you have the afl-cio union saying where are the jobs? what do you believe is behind this strategy for the president to try something like this for the first time? >> what the president is doing is approaching his audience in a way that's very reactive and direct and allows them to be the sounding board for how he build out his strategy moving forward. any strategist will tell you that they are going to use the data that they are getting from folks who are abilitively sharing their sentiment and their concerns and expecting more from the president to respond in a way that speaks to what he wants to do actively where they are. >> does it enable more control to filter out? we had that town hall before, and forgive me, i cannot recall the woman's name who talked to the president and said, listen, i'm tired of defending you. that was a live uncensored question. >> right. >> here you have someone taking a look at these tweets before they get to the president and consolidating them, not necessarily changing the question but certainly making the

nation while protection -- to celebrate the 76 at anniversary of the social security act next month, the afl-cioll host a fundraiser in 14 west virginia bv cities. they plan to donate all the proceeds to the bureau of public debt. there's something to consider. i don't think they should hold their breath waiting for speaker boehner. and for our big number. to go back how far our government's debt goes, believe it or not to 1790 when the government bonds were issued to pay off the revolutionary war. how much is owed to people many the george washington administration? $55,757. i wonder what the fo that one. that is tonight's big number. that's "hardball" for now. chris will be back on monday. up next "your [ male announcer ] we asked real people if they'd help us with an experiment for febreze fabric refresher. they agreed. [ experimenter 1 ] relax, take some nice deep breaths. [ experimenter 2 ] what do you smell? lilac. clean. there's something that's really fresh. a little bit beach-y. like children's blankets. smells like home. [ experimenter 1 ] okay. take your blindfolds off. ♪ hello? [ mal

i am very pleased to be here at the afl-cio. a member of the afl-cio and of the four unions and am proud to be a member of the writers guild first and foremost of the american federation of tv and radio artists, the screen actors guild and the directors guild when i walked picket lines and understand, i still get -- i still get some residuals that were negotiated, residual payment schedule negotiated by the union and i walked the picket line to make sure we got those and trading places shown i get about $12. [laughter] that makes the public service that i am doing possible. [laughter] .. >> it's created demand, the entrepreneurs, the small businesses that are the engine of our economy. i'm a middle class kid. i grew up -- my dad didn't graduate high school. my mom didn't go to college. i grew up with a two bedroom one bathroom house in the suburb of minneapolis. i considered myself the luckiest kid in the world. i was. i was a middle class kid growing up in america in the 50s and 60s. what else could you want? i felt i could do

to celebrate the anniversary of the social security act next month, the afl-cio will host a fundraiser west virginia cities. they plan to donate all the proceeds to the bureau of public debt. there's something to consider. i don't think they should hold their breath waiting for speaker boehner to accept the invitation. and for our big number. to go back how far our government's debt goes, believe it or not to 1790 when the government bonds were issued to pay off the revolutionary war. how much is owed to people in the george washington administration? $55,757. i wonder what the founding fathers who have to say about that one. that is tonight's big number. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. chris will be back on monday. up next "your business" with j.j. ramberg. gas and bloating. with three strains of good bacteria to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. you had me at "probiotic." diabetes testing? what else is new? you get the blood, hope it's enough, it's-- what's this? freestyle lite® blood glucose test str

i am very pleased to be here at the afl-cio. i am a member of the afl-cio.m a member of four unions and proud to be. i am a member of the writers guild, of the american federation of radio and television artists, of the screen actors guild and of the directors guild. i still get some residuals that were negotiated, the residual payments schedule was negotiated union. jun i walked the picket lines to make sure we got those, so every time "trading places" is shown, i get about $12. [laughter] that is a public service. [laughter] to me, there are so many wrongheaded things going on right now. heather spoke at a panel on the middle-class, and i believe it was tethered to be said that the purpose -- heather who said that creating a middle-class is not an end unto itself. the middle class is the engine of our economy. the middle-class in our country has created demand, has created entrepreneur is, small businesses that are the of our economy. in a middle-class kid. i dad did not graduate high school. my mom did not go to college. i grew up in a two bedroom one bat

