arabia to u.s. and they allegedly try to recruit mexican cartels. senator dianne feinstein is head of the intelligence kechlt listen to this. >> i think this is something that should be taken very seriously. i also think that there may be a chain of these things. it's hard for me to believe that there is just one plot involving the united states. i think we need to explore whether there are other plots going on into other countries. >> that's a warning from the chair woman of the security committee, dianne feinstein. also saying that iran was contemplating an act of war. >> this is different than anything that's happened before. to actually have an act of war carried out in the united states by iran. and that's what this was contemplated to be. >> let's discuss this with our cnn correspondent, jill doughtery. also joining us is the author of the book "drug cartel." you heard dianne feinstein say that she believes there was not just one but more plots. do we have any information that would lead her to come out of the briefings with just that? >> well, we do know that these plotters, according to u.s. officials, were thinking about -- i'm not quite sure how you can say how well planned it was. but they were thinking about contemplating actions against terrorist acts against the israeli embassy in washington and potentially in buenos aires, argentina. we do know that other people could have been involved. the treasury department says that he, the main person who was dealing with this, arbabsiar, said that he needed four people to carry out that attack. or maybe there weren't any. he was just naming a number. that was actually from the mexican defining how main peonye he needed. so there could be certainly other people or other plots involve involved, potentially. >> obviously we're talking about high level targets, the saudi ambassador to the united states, potentially the saudi embassy. those are top level. do they think the plot was top level or the targets were five stars but the planning walls shoddy? >> you know, we come back to that expression of disbelief about some of the aspects of this to a number of people it still doesn't make a lot of sense. why would they go to the mexicans? if they really wanted to kill somebody, potentially they could carry it out. well, it still doesn't completely make sense or hold water and that is what they are worried about. however, they do claim that they did have direct information that it was direct d ed at the highe levels. >> and when you hear members of congress come out of a classified briefing and say that the evidence was overwhelming, the evidence could be overwhelming that the suspects wanted to pull it off. does that surprise you, based porch your upon your expertise the cartels would even want to consider something like this? >> i'm absolutely surprised. especially for the money that you're talking about. $1.5 million. that's a drop in the bucket in how much they make on a daily basis. for them to carry out an attack on u.s. soil to draw that kind of attention from the mexican authorities and the mexican government, they would -- it would just be the end of them. i don't think they would be willing to take that risk for only $1.5 million. >> a member of the intelligence committee, she has for years warned about something just like this reaching out to these nefarious cartels who are certainly well armed and well financed to try to get them to protect violence. >> i think it's an interesting concept, for the iranians or any other organization to look to distance themselves from possible implication in such a plot, makes a lot of strategic sense. they have a presence in over 1,000 u.s. cities, they are already here. they have the networks and have the money and have the expertise. i can see why that would be an option that they have on the table. but when you get down to the details and nuts and bolts, it starts to look less and less practical. >> when you say that they have the expertise, let's hone in on what was alleged, to hire someone or some people to go into a restaurant in washington, d.c., 150, 200 people in the room with the goal of asas senating, either with guns or explosives, directing it at the saudi ambassador and the iranians have all said, who cares if there are members of congress or anyone else in the room. let them die, too. i know you're skeptical that they would do that in the nation's capital but do they have the expertise to do thatter? >> certainly they have the expertise to do it but that's not even their m. no, mexico. they will use assault weapons and maybe grenades if they want to scare somebody, throw grenades in front of a newspaper office. but whenever they want to kill someone, they have yet to blow up a building in mexico. why would they go to that length to murder someone in the united states. >> sylvia, stay with us. jill, as the administration decides how to go forward, one of the suspect is in iran. there is little or no hope of seeing that suspect in a u.s. court. what about beyond that, when it comes to additional sanctions? is the united states confident that they can get new sanctions put in place and any confidence at all that it will mean anything? >> you can say they are tapped out on sanctions but one of the problems that this administration would say is that some of the sanctions are not enforced by countries around the world. so what they are doing, a full-court press here at the state department, is to go to the united nations, certainly talk with members as the susan rice, the ambassador is doing, present as much of the evidence as they can and make the case that either they have to increase their own unilateral sanctions, these countries, or really enforce what is out there. but i think, john, it's important to note that one crucial part of this plot is the transfer of money, which apparently we understand from those documents came from iran, went to a third country financial institution and then made its way into new york and into the monitored by the fbi bank account. now, on wolf blitzer