We hear all this talk about minimumwage as relates to young workers. The fact of the matter is the average age of minimumwage employees is 35 years old. And they have the least one show. So this is all about lifting households, women, children above the poverty level. I would hope that the congress, our republican friends would join us in passing the bill raising the minimum wage. With that and would like to yield to the vice chair of our caucus. Desperately searching for a job and have now been denied insurance. What that really means to these individuals is as they continue to look for work for education, food, medicine, r ent, mortgage cover their government is not there because the Republican Caucus uses this against individuals and their families. The gentleman from new york contacted me is there anyway we could see a bill this week before we broke for the district work period and i said i dont think it was likely after the senate was unable to pass. It is difficult to tell someone who was so desperate in fact, looking at the prospects of losing his home what that means to a family. My republican colleagues talk about how profanely they are be here is the opportunity to send a message to 1. 8 million americans, not democrats or republicans, not red or blue or green, just americans who were desperately trying to make ends meet. Said message to give people hope that their country believes of them as much as they believe of the country and give them hope to take care of their families. Just something to help make ends meet to pass the unemployed in insurance extension with that i will turn over to our point person on the budget committee. I joline to welcome you to maryland off to a great start what specific actions we can take to make sure the economy works for all americans. That is the subject to have the economy to work for everybody we have to reform the broken tax code that is too many places is rigged to help powerful special interest and folks at the very high end of the income scale and a case in point our the provisions that acreage big corporations to ship american jobs overseas. American products, not jobs. Other provisions of the tax code that encourage big corporations rather than having those funds invested here with american jobs. We will push has the president outlined to a tax code that works for everybody much as powerful special interest to be sure we encourage investment United States with all sorts to modernize our infrastructure that helps to put more americans back to work period we hope our republican colleagues will join us in that effort. I will turn it over to steve israel who tries to make sure we build the economy that works for everybody. Thank you. What you have heard from my colleagues cover rising wages, pay equity for women, a fair tax code code, Immigration Reform the fundamental differences of the United States congress right now. Whose side are you on . And every one of those issues of rising wages Immigration Reform of fair tax code whose side are you on in california today i will add one of the most liberal republicans in congress decided he was on the wrong side to jump ship because he himself knows you cannot continue to defend the indefensible or the wrong priorities. And to the wrong values. Having you very much. With a summary of your remarks shows your approach to the president s initiative what do you oppose them what to expect to hear on friday . I think the characterization we were not talking about president obama is initiative but came up and bacchus i said that in its present form is unacceptable to me and i have worked with many colleagues to find Common Ground but in the present form it is unacceptable. But it is not a rejection of the president s trade agenda but a rejection of the current form of the camp baccus. But the trade issue is very important because the party of john f. Kennedy, a free trade, fair trade we believe the Global Economy is here tuesday and we want to export products overseas. We have the tax code right now that the wards businesses that sense jobs overseas. That has to be reversed to reward businesses that create jobs in the United States. It is all a very much a part of the economy that works for all americans. Something my colleagues are saying, let mr. Israel was talking about we see what the president said in his speech to an opportunity agenda. We have long seen an opportunity gap in our country and we have to do what we can to close the gap. One of the approaches is we understand the American People are not fully participating in the prosperity sub are enjoying in the country or any part of it. We interesting and the republicans are in different to those to be raised of the battle of wage and to beat an extension the list goes on. Do any colleagues want to say anything . Vivid you have been known to give a prediction of things what is the likelihood of the democrats taking back the house . We are here to talk policy but hopefully find Common Ground to focus on the economy to create good paying jobs in a bipartisan way. If republicans was supported the increase the minimum wage we would rather have that legislative success than the issue of the campaign. Talk about obamacare side up my gosh where they have signed up to what is your reaction . What is the pivotal mark . Are you referencing the Affordable Care act . Yes. [laughter] the Affordable Care act we worked very hard to enact as we talk to a lot of you i said it will get better every month. By the time we get to summer people will say this is helping me, my brother brother, bryce sister, my neighbors and we have evidence of that mentioned in the 3. 3 Million People cover a 1. 