part of the transportation bill. senate though today on a procedural vote not able to get the 60 votes necessary for the controversial xl keystone pipeline. the president himself calling a number of senate democrats urging them not to support the measure. again that measure that was put forth by senator hoeven of north dakota failing to get the necessary votes today. the senate has voted to use most of the water pollution fines from the gulf oil spill to pay for restoration in five gulf states. bp could be fined as much as $5.5 billion to as high as $21 billion under the clean water act. it depends on whether it's found grossly negligent. the states will then receive those funds. let's begin with a debate over the transportation bill. the hill newspaper again reporting the senate democratic leaders praszing the republican speaker of the house, john boehner. democratic leads in the senate believe any do have the upper hand when it comes to negotiations on the bill because the house is unable to come some sort of a final agre

let us vote on the bipartisan senate bill. if 22 republican senators can support ha thill -- -- support that bill which would give us two years of stability, we ought to have a chance to vote on it in this house. the speaker pro tempore: who yields time. mr. mica: continuing to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman continues to reserve. the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: i yield one minute to the gentleman from virginia, mr. connolly. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. connolly: i thank my friend from west virginia. madam speaker, america's commuters an businesses want us to speed up transportation improvements. however the house republicans have offered only a speed bump. we face a transportation crisis with bridges and roadways crumbling, millions of americans struck in gridlock and transit improvements languishing. we've known the transportation lapses on march p 1, severely jeopardizing projects and jobs in every one of our states. this is nothing more than a three-

the only major jobs bill is on the floor right now. the bill is a nice bill, i like it. but it's not a major jobs creation bill as senator mcconnell said this morning. it will help people, we hope, take some of the that money they have in the banks to invest it. we said that we're going to move to that. i don't know logically what in the world they're talking about. if the american people or each of you need another demonstration what it is then you're all brain dead. >> you take up the house bill. last week you said -- what's changed? >> well, i think a vote of 390 to 93 was fairly significant in my thought process. >> senator harry reid on capitol hill earlier today. in a moment we'll hear from mitch mcconnell. pat leahy weighing in on this as well saying that the president is being held to a different standard. you may elect him but we're going to hold him to a different standard, senator leahy saying that's wrong in regards to these 17 judicial nominations. senator mitch mcconnell saying that the jobs bill should be next. >> on judicial nominations. on the judicial nominations, you called it a manufactured crisis. if

let's vote on the senate bill. when you can get 22 republican senators to vote to extend the program for two years, we have one gentleman say, two years, nothing no equipment orders. guess what? i have a list here, this is just the beginning of a list, of seven state d.o.t.'s who have contacted the american association of state transportation officials saying 90-day delay will cost jobs. 40,000 jobs in north carolina. on down the list. nevada, maryland, michigan, rhode island, west virginia, new hampshire have all reported in about projects they are going to delay or cancel in we do another 90-day extension and don't do the two-year bill. the two-year bill is enough certainty for these projects to move forward. no, it's not opt minimal. we need a five-year bill. we don't need a five-year bill that guts or destroys the program. those are the alternatives you are offering us here. just give us one vote. just one vote. let us vote on the senate bill which passed with a bipartisan, true bipartisan bill. this is not a bi

we can't even get a vote on the senate bill. if you want to vote against the senate two-year extension and vote instead for your 90-day extension, fine. you know, but let us have an opportunity to vote on something that will mean something to our communities, that will put people back to work. why are you denying us this vote? i mean, i have yet to hear anybody say why we can't have a vote on this. we had no amendments debated on this house floor on the transportation bill. we ought to have this debated, and i urge my colleagues to vote no on the previous question. so a little democracy can happen here. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman from massachusetts has expired. the gentleman from florida. mr. webster: thank you, mr. speaker. the situation we find ourselves in is certainly not ideal. i've been a strong proponent of a long-term re-authorization of federal transportation programs. recently re-authorizations haven't been that long term, but that's more often than not also. the goal everyone is seeking is a lon

