not to return to the persian gulf and ironically the stenis strike group rescued the fishermen.creates an opening and shows america is not always the aggressor and that undercuts the iranian regime propaganda. bret? >> bret: thank you. >> you're welcome. >> bret: republicans are not the only ones putting up a challenge to president obama. that is later in the grapevine. up next, the challenge for republicans. convince small business people in new hampshire they can fix the economy. >> bret: now back to the new hampshire primary, and how the economy in general and small businesses in particular, fit in. here is correspondent molly line in manchester. >> reporter: the planet marshmallow cafe, nestled in a side street off the manchester main drag is among new hampshire's newest small businesses. heather cox and christie butler quit their full-time job last year to risk it all on their dream. >> very scary. i left a 12-year job with a great company that i loved. >> they create and sell gourmet marshmallows. >> coconut was the first flavor we did. >> last month they expanded, opening

ironically today's rescue operation was led by the aircraft carrier stenis. three days ago the iranian military threatened to attack the stenis if it attempted to return to the persian gulf. today there were no signs of animosity. these iranians showed nothing but gratitude to the american sailors, would be enemies who saved their lives. jim miklaszewski, nbc news, the pentagon. >>> across large parts of this country today the place to be was outside. in january, a huge warm weather system bringing spring fever to what's normally these dark days of winter. look at this map and realize all these red dots represent new all-time warm weather temperature records. the old records fell in 268 places yesterday. they tied records in 68 more. here's something else. it was warmer in rapid city, south dakota, than it was in miami, florida. nbc's kevin tibbles reports from sunny chicago. >> reporter: what's playing in peoria this winter? golf. >> i think people in arizona are jealous of us today. >> reporter: in chicago, more golf. tennis anyone? >> nice to be out in sho

claim the stenis didn't dare return but the lincoln and the benson on the way to the region and one is scheduled to take part in exercises inside the gulf. as they have in the past, the iranians could harass the carrier with go fast boats as it is in the channel of the two-mile hormuz. over the last two days, iran showed off ship missiles and submarines and hydrofoils to back up a claim they surely don't believe. the tankers carry one-fifth of the world's oil would be, quote, easier than drippink is a glass water. what would happen to their economies if a vital choke point in a middle east oil became a war zone? it's one of the few cards iran has to play to discourage the rest of the world tougher economic sanctions against its nuclear program. sanctions already in place are taking a toll on iran's economy. the price of oil is sent up nearly $4 a barrel so the threats may be empty, but they are not meaningless. david martin, cbs news, the pentagon. >>> on the cbs "moneywatch," stocks start off on the right foot in 2012 and some coffee lovers have to dig deeper with their daily dose

verizon.a company eager to get its hands free spectrummnd former staffer for powerful maryland congressman steny hoyer listed as a lobbyist for at & t. ahother ompany that stands to benefit if congress auctions off spectrum.23:00:28 "the sad thing is that when yyu aatually look at the amnoun t of money spoent on lobbying by individual firms, it;s millions of dolalrs, bbt in he scheee of things it's pennies"in fact, we found half a ozen cell who onceeworked for the sppcial which oversees powerful federal agency which regulates broadcasters..it's all part of a revolving door that critics saa has spun out of control.personally to be able to go and petition your but what it has turned into though is a big money operation for those whh are well money behind the troubling and growing trendbut it's also an doing business on capital hill that regulate. 12:37:27"people get frustrated, let's change thh rules of rules of advertisiig, you can't do that without free speech"influence peddling maae electorattcan't fool the public, and the fact is, the public is not conversant with most political issues, the pu

