the senate committee adopted tax hikes and a seismic shift in responsibility to balance the budget. if the full senate fails to vote in favor of the package, it did -- it triggers doomsday cuts. >> the maryland general assembly is looking at filling a billion dollars hole in the state budget. the proposal is being dissected by the senate. a difficult process by any measure. >> the committee is in the process of making a decision to send to the full chamber for consideration. the committee recommends the state split the combined cost of teacher pensions and social security with local jurisdictions. they adopted a plan to phase in the cost over four years. the committee adopted a recommendation to commit money dedicated to the trust fund. no, but the fun in excess of 2 minute $50,000 may be used for purposes other than transportation projects without being reviewed by the general assembly's budget committee. >> we are looking at for bills here that are all very much a package at dependent on each other. i am particularly concerned with the revenue for the state. the bills are tied to d

the chair of the senate c judiciary committee, according to politico, they went on a warpath. saying that her proposals for legislative change was more than a year ago. the explanation for why the delay is happening did not satisfy either senator leahy or senator grassley. here's more from earlier today. all of this from today's senate judiciary committee hearse. >> as you mentioned, the case, what guidance is doj giving to agencies about how they should respond, how they should treat the requests seeking critical infrastructure information? >> in the wake of the supreme court's decision we issued extensive guidance to agencies to help walk them through the changed landscape that occurred as a result of the supreme court's decision. first of all, we had to explain what exemption to -- what was left of the exemption and what would fit within it. but, pretty matically, agencies really have two alternatives to see if other exemptions will safeguard the information and that's certainly an option that was discussed and contemplated in the case itself -- >> of course, the national de

and of course the hope and the opportunities to come forward as part of his championship in the senate committee and he's joined today by vice chairman senator barrasso from wyoming who is among many things in his support for indian country really championing the energy bill and moving forward the energy bill which we think is another great opportunity for the country. if either one of you would like to say a few words we would be glad to have you both come up standing together like you do in the committee. thank you. [ applause ] >> aloha. it is a pleasure to be with you today and to hear ncai president keel's assessment of the state of the indian nation and tribal priorities for the coming year. it is important for all native american communities to be the american indian, alaska native, or even native hawaiian to take stock of where they are. and set achievable goals for the coming year. at this time when all governments are having to do more with less we must endeavor to strengthen the ability of tribal governments to develop local economies, spur job creation, and meet the needs of their pe

the senate. david collins is following the issue and joins us live from annapolis with the latest. what is the holdup? >> a senate committee has a similar bill and the chairman is on the record in support. the committee members wanted to wait to see what happened to that bill in the house before the acted on it. -- they acted on it. the house -- changes to the bill may reduce the number of wind turbines. environmentalists are still pleased. the bill requires consumers to pay $1.50 a month war on the bill starting in 2017. subsidize capturing wind energy. 10 to 30 miles off the coast of ocean city. >> delegates expressed concern about the cost to customers. >> in 2017 the way the bill is written it would not be $1.50, it would be that and the adjustments. >> and other delegates worried about the state moving too fast. calling for a test run. that is the approach business -- for gin is taking. what about business? what is the maximum cost business would have to pay? >> the fee was cut to one. -- 1% of the bill. in a reversal of political philosophy, republicans offered an amendment requiring the state to study weren't here,

under the bipartisan leadership, the senate committee on indian affairs has reached across party lines to develop legislation that promises to transform indian country and in the house republicans like don young, democrats like dale kilde have worked hard to educate their constituents and colleagues about the benefits tribal governments offer our nation. there are some important things congress can do right now that can grow i spending a time. the congress can fix the problem it's created by the supreme court decision and offer certainty for transaction that is are critical to the nick future. the department of the interior is already acting to streamline, lease approval for renewable energy development and we urge congress to expand leasing reform and pass an indian energy self-determination law. congress can also act on public safety legislation that will attract businesses to our communities. we urge the passage of amendments to the stafford act that are supported by fema and would remove burdens have states and tribes in times of critical emergencies when lives are on the line. nat