not we just as in the afl-cio but we as in you, the afl-cio, all our progressive partners and electedeaders who have the moral fiber to stand up against the tide and work for working people. we know the power of organizing. we see the hunger for it. whenever we see that blue wisconsin fist, we see the power in that simple phrase, "we are one." and i'm grateful that we are one with the people of netroots nation. thank you. [applause] >> thank you very much. liz shuler, everybody. our last presenter is melissa bradley. she's the ceo of the values-based social change platform that does good throughout our community. i encourage you to get to know them. she's an innovate ter. she's a social entrepreneur. she goes out of a asset background to talk about wealth equality please welcome me to the stage, melissa bradley. [applause] >> thank you, sir. i appreciate it. >> good afternoon. so this is my first time with netroots nation. i've heard great things. let me try it again. good afternoon! [applause] >> i got up at 4:00 am to be here so i need you to be more excited and give me some energy

in support of your effort to continue millatioio outrageous cuts, we're advising you of the west virginia afl-ciolan to reduce the debt of our nation while protecting the rich and tax-dodging corporations. what's the plan? to celebrate the 76th anniversary of the social security act, the afl-cio will host a hot dog fund-raiser in 14 west virginia cities. they plan to donate the proceeds to the bureau of public debt. i don't think they should hold tharl breath waiting for speaker boehner to accept the invitation. >>> we want you to know how far back our government's debt really goes. believe it or not, back to 1790 when the first government bonds were issued to pay off the revolutionary war. how much is still owed back to the folks in the george washington administration? would you believe $55,757. i wonder what the founding fathers would have to say about that one. that's tonight's big number. >>> up next, record heat across the country. is overpopulation partly to blame for global warming? you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. you name it. i've tried it. but nothing's helped me beat my back

i'm very pleased to be here at the afl-cio. a member of the afl-cio and of the four unions and i am proud to be a member of the writers guild first and foremost of the american federation of tv and radio artists and the screen actors guild and the directors guild and life walked picket lines and high understand and still get some residuals that were negotiated, residual payment schedule was negotiated by our union and walk the picket line to make sure we got those so i did about 12 bucks. [laughter] that makes the public service i am doing possible. [applause] >> to me there were some a wrongheaded things going on right now. having spoke at the panel on the middle class and i believe was heather who said creating the middle class is an end unto itself. the middle class is the engine of our economy. the middle class in our country has created demand, the entrepreneurs, the small businesses that are the engine of our economy and on a middle class kid. i grew up -- my dad didn't graduate high school, my mom didn't go to college. i

some of the tweets, afl/cio says where are the jobs? republicans have been pounding the president. john boehner, would you admit the stimulus was mistake? we have a link on our website at abc7news.com under see it on tv if you want to ask a question. >> just ahead, a government warning that terrorists are renewing an old tactic. >> currently we have all the sides of the airport. >> dramatic audio recordings after they made an emergency landing because a hole ripped  >>> there is a warning on airlines that some terrorists could be putting explosives on. tsa say that people coming here from overseas, there may be more screening. u.s. security officials placing explosives inside people is not a new idea. >> and army psychiatrist will face a military trial in deadly fort hood rampage. major nidal hassan is charged with 32 counts of feayd murder and 13 counts of murder. they announced plans to seek the death penalty today. witnesses say he shouted allah akbar before he begin shooting. president obama will send condolence members to service members that co

