the people of new york, new jersey and new york are suffering. congress needs to get out of the way and send not only this $9.7 billion insurance but the entire package. i yield become. >> the gentleman from new jersey. >> just to set the record straight with regard to the legislation before us a flood insurance program the aid under this program is going and has been going to the recipients in the effected area because there was funding in this program before. what we are doing now is make sure that aid will continue to go to those people who have contracts for insurance. with that i yield two minutes to the gentleman from new york who also is very familiar with the devastation. >> i thank the gentleman for yielding. i rise in strong support of the legislation. as intimated in the summer of 2011 my district was struck by hurricanes. we came together to support my constituents. with that assistance we are in the process of rebuilding. now we come together in the wake of this devastating natural disaster and my state with our neighboring states we

, to a brighter day for new jersey. the author bern williams once said, "man never made any material as resilient as the human spirit." for all i have seen and experienced as your governor in this extraordinary year, one experience will be indelibly etched in my memory. her name is ginjer. as i walked around the parking lot of the fire department in port monmouth in one of the days soon after sandy had laid waste to so much of our state, i saw so many of the scenes that i had come to expect in the aftermath of the storm -- neighbors helping neighbors, food being prepared for the hungry, first responders helping the homeless. then i met 9-year-old ginjer. having a 9-year-old girl myself, her height and manner of speaking was immediately familiar and evocative. having confronted so many crying adults at that point i felt ready to deal with anything. then ginjer looked at me, began to cry and told me she was scared. she told me she had lost everything -- she had lost her home and her belongings. she asked me to help her. a

of new jersey. mayor bloomberg of new york. people who got together and worked. we did wait for the president's declaration of a national emergency. and we did after 40 days and some few hours after that receive the bill. but i think this house of representatives on a bipartisan basis, members working together, louise slaughter, michael grimm, tom cole, others coming together and we are now getting behind a bill. one of the amendments is called the rodney frelinghuysen amendment and it is an amendment that meets the needs of these states and these people. so for those who would say we've taken our time, i'd like to say, i think we're trying to do it right. for those who would say, well, we're not sure exactly how much should be in here or not. this body will determine it by the votes. every member of this body i believe will have a fair and open opportunity not just as a result of the rule but us working together and i'm very proud of that process. very proud of how rogers, our appropriations chair,

, to a brighter day for new jersey. the author bern williams once said, "man never made any material as resilient as the human spirit." for all i have seen and experienced as your governor in this extraordinary year, one experience will be indelibly etched in my memory. her name is ginjer. as i walked around the parking lot of the fire department in port monmouth in one of the days soon after sandy had laid waste to so much of our state, i saw so many of the scenes that i had come to expect in the aftermath of the storm -- neighbors helping neighbors, food being prepared for the hungry, first responders helping the homeless. then i met 9-year-old ginjer. having a 9-year-old girl myself, her height and manner of speaking was immediately familiar and evocative. having confronted so many crying adults at that point i felt ready to deal with anything. then ginjer looked at me, began to cry and told me she was scared. she told me she had lost everything -- she had lost her home and her belongings. she asked me to help her. a

that is today's new jersey. [applause] [applause] let's review this new reality specifically, to remind our constituents and ourselves how far we have come and to resolve to never return to the old, dark days of our past in trenton. four years, four balanced budgets, no new taxes, new tax relief to create 75,000 new private sector jobs -- a far different picture from the prior eight years, which saw 115 increases in taxes and fees. it hasn't been easy, but we have done it together. and the people of new jersey are better off for it. the story is the same on property taxes, maybe even better. they had increased 70% in the prior 10 years -- the most in the nation. together, we enacted a 2% per year cap on growth and the interest arbitration reform that was needed to make that cap work. many said it wouldn't work, but the record tells a different story. last year, property taxes in new jersey grew by only 1.7% -- the lowest rise in two decades. and our pension system, which was on a path to insolvency, is now on mu

