congress, they say -- look, congress can't act decisively or efficiently. may have made sense to have a powerful congress, or at least a coequal congress, but in a modern american state, global economy and fast-moving technology, we need a strong executive. now, i don't think we need to settle that debate, where whether should have a powerful executive or not, is not critical to my argument. even if the executive branch had not accumulated too much power, it's amassed too much power for one person. that's the problem. when one person exercises this enormous power of the modern u.s. presidency, we shouldn't be surprised if the system breaks down. a single president represents the views of one political party. all of us, we all want to have a voice in our government. but only half the public has a meaningful input. right? currently we have a democratic president who represents the viewed of democratic voters. from 2001 to 2008 we had a republican president, who represented the views of republican voters. so, no wonder when you have one president from one part

congress needs to step up and find these projects. power grids and tunnels at ports that help us ship products all round of world, if with a three crown words, "made in america." that is how we will stay competitive in this economy, and to ray lahood, i want to thank you for doing an extraordinary job, and to anthony and his family, i want to thank you guys for agreeing to serve, and i note today's announcement is not the biggest thing that anthony's family has going over the next week, because tomorrow is anthony's birthday, so we are happy we can kick off the celebration here at the white house, and with that what i would like to do is ask both of them to say a few words, starting with our outstanding current secretary of transportation, mr. ray lahood. [applause] >> thank you. thank you very much. mr. president, your staff told me i've only had one minute, and since this is the last time i will be at this podium, i will take a little bit more than 1 minutes. i know they will not forgive me, but i know you will. there is no way i ca

former congress from ohio. we thank you. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> for dvd copy of this program call 1(877)662-6626 for free transcripts or to give us your comment about this program, visit us at q&a.org. "q&a" programs are also available at c-span podcast. >> next, british prime minster david cameron. followed by irish president michael higgins addressing the european parliament. later former fbi investigator david williams discusses emergency response and intelligence surrounding the boston marathon bombings. tomorrow on the c-span network, two events marking the 20th anniversary of the holocaust hue seem here in -- museum here in washington. former president bill clinton will deliver the remarks. then a series of panel will discuss the holocaust and genocide prevention with our live coverage beginning at noon eastern over on c-span 2.

congress asks us to write reports. we have a report due later this year on what the effects of the card act has been. we cannot write a report like that and have it be meaningful and helpful to the congress unless we can analyze the data to see what the actual consequences have been. so that's the work we're doing. it is important for us of the day that so we can analyze it -- data so we can analyze it. and, again, the data is typically anonymized. it does not go to you or me in particular, but it goes to consumers generally. but it's quite helpful and really essential to us to do our work. >> i appreciate that response. let's talk about the anonymity issue first. >> yep. >> again, my understanding from the bloomberg article is that the cfpb has led a number of different contracts to different private sector entities to collect and store these, this enormous amount of data that the agency's collecting. even if the data collected is not personally identifiable to the agency, isn't it possible for the cfpb to hire contra

congress was not going to move. the idea that congress actually represents the will of the american people is a myth that people keep buying into, the same with gale marriay marriage >> what does it say that the supreme court is ahead of congress in terms of responding to the will of the american people? isn't that a complete failure of one of the branches of our government? >> if i'm here to saying that one of our branches of government is -- then you've put the wrong person on the show. one fundamental way is it represents rural areas. in rural areas there's much more keep your hands off my guns sentiment than there are in urban areas or even suburban area. you'll hear from the white house that people miss the intensity and the fear about given control. so there is -- that is one way this is a particular issue which the lines up very, very poorly with the way congress is designed. >> i accept that to some degree, but katty, and i don't mean to get emotional about this, but as a mother can you envision dropping you

in the congress? >> i think a lot of it has been the fact that elections seem now to go all the time and people -- there is no time between elections. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] [captions performed by national captioning institute] >> autism affects one in 88 families in america. it is something we learned about when we needed to give my granddaughter the kind of attention she needed. you learn it is all part of a joyful journey. so even though my granddaughter at the time was only 5 years old, she has brought a lot of joy into our lives, and we have learned to grow recognizing her limitations. the fact we don't have those same limb -- limitations allows us to be grateful. we understand a lot about it. we feel there -- there is a tremendous amount of work that needs to be done in understanding autism. there is research underway. there is growing awareness regarding autism around the country, including world autism awareness day. >> what questions do you think need to be a