1 billion in january alone. This is very important young people in all that the interestrate ages 89 through 34 rose 65 over last month. We think what is happening is what we thought the American People see the benefits of the Affordable Care act with the marketplace with competition to get good benefits and better access. What is the purpose . Period we think it will be a great benefit to and they will see that in the coming months. 3. 40 million over 12. 5 million. With the exchange. Any other questions . It is safe to say most issues there is zero appetite for those to come up under the republican controlled house you said you want to put pressure on to the bill but how is there a specific strategy . Said. Guest obama to do more . As you indicate to everything that we talk about is in over 70 percent of the people they think we should have comprehensive Immigration Reform. The list goes on. We said the too hot to handle approach public sentiment is everything as Abraham Lincoln said a and the more people dont like camby to have the better off we will be. However yesterday we said over and over we will the support in increase of the debt ceiling unless it is clean we are not negotiating the full faith and credit of United States of america. It took months but yesterdays they finally conceded at least the speaker recognized the harm that would happen to our economy and we got a clean, you know, we are not going away on these issues. We passed minimum wage in the first 100 hours with the majority in 2007. President bush had signed the bill. It is not partisan. Of Unemployment Benefits is a Bipartisan Initiative all along so we are suggesting is not partisan issues but areas where we have bipartisanship in the past and again, we believe the fair thing to do is to understand their challenges minimumwage is not just for a minimumwage earners but for every one that is why people make much more in the minimumwage understand it is good for them to reject the me and into the economy then creates jobs in that way as well it is a stimulus this is february. [laughter] we have spent in session five weeks. The debt ceiling was lifted i dont take the American People by that. Timid americans are suffering they need help of its people who are earning 90 enough even the fast food chain store to increase the minimum wage the president s address that but Congress Needs to do more. He asked the republicans to the democrats to pass a minimumwage increase for the american worker. To help move the country forward to work with colleagues to make that happen but they have to beat us more than halfway. I dont think anyone to the we have discussed those the dont have a chance in heaven to get past. Measures that not only have the task majority but those in the house of representatives would vote for these were asking for achievements to have a vote and most americans would be astonished to go it is not that congress came to get its work done by a conservative a concerted effort to prevent us to put up obstacles to let us vote. Were not insisting they joined us to do what americans want us to do to provide insurance for those who have lost their jobs or providing equal pay for equal work but saying let us vote and of the majority exist, but excellent but dont blockade progress the house of representatives is the peoples house and should not be the graveyard for good ideas. Were not having a theoretical conversation but very specific Actions Congress can take no. These are pieces that are ready to go. They can be acted on today if we have a vote to start changing peoples lives for the better. Rehab the Bipartisan Senate immigration a bill. We want equal pay for equal work we have legislation introduced to make sure you can earn it sicklied to take care of family who is in trouble and not have to the newspaper goodies are concrete actions we will make it clear within 100 hours of a dukakis we will do these specific things with a bb impact. It is important there recognize these are concrete practical steps. Yesterday you said you shared with some concern of the Congressional Black Caucus in judicial appointments coming from the white house so can you expand on that . And let us know what appointments you would like to see moving forward. What i said is i was an agreement with the Congressional Black Caucus we the diversity of the bench and the problem in the United State Senate deferring to each senator in each state if they did not support diversity we would not get it and i said i agreed. As a matter of fact i had a talk briefly with senator reids chief of staff who ask about my sentiment. But let me differ to the assistant leader of the black caucus because he has been involved in those discussions. Yes i have. Our concerns if you look at the list of possible judges would have not been acted on, about 13 or africanamerican. We believe these are people who come with sterling credentials but because of the process that we have have, too many senators from various state are refusing to return the blue slip so theyre out in the bow so we have asked the senators the fact that for two years because they did not allow their names to move forward these people would be approved if they were allowed to have a vote. Is not fair to have a process that will not allow the full senate to vote on these nominations. For everybody you express his concerns it is very important to america. [laughter] if i may just say there is a lot of people out in the cold literally and figuratively because of the employer insurance. We dont want the republicans to be in different so far it looks the way they are lets hope they prove us wrong but they q for coming out in the cold to be with us and we hope we can stay in close touch over 48 hours a you can see how excited we are about coming together. Thank you again. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] Caitlin Hueyburns the congressional reporter with real clear politics and. Com joins us. You right after a dramatic vote in the u. S. Senate acheson bill to lift the debt ceiling for one and a year now heads to the president s desk. What made a dramatic . Guest we do eventually the up bill would probably pass but in the senate there are procedural hurdles requiring a 60 vote threshold to move to final passage. Sometimes they can work out a deal that it just requires a majority vote but senator cruz foist against using that threshold moving for the us 60 bow to move of the bill that would require at least five republican senators to put their necks out of blind that politically hurtful to them. It was dramatic in a way we did not know how many or which senators would vote to move forward with this bill. What is most surprising is Minority Leader Mitch Mcconnell who was soon the reelection side with a primary challenge was one of those that voted to proceed with the bill. Of course, he is the leader of the republicans for the senate and boehner earlier this week did the same thing. Host what do g. O. P. Leadership do to get the votes needed to pass . Guest they talked about it during the Conference Meeting earlier today on the senate side. Basically mcconnell and other Republican Leaders and senators decided to voice support moving forward with the bill which gave the 60 vote majority threshold that they needed. The vote on the cloture motion was 67 boating to proceed the final passage was on party lines all democrats supporting the rays and all republicans against it. Host you sent a tweet that standing next to mcconnell coal mcconnell a switch their votes to yes shedding cover for the g. O. P. Leader. What reaction has there been to the yes vote . Guest a little bit of surprise but this is something leadership does and typically should do but the politics of the Midterm Election in here especially for rich mcconnell and controller of this and that is at stake they have a chance to take control of the senate this was surprising as it was politically harmful. It was rick workable to watch a handful of other republican senators joined with the leader to provide cover as well. I would just point out for clarification this is the motion to proceed with the bill all were voting against final passage but that procedural vote is key to get them over the finish line. Host with the house passing the bill first and now the senate what does this mean for conservatives in both chambers . Guest conservative outside groups are very vocal in opposition. They have been vocal in the past and have been pushing boehner to attach something that addresses the debt. The House Speaker exhausted all different kinds of options and policy additions to the bill and decided going with a clean bill plante be the best for the party considering they took a big hit during the government shut down with previous battles to get the issue behind them to focus on items that unite the party like jobs the end of the economy and revision to Health Care Reform bill so outsiders will continue to voice opposition and criticize the speaker but within the chamber itself there did not seem to be wide opposition to the way seems panned out. We are not seen conservatives rise up to revolt against the speaker or a minority leader as we have seen in the past. Host and denied the congressional reporter with real clear politics. Com. Figure. Washington journal continues. Host we want to welcome back to the host welcome back to the table democrat of illinois, the immigration is the topic of the lead paragraph today story online says hope for Immigration Reform is all but dead. 47 that is the to 247th over jury. That is what the press likes to do. Host you do not believe it is that. Guest Speaker Boehner said it is hard. Welcome to my world. We know it is hard, but we welcome you to this debate and to getting it resolved. It is going to be hard to get it done this year. We did not say could not be done this year. It, thes face politicians in washington, d. C. , do not really dictate when things get done. And when they begin, that is better said that way. The immigrant community is continuing to push forward. It is not that by a longshot it is not a long dead by a long shot. Host and that is the headline, immigration activists threaten payback. What does that mean . Guest it is not rocket science. Take mitt romney. He got 60 of the white vote and lost. Why . Vote, 20 of the black of the latino vote, 15 of the asian vote you cannot have those kinds of numbers because among women voters if the Republican Party is going to continue to be a party that says ofto large growing sectors the electoral population in the United States, they are going to be a party of provinces and counties, and a few states, there will never be a National Party again. Somebody wrote, doing an analysis, look at the last six elections, at the states the democrats have won, and they came up with 243 electoral votes, and what is trendy nationally is that the trend will be four more states to look more like those 243. It only takes 270 two when the present and democrats residency, and democrats seem to start with 90 . Int you predicted a blowout 2016 if immigration is not pass. Are up that night, you will go home early. It will be a blowout. Last election cycle, they tried to play out the drama a little bit more. It was 10 00, and it was over. It will be earlier. The top,you said at House Speaker john boehner said it is hard, not that it would not happen. What did you make of the principles the Republican Party put forth after they had their retreat last week . I want to first say that not only did i respond pelosi,ly, but