the leadership has tried to find the votes for both a long term bill and short term bill with no success on either front. the senate was able to pass a short term bill rather than continue to struggle to develop a bill and reconcile difference it is time to get the job done. transportation has long been a bipartisan issue. in the house the bill that was advanced according to the republican transportation secretary he called it the most partisan and worst transportation bill he had seen in decades. the house bill desdrois more than half a million jobs. rather than work with democrats to rebuild america the republican led bill proposes to cut highway investments in 45 states, bankrupt the highway trust fund and weaken our economy. today i call on my colleagues to abandon the bill and support the bipartisan job creating plan. i yield two minutes to the gentleman from oregon, a strong advocate for cleaner transportation and investments. >> i appreciate your courtesy and i appreciate your leadership. watching what has happened in your community where people have stepped up but it is contingent on a regional partnership

on the senate bill. that's all we're asking. i mean, i think there might be a few people on your side of the aisle who would agree with their republican colleagues in the senate and support it and i can guarantee we'd get almost every democrat on this side of the aisle to vote for it. you can't even get your own people to vote for your own bill. you have to pretend it won't create jobs. paul ryan has now proposed in the budget, which we're going to vote on next that we should decrease funding in transportation by 35% but you're saying over there you want to continue the current level. we had better get it together. if you're going to support the ryan budget, you've just voted to cut transportation beginning october 1 by 35%. that's about half a million jobs but what the heck. you guys hate government so much, you hate america so much, that you won't do what's necessary to put this country back together. to rebuild the infrastructure that was given to us by democrats and republicans alike for more than half a century, never in a p

the transportation bi bill. in a sign of just how bad congressional dysfunction has gotten, senate republicans today blocking the advancement of a transportation bill which as you heard a moment ago is a piece of legislation that traditionally has enjoyed, broad bipartisan support. the vote in the senate today was 52-44. it was a procedural vote that fell short of the 60 needed to take up the bill. senator harry reid wondering why everything has to be a fight. they're close to an agreement on a number of amendments brought up for consideration so the issue continues in the senate. senator reid is vote inning way to bring it back to the senate floor. here's how it unfolded early today on capitol hill. we'll begin with harry reid of nevada. >> here's what i have learned today is senator mcconnell pulled micah from managing the highway bill and givesing to shus ster. i knew his father very well. we were both senior members of our transportation committees. we worked together on several highway bills. his name was bud shoe ster. if his son is anything like the dad, it will help get this bill done. we have to go back

the house and senate are pretty much done for the week. the house today passed a bill that would repeal the independent payment advisory board, and place caps on some medical malpractice awards. meanwhile, in the senate, they voted to advance a bill known as the stock act that deals with capitol fund raising, that deals with insider trading on capitol hill. they also agreed to send that bill to president obama for his signature. live coverage of the house on c-span when they return. senate on c-span 2. next week, the supreme court will hear oral argument about the health care law. we will provide same-day audio from the court monday through wednesday, and you can hear those arguments each day as they're released, which we expect to be about 1:00 p.m. eastern. we'll have them here on c-span 3. on c-span radio and c-span.org. >>> in march of 1979, c-span began televising the u.s. house of representatives to households nationwide. and today our content of politics and public affairs, nonfiction books and american history is available on tv, radio and online. >> when we pu

street and as a result they couldn't get the votes to pass a bill to get loaded up in the senate you know for the front of the house house version in the house like they've been able to move a bill the senate passed an incredibly good strong bipartisan bill it funds a program even a slightly above baseline levels and it shores up some serious mass transit problems in this country one of the stories that's not be told in america is that mass transit says. we're facing huge growth in demand but they're cutting service and jobs because they don't have the resources to deal with with with the rising demand and this bill fixes that by giving them some flexibility in how they spend their money to keep trains running it's a big deal yeah it is a big deal what what kind of. what kind of america what kind of function how can how can business even function without a transportation investor i don't understand the logic of these guys what's interesting about it is that even the chamber of commerce is completely on board trying to pass a long term bill to the a.f.l.-cio and our organization which

bill. we did in the senate. two senators on the political spectrum, couldn't be farther apart than barbara boxer of california and jim inhofe of oklahoma. but you know what? they accepted their political responsibility, came up with a bipartisan bill. 74-22 it passed the senate. bipartisan federal transportation bill. meanwhile, what was happening in the house? the house was just one crash after another. their first highway bill went nowhere, rejected. their second highway bill, they wouldn't even call for a vote. time passed and more and more of these measures were falling apart. they withdrew the chairman of the committee in the house in charge of it, said we're going to put somebody else in. brought in another name. i couldn't keep up with it. the speaker of the house and the house republican caucus made a dog's breakfast out of this federal transportation bill. and now today, to add insult to injury, they not only wouldn't call our bipartisan bill -- that's all we've asked for. i see senator boxer on the floo

