democratic congressman from vermont, peter welch, welcome back to the show. >> thank you. >> so, we dor against isis to the point where there is no turning back for a very long time. has enough thought been put into the long-term impacts of all of this? >> well, absolutely not. i mean, obviously, this collective revulsion at isis and it is a threat. the question we haven't debated is what is -- what is it that we have to do to protect our national security? and there's really two schools of thought. one probably best represented by senator mccain is boots on the ground, all in, do whatever it takes to get rid of isis and go after assad. the other, and this is really my point of view, we have to make certain that there is no safe haven in the region from which another 9/11 style attack can be launched. depending on your point of view on that, what is required to protect the national security and protect americans? that determines what policy you have. we haven't debated it. one policy requires boots on the ground, open-ended and long-term commitment president other would be more traditi

what a positive way to begin with our first guest, congressman peter welch, democrat from vermont. thank you for being on the show. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> so first question right out of the gate, we hear from the republicans that if the president moves forward on immigration reform through executive action the well has been poisoned and they will not move on anything substantive. from where you're sitting right now, but do you foresee the possibility that congress can get any of these big-ticket items done? perhaps, i'll say, tax reform or some semblance of immigration reform doesn't pertain to executive action. >> it's good for us if we get it done. the ironies if republicans aren't arrogant in victory and democrats aren't bitter in defeat, we have to work on items we agree on. that will work for republicans politically. there's a debate within the republican party now about whether they want to govern or whether they want to double down on implaquable option to the president. two things are different. they won the election. they won the senate. and the president is a

as for taking on the gop, listen to what representative peter welch told msnbc's lawrence o'donnell onord." >> if the speaker, who now has the largest majority of republicans since herbert hoover, wants to act, show us the bill. he can act. what he's doing instead is complaining about obama. and his problem is not with obama. his problem is with his own conference. >> in a "usa today" poll, 46% say the president should act now, 42% want him to wait for the new congress. >>> in alaska, senator mark bagich has finally conceded. he lost to republican dan sullivan, helping the gop gain control of the senate. >>> in d.c., keystone opponents took their gripe to a new level. they put an inflatable pipeline in senator mary landrieu's yard. she's hoping a keystone bill can save her job. >>> despite the 2016 chatter, wisconsin governor scott walker is not sure about running. take a listen. >> i'm not going to run just because of, you know, the pundits or anything else like that. the closer you get to something like that, the more you realize -- and i say this only half jokingly -- that you have

congressman peter welch democrat from vermont and congressman king.e king, when you hear it done in a synagogue. there's been violations of religious time with violence during seders. does this up the stakes? and what should the u.s. position be? >> it does up the stakes. when you terrorize people where they worship, that's an extra assault on a people. the israelis do a good job of defending themselves generally and keep their streets fairly safe. if you there, even in the evenings you'll see people walking around with weapons. the united states need to support israel. there's an arab can live in israel proper with the rights of citizenship, own property, be seated on the supreme court for example or in the knesset. i think the israelis have been very tolerant and be being attacked by the other side. they needed the fence to protect themselves. i understand these were residents that got inside. i don't know enough at this point. >> do you think there's a role for the u.s., congressman welch, about trying to somehow modulate what is the heavy-handed r

we're working with our house supporters including representative steve womack, jackie spear, peter welch and john conyers and have found common ground on this important issue that's supported by more than 200 groups. i want to publicly commend -- all of my senate and house colleagues in taking a leadership role and i strongly encourage my colleagues to support the goals of states' rights and a level playing field for all businesses and making sure that the revenue that's owed particularly for small towns makes it to the small towns. by pushing for the enactment of the marketplace fairness act this year. and again i want to congratulate my colleague -- the presiding officer: the senator has consumed ten minutes. mr. enzi: thank you. i was just going to yield the floor to my colleague, who's done an outstanding job on this. i yield the floor. mr. alexander: thank you, madam president. senator enzi -- the presiding officer: the senator from ten tep. mr. alexander: thank you, madam president. senator enzi has been the leading proponent of the marketplace fairness act, and i urge -- i congrat

peter welsh of vermont. and a lawyer and director of the migration policy institute. congressman welch, has the president and the white house been briefing you democrats on exactly what the president has in mind? >> some of us. but in fact, the briefings -- >> okay, you can tell us now what is in the president's plan. >> well, i can't do that. i can do this. there's a lot of excitement that the president's going to act. and what i would regard as the preemptive whining of the republican majority. they're forgetting about one thing. the constitution. the chief executive has independent authority. as long as the president and the house act within their lanes, they won't get smacked back by the supreme court. the president says he's going to act. the republicans who have the largest majority since herbert hoover, they can act. the problem is not with obama. the problem is with their own conference. are they going to use this majority to lead us like the hoover majority did into the past, or are they just going to get with the program and present a bill and tell us what they are in favor o

peter, thank you very much for coming in today. thanks for bringing sandwiches too. it smells good. >> great. >>> coming up, a man who needs no introduction. jack welch us as our guest host. the economy, the markets, and tomorrow's key midterm elections. no topic off the table when "squawk box" comes right back. t >>> your money, your vote. the last hours of campaigning for the midterms with the senate up for grabs. >>> countdown to the november jobs report. the new month bringing another lightning round of data. >>> and straight from the gut. jack welch is today's guest host. the second hour of "squawk box" begins right now. >>> welcome back to "squawk box" here on cnbc, first in business worldwide. i'm becky quick along with joe kernen and andrew ross sorkin. our guest today is jack welch. he is in the house. great to see you. >> great to be here. >> we have a lot to talk about with jack. we're going to get to that, but quickly we'll give you today's market agenda. the s&p and dow coming off two weeks of gains. check out the futures this morning. you'll see some red arrows. ace this point still modest declines. s&p futures off by three points and