leader the president of the United States, acrosstheboard, there was a sense that you are headed in the right direction. This is a set of principles that we can begin to work from, and we were very pleased that they were finally moving forward with their principles. I know how hard it is going to be. An, it took me to get decade to get democrats on board with copperheads a Immigration Reform. On board democrats with Immigration Reform. Host would you agree to what Chuck Schumer put forward, saying that he called House SpeakerJohn Boehners bluff on immigration, saying they wanted Immigration Reform, but they do not want guest that is really what was going to happen anyway because of the president were to sign the bill tomorrow, it would take over two years between the signing of the bill and the moment any benefit that is somebody can go to a Government Office and apply for a benefit. I think it is a good deal because it is what it was going to happen anyway. It takes at least two years, maybe more. Host what you make of this tweet from kelly ayotte i support of the senate bill. Theas not perfect, but status quo is unacceptable. I hope the house can find a way forward. Guest absolutely. I think our republican men and women that one comprehensive Immigration Reform for security reasons, economic reasons, and also for political reasons. I mean, they want to take this off of the table. I say if you believe in social justice, Immigration Reform is good. Tapping 11of on Million People and their entrepreneurial spirit. We know what the Congressional Budget Office says about the senate no. It says that actually deal. He said that actually produces a surplus. I think i want 1 trillion in our pocket in the u. S. Treasury because what we are doing is bringing people into our system, the we are saying you are going to be accountable, pay all of your taxes, we are going to know where you are, and because you feel safe because you now have a legal status in the United States, you are going to explode in terms of Economic Activity in the which is good for all of us. Phone calls. To john. Island lake, illinois. The public and caller. Republican caller. John, you are on the air. Caller we are a nation of laws like mexican people. They are hardworking people. I like their food. But, we are a nation of laws. These people have come here illegally. If i were to break the law, i would go to jail. It boils down to money with these politicians, and we are a nation of laws. Thank you very much. Guest i want to make them right with the law. We want to put them at the end of the line, but we want to make sure that we know where they are at. Look. They are here. They are not going anywhere. I think we have to first of all realized that two thirds of them have been here more than a decade. Most of them live with children, in a family setting. They are already here. Lots of jobs in america that really nobody else wants to do. Why do i say that . I say that because i have been to orchard fields, citrus fields, where they pick garlic, lettuce, tomatoes, where they pick grapes for the fine chardonnay that we drink in california. We are going to have people in this country work and pick produce, and it will be picked with foreign hands or it will be picked in foreign countries. Lets make the decision. Meatpacking plants there are lots of places where they do critical, essential work, and i want to make them right with the law. Many people say they did not use the right way. There is no right way because there is no way for the American Economy to supply the service sector. The right way shot down in 1990s. We need a clear path in the future so that people can come to america. Host peggy. Lafayette, louisiana. Independent caller. You are on the air with congressman gutierrez. Go ahead. Caller i have a wonderful hispanic soninlaw that we think the world of, and this is his problem. Salvador, 15om el years ago, legally, under a system called temporary protective status. The problem is apparently that status has to be renewed from time to time, and in the immigration talks i have not heard that talked about. It has been a nightmare. Attorney. D to hire an i wanted to be sure that the people will not be forgotten ok, in this reform. Guest they will not be forgotten about, and let me just say that if you are down in chicago, you could visit our Congressional Office instead of visiting an attorney so that we could explain to you. There should be no reason you need an attorney. It has been reinstated time and time again. I see no reason why the Barack Obama Administration is going to sell the dorians, other central americans, and asians that he is going to somehow and the program. It is an important part im happy she brings it up because a lot of people think, well, you know, it is just about those illegals out there and whether they are going to be citizens of the United States. There are a lot of people legally in this country in limbo , as her friend is, that we need to sort out. Host how does it work, this protective status . Guest there was an incredibly, ugly vicious earthquake in haiti. There were haitians here in the United States, so we made a decision we were not going to under people to haiti those conditions, and that is called temporary protective status. What happened in el salvador was a similar crisis. The difficulty with the system is how do you then integrate them when it is temporary, so we want to find a permanent solution. Is that a pathway to citizenship . Host is that a pathway to citizenship . Guest no. It has to be continually renewed. Host from twitter, tell us how you will verify taxes owed, do background checks from all over the world, collect money from people . One, they are here. We do not