environmental impact statement on a route we are confident will be approved. >>neil: but you said he had not done that. i want to be clear he said you had not do it

it is after the nebraska legislature met. "i am confident that the departments and nebraska authorities will be able to work together in preparing any documents necessary to examine the alternative route to the state of nebraska to satisfy any state laws." they were all set and ready to go with the state and nebraska. if he would have been allowed to participate in this hearing today but for the objections of the state department, i think he would have said on december 1, 2011 we contacted the state department to explore the process of entering into an mou between agencies that would outline responsibilities. we received a first draft of the agreement from the state departments within the next two weeks and exchanged comments for what we consider to be an executable document which we submitted to the state department december 2011. i think it is odd or interesting that the state department's in the middle of december 2011 decided that they were not going to work on this project anymore and then come here and said they did not

and then i'm really excited in nebraska itself. congressman lee terry has taken a real lead on looking into this. it goes through his state and so i hope you go to his website. you'll see where he explains regulations and the environmental safeguards for the people of nebraska. guest: congressman wilson, doesn't south carolina hold or store a lot of nuclear waste at this point? host: yes. that's been, peter, a source of frustration in that the president promised that he would make decisions based on science. but we found out it's political science because yucca mountain -- and we are suing, along with a number of states, the

long time, nebraska. north dakota rather where senator kent conrad said he won't run for another term. in nebraska, senator ben nelson waited a very long time before announcing he wouldn't run again. democrats spent more than $1 million to try to prop him up but over the christmas break when he said he would talk with his family, he decided he just wasn't going to run for another term. whether or not that was because of the political realities on the ground, he was always going to face a tough fight for re-election. now democrats don't have much of a chance in nebraska. the one caveat being former senator bob kerrey thinking about running for what is his old seat. p. nelson won that seat 12 years ago once kerry retired. carrey went off to new york to be the head of the new school there. now he's back in nebraska contemplating it but admitting he's going to have a tough time because this is a a red state. >> missouri is always a purple state. swings both democrat and republican. >> she is probably third mo

state department talks about studies in nebraska.sn't your job supposed to determine impact, what international impact or relationship with your friend in canada? >> because we have the authority for the permitting, -- >> i understand you have the authority for the permitting but you've got all this done by the agencies that would normally do that isn't your job as the state department to focus on the relationships with our foreign friends and not to be interfearing in internal decisions made by other aim sis? >> our job in this situation is no look at the entire pipeline for the impact it could have the on the country. >> so everything these people did was worthless? >> to sir, that is important analytical information. >> why did you have to redo it all? >> we don't have the route, we don't have the route through nebraska. >> i really believe that this was a political decision. you're not supposed to comment on that. i understand that. but i believe that you had the president and political con dry with labor versus radical environme

it is after the nebraska legislature met. "i am confident that the "i am confident that the departments and nebraska authorities will be able to work together in preparing any documents necessary to examine the alternative route to the state of nebraska to satisfy any state laws." they were all set and ready to go with the state and nebraska. if he would have been allowed to participate in this hearing today but for the objections of the state department, i think he would have said on december 1, 2011 we contacted the state department to explore the process of entering into an mou between agencies that would outline responsibilities. we received a first draft of the agreement from the state departments within the next two weeks and exchanged comments for what we consider to be an executable document which we submitted to the state department december 2011. i think it is odd or interesting that the state department's in the middle of december 2011 decided that they were not going to work on this project anymore and then come h

that the route through nebraska threatened their water aquifer.and there's now an alternative route that is being discovered, and then they will have to dot environmental impact on that. this project will go forward in 2013, and -- excuse me! [everyone talking at once] >> hundreds of miles of pipeline -- [everyone talking at once] >> you've made your case. a republican governor asked for environmental impact statement on an alternative route, and they're coming up with the alternative route this. project will go forward in 2013, and environmentalistly will not be happy. [everyone talking at once] >> because i like to finish my statement, okay? >> i want to say something! >> go ahead. [everyone talking at once] >> all right! >> excuse me! please let me finish! [everyone talking at once] >> environmentalists do not like oil because it takes a lot of energy to -- [everyone talking at once] >> the fight will go on. >> second of all, i agree with you that there is an nebraska issue, but what the president should have said is, i support this pipeline, i

