the ratings of congress are not particular good and nancy pelosi's ratings are not good. she is more on popular now than newt gingrich ever was. but don't mix it -- mistake the shift in democrat fortunes for people falling back in love with the republican party. we are not there yet. americans are simply losing faith in the democrats losing checks and balances. they have not fallen in love with the republican party again but they have fallen out of love with the democrats. if i am a democrat -- i have been in this negative politicalo election cycles and i know this pretty well. we have a long way to go. 10 months is multiple political a desperate with 10 months to go before the next political election. the political environment will said -- change several times between now and then. nobody knows what will happen but the political environment will change dramatically. second key point -- but republicans do not stand for anything once we get a chance to tell our side of the story and expose them as nothing more the naysayers, we look in the benches. democrats are saying tha

nancy pelosi was truenough as speaker of the houseo keep it all in her oice -- in the senate, it was pretty open, pretty visible androbably not what our teachers in decracy and civilization h in mind in high school when ty taught us. >> some of the tngs in the house billre better than the senate bill. >> i agree. >> the excnges in the house bill are more competite but if ey have a fight over this ta exemption, to me that woulbe a big deal becau first of all, i don't think you can pay for pecially over 20 years witho the full tax on all ose plans. that t, because it's not really indexed for inflation raises $1.3 trilon in the second 10 years. if they'reoing to say this balances the budget, that's st a toof money they need and they need toax it all, and condly, i think there is a nsensus at least among healt care economists --ou've got to raistaxes from within the health care system becau noing else will keep up with the risingosts, so if there really is resolve fight this, especily on the part of the unions -- anthere probably is -- that could ke it trickier than may i anticipate. >>

and nancy pelosi and harry reid want all the power consolidated in this building. in this town, in their hands and not in your hands. [booing] this issue, healthcare, happens to be the opportunity for the american people to take power back in their hands. to make sure every parent, that every parent in america has the opportunity for their children to inherit from them an opportunity to succeed. ladies and gentlemen if we continue to spend money, if we continue to borrow money, if we continue to run debt up in this country where our interest obligation outstrips capacity to pay for it we will export our children's opportunity to succeed. it is absolutely crucial that we stop it now. i truly believe the american people have spoken. they don't want bigger government. they don't want more spending and they don't want higher health care cost. but for christmas i also don't believe they want this bill. [booing] i truly believe -- i believe the american people would take a lump of coal before they take this health care bill. thank you. god bless. [cheers and applause] >>

nancy pelosi is pretty awful. nancy pelosi is more unpopular than newt gingrich ever was. don't mistake the shift in republican fortunes for a newly enlightened and electric that falls back on the republican party. we are not there yet. americans are simply losing faith in the democrats. they will not fall in love with the republican party again but they have fallen out of love with the democrats. if i am a democrat, in this political environment the last two elections, i know these talking points pretty well. let me walk you through them. we have a long way to go. ten months, multiple political life times, ten months before the next election. a long way to go yet. the political environment will change several times between now and then. that is absolutely true. you know what is going to happen. the environment will change dramatically. republicans don't stand for anything. nothing more than naysayers will retain the advantage. they will run the campaign against republicans. you can say bad things about us but republicans don't have an idea of standing for anything. voters

i saw that nancy pelosi left town quickly yesterday, declaring she is already in campaign mode. tell that to millions of americans who are asking where the jobs are. right now, we have double-digit unemployment. we have red ink as far as the eye can see, permanent bailout, and no long-term plan to put any of this behind us. as the policy and president obama continue to put political agendas in from the american people. they will raise costs on health care, raise taxes, cut medicare, and pile more debt on the backs of our kids and grandkids. that is why they are falling off to copenhagen so that they can promote their national energy tax that will ship millions of american jobs overseas. that is why they are importing dangerous terrorists into the united states without presenting a real plan for how to confront and defeat the terrorist threat. instead of worrying about defending the indefensible, democrats should be working with republicans on bipartisan solutions that will help get our economy back on track and get the american people back to work. all year long, republicans hav