the afl-cio announced today it opposes the gang of six plan, but you are right, the toughest job for the president is what republicans, particularly those in the house. mr. obama got started on it today. a day after saying bipartisan senate proposal might break the log jam over cutting the deficit and raising the debt ceiling, president obama met separately with leaders of both parties and the so-called gang of six briefed members of the house on the proposal. gang member kent conrad, a north dakota democrat said some of the plans critics are trying to kill it in the crib. >> we are a working group of six to try to inform colleagues. the sooner you put out a plan like this, there is much misinformation that goes out. >> reporter: some 30 senators republicans and democrats indicated they might support the plan. gang member chamblis georgia republican said house republicans would haven't to violate the no tax hike penal. >> well, we really aren't raising taxes. we are lowering rates to help generate revenue. >> reporter: still, the plan would lower reduction for mortgage interest and h

some of the tweets, afl/cio says where are the jobs? republicans have been pounding the president. john boehner, would you admit the stimulus was mistake? we have a link on our website at abc7news.com under see it on tv if you want to ask a question. >> just ahead, a government warning that terrorists are renewing an old tactic. >> currently we have all the sides of the airport. >> dramatic audio recordings after they made an emergency landing because a hole ripped open in the fuselage. it's the little things in life that make me smile. spending the day with my niece. i don't use super poligrip for hold because my dentures fit well. before those little pieces would get in between my dentures and my gum and it was uncomfortable. even well-fitting dentures let in food particles. super poligrip is zinc free. with just a few dabs, it's clinically proven to seal out more food particles so you're more comfortable and confident while you eat. so it's not about keeping my dentures in, it's about keeping the food particles out. [ charlie ] try zinc free super poligrip. stain from an otherwi

they don't like the cuts in social security if not rates cuts in medicare enough to turn off the afl-cios it won't support the plan. >> what is needed is the political will to get outside of one's comfort zone and that is true for democrats as it is for republicans. the -- and that would be required for anything that is significant in size in terms of the deficit reduction packages that we are talking about. >> the president's meeting with house republican leaders went 30 minutes longer than the meeting with democrats which may reflect the difficulty in convincing them they can support the gang of six plan and stay true you to their pledge not to raise taxes. a gang member says, yes, they can. >> we really aren't raising taxes. we are actually lowering rates to help generate revenues. >> the plan does cut tax deduckses and that raises tax revenue more than a trillion dollars and shep, the money comes from some where. >> shepard: a new poll out from fox actually that showed americans are against raising the debt limit. >> and it is not even close, shep. only 35% support in a new fox poll

the speaker even retweeted another one from the afl-cio, where are the jobs? here's another one. after embarking on a adviser spending binge that's left us deeper in debt, where are the jobs? that tweet got a response from the president at the town hall. let's listen. >> this is a slightly skewed question, but what he's right about is that we have not seen fast enough job growth relative to the need. i mean, we lost, as i said, 4 million jobs before i took office, before i was sworn in. about 4 million jobs were lost in the few months right after i took office before our economic policies had a chance to take any effect. we haven't gotten the cooperation i would like to see on some of those ideas and initiatives, but i'm going to keep on trying and eventually i'm sure the speaker will see the light. >>> okay, jonathan martin, top reporter in this city, and alex wagner, both of you, let me start with alex, because she's here. this twitter-natn thing and the president at least receives tweets, you know, a couple years ago this would be considered bizarre, but tell me why he has to

after that, two vince focusing on the economy and job creation, one with the afl-cio and the other hosted by the chamber of commerce. >> i am very interested in what i call disappearing america. america that may not be here 25 years from now. >> for 30 years, carol highsmith has documented the country through her camera lens. every total available and at the clever of congress. it is a prelude to the debut of our original documentary "the library of congress." >> we are here a library of congress. this is 2000 books from the justices personal collection. what's interesting discovery was found on the original draft of the declaration of independence? you will find more answers in our original documentary. "the library of congress," airing this monday night. we will tour the iconic jefferson building and the reading room. presidential papers from george washington to calvin coolidge. learn how the library is using technology to discover hidden secrets in its collection and to preserve for future generations. join us for "the library of congress" this monday night on c-span. modern technolog