[applause] to the rest of the leadership team, steny hoyer, jim cliburn. we have an all-star team assembled and ready to get to work. i know that you have been here quite a bit. you already had to suffer through a relatively long speech from me this week. so i will not be too long. what are wanted to do first of all was say thank you. so many of you have served this country, your districts for years. through good times and through bad times. it.s face public-service does not always get the credit that it deserves. but knowing each and everyone of you personally, understanding the sacrifices that you and your family members, some are here today, make each and every day, understanding how much your heart bleeds when you see constituents who are going through a tough time and how much you want to make sure that government serves as a force for good in their lives, i just want to say thank you for everything that you do. you are putting it all on the line. inu believe in an america tha which everybody gets a fair shot and everybody does their fair share and ev

congressman steny hoyer says the president will lightly touched on themes outlined during his speech on tuesday. the private meeting comes after the campaign style tour in key battleground states. >> teenagers pleaded guilty to armed robbery. today, one admitted to killing a man at a 7-11 in august of 2010. he also pleaded guilty to killing a man at the mr. peterson in november. trials are set for later this year. >> the man accused of plotting to bomb a military recruitment center was back in court today. 22-year-old antonio martinez entered a plea in the first attempted terrorist attack. we're live at the federal courthouse downtown with more on today's proceedings. >> martinez spoke quietly and clearly as he is admitted his guilt in federal court earlier this morning. according to a plea agreement in the case, he had every intention of blowing up that armed forces recruitment facility. >> we need to do everything we can to intercept people who intend to commit hostile acts and stop them before they carry out their schemes. >> the u.s. attorney outside federal court after 22-year-o

and steny hoyer is joining us this morning and republican congressman jed he.f bipartisanship. we'll see if the two sides can agree on anything as we move post-state of the union address. i was telling you about these fascinating tapes, 45 hours of secret tapes made by john f. kennedy jr. they have been released and we're going to talk about jfk's last three months of his life with presidential historian douglas brinkley. that is all ahead this morning as "starting point" gets under fwha roughly nine minutes or so. "early start" is back right after this short break. >>> pretty shot. >> you know, i love new york, i love chicago. >> but you've got a new favorite? >> i love those people in atlanta. good morning to you. 37 degrees right now. guess what. sunny, 65 later. those folks are super nice there. >> sun rise looks beautiful, doesn't it? the halceon environment and existence in atlanta. eight minutes until the top of the hour. big changes for your kids school lunches being unveiled later this morning. we still going over that whole beef about pizza being a ve

steny hoyer was this morning. again, come and join us for breakfast any time you like. we appreciate it. >> okay. thanks a lot. >> let's get right to our panel. >> you get. you bet. my pleasure. boy, you politicians can talk and talked and talk and talk when asked a question. i get it. it's all spin. what did you think of the speech last night? >> you know, i guess thought if the president gives a good speech, it wasn't one of his best speeches but it was a good speech and he delivered it well. you know, i think at the end of the day what the country really wants is results. i think it's why you see both the president and congress' approval ratings at all time lows. >> how old are you? >> 30 years old. >> that's not so, so -- >> i haven't been here all that long. but, you know, i came here to -- >> i'm not taking any of the blame. >> 11% is not my number. >> i'm here to help solve the problems. >> truly, when you see a number like 11%, i'm curious do you say, oh, my god, this is a big, big problem? >> i go home every weekend and i know why they're frustrated. it's becau

steny hoyer.ey run not just toowin, they also run to get issues that they care about into the public sphere. sooe of them run just for ego." whatever the reason...political experts it still gives state lawmakers...more visibility...if they seek re-election.in annapolis, john rydell, fox 45 news at ten. maryland's primary election is tuesday, april third. the.../ president.../ is... asking congress.../ for... the power .../ to... scale back.../ g. government.today,.../ ááheáá... unveiled.../ his plann.. to merge.../ six... federal agencies...///,ááalláá handle ...trade and commerce..../ááheáá says.../ the move... will.../ cut back... on.../ red--tape...// ááandáá help... businesses grow. obama says: "29 the government we have is not the ggvernment we need. we live in a 21st century economy, but we've still got a government organized for the 20th ccntury." 40 40president obama ...needs congress ...to giveehim.../ the... authority... to consolidate.../ departments....//// áánormallyáá... , republican