the fascinating part of this for many of us has been that while nancy pelosi or harry reid would talk about the republican stalling, you have the votes and the bill but they seem to have a small problem with that. they cannot pass the bill. a 60/40 at the edges of the senate, you are looking for republicans to either blame or to provide you with the votes you need, tells me there is something desperately wrong with the bill. , when you can i get your own people on board. -- when you can't get your own people on board. when we are saying to slow this down, it makes sense with what i am saying. let's create an environment where bricken to a doctor- centered approach to this that is bottom that focuses on some key things. you have a menu of choices that could be very easily introduced and not as complicated as the 2000-page behemoth that they have running around the senate now. there are real challenges, yes, in terms of getting all this through the senate and the house because they want to block it at every turn despite those challenges, i think the leadership has been fairly consistent

nancy pelosi. >> it is a distinct honor. i know from my colleagues as well as myself to welcome so many distinguished guests on this very special day in the capital. the unveiling of a statue in the capital is always exciting. rarely are we able to do it in the presence of an immediate family member. it is usually about history. today it is a great privilege for all of us to be joined by former first lady mrs. ronald reagan, nancy reagan. we're honored by your presence. [applause] president reagan and mrs. reagan had one of the great love stories of all time, and the american people benefited from that. the support, the love that mrs. reagan gave the president for a slice of joy -- a source of joy for the american people. mrs. reagan, with your presence here today, i hope you know that we honor you. not only for your support of the president, but for turning that support and love into action. with your support for stem cell research has made a significant difference in the lives of many american people. it has saved lives. i

nancy pelosi. >> it is a distinct honor. i know from my colleagues as well as myself to welcome so many distinguished guests on this very special day in the capital. the unveiling of a statue in the capital is always exciting. rarely are we able to do it in the presence of an immediate family member. it is usually about history. today it is a great privilege for all of us to be joined by former first lady mrs. ronald reagan, nancy reagan. we're honored by your presence. [applause] president reagan and mrs. reagan had one of the great love stories of all time, and the american people benefited from that. the support, the love that mrs. reagan gave the president for a slice of joy -- a source of joy for the american people. mrs. reagan, with your presence here today, i hope you know that we honor you. not only for your support of the president, but for turning that support and love into action. with your support for stem cell research has made a significant difference in the lives of many american people. it has saved lives. i

signed sincerely, nancy pelosi, speaker of the house. the honorable bart gordon, chairman, committee on science and technology, dear mr. chair, this is to advise you that representative parker griffith election to the committee on science and technology has been automatically vacated pursuant to clause 5-b of rule 10 effective today. signed, sincerely, nancy pelosi, speaker of the house. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to section 11-b of house resolution 97 , the house shall stand adjourned until 10:00 a.m. on saturday, december 26, 2009 unless the conditions specified in section 11-c of that resolution have been met, in which case the house shall stand adjourned sine die pursuant to house concurrent resolut >> several official statements on rep parker griffith from alabama who yesterday announced he was switching from the republican party to the democratic party. the house will be back -- won't be back into legislative work until early 2010. pro-forma sessions, one coming up saturday at 10:00 a.m. eastern and live coverage here on c-s

. >> nancy pelosi says that the idea of this commission cedes too much authority to a commission and takes away from congress. will she go along with it? if not, what does it do to your idea? >> i cannot speak for the speaker. i have absolute respect for the job that she does and all the challenges that she faces with the variety of views from our caucus and her committee chairman. but i believe that this is an idea whose time has come. i believe, that if we just review what happens, we will see the chances of dealing with this through the regular process of congress is the most [unintelligible] [unintelligible] increasingly, i think there is an understanding that we are running a great risk with their economic future of the country. the risk that we are running is that those who are financing the state will wake up some morning and say, you know, there's too much debt over there. we have to move these things. we need to put the united states dead in a special category it has to be in a riskier category than the aaa rating that we have enjoyed for a very long time. we have the chines

pelosi. [applause] >> good morning. what an honor it is to be here with the democratic leadership of the house and senate, with the brooke family and the children with vicki kennedy and members of the kennedy clan, to be here with senator brooke edward. to be here with the president of the united states. as the congress of the united states bestows its highest honor to a great leader, senator edward brooke. [applause] it was -- i will now lead off an array of leadership. senator. , leader mcconnell, leader -- with college other leader and all. patrick kennedy and senator kerry and eleanor holmes norton. a series of tributes to senator brooke. i heard bipartisan applause when president obama mentioned it. brooke senator, in honor of your birthday, last night we were there to cheer on our bipartisan football team, democrats and republicans working as a team and leading them with that great team work to victory over a full medicalfoe. we had -- over a formidable foe. çit was a spirit of bipart

