congressman peter welch. guest: you are right, we have to focus on the decisions that need to be made to move ahead. in that sense, i absolutely agree with you. we of a tough economy, big debt, and we have to move forward. s always an argument to how we got where we are. that is a legitimate debate. one of the things i mentioned about george bush today was the fact that fast and furious program began under his administration. also, in congress now there really is a debate about whether we should go back to policies that were very much promoted by george bush. tax cuts for the wealthy. many of my argument -- colleagues argument we need more of them. they already contribute to the significant dent we bt we have. in colorado asks --r rocco as yout: it depends on how want to finance it. in some cases where you have public financing for health care, it is much like social security. and apparel reduction, the pay roll issues you your texcheck and takes up the amount that will go to social security and puts that in

i'm joined by congressman peter welch of vermont and congressman conley of virginia. congressman welch, i'll ask you first. why can't the democrats call witnesses to these hearings? i mean, obviously t-there are key people that need to be heard from, yet the republicans are hell bent for election to hold this vote for contempt in the full house coming up next week. why can't you get people in front of the committee? >> well, ed, you're asking the question we asked chairman issa, and he said he's not going to permit it. he has the authority as chair to prohibit us from doing it. it's very relevant. congressman mika says this is a gun deal by a gun controlled administration. this fast and furious started in the bush administration. this had been going on for years. this is something that was inherited during the obama administration. there's no evidence that the top of the justice department knew about it under obama. there's no evidence whatsoever that president obama knew about it. one of the questions we were asking mr. issa is, look, if you want to get to the bottom

. >> tonight, jerry conley and peter welch on issa's witch hunt. mitt romney fails to lead on immigration yet again. the latest on the president's dream act nightmare. and today there's proof positive as to why republicans want to kill obamacare. al grayson is here with reaction. >> folks, thanks for watching. republicans drag their radical witch hunt into the mainstream today. the contempt charge against attorney general eric holder helps achieve three possible goals for the republicans. damage the president, fire up the right wing base, and as democratic house leader, nancy pelosi pointed out, take out eric holder. >> it is no accident, it is no coincidence that the attorney general of the united states is the person responsible for making sure that voter suppression does not happen in our country, that issues that relate to the civil liberties of the american people are upheld. these have same people holding him in contempt are part of a nationwide scheme to suppress the vote. >> indeed, republicans are jumping at the chance to get rid of eric h

here now, house members peter welch, democrat from vermont. and nan hayworth from new york.way, at this point, half the major opinion makers in the democratic party agree with the getting rid of the tax cliff and disagree with their own president, peter. >> well, there was picking and choosing among the republican leaders delighted to hear tax cut on president clinton's lips. he clarified that, number one. number two, i think what we need to do is what president clinton did, a balanced approach. his budget vote that he won by one vote, raised taxes and it lowered spending. a balanced approach. led to $20 million new jobs in three years of surpluses, and that's what i am arguing for. we need a balanced approach where the pentagon contributes, where we cut spending and raise revenues which will give certainty, deal with debt and boost the economy and growth in the economy. >> nan hayworth with all respect to peter welch, i can't think of a worse time to raise taxes on anybody at any point. this is why i admire clinton. sees the lousy 69,000 jobs number. he is saying extend thi

many thanks to house members peter welch and jason chaffetz.huck grassly, ranking member on the senate judiciary committee. senator, is that just defacto if yo invoke executive privilege it had to do something with your office? i saw you make the point that if you knew nothing about it you can't even do it. is that a fact? >> i think it is an abuse of executive privilege. why did it come up at this midnight hour. because for # 18 months that i have been seeking documents and 15 months that the house has been seeking documents there has never been one claim of executive privilege. even 24 hours ago after the meeting withholder, there was never any claim of executive privilege there. so why does it happen? what are they hiding? it raises more questions than answers and it puts the administration in a deeper hole now and probably needlessly involves the president because i have never suspicioned the president on anything in regard to this, until now. i think i have reason to -- suspicion, what did the president know and when did he know it or why

joining me now is democratic congressman from vermont, peter welch, a member of the government reformmittee. thank you for being here. >> thank you. >> i'm curious, i'd like your honest assessment on how much of the fast and furious fight is purely political. if you want to look at the scale of one to ten, ten being all politics. put it in perspective. >> well, i'd say -- i don't want to give a number, but there's a legitimate aspect to the investigation that democrats are much in support of. this was a botched operation. we had an agent who died and want to find out what happened. the political part of this and this is what the questions are raised by the way the committee has acted, has to do with two things. number one, in some ways the committee tried to do too much and this is under mr. issa in that the original subpoena was demanding that the attorney general attorney over documents that would have made him violate the law had he complied. two things. specifically, the grand jury transcripts, it's illegal under the rules of federal criminal procedure to provide those and transcr