. >> i have to ask you, senator, that meeting you had with labor leaders, i know the afl-cio and the cwa, the service employees international union, they were all representative and the flight attendants and what not. what is their feeling about president obama's position in all of this? do they think he's done enough? is labor mad at the white house? >> i don't want to paraphrase what other people said in a private meeting. but, you know, i think among progressive circles in this country, there is disappointment that the president hasn't been stronger. there is disappointment that out of nowhere the president has gone back on a campaign promise not to cut social security, that he put medicare and medicaid on the table for no particular reason that i can understand. so, you know, i think a whole lot of folks in this country are disappointed. >> senator, good to have with you us tonight. thanks so much. bernie sanders from vermont with us on "the ed show." remember to answer tonight's question at the bottom of the screen. our text question. congressman chris van hol enand chris ellis

so while speaker boehner sent that tweet to the president, turns out the afl-cio sent exactly the same they -- his political allies wants to know where are the jobs? >> afl-cio, the man who runs it is richard trumpka and said precisely the same thing, same question. where are the jobs? that sounds like a republican but this is big labor. >> here are the votes. where are the jobs? >> here's the money. here's the money for the next election campaign so where are the jobs? i think mr. trumka wants infrastructure investments, a whole lot more government spending on roads, bridges and tunnels. union jobs. and i think he wants us to bail out the states who are about to fire a whole bunch of unionized teachers and other government workers. >> we should point out that if you watch that twitter town hall, these questions were prescreened. there were groups, they were looked at and the ones they chose to send through actually got through. >> that wasn't a genuine town hall. a genuine town hall is a give and take face to face. not -- >> prescreen the audience. >> something that is genuine is the

. >> shannon: so that point, here is what richard trumka, president of the afl-cio talking about loyalties. take a listen. >> it doesn't matter if candidates and parties are controlling the wrecking ball or simply standing aside to let it happen. the outcome is the same either way to us. if leaders aren't blocking the wrecking ball and advancing working families' interest, then working people will not support them. >> shannon: all right, bill, you have the argument that there may be an opening for republicans with unions. anybody else agree? >> not with the union leaders, obviously. union members. i think you definitely -- they are paying millions in dues that go in 2008 it was like $200 million in to these democratic campaign coffers. so, again, what you are seeing is the administration or the allies more to the point on the agencies, at the national labor relations board, at something called the national mediation board. literally changing the rules to make it easier for unions to organize workplaces. unions are in trouble right now. the membership is down. the membership is down particu

it is not just the afl-cio. here is a newspaper article from the portland tribune. it is an interesting article at best. the article cites examples of tsa-certified project tsa- certified workers as evidence of the negative effects of trade. and it provides a handy chart on the back entitled, where jobs were lost, citing specific taa certifications, companies like general electric, panasonic, and intel, portland-area employers that have laid off workers. the u.s. department of labor has certified they were due to free trade agreements. i ask everybody, if taa is good for trade and committees, who needs enemies? clearly, if we continue to provide special benefits for a particular class of workers, something has to be done to stop subsidizing antitrade propaganda, which this certainly is, the question. -- no question. my amendment would require the department of labour to develop a plan to better educate the american worker and taa- certified employs about the overall effect of international trade on the u.s. economy. i urge my colleagues to support this amendment. it

the afl/cio said there's no shared sacrifice here. the only sacred cows being gored are working people, the middle class, senior and the poor. no uh some democrats were very careful about weighing in, saying that they still need to see some of the details before they'll decide whether or not it's something they can embrace. as for white house enthusiastic reaction, jessica yellin asked today, if in hindsight they had any second thoughts about how they reacted, and he said, quote, absolutely not. >> thanks very much. much more on this story coming up. jeff cafferty has the cafferty file. jack? >> in an economy with 9.2% unemployment, job security is a little tough to come by. that is unless you work for the federal government. an analysis done by "usa today" found that job security for government employees at many federal agencies last year was more than 99%. and these workers are more likely to die than they are to lose their jobs due to a layoff or a firing. the federal government only fired about 1/2 of 1% of its work force last year