house speaker nancy pelosi and was asking if they would come back saturday or stay through saturday instead of going home for the holidays. that would help get the bill passed. it would not guarantee senate action, so that they may have to come with a tenuous resolution to keep some government agencies are running. there is some talk about a resolution to last until december 23, but this is all very tentative at this point. >> can you tell us about some of the legislative riders that are being discussed? >> at the top of the list, probably for a lot of people is the increases of up to 1.9 trillion dollars, which house leaders say is necessary and important. conservatives and republicans obviously have a problem with that, saying that we are spending money we do not have printed a six-month extension on unemployment insurance, possibly an extension on food stamps. then there are other items that may or may not be included, including the so-called jobs part that would include infrastructure money. >> why are some of these provisions a priority for house democrats? >> they do not want to go in

why won't he debate anybody unless obama and nancy pelosi, john kerry, they all fly their private jets around like they are going to the corner store. c'mon, i called john kerry's office one day and i said you gave his big speech on climate change. is theresa finds ready to give up their private jet? they said this call is done. they want the middle income people to do this, but al gore does not fly in anything but that private jet, that 20,000 square foot home that he finally been agreed after he was caught. why don't you talk about that? and the forest fires in california, there are people setting them. host: we will leave it there. the one thing i want to address is, is there anything regarding brush clean up in either one of the bills, either the house or senate bill the climate bill. these are policies that the forest service does, and there is always a debate over exactly this kind of issue. how much of the russian view clear out? one of the problems is that logging companies do not -- how much of the brush do you clear out? certain management is what addresses forest fires host:

and nancy pelosi and harry reid want all the power consolidated in this building. in this town, in their hands and not in your hands. [booing] this issue, healthcare, happens to be the opportunity for the american people to take power back in their hands. to make sure every parent, that every parent in america has the opportunity for their children to inherit from them an opportunity to succeed. ladies and gentlemen if we continue to spend money, if we continue to borrow money, if we continue to run debt up in this country where our interest obligation outstrips capacity to pay for it we will export our children's opportunity to succeed. it is absolutely crucial that we stop it now. i truly believe the american people have spoken. they don't want bigger government. they don't want more spending and they don't want higher health care cost. but for christmas i also don't believe they want this bill. [booing] i truly believe -- i believe the american people would take a lump of coal before they take this health care bill. thank you. god bless. [cheers and applause] >>

. >> senator, this past week the speaker of the house nancy pelosi saying the idea of this commission really in her words cedes too much authority to a commission and takes it away from congress. will she go along with it? and if not what does that do to your idea? >> well, i can't speak for the speaker. i have absolute respect for the job that she does and all the challenges that she faces with a variety of views from her caucuses and her committee chairmen. but i believe this is an idea whose time has come. i believe that if we just review what's happened that we will see the chances of dealing with this through the regular process of congress is remote at best. and increasingly i think there is an understanding that we are running a great risk with the economic future of the country. and the risk that we're running is that those who are financing this debt wake up some morning and decide, you know, there's just too much debt over there. we've got moody saying that they're going to put the united states debt in a special category now, a different category, a riskier category than th

>> the decision of how many people are going to copenhagen will be made by nancy pelosi. there are five or six republican members who will be going to copenhagen. i will be leading the republican side of the house delegation. there will be a couple senators. senators are never led by house members. that is part of the territory but -- [inaudible] >> what i think the republicans are hoping to accomplish is number one, basically saying president obama should not make promises that the american people and their representatives in congress can't keep. and thus avoiding a repeat of what al gore did immediately prior to that. secondly, i think we will be making the point that the un should step back into the climategate controversy is completely resolved so that we know we are legislating and negotiating international treaties based on sound science. finally, the most important point to be made is the united states senate will not ratify any treaty that is not international in application. that means china and india and brazil and the other third world countries are going to ha

