i'm listening to shelby and gregg and terrific three-market reform. believe it. anyway, we must move on. >> thanks for joining us, everyone. >>> bank of america wanting a new loan move modification program. >>> lawmakers holding hearings to decide what to do about china's currency policy. we'll tell you if forcing china could trigger a trade war. >>> welcome back. bank of america is taking a bold step to stop the bleeding on underwater loan and writing down principal is the first step instead of a final result. diana olick joins us from washington with more. >> bfa is confirming they will target subprime option arms where the loan is worth more than the value of the home for this program. no 30-year fixed involved. part of the new settlement with the state of massachusetts that b of a will apply. the loans must also meet the criteria for the government's home modification program. now, the loans must have a principal balance of at least 120% of the value of the home and borrowers must be 60 plus days delinquent and it requires borrowers to earn the principal forg

i will turn to my friend, dick shelby. >> thank you, mr. chairman.an dodd and i have worked and known each other for the last 30 years. we have been working to achieve a broad bipartisan agreement on how to reform our financial regulatory structure. although it has been a difficult endeavor, both the chairman and i have worked toigently to find middle fail. we believe that our regulatory structure needed to be modernized and streamlined. we agreed that the scope of the federal reserve's authority should be closely examined and that consumer protections needed to be strengthened. finally we agreed on the need to increase transparency, standardization, and competition. these broad areas of agreement were and i believe remain the foundation of bipartisan legislation. unfortunately such legislation continues to elude us today. however, that does not mean that an agreement is out of reach. the chairman's latest proposal contains a number of positive steps forward and could form the foundation for broad, bipartisan agreement. therefore i do not view today'

we'll talk to senator shelby at 8:35 eastern time. things change day-to-day. >> his letter is pretty strife, but if he's willing to make compromise, we'll see what happens. >>> this is the final hurdle, it cleared late last night. democrats approved a package of fixes that approved better benefits and low income housing for middle class familiars. the president is set to sign the fix-it bill early next week. >>> aimed at curbing the rate of foreclosures, it's the second initiatives announced in as many months to require lenders to lower payments for jobless workers. it will lower some principal debt for borrowers who owe more than their house is worth. a lot of these banks are taking the bull by the horn, b of a saying that we're going to work on the principal part ourselves. >> i'm surprised you're not hearing more outrage. this is kind of what started the whole tea party issue. rick on the floor saying, why should they be allowed to pay down their mortgages when they were using their homes like piggy banks. i'm surprised we haven't

senator shelby, thank you for being with us. you have said that you and senator dodd are concept ally in agreement on i think 85 to 90% of the bill? do you think you'll eventually be able to sign on completely. >> i hope we will, judy. of course, when i say we're concept ally 85-90%, that doesn't mean that we've agreed on every word or every phrase. it has to be worked out. but we continue to talk. i think from too big to fail to derivatives, even a consumer finance products agency , i don't believe we're that far apart. we've got to tweak a few things. we can do this. i believe if the democrats and senator dodd really want a bill, we will more than meet them halfway. >> woodruff: what are the main things that are keeping you from agreement right now? >> well, a lot of things are just basically ... have not been worked out like we're still negotiating the language of derivatives. we're still looking at some of the language that's been proposed by senator dodd on "too big to fail" because we want to make sure that nothing is too

a lot of academic historians who do secretly go home at night without telling anyone and the read shelby foote or david mccullough or barbara tuchman and they don't like to admit by steven paul does this. so the hostility that exists between the professional academic historians and professional popular historians is kind of contrived. it shouldn't exist. there's a place for narrative history in the university's perhaps as a multidisciplinary approach you can get a major narrative of history that would be english department as a mixed major something like that. i think there's a place for it and i think the hostility that exists is unfortunate and there is a place for all kind of history and i think also the history as we know what is going to die as a discipline unless we do inject life into it by having a greater primacy of narrative history but in the overall academy of history. but that is just kind of my own little private theory. i don't know if you guys see that we were not. >> there are two things all of us who write history have to keep in mind. the first thing is we are not find

senator shelby sent a letter to timothy geithner saying that the bill drafted by democrat chris dodd basically falls too short. he said it fails to end the problem of too big to fail, exposes taxpayers and shelby says there is still room for a bipartisan compromise. also, the white house unveils a new round of housing aid today. as president obama is really under increasing political pressure to help struggling ohm owners and send the tide of closure. it provides incentives to eliminate debt for borrowers who owe more on their house than their house is worth. the program used the remaining $7 billion t.a.r.p. funds. >>> finally, for those of you with teenage daughters or a younger audience, tell them to pay attention to this. "twilight" the vampire heart trob reportedly has his own wax figure in london. fans have been queueing to get close to the figure. some saying he was so real, they couldn't try to resist kissing him, nicole. look, i haven't even going to see "avatar." >> you have a little experience at being a wax statue, don't you? >> we do. i don't know. do we have that tape?

