. >> kennedy's speech memorably pledged america to bear any burden to ensure the success of liberty.it is ironic that joe lieberman, the last of those democrats and that tradition, is retiring exactly on the 50th anniversary of that declaration. >> mark? >> kennedy's speech talks about sacrifice. that is a word that has been missing from the lexicon, since the certainly -- certainly sends 30 years ago with ronald reagan. >> we hear that a lot did not enough calls for sacrifice. what politician is willing to say -- >> when obama asked for a sacrifice and the state of the union, it cut back on entitlements. let's see. >> last word. see you next week. for a transcript of this broadcast, log on to insidewashington.tv.

s pledge to america that they made in this pledge to america they outlined a plan to cut one hundred billion dollars in discretionary spending somehow that's already been scaled back the first day yet and there are already like one you know it might just have to be fifty what kind of a pledge is that well i think what they're doing is they're being they're being fairly pragmatic i do i want to play you know i make a lot of you know i told you i wrote a very good no no no what i was that what i'm saying is that it was a very ambitious plan it wasn't business enough frankly and to see them scaling it back to fifty million. cut back half of what they had originally said that too is a disappointment but then you look at what they're actually trying to accomplish here i mean they are they are trying to also accomplish the repeal of obamacare now or they're going to be able to do that not with the senate not with this president president obama is not going to sign the repeal of his own landmark legislation so that's not going to happen so basically what they need to do is they need to be a

the president announced new goals pledging america will be the first to put 10,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2015 -- 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. the president stressed the importance of education. it wasn't until about 30 minutes into his speech that president obama turned his focus to another issue fore most on many people's minds, the deficit. >> what comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight but whether we can work together tomorrow. >> reporter: the president called for a five year freeze on discretionary government spending, a move that's expected to reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next years. he vowed to veto any legislation containing earmarks. >> every day families sacrifice to live within their mean, they deserve a government that does the same. >>> when it comes to health care, the president defended his health care bill. there is opposition to extending health care coverage to 30 million people. he said he was not willing to go back to the days where insurance companies could deny co

the president announced new goals pledging america will be the first to put 10,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2015 -- 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. the president stressed the importance of education. it wasn't until about 30 minutes into his speech that president obama turned his focus to another issue fore most on many people's minds, the deficit. >> what comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight but whether we can work together tomorrow. >> reporter: the president called for a five year freeze on discretionary government spending, a move that's expected to reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next years. he vowed to veto any legislation containing earmarks. >> every day families sacrifice to live within their mean, they deserve a government that does the same. >>> when it comes to health care, the president defended his health care bill. there is opposition to extending health care coverage to 30 million people. he said he was not willing to go back to the days where insurance companies could deny co

repealing and repling the health care bill is one of the promises made to america in the pledge to america. today we are working on that promise as we work to -- the speaker pro tempore: the time has expired. mr. canseco: thank you. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york. ms. slaughter: i yield one minute to the gentleman from nouge, mr. pallone. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for one minute. mr. pallone: thank you, madam speaker. this is nothing but a gag rule. i and so many of my colleagues on the krattic side went up to the rules committee yesterday and asked for amendments and they were almost all excluded from this rule. the republican chairman of the committee says there's transparency. he says that there's an opportunity for participation. he can say it as many times as he wants but it's simply not true. he also said this is a commitment to the american people. there's no commitment to the american peop here. the only commitment is to the insurance companies. they're the only ones that are goi

people need where this new congress has to start but the funny thing about that was the in their pledge to america last year republicans pledged to cut one hundred billion dollars in discretionary domestic spending which it turns out by the day they are being sworn in had already been cut in half hopes and then last night we saw i think the best example of what's to come of who just the american people just wasn't a little bit this interview with john boehner the speaker of the house. listen name a program right now that we could do without. did you hear that he couldn't think of one single program off the job after bridging for months but his main priority was to cut spending not one program not like brian williams ambushed him with tough questions that was a softball that is probably the first thing that you should have been prepared to answer before going on national television but alas cutting spending party doesn't have any ideas on what to cut they just like and you want to know what they did rush to do on their first day in office. republicans outlined three different bills all aimed at lim