nancy pelosi is ready to push through anything on health care. i think that the blue dog, progressive, liberal not withstanding, these people should have put their political clout on the line and said look, we are going to go for this and do something good for the american people. as a result, they will not be going back anyway as. after this length of time, not to come up with a pragmatic solution for the american people without health coverage, that is an atrocity. that is my comment today. thank you. host: "top 30 ed goldman sachs will not get a bonus. shareholders have been given a vote on compensation. the policy comes as some of the world's financial capital ways steep taxes on the employees of banks during the credit crisis. -- credit crisis." and other banking story -- "france yesterday said that they would follow the lead of britain by levying a super tax on the bonuses of business people in french -- france." pa., stephanie. independent line. please go ahead with your comment. caller: several little things. first of all, capitalism and

bush, barack obama, newt gingrich, nancy pelosi, the republicans, the democrats, if the free contractors, the unions, michael more, rush limbaugh -- who's to blame? it is a natural question asked. but is it to the right question? all you need to do is visit a local bookstore and go into the current events section which is filled with them. -- filled with villains. i wanted us to appear on the cover of our book in short black many dresses. but my brother dave talk this out of it. there's always the paperback. instead of who is to win, we ask a different question. why do some issues fell and why do some succeed? we look for great successes and monumental failures. we wanted to look for patterns. we wanted to look at the success of the marshall plan to the integration reform and vietnam. we reviewed all of these initiatives. we realized that it would require a small army of individuals who understood the government and were willing to work for free. the answer was clear. we needed cred students. [laughter] with of the help of more than 70 grad student, we -- we needed grad students. [laught

nancy pelosi and other democratic leaders proposed a jobs bill. barbara air and reich discusses the economy. and legal and technical issues involved in tracking terrorists communications. >> c-span3 has live coverage of two congressional hearings to margaret the first looks at illegal sports broadcasts on the internet. that hearing begins at 10:00 a.m. eastern time. at 2:00 p.m. eastern, on homeland securities subcommittee committee -- committee meeting on an incident where tea s.a. officials mistakenly put procedure manuals on the internet. that is live on c-span3. you can watch the hearings live or anytime on our web site, c- span.org. >> there is a month left to enter the 2010 student can contest 3 $50,000 in prizes for middle and high school roses -- high-school students. create a five to eight minute video on one of our country's greatest drinks or a challenge the country is facing. must incorporate c-span programming and show various points of view. winning entries will be shown on c-span. do not wait another minute. go to steer -- go to the

pelosi for her extraordinary leadership and dedication, having passed reform bills in the house and the senate, we now have to take up the last and most important step and reach agreement on a funnel reform bill that i can sign into law. i look forward to working with members of congress and the coming weeks to do exactly that. with the boat today, we are incredibly close to making health insurance reform a reality in this country. our challenge is to finish the job. and do another generation of americans with soaring costs, eroding coverage, and exploding deficit. instead, we need to do what we were sent here to do and the -- and improve the lives of people we serve. for the sake of our citizens, are common, and their future, let's make 2010 the year we funnel reform health care in the united states of america. everybody, merry christmas, happy new year. >> do you have a holiday which for the troops? >> i do and i will be actually -- i am on my way to call a few of them. i wish them a merry christmas and to thank them for their extraordinary service as they are posted in iraq and a

. >> there is always nancy pelosi, the shield. she is catching all the darts and bullets and half of them did not even know who centre reif was -- senator reif was. >> this has just shifted to nancy pelosi and congress. >> good. what are you going to write about? >> for the barack obama people, he is our guy, but for -- i do nothing democrats or republicans could find any solace in anything that they heard today. >> mark? >> first of all, i was astounded -- that aside, if barack obama drove a convertible with the top down to a car wash, congress would get wet. he has a teflon quality right now. i do not think it is perpetual. he has been given the benefit of the doubt and a long leash. one year from tonight, we're looking at 12% unemployment, the willingness to blame both parties in congress rather than him, when health care goes down, no one blamed him. it was just remarkable. i think that the wall street thing is just sitting there. i cannot believe that republicans are not running against those of washington and wall street. it

we are fortunate to be led by such a capable leader in nancy pelosi. i know that every member of this leadership agrees with that. but our members are so grateful for her work. she never asks from anyone that she does not do a 10-fold herself. at this time, for our country, with a historical precedent, it is great we have a historic speaker who continues to speak on behalf of the people of this country. it is an honor for us to serve with her and continue to roll up our sleeves on behalf of the american people and get the job done. we are restless. we know there is much more to be done. but we have the appetite for it. we have someone who has the will, the dedication, the grace and the ability to accomplish that. that is why we follow her lead. merry christmas. feliz navidad. kwanza. happy chanakuk to everyone. >> a person with so much talent who wears two hats, the assistant to the speaker and chair of the democratic national campaign committee, a person who knows policies so well, understands the politics and promotes the people for us -- >> thank yo