richard shelby says the air force competition is a sham. so in protest he did something drastic. he blocked most of president obama's nominees to an array of federal agencies that have nothing to do with his issue. blanket hold. nearly 50 nominees. >> 40 something. that's right. >> reporter: that's pretty extreme. why did you do that? >> i did it to get the attention of the administration. >> reporter: and did he ever. he made headlines and became a symbol of gridlock. but in his first tv interview on the subject he makes no apologies. what it sounds like you were trying to do, very upfront about it, is put money, put jobs back in your state of alabama. >> well, ultimately i'm a senator from alabama, but i wanted to make sure there was fairness. if there's fairness the jobs will go there. >> reporter: shelby eventually lifted hold on all but three nominees for senior air force positions. pentagon spokesman geoff morrell tells cnn, without the highly qualified professionals we're not firing on all sill zers. they're leveraged? >> that's part of the life up here. >> reporter: it is

the great civil war historian shelby foote. he and his son -- well, his son and i were friends.huge. the names in the south are rather strange and we were in a rock band together and we were in a room that may or may not have been full of smoke basically cranking up the hendrick to prevent shelby from finish his 6,000 trilogy on the civil war and he would say huge turn that racket down. i'm working on apomatic. and i was like right and he really gave me some very, very great ideas about what narrative history can aspire to be. >> discussing fast felonies on national television is usually not a good idea, hampton. [laughter] >> i said may or may not have been full of smoke. >> yes, sir. there's a custer book out there entitled "glory hunter." could you paul and jim, comment on "glory hunter"? >> it was written by frederick who's a novelist. that was the era in the '30s -- a lot of -- what's the phrase, paul -- >> the debunkers. >> that's it. there was a lot of debunking going on. and custer's wife libby who outlived him by 50-something years. she died in 1933 believe it or not li

senator shelby told us last night there is a chance there might be an end to too big to fail. could you just give me a quick one on that? >> has to be an end to too big to fail. and i think senator corker and senator warner came up with a good scenario and template to do that. unfortunately, it wasn't fully put into the dodd draft. but i think before we get this bill to the floor, there will an agreement hopefully between senator shelby, dodd, corker and warner to do just that. >> that would be the best possible reform. that would come out of right field, and i think investors would love to see that. senator judd gregg of new hampshire, thank you ever so much. >> thank you, larry. >>> coming up on "the kudlow report," existing home sales down again in february. that makes three months in a row. rest of the economy may be getting better. housing is certainly not. how big a problem is this? steven meister and howard glazer will explain to us why federal policies are failing in the housing market, and maybe making matters worse. we'll be right back. too big to fail may be going d

shelby. >> no. >> the boat is 13 eyes, 10 opposed.s 13 ayes, 10 opposed. the measure is passed. >> i will be happy to stay anyone would like to make any additional comments. is there anybody else who would like to be heard? we have a few minutes. many members want to be heard? senator corker, no? the corker rule? if not, thank all members. the committee will stand adjourned. >> coming up later tonight here on c-span, arizona senator john mccain, who is running for his fifth term, holds a campaign rally with former alaskan governor sarah palin. that is at 8:00 p.m. here on c- span. today, antonin scalia and steven briar speak on the constitution. is it a living document? >> do not pretend this is a flexible system. on the contrary, it is producing what the constitution will produce, and that is rigidity. we have to deal with an organization -- we have to be an organization that is capable passing laws in accordance with the powers given to us by the constitution of the united states, which is the whole point of the constitution. [capti

just last month, another republican, richard shelby, employed a similar tactic. but that only held up a few dozen presidential appointments. >> when the victims in the middle of the debate are unemployed people, i don't think that's fair. >> reporter: and republicans blame democrats for not bringing up the bell much sooner. both sides are working together to try to restore benefits over the next two weeks, and by the way, michelle, bunning is not running for re-election. back to you. >> tara mergener in washington. thanks. >>> just ahead on the "morning news," the u.s. postal service proposes some big changes. >>> plus, jay leno gets back in the saddle as host of the tonight show. but first, katie couric has a preview of the "cbs evening news." >>> in a city where hundreds of thousands live in poverty, one surgeon is always on call. the incredible story of how he found his true passion. it's "the american spirit" tonight only on the "cbs evening news". (announcer) powering that fan is one little battery... and if you think all batteries are the same... consider t