the people of new york, new jersey and new york are suffering. congress needs to get out of the way and send not only this $9.7 billion insurance but the entire package. i yield become. >> the gentleman from new jersey. >> just to set the record straight with regard to the legislation before us a flood insurance program the aid under this program is going and has been going to the recipients in the effected area because there was funding in this program before. what we are doing now is make sure that aid will continue to go to those people who have contracts for insurance. with that i yield two minutes to the gentleman from new york who also is very familiar with the devastation. >> i thank the gentleman for yielding. i rise in strong support of the legislation. as intimated in the summer of 2011 my district was struck by hurricanes. we came together to support my constituents. with that assistance we are in the process of rebuilding. now we come together in the wake of this devastating natural disaster and my state with our neighboring states we

york, new jersey, and connecticut. extremely positive news. >> $9 billion this friday? >> $9 billion on flood insurance friday. january 15, an additional $61 billion will be voted on. -- an additional $51 billion will be voted on. that will come to a total of $60 billion. >> did the speaker explain why he put it off? it is in the past. that was his decision and we disagree with it. that is in the past. all we care about is my constituents. i take him at his word. it is a question of the timetable. $9 billion, then we have to introduce a bill and start all over. that will be done on one day on january 15. one thing at a time. my job is the house. it should be fully resolved in the house on january 15. >> will you vote for john boehner? you were extremely critical of the speaker of the house. will you vote for him? >> yes, i will. >> are you satisfied? >> this procedure that is laid out is fully satisfactory. it will give us the full $60 billion. so yes. >> this was a case where a very unified new york and new jersey del

i have corey booker, you're our senior new jersey -- our senior new jersey political analyst. what is the one question i should ask corey booker tonight? >> why should you be senator and not frank lautenberg? >> i'm going to ask him that question coming up. and you guys do a show called "the cycle." and people should watch it. a whole gang of you do that show. okay, so that is a thank you to krystal ball and steve kornacki, and coming up. if house republicans really do something crazy with the debt ceiling, will they do that? ezra klein answers that question next. >>> and on the one-month anniversary of the sandy hook elementary school shootings, the nra has released a video. the same group that blamed the violent video games for the massacre in newtown. >>> and scott brown's political future, more observers saying he won't run for senate. and as i said, corey booker, who has announced his intention to run for senator in new jersey. the problem is he may have to run against fellow democrat and current senator franken lautenberg, as far as we can tell, they agree on just about

jersey and new york city. it is an essential artery in the region representing more than $1.4 trillion in economic output, fully 11% of our nation's gdp. of all our transportation cities, path suffered the most severe blow in superstorm sandy. we take every step we could to prepare for the storm, but despite our preparations, this critical interstate link was completely devastated by the historic storm surge and flooding that reached over two feet above the prior 100 year flood level in lower manhattan. the storm surge breached and blasted through our passenger stations, that's why judge of before, mr. chairman, indicates, and the path tunnels, which are ancient by today's mass transit standards, having been built at the turn of the last century more than 100 years ago. that path network is dense and closely contain with complex tunnels interlocking underneath the hudson. these tunnels along with a box like structures called caissons connecting the tunnels contain racked up a rack of critical and decades old s

york, new jersey and connecticut. we provide lots of revenue for the united states of america. we are a donor stick to the states to give a lot more federal aid than we give to those in jersey and new york. but the question for the american people, mr. speaker, is why is the speaker of the house doing this? what is going on in his caucus or in his mind, mr. speaker, that would say we will not allow a discussion and a vote on aid that will address $60 billion worth of damages to tens of millions of americans in the northeast. >> the gentleman's time has expired. what purpose does the gentleman from louisiana seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized. >> mr. speaker, i am from new orleans. we were not affected by sandy. but we were great beneficiaries of this body coming together after katrina and rita to helpless in a time of our greatest need. and it is appalling that this house cannot come together when we have so many americans in need. one of the montrose of our service is that -- one of our

