. >> senator schumer, three weeks left. what's the compromise that both sides can live with on taxes, spending cuts and entitlement reform? >> i think we'll get a deal. everyone realizes how important it is, our economy is moving up some, not fast enough but some, and to go over the cliff would be terrible. i think we'll get an agreement. the reason i think we'll get an agreement, what's standing in the way is revenues, particularly making that top rate go up to 39.6 but we're seeing real progress in that regard in two ways. first, a good number of republican conservatives, people like colter and crystal, said we have to do it. last week tom coburn said it's preferable, cutting deductions and business leaders who support mitt romney, the head of fedex and at&t saying let it happen. the president won the election on that issue and i think you will see our republican colleagues reluctantly say 39.6. >> let me interrupt and bring in senator corker. senator schumer's right, a growing number much republicans and conservatives, n

charles schumer is constructive on this issue. we're going to sit down together soon in the senate chamber and resolve this in a way democrats are not breaking the rules and we do it the way the senate as functioned and i think we're going to start the next year with a different spirit within congress. >> let me ask you, senator corker, we're overtime. one last question that may test that new spirit. you're going to be the new ranking republican on the senate foreign relation economy in the new -- committee. would president make a mistake to nominate susan rice as secretary of state? >> i do think that embassador rice is viewed as a political operative and i don't think he's going to nominate her. as i have said, i'll give any nominee a fair hearing and i will in this case. but i think the president realizes on both sides of the aisle there are a lot of concerns there's a fact these a political operative and not viewed as a principal. >> let me just quickly -- you don't think she would pass the senate? >> well, i don't know what w

senator schumer is exactly right.rowing number of republicans and conservative, not a majority but a growing number are saying, look, we have to cave on tax -- raising tax rates, not just the idea of closing loopholes. would you accept returning to the clinton rate of 39.6%? or, would you accept something, perhaps, a mid point, 37% or starting with people who make $500,000, rather than 250? >> well, chris, there is a growing group of folks, that are looking at this and realizing that we don't have a lot of cards as it relates to the tax issue before year end. i mean, we have one house, that is it. the presidency and the senate, is in the democrats' hands, and a lot of people are putting forth a theory and i actually think it has merit where you go ahead and give the president the 2% increase, that he is talking about, rate increase on the top 2% and all of a sudden the shift goes back to entitlements, and all of a sudden once you give him the right on the top 2%, it is actually much lesser tax increase than what he ha

chuck schumer is going to take away your gun.ting rifle your uncle willy gave you when you were 10 years old. but they also use the fact that some say we should ban guns. the second amendment doesn't have a place in the constitution. and if we can come together and say, look, there's a right to bear arms. it's constitutional. it's a way of life in many parts of the country. i went hunting with ben nelson, and i actually, you know, saw that it was sort of like playing basketball in my brooklyn street corner. it was the same type of thing. if we can admit that and they can say, well, okay. we're not afraid now. we're not paranoid that you'll take away our guns, we can come together. that's the only way we get this done. >> so dee dee myers, how does the white house finesse this situation and, you know, actually try and get some things done because you could, at this point, really corner some of the gun enthusiasts and the extreme right on this. is that the way to go? >> i think you have to build a coalition. it has to include not j

senator schumer will be here tonight. senator menendez will be here tonight to help move this, in in addition to, of course, the manager of the bill on the other side. so we hope that people will work hard to get the debate out of the way tonight so tomorrow we can vote. we have a lot of votes tomorrow. we -- i'm led to believe that there are a amendments the managers of this legislation will pass either by voice or in some other quick fashion. ms. mikulski: mr. president? mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. ms. mikulski: following up on leader reid's comments, to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, if you have these amendments, senator schumer and i would like to know that you stay here this evening to offer and debate them as you were accorded under the unanimous consent agreement. if you come up and tell senator schumer and i now, we can get an order and a sequencing and tell you when we can call you up. we'd like very -- so instead of everybody standing around, we would actually get