congress they say look, congress can't act decisively or did -- efficiently. it may have made sense to have a powerful congress released a coequal congress 200 years ago but in the modern american state with a local economy in the fast-moving technology we need a very strong executive. now, i don't think we need to settle that, whether we should have a powerful executive or not is not critical to my argument because even if the executive branch is not accumulating too much power it has amassed too much power for one person. that's the problem. because when one person exercises the summer must power in the modern u.s. presidency we shouldn't be surprised if the system breaks down. a single president represents the views of one political party. all of us want to have a voice but only have the public has a meaningful input. currently we have a democratic president who represents the views of the democratic voters. from 2001 to 2008 where the republican president who represent the views of republican voters so it's no wonder when you have one president from one pa

but congress is a reactionary body, especially this congress and time is the enemy for them. so the longer it goes after newtown, the more easily i think a lot of members forget what happened there and how greatly the public reacted to it. yes, i do think it takes another major public event often for this kind of thing to really have more legs. >> quiet in d.c. but not when it comes to the issue. appreciate it. >>> senior prime minister escaping an attempted assz nation in damascus. he was not hurt but his bodyguard was killed and one of his drivers is in critical condition at the moment. we're going to go live later at the white house in possible u.s. engagement in that conflict. for. [ male announcer ] go pro. for a clean that's up to four times better, try these crest pro-health products together. [ sara ] i've been using crest pro-health. so far...it feels different. [ male announcer ] crest pro-health protects not just some, but all these areas dentists check most. my mouth feels healthier. it feels cleaner. i think my dentist is gonna see the difference. [ male announce

the question is congress and republican congress in particular going to listen to the american people and do the right thing? >> eric: former congressman asa hutchinson says if you want to keep children safe in schools he thinks they need armed guards. >> they are already having off-duty police officer protecting shopping malls. should we not provide and have a greatest responsibility for protecting our children as they go to school for education? so, to me it's a common sense approach that is happening whether if federal government is engaged or not. >> eric: joining us now as every time at this abby sunderland ancho -- is chris wallace, "fox news sunday." this is not happening on the hill behind me. >> no, this look like it's in control, the assault weapons ban is dead. the limits on the high capacity clips, 30 rounds, 100 rounds. i think it has almost no chance of passage. even the background check which was the most popular measure the president was proposing and still is popular, 80-90% support is in trouble. interesting enough, dan pfeiffer, the president's senior advisor blamed

and coming up next, president obama takes on congress, we'll talk to kelly o. but your erectile dysfunction - you know,that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or if you have any allergic reactions such as rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or

congress cozy to us write reports. we have a report due on the card act and what the effect has been. cannot write a report like that and have it be meaningful and helpful to the congress unless we analyze the data to see what the actual consequences have been. so that's the work we're doing. it is important for us to have data so we can analyze and it we're not depending on statistic institutions what they think. that's not a proper role and the data is anonymous. not been going to you or me particularly but consumers generally, but it's helpful and essential to us to do our work. >> i appreciate that response. let's talk about the anonymousity. bloomberg article talk about collecting and storing the enormous opt of data the agency is collecting. even if the dat tase not personally identifiable to the agency isn't it possible for the cfpb to hire contract are to dig into this information and obtain personally identifiable information? >> i don't know that would be possible or. no it's not what we're doing and not what

the instructions, as bob just pointed out, come from congress. write me a report on competition in the wireless market. well, this directive came over a decade ago, and they're still doing it. and so i just want withed to be very clear that, you know, if you tell an agency to devote certain resources to writing a report about a market that no longer exists on its own because broadband income basses wireless, wire line, satellite, google has gotten into the game, you get a report that may not be all that useful for policymakers. so we want to make sure that the notion that the fcc is just going to fix itself, it needs to kind of wake up, i think that's fanciful. i think the direction is going to have to come from congress with a recognition of the new landscape. >> host: well, hal singer, one of the policy proposals that you put in the need for speed is curb the fcc's merger authority over wireless transitions. why is that important? >> guest: it's actually a little broader than that. wireless is probably one of the most critical areas over which