, new jersey and connecticut. little pennsylvania, on this issue. and it was deeply disappointing. and this is why everyone is so angry that this bill didn't come up. >> congresswoman, who does it behoove speaker boehner to put this vote up? i don't understand it. >> you'll have to ask speaker boehner. you'll have to ask mr. cantor. you'll have to ask any of their lieutenants as to why this didn't come up. we were promised. we thought we would have a vote. we know the urgency of it and certainly governor christie and governor cuomo have made it absolutely clear. the people of our communities don't understand the politics. i'm not going to explain the politics. all i can tell you, that the democrats and republicans were working closely together and we had a commitment to get this bill on the floor and we had the votes to pass it. the republicans were working very hard to get those votes and we had almost 100% of the democrats. >> congresswoman, i want to put this up on the screen, house appropriations chairman hal

come see new jersey. jive through a town that has less than 2000 people. -- drive through this town that has less than 2000 people. most of the people have not been able to return. go to union beach, new jersey. everything is exposed. we still have people who do not have a place to stay and are looking for apartments and staying in motels. we need to rebuild now. we need to act now. we cannot wait for the next congress or another couple of weeks or another couple of months. what i do not understand, mr. speaker, is how this has become a political issue? we are here today. we can vote on this. the boats are here. we should have -- the votes are here. they are worried that they have another spending bill. this is politicizing the situation that should not be political. it is another example of what i call the do-nothing congress. this congress has done very little. a test passed fewer bills in anyone's summaries. es.memroiori why not do something positive on a bipartisan basis, mr. speaker? bring this up. l

jersey and new york areas. this bill is a small first step, but it hardly gets at what we need. our governors requested $80 billion. the administration script it to $60 billion. the senate passed the $60 billion, and that was good news. that was a good, large step forward. the are waiting for the house. then we will have to wait the ideal situation would be for the house to pass the same bill that we passed in the senate and then we could almost certainly unanimous consent it as we did on the floor with the flood insurance but if they make changes, leader reid has promised it will be the first thing we take up when we get back and we will not rest, we will not rest until the full $60 billion is sent to new york and new jersey to provide the relief that our homeowner, our businesses, our communities so desperately need. >> thank you, senator schumer, for your steadfast leadership in fighting for the families in new york and new jersey who so desperately need this money. it's been a very, very tough holiday seaso

new jersey. if they could stomach the devastation they would witness. stomach the lives that were lost. stomach the homes that have been destroyed or the families that have been displaced. stomach the businesses that are closed and in many places have been lost. in the weeks after the storm, my republican colleagues told us, not all by the way, and i want to point out that mr. grimm and mr. king, mr. dold and others were very, very helpful, but the leadership i'm talking about told us they were with us and that they would support us. but i guess those were only words because last night we learned the truth. that thanks to their actions, there's no additional federal assistance to help hardworking people rebuild and restart their lives. now, i'm not a cynic but i do wonder what if we told republicans that a few millionaires and billionaires' lives were destroyed by this storm, whether they'd want to help all the families hurting because of sandy. and i wonder what if republicans were promised that

york and new jersey one. it's those very same people that write those checks before calling and writing to my office with if you do non-billion next week the chairman proposed a 17 billion today and and now you are talking about doing even more tomorrow. with to see you know what i may not know everything there is to know about the hurricane but i know it didn't impact you all in the island. why is there funding for opportunities for those folks in here? >> we can put it in the bill if you like. >> that is what is frustrating to me is that here in the body of the politics create cynicism. we create it. it doesn't exist naturally in the communities back home. we created and common we have an opportunity with the chairman to make certain that we get dollars out the door to make certain that we don't do one thing to further that cynicism back home that folks are profiting from other family tragedies. i wish that we could rally of and that and with that i yield back the balance of my time. >> thank you. the spiri

york and new jersey. many, many staffers have stayed up more than 24 hours to make this happen, and i am indebted to them and i know the people of staten island are very, very grateful. this is a time that is very unique in our history. we just started tearing down the homes in staten island. new york is tearing down 200, and they started in staten island. when i was there this past weekend, a mother came up to me and i asked her how she was doing. she said, i'm ok but i'm worried about my children. i said why. she said because they start crying hysterically when it rains. they cry when it rains because they think there's going to be another flood, and they're scared. so at the end of the day when we debate the various amendments in the bill and its merits, all i ask is that everyone in this blessed chamber remember that there are real people, human beings that are behind all this, and at the end of the day, if it was our families, i know that they would want them to be safe and healthy and the support of

