host: steve bell is up a bipartisan policy center.he group's new report on the debt limit increase and the approaching x date is available at their web site. thanks so much for joining us. guest: thank you and we will see what the next eight weeks brings. host: up next, discussing the alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives agency. first, a news update from c-span radio. >> it's 9:16 a.m. eastern. some business news. toyota has replaced general motors as the world's top- selling automaker. the japanese company says it sold 9.7 million cars and trucks worldwide last year. gm says it sold 9.2 9 million. gm did hold the top spot in 2011 when toyota factories or slowed by and quake and tsunami in japan. immigration will be the focus of remarks today by los angeles mayor antonio villaraigosa in prepared remarks. he says immigration reform "cannot wait another political season. washington should be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. the time for half measures and one-sided approach is is over. the bottom line is the debate is fu

government to not honor all of its obligation chess is why steve bell is a veteran senate republican budget policy aid who gave this briefing at the center, said he wouldn't rule out the prospect that white house would reconsider the president's statements that he lacks under the constitution, the executive authority to out laterally lift the debt ceiling. well see whether the administration sticks to that line, if congress doesn't act, which is a big if. >> how did we get the original estimate so wrong then? >> we didn't. the center accurately called when the treasury would hit the debt ceiling in a technical sense. that's late last year, december 31. but as treasury secretary geithner said at the time, there are ways in which the government can shuffle money, decline to reinvest government funds that can extend that window out. the question is, when that window expires and most people have been operating under the presumption mandy, that it could come as soon as february 15th. >>> on deck, big banks and bernanke bucks. are the giants doubling down on the fed and gambling with your

steve bell talks about the debt ceiling. then, the mission and scope of the bureau of all, tobacco, firearms, explosives. "washington journal," live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] >> next, "q&a." then, david -- david cameron takes questions at the house of commons. then a discussion on the guantanamo detention facility. >> the fundamental idea here is if you spend time in silicon valley, if you spend time in detroit, where the automobile industry is being rebuilt, if you spent time outside the beltway, you see that america has the potential to generate abundance for its own citizens and for the world. you spend time only inside the beltway, it looks like a zero sum game. it looks like a lose-lose. who will lose the most is the gist is the -- gist of the negotiation. water the lessons of the technology sector? what are the lessons that have come from the optimism in the technology sector? how can they give us some

host: we are speaking with steve bell from the bipartisan policy center. he worked under pete domenici and staff director for the budget center when pete domenici was chair of that committee. justin from california, good morning. caller: good morning. i heard that we get enough money into the federal government from taxes every month to pay interest on the debt. we don't have enough money to pay the debt and the other expenses. is it a matter of choosing which one will pay first? that is what i heard on a talk- show. guest: that is an important question. can the present order to the secretary of treasury to pay some bills and not pay others? it is likely that the treasury secretary would pay the interest on our debt. we would not default on our sovereign debt. a lot of other bills will not be paid. they are just bills you think about. it is thousands and thousands -- two million transactions a day, most of which come from private contractors, people to keep the grounds at the white house in good shape. those are the kind of bills that will not be paid on t

the former clinton advisor, timothy punk and senior director of the bipartisan policy director, steve bell start with you first. everyone is saying democrats won, how do you win when we're being taxed more and more money is being pulled out of this ailing economy? >> well, look, first of all i don't think anybody should be doing an end zone dance on this deal but i think we do have to recognize there was important progress made. we did avoid going over the fiscal cliff. that is obviously important not just for the economy this year but our long-term economy and i think you see the markets recognize that. i will say one thing, everybody recognizes this is just step one. what everybody is talking about from economists to business leaders we need 3 to $4 trillion deal here. this is $600 billion deal. this is step one in the process and i think the president, you saw the president acknowledge that last night. tracy: are you happy with what happened, steve? i guess one could say we averted, avoided the inevitable but at the same time, we didn't even get one spending cut that people were looking

steve bell will talk with us about the options for the treasury department including the discussion onhe 14th amendment. evan perez will talk about the scope of the mission of the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, and fire arms. thank you for joining us on this sunday. enjoy the rest of your day. have a good week. "newsmakers" is next. another view from the west front of the capital as preparations continue for next week's inauguration. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