schumer: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new york. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president unanimous consent request unanimous consent the senate proceed to a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the homeland security and governmental affairs committee be discharged from the following postal naming bills en bloc: h.r. 2338 and h.r. 3892, that the senate proceed to their consideration, the consideration of the following bills en bloc which were received from the house are at the desk: h.r. 3869 4389, 6260, 6379 and h.r. 6587. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the bills be read a third time passed en bloc, the motions to reconsider be laid on the table en bloc with no intervening action or debate and an

schumer: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new york. mr. schumer: well, passing this bill was really a very fine accomplishment, and of course we senators get up and stand up and are very proud of it, as we should be, but without our staffs, we couldn't get any of this done. so i would just like to take a few minutes to thank my staff, many of whom were personally impacted by superstorm sandy, who worked tirelessly to ensure that new york's needs were adequately addressed, as my state continues to react and recover to superstorm sandy and her aftermath. because of their hard work and tireless efforts, i know that new york's needs have been addressed in the sandy supplemental legislation that passed through the senate earlier this evening. my great l.d., heather mchugh, coordinated this effort, making sure every type of aid was considered and included in this package. she has great knowledge of both the senate and the house, and it was invaluable in getting this done. my deputy chief of staff, aaron sagervaun who is just so selfless and wond

we know that is what the democrats and schumer proposed and utter hypocrisy.peaker's plan could be approached and it doesn't meet the test of protecting the middle class. think about how it yotic that is. that protects the middle class and everybody up to $1 million. but he says it can't protect the middle class because the democrats will reject it, so not enable it to protect the middle class. this isn't enough. if you have to say stuff like that. >> the senate would shoot it down for politics. but it would protect middle class because the taxes wouldn't get raised and it would be raised on those making -- >> over $1 million. but the argument is it's not going to help the middle class, because we'll kill it before it helps the middle class. >> bret: so doesn't that, if the republicans then vote this through, doesn't that put onus on the white house? >> yes. they will put the democrats on the defensive. >> can boehner get 218 votes on -- >> that is what today is about. they hope to do it by thursday. democrats say they won't help him. this is an attempt to say

chuck hagel did not get a ringing endorsement from senator schumer or -- >> what senator schumer said really very revealing. if a democratic senator is not going to come to chuck hagel's defense, i think there is serious problems there. >> he did not come to his defense. this is going to be the second consecutive nomination where the president doesn't get his first choice. >> this white house cannot continue to float trial balloons and then not have them shot down. the president can't get what perceived to be rolled by opponents. the problem that chuck hagel has is he's now getting shot at from the left and the right because of his past comments, which he has now retracted and apologized for against gays. >> what is the core message of the state of the union? >> well, you tell me if there's a deal at the end of the year. the president has promised to put guns in his state of the union. which by the way, this has been a club that the white house has threatened over boehner, which is saying, hey, you are know i'm going to win the political argument and the white house is right but at wh

senator schumer, your reaction to wayne lapierre.aying any attempt the president makes at gun control legislation is bound to fail because it won't work and it's just a bunch of old arguments. how do you react? >> i think he's so extreme and so tone deaf that he actually helps the cause of us passing sensible gun legislation in the congress. look, he blames everything but guns -- movies, the media, president obama, gun-free school zones, you name it, the video games, he blames them. now, trying to prevent shootings in schools without talking about guns is like trying to prevent lung cancer without talking about cigarettes. he is so doctrinaire and so adamant that i believe gun owners turn against him as well. look, he says the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. what about trying to stop the bad guy from getting the gun in the first place. that's common sense, most americans agree with it and i just think he's turning people off. that's not where america is at and he's actually helping us. >> senator graha