route through nebraska was necessary. the choosing of that alternate route has not even been completed yet." "stop the pipeline. yes we ccn!"the administration was facing added pressure to reject tte project from environmental protesters.but the state department has already indicated it expects the company spearheading the project -- transcanada -- to reapply for approval.i'' ninette sosa reporting. the white house had tried to delay a decision on the project until next year ... after the presidential elections.but, as part of the payroll tax cut negotiation, congressional republicans gave the administration 60 days to make a decision. crews suspend the search for survivors aboard the cruise ship ... costa concordia.as the water becomes colder... the odds of finding survivors... become slimmer. the ship wrecked off the italian coast last week, leaving 11 people dead and several more missing.the captain is currently under house arrest and could face manslaughter charges for abandoning the ship with passengers still on boar

just not going through that exact area of nebraska. >> all right. thank you, jake tapper.eporting from the white house tonight, jake. >> thank you. >>> and now, we turn to politics. "your voice, your vote." with less than three days to go before voters in south carolina weigh in, a new poll showing former speaker newt gingrich gaining ground. in under a month, he has cut mitt romney's lead in south carolina nearly in half. and last night we told you about romney acknowledging paying a low tax rate compared to a lot of middle-class americans. well, tonight, another tax question that has haunted the candidate. abc's chief investigative correspondent, brian ross, follows the trail to the cayman islands. >> reporter: mitt romney's big money supporters say his wealth is a sign of success. >> he's what we aspire to be. >> hi, there. >> reporter: but his wealth, how he made it and the relatively low tax rate he admitted he pays on it -- >> closer to the 15% rate -- >> reporter: have become a big campaign issue. >> his personal finances are a poster child of what's wrong with the

at witnessed that could help put in context the nebraska exemption and what nebraska is doing.ot sit on the same panel as a state witness. the head of our department of environmental quality is not worthy enough to sit there. i am disturbed by that. we are going to get into the full excuse of using the state of nebraska as the reason raiding your testimony as a the reason for the denial. the bill was written so you would not have to make a decision. we will get into the statements. i yield back. >> thank you. i might say also the president had in tow his state of the union talk to what the importance of infrastructure for america to remain competitive. >> the time for oil is up. per se of the witnesses that there were still there is some things left. we will and forced the five minute rule and recognize the gentleman. >> thank you for recognizing me. could opportunity to exercise their craft. i expected big battle to take place this morning because today we are hoping another hearing on the keystone xl pipeline. the majority is reckless and irresponsible. if they were left unpr

witness that could help put in context the nebraska exemption and what nebraska is do. the state department objected because they don't sit on the same panel as a state witness. so the head of our nebraska department of environmental quality is not worthy enough to sit there, and because of then time constraints, his ability to answer our questions had to be deleted from this panel, and frankly, i'm disturbed by that. but we're going to get into the full excuse of using the state of nebraska has the reason, reading your testimony, as the reason for the denial. in fact, the bill was written so you wouldn't have to make that decision, and we'll get into those statements. i yield back. >> i might say also that last night the president, in his state of the union address, talked about the importance of infrastructure for america to remain competitive. >> i'm really going to have to say that regular oil -- the five minutes is up, so we should proceed before regular oil is up. the time is up, mr. chairman. >> well, i think when you said that, there's still 30 seconds left. >>