that is what i thought i would be coming here for a not steny before you today as the next head football coach of the indianapolis colts. >> but of course he is and best of block to chuck. the pro bowl can be seen at 7:00 p.m. on wbal. tiger woods is in the abu dhabi classic. a short putt for par. he tees off around noon. h -- you can seecorey macke the swing of tiger woods. he got a guaranteed fee. i kid you not. >> does anyone get a guaranteed fee? >> really do they admit it. oe is banned.shoot is bann >> how does the naacp plan to fight for equality in maryland? >> the courage in words a navy seal had for a group of kids in baltimore -- the encouraging words. >> >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning, everybody. welcome back to 11 news today. i'm stan stovall. >> and i'm mindy basara. thank you for joining us this morning. let's talk about the weekend. >> forget about today. i have to talk about today. we have some fog and some rain and even some thunderstorms and dr. frederick county right now. a good chance for rain to start today. temperatures

[applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, i know that our members from maryland, from our whip, steny hoyer, to each and every one of our delegations, proud delegation from maryland would like to send a warm welcome to the vice president for once again joining us at our issues conference. and mr. vice president, i think you find yourself among not just friends, but we would say family here, because you have been very gracious to always accept our invitation to come and not just address the members of the house democratic caucus, but to listen and to work with us. in fact, i think most of us would say that, mr. vice president, every time we've asked you have had our back. you not only have had our back, but you've been gracious to invite others to join you, not just at the white house but in your home. with mrs. biden, to talk, not just policy, but about the things that make america tick. and for that we thank you. we thank you as well for your service. you are among the 15 or 20 longest serving u.s. senators in u.s. history. [laughter] still very young. loss of hair on their still. and as w

verizoo.a company eager to get its hands free spectrumand former staffer or powerful maryland congressman stenyfirms, it;s millions of dolalrs, but pn the scheme of things it's pennies"in fact, ww found half a dozen cell hone lobbyisss who once worked for the oversees the fccc..the powerful federal agency which regulates broadcassers..it's all part f a revolving door that critics say haa spun out of control.22:59:033it's very important, personally to be able to go and petition your government for change, but is a big money operation for those who arr well heeled and have a lot of monee"the influence of money behind the scenes a troubling and growwng trendbut it's also an accepted way of doing businnss on capital hill that ay be hard to regulate.12:37:27"people gettfrustrated, let's change the rulee of lobbying, let's change the rules of advertising, you can't do that without changing to the rules of free speech"influence peddling made more potent by a often uniformed electorate"all politicians say you can't fool the public is not converssnt with most poliiical issues, the public can be easiiy f

and steny hoyer is joining us this morning and republican congressman jed he.anship. we'll see if the two sides can agree on anything as we move post-state of the union address. i was telling you about these fascinating tapes, 45 hours of secret tapes made by john f. kennedy jr. they have been released and we're going to talk about jfk's last three months of his life with presidential historian douglas brinkley. that is all ahead this morning as "starting point" gets under fwha roughly nine minutes or so. "early start" is back right after this short break. >>> pretty shot. >> you know, i love new york, i love chicago. >> but you've got a new favorite? >> i love those people in atlanta. good morning to you. 37 degrees right now. guess what. sunny, 65 later. those folks are super nice there. >> sun rise looks beautiful, doesn't it? the halceon environment and existence in atlanta. eight minutes until the top of the hour. big changes for your kids school lunches being unveiled later this morning. we still going over that whole beef about pizza being a vegetable. y