rules committee and the executive nominations committee. senators expressed concern that he appeared and voted at last monday's meeting and he remains a member of the taxation committee but was removed back in 2010 after his indictment on felony indictment charges. >> a packed house in annapolis as the governor signs into law the same-sex marriage act. jennifer franciotti is live with what happens next. >> maryland is now officially the eighth state to legalize same-sex marriage. that law is scheduled to take effect on january 1 of next year. opponents are working to get a referendum on the november ballot and put the issue before the voters. they're hoping to surpass the 55,000 signatures needed by this summer. -- 56,000 signatures. even if the issue doesn't make it to referendum, those who support same-sex marriage believe the outcome will still be the same. >> still a little work left to do. it's going to go to referendum. there's no doubt about that. but i think that the -- certainly the advocates, the governor and i, we're going to do everythin

and senator susan collins, who is the ranking republican on the same committee, talking about their specific legislation on cybersecurity. joining us first is brandon sasso of the hill newspaper. what is the status of cybersecurity legislation and the senate? >> weld right now the lieberman collins bill is on a fast track to the floor. the interested a couple of weeks ago. harry reid has already said he's putting that on the floor without any markups in the committee which is fairly unusual. >> why is he doing that? >> he says they've been working on cibber security legislation for a long time and the bill incorporates elements from other proposals. i think part of the reason is they don't want to have there are a lot of committees that have jurisdiction and the big issue is the homeland security committee, the intelligence, there are a lot of committees that could get their hands and changes in the way that lieberman and collins probably don't like and they feel the wheel they have no strikes the right balance in their opinion. >> is this bill being brought to the senat

and senator susan collins who is the ranking republican on that same committee talking about their specific legislation on cybersecurity. but joining us first is brendan sas sew of the hill newspaper. what is the status of cybersecurity legislation in 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

cornyn for the senate jewishi committee activities. and in addition to his work also in this area i would say that he finds himself in a unique role. senator cornyn, as most of you know, leads the senate republican campaign committee. which is next to the minority league one of the most political jobs in the senate. and yet, in the era of freedom of information, senator cornyn and senator leahy have worked collaboratively, cooperatively hand in hand. matt and lidia have worked on many of these issues. and provides for all of us a model of what the kind of cooperation can and should be in the u.s. senate. and we're glad to have you both sitting next to each other here today. chris deboyd, who also returns here, she is with the minority staff of the house government oversight and reform committee. and she also has had experience with the freedom of information reform legislation during the last years. and she shares with other panelists, also having had a stint on the senate side for senator max cleland. so it's a heavyweight group from t

, senator tim johnson, chairman of the banking committee, senator richard shelby, the ranking member of the banking committee, they couldn't have been nicer. i called their staffs very often to make sure that they were moving forward, and they did move forward. and, by the way, just as the e.p.w. committee was able to vote out a bill unanimously, everybody supporting it, so did the banking committee. and i'm very grateful to them. senator rockefeller and senator hutchison, chair and rank member of commerce, i thank them from the bottom of my heart. they had some difficult bumps in the road. when the bill came out of committee, there was controver controversy. working with senator cantwell, we figured out a way to get a vote on something she cared a lot about. we were able to smooth out that bump in the road of the and frankly they came together like two true champions and were able to get over the partisan differences and come up with a bipartisan bill. so we married together four committees' work. that was amazing. the work of four committees married togeth

you serve on the senate budget committee. >> yes. >> you made some proposed changes to the budget. by the way, tell us what that is? >> this is the maryland budget through 2015. and this is what we have been looking on for the last week or so. >> and some light reading for folks. >> yes. >> tell us about these changes. >> what we did is made maryland's tax code much barer. for the vast majority of marylanders struggling to get back in the work force, we made sure they are at the top of paying their share so the folks at the bottom have the safety net services and the great schools and education that maryland is known for. we are first in the nation for education. we re-upped our investments in schools, health care, education,

but one of them which is relevant for today's event is that he worked very actively on the senate banking committee for a number of years, served under senator paul sarbanes, actively involved in the drafting of that statute, along with chairman gensel and professor goldsmith was involved. obviously steve harris also we've heard from this morning, so we have a number of folks with us this morning who are truly veterans of that effort and can give us some perspective on that statute. chairman gruenberg served on the senate banking committee i believe i'm right in saying from 1987 until 2005. previously he had received his law degree from case western reserve, and undergraduate degree from princeton. he became vice chairman of the federal deposit insurance corporation in august, 2005, and then became acting chairman when chairman powell stepped down, and more recently became acting chairman when chairman sheila baer stepped down last july. so he's certainly a person with broad experience in the legislative branch. obviously for the last several years has been deeply involved in the regulatory policy