the 113th congress has the greatest number of women ever. i can probably say that 59% of those women are emily's list candidates. but we are still only at 20%. and we still face challenges. i love to tell the story when barbara was first elected to the senate, i'm serious about this, there was no women's bathroom in the united states senate building. seriously she had to go to the office building across the street to go to the bathroom and had to ask them to build a bathroom in the united states senate. that was in 1986. just to make this clear, we had mtv before there was a women's bathroom in the united states senate. in this year, the senator of minnesota announced that the women of the senate made history in an unexpected way. there was for the first time a traffic jam for the bathroom at the united states senate. so it is true, our numbers are growing. but men still outnumber us in congress, in the courts, in corner offices and corporate board rooms. and women still earn less than men doing the same job. and that's an issue that republi

host: well would anybody want to run for congress? that's the headline of a recent cover story in the national journal. here to discuss his story on how both political parties subdues and sometimes browbeat potential recruits, we are joined by shane goldmacher of the national journal. if you say in your piece that congress can be a tough sell these days. why is congress such a tough sell for a would-be candidate? guest: because we are closed to the capital and you hear a lot about the dissension that going on. there was a poll earlier in january where they discussed what is congress compared to? it traded on the same scale as a colonoscopy. not the most popular of institutions these days. these folks are trying to recruit candidates to run for congress. their job is to convince people this is the place they want to spend their lives and their careers. job is it to recruit potential members of congress? guest: interesting question to the political parties are the leading arms for the recruitment process. the democrats have the senate a

congress is returning from its spring break. the next few weeks in this city could determine, well, among other things the president's legacy in this country. will he be remembered for passing gun control legislation with background checks for gun buyers? will history show him signing comprehensive immigration reform at some point? will he and congressional republicans work out some kind of grand bargain, call it what you want, that combines tax reform, that raises revenues, with entitlement cuts and reforms? the president's at a critical juncture. the question tonight for the republic republicans, are they willing to work with him at all? how does he get them on board without scaring away democrats in the process? we have our "hardball" strategists to advise their camps. they're not going to squabble, they're going to advise. mcmahon, you're so smart. you're in the corner with the president. he invites you in. i have three big issues on the table. gun control looks very dicey now. >> right. >> immigration is a must-win. which o

and people in congress were. so, the -- so the president wants to -- sorry, i'm hearing myself in my ear. >> i am, too. we are both hearing an echo here. >> but the president and the white house say that this is a band-aid, and they don't want to move forward on a piecemeal approach. >> so i understand that, but -- why was it that congress chose? is it because of amie's suggestion? >> that's part of it. >> but also because of the vociferous nature of people clamoring. when you hear reports of pilots coming on over the loudspeakers and saying it's because of the sequester, folks, that's bad pr. >> i heard a few lawmakers saying that there were people -- pilots were encouraging passengers to go and sign petitions, you know, to tell them to do this. so you know, certainly part of it is because they're frequent flyers, but they also understood that this was a potentially a security issue and a business issue. >> yeah. >> because certainly if people can't travel for business then it could tie up the economy, as well.

that is an annual report is required by congress on the state of wireless. behind theion congressional direction is that the wireless market is somehow separate from the wired market. in fact, in the world of broadband, the two have bee increasingly converge. think of the tablet that a lot of us have. you can download on your tablet with wireless technology. something that is basically indistinguishable from what you get on a pc. because of the convergence between wired and wireless, the markets for broadband is a lot more competitive than people think. we have a major providers like verizon and at&t and comcast and time warner. at the same time, we have wireless companies, some of them use the same telcos, but we have others come up with these guys are competing against each other. radicallyhanged is increased competition. we are not in the old days where we only have one pipe to the house and all in one kind of content. there is a convergence of all of those bits on the same platform. that has changed the dynamics. that thelk about silos fcc has regulated.

to go in to congress. you can't bring assault rifles in to congress. if they want assault rifles on the streets of america, why can't we have them this congress? >> and what i find so interesting about the approach the president has taken on this is this asking for the simple up and down vote, which seems to me like wielding a crowbar against the box, the vault of obstruction that has been the filibuster which applies just past this legislation, right? this is the thing that they have used to kill piece of legislation or to challenge it or tweak it or to water it down. and in doing this, in talking the way he's talking about this, he is making it no longer routine, right? he is highlighting the fact that there is something perverse and abnormal and anomalous about in. >> and fundamentally not democratic. our democratic process isn't about whether i or any of us win on any particular issue that we want but whether we're actually having a collective discussion about how we solve the problems and that people be held accountable to their positions on them.