it just came out today but it's risky. >> congressman peter welch, we'll let you get back to work.ng us. we'll speak to republican john mica member of the that committee and seeing him speak earlier in the last hour. again, they're moving closer to this vote of con sempbt of congress, a vote for eric holder. do you see it ? there it is ! there it is ! where ? where ? it's getting away ! where is it ? it's gone. we'll find it. any day can be an adventure. that's why we got a subaru. love wherever the road takes you. wow, there it is. who have used androgel 1%, there's big news. presenting androgel 1.62%. both are used to treat men with low testosterone. androgel 1.62% is from the makers of the number one prescribed testosterone replacement therapy. it raises your testosterone levels, and... is concentrated, so you could use less gel. and with androgel 1.62%, you can save on your monthly prescription. [ male announcer ] dosing and application sites between these products differ. women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor

congressman peter welch is a member of the house committee on oversight and government reform.ood morning. >> good morning. >> the attorney general requested this face-to-face meeting with congressman issa to try to resolve this issue. what are you expecting from today's meeting? >> ideally they'd reach an agreement and understanding's this is essentially becoming a political spectacle and agenda. the goal of oversight, get to the bottom of what happened and hold people accountable. if this were a real investigation we would be going back to the bush administration and the bush attorney general. that's when this "fast and furious" started. attorney general holder is the one who unwound it. secondly, hold hear been very cooperative. testified eight different times before congress. third, every time mr. holder has provided ream s documents, mr. issa changed the request, changed what he wants and keeps moving the goal post. >> you say that what you need, you already have, that this is just an ongoing set of political harassments? >> well, it looks that way to me on the basis of th

. >> last night on the "ed show" when it comes against the contempt move against eric holder, peter welchrgued to ed shultz that holder would have been breaking the law if the information was given that was demanded by issa. >> the subpoena that the committee issued to the attorney general as of last friday was asking, directing him to turn over information that would have been a violation of law for him to turn over. grand jury transcripts, the rules of criminal procedure prohibit it. transcripts of wiretap communications. darrell issa and the committee was demanding that the attorney general commit a violation of his oath, violate the law, and in his refusal to do that, they're calling him an obstructionist. >> lean forward with "the ed show" week nights at 8:00 p.m. on msnbc, the place for politics. >>> now here is your "first look" at the dish of scrambled politics. it may not effect the election, but buzz feed points to a web phenomenon on sites no one wants to read about mitt romney. the reason is being debated. some argue he's been running for president for five years, others say h

come back and talk to congressman peter welch.ress bill press show, live on your radio and on current tv. weeknights on current tv. we have a big, big hour and the i.q. will go way up. how are you ever going to solve the problem if you don't look at all of the pieces? >>tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >>you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. >>sharp tongue, quick whit and above all, politically direct. >>you just think there is no low they won't go to. oh, no. if al gore's watching today... ♪ [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> radio meets television, the bill press show now on current tv. >> 21 minutes after the hour. here on this wednesday june 13th and in washington, d.c., republicans are on the war path against attorney general eric holder on a couple of fronts accusing him of not doing his job by refusing to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate recent leaks to the "new york times" and accusing him of the fast and furious program allowing arms to go into mexico

. >> so we have russ holt, peter welch, shelly pingre, jackson lee and marsha clark. >> i'm russ holt, i represent the people of new jersey. the history of the united states has been a history of extending human rights to every person. and to provide access to excellent health care for every woman, every child, every man, is part of that progress. today, the supreme court has allowed that progress to continue. we have work to do. we should not be continuing this circus that we see arnold us. we should be getting to work, to make sure that we extend affordable, excellent health care to every person in america. the supreme court decision today makes that possible. >> donna christiansen, progressive caucus and a physician. >> and chair of the congressional black caucus. today the supreme court has upheld the affordable care act, settled law. we took a lot of hits on behalf of the american people, but that's over. and no amount of noise coming from our right will change that. it is the law of the land. the people of the united states have won. they now have better access to affordable hea

joining me now is peter welch, a democrat from vermont, serves in the oversight committee and cast ayesterday to not hold the attorney general in contempt. let me start with what we just heard. we heard a bunch of sound from republicans there. the last republican that spoke said there was a cover up happening. are you a hundred percent confident that there is no k-fr up happening when it comes to finding out information of fast and furious. >> keep in mind the fast and furious went over two administrations, the bush administration and the obama administration. and the committee work has just focused on the obama administration, and in fact there's been a refusal on the part of the republican majority to allow us to have the former attorney general, mukasey in to request him questions. we have to have a foundation before we resort to this extraordinary, unprecedented, in fact first time in history holding the attorney general in contempt. some of the information that was requested by the committee literally would have required the attorney general to violate the law if he was going to