and the afl-cio is sponsoring a vigil of the social security administration in baltimore.est cuts to social security, medicare, and medicaid. let's check in with kate bolduan. >> reporter: despite a long weekend of talks tno deal yet t raise the federal debt ceiling. will they reach a compromise in time? more at the top of the hour. >> i'm michael holmes in oslo, norway. we'll have the very latest from the court hearing here, the man accused of killing nearly 100 people. >> thanks so much. we'll also be inside anders breivik's 1500-page manifesto coming up next hour. naturals from delicious, real ingredients with no artificial flavors or preservatives. naturals from purina cat chow. share a better life. ♪ [ cat meows ] ♪ [ whistles ] ♪ [ cat meows ] ♪ [ ting! ] [ male announcer ] travelers can help you protect the things you care about and save money with multi-policy discounts. are you getting the coverage you need and the discounts you deserve? for an agent or quote, call 800-my-coverage or visit travelers.com. ♪ let me make you smile ♪ let me do a few tricks ♪ some old

brotherhood of temperatures sters, the plumbing and pipefitting industry of the united states, the afl-cio international union of operating engineers, the pipeline contractors association, these are the people, it's the labor, it's the jobs that are going to be created here and we are standing with the american people. now, this other argument that we have been debating throughout the afternoon about bringing in 700,000 barrels to 1.2 million barrels per day from canada is somehow going to raise prices at the pump. i'm sorry. i went through some economics and i don't see how adding supply, adding american jobs, makeing a reliable source of energy -- making a reliable source of energy, eliminating uncertainty is going to drive up costs. it doesn't make sense. let's stand with the american people. let's create 100,000 new jobs. let's get america working. let's get the prices down at the pump. vote against this motion for reconsideration and vote to put people back to work. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. without objection the previous

usually they are unified, but on this one you have that the uaw supporting this deal and the afl-cio and the american steel workers opposing the agreement. they say that this does not provide enough protection for workers in both countries to form unions and negotiate. he also argued -- they also argue that they will invest in shipment overseas. host: kansas city, you are next. go ahead. caller: think you for taking my call. i have a comment and question. i believe that we have to see the political side of this. i have heard people talking this morning about in the under currency manipulation of china and also about the tariff. with china buying so much of our debt and us not having our fiscal house in order, this is why it is so important to get the long-term fiscal house in order with this deficit reduction package. we do not have a lot of leverage right now to take on china with currency manipulation we have to see that part. also, when the house republicans took over, this was a part of a package that we could get some bipartisan support on and work together. the democratic house

so many groups have come out in favor of our legislation and opposed to these light bulbs, even the afl-cio has an interesting little bit on the union website about the light bulbs, pointing out there are many ways to save electricity without shift theegs jobs to china for a mercury-filled light bulb. we know the president thought this would help create 800,000 u.s. jobs. the only jobs we have found is that the winchester, virginia, plant shut down and those 200 jobs that -- employees that lost their jobs on september 24, 2010, they saw their jobs go to china. there have been unanticipated consequences of the 2007 act and it is time for us to say it was bad policy, it was a bad idea, and we need to get it off the books. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> i rise to manage the time on this bill on behalf of the energy and commerce committee democrats and i yield five minutes to the gentleman from massachusetts. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, and the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized for five minutes. mr. ma

the unions are still opposed to this, especially the afl-cio, and groups like public citizen. say, let's have this new tax regime in place for a while and have that -- and investigate how it is working before the other things. host: the topic of jobs always comes up when we speak about trade agreements. speak about jobs on both sides. guest: in coming imports are not going to be great from panama. this is not the south korean deal. there will be a surge above hyundai pickup trucks coming in, possibly laying off autoworkers. here you are looking for companies that will be moving production overseas. and one of the deals that they particularly focus on is all of these deals have investor-state dispute mechanisms. an arbitration outside the court system. in a lot of countries, the judiciary system is very slow, even corrupt, and they want access to revise reform. -- to a faster forum. host: our first guest is tony, democrat from tennessee. good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. i want to know why we keep instituting these nafta tie plans. before nafta came about we w