tonight, one of the top officials from treasury was saying that, in essence, these sanctions had been circumventing, that they are still looking into exactly how that happened. so whether it was willingly or unwillingly the third party bank, we're told, did not know that they were part of this kind of down payment on an assassination. but nevertheless, it shows how iran could circumvent these sanctions. >> a potential loophole. they may have to look at that. let me bring you back into the conversation, sylvia. it's inevitable in our system, that not only do members of congress comment but presidential candidates comment as well. look at rick perry who specifically draws attention to the allegation that what the iranians wanted to do was hire the drug cartels to come across the border and kill a diplomat on u.s. soil. let's listen. all right. obviously we don't have the sound from governor perry. what he said is we can not have national security until we have border security. he said that he thinks there's a southern border issue that may have allowed this plot to somehow succeed. is there any connection between this alleged plot, and if the mexican drawing cartels were hired by the iranians, were in on this deal, is there anything that has impact on whether or not they could have pulled it off? >> i don't think so. i mean, i have my own opinions about how border security can be strengthened. and whether they live in the united states and border states in order sole that they can remain safe from their rivals and from their enemies, they come and go freely across the border illegally. if they were the ones to be hired to carry out any sort of professional hit and attack in the united states, for them to come here and do it is not exactly a challenge. >> joining our conversation is the former secretary of homeland security, tom ridge, the first man in that job. thanks for your insights tonight. when you were the homeland security advisor and then the cabinet secretary, anything like this come across the intelligence? the iranians try to orchestrate a terror plot in the united states of america, question one, and question two, anybody trying to hire the mexican cartels to be their assassins? >> i think this is the most audacious example of the number one terror state to target the dignitaries and planning on united states soil is unprecedented, at least in the briefings that i received. and the fact of the matter is, people are acting surprised which is really rather remarkable when this terrorist state supports the destabilizing of hamas in israel, hezbollah in southern lebanon, they promote and support the militants that are killing our soldiers in afghanistan and in iraq and at the same time the state department is still under some notion that you can negotiate some kind of arrangement to make sure that they don't go nuclear and at the same time we keep a group on the foreign group even though we're opposed to the ahmadinejad. so it's inco-prehenceable in every conceivable way. >> could somebody lower down in the quds force say, i'm going to try to do this, i'm going to try to kwil the united states ambassador in washington and not have somebody high up know? >> john, it's a monstrous leap of faith and incredulous to think that somebody on the quds force would be operating unilaterally, either ahmadinejad himself. that is a force under the control of the hierarchy of the mullas within iran. i can't believe that anybody would be operating independently of that leadership. >> in all of the post 9/11 investigation that you went to, was there ever a hint that said iran is trying to launch an attack on our soil? >> my recollection is that there has never been anything this audacious, where we have that specific information targeting their terrorist activity to our soil and to take out foreign dignitaries. it's a first timer but, again, given where iran is in the world of terror and they are the number one promoter of it, in terms of training, financing, equipment, and the like, we should not, absolutely should not be surprised and we should also probably -- we can well imagine that this is one of several plots and time will tell whether this will lead us to others. >> members of congress came out of the classified briefing saying that there were additional plots. the mexican drug cartels grew in some part over the recent years, including your time in the united states government. i know that you were worried about them because of your duty as homeland security. was there intelligence chatter that would suggest that they were potentially intelligence for hire? >> i don't think there was any material lead that suggested it to us but the infrastructure of their cartels exist on both sides of the border and i think the previous expert mentioned that. so the notion that the iranian government through the quds force would try to engage a cartel which would engage one of their surrogates, one of their operatives in the united states to pull off this audacious act is completely logical in the scheme of as far as removed that they can get is part of their operational plan. it makes a lot of sense, if they can pull it off. >> secretary ridge, jill doughtery, thank you. we'll stay on top of this. next, did the attorney general of the united states lie to congress? 