congress will be voting on that and steny hoyer said he would not be surprised if there was unanimousport of this piece of legislation. that will happen, a legislative achievement as she heads off. and following that there will be a rare moment of bipartisanship where there will be a list of very high-profile members of congress, of the house, coming forward to speak, honoring her service. we'll be hearing from the democratic leader, nancy pelosi, the majority leader, eric cantor, steny hoyer, and congresswoman debbie wasserman shaw shultz, she will be reading the resignation letter on the house floor, and then that letter will be -- that resignation will be effective at the end of the day, so it will be quite a moment to watch this morning. that on top of this very -- that heart-stopping moment where there is barely a dry eye last night when giffords took to the house floor for the state of the union address, kyra. >> we will definitely dip in live, kate. thanks so much. >> reporter: of course. >>> straight ahead, big hits, big dreams. >> they're going to get hit. that was my life. >

stenis leaving the persian gulf through the strait of hormuz. iran warned the u.s.the warship should not return. the peace process in afghanistan continues to revolve around talks with the taliban. chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge reports on reaction today from some of the interested parties. >> well, the afghan government of hamid karzai issued a statement, publicly between the u.s. and taliban, the state department offered no specifics. >> i think what you see in karzai's statement is karzai welcoming an american role in afghan led process. >> no comment either on the possible transfer to the afghan authorities of senior taliban leaders in u.s. custody. >> no decisions have been made with regard to any ruling. >> administration officials would not confirm or deny report that taliban seeks relief of five men held at guantanamo bay in return for negotiating peace settlement. according with guantanamo, striking connection between the taliban leaders and al-qaeda. nori fought alongside al-qaeda as taliban military general. another was deputy ministe

and steny lawyer has heard me say this over the past three years.nk, nancy, i think you're going to go down as one of the most significant speakers in the history of the united states of america. [applause] your several years stand is going to extend. you are the most effective people i have ever dealt with. i knew that i have time, but until i saw that a close, there is not a single, solitary thing on our agenda that would have gotten done without your leadership. i mean that sincerely. and by the way, all of you, and a lot of people who are not here today, i think there are over 75 house races in this cycle. a lot of people who are not here should be here. it was a really tough year. but it was because they took some really, really tough votes. and that old expression, approve of the pudding is in the eating? the proof of the pudding is being cleared to the american people. those decisions you made, the risks you took, the losses we incurred, really did save this country, and the american people are beginning to figure out. the american people are

[applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, i know that our members from maryland, steny hoyer tote each andvery proud member of our delegation would like to extend a warm welcome to the vice president for once again joining us and our issues conference. mr. vice president, i think you find yourself, not just friends, but we would say family here, because you have been very gracious to always accept our invitation to come and not just address the members of the house democratic caucus, but to listen in to work with us. in fact, most of us would say that, mr. vice president, every time we have asked, you have had our back. you have not only had our backs, but you have been gracious to invite us to join you not just at the white house, but in your home with mrs. biden, to talk not just policy, but about the things that make america tech, and -- tick, and for that week thank you. we thank you for your service. you're one of the longest serving senators in history. still very young. i see lots of hair on their still. as well, it is important to note that the biden's have served. your son bo gave

the number two democrat in the house steny hoyer came forward and said as much. think the main take away from this state of the union yesterday is the issue be of incoming quality and along the campaign trail, that's been something that's come up a lot. you've seen it on both sides of the occupy wall street and on the republican side. i think the speech last night really solidified that for the democrats to say they're going full speed ahead with this. they think this is an issue they can win on and the president has seen his approval rating go up largely in part due to that. so, i think it is something you'll see him doubling down on. he's going on a campaign swing. >> he's going to key states that are critical to his re- election campaign. >> right. so, i mean the republicans certainly have a point there. i think it is also interesting their response to this, mitch daniels, the governor of indiana is the one who was tapped to give his view. he's viewed as very credible. he's someone who can speak with some authority on those issues. what i found most interestin