and to my colleagues in the majority, my message is this -- we will honor our pledge to america built on a process of listening to the american people. we will stand firm on our constitutional principles that built our party and built the great nation. but we will do these things, however, in a manner that restores and respects the time-honored right of the minority to an honest debate, a fair and open process. and to my friends in the minority, i offer a commitment -- openness. once a tradition of this institution but increasingly scarce in recent decades will be the new standard. there were no open rules in the house in the last congress. in this one, there will be many. but to restore openness, however, come a restored responsibility. you will not have the right to willfully disrupt the proceedings of the people's house, but you will always have the right to a robust debate in an open process that allows you to represent your constituents, to make your case, offer alternatives and be heard. in time, i believe, this framework will allow the house to be a place where the people's wil

you campaigned on a pledge to america last september and this is part of what you said. it was clear. we'll roll back government spending to pre-stimulus and bailout levels saving $100 billion in the first year alone and putting us on a path to balance the budget and pay down the debt. you came into office saying we won't hit that $100 billion figure and on friday in "the washington post" gop block in the house calls for deeper cuts and subheadline campaign pledge divides the party. you are arguing about how much to spend. i thought this was already worked out. >> let's step back a minute and look at sort of the whole continuum of the spending challenges. we'll have three bites at the apple here as far as approaching, reducing spending in the size of washington. as far as the mess in the past, we're going to have this debt limit increase vote that will come. that is dealing with the spending in this town that's gone overdrive in the last couple years. as far as decisions we make now, it's about continuing resolution vote that will come up in the next month or so. >> 100

as we have tried to do that as well through the pledge to america. if you want to know where we are headed, look at the pledge to america, which you can find online. host: talking about the republican effort in the house to cut spending. "the new york times" says -- guest: as i said earlier, no one has ever walked through my doors and asked me to cut the budget. it is not easy but it has to be done. but we have to do it in an open and transparent way. most americans get it. this government is spending more than it takes an by an enormous amount. even when you have the old pay- go rule, neighbors still spending a trillion. americans understand that. i hear it from people in my district that say, just stop the spending. i heard it two years ago as well. a fellow said to me we have to get back to where we are sustainable locally and stop turning to washington to solve our problems. i thought he summed it up right. and the sugar daddies are gone. we changed the appropriation process so there would be no earmarks coming out of the house, so we are changing

repealing and replacing the health care bill is one of the promises made to america in e pledge to americaking on that promise as we work to -- the speaker pro tempore: the time has expired. mr. canseco: thank you. i yield back the bance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york. ms. slaughter: i yield one minute to the gentleman from nouge, mr. pallone. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for one minute. mr. pallone: thank you, madam spker. this is nothing but a gag rule. i and so many of my colleagues on the krattic side went up to the rules committee yesterday and asked for amendments and they were almost all excluded from this rule. the republican chairman of the committee says there's trsparency. he says that there's an opportunity for participation. he can say it as many times as he wants but it's simply not true. he also said this is a commitment to the american people. there's no commitment to the american people here. the only commitment is to the insurance companies. they're the only ones that are going to gain from repeal

november, the republican leadership, d by speaker boehner, traveled to suburban virginia and made a pledge to americar constituents, including tea party patriots, like mr. mecker, listened intently as the republican party pledged to be fiscally responsible and serve the will of the american people. on page 6 of the republican pledge to america, the party states, and i quote, with commonsense exceptions for seniors, veterans and our troops, we will rl back government spending to prestimulus, prebailout levels saving us at least $100 billion in the first year alone and putting us on a path to balance the budget and pay down the debt, end quote. the pledge was solemnly made by republican leadership despite being largely panned as a political stunt. despite following through on their pledge, the republican majority said the pledge to cut $100 billion was hypothetical. today now wee moving forward to do the exact opposite of the actions that they pledged as they introduce legislation to repeal the affordable care act. ifsuccessful, the republican legislation will add $230 billion to the deficit by 202 thi

repealing and replacing the health care bill is one of the promises made to america in the pledge to oday we are working on that promise as we work to -- the speaker pro tempore: the time has expired. mr. canseco: thank you. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york. ms. slaughter: i yield one minute to the gentleman from nouge, mr. pallone. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for one minute. mr. pallone: thank you, madam speaker. this is nothing but a gag rule. i and so many of my colleagues on the krattic side went up to the rules committee yesterday and asked for amendments and they were almost all excluded from this rule. the republican chairman of the committee says there's transparency. he says that there's an opportunity for participation. he can say it as many times as he wants but it's simply not true. he also said this is a commitment to the american people. there's no commitment to the american people here. the only commitment is to the insurance companies. they're the only ones that are goin