>> probably all of them will, including the shelby county sheriff, who we just mentioned.aw. before the law enforcement agencies had the option of destroying the guns, understand the new law, they can only sell them if they are unsafe or inoperable. they have to sell or trade the rest of them. you will see a lot of confiscated guns, at least in tennessee, being sold to gun dealers. >> thank you, brian. >>> they're bringing the tea party to capitol hill, the many unusual ways of opponents of health care reform are letting congress know how they feel. >>> jack cafferty will be back with your thoughts on how the catholic church should address the latest sex scandal in europe. >>> let's get right back to jack for "the cafferty file." jack? >> the question this hour, is how should the catholic hitch address the child abuse claims that are currently sweeping across europe? kathleen in oak park, illinois, writes, addressing child abuse claims will be futile until the catholic church admits that celibacy is at the root of this terrible problem. i've given up hope it ever will, and

-- shelby? mr. crapo? >> no. >> mr. vedder? mr. joe hand? mrs. hutchison? >> no by proxy. >> the vote is 13 ayes. 10 opposed. the measure is passed. >> let me thank my colleagues. if any members would like to make opening comments. senator schumer? i would be happy to do that. in the morning if you would like, i would be happy to do it then. if anyone else would like to be heard, we have got a few minutes. any members want to be heard bowman -- to be heard? senator corker bowma? anyone else? heard tonight. >> anything else? if not, i thank all the members. the committee will stand ad [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> secretary of state hillary clinton urged israel to make concessions in the peace process. her remarks are next. then we will hear from the israeli prime minister, and later, vice president joe biden on the economic stimulus package. tomorrow morning, we will get some historical perspective on the passage of the health care bill. george washington professor edward

protection agency. >> can that -- >> i don't know the degree to which we have looked at what senator shelbyy evaluate that, but our test and the president's test is to ensure strong independence for consumer financial protection. >> even without commenting specifically on his suggestion of the fdic, the crux of the debate that might lead to financial regulation bill getting through is will the white house allow or support this being in another agency all? >> i don't think the address is the seminal test for this proposal. i think we have to determine whether or not the proposal put forward has sufficient independent -- is sufficiently independent. can it sufficiently make the decisions it needs to do and affect consumer financial policy in a way that helps consumers, not just the development of loans and the easy availability of credit cards that in many ways penalize consumers. >> the president told diane sawyer that not having health care negotiations been more public was a mistake because he campaigned on process just as he campaigned on the substance of health care reform. i'm wondering

by the way, dick shelby, doug gray, were in discussions in a way that really do work for us. we made offer, and it was a accepted. we were down two issues i promise none of you ever dreamed of in your life. we were 20 rungs in treasury working through. if there is a conflict and the judgment, and how does that all work out? it got down to judicial issues. that is the fine tuning we got through as a consumer, but the major concept absolutely agreed to. >> what about independent ability of consumer agency to conduct compliancy? >> they had to go in and joint examination, which is always what we said, financial and consumer joined together -- >> conducted at the regulatory level? >> conducted at the regulatory level. what we are concerned about is that enforcement, and i think that is an area we were able to reach each other's accommodation. we accommodated on the democratic side issues, and we had to ensure enforcement would not be part of this entity. i think i have answered that. let me say, i am going to come clean on this. i think the rearranging of deck chairs is one of th

the poster child for this activity has been senator shelby in recent months, who up until about three weeks ago had a hold on every single one of the administration's appointees hoping that he would somehow influence their decision over buying an air force tanker plan that would be made in his district. and i think it's sort of funny, sort of aggravating. but in the end you have literally of hundreds of important positions that cross the government that are not filled, the cree people working there cannot get the information from the higher ups in the executive branch because you have got a break in filming, of communication with the policy people and the implement terse in the government. and as a result, you've got more waste and fraud and abuse and ineffective government. and that is a cost that we pay for not the big major issues but just a minor day-to-day functioning of the senate in ways that do not make sense that put the rights and prerogatives of individual senators above the functioning of the institution and above the wellbeing of the government. and i think that needs to