york and new jersey. they broke the contract and they said, your on your own. -- you are on your own. we have a central responsibility to act on behalf of the american people when they're overwhelmed in circumstances they had no control over. let us act. let us act today to restore that faith in -- and confidence. >> the chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey for two and a half minutes. >> you have heard it. wereconstituents' lives devastated. it has been nine weeks since hurrican sande sandy. in new york and connecticut and new jersey, people are hurting. towns have exhausted their emergency funds. an exhausted their borrowing capacity. in other disasters such as the disaster seceded with katrina or with wild fires, or with any number of natural disasters, this body has acted and aid has been provided quickly. yet today, the speaker is going to allow the 112 congress to adjourn before passing the much- needed disaster relief package. the senate acted on this bill. the aid package here was well- c

new jersey. and their tireless efforts on behalf of their constituents who have suffered so grievously from hurricane sandy. we must unite for the people. and that's really the idea of the united states. the unity of states. but it's even deeper than that. it's expressive of the unity of people. it's all for one, one for all. our nation's first motto, e pluribus unum, out of many, one, stresses the pow over unity. the idea of human unity is implicit in this nation. in my visits across america, i discovered that there is an underlying unity which binds us as americans, which calls us forward to a higher purpose. i've also come to understand our politics divides people. the poll teches of polarization and hyper partisanship has become quite destructive, nearly incapacitating our government. yet at such a a time the hunger for unity is the greatest but the ideological difference between us widens. we need a new politics in america which unites people, which sets aside partisan differences for the gr

primarily for new jersey and new york. it seems like the amount of money is so vast that there has to be full debate on it and it should not be passed real fast. >> we haven't had the debate. stuart: why not? >> the speaker wouldn't bring the bill up. all we asked was that the speaker bring the bill up on the floor and we have debate in as part of the democratic process and have a vote on the amendment, up or down vote and we were never given that. the speaker never brought the bill to the floor and that's not fair to my constituents who, you know, are suffering, frankly, that they don't have a full and fair debate. we didn't ask for anything else other than it be brought to the floor and that we have the debate and we have a vote and we have not had that opportunity. and that's not fair in a democratic system. stuart: our democratic system is running a trillion dollars a year deficit. you know that. >> i do. >> 60 billion, congressman, 60 billion dollars. >> i'm sorry, it's all documented and this is a natural disaster an

that is today's new jersey. [applause] ba now -- that's reviewed this new reality specifically, specifically. to remind our constituents and ourselves how far we have come. add to resolve never, ever return to the cold dark days of our past in this town. years of balanced budgets, a far different picture from the prior eight years. we saw 115 increases in taxes and fees. it has not been easy, but we have done it together. the people of new jersey are better off for it. property taxes may be even better. they increased 70% in the prior 10 years, the most in the nation. together we enacted a 2% per year cap on growth, and the interest arbitration that was needed to make that work, but the record tells a different story. last year, property taxes in new jersey grew by only 1.7%, the lowest rise in over two decades. our pension system, which was on a path to insolvency, is now on a much more sound footing. with your help, we tackle the problem head on, modestly raising retirement ages, incentives for retirement, sus

the gentleman from new jersey. mr. garrett: i thank the gentleman for his comments. and also recognize that this legislation helps not only his people in his neck of the woods but across the country as we resume the money and the glad insurance program. with that i yield now to the gentleman from texas, the chairman of the financial services committee, mr. hensarling. the speaker pro tempore: how much time? mr. garrett: two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for two minutes. mr. hensarling: there is no doubt that hurricane sandy rendered unspeakable damage to both lives and property on our east coast. it represents truly one of the great natural disasters of recent history. for millions of our fellow citizens, the devastation has been unseek speakable and unfathomable. it is time, obviously, to rebuild homes, buildings, and lives. for the victims who paid for flood insurance policies with the national flood insurance program, their claims need to be paid and paid now. madam speaker