yet over the last week we saw claire mccaskill, chairwoman of the senate committee where the processwould begin basically say no, carl levin -- i mean, everybody pretty much has said no, is base closures dead or is it the first step of the long tango? >> it sure did for this year. because the problem is all the difficulties, all the objections come in the near term and the payoff comes way off in the future. in fact, beyond obama even if he's reelected. there's no incentive to go forward. >> the other thing is you never get it in an election year. they're also going to demand that we look at overseas bases before we look at the bases here at home. i think that's a good thing. we ought to take a look at our forces around the world and if we want to keep the same kind of deployments. >> i think what you're hearing on the hill from former brac officials i've talked to is pretty predictable. you introduce the topic, congress asks for studies, asks for overseas closures and then in the following year it might authorize it or not. so it's not -- i don't think it's dead yet. >> it's the fir

one of the exchanges with senator richard shelby who's the senate banking committee's top republican asking without any qualifiers can you assure this committee that the american taxpayer will not need to bail out the fhsa fung iish i had a crystal ball. the fact is i am confident and i remain confident that we are taking responsible steps to protect the fha fund. as a way of this month the obama administration projecting its budget proposal for key fha accounts which h that exceeds the expected losses could be depleted sometime next year. so that's why the issue came up today with shaun donovan, the hud secretary. here's one of the exchanges with senator patty murray, democrat from washington state. >> let me begin by asking you about the status of the fha's mutual mortgage insurance fund. given the seriousness of this housing crisis, it's not surprising that fha has sustained significant losses notice capital reserve account has served its purpose by covering those unexpected losses. but i was concerned when the president's budget stated that $688 million would be neededed to cover

on finance, rarnging member oth co hutchison, ranking member on the energy committee and chuck grassley on the ranking member is to senator reid which we have asked the legislation go through the regular process with the committees of jurisdiction having a say in this process. so, mr. chairman, i thank you and yield back the balance of my time. >> no balance. senator i return the -- no, it's not. look, with the same fondness and respect that you expressed for senator collins and me when you started, i cannot conceal the fact that i'm disappointed by your statement. we have conducted, this bill is essentially the one marked up by the committee, but that's not the point. the point is that we have reached out not only to everybody who was possibly interested in this bill outside of the congress but opened the process to every member of the senate who want ed to be involved. we pleaded for involvement. and a lot of people including yourself have not come to the table. the most encouraging part of your statement is you and those working with you are going to introduce legislation and we'll be glad to consider it. the senate sh

, the senate armed services committee. is was earlier today on capitol hill. >> on the mandated changes in your 50-50 program on the field that you would be purchasing just a minute ago and mr. secretary in your statement you said every time the barrel of a cost goes up a dollar it increase fuel costs. in 2012 due to the political unrest and so forth -- well now if do you the math on this thing, it appears to me, senator mccain mentioned the purchase of 20,000 gallons of the algae fuel that was $424 a gallon. i assume that's all behind us. that was an experiment and that's gone. what we're doing now is talking about the cost of the 50-50 blend. the 50-50 blend, as i under it and i'm taking the figures from you guys, would be -- it would be $15 a gallon. now your jp-5 as i know from my own purchase is somewhere between $4 and $5 a gallon. you're talking about an increase of about $10 for each gallon. is my math off here? >> no, sir. that's exactly correct and it's, again, a test amount. it's 450,000 gallons of biofuel that w

live coverage here on c-span3 waiting for the senate judiciary committee to gavel in for a hearing from the attorney who investigated the prosecution of former alaska senator ted stevens. it should get under way shortly. the senate itself is under way. they will spend the day today dealing with a bill to impose a minimum tax rate on high income earners which insures high earners don't escape paying taxes due to tax breaks and write-offs. live senate coverage on c-span2. the house today beginning work on the 2013 budget, and their legislative day starts at noon eastern. of course, you've been seeing our information about our coverage of the supreme court, two oral arguments today. we'll air one at 1:00 p.m. and the last one at 3:15 here on c-span3. president obama returned last night from the security summit in seoul, south korea. and today, up on the hill, a house service -- house armed services committee hearing on that very same issue, korean peninsula security. that's this afternoon. that's this morning at 10:00, getting under way about now. and you can follow that on c-span.org. ano

the congress. coming up in just a few minutes, an interview with senator joe lieberman who is chair of the homeland security committee and senator susan collins who is the ranking republican on that same committee talking about their specific legislation on cyber security. joining us first is brendan sasso of the hill newspaper. mr. sasso, what is the status of cyber security legislation in 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 lieberma