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eric holder demanding they turn over communications to the fast and furious probe. they tried to track the illegal by allowing some u.s. guns to go south of the border. it was shut down after some of the guns showed up at murder scenes in mexico. house oversight committee darryl issa says that just a few weeks before his testimony last may. today's subpoenas should provide a paper trail. >> and when we do a subpoena, we get overly redacted documents. this is not the most transparent administration in most areas. however, we have a constitutional obligation and we will do it and according to the rules. >> let's dig deeper, joining us is elijah cummings and jason. congressman, this is the nation's highest ranking law enforcement officer. i'll grant you there are legitimate questions to be answered here. when people use terms like lying and incompetent, is that not a bit reckless? >> we have to be careful on how we articulate this. remember, we have two dead agents, 2,000 weapons unaccounted for, and i feel like we have been misled because for the attorney general to say that he just heard about it a couple weeks ago and the documents show otherwise, it doesn't added a up. >> let's listen to the tone jern back in may. >> when did you first know about the program officially known as "fast and furious"? >> i don't know about the exact date but probably over the last few weeks. >> he says over the last few weeks. that is on may 3rd, 2011. listen to the president of the united states. this is back in march. >> i heard on the news about this story that fast and furious, where allegedly guns were being run into mexico and atf knew about it but didn't apprehend those who had sent it. eric holder, as the attorney general, has been very clear that he knew nothing about it. we assigned an i.g., inspector general, to investigate it. >> it begs the question, how did the president know about this in march and how did the president know about the attorney general knew nothing about this in march when he says in may he learned about it a couple weeks ago? >> i think the attorney general will clear that up but the facts still remain that the attorney general sent a letter just this weekend explaining the situation and i think that needs to be cleared up. keep in mind, i believe that fast and furious was a very unfortunate situation, sadly, that ended in the death of two agents. but at the same time, i think we have to be very careful as to how we proceed. i mean, i think we need to go where the evidence leads but we've got a subpoena that has just been issued that is literally requesting tens of thousands of documents from the justice department and many of these documents are totally unrelated to the fast and furious. you've got to begin to ask the question, what is this about? is this about trying to score political points or is it about what this -- our committee is supposed to be about, that is government reform, and i emphasize, oversight and government reform. >> congressman chaffetz, are you asking too much and going from oversight into a political witch hunt? >> no. we want to make sure this never, ever happens again. we have two dead agents and we heard about the cartel having 100 guns. we've essentially gave guns to bad guys. and we want to make sure that this never, ever happens again. there are so many unanswered questions by this administration. and with the president knowing back in march that supposedly an attorney general holder did not know about this, just as you pointed out. >> it could be a matter of being more precise. the president said this in late march, the attorney general says this in may. he says a few weeks. it could be -- do you concede the point that he was not as precise as he should have been, that there's not a scandal here? >> well, you can see where people conclude that it's incompetence or flat outlying. >> not one single person has appeared before our committee saying that eric holder was briefed with regard to fast and furious and the horrible tactics that were used. not one. and -- >> but, again -- >> we have five memos with eric holder's name on them. >> you have memos but those have been cleared up in the letter sent to us where you say that there are moem mows that come across his desk every time. >> let me jump in and read from that letter. here's what the attorney general said, given the volume of material to which i must devote my attention, i do not and cannot read them cover to cover. here no issues concerning fast and furious were brought to my attention because it did not suggest a problem. you have legitimate questions but do you read everything that comes through in your office? >> well, you have lanny burr -- >> congressman, do you read everything that comes to you in your office? >> i should and i should be held accountable. this is a major, major investigation. and if you have the chief of staff and deputy attorney general and lanny brewer who got briefed not just once but twice on a regular basis and two dead agents, the president of the united states knew this back in march. how can can the attorney general back then in may state that he knew nothing about it until a couple of weeks ago? that does not add up. >> what does the attorney general have to do, if you're convinced that he can put this behind him, what does he have to do? >> he has to come up and say what he has said in his letters and make it clear under oath. but at the same time, i want to make sure that we are not harming any pending cases, that we are not putting fbi informants in jeopardy. and the fbi has already said that they are concerned about those kinds of things. and when i say in jeopardy, john, i mean possibly being killed. this is serious business. we have to be very careful with our words and accusing the attorney general, the highest ranking attorney in the country, calling him an accessory to murder, that's totally inappropriate to our committee and we should not be engaged in that. >> congressman chaffetz, are you putting additional lives at harm? >> no. we don't want to get in the way of any investigation. there has been no added explanation and it begs one and i agree with mr. cummings, until the attorney general comes before congress and testifies, these will continue to come up. >> when will that be? if you say that other top officials and critical time these guys do pretty critical and credible work, for sure a ranking democrat, you have friends in this administration. when can you get the attorney general up there? >> i don't run the committee, john. under personal issues and subpoenas, it's mr. issa. you'll have to ask him. >> appreciate your time today, gentlemen. thank you. >> thank you. still to come, built as a must reform debate and many conservatives labeled him mia. and tonight's number is personal for me and millions more who start their work day before they reach the office. that's next. d morning, veggie style. hmmm [ male announcer ] for half the calories -- plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. 