granted in nebraska.ka, they say it's going to be at least six months, maybe a year, before they can actually grant a permit. and yet, we're standing before the administration and saying to them, we have an inadequate application. it's not complete. we don't know where the route is. so we can't tell you how big the pipeline will be or where it's going to be delivered to. now we want you to give us approval. these jokers in congress that are trying to force the president to approve of an incomplete application are just making mischief. they're not helping to us develop energy. >> your bottom line is, you think the pipeline is a good project, but you think the president made the right decision because he doesn't have the data to make the decision. >> as chief executive of montana, if they ask me to approve of a pipeline with an incomplete application, i would have to reject it and i'm the biggest proponent of this pipeline in america. >> you think it's safe? >> of course it's safe. this is a pipeline that's

nebraska would have had unlimited time to study alternate routes. right now this is going to be an issue on the campaign trail and we have heard response from a number of the republican candidates for president, notably former house speaker gingrich who calls the decision "stunningly stupid," and the energy industry says, claims, that if this pipeline project, $7 billion, went through it would have immediately created some 20,000 direct jobs in the united states, 340,000 jobs by the year 2015. >>shepard: james, so the news is breaking for now, the keystone pipeline is debt, the president says it is because republicans set an arbitrary deadline and they did not have time to study it and the republicans say, or newt gingrich says it is stunningly stupid and the republicans say this fight is not over and they have gathered they talk about what a horrible decision it was. politicsed rest assured. one of governor romney's top political allies joining calls for the millionaire to release his tax records. why wait until april? and a new white house advisor

protesters raised concern over the aqua forein nebraska so in november they withdrew approval citinghe state's concerns. >> the people of nebraska felt so strongly about the issue, the legislators met in the special session to draft a law to ensure the sand hills would be protected. >> the state quickly agreed to find a new route which the governor says would be easy. >> the state department approved route environmentally sensitive and in my view he should have said yes, to allow it to move forward. >> many argue president obama's delays are to avoid angering the environmentalists who oppose to pipeline or the unions which favor it. governor heinamen will complicate that strategy approving a new route by september. >> i would send a letter back to the president of the united states saying we approve it and if he were decisive, he can turn around and improve it shortly thereafter. well before the november election. >> the legislation that the president recently signed flatly states no further environmental study will be required once the state of nebraska is satisfied. bret? >> more o

>> this is like florida in nebraska. >> it's not nebraska. >> reporter: but it is nebraska, where the average temperature should be in the 20s. on thursday, it was in the upper 60s. in des moines, iowa, it hit 65. in rapid city, south dakota, a higher temperature than in miami, florida. and in alexandria, minnesota, people lost their coats as the temperature hit 54. >> nice to be out here just wearing a t-shirt. >> reporter: golfers in missouri took full advantage of the weather. several factors are causing this winter warmup. cooler pacific waters known as la nina, are pushing the jet stream further north. causing mild, dry weather in the south and southwest. then, there's arctic oscillation. it acts like a fence, trapping cold weather and keeping the midwest warm. scientists say global warming is also playing a role. while the strange weather pattern is a blessing to some. >> it's a gift from god. no snow, no frost to deal with. >> reporter: warming is expected to make snowstorms worse. >> the atmosphere has more moisture. the storms can tap into more moisture. when it is cold enoug

>> that's what i'm talking about, representing my home state of nebraska.eph christian fires up a prayer and it is answered at the buzzer. that sent the crowd in arcadia, nebraska, just wild. an 80-foot buzzer beater. unfortunately the buzz kill, joe's team lost the game, but i promise he's still big man on campus. >> he's feeling pretty good. >> of course, when it comes to spectators, sports and snacks go hand in hand. >> a popular choice, of course, is the classic hot dog. a relatively inexpensive snack unless you're in vancouver. take a look at the $100 hot dog. >> wait, how much? >> 100 bucks. >> what does 100 bucks get you? a hot dog loaded with atlantic lobster, kobe beef, truffle oil and a $2,000 cognac. it better include beer for life. >> i think i'd take a bite, though. thanks so much for being with us. join us at 5:00, 6:00 and 11:00. >> if you're buying i'll have a bite. have a great day. the word is swapportunity. can i have the definition? swapportunity: the opportunity to swap a higher calorie snack for a yoplait light. can you use it in a sen