. >> tomorrow, the senate committee will get a briefing on the so-called doomsday bill, which is only balanced through budget cuts. >> definitely a seybert showdown before super tuesday. the republican presidential candidates are spending this election eve making their pitch to voters. >> a new poll shows super tuesday could be a split decision for the candidates. , ithe eve of super tuesday was game on in ohio. mitt romney and rick santorum competing for boats -- four of votes in the buckeye battlegrounds. -- competing for votes in the buckeye battleground. >> there are new endorsements, including former first lady barbara bush. >> santorum is not, but not sorry. >> ultimately, it will come down to you, people of ohio. >> 8 poll shows santorum is slipping and romney in the lead, but it remains a dead heat. ohio is a critical swing state for republicans. >> it is a great microcosm of middle america and whoever wins that will have bribing rights. >> newt gingrich -- will have bragging rights. >> new gingrich is also looking for bragging rights in his home state of georgia. in the meant

one of the primary roles that the house oversight committee and the senate judiciary committee play as others have mentioned is to defend against attacks on foia through new statutory exemptions. there seems to be a neverending stream of attempts by agencies and industry to limit the scope of foia through statutory exemptions. i know the next panel plans to address exemption three and whether it is out of control. and when it comes to legislation, the answer is yes. we saw the first, as laid y. mentioned, the first post-milliner exemption enacted as part of the defense authorization act of 2012. and that exemption provides a good example of how the committees with jurisdiction can work together with open government advocates to at least limit the scope or the damage so to speak of statutory exemptions. the defense authorization bill initially included language that would have exempted department of defense, critical infrastructure information. the bill did not even contain a definition of the term critical infrastructure information. when we heard from d.o.d. what the exemption was int

senator john mccain, republican of arizona. the ranking republican on the senate armed services committee. thanks as always for being with us here on c-span. >> thank you, steve. >> let me begin with the obvious question. were you satisfied with the answer from leon panetta. >> of course not. first of all he said whether we act unilaterally or not, no one is certainly not me is in favor of acting unilaterally. they were spreading that all over town yesterday that john mccain wants to act unilaterally. in fact, it was reported as such because they told "the wall street journal" reporter that when every statement that i made indicates that that's not the case. and then he said he's got to figure out whether it would make the situation better or worse. now, here's thousands of syrians being slaughtered by ba share al asad. how do you make it worse? and, of course, the fact is that so far, they have done absolutely nothing. now, since the hearing and since a very strong editorial in the "washington post" and other organs around the country and around the world, there has been at least some move

when i went before the senate committee for confirmation one of the senators asked me what did my background as mayor qualify me. i gave two answers. one, a sense of urgency, and two, a bunch of inlaws that are all autoworkers. if you're from texas like commissioner brooks and i, california or hawaii or washington, frankly, when i go to those states they're telling me, cut the break line. let's trade, trade, trade. i think my having been in detroit and cleveland and cincinnati the last 20 years, i realize not everybody looks at trade through the same prism and a lot of communities are justifiably frustrated about our trade policy. the single biggest complaint i heard is that we don't enforce it. we open up our borders but we're not fighting for america's workers when other countries don't give us the playing field that we deserve. from day one, we've had a very aggressive posture to not only find new markets but president obama insisted that we were going to have the strongest enforcement initiatives of any administration era and we've done that. we brought more cases in the world trade orga

we will take you live to the senate foreign relations committee. they are looking at the president's fiscal year 2019 budget request for international development and usa id and shaw will testify. this hearing is being chaired by senator ben cardin of maryland. >> back to the senate foreign relations committee. i want to first on behalf of the committee and on behalf of the deepest condolences on the loss of congress mman and on behalf foreign aid and assistance and humanitarian efforts and knew the continent better than donald payne. i had the opportunity to serve with him and he was always a champion for involvement in the continent of africa and around the globe for the right reasons. he will be sorely missed in the congress of the united states. for naming fellowship for his name. i think it's a fitting tribute to the work he has done throughout his career and we offer or deepest condolences to his family. we have doctor shaw with us to provide testimony for usa's fiscal year 2013 budget request. as you know i believe that our international deve