. >> tonight congressman jerry conley and peter welch with the latest on the political witch-hunt andg to address immigration in a civil and resolute manner. >> mitt romney fails to lead on immigration yet again. we'll have the latest. and today there is proof positive why republicans want to kill obama care. health insurers are forced to refund a billion dollars to consumers. alan greyson is here with reaction. >> thanks for watching. republicans drag their radical

peter welch, thank you. and josh gerstein.tching "hardball" the place for politics. what the... ♪ are you seein' this? ♪ ♪ uh-huh... uh-huh... uh-huh... ♪ ♪ it kinda makes me miss the days when we ♪ ♪ used to rock the microphone ♪ back when our credit score couldn't get us a micro-loan ♪ ♪ so light it up! ♪ even better than we did before ♪ ♪ yeah prep yourself america we're back for more ♪ ♪ our look is slacker chic and our sound is hardcore ♪ ♪ and we're here to drop a rhyme about free-credit-score ♪ ♪ i'm singing free-credit-score-dot-com ♪ ♪ dot-com narrator: offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com. [ john ] no. ♪ were you just... no. are you supposed to be driving that in here? no! yo! teresa here? ♪ no. so is it okay if i stay out just a little bit longer? so...okay... so no. did mom say we could eat all that? [ john ] yes. [ male announcer ] in a world filled with "no," it's nice to finally say "yes." the new line of oscar mayer selects. the tastes you love and no artificial preservatives. it's yes food. the

but congressman peter welch wanted to know why the committee did not question anyone who started the program. >> it would seem to me very reasonable in pursuit of a full investigation that we would want to have those folks in, ask what happened and get the complete picture, allow us then to have that as part of our investigation. >> it was attorney general michael murkazy who was in charge of the justice department at the type the program started, but he hasn't testified in the investigation. in fact, no members from the bush administration have been asked or subpoenas to testify. attorney general eric holder, he's been there nine separate times, and each time, the committee moved the goalpost on information they requested. sometimes, the republicans didn't even know that they were asking holder to break the law. an earlier subpoena by issa requested grand jury transcripts and wiretap logs. it's against the law for holder to release these documents. these oversights are not accidental. they identified exactly why the hearings were taking place. >> we're brought to this moment to beli

. >> bob, peter welch told me he was surprised how many members of congress don't even have the factsn fast and furious and haven't been paying attention to this and they're ready to vote on contempt. >> a party that has trafficked in death panels, with the birthers, and issa is a clown in my view. he's a dangerous clown, but he's a clown. what he offered was not an opinion. it was a lie. the fact of the matter, jonathan is right. if you read that article, what is being alleged here is wrong. in terms of the nra, there was never any connection with this program with gun control. in fact, it started under the bush administration, all these kinds of programs, and that administration was not exactly for gun control. >> what role does the president play in this in talking to his party members in the house to get their heads screwed on right about this? does he play any role at all? >> i you know, i don't know that the president is going to be persuasive of these guys, from west virginia, the guy mathison from utah, but john dingell, the dean of the house, and always stood with the nra had

. >> and joining me democratic congressman peter welch of vermont, the chief deputy whip. thank you for joining us. first let me get your reaction. the rules committee meeting right now looks like for now, this thing is moving forward. there was a meeting yesterday where the justice department planned to turn over at least 30 new documents and congressman or chairman issa did not feel that that was adequate. so we are moving forth. >> that's right. and from my perspective, this is a legitimate investigation but it's not a legitimate petition for contempt. that's really over the top right now. essentially, eric holder has been very responsive. he testified in congress eight times, turned over thousands and thousands of documents. he met with the speaker. he met with mr. issa and indicated a willingness to work with him. two things that are lacking in my view are number one, the original subpoena that was sent out was requiring eric holder to turn over things that would have been illegal for him to turn over. grand jury transcripts and transcripts of wiretap applications. bo

peter welch from vermont, thank you for joining us sir. >> thank you. >> we'll be right back.mitment by what's getting done. the twenty billion dollars bp committed has helped fund economic and environmental recovery. long-term, bp's made a five hundred million dollar commitment to support scientists studying the environment. and the gulf is open for business - the beaches are beautiful, the seafood is delicious. last year, many areas even reported record tourism seasons. the progress continues... but that doesn't mean our job is done. we're still committed to seeing this through. mcallen, texas. in here, heavy rental equipment in the middle of nowhere, is always headed somewhere. to give it a sense of direction, at&t created a mobile asset solution to protect and track everything. so every piece of equipment knows where it is, how it's doing or where it goes next. ♪ this is the bell on the cat. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪ that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition.

