." >> coming up on c-span, "the communicators" speaks with robert mcdowell. that is followed by our series influence andes: image." later, a discussion on black history and culture. is the seniorwell republican on the federal communications commission's. i want to start with the topic of spectrum. robert kaplan was quoted yesterday as saying that he thinks that the current spectrum auction schedule is due to failure. there are two double open issues to work out. and because of that, there will not be enough interest of parties to participate in the auction. >> first, thank you for having me back. and what you are talking about is that congress passed a law last year. that was for broadband purposes. trying to analyze it for purposes of putting together what would quite literally be the most complex spectrum auction in history. i know that sounds like a hyperbole, but it is true. i have expressed caution. i am not doom and gloom, but cautious in terms of when that will happen and how it will happen. i'm not sure we will yield as much spectrum is first advertis

commissioner mcdowell, i want to start with the topic of spectrum. robert kaplan of the national association of broadcasters was quoted yesterday as saying that he thinks that the current spectrum auction schedule is doomed to failure because there's too many issues to work out and because of those issues there won't be enough interest by parties to participate in the auction. >> guest: first of all, thank you for having me back. it's great to be here. and what you're talking about is the incentive auction, so congress passed a law last year giving tv broadcasters a financial incentive to relinquish system or all of their spectrum in exchange for money, obviously, that would then be used for wireless broadband purposes. so we at the fcc are busy trying to analyze public comment for what will literally be the most complex spectrum auction in world history. it actually is the truth. and it has three components which i'll get to in a minute. i've expressed caution, not doom and gloom as you just presented it, but caution in terms of when that will happen and h

. >> host: the senior commissioner, commissioner mcdowell, i want to start with the topic of spectrum. robert caplin of the national association of broadcasters was quoted yesterday saying he thinks the current spectrum auction schedule is doomed to failure because there's too many issues to work out and because of the res, there's not enough interest by parties to participate in the auction. >> guest: first of all, thank you for having me back. it's great to be here, and what you're talking about the is incentive auction. so congress passed a law last year giving tv broadcasters a financial incentive to be used in the wireless broadband purposes. we at the fcc a busy to solicit public comment and analyze it for purposes of putting together what will be quite literally thee most complex spectrum auction in world history. i know it sounds like hyperbole, but it is the truth, and there's three components which i will get to in a minute. i expressed caution. it's not doom and gloom as you presented it, but caution in terms of when that will happen and how that happens. i'm not sure it will yield

then ""the communicators" with a fcc commissioner robert mcdowell. and at 8:30 eastern, we begin a week of booktv prime time. tonight three books on u.s. innovation. the nation east highest court is holding oral arguments on two gay marriage cases. tickets to the two argument are technically free. the first people got in line thursday. the going rate for saving a seat is around $6 ,000. the couple of weeks ago director explained why it's drawing such interest. here's a importance of what he had -- portion of what he had to say. >> do you think that will -- are you optimistic about what the supreme court will do? >> i am. you obviously never know when a case is in front of the supreme court, but if they are going to rule and this is what they do base on the law, we have a trial here in san francisco with many weeks of evidence. we brought on seventeen witnesses, they brought on two. and one of their witnesses was their expert witness against the idea of gay marriage has done a 180. his name is david, and now said absolutely should be something that sh

. >> robert mcdowell and jnaekowski reported there resignations. here monday night from the communicators. tuesday and wednesday, the supreme court hears oral arguments in the california same-sex marriage ban, known as proposition 8 and the federal defense of marriage act, or doma. coverage begins at 1:00 p.m. eastern, and you can hear the as soon asnts on -- the audio is released and these will be air at 8:00 p.m. eastern. on tuesday, a justice department official told a house judiciary subcommittee that the government is open to the idea of requiring warrants for obtaining electronic communications during criminal investigations but added that there are situations where the warrant should not be required. the hearing was looking at revisions for the 1986 electronic communications privacy act. this is an hour and 20 minutes. >> subcommittee on crime, terrorism and homeland security will come to order. the chair recognizes himself for five minutes for the opening statement. the electronics privacy at this complicated and outdated, and largely uncon