the energy committee is adjourned. and, oh. information, all member, all questions and additional statements from toy' by 5:00 p. march 30th. we are adjourned. >>> so that wraps up the senate manager committee hearing looking at gas prices. the topic of conversation on capitol hill on the senate floor and down the street at the white house today. the senate at few minutes ago in a procedural vote blocked appeal on a tax break for oil and tax companies. that's on our companion network also the president weighed in on the subject earlier today making remarks from the rose garden. he urged lawma tose l and gas c breaks. the psi >>> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states. >> thank you very much. seat. sorry we're running just a little bit b it's a great day to enjoy the rose garden. todaysimp choice to make. they can stand with the big oil with the american people. right now the biggest oil companies are in record profits. profits that go up every time folks pull up into a gas station. but on top of these record profs, billions a year. billions a year in taxpayers enjoyed year after year for the last century. twice. preum at.peop at the pump right now, and on

the senate in 2004 after three terms in the house of representatives. he currently serves with distinction as a member of the senate committees on the judiciary where he's the only nonlawyer, on homeland security and government affairs and on finance. and in response to the current medicare crisis, the senator has introduced the seniors choice act, which aims to reduce costs through a variety of means, including competitive bidding for benefits and increasing cost sharing by wealthy americans. the senator will speak briefly. he has then graciously agreed to take questions after his remarks and you can follow us on twitter and tweet live at hudson institute using the hash tag seniors choice. he's agreed to take questions from the audience here and at home. without furst adieu, i introduce senator tom coburn and turn the podium over to him. [ applause ] >> well, good morning. we probably don't have anything in front of our nation that is more critical both for our national security but also for our future, even if it had no national security implication than our budget. nobody denies the fact that the greatest onderal obligations th health care. ronald re

today he's going to pitch a plan to the senate committee in annapolis to increase the sales tax on gasoline by 6%. drivers wouldn't see the increase all at once, though. the gas tax would go up in 2% increments over three years. the governor says the plan could generate $613 million per year. some state senators want the governor to hold off on presenting a gas increase until gas prices go down. right now, maryland's gasoline tax is at 23.5 cents per gallon and has not gone up since 1992. >>> our time is 4:38. ahead on "news4 today," paying the price for not getting the job done. the possible punishment members of congress could face if they don't get their budgets passed on time. >>> bobblehead controversy. the toy figure at a civil war gift shop that's causing a stir this morning. >>> and leave the jacket at home. >>> good morning. time for weather & traffic on the 1s. early on this wednesday morning at 4:41. we are clear. we've got a half moon in the southeastern sky. and temperatures are cool. down into the 50s throughout much of the region. and it's at 59 now at reagan national. but la

how a bill becomes loss of course you look at the process, you had a unanimous vote out of the senate committee. the house had a similar situation, not quite as unanimous. but i think any of us will be hard pressed in the last four or five years we had that degree of unanimous consent around a subject matter and that is to deal with foreign sites. we have had domestic legislation to deal with domestic sites had shut down some 300 or so, but the criminals learned quickly that they can get outside the shore s of the united states, then they are beyond the reach of the law and they are able to avoid the kind of efforts that have been made domestic i cadom. i have great respect for all that led the effort in the house, but i think that the legislation had issue s that needed to be addressed. but you do that. you have a bill introduced and then through an amendsment process, you get it to a workable thing. you had between eight and 10 million e-mails that came in. you globalized an issue you would be hard pressed to finds 20 people that you are interested in the subject matter prior to that and then

actor and activist george clooney set to testify before the senate committee on foreign relations on dnesday, he will discuss the situation in sudan clooney is the cofounder of the satellite project, a organization works to stop the return to full force scale of civil war between northern and southern sedan. >>> whitney houston's only child maybe changing her name. she wants to drop her father's name and be known as christina houston. she tried to change her name years ago but her mom stopped her. police are waiting for toxicology reports for whitney to determine the cause of death. >>> if you feed your baby gerber, listen up. what you need to know to get ray fund. >>> ahead, an update to a story about a priest who denied a lesbian commune can at her mother's funeral. [ 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 l

the u.s. general in charge of computer network defense is told a senate committee yesterday that they manage to pull off a successful attack against the computer security firm rsa. general keith alexander testified alongside the head of the u.s. strategic command. several senators asked about a recent conversation overheard between president obama and russian president medvedev on missile defense. during a nuclear security meeting in seoul, south korea, president obama reportedly said, this is my last election. and after my election, i have more flexibility. this committee hearing is two hours and 45 minutes. >> good morning, everybody. today's hearing continues a series of posture hearings that. the armed services committee is conducting on our combatant commands within the context ofec the fiscal year 2013 budgetn our request and the president's new strategic guidance. today, we received testimony from the u.s. strategic commandc and the u.s. cybercommand, a sub unified command of the u.s. strategic command your let me first welcome general robertfied kehler, the commander of the u.s. strateg