to divert attention away from the president's energy policies, you bring this bill to the floor is a surprise to me. in may of 2011, a year ago, the bill's sponsor, senator menendez acknowledged, he said -- quote -- "nobody has made the claim that this bill is about reducing gas prices." why would you be talking about it if you could be spending the same time doing things that would reduce gas prices? the american people believe that government can have impact on gas prices. i believe the government can have impact on gas prices. this bill that we're talking about isn't even designed, according to the sponsor, to reduce gas prices. senator begich said the proposed tax hikes -- quote -- "won't decrease prices at the pump for our families and small businesses." he may or may not be for the bill, but he certainly has figured out what the bill would do. senator baucus noted that -- quote -- "this is not -- this is not going to change the price at the gasoline pump. that's not the issue." well, what is the issue? maybe we ought to figure out what the issue is. families think it's the issue. families think when they see that sign go up three different times ma

the senate. >> well, right now, the lieberman/collins bill is on a fast track to the senate floor. they just introduced it a couple weeks ago. harry reid has already said he is putting that straight to the floor without any mark-ups in committee, which is fairly unusual. >> why is he doing that? >> well, they say they have been working on cyber security legislation for a long time and it's true. their bill incorporates elements from other proposals. i think part of the reason is that they don't want to have -- there are a lot of different committees that jurisdiction over it, it's a big issue, the homeland security committee, intelligence, security, there are a lot of committees that could get their hands on in a way that lieberman and collins probably won't like. they feel the bill right now strikes the right balance. >> is this bill that is being brought to the senate floor, in its infancy, was a senator rockefeller vehicle from a couple years ago? >> i think it incorporates elements from a lot of different bills that have been put together. lieberman and collins are the lead on

he's going to be bringing the lieberman-collins bill to the floor so we should see a vote in the senate. estimate does this legislation build on existing legislation or is it a new approach? >> like i said there'd been several bills that had been talked about in the previous congress. the lieberman collins bill came out in the last couple of weeks, so that bill itself pulls together different elements and as you. islamic i apologize, what i meant is their existing cybersecurity legislation now on the books to regulate this issue or is this approach brand new and building from scratch? >> there's been no comprehensive safety because security bill that passed congress. they're obviously are laws on the rocks. part of the approach of the mccain bill is to update the computer laws to keep them up to speed the nature of the internet and talking penalties. >> brendan sasso is with the hill and covers cybersecurity and other technological issues and now here is our interview with senator lieberman and collins. >> we are joined this week by the communicators by the chairman of the senate homela

on the highway bill and pass something similar to what the senate and you all are working on. what is your reaction to that? >> reaction to that is a significant step forward and the information they've gotten. passing a similar bill is pleasing to my ears and they should forget about their job destroying come destructive bill. chairman mica to that body. use the republicans with criticism to the approach is not democrats only. its premise on members, own republicans. >> to have the votes to defeat the amendment? there's also reports that obama is personally lobbying the democrats. feature request that quick >> the answer is yes. everyone should just calm down and keystone. just take a deep red, folks. half of it is being constructed as we speak. and the other half, there's been a new application filed to get rid of some of the contentious problems that the company knows they have. so the president has not come out saying i oppose. he opposed and the matter being jammed down our throats. so the answer i repeat is yes we will defeat that because that

the bill he's referring to, the bill formerly known as the easiest bill to pass on capitol hill? is the highway bill. senator durbin is right, once upon a time the highway bill was not only beloved by members of congress far and wide, after all there are potholes to be filled in everyone's district. it was routine. authorized spending on roads, bridges, railways, airports, spending that everybody agrees needs to be done. look, there are plenty of things we argue about whether or not the government should be doing. there is debate over the government should be making sure everyone has health insurance, we'll talk about that coming up. debate over whether or not the government should be going to space. it's not intrinsically obvious it's the federal government's role to put the first foot on mars. but there are a couple of areas where the government has an obvious role, things that everyone agrees the government should be doing. national defense and national infrastructure lead that list. these are public goods. pretty much everybody, no matter their political stripe, thinks the government should fund national

