majority leader harry reid -- steven latourette.esterday, senate majority leader harry reid addressed the fiscal cliff and talk about the democrats' plan. [video clip] we all agree that today and i'll challenges face our country and the congress. they are too large to be solved by democrats or republicans alone. they are too grave to a lot of political differences to stand in the way of success -- to allow political differences to stand in the way of success. on the day gerald ford became president of the united states, this is what he said -- "there is no way we can go forward except together, and no way anyone can win except by serving the peoples of urgent need. which cannot stand still or go backwards. we must go forward now, together to call so said gerald ford. that is -- together." so said the gerald ford. that is true today, as it was then. people have more needs. they need economic security, and fairness. it is within our power to address urgent needs, to forge an agreement for economic certainty now for middle-class famili

host: steven latourette -- the ethics issues work in congress. guest: i understand your point here the system is designed to reach a the fire run on a certain platform, if i stay i like to attend and i do something horrible to kittens once again here, the election takes care of that. would think people would then novotny out and say we are not having the mean kitten guy represent us anymore. that gets to be redistricting question. the truth is in the eye of the beholder. you are the democratic caller that the market a set of facts and reach a different interpretation than i do. does not mean either bus is lying, which come at from different perspectives. but the difficulty and the point i was trying to make is that jacksonville is a good example, your represented by qr ran aground, but karan brown does not point to be on elected by a republican because there's no way a republican can win in that district. and i think she is a wonderful member of congress. but the only way to the caller's point is that you have a competitive election where people

now it's retiring ohio republican congressman steven latourette. host: our guest talking about the lame duck session and the fiscal cliff. congressman steven latourette, republican of ohio. he sits on the appropriations committee. thank you for being here. you're in your last few weeks of legislating. you are an outgoing member of congress. your term ends in january. why are you leaving? why didn't you run for re-election? guest: because this place has gotten a little too toxic for me. when are you in public life you have to balance the cost to you as a person and family versus the good that you can do. things that were no-brainers, i have been here for 18 years, no-brainers like the farm bill, the highway bill, student loan interest rate discussions we have to fight about everything. and it's taken it's toll. time to move on. host: do you see that coming to bear in the discussion abouts the so-called fiscal cliff? a lot of financial issues on the table. taxes, budget, sequestration. is that going to be a problem? guest: it's going to be a problem

san antonio mayor, hjulian casto will join us, steven latourette, and austan goolsbee will be sittingwhat exactly is this fiscal cliff that everybody's up in arms about. >>> and with so much at stake, is it even possible to find something to laugh at? well, comedian david allen grier would say, absolutely. we'll chat with him this morning as well. >> i'm so happy that kay bailey hutchison will be here. it's so interesting to talk to members of congress when they have one foot out the door. you tend to get a much more different perspective -- >> honesty. that people to feel they're going to come back to work next year don't have. that's 20 minutes from now. >> thank you very much. >>> mother nature delivering a jarring hook on top of last week's epic body blow to the northeast. a powerful winter-like storm knocking out power to another 100,000 customers in new jersey or new york and the new jersey area. damaging winds, really bitter cold temperatures, and driving snow, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to hunker down in the dark overnight. >> former arizona representative, gabby

i hereby appoint the honorable steven c. latourette to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, john a. boehner, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: the prayer today will be offered by our guest chaplain, the reverend dr. kirk erhardt, washington, d.c. the chaplain: let us pray. god who exists within each one of us and binds us together as one people, be with us on this election day as we exercise our responsibility to choose our leaders and set a trajectory into the future. let us be mindful and respectful of the views of those who vote for someone else. open our minds to realize that although we are a nation filled with diverse philosophies, our common motive is to make this country a fruitful and peace filled nation allowing all people the opportunity to pursue dreams. help us to see our victories and defeats in the voting booth as a blessing of freedom and not a judgment on ideals. help us be mindful of our unity and bless this country and all nations and peoples now and forever. we ask this in your holy name. amen. the speaker pro tempo