we've had it worked through the virginia yaws committees of the senate -- the various committees of the senate, the banking committee, the commerce committee, the e.p.w. committee. i think what this body is waiting for right ma now is the finance committee package. 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. a understand some oand some of r renditions that have come out of the finance committee unfortunately have not paid for this bill. and it is my sense that maybe what's happening right now is that maybe there's some work being done to try to make that not be the case. i know the senator from new york is really familiar with the health care debate that we had years ago, and one of the things that many of the folks on this side of the aisle were concerned about and many folks i think even on the other side of the aisle were concerned about was some of the gimmickry used to pay for it. we'd six years' worth of spen

the communicators" west virginia senator jay rockefeller, chair of the commerce, science and transportation subcommittee. he talks about cybersecurity legislation before the senate and the nature of cyber threats. >> senator jay rockefeller, chairman of the commerce committee, you recently said that cybersecurity legislation is absolutely necessary now than citizens are at risk. why do you say that? >> because it's true. george bushes last director of national intelligence, the highest intelligence position in the country and obama's first one, said the same thing, and they continue to say. that's the number one threat to the national security in existence. bob mueller says within a year he will be taking cybersecurity as a much more urgent problem for this country than loose nukes, ex-soviets nuclear weapons. >> host: do you view of cybersecurity or cyber attacks as terrorism? >> guest: we do. i view it as war. i like to discipline myself into thinking because if you're hacking into the pentagon three, four, 5 million times a day, you know, every senator's office, virtually all corporate america. something has to wake us up. we are not awakened to it, and we started his cybersecurity bill. i'm inpatient about it. we started this thing really the day befor

the former senator will appear on nebraska's primary ballot in may. what are your thoughts on him? >> he is an outstanding man. i work with him very closely in the senate when i chaired the senate intelligence committee in 1995 and 1996. bob was the vice-chairman. i saw him recently. he has been away from nebraska for a while. but he is independent. he is smart, and an outstanding senator. >> let me go back to campaign 2012. do you think rick santorum can win the april 24th primary in pennsylvania? >> it's an open question. the last time he ran in pennsylvania, he got beaten very badly, 59-41. the people who knew him handed down that verdict. that's what the jury said. in the presidential issue, there is a lot of local pride. my hunch is that it won't be sufficient, that he will not win. the republican establishment is against him, not that that's necessarily significant. but the elected officials would be worried if he was on the ticket, he would hurt the race for state attorney general. and the people who are running for house of representatives. so my hunch is that he will not win. but the local pride could turn that around. >> all right, joan, an independent in california. good morning, joan. >>

distinctions, but certainly one of the most for today's event is that it works very actively on the senate banking committee for a number of years, served under senator our brains, was actively involved in the drafting of that statue, along with chairman ken fuller and nicely professor was personally untruths are to evolve. better if dean is involved in the banking committee, but obviously steve harris also we've heard from this morning. so we have a number of folks with us this morning who are truly veterans of that effort and give us some give on that statue. chairman gruenberg served on the senate banking committee, i believe i am writing sane, from from 1887 until 2005. previously he had received his law degree from case western reserve and undergraduate from print 10. he became vice chairman of the federal deposit insurance corp. in august 2005 and then became team chairman when chairman powell stepped down and more recently became acting chairman when chairman sheila bair stuck down last july. so you certainly is a person who has had broad experience in the legislative branch, obviously the last suppe

the senate committee is looking for steep cuts come tax is not approved. >>> unsettling weather rolled through parts of massachusetts yesterday. >> what officials say caused some of the damage and we have incredible video. >>> you may need more than a dollar to get your favorite mcdonald's treat. >>> so the showers on maryland's most powerful radar will soon be replaced by the sun. but when? i will have the answer coming up. >> reporter: what can you expect for the friday morning drive? dealing with one accident in owington and we will let you know about anything else that coms on "good morning maryland -- comes up on "good morning maryland." [ thinking ] why so early? [ alarm buzzes ] has it always been this way? rise and shine joe! it's 6am! we have to get to the sale! [ ellen ] have you lost your marbles? why do we have to get up so early!? won't the same things be on sale later today? [ audience laughs ] why is that so funny? [ audience laughs ] ♪ >>> now "good morning maryland." >>> wendy day in massachusetts. -- wendy day in massachusetts. -- windy day in massachusetts. some area