kline, in a letter to the committee, the afl-cio government affairs director robert to you and other members of the committee that this bill, in his opinion, would cripple workers, hobble the national labor relations board, make it easier for companies to ship jobs overseas, and create a new race to the bottom for american workers. what, if any, reaction would you say in response to that statement? >> i disagree completely with that statement. i think i have made it fairly clear already today. i believe the opposite is true. i believe this decision underway right now is, in fact, crippling jobs and hurting job creation in this country and the action we would take in this bill would help create more jobs in this country rather than have been created overseas. i do want to identify myself with your remarks -- union workers are in the americans. i drive a ford ranger bill by union workers. that is not the issue. what we are talking about is an overreach by a board that administration after administration, republican and democrat, is very partisan. i remember when my good friend mr. mille

but it will bectu white-collar jobs and we're very excited that to the highest-ranking woman in the afl-ciowill be one of our speakers. last but not least, the homeless women veterans.wome as i go across the country, most people understand when ms. serves the military moreit every year but they don't get that on any given night there is between the six vows and seven i a go and talk to them in the shelter i was there yesterday's in tampa across roads and they know about it and have a shelter and we're doing a couple of things. we spoke to them since negative shelters and how they got there. as a result, we're coming outnt e with a trauma a guide forum providers to understand the unique traumas of acer three scene. they have to do -- do with an this. sometimes military assault if i amed i a have all of vio these traumas on top of those that are higher risk of being homeless. explain top providers have you treat said john mudd to go back and with the families. we are excited about that. that. -- . [applause] and we're also doing a stand at -- stand down in october. there are many things we do

he received the outstanding citizen award from the united states afl-cio. the president's award from the new york federation of police. he received an honorary doctor of laws degree and was named the congressional staffer of the year award by roll call. in 19 -- in 2005, i was a proud sponsor of legislation that was signed into law naming a post office on self park avenue in our shared neighborhood of south buffalo after james t. malloy. the loss will be felt for many years to come by all who knew him. at this time, mr. speaker, i ask for a moment of silence in honor of a servant of this institution, james t. malloy. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: at this time the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from illinois, ms. schakowsky, for five minutes. ms. schakowsky: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today as a member of the progressive caucus to draw attention to the devastating effects that could be caused if the united states were to default on its debts. first, let's be clear that raising the debt ceiling will have no effect whatsoever on any ne

the u.s. chamber of commerce, $9 million. aarp, pfizer, 3.5 million, america bankers association, 2.3 million. afl-cio, 880,000, the aircraft owners and pilots association, 730,000, and the american farm bureau, 560,000. the sunl.i.f.e. foundation, a government watchdog group says there's a lot riding on the deficit negotiations. >> basically washington spends a lot of money, the biggest customer in the world, so businesses, labor unions, all kinds of other interests, they want the spending to kin. >> mary kate thatcher is a lobby i ist. >> well, it's tough to keep up on. certainly we're worried about how much gets cut. very much we're getting closer to a balanced budget. >> reporter: the national association of realtors spend $7.1 million lobbying in the second quarter of this user, nearly double what they spent over the same period last year. realtors are worried the mortgage interest deduction for homeowners could be eliminated. >> if it went away or severely curtailed it would add wind more level of uncertainty. >> with potential $3 trillion in federal deficits on the line, special interest groups