the senate? >> well, right now the lieberman-collins bill is on a fast track to the senate floor. they just introduced it a couple weeks ago, but harry reid has already said he's putting that straight to the floor without markups in committee which is fairly unusual. >> host: why is he doing that? >> guest: well, they say they've been working on cybersecurity legislation for a long time, and it's true, and their bill incorporates other proposals. they don't want to have -- there are a lot of different committees that have jurisdiction, it's a big issue. whether it's the homeland security committee, intelligence, there are a lot of committees that could get their hands on it and will change it in a way lieberman and collins probably don't like, and they feel like the bill they have now strikes the right balance. >> host: is this bill in its, in its infancy was it a senator rockefeller vehicle from a couple years ago? >> guest: i think it incorporates from a lot of different bills, senator rockefeller and senator feinstein as well is also pushing for it. >> host: is it getting oppos

the high well -- highway bill. the current plan is to take up the senate bill, or something like it. is hard for anyone to imagines the house will take up the senate bill and pass the senate bill. they will almost certainly want to put their stamp on it and amend it to their liking, which would make them go to conference and negotiate with the senate and a final version, which we do not know how it would look. finally, to get enough votes to pass a republican bill in the house, they are trying their hardest, they say, to talk to members and get to the magic number that will support a longer-term bill, and barbara boxer in the senate and james inhofe saying they would have liked a longer bill, too, but they could not find the money. the reason they want to do a longer bill is because state departments of transportation, the construction industry and others say that those problems -- projects take a number of years, and they need more lead time, more assurances of a stable flow of money to get the financing to do those projects. host: what happens the house does not pass a bill and not

for a better commute pass the frptiotransportation bill. the senate just delivered a gift to the house, a bipartisan transportation bill at a time when america really could use a lift. here's hoping the republicans don't mess it up." wcialtiowell, hope against hope. so far i feel very worried, very, very worried. the whole program expires on friday, and all they can come up with is these extensions, and then they don't even have the votes for that. how bad would it be for them to give me a call, give senator inhofe a call and say, you know, we're going to come over and sit down, and bring the bipartisan leadership of the committees -- there are four of them -- bring the bipartisan leadership of the senate and let's hammer something out. what is happening over there? speaker boehner is the speaker of the house, not speaker of the republicans. he needs to work with the democrats. i don't expect the they'll loveh other. my good in we don't expect miracles. but we should expect them to work together. i remember fondly my days in the house. tip o'neill and

. 3/4 of the senate voted for what was a very bipartisan bill and as a matter of fact, half the senate republicans essentially voted for that bill. it had, as you know, a technical flaw in the bill and that it had revenues which need to be initiated in the house of representatives. representative tim bishop of new york has introduced the senate bill which has overwhelming support in the united states senate and very frankly in my view would have at least 218 votes in this house, at least 218 votes in this house if it were put on the floor. the speaker has said in the past that he is committed to letting the house work its will. obviously referring to open amendments process. but obviously if a bill doesn't come to the floor, we have no opportunity either to amend or to vote. that's been one of our problems, of course, with the jobs bill that we hope would have been brought to the floor that the president proposed. that has not been to the floor. i ask my friend, rather than continue to delay, and both sides have done that on the highway bill, to

the senate. we are calling on the house to pass bipartisan transportation legislation. the items in the bill will let congress figure out we commended the senate for acting in a bipartisan way on this important bill. the house, like the senate, should act in a bipartisan way and pass the bill. the president looks forward to signing a bipartisan transportation bill because of the absolute necessity we continue to build and maintain world class infrastructure. >> the administration is not necessarily putting on a statement of support of this bill. >> i hear you. you can draw whatever distinctions you want. we strongly urge the house to pass bipartisan transportation legislation. as the senate has. and the president looks forward into signing into law that is bipartisan in nature. but we commended had them for passing it. i don't want to get caught in semantics here. i just want to make clear that we want to see action by congress on a piece of bipartisan legislation on this important topic. >> the white house press secretary on the transportation bill. some observers are looking at the possibi