or even congress, congress were meddling in the president war powers but that was a big discussion during the revolutionary war as well. so today i would like to start off and hope i get into some the other stories as well, i would like to start with one store in particular because i think it helps to establish a reoccurring principle that i found time and time again while writing this. and that is the divide between presidents and the commander in chief's power over foreign nationals and defending us from foreign forces, versus his power over american citizens, and sort of what power does he have to defend us from one another. so it really, the story begins at a small band in upstate new york in the hudson river, and right now when you think of west point you think of well manicured lawns. you think of our nations future military elite rushing to and from classes. you think of monumental buildings take you don't realize that back in 1780 it was a fledgling little fort ever beheld the state of the nation. basically, the british were interested in capturing the entire hudson river because

how does congress let this happen? >> the law passed bout most of congress even knowing about it. [laughter] >> jon: congress didn't know about a law they themselves passed? so congress is now operating with the same level of self awareness as a flatulent grandpa. what? what? where is everybody going? [laughter] what is that? if only one lawmaker had called out the so called monsanto amendment publicly, brought it to the attention of the other lawmakers sairk a senator from montana john tester. >> the second provision sent over from the house tells the usda to ignore any judicial ruling regarding the planting of genetically modified crops. they are giveaways pure and simple. they deserve no place in this bill. we have to do a better job on policy and process. >> jon: i see the problem here: the other legislators didn't know about it because senator tester brought it up on the senate floor in front of all of them. perhaps if he had written it in the memo field of a monsanto lobbyist check people would have seen it. [ laughter ] [cheers and applause] anything else in the bill nobody

they've had a lock on congress for two decades. in 1999 wayne lapierre who after columbine said we should have universal background checks. that's what he said. now he has flipped. now, i don't think the nra has a lot of credibility right now because even their members support a universal background check. and i would say further, there are 32 americans who are mowed down everyday in this country. and a universal background check would stem the number of deaths that take place due to gun violence. >> do you believe we will see a significant number of republican nets house who support this -- i mean, where is your confidence level on this as it relate to your republican colleagues in the house? >> i think my republican colleagues in the house are going to have to look at some polls. because the american people are really clear about this. and once they see the senate take action, i think they are going to be hard-pressed not to do the right thing. common sense proposal here. universal background check. everyone want to make sure tha

it is playing out messily in congress. just today, 47 house republicans write to speaker boehner urging him not to even bring the background check to a vote in the house. even though the democrats were able to break the filibuster in the senate this week, it still faces a very uncertain future ahead. then here in sacramento in california, we are looking to make those tightest in the nation laws even tighter. state senate democrats sort of consolidated their bills into a package this week that they call the life-saving intelligent firearms enforcement act. the l.i.f.e. act. always an acronym. these are controversial bills. one would essentially ban the sale and manufacture of any semiautomatic rifle with a detachable magazine regardless of capacity or features. another one would require background checks for ammunition sales. these are very far reaching bills. i have to think it will be difficult even with the democratic supermajority that we have in the legislature. there is some suburban and rural democrats that will not

i think that's a mistaken policy on the part of congress the point i'm making is that congress has put the president in impossible position any president and possible position to promise the people that are going to be released from guantanamo are not going to engage in terrorist activity after they've returned and what i can tell you from personal experience is that no matter how certain the government thinks they are the people that are being held at guantanamo are not going to gauge in terrorist activity they cannot be absolutely certain they simply cannot we have had people that we thought it would be saved return they returned home and it turns out they returned a terrorist activity that is just a fact and so as long as congress is not in the present i have to jump in here but i would promise that no terrorists go to charles it's not going to happen is going to charles. i agree one hundred percent with b.j. on this look to think that guantanamo that is the population in guantanamo is a distinct and unique population of individuals separate apart from any other person who's been in

