host: this story is from "the los angeles *" with schwarzenegger saying he is open to the idea of a flatax. guest: it ought to be looked at. we want to look at the number of tax deductions and loopholes that exist in our current system. those are expenditures just like funding for education or health care or for public safety. we want to have a real debate this year about whether or not on a tax expenditure side, the tax loophole side, that those expenditures are delivering the high-wage jobs they promise. a flat tax -- i am open to looking at it. at least it would take away the debate about what form of deduction is creating the most social good or not. i know that it also has its flaws, but certainly in this era where we have an opportunity to ready-made california -- remake california, i am open to all options. host: if you are just joining us our guest is darrell steinberg. he is the senator of california. the state and has until the end of this month to reach an agreement. good morning, caller. caller: good morning, you mentioned that the proposal to cut children from that state hea

as we convene here today in california, in sacramento, arnold schwarzenegger is getting ready to pass a budget that will cut its essential government services in a way an american state hasn't seen in this century. cutting health, people will see what is life for the great progressive welfare state was light. he is literally fulfilling grover norquist ambition. what do the conservatives think about this? arnold schwarzenegger has the wrong ideas about what parts of our bodies are supposed to rub up against each other. he has the wrong ideas about what you are supposed to say about global warming. he doesn't follow the ritual of rush limbaugh. he is concerned -- considered a traitor to the conservative movement. it used to be that these people could meshed together. they used to be able to read this intricate tapestry and make it seem seamless and whole. now, the holes are out -- abound. what do they have to do? one of the things i have learned in the past year from watching barack obama is the importance of leadership. i don't think i really understood this. the republican party will

. >> and forward by governor schwarzenegger. >> yes!hat does he say. >> governor schwarzenegger has been, it's nice to get a bipartisan message. for many years we talked about the environment and the economy not be in battling. they are not peaked against each other. it's a good thing. for the environment and the economy when the environment is clean and the economy is working. in california that's been a big issue. oil imports are a huge economic issue for california. so he is saying listen, take heart in these messages because we need to think ahead. california hopefully will be the export of these technologies. >> co-author of 2 billion cars. driving towards sustainability. possible without publisher support and the publisher partnership we have built. so this morning >> so this morning we have four excellent authors brought to you by four amazing publishers. i'm going to sort of go in order almost. we have joe scarborough who will be hosting the event this morning with crown publishers. we have richard russo. guyot collins with litt

these shows all be competing directly with governor schwarzenegger's new reality series, i'm a celebrity, get me out of here. [laughter] that's how i feel tonight. it's nothing personal. but this dinner conflicts with my day and night. -- date night. i was posted well with michelle for thai food in bangkok. [laughter] but i have been doing a lot of traveling. i just returned from a trip abroad, as you know. in egypt, we toured the pyramids. by now, i'm sure all of you have seen the pictures of rahm on a camel. i was a little nervous about the whole situation. i said at the time, there is a wild animal known to buy tickets that, and who knows what a camel might do. [laughter] -- bite, kick, and spit. who knows what a camel might do? [laughter] no matter where i went, there was one thing i heard over and over again from every world leader. no thanks, but have you considered -- [unintelligible] of course, most of my intentions have been focused year back home. as you know, we have been working around the clock to repair our financial institutions and our auto companies. you probably did not

other world leaders that came out with written statements to include eight leader here arnold schwarzenegger with a statement, why not a written statement that for a man who has come to the white house and visited for his humanitarian efforts, recognized by other presidents come and help to fund-raiser for the democratic party, why not a written statement? >> i thought i did a pretty good job. >> of first yesterday we were told no statement then today you are acting the president. >> you are the media. have you never interrupted me to ask a question? i was surprised, maybe i was just surprised. >> but i am getting at why this way? we were pressing yesterday and kept asking. >> because there is not going to be a statement. i asked the president what he thought about it today and as the spokesman i have passed that along to you. >> back to the public plan option, the president wants to see comprehensive reform and senator grassley said of the want any republican votes, and no public plan option. who is driving the train? >> which train? to make the health reform whether there will be a public

i can see schwarzenegger. i love this. cindy crawford. >> and it's all indian poetry. each one of those is different. >> he died this year. a different one he did. and met him at a gallery about two years ago. we love it. how do you display it? and he said, hang it in the -- don't worry bit it. >> i love everything you have. >> oops. >> i'm following you. >> we have 5,000 square feet, and almost 6,000,. >> this is perfect. >> four levels. >> so we arrived 20 minutes early and we quickly drove into georgetown so we could circle pass where kaytlin is going to live for the summer. she just finished her junior year at vanderbilt and she is going to work for senator specter for the summer. >> my son is going to be here and he would love to talk to her. >> give her the lay of the land. >> she is young. >> she just finished her junior year. >> sophomore year, junior year? >> junior year, yeah, just turned 21. >> drinking age. >> yeah. she finally brought out the legitimate i.d. when he wad dinner recently. i had this experience because i had the washington semester and stayed