- we commended the senate last -- we are calling on the house to follow the senate's lead and pass bipartisan transportation legislation. well, we commended the senate for passing the bill. i'm not going to write the legislation for them. we are saying the house, like the senate, should act in a bipartisan way and pass a bill. the% looks forward to signing into a law a transportation bill because of f the absolute necessity that we continue to build and maintain infrastructure. >> the administration is not necessarily putting out a statement in support of this bill. >> well, whatever distinctions -- i hear you. look, you can draw whatever distinctions you want. we strongly urge the house to pass bipartisan transportation legislation, as the senate has. and the president looks forward to signing into law a bill that is bipartisan in nature. we wan to see action by congress on piece of bipartisan legislation on this important topic. >> white house press secretary jay carney on the transportation bill. some observers on capitol hill are looking at the possibility that the house would pass a short-term extension on the transportation bill. it's scheduled to expire on march

technically john micah is on the bill and he will be the sponsorf whatever actually passes out of the house unless they decide to punt and take the senate bill. what is happening though is that john micah has been saying for weeks and months actually that he is in charge of making the transportation policy, and he is not in charge of getting the funding or the votes for it. that is where the action is. so to say that john micah has been pulled from the bill is a little bit of an overstatement, but it is not entirely inaccurate to say that essentially john boehner is looking to find whoever he can and bill schuster is a very good person to go to get the votes that he needs from the freshmen members of congress. >> let e's look over to the sene for a second, and that is a much different bill, and two-year reauthorization bill and what can you tell us about the status there? >> well, it is going in a long, slow slug towards passage. there is still debate on whether the number of amendments that can be, that can be put on the bill. last i checked, they didn't have a deal on the, on what those amendments would look like, but aides on both si

the u.s. senate on the floor earlier today. harry reid. from the hometown newspaper shall the las vegas sun writing about this, senator reid calls the transportation bill like republicans and the charlie brown football. here's how the l.a. sun reports. the long and winding road to a highway bill will keep winding and weaving its way through congress, at least for a while. this after senator reid failed to jump-start the legislative process which sputtered. more on this from the senate floor and here is senator bob corker, republican of tennessee. >> the reason i come down here today in a very hopeful way is i think all of us certainly support the highway bill. we want to see a bill like this passed. but i think we also want to see it passed in the appropriate way. some of the earlier renditions that have come out of the finance committee unfortunately have not paid for this bill. it's my sense that maybe what's happening in this right now is that maybe there's work being done to try to make that not be the case. i know the senator from new york is really familiar with the healthcare debate we had years ago. one of the things that many of the folks on t

the senate did send you an overwhelmingly bipartisan transportation bill. what is wrong with passing that -- >> well i think when you look at the pay-for the in there, what you see is, you see some what i call gimmicks in terms of how it's paid for. secondly, they just run down the highway trust fund to virtually zero. which is going to -- may get them through the next year and a half but will cause a this has addressed again. so there are concerns with the bill, but i think that when we get to conference with the senate i'm confident we can resolve this. >> mr. speaker, what specifically with the bill, what specifically are the gimmicks? because i spoke to a senator today and she said nothing but spending, pork barrel spending. what would be -- what's the -- >> i don't think passes great d that when we get to conference. yes, sir? >> [ inaudible ]. >> we'll be fine. >> mr. speaker, last september there was an issue with trying to offset staff emergency funding that was a contentious issue on both sides. do you intend to offset emergency funding come septemb

the way of trying to start a business. we have already passed over 30 bills city in the united states senate. all of them that would help our economy grow and boost more american jobs. this is another step in the right direction. >> you say you are prepared to bring up the senate bill. it did not pay for the -- they don't want to pay for it. >> and you did not pay for it. >> we did not. >> i am curious -- there have been a couple of skirmishes were the democrats have come out on top. where do you see the last one for you guys? >> this is a difficult process we are in. we've got a new majority with 89 freshman at my job every day is to work with our members to find out where the center of gravity is and try to move legislation that is in the best interest of our country and we are going to continue to do that. >> are you prepared to bring forward the hhs legislation? >> house minority leader nancy pelosi spoke about the need for the house to move forward with the transportation bill but move away from the republican proposal, saying that it is off track. her remarks are 25 minutes. >> good morn