. >> this is like florida in nebraska. >> it's not nebraska.orter: but it is nebraska where the average temperature should be in the 20s, on thursday it was in the upper 60s. in des moines, iowa, it hit 65. in rapid city, south dakota, a higher temperature than in miami, florida, and in alexandria, minnesota, people lost their coats as the temperature hit 54. >> nice to be out here just wearing a t-shirt. reporter: golfers in missouri took full advantage of the weather. several factors are causing this winter warmup, cooler pacific waters known as la nina are pushing the jet stream further north, causing mild, dry weather in the south and southwest. and then there's arctic oslation. it acts like a fence trapping cold weather, keeping the midwest warm. that fence can unexpectedly spill cold air south. scientists say global warming is also playing a role, while the strange weather pattern is a blessing to some: >> it's a gift from god, no frost, no snow to deal with. reporter: warming is expected to make snowstorms worse. >> the atmosphere is hol

saying he's for it, the nebraska legislature is for it, the white house says, no, they're not.can governor in nebraska is simply saying, we haven't decided, we haven't done our environmental review, we would like to have it, but what transcanada should do, the company constructing this $7 billion project is start on either end, and by the time we get to nebraska, we will have decided which way we want them to construct that pipeline. as the speaker might say, speaker boehner himself might say, there's a lot of ifs and buts and candy and nuts in that statement. transcanada may not want to construct that pipeline on what some bureaucrat in nebraska might decide to do. there are a lot of ins and outs in this. but the issue is not good for the president, because it cores his constituencies cleanly in two, environmentalist on one side and organized labor on the other who wanted that pipeline to be constructed. >> i love when you can bring up john boehner holiday lines, ifs buts and candy and nuts. mike, when we talk about the climate in washington, there's a lot of dismay at the par

mild pacific air mass spretding up to the border with canada and we'll see record highs in iowa, nebraska, south dakota, minnesota, a few record highs in california. this little cold we this is going to be gone. how warm is it going to be today? 58 degrees in billings, montana. montana should not be near 60 degrees this time of year. we'll be near record highs at international falls, minneapolis, kansas city looks gorgeous today with a temperature of 60 degrees. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. i didn't bother talking about rain or snow because there's none to be found. we're very dry across the country. we are watching a lot of sunshine out there today and temperatures will be nice. even florida is recovering with 70s once again in miami. the warmth sticks around, too, veronica. looks very nice. >> i'm sorry, were you doing weather? i was writing our ipad passport business plan. >>> good news for netflix. c your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. >>> plus, it's one thing for them to have a reality show on som

protesters raised concern over the aqua forein nebraska so in november to avoid pipeline or te unionshich favor it. governor heinamen will complicate that strategy approving a new route by september. >> i would send a letter back to the president of the united states saying we approve it and if he were decisive, he can turn around and improve it shortly thereafter. well before the november election. >> the legislation that the president recently signed flatly states no further environmental study will be required once the state of nebraska is satisfied. bret? >> more on this with the panel. thank you. later, just who is saul alinsky? and why is newt gingrich talking about him so much? and now, for tonight's infinity sponsored text to vote question. should another candidate enter the republican presidential election? text sr1 to 36288 for yes. or text sr2 for no. we'll bring you the results at the end of tonight's show attention - americans living with limited mobility. what do you do when you can no longer get around like you used to? when you fear losing your independence? who do you