. >>> the senate committee will vote on a measure to expand gambling in our state. this measure would allow table games like blackjack and craps at maryland casinos which currently have slot machines and the bill would allow the casino in prince george's county to become a reality that would be in addition to the five casinos allowed under state law. only two have opened so far and a third is scheduled to open this summer in anne arundel county. >>> tomorrow washington national cathedral says it will open its central tower which sustains significant damaged during last august earthquake. just for one day the tower has been deemed structurally sound and safe for visitors and will be opened to the public for a tower climb. the cathedral says visitors will be able to climb the 333 stairs from the ground to the top of the tower. repairs to the cathedral after the august earthquake are expected to cost around 20 million dollars. approximately 2 million dollars has been raised so far. baltimore catholic archdiocese officials say earthquake damage to a dome of nearly 200-ye

the death penalty. six out of 11 committee members are in favor of it. the measure will fail. the sponsor says she thought about going around the committee process by petitioning the legislation directly to the senate floor. she says collecting the signatures would be disrespectful to the committee and not with the risk. >> i do not believe there are senators who support saying to the leadership of the senate, we do not like the committee process. >> if the bill made it to the floor, advocates say the measure would pass and the house has enough sponsors to ensure it. martin o'malley supports abolishing the death penalty. >> funeral arrangements have been set for robert. he was killed in the violence in afghanistan last month after troops mistakenly burned copies of the koran. he will lie in state until noon at which time a christian mass will take place. on tuesday, he will receive full met -- military honors when he is buried at arlington national cemetery. he leaves behind a wife and four children. it may not be quickened and may not be pretty, but mitt romney says he will be the last man standing. >> lost four of the 10 super tuesday states but won the top prize, ohio, by less than one percentag

the state senate is thinking about phasing in our pension cuts in four years instead of one year and should it not get enough support about $262 million in budget cuts would happen and the senate committee is looking at steep cuts in case the income tax increase isn't approved. >>> tracy ford the first lady leader in the history of marj vail. she takes over for her sister shaun. she was the director of development at townsend the past four years and before that she worked for st. paul school for girls. she will take over july the 1st. >> around the nation tonight we will stop in pittsburgh where police are still trying to make sense of a shooting rampage at a mental clinic. a man with two guns opened fire in the lobby. one was killed, several others hurt. the gunman was shot dead. >> plenty of famous people have said they marijuana should be legal but today pat robertson on tv add his name to the cause saying is recommending it because the government's war undrapings has failed. last october a survey found 50% of americans feel it should be legal. >>> an investigation tonight in a food stamp fraud getting attention. >> today members of the house committee on oversight and reform held a

the un >> thank you, general holder. >> senator lautenberg? >> no, i think -- >> oh, i'm sorry. wait. wait. it's a little rock 'n' rollin' leahy, the chair of the judiciary committee, and then senator lautenberg. >> thank you, madam attorney general holder, good to have you here. my good friend from tennessee, senator alexander said, on the recess appointment. there is an easy way out of all of this. require a little cooperation on both sides. and i suggested this in the president resubmit theminations and republicans agree to have an up or down vote within a week or two weeks. the president did this even though you had -- knew there was more t normally what it takes to confirm somebody available, my friends on the other side of the aisle were blocking having a vote. i understand the president's frustration, but i think the if the republican leadership would agree to an up or down vote say within a week or two weeks. whatever amount of time is needed for debate. and resubmit them and have an up or down vote. that takes care of all the problem. i just would suggest that as an easy way out. it's not as much fun on the talk shows, but -- now, mr. attorney general, th

the idea not get enough support about 262 million dollars in budget cuts would take place the senate committee is looking for cuts in the income tax in the increase if not aschool. >>> a preparatory school in downtown baltimore is welcoming a new leader. trassy ford is the new leader in the history of maryville and the first leader who has not been ordained in the clergy. ford takes over tore sister shawn who led the schools for more than 30 years. ford is the director of development at towson for the past four years. tracy ford will take over on july 1st. >>> pennsylvania governor says he wishes joe paterno had done more after telling officials about child molestation being aization -- being aations. he says he and -- being aation. he says they -- accusations. he says they were right to fire him because he failed to follow up on the allegation who is was charged with sexually abusing -- abusing several boys. >>> the mississippi supreme court upheld the pardon from a former governor that he granted on his way out of office. the ruling came on thursday in a 6-3 vote. remaining inmates will be r