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[ female announcer ] the travelocity guarantee. from the price to the room to the trip you'll never roam alone. welcome back. here's the latest news you need to know right now. field commanders in libya claim they captured another one of moammar gadhafi's son. he was taken into custody after a four-hour long fire fight in the city of sirte. harry reid says that she will go into midnight if necessary, so free trade agreement can be passed today. the nigerian man accused of trying to set off a bomb on christmas day pleaded guilty to all charges today. hurricane jova in mexico made landfall. and the total population of 316 million people, 328 million wireless gage gets, which brings us to tonight's number, which is personal for me. sore ree. that's the number of e-mails i received on my blackberry from 7:00 this morning until just a few minute ago. that's a problem. this is a problem that has been going on worldwide in recent days. the outage has spread literally across the world. look at this. on monday, in parents of europe and africa, today, makes its way to the americas here. yikes, a problem. 70 million blackberry users worldwide, we don't have an exact number of how many people were affected but reports indicate it is in the millions. i'm one of whatever that final number is. a problem for blackberry because any bad publicity at the moment complicates this already. android devices power 43% of smartphones in the united states. apple iphone is 28% of the market and blackberry down to 18%. so if you are not getting your e-mails, maybe you will look for another device. rick perry, supposed to be a big debate night last night for him. why do so many say that the texas governor was mia? 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that is one question being asked after the latest republican debate and that's bad news for the already struggling texas governor. >> am i going to lay it all the out for you tonight. mitt's had six years to be working on a plan. i've been on this for eight weeks. >> does the 999 plan add up? proof that herman cain in the poll means more scrutiny for him and his economic proposal. >> the 999 plan that i was proposed is simple, transparent, efficient, fair, and neutral. >> so how did the debate focused solely on economic issues affect the race? steven moore from atlanta, nancy, and in st. louis, cnn contributor, dana lash. let's start with rick perry. a conservative favorite. but listen to some of the criticisms last night from eric eric son. he posted this. i didn't even think he punched his card and showed up until the second half. few people saw the bloomberg debate. i wouldn't write him off just yet. eric is saying, watch our debate next tuesday on cnn and see if perry shows up. but dane a, i want to go to you first. you were a bit harsh. if perry can't challenge romney, i don't expect him to challenge anything else as president. he had the opportunity to put the screws to him and fumbled and perry better jump in and hold him to the fire for this. if he doesn't, i'm unconvinced he wants to be president. as a conservative whose looking for somebody to emerge as the principle challenge to romney, texas governor didn't do it last night, did he? >> he didn't. and i've seen him speak before. i know that he can speak very well and i know that when he wants to, he can be very aggressive. i didn't see any fire in his belly. he seemed as though he didn't want to be there. he could have jumped in and be very aggressive. i like perry as a person. i haven't decided on anyone in the primary field yet. but this is the time. debates like this, this is when you have to convince the voters of your platform and if you cannot adequately convey what you believe and the things that you have accomplished to the voting audience during a national debate, i don't know how you can expect it to do it from the white house either. this is the time when you really have the candidates and i realize that he hasn't been debating as long on the national stage. he missed a lot of prime opportunities and i noticed a marked difference in the perry that we see now and the perry that we've seen this summer. the perry who made remarks about ben bernanke and so on and so forth. i don't know if there is someone holding him back a little bit and one last thing that i noticed as well, during the debates, this has happened every single did i bait that perry has participated in. his campaign will send out points. they will e-mail out talking points to people, things that perry should be saying during the debate. for instance, on t.a.r.p. last night. so i think that there is some kind of disconnect in the campaign. >> you know the pressure, especially pressure after a candidate that has had. slipping in the polls, romney has a plan out, cain has a plan out. people say, what's your plan, governor perry and what is this? >> one of the things that i laid out, i think it's a bold plan, to put 1.2 million americans to work in the energy industry and you don't need congress to do that. we're going to be focused on initially the energy industry in this country and making america, again, independent and clearly the place where domestic energy needs to be produced from. >> now, i know he's an oil state governor and i know he says more will come in the days and weeks to come. but the first debate focused on the economy and you're dropping in the polls, is that good enough to just -- forgive me. this is unfair to sarah palin when you asked her questions about first joining your ticket, she will always go to the default of energy. it's not good enough s. it? >> i don't think it's good enough given the situation that we are all facing. it's the number one fear about the future. and