the republican leadership, led by speaker boehner, traveled to suburban virginia and made a pledge to america. their constituents, including tea party patriots, like mr. mecker, listened intently as the republican party pledged to be fiscally responsible and serve the will of the american people. on page 6 of the republican pledge to america, the party states, and i quote, with commonsense exceptions for seniors, veterans and our troops, we will roll back government spending to prestimulus, prebailout levels saving us at least $100 billion in the first year alone and putting us on a path to balance the budget and pay down the debt, end quote. the pledge was solemnly made by republican leadership despite being largely panned as a political stunt. despite following through on their pledge, the republican majority said the pledge to cut $100 billion was hypothetical. today now we're moving forward to do the exact opposite of the actions that they pledged as they introduce legislation to repeal the affordable care act. if successful, the republican legislation will add $230 billion to the deficit

in your pledge to america, you had $100 billion in spending cuts in the first year. that seems scaled back to $50 billion or $60 billion. can you pin that down right now? what have the target house republicans are trying to meet this year in spending cuts? and can you lay out specifically how you're going to get there? >> george, the target in the pledge to america was to reduce discretionary, nondefense spending, down to '08 levels. and that's what we're -- >> it said $100 billion several times in that document. you know that. >> the $100 billion was based on the fiscal year. what happened, as you know, when the democrats ended the session last time, they didn't pass a budget. so, we're in a situation where we have no budget right now. and we're going to work hard to bring spending down to '08 levels. and whether that -- >> what's the number? >> whether that happens -- well, we are going to accomplish more than $100 billion in cuts over the term of this congress. we are going to -- >> but not the first year, as you promised? >> we're going to -- george, what we prom

cutting congress's budget had been part of the republicans' pledge to america unveiled during the fall campaign. >> with this pledge republicans will save the american dream as it drowns in a sea of red ink. we will make it bigger and brighter for the next generation. we will not allow the torch of liberty to be mortgaged. >> ifill: today house leaders said they would introduce a bill a week to fulfill that pledge with the goal of reducing domestic spending by $100 billion this year. incoming leaders have also promised to freeze the size of the federal work force with the exception of national security. and eric cantor, who will become house majority leader, told reporters today everything else is on the table. after republicans gained 63 seats in the house and another 6 in the senate, some newly elected lawmakers called for even larger cuts including rolling back spending to pre-2008 levels. utah senator-elect mike lee told the newshour's judy woodruff the department of education should be one target. >> we could save about $50 billion a year doing that. of course that's a drop in the

i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain up to 10 requests for one-minute speeches from each side. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise? >> i ask permission to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, i am grateful to welcome the four new members of the south carolina delegation to the 112th congress. this past election, the voters of south carolina led their -- let their voices be heard. the message was loud and clear, limit spending with the largest republican south carolina delegation in over 130 years. the voters can rest assure the message was heard in washington. these four conservative, successful small business leaders were elected based on their principles. promises to reduce spending, limit government and attain fiscal responsibility will now be real priorities. the people of s

up on michael point, one much the ironclad pledges of boehner and the republicans in their pledge for america is that they were going to cut $100 billion out of discretionary spending when they got there. already they're saying it may be closer to 50 or maybe less, and of course, right after the election, boehner told incoming members, we're going to have to be grown-ups here with the debt ceiling reached. and most of them say no way are we going to do that. so we've got interesting dynamics ahead. >> the other pointeds that the incoming republicans have said is that they want to undo a lot of what the democratic congress and the democratic president have enacted. what does the record show them doing? >> it doesn't happen often. dwight eisenhower said, elect me, and we'll talk about getting rid of social security, opposing the soviets in europe, not with containment, but rolling back militarily. all of those things really went out the window because a, it was campaign rhetoric, and b, once they got to power, they saw how difficult these things really are. >> jim: and with the makeup of the se

we will honor our pledge to america, built on the process of listening to the american peop. we will stand firm on our constitutional principles that built our party and built a great nation. we willo these things, however, in a manner that restores and rpects the time- honored right of the minority to an honest debate, a fair and open process. to my friends in the minority, i offer a commitment, openness. once a tradition of this institution but increasingly scarce in recent decades, will be the new standard. there and no open rules in the house in the last congress. in this one, there will be many. and with the restored openness, however, comes a restored responsibity. you will not have the right to willfully disrupt the proceedings of the people's house, but you always have the right to a robust debate and an open proce that allows you to represent your constituents, to make your case, offer alternatives, and be heard. [applause] in time, i believe this framework will allow the house to be a place where the people's will is done. it will also, i hope,ebuild trust amongst u