they fix the issues. >>> a new bill allowing people in oklahoma to carry their firearms openly on their hip or in a shoulder holster has cleared the state house. it's headed to the state senateee for full review. the bill prohibits people from openly carrying guns into government offices, schools or professional sporting arenas. you must also show a permit if asked by a police officer. >>> if you just found a great deal on an airline ticket out there, consider yourself to be one of the lucky ones. we should expect air fares to stay high for at least the next eight years. the faa says the reason, kompb tigs or rather the lack of it. tom costello covers the aviation industry. this is not good news for people and even for those people that are looking for the airline industry to rebound, this has got to hurt. >> i think that the airline industry is rebounding. the biggest problem it has is that jet fuel right now is just out of control. it's up about 260% in ten years. air fares up about 6.7% over ten years and the airlines are g getting squeezed on that. airlines are full. look at the mergers that we have seen in just the last few years. there are fewer players vying for your

congressman, if we could, though, tell us your view on the collins-lieberman bill currently in the senate. >> guest: sure, be glad to. thank you very much for your continued interest in this very important topic. on the legislation, i'm pleased that senator lieberman and senator collins have finally introduced a comprehensive bill on cybersecurity. it certainly is not strong enough, in my opinion, i want to see it stronger, but it is a very good start, move in the right direction, and i commend them for their due diligence and really for trying to move the issue forward. we can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good, and it's certainly something i'd like to see move along and get through a conference committee with the house and the senate. >> host: now, congressman, when you say it's not strong enough, in what areas? >> guest: well, one of the things, of course, is relies on is department of homeland security and working with the private sector to come up with cybersecurity standards for the critical infrastructure for example. that's a good first start, but i think it's going to rea

the senate. one committee considered raising the bill and another consider raising future pensions. we've been following developments. let's go to annapolis for the latest. >> unpopular decisions are being made. for example, the chairman told tax -- said today he is getting letters laced with profanity from those opposed to raising the income tax. >> the rules of an engagement with republican delegates -- >> i would like to testify in opposition. >> we are accepting the sponsors and owners of late. >> i'm sorry. the senate bill and that is what we're using. >> that is unfortunate. >> the chairman and sponsor of the measure to increase the personal income tax rate defended the bill before the ways and means committee. house members are considering whether to adopt some, all, or none of the proposals passed last week by the full senate. questions to the panel amplify the philosophical divide over how to best use your tax dollars. >> we hear this often. there is an exodus of capital from maryland and elsewhere. i am trying to figure out how this proposal was going to help that exit. >>

the u.s. senate returns at 10 a.m. eastern. members begin debate on a bill to repeal tax subsidies for large oil companies followed by a procedural vote on the measure. and on c-span3, you can hear the audio from today's supreme court oral argument when it's released at approximately 1 p.m. eastern. >> this week "the communicators" continues looking at cybersecurity and congressional efforts to write legislation addressing it. today two key members of the house of representatives working on cyber issues. >> congressman lee terry, what's the status of cybersecurity legislation in the house? >> guest: well, there's one bill that everyone's pretty much agreed to, the rogers bill, that allows the nsa to communicate to industries about known threats. that hasn't moved, it's still this committee as we're building on that. >> host: well, as you know, the senate is actively pursuing cybersecurity legislation, two bills going forward, the lieberman-collins and the republican bill. where do you stand on those? >> guest: well, those are ones that we will look at, but w

. 3/4 of the senate voted for what was a very bipartisan bill d as a matter of fact, half the senate republicans essentially voted for that bill. it had, as you know, a technical flaw in the bill and that it had revenues which need to be initiated in the house of representatives. representative tim bishop of new york has introduced the senate bill which has overwhelming support in the united states senate and very frankly in my view would have at least 218 votes in this house, at least 218 votes in this house if it were put on the floor. the speaker has said in the past that he is committed to letting the house work its will. obviously referring to open amendments process. but obviously if a bill doesn't come to the floor, we have no opportunity either to amend or to vote. that's been one of our problems, of course, with the jobs bill that we hope would have been brought to the floor that the president proposed. that has not been to the floor. i ask my friend, rather than continue to delay, and both sides have done that on the highway bill, to gi

at the same time, even though the house bill has about a third less funding for these highway measures than the senate bill does, many conservatives think it's still too much money being out there. he can't keep his own party together on this one. he's unwilling to do a bill. that includes the senate bill that if it came to the floor might 218 votes. it will probably have more democrats supporting it than republicans. >> woodruff: is there a similar dynamic at work with the paul ryan proposals which the democrats have already said no. >> one element of the ryan budget reflects some of the distinction we haven't talked about. at the insistence of conservatives, fresh menace well as some of the more conservative senior members, they've cut spending in the discretionary areas the non-into it. ment programs below the deal that was reached on the debt limit last year. that's going to cause another potential shutdown in the government its breaking a bargain that all the leaders agreed to. house republicans said we only set a ceiling. we didn't set a floor. but even mitch mcconnell has said that that was the