she testified in front of the senate homeland security committee for close to three hours. >> the hearing will come to order. se on her way. i just saw senator, governor p congratulations of the centennial secelebration of the great state of arizona. hear, hear. i happen to have been on the floor of the senate. >> i was there at the time. >> you look very well for your age. very well.ka this -- this is tenth hearing our cybersecurity. and i hope it is the last before the comprehensive cybersecurity into law. the fact is that t our side. to melsike september 10th, 20and the question is whe will act to preventcyber9/11 before it happens instead of reacting after it the reason for this legislation is based in y, rival nations, terrorist groups, criminal syndicates and individual hackers probe the our most critical computer networks seeking to steal government and industrial secrets, plant cyber-agents. in the cyber systems that control our infrastructure. and what enable an enemy, for example, to seize control of a city's electric grid, water supplyti's financial or mass transit away.s with

last month general clapper, director of national intelligence, testified before the senate committee on intelligence about the intel community's growing concern that iran may be capable and may be poised at hitting us here at home. as things heat up between our two countries. the key example he used to drive home that concern was the iranian quds force plot to assassinate the saudi arabian ambassador to the u.s., that the dea and fbi thankfully foiled. that dea informant was being recruited by a quds force operative. the quds force operative believed that the informant was a member of the ultraviolet drug trafficking organization. fortunately, he wasn't. that event has been assessed by every three-letter agency in our government security apparatus and proven to be credible. that's why the dni used that example. can iran hit us here as home? you bet they can. how would they most likely do it? most assuredly, use hezbollah and the quds force. what really worries me is that the quds force controls iran's strategic missile program. so the big question is, will they be the holder of the ke

senate foreign relations committee on zanan. you can watch it sunday at 10:30 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> this week on "the communicators," west virginia senator jay rockefeller, chair of the commerce science transportation and subcommittee. he talks about cybersecurity legislation and the nature of cyberthreats. >> senator jay rockefeller, chairman of the commerce committee, you said that cybersecurity is necessary now and that citizens are at risk. why do you say that? >> do you view cybersecurity or cyber attacks as terrorism? >> i do. i view it as war. i like to discipline myself in that thinking because it really is. if you are hacking into the pentagon three, four or five million times a day, and every senator's office, virtually all corporate america, something has to wake us up. we are not awakened to it. we started this cybersecurity bill. i am impatient about it. we started this thing really the day before obama was inaugurated. when he was elected, i knew he was going to be interested in this. we got to work and put out a bill. then joe leash and -- lieberman and susan collins have come in, and

the senate passed a budget. yesterday, house republicans unveiling the budget. the house budget committee calls for deep cuts and changes in medicare. every other proposed budget has been a bust. senator john thune is here. you are the mystery guest, i might add who i share the green bay packers. >> also a big joe thiesman fan and green bay packer owner. >> we are all packer owners tonight. is the senate going to pass a budget? >> it doesn't look like it. as you said, the house -- they -- they submitted their budget this week. they voted on it, the budget committee cast out tonight, it will be on the floor next week. under the budget law, the senate budget committee is supposed to by april 1 produce a budget and the house and the senate are supposed to have acted by april 15 on a concurrent resolution. i don't see any -- i just don't think there is any chance that the senate will pass a budget this year. >> i just don't understand that. as i understand the way it works is that -- senator harry reid is the stopping party. the president submitted his proposed budget. the house has its budge

senator carl levin is the chair and senator john mccain is the armed services ranking member. >> good morning, everybody, the committee meets this morning to hear from two distinguished military leaders to discuss security in our hem miss fear, general doug fraser and charles jaco kobcoby jr. this is general jacoby's first appearance before the committee as commander and we look forward to working with you. general, in your new information. general fraser, this is likely to be your last hearing before the committee and we greatly appreciated your testimony and advice over the past three years. our nation appreciates your 37-plus years of service in the united states air force. i understand that you and your wife reina are planning to enjoy much deserved down time after your change of command, and we truly wish you all the best. in addition to thanking each of you for your long and distinguished service to our nation, we would also express that you express our heartfelt gratitude to the men and women who serve with you for their exceptional service and for their many contributions to our security. we offer our thanks t