we have also called in our "pledge to america" to end all tarp spending, eliminate all excess stimulus spending that still may be out there, and while don't they get the federal government out of freddie mac and fannie mae and save billions in the process. >> chris: you'll say you will target the cuts. some will be cut more than the 20% and others won't be cut. >> i suspect that's what the committee will do. >> chris: are you saying that head start and f.b.i. and programs to enforce immigration would be off the board, off the table? >> the committee will make these decisions in the next ten days or so, i expect that we'll see the product of the appropriations committee. it will come to the floor of the house the week of february 14, as outlined by the majority leader. and the house will be able to consider this continuing resolution, to fund the government under an open process. some may want to cut more. some may want to cut less. i'm going to allow the house to work its will, because i think listening to the american people, the house will, in fact, respond with significant cuts in s

guest: the republicans ran on the pledge to america. we went through the pledge to america and through the speeches of congressman boehner and congressman cantor and look for things that will promises, similar to what president obama had done. similar in a sense they were promises. host: you found 57. what are some of those promises? guest: they range from repealing the health care law, which is probably their most significant promise, two things that they said they would do and house rules, such as required that every bill have a citation from the u.s. constitution that shows why the bill is authorized. there is one about the amount of time bills have to be made public before they can be voted on in the house. we are following those in the same way that we do the obameter, and there has been promises there. 7 we have rated in the works and one kept -- host: repeal of the health care? guest: actually it was the house republicans promised to cut congress' budget and this is what they did in their initial vote when they came into office on

in fact that's what we said during the last campaign season in the pledge to america. so that is in working with that commitment, the -- as well as the language of this resolution, the budget chairman, mr. ryan, will be instructed to enter into the record a cap of spending levels for the remainder of the fiscal year to be placed at 2008 levels. i yield back. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman. would it be, therefore, accurate that the or less is superfluous and is not intended to give mr. ryan the authority to set a figure at less than 2008 levels? i yield to my friend. mr. cantor: i would tell the gentleman i disagree with that characterization of the language, or less, and just say that, again, the speaker's committed to an open process on spending bills and i assume that we will see coming to the floor every attempt and effort to try and maintain some sense that this congress is going to be a cut and grow congress. we are about trying to find savings everywhere we can so that we can get this country back on to a trajectory of fiscal sustainability. i say to the gentle

. >> i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god indivisible with liberty and justice for all. >> you may be seated. as directed by law, the clerk of the house has prepared the official role of members elect. certificates of the election covering 4356 in the 112 congress have been received by the clerk of the house and the names of those persons whose credentials show they were regularly elected as representatives in accord with laws of their respective state for the united states will be called. the representatives of-an elective will record their presence by electronic device and their names will be recorded in alphabetical order beginning with the state of alabama to determine if a quorum is present. representatives-elect will have a minimum of 50 minutes to record their presence by electronic device. representatives-elect to have not obtained their voting id cards may do so now in the speaker's lobby. [general chatter] [crowd noise] [general noise] [random chatter] noise]owd [general crowd noise] [ge

they wanted to go back to their pledge to america, which they revealed on september. -- in september.ower government, balanced budget. enormously broad talking points for which they do not have any specific solution. saying that host: the democrats are going on there retreat this coming weekend. i believe they are going to annapolis. what kind of things do you expect the democrats will talk about as they prepared to do battle with their republican counterparts? guest: good question. all indications are they are enormously productive in passing legislation. they had to go out on a limb in a couple of the bills, even though they had a 75-member majority. now, but not that they're happy to be in the majority -- not that they're happy to be in the majority, but they have a much simpler task, and that is to be the republican voice. just to say no to everything. the republicans offer something and all the democrats have to do is say no. there are a lot of, a number of blue dogs and moderate democrats. she might lose a straggler here and there. for the most part pretty liberal democratic cau

have promised to bring reform and accountability to congress, and i quote from the republican pledge to america. quote, we are fighting to bring much-needed sunlight to the process. is this the kind of reform and sunlight that you pledged to the american people? you cut -- give americans a choice. really? you only have the opportunity to vote yes for cutting, that is either you support the republican agenda or we do not care what you think. saying yes to meaningful programs such as the national endowment for the arts, legal services corporation, the community development program and a fund that was created specifically to empower presidential candidates to participate in the political system regardless of their socioeconomic status or their relationship with special interests, influence, is not welcome. i've said it before and i'll say it again. a more fitting name for you cut or the you cut program would be cut you, because it hurts everyday americans while doing little to cut the federal deficit. simply put, you cut undercuts our democracy. the summary's headline for the legislation we're con