and spker nancy pelosi said last night she won't rou up votes to defeait. she said, "the president i going to havto make his case." republicans saidoday they still support e surge. in pakistan, intellince officials sa missile attacks by u.s. drone aircra killed at least 17 people today,ear the afghan border. they said somef the victims appeared to foreign fighters. the u.s. has cried out more than 40 drone atcks this year inside pakistan. u.s. officia today played down reports that insurgentin iraq and afghanistan have intcepted live video from amican drones. an account in "t wall street journal" said mitants are ing $26 software programs-- availablonline-- to hack into the feeds. a seniorentagon official insisted the problem has bee addressed. the senate banking committ has endoed the nomination of federal reserve chrman ben beanke for a second term. the vote was 16 to 7. supporters said bernanke held ste off financial ruin, while opponents argued he shou have seen therisis coming. >> had he and others not aed, some of whom sit on th committee at a time of

nancy pelosi has noted much unrest in her caucus with afghanistan and have it has been going. this will be tough for the president. he has to convince not only republicans, who want 40,000 troops at least, but he must convince a fair amount of powerful democrats to go along with his plan and i think that there will have to be compromise on capitol hill because they are not going to rubber-stamp what obama wants. you have to concede to some of these offsets. host: what about selling this to the american people? guest: it will be a challenge. earlier this year 65% of americans supported the war in afghanistan, but since then the number has dropped considerably. he is not really going to convince anti-war liberals, who have been very skeptical of the war in afghanistan. he has got to convince centrist democrats as well. people that polls show have lost faith in this war. host: what will he and the folks in his administration be doing to not only sell this to the american people but, as you indicated, the legislators on capitol hill? >> there will be a series of hearings later thi

all of the critics of the war are nancy pelosi democrats from san francisco, came bridge, and new york city. all the supporters of the war are sara palin republicans from alaska and arizona. it's a terrible place for a democratic president to be. people he has to convince to support him are his natural constituencies. he doesn't have to convince sara palin. she's just looking for the opportunity to say you're screwing it up. the politics of it are terrible for the president. >> you mentioned that we don't know where bin laden is and there's been no credible reports and very few bad reports. but there have been reports over a number of years that he has if not stayed in iran gone back and forth to iran. there are reports in 2004, there are photographic evidence there that he was there until 2009. how do you evaluate those reports to the islamic republic and perhaps his sojourn there? >> i want to be absolutely explicit. the last time we had a solid piece of information about where osama bin laden was, was eight years ago. we don't have a clue where he is today. bob gates asked this ques

>> the decision of how many people are going to copenhagen will be made by speaker nancy pelosi. there are five, six republican members who will be going to copenhagen. i will be leading the republican side of the house delegation. there will be a couple of senators. senators are never led by house members, part of the territory, but i think -- >> stuck with tough decisions. [laughter] >> that is true, but i think what the republicans are hoping to accomplish is, number one, basically saying to president obama that he should not make promises that the american people and their representatives in congress cannot keep. and thus avoiding a repeat of what al gore did in kyoto and immediately prior to that. secondly, i think we will be making the point that the u.s. will step back into the climate controversy is completely resolved so that we know we are legislating and negotiating international treaties based on sound science. finally, and probably the most a point -- important point to be made is that the united states senate will not ratify any treaty that is not international and

host: joe barton our guest on "newsmakers" and he is expected to join nancy pelosi in a trip. the white house flying overto denmark for to friday one day of meetings to deal with climate change. the entire program on "news makers." back to the discussion we were talking about. was 2009 a historic dwrear? how will the historians regard 2009 one, two, three decades hence? various writers speculating on the most important year ever, and the contenders are i illuminating, including the year 5 b.c., also the year guttenberg invented moveable printing. finally, 1944 and 1945 which featured the bretton woods conference, the bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki and the beginning of the cold war stalemate. >> compared to those events that you just cited were more world changing than just historic. i think it will be historic. if i could respond quickly to a couple callers that said this is a tipping point for america and we're headed toward destruction and i guess you would call them deficit hawks 10 or 11 months into the obama administration. i would just remind them that ronald reagan