but we do need more fighters in congress because right now congress is really bad. really, really bad. i think -- i think we don't have enough fighters in congress because congress is holding up america from flourishing and doing what they really -- what we really need to do. >> bill: yeah, i agree robert. too often too many democrats who are going to roll over and don't fight back and don't respond. don't call out -- don't call the republicans out on the lies that they're telling. let them get away with it. which is something that anthony weiner never did. lots more calls on that. i just want to move on a little bit because it is important i think to talk a little bit about -- we'll be doing this throughout the show. in this hour, about the president's budget. i was there in the rose garden yesterday when the president came out and talked about his priorities defending his budget. making the point that the budget document is basically a policy document and here are the things that i believe in. and then attended a -- oh, god it seemed like it went on forever and it

in the last congress, mr. speaker, mr. lynch who is as passionate on this issue, offered some amendments and let me read from the record when we september the amendment offered by mr. lynch, mr. lynch, quote, without refinement here, i would certainly vote for the bill if the amendment was included. the amendment was included and we did it in the bipartisan way and that's why it failed in the house of representatives and in addition, individuals have six months to demonstrate that their ax debt is not seriously delinquent. something we moved forward with. for many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle this legislation should sound familiar because we did pass it. mr. speaker -- mr. issa: i yield the gentleman an additional minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for an additional minute. chafechafe i would like to -- mr. chaffetz: i would like to yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from maryland is recognized. mr. cummings: i y

congress had a hand in this. whose idea might be irrelevant because everybody ended up approving this. >> republicans are did this bill was unnecessary and the faa already had the authority to move money around and controllers did not have to be furloughed. what are democrats saying about that? but democrats say that is false. a number of republicans have argued they already had the flexibility. me thisnkford told administration is not necessarily known for sticking to the letter of the law, which a was a jab at the administration. he said even if all law is not on their side, i did not see why they do not go ahead and do this anyway. democrats have said the sequester is an account by account, line item cut and they did not have that authority assuming the president signs the bill, how quickly can the fda they get back to business as usual? >> quickly. the furloughs have done one day per pay period, and i would think a small administrative issue, and they can start working, be able to work that next friday that t

only by law congress can do. [inaudible question] cheeks. [inaudible question] >> what can you do at this point to try to reconcile the situation? >> well, a matter of how we resolve our budget, the disagreement that has led to the imposition of the sequestered, the decision by republicans to embrace the sequester and to spend a lot of time insisting that there were no consequences to the sequester and then suddenly when there are consequences that all like to start pointing fingers when, in fact, they have the opportunity to avoid this. our interest in eliminating the sequester, i never should have become law. the president put forward a proposal to eliminate the sequester. when it comes to specific actions that the faa has undertaken to deal with these delays caused by this, those are matters of traffic control and safety. the department of transportation in general. >> i tell my kids. look, if to cars pull up and one as a stranger and the other car has dick cheney, you get in the car with a stranger. >> i was

if the president continues to drag his feet, congress is prepared to act. >> congress. so if the president doesn't approve it, we are going to force it through. they tried to force it through last year. remember? before the state department had completed it's -- they just wanted to take it out of the hands of the state department. no environmental review. who needs to check the environmental sequences of this. they tried and failed now they are pushing to do it. but their message got a little maybe smeared with oil this weekend. hum? if you don't think there is any danger to this big -- potential danger to the keystone pipeline main they ought to talk to the people of arkansas around mayflower arkansas where exxon mobile is still as we speak, scrambling to clean up the mess when their pegasus pipeline an 858 mile pipeline from anyhow to texas illinois to texas carrying, guess what canadian crude, that pipeline ruptured t they are not sure exactly how much yet, but 12,000 barrels of oil, minimum is what they are saying. on top of the fact that last week, exxon also was s

the act by congress was of course provoked by russophobia forces in the united states congress of the self is not russia for we it's just uninformed it knows almost nothing about russia most members of congress have no understanding of their national affairs or national security and when loftiest repression i'm on the majority members of congress and this was a bipartisan act the so called liberal democrats progressive people supporting the magnitsky act as much as did reactionary riyadh republicans you end up with a bill like this it's not about russia photo it's about it's about a lack of knowledge it's a bad thing we legislature passed laws on subjects they know almost nothing about now it's true that the longer the white house did not want the magnitsky act but he didn't lose its powers or its leadership to stop it and so that's what you call a combination of a no nothing congress and a lack of leadership from the white house and a prime minister in the russian prime minister dmitry medvedev said despite this latest spot there is still room for cooperation with washington do you t