senator shelby of alabama, the ranking republican made those suggestions. those are different from what existed in november. it's a stronger provision. it makes more sense. working with senator corker and senator warner, we have included his and senator warner's ideas with respect to the powers of the council to act as an early warning signal in the establishment of a new office of financial research at the treasury department to standardize, collect, and analyze financial data to inform the work of the council. it's a very worthwhile suggestion. we've also taken senator corker and senator warner's ideas on ending, as i said, too big to tail. we have a process in place for placing financial -- failing financial companies into receivership and liquidating them unless they can go into bankruptcy. under senator shelby's request we have this available for any failing financial firm, not just those previously subject to heightened regulation. the fed's emergency lending authority has also been changed. at senator shelby's request we have significantly cut back o

senator shelby and i have talked and see what ideas they bring to the fable.tend to get a strong, financial reform package. we'll end too big to fail and never again our american taxpayer will be asked to bail out a failing financial institution because they have an implicit guarantee from the federal government and strong consumer protection agency so that people can count on someone watching out for their interests on mortgages and credit cards and other financial activities. we want to have that systemic risk, council, so we have a good radar system to pick up problems and threaten the entire financial system. strong statements and regulations with dealing on derivatives that could put our system at risk. a lot more in these proposals. barney and i are going to work very closely in the coming days to harmonize where we can and minimize a conference when it occurs, if necessary. i'm confident we can get a bill. i think the american people expect us to address the largest, most significant financial crisis since the great depression caused by a collapse in ou

i know senator shelby truly wants a bill.ator dodd expressed strong feelings towards wanting a real bipartisan support bill, an 80-vote bill and i want the same. i think we'll get there. i really do. >> joe? >> they can't ram this one through, right? you'd need 60, right? >> well, you do need 60, but you've got -- you do need 60. it's possible, though, you pick up two or three folks in a tough race or whatever. but i don't think that's where senator dodd wants to be. >> joe, do you remember when senator corker came on, it must have been in november? >> yeah, 90% that health care would go. >> we asked him the odds of the health care bill. >> that was before scott brown and then -- >> yep. >> at the time, we're all naive and we thought that scott brown meant it wouldn't go through, when actually, it meant it couldn't get any worse, so they're going to vote for it. i mean, they had nothing to lose at that point, senator. >> are the odds as good for financial reform, as you said they were for health care? >> 90%, absolutely. >> r

i've had some very positive initial conversations with richard shelby. the ranking republican of the banking committee. bob corker has been working on these matters. i don't think the republicans who do not want a just say no policy when it comes to major legislative initiatives, that like to be part of this debate and offer constructive ideas. i am much more optimistic, in light of what happened on health care. the outcome there has strengthened our hands and in reaching out to people who want to be part of the solution. [inaudible] >> i'm not done that yet. the last few days had been tied up with health care but i am clearly entered it in hearing what republicans and democrats on the committee have to say and becoming part of the solution so that we can have a strong bill. i am determined to get a strong bill. exactly what barney said, we are going in too big to fail and we're going have systemic risk and deal with exotic ever -- derivatives. we're going have a an agency in the bill. this is all going to be part of the bill that the president will have

that comes from a student named shelby. about how she is the daughter of a father who has been sick half his life. the health care plan is a milestone for her. she goes on to say, the only people that believe it is a mistake are those who aren't ill or who could afford great insurance. amoment ago, alina mentioned debt. that's what carrie's concern is. she says, we should be more concerned what this is going to do to the national debt. if we increase that, what are the government officials leaving us with when it is our turn to make a difference. we did have a lot of students come out very strongly on both sides of this. >> do you know what the age range is? >> middle and high school, mostly. we do have college students that watch and people in a military basis around the world. >> they are incredibly astute. >> it surprises us. they are brilliant. they said they had trouble reconciling the fact that congress could do something without popular support. there were others who were saying, look, we are glad we are going to be