we also saw a statement from representative steny hoyer saying it was courageous of gabby giffords to put -- to make this decision to put her constituents -- to do the best she could for her constituents. she'll be stepping down as she mentioned in the individuvideo on her health. her office and the statement attached to this video put out said that one of the last acts of congress for gabby giffords will be attending the president's state of the union address here at the capital on tuesday evening. also, she's going to be completing that congress on your corner event that was interrupted by the gunman last year, last january 8th. she had gone to the tucson supermarket to meet and greet constituents and then there was the mass shooting that left six people dead and 12 other injured. she'll meet some of the people that were at that supermarket event. >> athena jones, thank you so much for bringing us the breaking developments. >> thanks. >>> now to the 2012 presidential contenders and the game changing outcome of the south carolina primary. today newt gingrich is celebrating a stunning

the chief of naval operations spoke in washington today days after last week's rescue by the uss stenisn fishermen who were being held by pirates in the persian gulf. another public relations coo for the u.s. navy and coast guard in wake of rising tension and threat from the iranian military. a time of great brinksmanship of the middle east. this photo shows one of the rescued iranians last week wearing a u.s. navy baseball cap and thanking his american rescuers. u.s. defense officials say they noticed a softening in tension in the iranian military in the boise state in the wake of the rescue missions. at the pentagon, jennifer griffin, fox news. >> bret: the supreme court today heard arguments in a case involving labor, big labor, big money and politics. correspondent shannon bream has details. >> the workers deserve right to say no. all workers do. >> reporter: in california, state workers have two options. join the service employees international union and pay dues or elect not to join the union and still be obligated to pay nonmember dues. either way, the union is required by law to

>> well, essentially house democratic whip steny hoyer hopes they will get that payroll holiday throughe senate by presidents' day. both republicans and democrats say there would be about 100-day window of opportunity to get things done before it is all campaign mode all the time after a bruising 2011, a lot of long-time insiders don't think there will be much cooperation. >> the reality, unfortunately, is i don't think that's going to happen. and i see -- i personally see the process broken and i'm not sure it's going to change and for anyone to think it is going to change any time soon, i would respectfully suggest they need to get their head examined. >> the house is expected to vote on a resolution to disprove of the president's request to raise the debt ceiling. shep? >> shepard: mike emanuel in our washington newsroom tonight. thank you. casey anthony has got a new job offer. now that folks have an idea of where she lives. so how does exotic dancing sound? you'll recall last summer a jury acquitted the florida mom of murder charges in the death of her young daughter cailee. last w

nancy pelosi, eric cantor and steny hoyer are among those paying tribute. she hopes to return to public service some day. >>. >>> turning to the weather now. nice day out there so far. any rain in the forecast? let's talk to tom kierein about that. good morning, tom. >> good morning. the is a chill in the air. probably not going to be as warm as yesterday. got into the mid 50s and right now we are beginning to climb into the low and mid 40s throughout much of the region. these are the current temperatures, reagan national now is at 44. and the -- 48 you saw on your screen. that was right outside of our window here at pat lawson muse. that's one of the warm spots. elsewhere, low and mid 40s. and through central virginia now in the mid 40s and after a cold start many locations this morning were below freezing. right now montgomery, arlington, fairfax counties. we should make it another five or six degrees higher than we are now. there is rue from space. we have a clear sky over much of the region now after a few morning clouds came through. it is not going to

. >> lastly you attended steny hoyer's briefing earlier today. what's his take on the house agenda so far? >> steny hoyer as you can imagine as the democratic whip, he's quick to point out that republicans are not passing jobs bill, taking swipe at the class act or tinkering around the edges of sort of internal budgetary procedures here on capitol hill. another thing they're doing this week, don't do anything to create jobs. however, republicans today did just roll out a major jobs and infrastructure bill around the highway trust fund, $260 billion. it's going to take a while to process but the house is going to be acting on that under the leadership's egis later on this month so republicans are going to push back on that democratic charge, they're not doing anything directly to create jobs aside from cutting taxes and cutting spending. >> todd zwillich from p.r.i. and wnyc. thanks for the update. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> by the way, you can see the briefin