individual members of congress have a role to play. of i try to do it back home. i had a teletown hall meeting yesterday where i talked about in this issue and talked about some of the realities of not dealing with it, what it'll mean for the economy -- >> so you're going to look for him to say what? >> look for him to explain to the american people that we have to address this problem in order to save and preserve these programs, and second he has to provide -- and only he can do it -- the kind of encouragement and cover to democratic members of congress to take these steps. that's been historically the only way we've been able to address these issues. back in 983, which is really the last time there was any significant entitlement reform, it was tip o'neill who provided that cover and ronald reagan likewise for republicans, and they worked together. and, you know, the two of them coming together and being able to jump off the cliff together holding hands enabled us politically to come to a result that helped save at that point social security between that time a

. >> paul: congress is only way. what about the miranda warning issue. the judge marched in and f.b.i. claims stopped what had been an investigation without a lawyer. that is when he stopped cooperating. >> they were in the room apparently and after only 18 hours of interrogation. >> paul: miranda warnings relates to what would be admissible in court. there is plenty of evidence already likely to convict this fellow. that is not the point of interrogation. we want intelligence to prevent future attacks. to make sure we can break up any current terror networks. >> they invoked the public safety exception, but the more important point, he should have been treated as a potential enemy combatant. we want to know not only what they were trying to do but who his brother and he was in touch with. how was he radicalized helping them or giving any know how. >> and that combatant designation could be withdrawn later and then sent to civilian court. when we come back, as the roll out continues, is obamacare unraveling? one of the chief arc tektsd seems to think so.

they expect the same from congress. i imagine their frustration when they hear congress is pushing $3ward and not necessary billion program. only in washington could a company that lost competition in the private sector and already controls 88% of the military come seeking a government directed subsidy and call that competition. >> what is he talking about? >> the alternative engine. for years, another reason why people work has focused on the bigger problems with the airplane, compress was trying to push on to the defense department's and another engine for his plane. the engine for the aircraft that the pentagon wanted is being built by pratt whitney. some members of congress were pushing a second engine built by the arrival contractor in large political -- the hope among some that it would lead to jobs in their states. it was a classic case of congress foisting on the defense department something it did not want to add it to another $3 billion. it was a double sideshow and distracted from some of the greater problems

government and congress as genocide. for the past six years the international criminal court has indicted and issued arrest warrants for sudan's high official, military commanders for multiple counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. in 2009 and 2010, president bashir himself was indicted by the i.c.c. for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. international movements in support of the people of darfur arose around the world, including a broad coalition here in the united states of religious, labor, peace, human rights, and student organizations calling for an end to the genocide in darfur. between 2004 and 2007, congress passed a series of bills limiting usaid to sudan and applying sanctions against sudan for its atrocities in darfur. in 2007, i visited refugee camps in eastern chad filled with hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children who have fled the violence of darfur. each has a story of horror and violence. wase i was there the border crossed and villages were attacked inside chad disp

polk left congress to run for governor of tennessee, the congress was so refused to do that but in the newspapers a number of politicians wrote poems in time shesarah at the left. one was united states supreme court justice joseph story who a lengthy poem lamenting the loss of sarah polk to society.n >> today we would be amazed at a speaker of the house stepping down to run for governor. did he decide to do this? >> i think because being speaker is something that you didn't do for a really long time in those days. congressional careers are often short in the 19th century and inee or four terms washington is probably enough. again, think of the arduous task to washingtong from tennessee, once or twice a year. work, a lot of effort, and being the governor is somewhat easier. it's probably less expensive. are home and being the governor is a good way to build career for the vice presidenty or presidency. what polk's eye is on is the presidency. think he could be president. he could be vice president. >> next, the vice president next. >> and the pathway to the white house? >> the vice pres

first, he doesn't have a vote in congress. i'm not suggesting that he couldn't work harder. >> he's the president of the united states. >> he should be able to work the congressional numbers. i think the democrats and the republicans, by the way, there were a number of democrats that didn't vote for universal background checks. 90% of america, the vast majority of nra members support universal background checks. there has to be a middle ground somewhere we can all agree. you put a little on the president. i put a lot more on the senate. >> you have been in the middle of countless negotiations in the house, would this kind of personal politicking make a difference on an issue when people are facing such pressure at home? >> sure. it makes a huge difference, in part because you begin to learn what you and you can't do. you don't set up goals that are hopeless. the voting pattern on gun control has been extraordinarily clear for the last 50 years, with very rare exceptions. in the end, the people who cared deeply about the right