the massive stimulus could have a destabilizing impact on the economy so in today's "closing bell" exchange steve wood, doug cote from ing investment manager, larry glaze e from mayor flower advisers and our very own rick santelli. rick, let's kick it off with you. what's been the reaction in the bond pits? >> well, first of all, people on this floor say be careful. a little dissension doesn't break the trio of power as bill gross pointed out, but the movement was fast and furious. we touched a 190 yield. at three and a half month high yields and immediately comped us back to early may we means we have an eight-month high should we close at 190. saw gold move down which makes sense because qe is a dollar buster but here traders don't like the program, don't think we need it, don't think it's doing a lot of good but they like making money longing s&ps, dow futures and their own personal opinion is be careful about drawing hard and fast conclusions on the minutes. >> if we didn't need this program though, wouldn't the market reaction be more positive? >> sure. what i think is the fed needs to get o

as of today's closing bell, that company is exxon. >>> and the new steve jobs isn't out yet, but it is a thumb's down from apple cofounder, stove wazniac. >> even if you were developing this for people like us, nobody wants to buy a computer. nobody. >> how did somebody know what they want if they have never seen it. >> i remember him in those days. that is the opening scene of the new job's film, but that conversation never even happened. in a post, he disputes how both he and jobs are portrayed saying quote, we have never had such interactions and roles. i'm not sure what it's getting at. >>> okay, back to our super bowl bound 49ers. a football team with a lot of weapons in the arsenal. there's one you may not know about. a taste of the team's recovery drink. >> after practice, the niners hit the locker room. what's waiting for them? how is it? >> it's pretty cool. >> icy cold drinks. >> i drink it. you know, some sort of fruit smoothie and protein powder. >> athletes need more protein. >> sports nutritionist says adding protein after a workout is actually a really smart move. >> pre

bell. think outside the bun. >> steve: yeah, think outside the bun, dude.: put a taco in another taco inside a -- wrap it in a burrito and shove it another taco. [ laughter ] >> steve: with doritos covered in doritos. >> jimmy: and then, cover it in doritos. >> steve: dude, that's thinking outside the bun. >> jimmy: that's thinking outside the bun. some dudes think outside the bun. so, taco bell -- thinking outside the bun as they always do -- they recently -- they made a customized speedo for a swimmer after he asked for one on facebook. [ light laughter ] it's not good. i mean, you could practically see the guy's chalupa. it is -- [ laughter ] we have a great show tonight. give it up for the roots! [ cheers and applause ] ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> jimmy: we got a fun show tonight. he stars on the showtime series, "shameless." we're so excited to have him on. william h. macy is here tonight! [ cheers and applause ] he's always fun. plus, you know her from hbo's "big love," and now she stars in abc's "once upon a time." ginnifer goodwin is stopping by! [

let's get more on the markets in today's "closing bell" exchange by hank smith and steve from comcast funds and our own rick santelli. >> hello. >> good to see you guys. >> thank you so much for joining us. >> hank smith, we haven't heard from you in a while. let me kick this off with you. how are you investing going into all of these earnings coming out from the banks this week as ahead of that debt ceiling debate? >> sure, maria. our equity portfolios are fully invested. we see no reason 2013 can't deliver very similar returns as 2012 did. the fact is we still have a good fundamental backdrop. the economy is expanding. it's not contracting or growing. value sheets are strong and valuations are very attractive so what is there not to like? >> you're our resident skeptic today, and i would point not to the normal averages that we quote every day, but look at the dow transportation average which could close at an all-time high today. the transportation companies, often a leading indicator for the economy. if they are doing well. chances are the economy is going to get better. wouldn't