. >> gentleman from new jersey? >> i have no additional speakers. >> gentleman from new jersey has the right to close. >> i give one minute to the honorable maxine waters. >> thank you very much. i am so proud of the members of this conditioning from both sides of the aisle who have been real advocates, who have been on television, who have been fighting, members on the opposite side of the aisle criticize their own leadership for the delay. ladies and gentlemen, i am from california. i have witnessed earthquake disaster. i have been involved with trying to help with katrina and making sure that the people who were the victims of katrina were compensated, were taken care of. this is unconsciousable that this has had to take so long. i watch congressman meek up in rockaway, i watched the people who cried, i watched the people who begged for help, who begged for assistance. this is so late in coming so i support this bill today. i am one of the co-authors of the flood insurance reauthorization bill along with ms. bigg

jersey, new york, and connecticut. put that on the floor on friday. just a day after the new congress begins. and pledges to do the $51 billion on january 15th. here's the problem all along. the speaker did not want to put this bill on the floor in a day of turmoil and chaos. yesterday on new year's day in the halls of congress and the bowels of the basement of the capitol building, lawmakers hurrying back and forth huddling again and again and again trying to work out a way to get past the fiscal cliff. the base of his party was very upset with what was going down. you saw the vote yet on the fiscal cliff. a lopsided margin for democrats voting in favor. a lopsided margin, a little bit less so, for republicans voting against. he didn't want to put it on the floor in that atmosphere. and one problem with the temporary solution to do part of it on friday, the senate's going to have to act all over again. >> exactly. >> the slate is wiped clean until the clock starts again. >> mike, i have to put this to you. what does t

that works well in new jersey. running for the presidency or the nomination in the republican party i think is left and center views will probably not bode well for him. >> even with being on the cover of "time" magazine. >> that might be the kiss of death. >> that might be the kiss of death right there. >> maybe you and richard agree with that one there. thank you both. >> always good to be with you. >> don't be on the cover of "time" magazine is what you are saying. >>> which both occurred on this day in history? there is a lot happening on capitol hill today but none of it has anything to do with politics. we go behind the scenes coming up. [ lisa ] my name's lisa, and chantix helped me quit. i honestly loved smoking, and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. it put me at ease that you could smoke on the first week. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, host

it has been 66 days for new york and new jersey and congressman bill pascrell from new jersey also pointed out new york, new jersey, we send a load of money in tax dollars to the federal government. ashley: oh, yeah. >> the least they could do is pay attention to these areas that are --. ashley: very upset. tracy: he said it was disgusting to watch. ashley: disappointing. despite reaching a last minute deal last night on the fiscal cliff many americans will still be paying more when it comes to their taxes in the new year. peter barnes joins us with the breakdown. >> ashley and tracy the house did get that tax bill done that night and a bunch of new taxes are hitting taxpayers this year including from the tax bill last night. we've been looking at their impact on difficult income brackets each hour of the day here on fbn. this hour we're up to the household income of 200,000 to 500,000. and the big change this week was the restoration of the top marginal tax rate of 39.6% from the clinton era for individuals making more than 400,000 a year and families making more than 450,000 a year. now

lawmakers from new york and new jersey late this afternoon. afterwards, congressman peter king called it a positive meeting and, anthony, he said he now believes that the region's storm victims will get the aid they need. >> mason: that's good news. elaine quijano, thanks, elaine. you heard governor cuomo say a few moments ago "go ask my family if the delay bothers them." seth doane did just that. you'll hear from a homeowner waiting to rebuild later in the broadcast. now to the bill congress did pass late last night to pull the country back from the fiscal cliff. tax rates are going up for high-income earners. jobless benefits will continue for the long-term unemployed. and the payroll tax is going up. but spending cuts have been put off. nancy cordes is on capitol hill. nancy? >> reporter: anthony, after months of procrastination and accusations and closed-door meetings, congress finally passed a fiscal cliff bill last night. it left everyone relieved but no one truly happy. >> the motion is adopted. >> reporter: even republicans who voted f