i think with respect to nancy pelosi, the first woman speaker, and i think she is basically delivering on a lot of president obama's agenda. she pushed through health-care reform in the house back in the summer, still stuck in the senate. she did points to producing. i think there is a fair amount of admiration. she impressed people. just a year ago she was campaigning for the top job, the presidency. now she is kind of sublimated her ambitions and little bit to president obama. she is on his team. carrying out her agenda. and i think people look at her determination to be a good team player and that depresses them. host: on the republican side, bob mcdonnell wins the bowl for congressional and political insiders. guest: one of the more interesting findings in the survey. here you've got someone who has not offered for past or enacted a big piece of legislation. not talking about a political figure who forced the issue to the forefront of the national consciousness. we are talking about someone who won an off-year election. but what i think republicans are looking for is the future and

the problem is, harry reid and barack obama and nancy pelosi made a decision at the outset to ignore public and. that is exactly why we continually hear this idea. host: david is joining us for nashville. caller: good morning. mr. solomon, you and i are living in very different worlds. the last time i checked the democrats had 60 votes in the senate and the overwhelming majority in the house. republicans, all we can do is play four-cornered defense. we have not had control of congress sent 2006. what over gotten? we have gone from 4.4% unemployment up to something like 17.5%. i am over 60 years old and i have never seen the economy in such disarray. it is because a democrat. they are going to vote for democrats because it does not matter. host: here is a twitter from john. guest: well, under fdr the new deal was to announce the socialist all the time. the economy went into a tailspin under the administration of george w. bush. the official rate of just around 10% right now does masked the deeper and wider unemployment. i would say that we are now looking at a situation where the stim

. >> nancy pelosi trading in her 757. >> somebody else, give me something that outrage to prd y. >> not giving us the november mission, held clare -- health care plan there are working on. >> i think the health care and going against obama every step of the way, to dannell. >> who else? >> health care, because what they do is use a baseball bat on all the people who do not want to vote their way. $300 million to a senator to get the vote. that is not the way you are supposed to run the congress. you are supposed to have the interest of the country first, not buying people off, and that is what they do all the time. they do it on friday night when nobody can see what they do. >> they fail to be unified on the issues. they start out that they want to do this and try to pass that, and then they start rambling along and it turns out they are at each other's throats, not getting anything done. >> looking at health care as one issue, they are so partisan. they could care less about the country. the effects of what they do, they do not care. they are not going to be around in 30 or 40 years. w

what i want to say to nancy pelosi and dick cheney, the reason i don't like what was going on at guantanamo bay is because it reminded me of how you all used to string black people up, put ropes around their neck, hang 'em naked while you beat with them. this health care bill, the fda is not watching out for us and it's simply a big bailout for the health industry for all these doctors and all this, and the last thing that i want to say is with these illegal aliens here, you can look at this housing crisis, you can look at this health care crisis, and you can look at this school crisis with these kids -- you say you don't want to leave any kids behind, but these schools are so filled up with illegal aliens, look at the grades that the fourth and eighth graders are getting. >> host: larry klayman, a couple of things there. why don't you focus on one of them, and we'll hour your response. >> guest: well, the thing i focused on is that dick is a patriot, he's someone who represents the way the american people feel today. american people are turned off by both political parties. american people

there are enough places on the internet to find out who is angry with nancy pelosi this week. we stay away from politics and try to tell you more about policies that will affect your life. host: our readers hungry for that? guest: yes, many e-mail's are from people asking what this would do. these are not written in a language for you and i.. they're generally written so that administrators can go forward writing regulations. we state what is at stake and with the issue is. if you get into an argument with your father-in-law or a taxi driver, you could probably win, regardless of which side you are on. host: thanks for being with us. we will go now to an update. >> president obama meets with bipartisan members of congress and this morning at the white house to talk about the nation's unemployment rate. later the president makes remarks on a plan to spin nearly $600 million on community health centers and digital medical records. we will have his remarks later for you. more on health care debate this morning from the former vermont governor, howard dean. speaking earlier he say