. >> the head of the michigan afl- cio said that for a republican, you are pretty good on labor. why is this a defining issue between -- dividing issue between democrats and republicans, and how will the issue played out in a gop presidential primary? >> for a democrat, i think he is okay, too. high praise indeed. but that is a very relevant statement. there are places i did not look at whether you are in the union or not. i look at whether the situation you are advocating has merit in terms of how it will affect the rest of the community or country. to me, it is an artificial distinction to a large degree. i think that is one of the things that republicans have got away from pure ronald reagan treated everybody as if they were equal because they were. the republican party has to get back to that. my father was a reagan democrat, union member, voted for him. people in our community as i was growing up supported the republican party because they had a host of issue on which they agreed with this, but if we start to tell people that because they are in one organization or another th

afl-cio. >> ceiu. engaged to zoom on congress can w. phone calls and lobbying to say stop the president from giving up everything to the republicans. one last point here. you heard the speaker of the house say we moved the goal post in terms of a president who doesn't want to make significant cuts who is now willing to make significant cuts, why don't republicans just say we have won this fight. it's time to move on and not push the country over the edge. >> chris: that's one. we will take a break here. we will continue the conversation. one of the interesting things that came out from both geithner and boehner is the grand bargain. it's not dead. when we come back, more on the debt crisis. >> and we're back now with the panel, continuing our discussion about the debt negotiations. and i have to say we're at the most interesting aspect of this both from boehner and from geithner was that neither of them was willing to put the final nail in the coffin to the grand bargain. many boehner said my deal, his deal demanding $400 billion more is still on the table. do you take that se

afl-cio. >> ceiu. engaged to zoom on congress can w. phone calls and lobbying to say stop the president from giving up everything to the republicans. one last point here. you heard the speaker of the house say we moved the goal post in terms of a president who doesn't want to make significant cuts who is now willing to make significant cuts, why don't republicans just say we have won this fight. it's time to move on and not push the country over the edge. >> chris: that's one. we will take a break here. we will continue the conversation. one of the interesting things that came out from both geithner and boehner is the grand bargain. it's not dead. when we come back, more on the debt crisis. [ male announcer ] this...is the network -- a living, breathing intelligence that's helping people rethink how they live. in he, the planned combination of at&t and t-mobile would deliver our next generation mobile broaand experience to 55 million more americans, many in small towns and rural communities, giving them a new choice. ♪ we'll deliver better service, with thousands of new cell s

afl-cio. sdiu, all engaged their members to absolutely zoom in on congress with phone calls and lobbying to say stop the president from giving up everything to the republicans. one last point here. i'm amazed, you heard the speaker of the house say, you know, we have moved the goal post in terms of a president who didn't want to make significant cuts who is now willing to make significant cuts. why don't republicans say, you know, we have won this fight. it's time to move on and not push the country over the edge? >> that's one view. we're going to take a break here and we're going to continue the conversation. one of the interesting things that came out from both geithner and from boehner is the grand bargain, it's not dead. when we come back, more on the debt crisis. [ male announcer ] at nissan, we test the altima's durability on a track that simulates the world's toughest roads. ♪ [ tires screeching ] ♪ if it can survive this drive... ♪ it can survive yours. the nissan altima. innovation that lasts. innovation for all. ♪ >> and we're back now with the panel, continuing our discussion about the debt

keep tax rates low if we're going to grow the economy and create a degree of certainty said these guys can move forward. host: i job discussion yesterday. afl-cio had their own and then taking a look at jobs. good to our coverage c-span.org. mich., a democratic caller. guest: highlight to know how this man got his job. whether he retired urge just appointed. host: you work for the chamber of commerce. what is your background? guest: i work for the u.s. chamber of commerce for 11 years. prior to that, house chief of staff to a member of the house of representatives for five years. in addition, i am a small- business owner myself. i own three restaurants in washington, d.c. unfortunately one had a fire a few weeks ago. i do not just preach the stuff, i lifted. i have been a serial of entrepreneur my whole life. u.s. chamber of commerce is private. we're funded by our members. we have 2600 state and local chambers that are our members. about 900 associations. many of the businesses in america from the fortune 1000 to the mom and pop's across the country. host: their portfolio includes election-related activities. i want to get your take on 2012. h