it's not actually even about the future. it's about our present. and so that raises the bar for any candidate to clear. and i have to agree that when we saw perry last night, you're thinking this guy doesn't have the chops right now to get through a debate with president obama who has a dismal record on the economy. i have to agree that in the first debate that he rolled out, it was a rock him, sock him robot. last night i was going, okay, one of those robots got popped. >> so if you are a republican or a conservative and looking at this and to nancy's point, if you think obama is weak on the economy and looking for somebody to debate them in the election and watch governor perry last night, i want to be fair. he's got plenty of time and millions of dollars to take out on campaign ads. but in terms of debating the president of the united states, did perry do anything last night that would give you confidence? >> no. the problem is, i've only been in the race eight weeks. the problem is he was strongest when he entered that race and he's gone down ever since then. he doesn't have a lot of time to turn things around. it's interesting because obviously mitt romney is the big front-runner and he's been playing rope or develop. remember the fight between ali and -- he is sitting back and none of the blows are hitting him. romney wins the debates because nobody can land a punch on him. but when you talk about who can debate -- >> we're going to continue the conversation but erin burnett is out front at the top of the hour. she's here with a preview. i hear you're looking into this blackberry problem for me. >> yes, i am. it's been a bit of a tragedy for us. we have a special on that. also, we're talking politics. we're going to be joined by michele bachmann at the top of our hour and, again, we are going to talk to someone who knows manssor arbabsiar for 15 years. we're going to learn more about the suspect. the perks and perils of being the front-runner. in america, we believe in a future that is better than today. since 1894, ameriprise financial has been working hard for their clients' futures. never taking a bailout. helping generations achieve dreams. buy homes. put their kids through college. retire how they want to. ameriprise. the strength of america's largest financial planning company. the heart of 10,000 advisors working with you, one-to-one. together, for your future. ♪ i'm not a line item on a budget. and i'm definitely not a pushover. but i am a voter. so washington... before you even think about cutting my medicare and social security benefits... here's a number you should remember. 50 million. we are 50 million seniors who earned our benefits... and you will be hearing from us... today and on election day. ♪ [ guy ] ring, ring. progresso... i love your new loaded potato with bacon. that's what we like to hear. ring, ring. progresso... ...switch our phone service? 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[ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. yes, there are perks but also great perils that come with being the undisputed front-runner for your party's nomination. on the other side, morning show appearances with your new best friends. >> i want to see mitt romney in the white house in january 2013. >> did he promise you anything? >> absolutely nothing. >> vice president christie? >> no. >> no? >> no, he didn't promise me anything. >> governor romney, would he be on your short list? >> sure. he may take himself off the short list and say, no way he has no interest but he's one of the leading figures in the republican party. >> and the downside, harpoon catching from both the left -- >> he didn't create the recession but he made it worse and longer. i didn't say that things are worse. >> and from the right -- >> the white house has pointed to the massachusetts law as the model for obama care. >> i agree with mitt romney. he's right. >> oh, is it really? with still 80 days before the first votes are cast in iowa, mitt romney too loose? nancy, you went through this with john mccain. being the front runner is great some days and other days not so great, right? >> it is an unbelievable patch to be at. you want to get into it but once you're there, you're going, whose idea was this? i mean, obviously the candidates that he's debating and fighting for against for support of the american people are smart enough to know to attack him on the right and then you have the left happy to attack him on the left. i think they have been very adapted but he's carried most of those thrusts relatively well. >> and what is his most biggest vulnerability? >> i think his own record. i've been pretty critical of mitt romney. i'm sure he's a great guy and there's nothing personal. it's all political. there are legitimate concerns about his record when he was governor of massachusetts and jon huntsman pointed that out. he was 47th out of 50 states in terms of job creation and likes to say that his health care plan didn't increase taxes but it did because of the runoff costs. they had to increase taxes after the implementation just to address all of the economic problems with it. and then there was the mandate that went along with it. there's a lot of concerns. >> and when you see the democratic national committee, david axelrod spending so much time criticizing mitt romney, he's up right now and so you hit snim. >> what have republicans done for 50 years? they always choose the front-runner. for republicans, hell yes because front r-runners always win. he does have a problem, though. he's only about 23% with republican voters. he's the front-runner but when you have the front-runner who is the presumptive nominee, there can only be 23, 24%, there are a lot of conservatives. >> let's watch iowa coming up. here's a question, will washington do anything, anything to help the millions of americans unemployeed and underemployed? that's our truth. next. in a big movie. i thought we'd be on location for 3 days, it's been 3 weeks. underemployed? that's our truth. next. simplicity card to pick up a few things. and i don't have to worry about a late fee. which is good... no! bigger! bigger! 