>> i don't think the new jersey democrats are invited. this is a new jersey moment though. time to take off the gloves. i believe boehner is speaking sincerely when he said we will get this done as soon as possible in the next congress. we get sworn in tomorrow, but we need the help right now. that was a commitment. he could not deliver. i can't deal with the schizophrenia within the leadership of the within party. we should all be on this. it took us a very short period of time to respond to katrina. $10 billion on a voice vote. mind you. then another the democrats and republicans. they did everything we asked them to do and not only to the republican leadership, we think it's time to act instead of playing games. let's put it off. many congress men have gone home until tomorrow. we don't even have votes that have this. we will not have it this congress regardless of how we go up and down. >> for folks suffering through this, one more day is painful. with that said, it is described as pushing the reset button when you address it with 113th congress. what kind of delay are

>> i'm going to be governor of new jersey. that's my job. and the only reason you get this attention is if you're doing your job well and you're being active for the people that elected you. >> doing your job well. listen to this, there's a new poll putting christie's approval 73%. and he has strong approval out of his own party. 62% among democrats. 69% among nonwhites. wednesday's political panel, ruth marcus for "the washington post," msnbc, karen finney, also a columnist for the hill. msnbc analyst michael steele, also former chair of the republican national committee. gang, it's great to see all of you. and this is really impressive news for chris christie. to look at where he's come. especially what his state has faced on the heels of hurricane sandy. and if we can go ahead and look at this fairly dickinson poll. the governor christie approval, dem crams, 62%. what you see numbers like that what does that say to you, michael? >> it makes me smile. that means he's resonating with the braoad specter of voters in the state. and that's wha

jersey first in new jersey today new jersey governor chris christie vetoed legislation passed out of the state senate to increase the minimum wage from seven twenty five an hour to eight fifty an hour christie claims that paying working people in this state more money will hurt the recovery in new jersey a state where the unemployment rate of nine point six percent is well above the national unemployment rate but as the new jersey policy perspective finds the exact opposite will actually happen the increase in the minimum wage would mean four hundred thirty nine million more dollars in the hands of working people in the state that would increase economic activity by two hundred seventy eight million dollars in the first year and any quibbling of two thousand four hundred twenty new full time jobs would be created but again. governor christie vetoed it so working people they get screwed meanwhile across the border in new york where learning that billionaires on wall street have even more money and power in the market than previously believed new data from the dallas federal reserve sh

jersey, in new york, and they need to be taken care of. remember this, matt. we've now waited seven times longer than the victims of katrina waited for federal aid. >> above politics. steve sweeney, a democrat, blasted christie recently saying -- i guess he prayed a lot and got lucky a storm came. i know you apologized for that comment, but do you stand by your sentiment that the governor has been using the storm for his own gain? >> not for political gain, but to hide his record in new jersey. he said i'm going to wipe the slate clean now because of the storm. before the storm hit, we had 9.6% unemployment. we had the second highest foreclosure rate in the nation behind florida. our poverty rate has increased 3%. you don't get to wipe the slate clean, governor and quite honestly, if this is your jobs package, it's not a good jobs package. the governor wants to paint a different state than what's going on. >> one thing i have to ask you about this is post crisis bumps happen. as distasteful as it may be, they do happen. it happened to rudy

york, new jersey and connecticut. so as far as i'm concerned, i think i can speak to all members of the new york and new jersey delegations it was an extremely positive meeting. >> extremely positive meeting. are you satisfied with day surances that congressman king got? >> have a lot of respect for congressman member king. i won't be satisfied until it's done. really? i mean speaker boehner as i under it gave lots of republicans, members of congress, other leaders in this situation assurances that this would happen before this congress left. it didn't. now, it is certainly more positive that they said they are going to vote than saying nothing at all. but what message has speaker boehner sent to you that people who are the victims of hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, things of that nature, natural disasters we become pawns in a political game. what kind of a message does that send. i hope he does the right thing between now and january 15 but i won't believe it until i see it because any assurances we've gotten until n