. >> this past week, commissioner robert mcdowell and chairman julius czajkowski announced their resignations from the fcc. hear more on monday night from "the communicators," at 8:00 eastern on c-span 2. >> wednesday, british chancellor torch osborne unveiled the government's proposed tax and spending plans to members of the british house of commons. he told members 600,000 more jobs will be added this year according to forecasters. corporation tax will be cut to 20%, the lowest tax rate than any other economy in the world. in his one-hour speech, chancellor osborne announced measures aimed at assisting small business owners, first- time homebuyers, and british veterans. this is about an hour and 15 minutes. mr. deputy speaker, this is a budget for people who aspire to work hard and get on. it's a budget for people who realise there are no easy answers to problems built up over many years. just the painstaking work of putting right what went so badly wrong. and together with the british people we are, slowly but surely, fixing our country's economic problems. we've now cut the deficit not by

. >> both commissioner robert mcdowell and chairman julius genachowski announced the resignations from the fcc. we spoke with commissioner mcdowell before his announcement. hear more tonight on "the communicators" at 8 p.m. eastern on c-span2. >> now, former national security advisor zbigniew brzezinski talks about the situation in iraq, the obama administration's handling of the civil war in syria, and iran's nuclear program. army major general h.r. mcmaster also speaks on this panel, hosted by the carnegie endowment that marks the 10th anniversary of the iraq war. this is about an hour and 10 minutes. >> okay, i hope that you're able to get some substance. we have explored now in some depth the state of iraq today, and we've looked at what the war has cost the american taxpayer and the american economy. and how that relates to the fiscal problems that we're facing today. and we turn now to the geopolitical lessons of this conflict. i think the heart of this discussion. one of the great strengths of this nation, indeed, i would say one of our defining characteristics, is the american

robert mcdowell who is probably also stepping down to spend more time with his family, is also planningbe two open spots, which means the president has put up a republican and democrat simultaneously. no assault weapons ban will be introduced, but harry reid says it will be introduced as an amendment. the new gun-control legislation will take weeks. how to deal with background checks on private sales. chuck schumer is trying to work out a bipartisan compromise and he says he is going to try to get that done over the break. we're back after the break. ♪ compelling true stories. >> jack, how old are you? >> nine. >> this is what 27 tons of marijuana looks like. (vo) with award winning documentaries that take you inside the headlines, way inside. (vo) from the underworld, to the world of privilege. >> everyone in michael jackson's life was out to use him. (vo) no one brings you more documentaries that are real, gripping, current. break the ice with breath-freshening cooling crystals. ice breakers. can become major victories. i'm phil mickelson, pro golfer. when i was diagnosed with psoriat

. >> this past week both commissioner robert mcdowell and chairman julius genachowski announced their resignations from the sfcc. we spoke with commissioner mcdowell on his announcement. tonight on "the communicators" on c-span2. . . >> tonight on "first ladies," called a bigamist and adulterer, rachel jackson dies of an apparent heart attack before andrew jackson takes office. his niece, emily donaldson, becomes the white house hostess but is later dismissed as fallout from a scandal. and during the next administration, ann gel da van buren is the white house hostess for her father-in-law, president martin van buren, who is a widower. we'll include your questions and comments by phone, facebook and twitter live tonight at 9 eastern on c-span and c-span3, also on c-span radio and c-span.org. >> secretary of state john kerry has made an unannounced trip to afghanistan. he's meeting today with afghan president hamid karzai. the session came shortly after the u.s. military ceded control of its last detention facility in afghanistan. during secretary or kerry's 24-hour visit, he also plan

. >> commissioner robert mcdowell -- chairman jenna kalkaska h chairman announced their retirement. this is at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span 2. >> this week on "q&a," dr. francis collins. the director of the national institute of health. your. francis collins, can give us in a nutshell what nih is? ofthe national institute health is an amazing place. it has a budget every year of approximately $30 billion. it is the largest supporter of biomedical research in the world. half of that goes out to grants in every state of the nation. when you hear about a breakthrough that has happened in diabetes research or autism or alzheimer's, it is very likely that it came from a university or institute somewhere that was supported by nih. that is what we do. we support the best and brightest to chase after their visionary ideas, and we think we are good at that. >> what is the influence? as the director, with 27 institutes and centers, how do you influence what goes on? >> it is a very big place. it has 27 institutes and centers. they are various diseases- or organ-instance focused. -- organ-syste