given the fiscal crisis in california, the shows will be competing with governor schwarzenegger's new reality series, "i'm a celebrity" "get me out of here." >> that's how i feel tonight. it's nothing personal, but this dinner conflicts with my date night. i was supposed to going out with michelle for thai food in bangkok. [laughter] >> but i have been doing a lot of traveling, i just returned from a trip from in egypt and we had the opportunity to tour the pyramids and you have seen the pictures of rahm on a camel. i was nervous about the whole situation. i said, there's a wild animal, known to bite, kick and spit, and who knows what the camel might do. [laughter] >> but i have to say as i traveled to all of these countries, i saw firsthand how much people have in common with one another, because no matter where i went, there is one thing i heard over and over again from every world leader, no thanks, but have you considered palao? [laughter] >> of course, most of my attention has been focused here back home. we have been trying to repair our financial institutions and auto companies

schwarzenegger talking about closing --i am sorry, closing [unintelligible] one of the things with california having a lot of money spent in counties [unintelligible] the prison is sitting on one of the prettiest pieces of property -- san quentin. we're talking about california having such a large population of people making lots of money, but where's the money going? guest: on though san quentin issue, the governor has proposed selling a series of state assets. it is not a bad idea, but it is not a panacea either. you get one-time money that does not deal with a structural issue of the state. but i will conclude with the prison system itself which is a great example of how spending has grown. it is an example of the fundamental problem. over the past two decades california has passed a number of laws increasing criminal penalties. as a result we have nearly 170% overcrowding in our state systems. every time one of those losses past no one has suggested how to pay for it. we need to decide what we want and need. then make a commitment to an ongoing stable source of revenue to pay for it. i am

one, you are putting people back to work immediately and, two, and i think governor schwarzenegger has talked about this fairly extensively and that is the infrastructure needs that his state has in the near term in order to lay that foundation for long-term economic growth. the recovery plan is in its investment in infrastructure funding doing both those things, obviously the president understands that we've got a long way to go to turning this economy around and that's what his focus is. >> thank you, robert. >> thank you, robert. >> thanks. >> several committees are meeting this week on capitol hill to review the healthcare plan of the president. each committee has oversight of a different section of the bill. tomorrow, house and senate health committees take a look on wednesday, the house commerce committee reviews the plan as well as the ways and means committee which deals with the tax provisions. you can follow committee work@c-span.org and this week on washington journal, senator john mccain talks about iraq, iran, afghanistan and domestic issues. that's tomorrow morning at 8:0

future, dedicated to building and improving america's infrastructure i started with governor schwarzenegger and mayor bloomberg a bipartisanning orny swarkse believe that promoting intercity rail is a key priority for america's overall infrastructure plan. you talked about the success pennsylvania has had. teamed up with amtrak we invested $145 million and improved the time on that philadelphia to harrisburg line from 120 minutes to 90 minutes and in two short years, our ridership has gone from 898,000 to nearly 1.2 million as a result of that change. if we build it right, people will ride it. i have no doubt about that. there has been similar progress around the country and a lot of emphasis on doing what we did. the harrisburg line is improved to 110 miles per hour. i'll talk about that in a second. i believe as we look at intercity passenger rail, we can't be content as a nation to build out 110-mile systems. if we do that, we're absolutely consigning ourselveses to second class citizenship compared to asia and europe. we have to find a way to build and finance true high speed rail. as y

well, i said exactly what i have said to governor schwarzenegger, yes, the ice cap is retreating. there's no doubt about that. but when i say that, i'm not talking about our ice cap. that's clear to us. but what about the ice cap on mars? there is an ice cap on mars. and it is retreating at exactly the same time that our ice cap is retreating. doesn't it indicate that it might be the sun and not us driving s.u.v.'s or modern technology that's creating these many cycles we have had, including the one we are already in? yes, an ice cap is retreating on mars and on the world. is that a coincidence? well, let's have an answer to that. so, we have polar ice caps melting on mars and it's not just a coincidence, i believe. so tell me why this doesn't indicate to us that what we're really talkic about -- talking about and what we are facing about is that it has to do with solar activity. so -- remember, by the way, ice caps may have been melting in the arctic, but one thing people miss, the ice caps are not melting everywhere. just the northern ice cap. in ant artica to the south, ice is