. >> there's still room for negotiations between republicans like bob corker, richard shelby, and chris dodd and other democrats on the floor, but the one thing that both sides seem to agree on now is that financial regulation reform is going to happen. the only question is does it happen with just a few republican votes or a whole lot of them, larry? >> thank you very much. by the way, i want to say the chamber of commerce is a slaver negative force on this. absolutely negative and wrong in my humble opinion. let's talk to robert albertson, one of the best banking bankers and strategists i know. number one, you heard barney frank. this was a nice turn of the phrase. their bill, he says, is beth panels for too big to fail big banks. i like that. i have supported the dodd approach. i know the language may not be 100%, but the language looks pretty tight to me. the end of too big to fail bailout nation. what is your take? >> there's a lot in that bill, as you know. i think we have a problem with too big to fail. i think the perception will be we have ended it, and everyone will be happy u

you heard dick shelby earlier this morning say that he thinks it's about 85 or 90% agreement on the bill that i've proposed. by democratic colleagues have issued very strong statements in support of it. the white house. barney frank has. nancy pelosi has. i wouldn't judge this by the fact that i stood alone. this was not a bill i drafted on my own. i worked very closely with my colleagues in doing this. >> woodruff: what do you say to senator corker's charge though that this is all driven by health care. he said you're a victim of the process. >> i appreciate that. >> woodruff: and the timing of health care. >> bob corker has been a good partner. in fact all of the sections-- there are 11 titles to this bill. on nine of them they're either a total agreement or substantial agreement. the one where there's almost total agreement is on the systemic risk council as well as on "too big to fail." bob corker and mark warner did a tremendous job in crafting over many many weeks the proposals included in those two sections as did judd gregg, jack reed and charles schumer. bob corker talking... cl

. >> and senator shelby, the ranking republican on the senate banking committee, believes the two sidesre can reach a deal on financial regulation. he was on "squawk box," in case you missed it, 15 minutes ago. >> that nothing is too big to fail, that there's nothing where if a company, a bank, if they belly up, they're going to be resolved, they're going to be gone. and the creditors are going to be gone and the parties are going to be gone. we do not ever want to go back to where we were 18 months ago. >> all right, let's check the futures right now. they are up 3.20. fair value minus 1.5. so, 4.70, roughly, above fair value, good for 35, 40 points on the dow at the open. the european markets are down across the board. almost 0.25%, generally. guy johnson, what's going on? >> mark, you were just getting upset about the idea that those people who behave responsibly ultimately end up paying for those who have not been paying responsibly and that is writ large across europe today. this greek solution really goes to the heart of that very, very issue. european markets are down. greece is

richard shelby, the ranking republican is using the fdic. the administration is more inclined to house that with treasury if it's want going to be a stand alone agency. >> probably some time next week the come they will mark this thing up in two weeks and we expect it to go to the senate floor and then things will percolate because the action within the senate banking committee is not going to be the last word on this. a long way to go, larry. >> so, john, in terms of insightful news analysis who's going to win this? you mentioned treasury. you mentioned stand alone and you mentioned the fed. what are you betting on? >> interesting question, larry. at some level the white house and chris dodd in particular, since as you know, he's retiring from the senate, they just want to get a bill. how do we get republicans and make republicans cooperate or induce a larger number of republicans to cooperate? and so they'll get some pushback from the left if the regulator is made too week in that process, so i would bet that the thing ends up at treasury.

richard shelby has worked with us on a number of bills. i think he wants to work on this one, too. >> thank you for your time and congratulations on this historic health care victory. pass on my congratulations to all the committee staff and the senate floor staff involved in getting that through the senate. >> that is a true senate staffer that made that comment. i'll do it as well. thanks, lawrence. >>> coming up, the final front in the health care fight. the reconciliation fix is being debated in the senate at this hour. can the democrats beat back every republican challenge to change the bill? >>> and sarah palin's latest tweet. urging followers to reload on the health care fight. reload what, sarah? any coincidence that in her list of house democrats to target she actually uses cross-hairs? she needs: omnaris. (troops) omnaris! to the nose. (general) omnaris works differently than many other allergy medications. omnaris fights nasal allergy symptoms that occur from allergic inflammation... relieve those symptoms with omnaris. side eff

there's been a lo of bipartisan corker, senator shelby, senator dodd and others.ll of a sudden, under pressure i believe from president obama and from his left flank, chris dodd said no more negotiations to find a bipartisan common cause. we're going to ram this through without republican participation. there is a pattern here. and i think they're going to pay a tremendous cost. >> we heard from -- >> chris dodd actually said, i want to continue to work with corker and other senators. he called them over to his home. he worked out details on task forces on bipartisan basis. jack reid is working with the republican party. >> it's not going to make it through the process. >> one of the few republicans who has been working on a variety of issues with the president and with democrats, lindsey graham. and he's made no bones about it. he believes going through with the process, the reconciliation process, is going to destroy his efforts to work on health care -- on immigration, on the guantanamo issue. it's going to destroy it all. sam? >> it's not going to. some republ