steve: did you see what hulk hogan wrote? [ laughter ] >> jimmy: from @skesse11. he says, "i used to watch 'saved by the bellit so i could feel like slater in his wrestling uniform." [ laughter ] >> steve: ooh! >> jimmy: that's cute. that's cute. that is cute. >> steve: this is 24. >> jimmy: yeah, he was 24 years old. >> steve: slater in his wrestling -- >> jimmy: "kiwanuka!" [ cheers ] i could lift this thing up right now. >> steve: i don't know -- it was like 300,000, 400,000 pounds. >> jimmy: "400,000 pounds. you don't think i could lift it right now?" >> steve: i don't think you could lift it. >> jimmy: kiii -- kiwanuka! ♪ [ cheers and applause ] this one here's from @mazziemonroe. she says, "in kindergarten, i would purposely pee my pants so my mom would bring me home and bake me cookies." [ laughter ] hey, i did that too. >> steve: i do that now. >> jimmy: you do that right now. this is from at i @imeanicolettaaa. she says, "when i was little, i thought crate & barrel was create-a-barrel, a place to go and make custom trash barrels for yourself." [ laughter ] trash barrels. >> steve: trash barrels. not

. >> steve: i bet you were ( bell rings ) they remind me so much of my grandkids.en thinking about moving in with my daughter and her family. it's been pretty tough since jack passed away. it's a good thing you had life insurance through the colonial penn program. you're right. it was affordable, and we were guaranteed acceptance. guaranteed acceptance? it means you can't be turned down because of your health. you don't have to take a physical or answer any health questions. they don't care about your aches and pains. well, how do you know? did you speak to alex trebek? because i have a policy myself. it costs just $9.95 a month per unit. it's perfect for my budget. my rate will never go up. and my coverage will never go down because of my age. affordable coverage and guaranteed acceptance? we should give them a call. do you want to help protect your loved ones from the burden of final expenses? if you're between 50 and 85, you can get quality insurance that does not require any health questions or a medical exam. your rate of $9.95 a month per unit will never incr

bell" exchange. carol roth author of "the entrepreneur equation" and steve saks and michael from janney montgomery smith. good to have you here. let me start with you, scott. what do you think about this move? are we going to get more of this? is this just the beginning, or are we in for pullbacks considering what could be coming to washington the next couple of months? >> i think pullbacks are norm a. let's face it, the last couple of months have been a big party. ben bernanke invited us and i don't think the punch bowl goes away. >> the fed is the key issue right now. does that trump the fundamentals, all the earnings we're getting, you pay more attention to the fed? >> you think we have low growth and quite frankly investors are starved for air. they have been holding their breath for four years. there is no oxygen in any other market. there's no place to go for yield. therefore, essentially i think ben is terroristing it to the point to where they got to jump into risk assets and that's what we're seeing. >> david, does that make you bullish as well? >> david? >> we do have a david as well. david st

bell exchange. ed batowski, nathan bachrach and our own rick santelli and steve liesman.the gdp report. now the federal reserve points to it as it confirms it will keep current easing policies in place. is that a positive or a negative? >> well, i agree with them. the economy is still weak. i disagree that the medicine they want to continue to address the weakness is working. i continue to say that if you have structural issues and you apply cyclical-type band-aids you're going to end up with a lot of debt but not a lot of growth. if you look at the next couple of charts, this says it all, i think. we're all trying to dismiss this number. here's real, not nominal, real government consumption expenditures going back to '07 pre-crisis, and you can see that they really ramped up. now, if you go back

the bell will go off. >>steve: if you're the president you don't want that fight bought that is going to be a hraougs hand. >>brian: there is no tax increase sunsetting. >>juliet: let's talk about what congress is doing post this situation, the fiscal cliff. this is a rasmussen report poll how do you rate the way congress is doing its job? 69% says poor. that pretty much says it all. 5% says good or excellent. i'd love to meet those 5%. >>steve: for a lot of months a lot of people, observers of washington said there is a real possibility we could wind up with a grand bargain where we saw $4 trillion off of our debt and deficit. it didn't happen. the problem for the president is he's got some stuff he wants to get done before he assumes lame-duck status. and because this fight was contentious, and in particular with the president going into the briefing room of the eisenhower executive office building on monday afternoon, there are a lot of hurt feelings on both sides of the aisle regarding this. if the president i