in fact that's what we said during the last campaign season in the pledge to america. so that is in working with that commitment, the -- as well as the language of this resolution, the budget chairman, mr. ryan, will be instructed to enter into the record a cap of spending levels for the remainder of the fiscal year to be placed at 2008 levels. i yield back. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman. would it be, therefore, accurate that the or less is superfluous and is not intended to give mr. ryan the authority to set a figure at less than 2008 levels? i yield to my friend. mr. cantor: i would tell the gentleman i disagree with that characterization of the language, or less, and just say that, again, the speaker's committed to an open process on spending bills and i assume that we will see coming to the floor every attempt and effort to try and maintain some sense that this congress is going to be a cut and grow congress. we are about trying to find savings everywhere we can so that we can get this country back on to a trajectory of fiscal sustainability. i say to the gentle

need. >> reporter: cooper man and his wife of 46 years, toby, are among 58 of america's wealthiest families who have pledgedte at least half of their worth to charity. >> there are more worthwhile organizations in meade of 99 than there is money so you have to try to find who you want to support and when you want to support them and in what amount. >> reporter: it's called the giving pledge and billionaires from mike bloomberg to facebook founder mark zucker berg have signed up, all at the beheaviest of warren buffet. >> i said to warren over dinner, "i think if you're really dealing with people of high wealth, asking for half, you're not asking for enough. >> reporter: cooperman came from modest beginnings in the south bronx, the son of a polish immigrant plumber who worked six days a week. he went to public school and college and put himself through column cra university business school. >> what's going on in the market? >> reporter: the day after graduating, cooperman went to work for goldman sachs and stayed for 25 years before starting his own hedge fund, omega advisers, in the early 1990s. >> i had a

as we've tried to do through the pledge of america. if you want to know about where we are headed, look at the pledge to america, which you can find online and you get a blueprint how we are going to govern. >> host: story from "the new york times" talking about how to cut spending. it says if republicans vote for the size and range of required cuts in education -- >> guest: well, libby, as i said earlier, nobody has ever walked in my door in congress and said cut my budget. this is not going to be easy. but it has to be done. and -- but we have to do it in a thoughtful and open and transparent way. i think most americans get it. that this government of ours is spending more than it takes in by enormous amount even when you had the paygo rule that said you got to offset tax cuts or whatever. they still were spending. we put the government on the wrong path. we're going to have to change that. i think americans are ready for that. as i get out around my district in oregon, i hear it from people that just say -- just stop the spending. an

>> i pledge allegiance to the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. supervisor chiu: madam clerk, are there any communications? >> i have no communications, mr. president. supervisor chiu: given there are no it's not -- no items on the consent agenda, what do we move to our first item? >> item 1 is an ordinance amending the san francisco environment code to require any person who produces a drug offered for sale in san francisco to participate in approved drug store should program for the collection and disposal of unwanted drugs from residential sources. supervisor mirkarimi: i want to quickly align with this legislation strives to do and the reason is so importuned -- so important that the city and county adopt this. i wanted to help stop the contamination by the improper disposal of pharmaceuticals and medications. i want to help seniors avoid potentially dangerous medication dosage errors, which according to federal statistics, is significantly on the rise, and one of the leading causes of

the second point is we made a pledge to the american people in our pledge to america that we would bring up and repeal this health care bill. we're simply keeping our word to the people that we gave before the election. thirdly, we think this health care bill is really a house of cards. it's going to raise health care costs, it's going to involve the government in taking over health care and i think it's going to lead to medicare rationing. what are we doing today? today we're going to start cutting our own budgets. we're going to focus on cutting spending and growing jobs in the economy. that is our priority. cut spending, grow jobs in the economy and yes, we will repeal this health care bill because we think in the interest of the economy, it is important to repeal. >> let's talk about cutting spending because the republicans made a vow, a pledge to the american people back in the fall that you would cut spending by $100 billion this year. but the "new york times" says you're already backtracking on that and all we have really heard about is trimming your own congressional budget by ab