you know, senator shelby holding up all of the president's appointments.ator bunning doing what he did, tying up the floor of the senate. the republicans walking away from their own debt reduction... their debt commission proposal... >> rose: the bipartisan commission on debt. >> because the president endorsed it. seven of the co-sponsors who were republican walked away and killed the bill. those are the kinds of things that frustrate me and i think they frustrate the american people. >> rose: on this historic day that he signed this, did it take a toll in any way as far as you can see? when you look at the presidency, you look at your goals, you look at what you want accomplished. not the 2010 election but the idea of what you came here to do. did that effort because of the fight for health care reform suffer? >> i think that at the end of the day, charlie... >> rose: was there a toll? >> yes, we expended some energy and some capital. but the good that it will do is so enormous and ultimate they strengthens and weakens the ability to take on problems to p

as many people are aware, senator shelby and i, the ranking member, have been working together sinceis committee, and i am grateful to him for his efforts. he's been involved with this the debate significantly. i want to thank bob corker, the senator from tennessee, a new member of this chamber, but has performed a tremendous task of trying to sit down and work out the differences and they are complex and they are difficult, but nonetheless, he has rolled up his sleeves and demonstrated a level of maturity and interest far beyond his years of service here. all of us, and i certainly want to thank him publicly as well for his efforts and the efforts of his staff to get there. jack reed of rhode island, chuck schumer, mark warner, have taken on particular heavy lifts, and i'll talk about them in a minute as i discuss what's going on, along with judd gregg, mike crapo of idaho as well. there are a lot of people involved in this, mr. president, as we go forward and i would be remiss if i didn't acknowledge their hard work and that of their staffs over the many months. we're still not the

bill i will present today will reflect the effort and ideas of my friends and colleagues, senator shelby of alabama and many other members of our committee, republicans and democrats. i want that my committee members, all of them for their hard work in these past many months, but our bill must go forward. the legislation i am offering today is comprehensive in its scope because the crisis it aims to solve is comprehensive in its scope has all the tragedy of its consequences. we must restore confidence in our economy, accountability to our markets, and stability to our middle-class. this is not to punish the financial services industry. i know how am angry people are at the mismanagement, but that is not the way to solve these problems. this legislation has three main goals. first, we must plug the gap and eliminate inefficiencies that allow this crisis to happen in the first place and still exist today. second, we must look to the windshield. there will be shocks to our system in the future, and we need an early warning system that when the next crisis of merges, we are prepared to do wi

first, talks broke down with senator shelby leaving the process, and now center corker -- senator corker is going to continue to talk to senator dodd. senator dodd is going to put out a piece of legislation that can be marked up prior to the upcoming recess so that we can move this process forward. our strong hope is that instituting rules for the road, insuring that we do not face the type of crisis we did a few years ago, insuring that we do not have protection for car melts against payday lending. those are all important to the president on a substance level and important to the american people. the president will continue to work as senator dodd said he would on getting the support necessary to get this through capitol hill. i don't think anybody wants to leave congress this year, more than two years after the economic collapse, without putting into effect new rules that would prevent the same type of reckless activities that got us in the mess to begin with. i don't think people want to leave congress of doubt that having been done. >> what does the fact that this has broken down me

is that -- senator shelby suggested it should be housed in the fdic. >> there has to be strong independentdependent authority to do what it needs to do. that will be the test we will look for as this legislation moves forward. the president's -- a president is very serious about this proposal. if you look back over the course of what has happened as a result of and what may have caused a good portion of our financial downturn, subprime lending, the easy availability of creditçó cards, these are things that should come under greater per view in a consumer financial protection agency. >> can that -- >> i don't know the degree to which we have looked at what senator shelby has discussed. to my understanding, at some point this week we are likely to see legislation unveiled. we will certainly evaluate that, but our test and the president's test is to ensure strong independence for consumer financial protection. >> even without commenting specifically on his suggestion of the fdic, the crux of the debate that might lead to financial regulation bill getting through is will the white house allow

i have had positive initial conversations with richard shelby, the ranking republican on the banking committee, and barred corker -- and bob corker has wanted to work on this. there are republicans in the senate who want to be part of this debate and offer constructive ideas to this proposal. i am more optimistic, in light of what happened in health care. the outcome has strengthened our aim in reaching out to people who want to be part of the solution. >> are the republicans outside of your committee who have committed? >> i have not done that, but i am interested in hearing what other republicans and democrats outside of the committee have to suggest, and offering to become part of this effort. what i am determined to do is get a strong bill. we are going to end too big to fail. we're going to have systemic risk, we're going to deal with consumer protection. these are all going to be part of that bill that the president will have on his bill -- have on his desk for a signature. we look and the purchase a patient who want to help craft this. the door has been open in the past and st