york and new jersey. hadn't given it a second thought. we're probably the beneficiaries for giving because you want to be there for folks. and it's those very same people who wrote those checks who are calling me and writing to my office, to say, you did 9 billion last yankee. if the chairman is proposing to do 17 billion today and you you're talking about even more tomorrow, we want to help but we're reading store after store -- a story out today, somebody doing a word search on the bill and filing guam the mariana islands in there, and i say i know the hurricane didn't impact guam and the islands. why are there funding opportunities for those folks. >> you can read it in the bill. >> that's what is so frustrating to me, is that we, we here in the body politic, create cynicism. we create it. it doesn't exist naturally in our communities back home. we create it, and we have an opportunity here with the chairman's mark, to make certain that we get dollars out the door to folks who need it and make certain

york and new jersey. >> is this how boehner operates? listening to chris christie, is this how he operates? >> i haven't seen that before. but he wouldn't call the governor back. he refused to meet with the republican congressman from new york. he wouldn't talk to any of them or anybody else. >> he operates like that, i think it gives us a pretty good insight about what kind of a tough customer he was to deal with in negotiations with the white house. >> that's probably true. >> i would draw that conclusion. congressman gerald nadler, great to have you with us tonight. i hope it all works out. people need the help. >>> coming up, the latest on secretary of state hillary clinton's condition, and a look at fox news' shameless conspiracy theory about her health. >>> and we always love hearing from our viewers on twitter and our facebook page. many of you are talking about the scathing criticism of speaker john boehner following republicans like new jersey governor chris christie for holding up relief for victims of hurricane sandy. john cob

that certainly would have helped the towns in new jersey and connecticut and new york. and i thank the gentlelady for yielding the time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from california. >> i would just remind the gentleman from new jersey that this bill was passed in september by this house and has been sitting in the senate september, even though the president's own appointee, director fugate, has been asking for this bill. it has been sitting. so we're looking forward to a bipartisan solution that gets done before march. so that we can actually help out the sandy relief fund. i just wanted to point to a couple quick facts. mr. denham: the katrina use study center project example in louisiana, as you'll see from this chart, katrina started in 2005. that was the disaster. here's what the governor's office has put together. this one project isn't going to be done until 2016. after 18 meetings and seven years of bureaucratic red tape this one project won't be done until 2016. that's if all goes well. louisiana hopes to finish this. that's

in screwed news new jersey governor chris christie might be very popular right now but he sure is not a friend of working people in the garden state. this week christie vetoed a bill passed out of the state senate that would have increased that state's minimum wage from seven twenty five an hour to eight fifty an hour currently the federal minimum wage is seven twenty five an hour and has been about rate since two thousand and nine but if it had kept up with inflation starting in one thousand nine hundred sixty eight the minimum wage right now would be over ten dollars and fifty cents an hour let me repeat that if the minimum wage today were to have the same purchasing power it had in one thousand nine hundred sixty eight that it would be well over ten dollars an hour instead of the seven dollars and twenty five cents an hour currently is and all the state in jersey's senate wanted to do is modestly raise that state's minimum wage to eight dollars and fifty cents an hour still well below the ten dollars plus where it needs to be for minimum wage workers to get by but governor christie

and it was a massive superstorm that caused billions of dollars in damage to new york and new jersey before the one hundred twelfth congress came to an end and the house g.o.p. delayed a vote on hurricane sandy relief so what does this mean for states and the residents that are left in the dark by their own government. and the pentagon has a problem the u.s. relies on drones to conduct warfare around the world now they've launched a sixteen million dollar effort to prevent high tech flying machines from being tapped so how serious of a problem is this for the u.s. drone program. it's wednesday january second eight pm the washington d.c. meghan lopez if you're watching r.t. . all right topping the news tonight well they've done it in literally an eleventh hour deal the u.s. house of representatives passed a fiscal cliff budget deal that president obama is expected to sign into law so that's that crisis averted right well not even close the u.s. might have avoided economic calamity in the short run but the future of the country is still as uncertain as it was before if not more so let'