>> i want to play, though, what chuck schumer had to say about wayne la pierre's appearance.ake a look at this. >> i think is he so extreme and so tone-deaf that he actually helps the cause of us passing sensible gun legislation in the congress. >> the other thing that chuck schumer, joe said on meet the press was it's like talking about lung cancer and how to solve lung cancer and not bringing up cigarettes when talking about what could be done differently in the country when it comes to gun control, and the nra wants to say, well, guns aren't the problem in these mass murders. that's not the problem. so in watch this, joe, do you think that wayne la pierre is hurting his own case as senator schumer suggests? >> well, what i wish he had done is i wish that given the fact that it's only been a little more than a week, we lost all those young people and some teachers many newtown, connecticut, that there isn't more talk about comforting the families and being sensitive to what just happened and finding a way to make sure it never happens again. i think the president got it rig

senator schumer, your reaction to wayne lapierre.is saying any attempt the president makes at gun control legislation is bound to fail because it won't work and it's just a bunch of old arguments. how do you react? >> i think he's so extreme and so tone deaf that he actually helps the cause of us passing sensible gun legislation in the congress. look, he blames everything but guns, movies, the media, president obama, gun-free school zones, you name it, the video games, he blames them. now, trying to prevent shootings in schools without talking about guns is like trying to prevent lung cancer without talking about cigarettes. he is so doctrinaire and addiment that i believe gun owners turn against him as well. look, he says the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. what about trying to stop the bad guy from getting the gun in the first place. that's common sense, most americans agree with it, and i just think he's turning people off. that's not where america is at, and he's actually helping us. >> senator gra

. >> we'll of course 0 our headliners, from the senate, democrat chuck schumer and republican jon kyl. from the house, democrat chris van hollen and republican raul labrador. in our powerhouse roundtable on all the week's politics with former vermont governor howard dean, former minnesota governor tim pawlenty, todd purdum of vanity fair and maggie haberman of politico. "vanity fair and man of politico. " and maggie haberman of politico. >>> you are looking at live pictures of capitol hill over the next 12 hours, what happens there or what doesn't happen will cut to the very heart of your financial future and the fate of our struggling economy. good morning, i'm jonathan karl with a special edition of "this week." george is off for the holidays. the world is watching and waiting to see what happens here today in washington. at this hour, congressional leaders are working to find common ground desperate for some sort of compromise, my sources tell me this morning the odds of a deal are still no better than 50/50. the senate will convene today at 1:00 p.m., the house back in at 2:00 p.m

schumer deal. >> bob: i don't care what schumer did. >> andrea: this is a p.r.re for boehner. we have great reporting from chad pergram who said they might bring this to the deal on thursday, put him on record. then they would only have to vote for extending middle class tax rates. this sneaky. >> they should be mad on spending from both sides. double triple counting. it's unclear. this is a huge opportunity for america to change course with major tax reform. major entitlement reform. that is the point, the whole point of the fiscal cliff to push them to try to do something on entitlement reform. what are we getting? zero on that. >> bob: we are getting boehner plan "b" that takes the bush legislation to put it in effect -- >> dana: that is not what the fiscal cliff was about. >> bob: i understand that. >> dana: that is what i'm saying it's a huge missed opportunity. we are going to get the tinkering. perhaps maybe more permanency. the stock market will be happy for six months. the mid-terms becomes harder. boehner did a good job. they think he screwed up but i'

joining us now, senator chuck schumer of new york, senator jon kyl of arizona. so, gentlemen, do we have a deal? >> well, there are certainly no breakthroughs yet between senator mcconnell and senator reid, but there's a real possibility of a deal. i've been a legislator for 37 years, and i've watched how these things work. on these big, big agreements they almost always happen at the last minute. neither side likes to give up its position. they eyeball each other till the very end. but then each side, realizing that the alternative is worse, comes to an agreement. so while an agreement is hardly a certainty, i certainly wouldn't rule it out at this last minute. >> give me your odds. i said 50/50. >> i think a little higher than that. >> senator kyl? >> i don't disagree with chuck, and i also would say the way you opened the program does not under or overstate the consequences. if we are not able to reach an agreement, it will be dire. and that's from everybody from the congressional budget office which is nonpartisan, as you know, to the fed chairman, probably