or one senator to hold up legislation, we saw it this past week, we saw it before with senator@m÷ shelbyart of government. congress as a whole is not an efficient part of government, shouldn't be, and the senate is the least efficient. i think you could make a good argument that it is so inefficient that it prohibits normal circumstances. even when you have, as the democrats had for years, 60 votes, it is difficult to get things done. you can go the route that you just suggested, steve, which is changing the filibuster rule. if you really want to talk about change, then you need to talk about the natureukq of the sena two senators per state. when thek4p founders set that u the largest state had about 2 1/2 times the population of the smallest state. today that ratio is 70-1. california has 70 times the population of wyoming. when you add up all the small states together, you find 17% of the american public elects 51, a majority, of the united states senate. we know 41 senators can actually run the senate. 11% of the american public elects 341 senators. now, the founders were concerned ab

let me share some opening comments and i will turn to my colleague and friend dick shelby to make any opening comments he might have. by then, hopefully we will have a working corymb to proceed with motions. with that in mind, for three years, as we are aware, to win back to the first meetings in this. broom, home foreclosures. -- the facts are obvious.

also endorse something senator shelby said to commend you for your engagement. the history of the politics of banking in the united states is one fraught with powerful crosscurrents. it's unique going around the economy the way the political system, the way the government interacts with the banking system is unparalleled. it's widely recognized banking is a powerful engine for growth yet inevitable crosscurrents emerge. we are at a critical time in that history the politics of banking in america and i commend you for your engagement and devotion and commitment to the efforts to insure a sensible and healthy outcome for the american economy. >> i know you want to join me in thanking them for being here and being candid with us this morning. [applause] >> the senate banking committee approved legislation today to overhaul the nation's financial regulatory system by 13-10 vote along party lines. the bill would establish a durell inside the federal reserve to write and enforce rules to protect consumers and the council of regulators would be set up to a survey threa

. >> shelby county 911. >> yeah, we got a fire down here on golden rod court. oh, my god.s on fire. >> reporter: aden was saved without a scratch. his father was out of town at the time of the fire. >> she sacrificed her life to save my son. that's amazing. she's an angel. how do you repay somebody for saving your child? >> reporter: aden just wants to be with his nanny again. >> she saved me from the fire. i just miss her so much. i love her. >> the very brave allison is in her hospital room along with 5-year-old aden haas and his forth, j.b. good morning to you guys. first, let's talk to you about how you're doing, allison. you suffered pretty severe burns. is that right? >> that's correct. i'm doing well. i'm sorry? >> how widespread are your burns? >> they're on the bottoms of both of my feet and on the bottom of my hand right here. a minor ones on this hand. >> and you told us in the tape we just saw that you heard this boom and you leapt out of bed. when you ran upstairs and went into the hallway outside of aden's room, what did you see? >> i just saw flames all down

by the way, dick shelby, judd gregg, mcconnell, others were in discussion that to make that in a way that worked for all of us, we made the offer and it was accepted. we were down to issues that i promise you and you never dreamed of in your life. we were 20 runs down in to four -- in treasury, working on whether there is a conflict and there is a judgment and how does it work out? it got down to judicial issues. that is the fine-tuning it got into on consumers. the major concept was absolutely agreed to. >> what about the ability of the consumer agency to conduct [inaudible] >> they had to go win on a joint examination, which is what they said. a joint examination -- conducted at the regulatory level. it was a huge win, but what we are concerned about is enforcement. that's an area where we were able to reach accommodation and we accommodated on the democratic side, the issues where we had to sure -- were we had to ensure enforcement would not be part of the round. i think the rearranging -- i'm going to come clean on this -- the rearranging of the deck chairs is one of the sillie