are accused of using the civil rights icon to excuse america's wars abroad. pledges to invest millions of dollars into u.k. microchip firm plastic logic but there was an effort by russia to diversify into promising technology that and more coming to you from business update. welcome back you're watching r.t. live from moscow and let's now take a look at our top stories in more detail some of them may have been bailed out by the taxpayer but britain's biggest banks aren't letting that stop them giving their employees bumper bonuses it's a decision and the fines of political and public pressure to curb the payouts amid the severe cuts being made elsewhere across the economy artie's or am asked london's neediest what they think. this is all sterile britain the homeless and needy queue up for food handouts from charities all over london and the u.k. but just a few miles away it's a different world with different rules prime minister david cameron has shied away from regulating bankers' bonuses they might have to be a bit more open about them but pay won't because and the

we will honor our pledge to america, built on the process of listening to the american people. we will stand firm on our constitutional principles that built our party and built a great nation. we will do these things, however, in a manr that restores and respects the time- honored right of the minority to an honest debate, a fair and open process. to myfriends in the minorit i offer a commitment, openness. once a tradition of this institution but increasingly scarce in recent decades, will be the new standard. there and no open rules in the house in the last congress. in this one, there will be many. and with the restored openness, however, comes a restored responsibility. you will not have the right to willfully disrupt the proceedings of the people's house, but you always have the right to a robust debate and an open process that allows you to represent your constituents, to make your case, offer alternatives, and be heard. [applause] in time, i believe this framework will allow the house to be a place where the people's will is done. it will also, i hope, rebuild trust amon

in our pledge to america, we said we would bring up a straight up or down vote to repeal this health care law. what are we doing? that's what we're doing in office. that is why we're doing it this week under these circumstances with these procedures because we don't think we should be paying for the repeal of a law that we believe will increase the budget deficit by a minimum of $700 billion over the next 10 years. i get a little animated in these things. >> fair enough. [laughter] you mentioned early on that you want to have a growth agenda. >> yes. >> yet a lot of things that are necessity that you have to do as a budgets chairman will -- budget chairman is cutting, reducing this and reducing that and the danger i suppose politically is that you become as a party, get the reputation for austerity. >> that's right, that's right. >> and the president takes the high ground and says i'm the growth guy. they are cutting. we need this spending for investments, for growth and i'm the growth candidate, and you begin to look small and austere and we're the national accountants essentially.

repealing and replacing the health care bill is one of the promises made to america in the pledge to america. today we are working on that promise as we work to -- the speaker pro tempore: the time has expired. mr. canseco: thank you. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york. ms. slaughter: i yield one minute to the gentleman from nouge, mr. pallone. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for one minute. mr. pallone: thank you, madam speaker. this is nothing but a gag rule. i and so many of my colleagues on the krattic side went up to the rules committee yesterday and asked for amendments and they were almost all excluded from this rule. the republican chairman of the committee says there's transparency. he says that there's an opportunity for participation. he can say it as many times as he wants but it's simply not true. he also said this is a commitment to the american people. there's no commitment to the american people here. the only commitment is to the insurance companies. they're the only ones tha

i look at this pledge to america that so many republicans ran on this year. it says, we will roll back government spending to prestimulus, prebailout levels, saving at least $100 billion in the first year alone. yet we read this morning in "the new york times," let me start with you, senator-to-be paul saying that they're scaling back, that ambitions -- aides to the house republican leader say the goal is $50 billion to $60 billion. are you on with that? >> our goal is a little more ambitious. we have a bill that we're working on that will be $500 billion. you snow, $50 billion is not even scratching the surface. the debt problem is enormous. you know, we're bringing in about $2 trillion in spending, nearly $4 trillion. so $50 billion is not enough to scratch the surface. we have to find much, much more. if you go back just to 2008 levels, that's $100 billion. we have to at least do that. >> well, but your leaders are at least in the house, congressman paul, say they're not doing that. they're only going for the $50 billion, $60 billion. and they've come up w

we will honor our pledge to america, built on the process of listening to the american people. we will stand firm on our constitutional principles that built our party and built a great nation. we will do these things, however, in a manner that restores and respects the time- honored right of the minority to an honest debate, a fair and open process. to my friends in the minority, i offer a commitment, openness. once a tradition of this institution but increasingly scarce in recent decades, will be the new standard. there and no open rules in the house in the last congress. in this one, there will be many. and with the restored openness, however, comes a restored responsibility. you will not have the right to willfully disrupt the proceedings of the people's house, but you always have the right to a robust debate and an open process that allows you to represent your constituents, to make your case, offer alternatives, and be heard. [applause] in time, i believe this framework will allow the house to be a place where the people's will is done. it will also, i hope, rebuild trust