it's the stuff that congress likes, stuff congress wants to protect because it's stuff that affects them. and so last week, we saw congress move with heretofore unseen lightning speed to protect one of the things that government does from these across the board cuts that were otherwise causing problems. last week with lightning speed congress moved to protect air traffic control. because it was causing flight delays and, hey, flight delays, those are really annoying, bad for the country, those should be stopped. so congress moved so fast to undo those cuts that they actually have to redo what they did tomorrow. because in their haste last week, they left a really important typo in the bill. that was how quickly they moved to stop these cuts that bothered them. these cuts that were affecting the one thing that government does that they were bothered by. making the planes run safely and on time. coincidentally, they passed that legislation before all going to the airport to get on planes themselves to go home at the end of congress calling it a day. >>> cutting hundreds of billions of doll

congress. we all know that if you look up "congress" in the dictionary, it says, "do not ( bleep ) tarreds who couldn't solve the problem if it was eating them alive anus first ♪ ( laughter ) ( applause ) hold on. i should mention i only use urban dictionaries. but it is why the detrimental effects of the sequester, the painful across-the-board budget cuts that are wreaking havoc on federal services, seem like they're here to stay. extended unemployment benefits are running out in western massachusetts. head start programs are closing early in rhode island. jobless california workers are forgoing $1.2 billion each week. seniors in maine are going without meals on wheels, which, by the way, seems like a cool program to begin with. i don't understand. ( laughter ) ( applause ) he's hungry! he's so-- there goes my-- my pie. ( laughter ) that's yet news from congress last week was so surprising and so welcome. >> democrats and republicans came together late last night. >> in order to reduce the i

now was the time for congress to do the same. time for congress to do the same, this week. it is time for congress to do the same. [applause] back in january, just a few months after the tragedy in series of announced a executive actions to keep our kids safe. and i put forward common-sense proposals much like those the past here in connecticut for congress to consider. remember my state of the union address. i urge congress to give those proposals a vote. that moment is now. as soon as this week, congress will begin debating these common-sense proposals to reduce gun violence. your senators dick blumenthal and chris murph yar ehere. -- murphy are here. your representatives are all pushing to pass this legislation. [applause] but much of congress is only going that act if they hear from you, the american people. here is what we have to do. i appreciate that. here is what we have got to do. we have to tell congress is time to require a background check for anyone who wants to buy a gun so that people who are dangerous to themselves and others cannot get their hands on a gun.

share it with congress? we have to u share with congress as i said in the opening statement congress is a partner here, and we have to let congress know and work with congress on how we intend to do this to accomplish it. >> well, i think utility of us -- i think all of us feel like the sooner the better and the more specific the better. you are the experts about this far more than we are. we would like that leadership and that guidance to continue that discussion in a productive way. second point, even ignoring sequestration the president's new start funding commitment is not kept in fy14, $400 million short. as you know, these were very specific commitments related to the passage of that treaty the ratification of that treaty. there were a lot of discussions in the senate about that very specific discussions. and it's underfunded a couple of years later. a year and a half later. how is this going corrected if it's not? what are we to take away from that experience very specific commitments are made in the

that's the way congress saw it. so washington was making the bigger move in this unauthorized tribunal. >> there were two resolutions. the first was the foreign entity that denies bias and another resolution direct to the americans precluding with the enemy and both of them said we are going to try them pay court-martial had set up the due process. for example, the size of the board, they are trying to decide guilt. other provisions like washington as the convener of the court-martial of could not fit as the president of the committee. not the right to counsel, but they were definitely safeguards in there to make it a fair trial. [inaudible] >> the question was what are the specific charges respectively? >> for both of them, it was working to betray west point. they had 10 charges against smith in a narrowed down to one which was for andre was similar. you are working with benedict arnold and you were doing so in disguise. >> follow up on that. >> british, but i promise i'm not a spy. while code. so my question is,

and now is the time for congress to do this and. time for congress to do the same this way this is not about politics this is about doing the right thing prove the families who are here that if they have a problem. if you believe the families do the work so we can prevent this from happening go do it at the. however before the say after noon it looks like the senate may not even get a chance to vote on reid's bill fourteen republican senators including senate minority leader mitch mcconnell bowed to filibuster any gun control bill brought before them since the december fourteenth massacre at sandy hook elementary school in newtown connecticut there have been over three thousand three hundred gun related deaths across the united states many of them the result of order now legally purchase weapons despite our country's obvious problem with gun violence the possibility of congress passing comprehensive firearms legislation like that promised by president obama in december is unlikely if you're a republican opposition senate democrats s

