welcome back to the big picture i'm tom hartman coming up in this half hour republican congressman phil gingrey is initiated a full fledged war against union workers with bargaining rights claiming that their privileges to negotiate on the clock are a waste of taxpayer dollars and is there truth to the theory of just another with a vote for or just another republican effort to weaken the union organizations and the way we surf on the internet is in danger of a certain disgraced lobbyist gets his way so you really is why it matters just a few minutes and later a daily take on why the land of the free and the home of the brave are no longer the picture perfect images of. the war on organized labor continues house republicans are opening up a new front against federal labor unions going after something called official time official time is a phrase used to describe the time federal workers who are also union representatives to union work like bargaining and meeting with employees also getting a paycheck for the federal job and a house hearing yesterday on this issue probably in congressman phil gi

host: congressman phil gingrey taking your phone calls this morning.ler: i beg to differ with you on the point where you made on social security when the lady said that obama did not take anything out of social security. they went to insurance companies and said, i can give you the same amount of coverage for people on medicare. i can get some vision and dental for the same amount of money. the government approved medicare advantage. a couple of years later, they needed more money. the government approved more money. that was unfair. the people in medicare were only getting what they were allowed. obama then cut it back to the amount of money that the people were getting. as far as the vote last night, if i was the lender and you were coming to me with these gains and i watched you get these gains, i would not lend you any more money. guest: you make a good point in regard to the medicare advantage program. the man of per capita spending on medicare beneficiaries -- the amount of per capita spending is some 12%, 30% higher than it is on people that get

>> well, one congressman, phil gingrey, was walking out and called the sort of tone and tenor of it frosty. i can't find anyone else that says that. i spoke to a lot of members and the word you hear over and over again is "frank and product i have." but that it was a very frank conversation. i spoke the number-three republican in the house leadership kevin mccarthy and he used that word and he said without the press in there nobody was doing the political posturing, they really took the opportunity-- house republicans-- to explain to the president where the philosophical divides are, are where they're coming from but, jim, i found this fascinating, the president began the meeting talking about the debt limit, the need to raise it, but then quickly they pivoted to a host of other issues. that was not the crux of the meeting. the meeting talked about jobs. it talked about the medicare reform plan in the paul ryan plan. they even talked about e.p.a. regulations that the republicans are bucking against. the notion about the need to raise the debt limit is not part of the debate because the pre

host: we are back with congressman phil gingrey, the republican of georgia. he represents mary at, and he is a it republican study committee member as well. here is a " son in the paper about last night's vote. from senator mark warner. shting down the government, you can go to the 11th and half hour. the consequences -- guest: that may be true. of course, that take that secretary geithner continues to give congress continues to change. the latest report is august the second. it may change again. but certainly revenue continues to come in. we continue to tax the american taxpayer and revenue comes in on a daily basis. over $200 billion a day, and fat. and certainly the interest on the debt would be the number-one priority. the defense of the nation, probably the no. 2 priority. the safety net for our seniors, that would be no. 3 and no. 4. you get down to the bottom of the hat, and maybe put off pang other obligations, but this business of armageddon and drop dead and everything goes to heck in a handbasket on a date certain, august 2, i do not believe that i