i did speak with senator gillibrand and schumer during this devastating event.ecause my heart aches for the people they are. i've gone through so many disasters in my state, earthquakes, fires, floods, droughts, everything. i know it is so difficult to wrap your arms around it. the one thing senator schumer said to me and has continued to say is how amazing this disaster was. it's hard to wrap your arms around, but we will. the second reason for this eeriness for legislative purposes. we are about to pick up a water resource bill and a lot of you know it's been a while since we've had one. senator victor and i will work together. he's very encouraging about this bill. so i think we're going to work across party lines. so with that, electric and welcome you welcome you: senator reid. you each have 10 minutes to say what is in your heart, which you want history to it what about the storm. >> thank you, madam chairwoman are your kind invitation to testify today and for your incredible leadership on this issue. i went to recognize my colleague, senator whitehouse ha

they can say all we want is the schumer deal. >> right now they don't have the leverage to get the schumereal. they rejected the schumer deal. they don't have the leverage to get it. >> here we disagree. i think they may have a case. if the bogeyman is the millionaire -- >> i think that's where it's going to end up. i think that's the flexibility in the negotiations at the end is over whom the higher rates apply. >> but they don't raise that much money if you do it this way. >> it's true. it's a sliding scale. the higher up you go, the less money you raise. >> is it a debt reduction thing or an equity thing at that point? >> for the president it's both about the arithmetic and about the point. it's about the point of everybody paying their fair share. >> let's talk now about where we're at. people tuned in to find out where it's at. roughly speaking what happened on sunday is geithner, smart guy, not a political guy at all. he's kind of soft-spoken, unlike some of us, me especially, so he goes on the sunday shows. he does a full ginsburg because that was monica -- >> all the shows. >> lewi

today, schumer said this. >> we'll wait to see if they pass it.plan passes in the senate. no way. >> bret: in october, senator schumer said this. >> look, i have preferred the million dollar line. for all the reasons i stated. but to me it's far more important that the high-end people pay, help contribute to revenues than where you draw the line. >> bret: okay. so anyway. i want to just play while you are talking about it -- >> senator schumer's position is because he is from new york. in new york, cost of living is higher. $250,000 is not what $250,000 is in other places. the same in washington, d.c. i do think that it is a fair place to draw the line. it's just not where the president wants to draw the line. though he has moved his line. he has moved. let's not say he hasn't moved at all. it's come down on the revenues. come down, or up on the, what the amount would be taxed. so he has moved. >> bret: but not on spending cuts. charles? >> the president invoking the massacre of children to say the republicans need to accept his terms of surrender

new york senator charms schumer today -- charles schumer today said trying to prevent shootings in schools without talking about guns is like talking about lung cancer without talking about cigarettes. >> the company which calls itself the world's largest arm supplier said it sold three and a half years worth of ammunition magazines in just three days. the ar15 is the nation's most popular semiautomatic rifle similar to the models used in the newtown shootings. >>> with time running out to avoid the fiscal cliff, democrats and republicans have left the capital for home. for the majority of the country, that means we are going over that cliff. president obama is in hawaii for christmas with his family. before he left he urged congress to adopt a stopgap measure to prevent taxes from rising on people who make less than 250,000 a year. he also asked for a plan to keep providing benefits to unemployed workers. house speaker john boehner is home in cincinnati. he failed to get members of his own party to support his plan b proposal for ending the crisis. speaker boehner says the stalemate and t

here's senator chuck schumer answering whether he would support senator hagel's nomination.. >> i'd have to study his record. i'm not going to comment until the president makes a nomination. >> joining me now, presidential historian michael beschloss. some republicans say they go have problems with hagel's opposition to the war in iraq, that's one issue, pro--israeli groups question his stance on israel and gay rights groups have come out against comment he's made 14 years ago about gay nominees for ambassadorships saying that ambassador should represent american values. >> this is what is called a trial balloon, which is the white house puts out a name and so the president know what is kind of struggle there will be if he sends hagel's nomination to the senate. this goes all the way back to roosevelt who started doing that, leaking those things to reporters. the question is was it necessary to put the name out to know these objections would be raised or could that have been anticipated without putting chuck hagel through this either before he is nominated or before the nomi