steny hoyer always said, so we could be passing this legislation and the president has and all in his proposal and instead the republicans are missing in action. you heard us on the floor, but unfortunately the public could not here because we were shut down when mr. clyburn, the distinguished gentleman from south carolina, stood up to speak on behalf of the american people. we are pleased to take any questions. >> the republican who presided over the pro-forma session just called what the democrats did on the floor theatrics, and when you were speaker house republicans staged a similar protest during the august recess. >> they danced on the floor, they stayed, and they were on television, as you recall. but the fact is, right now we have massive unemployment in our country. perhaps people in washington do not notice. i wish you could read my christmas cards, cards are received from hundreds of people talking about their needs and how they want a job and can congress please work together to create jobs. this is a very, very difficult time for the american people. they are losing patie

hoyer, and perhaps a preview to the comments at the briefing here, steny hoyer tweeting a short whilehat president putting aside partisanship and focusing on getting americans back to work. gop has led the least productive congress in recent years. you can follow what members of congress are saying and what reporters are reporting on twitter.com/c-span. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> here on c-span2 waiting to hear from democratic leaders to talk about the republican jobs agenda over the past year. just some information about our political coverage this evening here on c-span2, 7:15 p.m. eastern tonight, former speaker -- excuse me, c-span at 7:00. here on c-span2 we'll be live in new hampshire. hearing from republican candidate supporters, tonight at 7:00, 7:15 p.m. eastern. part of our coverage today, head of the new hampshire primary. [inaudible conversa

the steve israel saying gabrielle giffords is proving once again she a true ver ser vachbt and steny hoyer saying throughout my years in congress, there have been very few members i have come to admire as much as gabrielle giffords. >> she served five years in the house. she made a surprise appearance in august showing up to vote for an increase in the debt limit and she was cheered and applauded at that point. she needs more time time to recover. brewer will have three days from the time the vacancy is kloo declared to call an election. arizona law says a primary must be held b 80-90 days and general election will be held 50 to 60 days after that. congresswoman will attend the state of the union address in the house chamber where she served until tragedy struck one year ago. >> gregg: steve, thanks very much. >> heather: another fox news alert, yemen's president is coming to the united states for medical treatment. according to the state department, he has been granted a temporary travel visa. he left yemen today after delivering a farewell speech. you may recall he was badly burned

. >> reporter: steny hour says this is all a charade and he believes this is taking away home from workubstantive matters. here is a key house democrat a short time ago on today's vote. >> we think that this is a manufactured crisis, you know, we think and we support the president and the country's obligation to pay its debt. >> reporter: a vote is expected in the house late this afternoon, but in the end we do expect the debt ceiling will go up, martha. martha: mike emanuel thanks so much. greg: a bit of context right now and you need context when you're talking about these kind of numbers. our entire public debt has increased $656 billion since the august debt deal was reached, that was what, four months ago? martha: yeah. greg: the total debt sum is larger than the combined economics of the europe union, that's 47 countries. that amount of money would fold the country the size of poland. poland is the 22nd largest economy in the world. martha: maybe it was better before. it sounds even worse now. occupy protests sparking a brie lockdown aa brief lockdown at the white house. somebody

>> it has been a story of america and the president should make it in america which steny hoyer's mainmes" two days ago dispelling what mitch daniels did. we can do better. a lot of what they have in china and might have been -- i'm not sure, talks about everything they have in one place. an economy that society can do that. we don't want to become communists or quote, unquote socialists but the government can and should help in trying to put areas together to where there can be a synergy that makes manufacturing in america easier and we give taxes and the government can help that. the government has a role. if he -- the free market theory and government doesn't help will never be automobile to be with china. what the president did in saving the jobs, the auto industry was so important to the ancillary industry and million-plus people producing cars, that was a wonderful thing that -- he accomplished in bringing jobs home to america and keep him. vault will be one of the bestselling cars next year. >> electric car that has come out general motors. paul krugman got his nobel prize and d