at which time governor schwarzenegger assigned him in a state active duty position to remain as the base commander. on july 4, 2009, in just a little over a week, general colmes will retire from the united states armed forces. on behalf of those who had the honor to serve with him and a grateful nation, i commend him on his numerous accomplishments, his outstanding leadership, and his incredible military career. brigadier general james p. colmes will always remain a soldier's soldier and a true american hero. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back her time. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: request permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. poe: madam speaker, this country has lost nearly three million jobs just this year. that's over a million more than the two million men, women, children, and illegals living within the fourth largest city in the united states, namely houston, texas. we are still buying oil from dictators who don't lik

schwarzenegger and mayor bloomberg, bipartisan organization, and we believe promoting inner-city rail is a key priority for america's overall infrastructure plan. mr. chairman, you talk about the success pennsylvania has had, teamed up with amtrak, we invested $145 million and improved the time on the philadelphia to harrisburg line from 120 minutes to 90 minutes and in 2 short years, our ridersship has gone from 298,000 to 1.2 million as a result of that change. if we build it, people will ride it. there is similar progress around the country. a lot of emphasis on doing what we did, the harrisburg line has been improve to 110 miles per hour. i believe, as we look at inner-city passenger rail, we can't be content as a nation to build 110 miles systems. if we do that we are consigning ourselves to second-class citizenship. we have to build and finance through high-speed rail. the maglev train in shanghai runs at 268 m.p.h. the japanese bullet trains are 170 m.p.h.. we can't be content to build an ordinary system. what will high speed rail do to move passengers and help our climate cont

. >> and a forward by governor schwarzenegger. >> yes. >> what does he say. >> he has been, it has been nice to get it to be a bipartisan message, for many years we talked about having the environment and the economy not be em battling and don't -- not pitted against each other and it is a good thing for the environment and the economy when the environment is clean and the economy is working and in california that has been a big issue, climate change is a huge issue and oil imports are a huge economic issue for california and so he's saying, listen, you know, take heart, in these messages, because we need to think ahead and california hopefully will be the exporter of these technologies. >> dib bra gordon, coauthor of "two billion cars, driving towards sustainability". >> here's a look at up coming book fairs and festivals over the next few months: : the louse founding father because it really was one of the last on and fathers of our nation. >> why another bio on james monroe? >> it is more complete, or information found the three older records and archives and we're finding there is s

well, a lot of the same people who worked with us in the clinton white house are now back in the schwarzenegger term. [laughter] do you think we're watching kind of a do-over here, a chance for some of these folks to advance the policies that may have gotten lost under clinton? >> it's a great question. yes and no. i mean, yes in the sense that, listen, on health care and this is one of the reasons -- i took some criticism during the campaign because after the 23rd debate where we heard about the difference between hillary and obama on whether or not to have an individual mandate for health care, i moderated a debate where i didn't ask about that because basically a lot of my feeling was, you know what? if either one of these two wins, they're going to end up creating something like what has become the consensus democratic health care plan over the last 15 years, and sure enough that's exactly what's happeningment -- happening. so i think there is a real sense on health care in particular this is a moment where what wasn't achieved back in '96, '95 at least is possible, the stars may be alignin

governor schwarzenegger assured us that it would mean an explosion of new green jobs, the same promises we heard on this floor today. in california, exactly the opposite has happened. we lost so many jobs that the economic forecast is now using the d word, depression, to describe california's job market. mr. speaker, the cap and trade bill proposes what amounts to endlessly increasing taxes on any enterprises that produce carbon dioxide or other so-called greenhouse gas. we need to understand exactly what that means. it has profound implications for agriculture, construction, cargo and passenger transportation, energy production, baking and brewing, all of which produce enormous quantities of this compound. in fact, every human being produces 2.2 pounds carbon dioxide every day just by breathing. applying it to the economy designed to radically constrict co-2 means radically constricting the economy. and this brings us to the fine print of the matter. if we look back at the hoover administration and how it turned the depression of 1929 into the depression of the 1950's, they looked to t

host: and governor schwarzenegger saying he wants to close sanquenten. guest: it's related to the question of property that the state owns. the state owns very expensive properties and i don't believe that the government should be in the business of keeping expensive property. and if some property has a higher value being sold and then we can replace what that property does for us in a cheaper way so the taxpayers get the benefit, we should do that. so i'm certainly a part of and supportive of surplus properties being sold here in the state of california. government should not be a collector of properties. we should be giving services to taxpayers. host: steve, the last call, good morning. caller: good morning. identify got a couple of questions -- i've got a couple of questions. why doesn't the governor go ahead and allow to get the oil out of california? i mean, he doesn't have to do any more drilling or anything else. he can do with the wuvens offshore. another question is why are you