in new jersey one town in new jersey has become the first in the nation to announce that they will have armed security at all schools. in that context we are are debating gun control with larry pratt the executive director of the gun owners of america and dan gross the president of the brady campaign against armed violence. i want to it put back up my suggestions for what the president and the vice president who is leading the effort should be working for in my opinion. i think all weapons should be registered. all cars are registered. why not all weapons registered? i think there should be mandatory criminal and mental health background checks for all gun purchases including those at gun shows. mandatory reporting for all guns sold, detroyed, lost or stolen. on the banned side i think the military assault rifles should be banned and silencers banned and high capacity magazines banned except for gun clubs which are sanctioned and obviously the >> have you to question anything for the purpose of aiding and abetting to taking a human rif live. you know? things like a pistol grip on a weap

jersey and new york. it's got a lot of people who are scratching their heads and are angry this did not happen. i want you to hear what one of the fellow republicans said against boehner. >> when katrina hit, ten days later, $60 billion. $100 billion altogether. now we have to hear from people in florida, louisiana, and texas and alabama and, yes, some people from california and the midwest, when they have a disaster, and we were there for them. the rules change for us, and it is now not an emergency and the federal government doesn't have a role in this? absurd, absolutely absurd! we demand nothing less than we have given the rest of the country, an emergency disaster means emergency and disaster. >> nobody wants a special favor. nobody is looking for a gift or anything else. when your people are literally freezing in the winter and they're without food, without shelter and without clothing and my own party refuses it to help them, then why should i help the republican party? i will stand on the values a

frelinghuysen of new jersey. the chair will reduce to two minutes the minimum time for any electronic vote after the first vote in this series. except that the minimum time on amendment number 1 will be five minutes. -- are. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 2 printed in part c of house report 113-1 by the gentleman from texas, mr. flores, on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 2 printed in part c of house report 113-1 offered by mr. flores of texas. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a record rod -- recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of re

york, long island and new jersey, speaker boehner is the one. he walked off the floor, refused to tell us why, refused to give under the circumstances any indication of warning whatsoever, and eric cantor met with us throughout the week, he devised the strategy how to bring it to the floor to make it acceptable to let the republicans who wanted to vote against parts of the bill, they could do that, but the bill was going to pass. the bottom line is here. the republican speaker walked off the floor without allows the vote. i'm just saying these people have no problem finding new york, these republicans, when they're trying to raise money. they raised millions in new york and new jersey. they send governor christie around the country. i'm saying anyone from new york or new jersey who contributes one penny to the republican national campaign committee should have their head examined. i would not give one penny based on what they did last night. i believe a true republican principle, but turning your back on people who are starving and freezing is n

york and new jersey. >> 66 days and counting. shame on you. shame on congress. >> reporter: in his blunt style, new jersey's governor chris christie said congress betrayed them. >> there is no reason for me at the moment to believe anything they tell me. >> reporter: under intense pressure, boehner quickly reelected. he members with members from the northeast and they got results. a vote on some emergency aid this friday. >> we're getting what new york and new jersey need, and that's all that counts. >> reporter: so boehner promised that this friday, the new congress will vote on $9 billion in flood insurance, emergency aid. and then in a couple weeks, they'll look at a $50 billion package. he also did have a conversation with governor christie. and, again, kate, all of this is against a backdrop of a congress struggling to deal with government spending at a time when there are these real-world emergencies. kate? >> kelly o'donnell on capitol hill again tonight. >>> many of the people who live and work in areas devastated by sand

york and new jersey. jeffrey brown has our update on where things stand today. >> brown: as winter storms bore down on parts of the midwest and northeast last week, flood waters again rose in a small coastal town of sea bright new jersey. >> we went through the previous storm. it was bad. i didn't expect another one that quickly. >> we went through a very strong last night. plus we're more vulnerable because we don't have any sand on the beach. >> brown: those sands were washed away two months ago when hurricane sandy battered new jersey, new york and connecticut killing at least 125 people in the u.s. and causing a minimum of $62 billion in damage. left behind are daily reminders of the storm's impact. just an hour from sea bright another small town was badly damaged by sandy. of the community's 520 homes, 60 were washed away and 139 remain uninhabitable. still without electricity, gas, sewers or water. >> we're the smallest town with the most amount of damage. we have to ache it one step at a time. we c