it's followed by lincoln nebraska, burlington vermont, sue falls south dakota an r and omaha, nebraska what makes for a good place to work analyst say there are more opportunities with cities with a variety of different agencies. >>> most. -- john explains so you don't waste your money. >>> you don't have an ipad or some other tablet computer now you probably have tablet envy. chances are you don't have 200 to $500 you need to buy one. what if the tablet was free. that's exactly what barnes & noble is doing with a new offer it's running through march. lit give you a nook simple touch free of charge or a nook color for half price when it comes with a catch and unless you love the new york times this may not be the best bet for you. you'll get a $99 nook simple touch free or a 199. -- sign one year new york times on rime. that's a big if. the time subscription you see is $200 a year and automatic be renewed unless you cancelled be. >> if you're an avid new york times reader you'll pay more than you would -- look for more and more promotions like this in the future for the nook amazon kin

nebraska went republican. to the keystone pipeline for the vote in nebraska. if you were to tell pennsylvania, a state that has so many jobs because of this new technique i would say they are not going to change their decision. >> they've got some important decision toss make in new york as well. but listen it's been an economic miracle. you look at states like north dakota with unemployment at 3.8%. bill: it's remarkable isn't it. martha: it is sad from a consumer point of view that gasoline this year, some time in the next couple of months, probably we hit the highs level ever in this country over a sustained period. we've had spikes before but last year the average price of $3.52, that was a record, and this year we'll break that record. bill: you're saying if it goes to that market it stays there over time it could be considerable. we will walk that. charles payne in the house today. hemmer at fox news.com is the email. also on twitter at bill hemmer. terrific questions. keep them rolling in online right n

-- $2.6 million to nebraska engineering school?that's very cool, buddy. >> i did it -- i did it this year. it was something that i grew up understanding that where i am today wasn't just because of my hard work and family and friends. just from the village of people that have been around me and always taking care of me. nebraska has been a great state for me that has really helped me grow up as a young man. and, you know, i'm kind of disappointed. >> jimmy: why? >> subway across america, they have not given you a video. >> jimmy: nebraska has not -- >> i know. i'm gonna -- you know what? i think i might just go do that. i'm going back there on monday. >> jimmy: oh -- oh, my gosh! if you do that, that'd be the best! [ cheers and applause ] that'd be so rad if you did that! >> yeah, so. >> jimmy: oh, i'd love it. >> no, i'm going to go do that for you. >> jimmy: thanks, buddy. >> we'll get that done. >> jimmy: nebraska, you went through engineering, so you want -- so you know how to, like, build stuff. that's a third career, if you d

next to nebraska is the state of colorado. we are joined by one of its members and this is scott tipton, republican of colorado, congressman, thank you for being with us here on c-span. of what did the president say that you agreed with tonight? >> when the president was talking about developing the natural resources like and what we had common ground and we saw the response. we hope it will surely follow through on that and fortunately did not want to talk about the keystone pipeline. 20,000 to 100,000 new jobs we would be able to create requiring no federal spending to be a will to put americans back to work and to be able to create some revenue as the president currently would like to be able to spend. >> where -- when he was talking about the environment as a member of the natural resources committee, where did you find agreement with him? >> i think that there is every american who raises the concept. we all want to have clean water, we all want to be able to have clean air and with the opinion of we can have that, to be

you can tell that it's damaging to nebraska or montana or what have you.s not the main concern. main concern is they want money from the speculative green energies and not to oil. >> there are two arguments against this. on ecological side. number one in the global and the other is local. global is ridiculous. canadians are not going to stop pumping alberta oil. a bunch of people on the united states on the left don't want to receive it. they will go, pump it, use it and ship it to china. it's not going to have any effect on global warming if you assume a connection. >> bret: second on the local stuff -- >> second on the local stuff the idea that the nebraska sand hills are the dead kale ecological spot you can't have a pipeline, today, nebraska sand hills are crisscrossed by 25,000 miles of pipeline. you could circle the globe with the equator at that pipeline. the idea that it's pristine area, you can't have a pipeline is equally preposterous. >> the bottom line is canada would rather ship the oil to us. they weren't going to do it tomorrow anyway. my be