steny it's a great testament to your book that you've managed to bring this to light with those littlenown and so the other people, some of the other characters in your book like karl marx and friedrich engels, you tell their story and try to explain how their lives difficult ideas, too haven't you? >> i have a lot of fun with marks and ingalls because again, look, all these people that i write about, there are dozens of biographies and i am not pretending to, you know, come up with great original facts or insights, but again, i never realized that karl marx never went dark in the door of a factory to respect the was the one shocking the tell to me he stayed in his room writing and was cut off while essentially ingalls to all of the hard work. >> that's right. if he was also the world's biggest slacker because the one job he held in england which is constantly being described he was a columnist supposedly for the new york apparel and it turned out they go through it every single one. the other thing that really blew me away is that the income which can largely from inheritance, and of

speakers included, nancy pelosi, eric cantor and steny hoyer.eo begins at the end of the previous vote. this is 35 minutes. >> i ask unanimous consent to speak out of order. >> without objection, so ordered. >> all of us come to the floor today, colleagues of congresswoman gabby giffords to salute her as the brightest star among us, the brightest star congress has ever seen. >> when she came to congress, she brought to washington and the capitol, the views of a new generation of national leader. from this floor, she has spoken out courageously and led boldly, at times that demanded both. since the tragic events of one year ago, congresswoman giffered has become an inspiring symbol of determination to millions of americans. she has brought the word of dignity to new heights by her courage. congresswoman giffords' message of bipartisanship and civility is one that all in washington should honor and emulate. as she said in her video which moved us this weekend, we can do so much more by working together. i want to thank you for courtesies extended

what about the roles that they are serving, are you happy with in a, would like to see nancy pelosi, steny hoyer, jim clyburn continue? guest: well, i voted for them all last year and i think that when we were in the majority, when it was just not a matter of making the case for opposing what the republicans were doing, i think they did a remarkable job of collecting the votes to pass legislation that had a lot of opposition from the most powerful economic interests in america. host: your re-election, what will your district look like? guest: i'm not sure. it's still under debate in north carolina. host: there is a piece on the timesnews.com that you and david price, a colleague of yours, attended a martin luther king jr. observance. host: is that true? guest: we have been pushed together. republicans controlled the redistricting, the triangle, raleigh-durham-chapel hill, they combined my home and my -- the most democratic parts of raleigh where i live with david price's home and the most democratic areas of chapel hill. i don't want to talk about that right now. host: and your friendship?

steny hoyer always said, so we could be passing this legislation and the president has and all in hisroposal and instead the republicans are missing in action. you heard us on the floor, but unfortunately the public could not here because we were shut down when mr. clyburn, the distinguished gentleman from south carolina, stood up to speak on behalf of the american people. we are pleased to take any questions. >> the republican who presided over the pro-forma session just called what the democrats did on the floor theatrics, and when you were speaker house republicans staged a similar protest during the august recess. >> they danced on the floor, they stayed, and they were on television, as you recall. but the fact is, right now we have massive unemployment in our country. perhaps people in washington do not notice. i wish you could read my christmas cards, cards are received from hundreds of people talking about their needs and how they want a job and can congress please work together to create jobs. this is a very, very difficult time for the american people. they are losing patienc

[applause] >> to the rest of the leadership team, steny hoyer. [applause] >> jim clyburn. [applause] >> javier becerra, and the best possible chair we could have for the dnc, debbie wasserman schultz. [applause] >> we got an all-star team assembled and ready to get to work. i know that you guys have been here quite a bit. you already had to suffer through a relatively long speech for me this week, so i'm not going to speak too long. what i wanted to do, first of all, is just say thank you. so many of you have served this country, your districts forever years, through good times and through bad times. and, you know, let's face it, public service doesn't always get the credit that it deserves. but knowing each and every one of you personally, understanding the sacrifices that you and your family members, some of whom who are here today make each and every day, understanding how much your heart bleeds when you see constituents who are going through a tough time and how much you want to make sure that government serves as a force for good in their lives, i just want to say tha