. >> tonight, jerry conley and peter welch on issa's witch hunt.immigration yet again. the latest on the president's dream act nightmare. and today there's proof positive

mi michael burgess of texas, a medical doctor, and peter welch of vermont. good to see you.lar question but kind of the opposite and you'll understand when i do it. representative burgess, if we get this, and you're here in studio so i will start with you, if they do not overturn health care reform, what's the first move for representians? and representative welch, if it they do overturn the mandate. >> this thing has never enjoyed popularity with the american people and i think you will see the speaker said if it doesn't happen then we will, once again, renew the efforts towards repeal of this legislation. look, this was a bad product start to finish. the rough draft got signed into law. the senate put something out on new year's eve -- i'm sorry, christmas eve to get out of town before a snowstorm. it wasn't the finished product but then they lost massachusetts. they didn't have a 60th vote and peter and i were together in early january of 2010 and i think the consensus was then, yeah, we are going to come to a conference and get this thing worked out, but it never happene

. >> i spoke with peter welch and here's what he had to say. >> there's a legitimate aspect to the investigationsupport of. this was a botched operation. we had an agent who died and we want to find out what happened. >> he went on to say that chairman darrel issa has gone too far. will this defense by the democrats, is that going to play with voters when they hear phrases like executive privilege or contempt of congress? >> absolutely. because actually, just want to go back to what michael said, the rest of what pelosi said is that democrats did support and continue to support the idea of this investigation. we all want guns off the street and want to know what happened. we all want closure for the family. what we learned in the investigation that chairman issa won't tell you, number one, arizona atf agents have already said they have not briefed the senior obama administration officials of the gun walking program. when holder says he didn't know about it until 2011, you have atf agents on the record saying that but is sa won't let that come out. there's a memo to mukasey, the previous attorney

we will also talk about the upcoming decision with vermont democratic representative peter welch, also a member of the oversight and government reform committee. live on c-span every day at 7:00 a.m. eastern. >> this is the conversation we need to have that nobody is willing to have. what role will the government play in how things are financed? >> in"reckless endangertment," these of crime -- subprime lending collapse is detailed. >> if you want to subsidize housing, we want to talk about it, the populace agrees it is something we should subsidize, put it on the balance sheet. make it clear. make it evident. make everyone aware about how much it is costing. when you deliver it through these third party enterprises, fannie mae and freddie mac, when you deliver the subsidies through a public company, executives who can expect a lot of the subsidy for themselves, -- extract a lot of the subsidy for themselves, that is not a good way of subsidizing. we saw the end of that movie in 2008. >> more, sunday at 8:00. >> automatic budget cuts currently in place would eliminate $500 billion from

. >> democratic congressman peter welch of vermont joining us from the hill.an, thank you very much for your time. >> thank you. >> dow is down 133. markets have been pretty stable in light of the decision. interesting to hear him talk about the idea that the parties have got to be practical. that's what we expect the president to say later on this afternoon. >> right. to hear from senator rubio, the emphasis will now be on a tax on middle class americans. it's a very powerful statement. as he points out, it could be perceived as contradictory to previous statements that the president has made regarding an increase in taxes. >> and here's governor mitt romney with his statement. >> i disagree with the supreme court's decision, and i agree with the dissent. what the court did not do on his last day of session, i will do on my first day if elected president of the united states. that is, i will act to repeal obama care. let's make clear that we understand what the court did and did not do. what the court did today was say that obama care does not violate the con

welch. coming up we have peter fisher and massachusetts governor deval patrick. karen kicked in 20,000.oling more thankyou points from folks all over town, we were able to watch team usa... [ cheering ] in true london fashion. [ male announcer ] now citi thankyou visa card holders can combine the thankyou points they've earned and get even greater rewards. ♪ [ male announcer ] aggressive styling. a more fuel-efficient turbocharged engine. and a completely redesigned interior. ♪ the 2012 c-class with over 2,000 refinements. it's amazing...inside and out. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services. >>> welcome back, everybody. let's get thoughts from our guest host jack welch today. jack, you talked about the economy and some of the slowdowns we've seen around the globe. if people weren't tuned in at the top of of the 8 or if they weren't paying close attention, you talked about in the last four weeks a serious slowdown in orders going up 4% to 6% to flat to down 5%. that sounds like a stunning -- >> in northern europe. >> in n

welch was 66 years old. >>> the white house responding to critics who say the obama administration is intentionally leaking classified information for political gain. peter doocy is following the story for us from washingtonianed he joins us with more. >> good morning, peter. >> good morning, heather. the democratic share of the ingenls committee diane fine stein is staring down promising to figure out who in the administration is leaking all of this information and to make it stop. >>> this has to stop. when people say they don't want to work with the united states because they can't trust us to keep a secret, that is serious. >>> across the aisle some republicans are calling for independent council to figure out who is behind the leaks about super cyber attacks and the drone project. when jay carney asked if he would support such an investigation he basically said not right now the president takes it seriously but he thinks it can be handled the agencies already in place. this comes as the chairman of the house intelligence committee says someone, somewhere was providing moraned more classified information to the news media before things got too hot. >