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can a trading site help make you a sharper trader? mine can. td ameritrade can. they've got trading specialists i can call for help. and paper trading. free practice trading that helps me hone my technique. complex options. and free tutorials. online or in person. can a trading site really make a difference? if it can't, why are you trading there? number one in online equity trades: td ameritrade. trade commission-free for 30 days, plus get up to $500 when you open an account. broken government is sadly washington's answer to the country's job crisis. a big democratic jobs plan collapsed in the senate last night and today democrats and republicans are doing what they do best, partisan finger pointing. president obama didn't hesitate to blame republicans but vowed to try again. >> a lot of folks in washington and the media will look at last night's vote and say that's it, let's move on to the next fight. but i've got news for them. not this time. not with so many americans out of work. not with so many folks in your communities hurting. we will not take no for an answer. >> and to hear vice president joe biden, the white house can't fathom the republican opposition. >> when we put this bill together, we put together elements of a bill that they had always supported. when have republicans been against tax cuts for small businesses? when have they been against working on infrastructure? when have they been against giving veterans a break? >> well, here's tonight's truth. yes, there are some parts of the white house plan borrowed from the republican playbook, but it's a stretch for the vice president say all of the president's plan has appeal to the republicans. let's take a closer look at the defeated senate democrat's plan. the price tag, just shy of $450 billion. democrats pay for it with a surtax on millionaires. they knew no republicans would support there. there are over $250 billion in tax cuts, most republicans, like most of those tax cuts. the $100 billion in infrastructure spending is opposed by most republicans as more stimulus spending and republicans are mixed on the other $100 billion in aid. most are willing to extend unemployment benefits. so what now? both the democratic president and the republican house speaker say they are open and ready to pass smaller bills designed to spur job growth. here's the question now, can they agree on those? marshal blackburn from tennessee can help us find the true there. where is the truth, congressman? the president says can you reach agreement, can you tell the 25 million americans out there who are underemployed or unemployed that we're going to help you. >> the american people are saying, let's get government out of the way. what we've done in the past hasn't worked. big bailout, stimulus, son of stimulus, t.a.r.p., there's no single bill that will fix the job situation. what it means is rolling back government, talking to a lot of these job creators, talking to hard-working taxpayers who are saying we are sinking in this obama economy. let's begin to do some things differently. john, i think that's where the american people are. that's what we're ready to work on. >> your republican party controls the house, the democrats narrowly control the senate and a democratic president. the simple rules say for you toe get a bill that gets the government out of the way, for the president to sign that, you have to give something. will you give the president that infrastructure bank, aid to the states to keep teachers and firefighters and police on the payroll? >> everyone knows that's more stimulus and that is not something that has worked. we are -- i think that there are many people who are in favor of putting veterans back to work and the wounded warrior credits, looking at small business tax credits. what they are not in favor of anything else that is going to be a big still or failed stimulus bill. it hasn't worked. >> the democrats think they have a political issue with this. the senate democratic plan would have put a surtax on millionaires. public opinion polling, do you support for deficit reduction, raising taxes on households earning over $250,000? 68% of americans support that, 53% of republicans. why are house and senate republicans holding so fast to no taxes on more affluent americans? >> what we know is that people that want to pay more can already pay more. all they have to do is make out a check to the u.s. treasury and if they feel as if they are paying their fair share, they can do that. that doesn't need a bill. anybody that feels like they are undertaxed, they can just go ahead and pay more. they can contact their member of congress, contact the u.s. treasury, they can get that check right in. and i'm certain the u.s. treasury would be able to help them with it. >> listen here to the democratic and the republican leaders of the senate, blaming each other. >> it seems as if the republicans don't really want to put americans back to work. they believe a weak economy means a weak president. >> nothing could be more ridiculous and absurd as to suggest that republicans are somehow rooting against our economy. >> with this partisan divide, until we go through another election cycle and the voters pick a different government, can those who are unemployed or underemployed expect that partisan bickering or will they see something that the president will sign and that you can support? >> something everyone could agree on is let's freeze regulations for a year and freeze federal spending. i have a bill that would freeze federal spending a couple of years. let's let our employers have some certainty. let them begin to know what to expect for the next couple of years. so just freeze it. stop the madness. and let's say all right, let's push all this aside, let's freeze it, then let's begin to get some of these regulations off the book that are impeding the growth of jobs. one of the th