the fascinating part of this for a a lot of fuss has been that while, you know, nancy pelosi or harry reid but talk about the republicans stalling as i've said repeatedly you have the votes, pass the bill. but they seem to have a small problem with that. they can't pass the bill. and the fact that with, you know, 60-40 advantage in the senate, you're looking to republicans either to blame or provide you with the vote you need tells me that there's something desperately wrong with the bill when you can't get your own people on board. so i think, you know, from my standpoint the idea that we are going out and saying let's slow this thing down, let's stop it is consistent with what i've been saying and i certainly know what others have been saying for some time. let's create an environment which we can do a patient dr. senter approach bottom-up that focuses on key things. if you don't like this one how about that one? if you don't like that one how about this one? you have a menu of choices that can be very easily introduced and not as complicated as this 2000 page behemoth they've got r

nancy pelosi has noted much unrest in her caucus with afghanistan and have it has been going. this will be tough for the president. he has to convince not only republicans, who want 40,000 troops at least, but he must convince a fair amount of powerful democrats to go along with his plan and i think that there will have to be compromise on capitol hill because they are not going to rubber-stamp what obama wants. you have to concede to some of these offsets. host: what about selling this to the american people? guest: it will be a challenge. earlier this year 65% of americans supported the war in afghanistan, but since then the number has dropped considerably. he is not really going to convince anti-war liberals, who have been very skeptical of the war in afghanistan. he has got to convince centrist democrats as well. people that polls show have lost faith in this war. host: what will he and the folks in his administration be doing to not only sell this to the american people but, as you indicated, the legislators on capitol hill? >> there will be a series of hearings later thi

when that is over, house speaker nancy pelosi talks about what the members accomplished this year. on "washington journal" tomorrow morning, we'll discuss health care and climate change with democratic senator jeff bingaman. jared bernstein will focus on so-called green jobs. we'll talk about defense spending with jack kingston of georgia and john bresnahan looks at the senate debate on health care and other issues. a couple of live events to tell you about tomorrow. the senate homeland security and governmental affairs committee looks at our economic future, including spending, debt and deficits. witnesses include former federal reserve chairman aidan greenspan at 10:00 a.m. alan greenspan at 10:00 a.m. eastern. >> still in time for the holidays, american icons on d.v.d. c-span's three original documentaries on the iconic homes of the three branches of the american government. the special three-disk collection is only $24.95. visit c-span.org/store. >> the united nations climate change conference in denmark today heard from heads of state and from delegates representing developing

the house floor is controlled by the speaker, in this case nancy pelosi. she controlled the debate because she controls the house rules committee. nine democrats and four republicans on it. when the rules committee debates what amendments will be on the floor, or procedures they will take to have a vote, the democrats never lose. overwhelming majority. sam when republicans controlled the house, the same majority. -- same when republicans controlled house, sam majority. the debate and out between the majority and minority leader -- hammered out between the majority and minority leader. every day is a process of negotiation going back and forth between which mcconnell and harry reid. in a lot of ways, the senate is the grand tradition of democracy, compromise and conciliation majority does rule. you still have to have 60 votes , and individual senators have enormous leverage to get their amendment, and if the senator once the amendment on the floor, she will get the debate. -- once the amendment on the floor, she will get the debate. you had mr. kingston on

harry reid, nancy pelosi. >> host: are there current discussions between the two over there even before the friends committee? >> guest: absolutely. the staff is certainly not off this week. even though members gone home, the staff is getting ready. they're putting together paperwork that needs to be done. there is enormous amount of paper that needs to be prepared for a friends like this. i think people underestimate how much work it takes just to lay out what needs to be done in order to put bills like this together. we keep talking about big issues. abortion and public option and financing. but there are smaller issues that are different that are going to have to be worked out and those do take some time even though they're not, some of these things may never rise what we call the mem level to actually members but staff will have to work out differences. in the end it will have to be one bill. remember these are 2,000-page bills, both of them. they will have to be put together into one. takes a lot of work. >> host: is there confidence from democrats on both sides a final package wil