the house could pass the senate bill. if speaker boehner put the senate bill on the floor, there's virtually no question it would pass by a large majority. you know, this is beginning to look a bit like the replay of the payroll tax cut episode. just like then, the senate passed a bipartisan bill by an overwhelming majority. just like then, the speaker originally said he would act based on the senate compromise but then he went back on what he said. and just like then, with the deadline looming the speaker is unable to pass an alternative measure and is resorting to ask the senate for a conference. well, we all know how the payroll tax cut saga ended. republicans started turning on the speaker and calling on him to pass the senate bill. now that's happening here, too. earlier this week three house republicans from mainstream republican districts, congress members doled and biggert and bass joined the growing calls for for the speaker to put the senate two-year highway bill on the floor. these are major cracks in the dam an

following morning business, the senate resume consideration of s. 1813, the highway bill, with the time until 11:30 equally divided between the two leaders their designees. that upon the disposition of the transportation bill, the senate proceed to air period of morning business until -- to a period of morning business until 2:00 p. p.m., senators permitted on speak for up to ten minutes each, with the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. finally, at 2:00 p.m., senate proceed to executive session, there there be 30 minutes of debate equally divided prior to a vote in the motion to invoke cloture on the groh nomination. there will be three roll call votes tomorrow beginning at 11:30. pardon my interrupting you, mr. president. so, mr. president, there there be three roll call votes beginning at 111:30, including passage of the transportation bill. at 2:30, there will be up to 17 cloture votes on judicial nominations. we're working with various parties to see if we can work something out on those nominations. we hope we can. but if not, we'll have

on the senate. 301, is there an association -- on senate bill 301, is there an association on our capps program, or can it benefit? >> as is usually the case was san francisco and seismic issues, we are ahead of the rest of the state. hours are usually more restrictive. >> great. there was also a comment with regard to homeland security and some of the funding we can possibly secure from that? >> as i understand it, we are in the process of participating in another round of homeless security grants where we are applying. last year, we applied for a number of funds to pay for mobile field devices so that our assessor's doing a rapid assessment following an earthquake or another major emergency could use realtime data and enteric from the kind of a smart phone-like device, directly from the field. we were not selected in it that round last year. but as i understand, the way the department of emergency management is now dealing with these kinds of grant applications is we will be reconsidered. we might have to add updates, and we are in the process of doing that right now. but we're going

aarp doesn't urge the senate to kill the bill. aarp urges the senate to take a more balanced approach, recognizing both an interest in facilitating access to new capital for small business and preserving essential regulations. we believe the amendment to be offered by senator reid, landrieu, and levin moves closer to achieving that balance. and it goes on to say that sometimes the people that are taken advantage of are the elderly. so wake up, senators from florida. wake up, senators from michigan. wake up, senators that have big senior populations. the aarp is against the house bill, the ill-advised political opportunity bill. north american securities administrators, they sent a letter yesterday. it's seven pages long. jack kerstein. they go into great deal on detail on behalf of the north american securities administrators association. i don't think this is a liberal think tank. i think this is a very well-respected, not left-wing, regulate everything that moves kind of group. i think they said -- i think that's correct, and the

since this bill has enjoyed strong bipartisan support in the senate with six bipartisan cosponsors. regardless of that, i am pleased that this balanced bill also enjoyed a 420-1 vote in thousands. imagine that. all but one voting member of the house of representatives agrees on this bill. by note that the s.e.c. recently released information from its forum on small business capital formation increasing the regulation a exemption to $50 million was one of their top recommendations at this forum. by the way, this is an idea that has been on the s.e.c. small business capital formation recommendations almost every year since 1993, the year after the limit was last raised to $5 million. so the idea that this is some risky new idea is not correct. in fact, at a briefing with the s.e.c. a few weeks ago, s.e.c. lawyers suggested there is absolutely nothing scary about s. 12544 and that they are very comfortable with the existing investor protections included in that bill. the bottom line is i'm thrilled thrilled we will have the opportunity to pass the legisl