senator schumer indicate the supported earlier on. we are not planning to adjourn. we want to address this issue. what to do everything we possibly can to resolve this as quickly as we possibly can. we are a few days away from christmas. we are still here working. we are prepared to come back after christmas. sadly, many of our colleagues are going to the funeral of senator inouye. that will take place in high and has created a challenge to us as it relates to the schedule itself. we understand this is a difficult time. we need to work together to put into place pro-growth economic policies. as i said in my opening remarks, here is a bipartisan question to that. i commend the president for his call for the reduction in corporate tax rate. the real tax reform, something we can do in a bipartisan way. real tax reform that would-real entitlement reform can be done in and his possible -- real income of reform can be done in a responsible way. we need to deal with a tough situation. we to know what our fellow americans to be hurting, espec

i want to going next to chuck schumer, who sits on the judiciary commit committee. senator, thank you for coming. i think we should note we tried to get a republican from the judiciary committee, but all of the members were either unavailable or we-- or said no. i know you are a strong advocate for gun laws. where do you see this going now? >> well, i think we could be at a tipping point for two reasons, a tipping point where we might actually get something done. first, this was not a single incident. it followed a series of others. in last few months we have had mass shootings in oregon, wisconsin, and colorado. when the public sees these as isolated incidents they're lesupset than when they occur one after the other, and the public the not accept, the public will not accept as a new normal one of these incidents every month, these mass shootings. second, of course, it involved children. and it's so poignant to see those pictures and i read the story in the newspaper where the families waited in the firehouse and when they found that a young child had survived, the

senators chuck schumer and john thune, thank you both. savannah. >> all right. thank you. >>> tributes are pouring in this morning for general norman schwarzkopf. "stormin' norman" as we became known died on thursday from complications of pneumonia. andrea mitchell has a look back at his life. good morning to you. >> good morning. he was often compared to the most celebrated generals of the 20th century. a warrior's warrior with the charisma of douglas macarthur. he's being applauded as the most celebrated battle commander of his generation. nicknamed "stormin' norman" for his legendary temper, norman schwarzkopf was an american original. he used his pre-war briefings to try to scare saddam hussein into backing down. >> if the iraqis are dumb enough to attack, they'll pay a terrible price for it. >> they dare come across that border, i'm completely confident we're going to kick his butt. >> when the decision to go to war was made, schwarzkopf was ready with a plan to outflank the iraqi forces. former president bush with brian williams last year. >> i remember wh

so let's ask chuck schumer why he's changed his mind on saving 99.8% of americans? let me add this to viewers. people aren't cove erg the other good part of plan b. the estate tax, which i know millions of american, small businesses and family, family farms in my distributor worried about, would go back to $1 million on january 1. if plan b becomes law, we not only keep the $10 million exemption for couples and make it permanent, something that couldn't happen even under president bush, but we get it tied to, indexed for inflation, again, it's something that sb not in current law. we also make the capitol hill gain rates permanent at 20% for all earners, even above a million. that's huge. >> the estate tax, permanently at 35%? >> correct. >> then you'll have the capital gains tax, 15% to 20%. what about the dividend tax, congressman? 15% to 20% or 15% to 44%? >> well, if we don't do anything, as you know, it goes to 44% on january 1. plan b preserves it at 20% for millionaires and above, 15% for those below a million. small busine bus and individuals. >> and all of

>> reporter: his senate colleague chuck schumer of new york thinks the nra's position will only help lawmakers who want more stringent gun regulation. >> well, i think he's so extreme and tone deaf he actually helps the cause of us passing sensible gun legislation in congress. >> reporter: friday president obama assembled a task force to reduce gun violence and wants concrete proposals in a month. ideas on the table include an assault weapons ban and limiting the number of bullets a magazine can hold. in washington steve centanni, fox news. >>> a perfect sunday to round out the weekend, but now is the christmas holiday going to shape up? >> a last look at the forecast. gwen? >> today was wonderful, plenty of sunshine and light winds, but things are changing. current temperatures, 37 d.c., 25 manassas, 25 annapolis. now we've got a few clouds starting to roll in and we're keeping a close eye on the system affecting areas to the west of us. from tomorrow morning since a.m. till noon there is a winter weather advisory and freezing rain advisory in the shaded areas. this includes highlan