bell" exchange. we welcome back our guests, including our own rick santelli and steve liesman. it's all about the fiscal cliff in that report, isn't it? >> taken by itself not a bad report, moderate to modest growth, real estate not doing too badly. all the comments, i didn't finish counting them up, but the word fiscal and uncertainty both appear several times in the beige book, and the clear impression, bill, is that uncertainty over the fiscal situation is already hurting the economy, delaying hiring plans, capital investment plans and really everything from auto dealers in cleveland to farmers down in texas have cited the fiscal cliff as a major concern. that's something that's influencing their decision making right now. >> you would expect that given the fact that everybody is in lockdown mode as we wait to figure out what our tax rates are going to be, where the spending cuts are going to be, that it is going to impact the economy. my question is how much of an m impact going to see earnings? are they going to get hit? >> that's the key to the whole thing. as we said, th

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bell. [ laughter ] >> jimmy: it's smart. it's the gets the point across. [ cheers and applause ] it gets the point across >> steve: you know itllion for that. $1.5 million. >> steve: that's a bargain. >> jimmy: get this, you guys. a zoo in california announced that its monkey has randomly picked the 49ers to win the super bowl. [ light laughter ] and not surprisingly its deer picked ray lewis and the ravens. [ laughter ] the deer likes ray lewis. >> steve: wow. >> jimmy: and this is weird. a lot of people were saying that ravens quarterback, joe flacco, is supposedly a boring guy, very boring, and flacco's dad -- this is awful, his dad recently came out and called his son dull. [ laughter ] he said, "yeah, he's dull. he's boring." why would you do that? but we actually got a hold of some of his thoughts. >> steve: oh. >> jimmy: joe flacco's. it's pretty eye-opening. take a look at this first photo here. here's flacco. he's looking down for an open man down the field. i remember this game, it was really exciting. let's see what he was thinking during this moment? i like plain, dry toast. [ laughter ] let's look at another one

steve, you first. you recently did, as you know that great interview with tim geithner right here on the "closing bell.w well do you know lew? >> not as well. he was at omb for a brief time, a couple years in this administration, his second go-round there. look, we're learning more about him, and i don't think there's very much mystery here. he would be picked for the job because he's a budget expert, and that also he's a loyalist inside the obama administration and in a place that values loyalty like a lot of white houses, and the question becomes does he have other critical qualifications that say wall street or the international banking and financial system would require, with the big question being, you know, if we were at a place where there was another financial crisis, how well would jack lew, as did robert ruben, hank paulsen and tim geithner do to instill confidence? >> steve, you were right on the money with the jack lew prediction. you and i had this conversation, but i just wonder, you know, there's this antagonistic relationship between the white house and business. >> right. >> there were

. >> steve: we were speaking earlier in the break about how that bell, california fiasco where so manych rich payouts, now a lot of municipalities have really reined it in. not illinois. >> no. what really needs to happen is some restriction on the pensions paid to existing retirees that have been promised x. >> steve: that's difficult. because you got a deal. >> they promised it, and it's legally binding, but you can't pay them. most states are trying to pay them, you have to cut services and raise taxes. illinois has done that and it's not working. >> eric: stuart varney on the fox business ned network, starts at 9:20 every day. >> thank you very much. bruce? no. >> steve: bruce? >> where did i get ha from? springstein. that's where i got that from. >> steve: bruce and boling. >> was this a compliment? sorry. >> eric: sure you don't have the flu? >> steve: thank you, jack. straight ahead, cursive writing becoming nearly extinct in our schools. so should we just get rid of it all together or do we need a cursive comeback? a report coming straight ahead and you'll decide. >> eric: comi