>> members of congress from states where those planes are . and where lockheed martin has some of its largest business interests as well as some of the key contractors. >> 45 states have something to do with the f-35. i was on there website yesterday and it is up to 47. what is going on? >> critics call this political engineering. try to distribute as broadly as you can around the country so that you spread the employment around i knew when banks support of members of congress from around the country so that it is not just this helps texas or georgia or california, virginia. but you get to smaller states, too, to help win new friends on capitol hill. >> the list of the states and how much money they get for the f-35 and how many people are employed. california is number 1 with 27,000 jobs. not sure why texas has 41,000 with only $4.9 billion. you can see which states have the most jobs at of all this. the chairman of the armed services committee is from california. we have a top 15. almost 1000 jobs at least. georgia, indiana, miigan, howh, ve

that's what one member of congress is suggesting. we'll get the very latest. >>> plus, why are officials searching a landfill for evidence in the case? >>> flooding fears on the rise. why there's new alarm today in the midwest as some rivers head for record highs. >>> new revelations today from amanda knox just days before her book about being accused of murder and spending four years in an italian prison. hello. it's high noon in the east, 9:00 a.m. out west. welcome to "weekends with alex witt." >>> an arrest in tupelo, mississippi, in connection to the investigation with poison letters sent to president obama. kristin, with a good afternoon to you, what can you tell us about these new developments? >> reporter: good afternoon, alex. the fbi has confirmed that this afternoon special agents arrested 41-year-old everett dutschke who is a martial arts instructor in tupelo, mississippi. no word on what specific charges can or will be filed. according to local officials, they say this arrest is in connection with the investigation into

even congress was meddling in the president's war powers. that was of great -- big discussion during the revolutionary war. i like to start off and get into the other stories but one in particular because it helps to establish a reoccurring principle i found time and time again while writing this, then divide between the president and the commander in chief's power over foreign nationals and with strong foreign forces vs. the power over american citizens and what power does he have to defend us from one another? the story begins upstate new york and right now when you think of west point rethink well manicured lawns, the military e. lee to to, monumental but in 1780 it was a fledgling fort basically the british were interested to capture the entire hudson river because they wanted to cut off the rebellious new england states from the rest of the nation that would effectively end the revolution if they could do so. so what the americans did not having a navy we constructed a land-based defense. president arnold knew how viable this was. said

, but much of congress is going to only act if they hear from you. the american people. >> we have to tell congress it's time to require a background check for anyone who wants to buy a gun so that people who are dangerous to themselves and others cannot get their hands on a gun. let's make that happen. we have to tell congress it's time to crackdown on gun trafficking so folks will think twice before buying a gun. that's part of a scheme to arm someone who can't pass a background check. it's time to pass a ban on military assault weapons and high capacity magazines. let's put that to a vote. >> sometimes it feels like you're watching candidate obama and not president obama. that was inspiring stuff as we meet the president is on air force one with 11 family members. i believe it's 11 family members from new town on their way to washington where the work is going to be done. the assembly members are going to be testifying. this becomes as much about emotion as it does politics. listen to the president again. >> now that i know some of these proposals

the congress is different. the country is so divided, red and blue that it's just hard for any chief executive to operate that way. and as we've seen for congressional leaders to get their way sometimes. >> woodruff: glenn, we heard the president say today, he said it's not my job to get members of congress to behave. he said it's their job because they're elected to do what is right for the american people. he said and they ought to be thinking about five, ten, 15 years from now and not right now. is he right about that? does he have a point? >> well, maybe the juice we're talking about needs to be in the form of a cattle product. i think he is-- he's partially right about that. i think, you know, to a certain extent as dan said, the president is facing this incredible division. he has come up, however, with a fairly reasonable strategy which is to approach the senate and attempt to make these deals through the senate. i think on the immigration bill in particular. he can establish a conduit and put more press