the critics of the war are nancy pelosi democrats from san francisco, etc. it is a terrible place for a democratic president to be. the people he has to convince to support him are his natural constituency. he does not have to convince the sarah palin. she is just looking for an opportunity to say you screwed it up. >> you mentioned that we don't know where bin laden is in there have been no reports. but there have been reports over a number of years that he has not stayed in iran. there were reports in 2000 for, photographic evidence to come out. -- reports in 2004. how do you comment on his -- on those reports? >> i want to be absolutely explicit. the last time we had a solid piece of information about where osama bin laden was was eight years ago. we don't have a clue where he is today. bob gates asked this question on "meet the press" but this week, and he said it had been a few years. i am a big fan of bob gates. he has been my boss and more renovations that i can remember, but i think he has been a little misleading. as events in iran? i do not rule ou

signed, nancy pelosi, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the order of the house of january 6, 2009, the chair will now recognize members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for the morning hour debate. the chair will alternate recognition between the parties with each party limited to 30 minutes and each member other than the majority and minority leaders and the minority whip limited to five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from oregon, mr. blumenauer, for five minutes. mr. blumenauer: thank you, mr. speaker. as we listen to the debate in the other body, there are two missing factors that would create the momentum for reform and revitalization of our health care. there is a stunning disconnect between the two sides on the nature of the problem and the impact of government's involvement in health care. opponents argue that america has the best health care in the world that would be destroyed by federal involvement, that would undermine the quality of existing care while c

and the house nancy pelosi said she doesn't like this idea. and they have to find a way. >> and a gallop poll, 71% of the americans do not support the war tax. >> yes, he's got some tough sledding, and has to decide where that money will come from. there is some saving from the war in iraq. >> and the karzai government, does president karzai get it? >> i guess we will see. this would seem to be the last chance. but time will tell. >> i think he will have to find a way to demonstrate a certain level of getting it. i don't think he has yet but those on the hill will be looking for some signs. >> what role does senator reed play in this debate? >> he's central, his place is the initial fight for the house and senate. and he's known as a moderate and tempered voice, and people trust his knowledge given his experience in military. >> john stratton who can be seen in roll call and tom, thank you for being with us on this sunday's "newsmakers." thank you. >> coming up on c-span a-look at testimony on capitol hill, from hillary clinton and robert gate

i am speaking on behalf of myself and i am speaking on behalf of nancy pelosi. we feel very strongly about the issue that is the central point of this press conference. we all know that years of mismanagement by president bush put our country in a deep fiscal hole. we inherited the worst economic situation this country has seen in three-quarters of a century. that is why it is so important to recommit ourselves to the principle that we must pay for what we buy. pay-as-you-go. this was first made lot during the clinton administration. it turned massive deficits into a record surplus. it can do so again. it must do so for your granddaughter and for my granddaughter and my great- granddaughter. that is why it speaker policy and i are so committed to enacting paygo into law once again. president obama sent us a bill and had a press conference at the white house on where all of us bears saying paygo was a priority of the obama administration. fiscal responsibility needed to be the focus of congress and the american people and the white house. on behalf of the blue do

why won't he debate anybody unless obama and nancy pelosi, john kerry, they all fly their private jets around like they are going to the cne

what it means for american families is that the day nancy pelosi took the gavel to become speaker of this house, every man, woman, and child in america owed $29,000 in debt. today as a result of this vote and next year's debt limit, every person in america will owe $45,000. in public debt. three years, we have increased to $45,000 in public debt. it is responsible to pay our bills. it's irresponsible to keep going into debt and asking for more credit while we do it. it's time to stop spending. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from nevada reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. neal: with that i'd like to yield three minutes to my friend, the gentleman from in new jersey, mr. andrews. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for three minutes. mr. andrews: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman is recognized. mr. andrews: thank you, madam speaker. i thank my friend for yielding. a tired old tradi

speaker nancy pelosi for for extraordinary leadership and dedication. having passed reform bills in both the house and senate, we now have to take up the last and most important step and reach an agreement on a final reform bill that i can sign into law. i look forward to working with members of congress of both chambers over the coming weeks to do exactly that. with today's vote, we are now critical close to making health insurance reform or reality in this country. our challenge is to finish the job. we cannot do another generation of american to soaring costs, eroding coverage and exploding deficits. we need to do what we were sent here to do and improve the lives of the people we serve. for the sake of our citizens, our economy and our future, let's make 2010 a year we final reform health care in united states of america. merry christmas and happy new year. >> do you have a policy which for the troops? >>-- a holiday wish for the troops? >> i do and i am on my way to call a few of them to wish them a merry christmas and to thank them for their extra