steve: that is look out, buddy. pull over. somebody mounted the camera on the truck as they rushed to a warehouse fire. you can see the bell was just as bad as -- >> brian: chris just said it's from "the little rascals." >> steve: it kind of looks like it. traffic was just as bad in the 1920s as it is now. at one point, they jumped on the sidewalk and everybody goes crazy. >> brian: mayor bloomberg must feel good, they didn't plow the snow there either. [ laughter ] >> gretchen: that's amazing. >> steve: that is. >> brian: i hope it's real. we always do. >> gretchen: looks the same now. look. people crossing when they're not supposed to. jay walkers. >> brian: how does the truck get in between the truck? is this guy on a bike? >> gretchen: you know what? i'm not buying this. >> steve: first dash cam, we think. >> gretchen: i don't know. new york man sets up an on-line dating scene to get back his cell phone. he lost his on new year's eve, so the next day he noticed the thief was using it to log on to his dating profile. he pretended to be a 24-year-old girl. he messaged the thief, even set up a date so when he met the man,

steve ballmer has to go. also coming up, big news i should say from two names you know, google and ibm, we're following both of them at the opening bell, we're closing in on a record high for the dow jones industrial average. look, if you have copd like me, you know it can be hard to breathe, and how that feels. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms by keeping my airways open for 24 hours. plus, it reduces copd flare-ups. spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that does both. spiriva handihaler tiotropium bromide inhalation powder does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. these may worsen with spiriva. discuss all medicines you take, even eye drops. stop taking spiriva and seek immediate medical help if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells, you get hives, vision changes or eye pain, or problems passing urine. other side effects include dry mouth and constipation. nothing can reverse copd spiriva helps me breathe better.

husband steve tells me he headed to turkey tonight to meet with authorities and officials. they are investigating syria's disappearance. she was last seen leaving its tan bell on friday night. family members tell fox news sierra is a photographer and left her staten island home to go take pictures. seen here in istanbul checked in frequently. chexing family members. she was originally planning to come home tuesday, january january 25th but missed her family and pushed her flight up to the 22nd. when her husband stephan went to pick her up, she never showed. >> i'm going through a lot. it's very challenging. not just myself my whole family. you don't have appetite. you can't each speak. you wake up crying. your mind is all over the place. but even still, you know, despite all that. you have a hope, you know, and you hold on to that hope. >> turkish police tell the family they are optimistic about finding sierra, saying they are checking local urgent care centers and also police precincts. they also have posted pictures around the area where she vanished. steve and sierra tell me their kids two boys ages 9 and 11 staying with family and the brother is going t

bell. surprising -- not making their numbers. investors were disappointed. >>> ashton kutcher is scheduled to appear in san francisco next week. he will be talking about his role playing the late steve. he is scheduled to open the conference with a panel discussion about the film mac world starts next thursday. it opens in april. >> time now 7:45 and a former elementary schoolteacher has been arrested on child sex abuse charges. police there may have been at least 20 victims. we >>> the former child act for who was the voice of charlie brown has made his first court appearance on stalking charges. he pled not guilty. the 56-year-old threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend and a doctor. >> he stated he would continue to hit the dog until she agreed to go with him. the victim declined and he grabbed her by the neck. >> robin's was nine when he was cast as charlie brown but was replaced when he turned 14. his voice can be heard in classic specials including it's the great pumpkin. >> an autopsy is scheduled today on the body of a man found along the shoreline. the coroner identified him as a 28-year-old paul chu. his body was found yesterday morning. the body was clothed. they are looking

steve: and can hear the ball rolling around? >> brian: that's what we're getting. >> gretchen: maybe a little bit of the bell sound.at -- and other animals and dolphins, for example, i'm thinking about that because over the holidays, i got a chance to swim with them and they have the whistles that blow at a high pitch and they can hear noises that we can't. maybe that's part of it. >> brian: that's true. i remember in the '70s at one point dolphins were so good, they were fighting crime. flipper used to fight crime. >> steve: they were. speaking of the cat, a newspaper in great britain decided to see who is better at picking stocks. so they squared off three professional stock analysts, a secondary class of children, and orlando the cat. after one year, who do you think won? that's right. orlando the cat. they gave each of the three groups of contestantses 5,000, that says dollars burks it's pounds. gave them -- trial maybe we've done the computations. they end of the year, the pros made 17 of pounds. but orlando the cat made 542 pounds. so in other words, save your money. buy a cat. >> gretchen: that reminds me of