schumer: thank you, mr. president. first i want to thank my great colleague from pennsylvania, i enjoyed sharing a table last night with him and his beautiful, charming, intelligent wife, who he's lucky he would be the first to admit he's lucky to have married, and their four great girls. but second, thank him for his excellent, as usual, on-target remarks. we have a great chairman of the j.e.c. and every time he comes to the floor, it shows shoas. olympia snowe, bill kristol, congressman mike simpson of idaho, david brooks, congresswoman bono-mack and walter jones, "the national review." we're here to ai seau passing the senate's middle-class tax cut is the right thing to do. you don't have to take our word for it. two-thirds of the american public agrees with us but you don't need to take their word for it, either. just listen to the voices within speaker boehner's own party. there we go. a kent conrad i am not in terms of my facility with charts. it's clear that speaker boehner has needed cover from his right flank

and i just think that when you have chuck schumer my friend chuck schumer basically saying we should the larger clips, those are something we should be talking about. >> bill: absolutely. should be talking about it. senator mark warner from virginia also got elected because he was a strong supporter of gun rights in the commonwealth of virginia. said yesterday enough is enough. now's the time. >> i had an nra rating of an a. but you know, enough is enough. i've got -- i'm father of three daughters. this weekend, they all said dad you know, how can this go on? and i like i think most of us, realize that there are ways to get to rational gun control. >> bill: senator harry reid yesterday, another one who stepped up to the plate and so did congressman john yarmuth from kentucky who will be along in studio with us just a little bit later. saying again i've always supported the nra but the nra is wrong on this one and we have to move. that is really good news. and these members have come out with some specific proposals. senator dianne feinstein saying she's going to reintroduce the ban o

and republicans today noted two years ago, 53 senate democrats voted for a plan by senator chiewk schumerimilar to boehner's. >> i don't know a single one of the colleagues who wouldn't prefer to do tax breaks for people up to a million dollars. >> boehner has bigger problems as plan b has a second vote thursday on a bill to extend tax cuts for anyone making $250,000 or less. while that could help avoid the it, conservatives are likely tod block it. >> we have to keep them as low as possible and get at least 99% of americans not to have a tax increase. that's our goal. we're going to fight hard. >> meaning with the clock ticking, democrats think the president has boehner boxed in. >> we don't know the details of plan a, plan b, or whatever plan c might be, but we remain united behind our president. >> here's what plan c could look like. a top adviser to the president sees president obama making one more concession saying the threshold on tax increases will be $500,000 or more. mr. boehner may not take that, but if he does, it still leaves a lot on the table, no major spending cuts in the

democrat chuck schumer and suggested republicans needed to work on a partisan solution and accept the reality of tax increases. republican senator lindsey graham says he does not expect a big deal until the next round of debt ceiling talks. >> our republican colleagues, by refusing to go along with revenues, are risking the fiscal cliff. >> there will not be a big deal. the chance for a big deal is with the debt ceiling. that is one of will have leverage to turn the country around. >> president obama urged congress to get a deal done when they returned from christmas break. president obama was among the dignitaries that attended the memorial service for the senator. the world war ii was the first japanese-american elected to both houses of congress, serving hawaii for 50 years. he died of respiratory complications last monday. he was 88 years old. former president bush is still in stable condition in a houston hospital. the 88-year-old former president has been hospitalized since november undergoing treatment for bronchitis. doctors are opportunistic he will make a full recovery. they

we know he will work with senator merkley, senator schumer, people who have been involved on these issues. and i'm optimistic we move forward. >> thank you for joining us tonight. >>> coming up, senator mitch mcconnell rails against reform, but john mccain doesn't agree. michigan senator debbie stabenow on filibuster reform. >>> later senator john kerry delivers an emotional response during debate today. >>> and the white house's petition site makes civic engagement easy. maybe too easy. i'll show you one of the more creative petitions out there. stay with us. i'm only in my 60's... i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. call now and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, it helps pick up s