as many people are aware, senator shelby and i, the ranking member, have been working together since i have been chair on this committee, and i am grateful to him for his efforts. he's been involved with this the debate significantly. i want to thank bob corker, the senator from tennessee, a new member of this chamber, but has performed a tremendous task of trying to sit down and work out the differences and they are complex and they are difficult, but nonetheless, he has rolled up his sleeves and demonstrated a level of maturity and interest far beyond his years of service here. all of us, and i certainly want to thank him publicly as well for his efforts and the efforts of his staff to get there. jack reed of rhode island, chuck schumer, mark warner, have taken on particular heavy lifts, and i'll talk about them in a minute as i discuss what's going on, along with judd gregg, mike crapo of idaho as well. there are a lot of people involved in this, mr. president, as we go forward and i would be remiss if i didn't acknowledge their hard work and that of their staffs over the many mon

the poster child for this activity has been senator shelby in recent months who up until about three weeks ago had a hold on every single one of the administration appointees, hoping that he would somehow influence their decision over buying an air force tanker plane that will be made in his district. it is sort of funny and a sort of aggravating. in the end, you have literally hundreds of important decisions across the government that are un billet. in the career people that are working cannot get the information. you have a break in the link of communication. as a result, you have more waste and fraud and abuse in the government. that is a cost that we pay for not the major issues before minored day-to-day functions of the senate. they are ways that do not make sense. i think it needs to change. i have two suggestions with respect to that event i do not think to any great damage to the nature of this country. one is to simply put the limitation on how long it takes to consider an appropriation bill. i generally think most of the bill should take more than two or three days. i would

richard shelby who held up something like seven obama appointments because he was not getting enoughk in alabama. he has ranted against budget deficits. these guys and gals say one thing and do another thing. the hypocrisy is blatant. the other point is transparency point it is a good thing but it has led to more gridlock. things like c-span. the fact that the nebraska deal that was cut for ben nelson was instantly recognizable and out there on the internet. the average american is far more aware of this closed door meetings and it has made it more difficult to get things done. >> thank you. >> we started to talk about something out in the hall. maybe you could comment. we are going to appoint governors. the of vetting them inside. the board delayed because of ben bernanke in the financial reform bill. could this become an issue? the scrutiny of what to say about bond vigilantes' and deficit being what they are? >> i think that is a real loss because you are now down to only one macro economist on the fed board, ben bernanke. they have to get another one or two macro economists. i di

the clerk: senators dodd, kerry, lieberman, menendez, shelby, bennett of utah and lugar. mr.fman: madam president, i yield the floor. a senator: madam president? i ask consent that republican senators be permitted to engage in a croix. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. alexander: i thank the chair. madam president, the senator from arizona and i and senator barrasso who will be here in a few minutes had the privilege of being invited by the president to a lengthy health care summit not a couple of weeks ago. it was at the blair house, an historic location right across from the white house. over the seven 1/2-hour discussion, there were some discuss differences of opinion. in fact, my friend, the majority leader, said lamar, you're not entitled to your facts, and i think he's right about that. we want to use real facts. but the american people once again seem to have understood the real facts. in the "wall street journal" yesterday, march 10, there was an article by scott rasmussen and doug schoen. mr. rasmussen is an independent pollster. mr. schoen was president

host: shelby township, michigan. len on the democrat line. caller: i have a few things going through my mind this morning. one of the things is the fact that we have the media that now seems to be a fourth branch of government. it permeates itself through the political process and leans too far to the left. even in the 2006 alexian's -- elections, getting to where they are today in congress and in the house, it seems the republican party polices itself when we ha. when we had that republican playing footsie, it came down pretty fast and the republican party disconnected themselves from that individual. you do not have that in the democratic party. that is why charlie rangel has lasted as long as he passed. i think there is so much going on. you do not really have the journalists anymore. i know there are other people who want to get on . have a great day. guest: i doubt very much that the democratic leadership believes the press is on its side. for what it is worth, my impression, and i am no specialist in the media, is that what television s

on the other side, you see richard shelby of alabama who held up something like 70 obama appointmentscause he wasn't getting enough pork in alabama. and he's been one who has been ranting against budget deficits. these guys and gals say one thing and do another on the deficit. and the hypocrisy. it's led to more gridlock and more partisanship. things like c-span. the fact that the nebraska deal that was cut for ben nelson was instantly recognizable and out there on the internet. the average american is far more aware of all of these closed door meetings and it's made it more difficult to get things done. >> thanks, craig. turn to dave. why don't you go ahead? >> thank you. greg, we started to talk about something in the hall. we're going to appoint three governors, they're vetting them inside now, they delayed because of bernanke, they're delaying because of the financial reform bill. could this become an issue, the scrutiny given what you say about bond vigilantes? >> i think losing don is a real loss, you're down to one macroeconomist on the board, ben bernanke, and they have to get