have to go all over the world. Undocumented the have been here for 15 years. A lot of people think of Immigration Reform and they she is so im happy bringing this up, here is a system that we want and employment verification system. What does that mean . Before you or i could get a job in the United States, it has to be verified that they are legally in the country and that has to happen to the federal government. If you are an employer that hires somebody without going through that system, we will lock you up and put you in jail just as if you did not pay your taxes or violate any other law of the land. We have to make sure that everybody goes through the verification system. In 5tohat into seven years. I want to put them on the books. They are already paying taxes. Tax pay sales tax, gasoline. I am not quite sure all of those taxes are making it back to the government. I want to put them on the books. When the Congressional Budget Office says if you legalize 11 Million People, what happens to the treasury it is to the good. 100 billion in the first 10 years, 1 trillion after 20. Host we are talking to luis gutierrez, who represents the chicago area. He has been a leader on pushing for Immigration Reform. In his 11th term. Collected with 83 of the vote with elected in 1992 80 of the vote. First elected in 1992. Republican caller. Caller i want to tell the whole country that there are 25 jobs in durham, north carolina, in a burger king, and it is all mexican nationals that are not supposed to be here. Host how do you know that . Guest caller they do not speak english. Host whys that evidence that they are here it legally . If they were here legally, they would probably speak english. From a lot of people come all over the world. It is the third caller has referred to mexicans. 40 of the undocumented are here came here legally to the United States on a visa, a student visa, a tourist visa, and employment visa. This constant reference to one group of people is not a reflection of the reality. I know that has been the talk , but when we talk about the 11 million pimco 11 million, were talking about millions of people from poland, ireland, the philippines, all parts of the world. I do not know about the burger king. Heres what i could tell you. If you fix the system and put an employment verification system into it, the guy that opens up the burger king must go on i am pretty sure he checked their Social Security cards, right . Greta, lets be real. ,y granddad back in the 1930s i could imagine when he got in the mail to Social Security card. I do not know how he laminated it, but my dad got one, same thing in the mail a flimsy Social Security card. I got one. My children got one. My grandson got one. We could do a lot better after 70 years, 80, 90 years of having Social Security cards. We could do a lot better. We have more information on your debit card about who you are, or any other credit card. When he to do better. If we want to have we need to do better. If we want to have a nation that controls who works here. Host what do you use . Guest you could use metrics. Is always funny because you and i both know this, if you swipe the card and the Credit Card Company says he was in chicago, and he swiped in san francisco, all of a sudden the merchant tells you you have to call your company. Why can we not have that kind of verification system when you are going to work . They verify if you are not in the right place geographically. Should we not be able to know who is working in america and have a verification system . Immigrationr would be easier to take if it was not part of the engineered plan of government to lower u. S. Wages for corporate greed. Guest let me say this, when you immigrants economy, play a key role, and there are other sectors of the economy that are not meatpacking plants, not working in agriculture. Lets take the hightech industry. If we want to be competitive as a nation, we were need people in mathematics, to come to america for jobs that exist in america, but for which unfortunately there are no qualified, talented americans to take. Let me give you my take on jobs first. I believe that any job created in america should first go to an american, if the american exists with the qualifications. I believe that. Then, after we have satisfied the needs of those born in this country, then we have opportunities for employment, for others to come here. We always have. That has been the cycle of immigrants coming to america. A lot of people say those 11 million, they are here taking jobs from other people. Well, you know, i do not know that there is a long line, even at burger king to take those jobs. I do find as i travel lots of immigrants fulfilling very lowwage. Someone said we have to pay people more to pick lettuce and tomatoes. The Republican Party will not increase the minimumwage, but they will replace the minimumwage that we pay people to pick lettuce and tomatoes . That will not happen. We should have an economy where capitalism is at work. All i am saying is i did not send my two daughters, and i am sure your viewers did not send their kids to college so that they could go and pick something. Somebody will have to do it, but at the same time, it is critical work, backbreaking, dirty, filthy, work. I have been out there to watch them work out in the field across america. It is hard work. Saying isould be those people are doing hard work, they are keeping our economy strong, and keeping us safe. You are going to get your food picked here in the United States by foreign hands, or by foreign hands in foreign countries. You decide where your security lies. Host kate, evansville, indiana. Democratic caller. Yes. R this goes back to trying to get Immigration Reform done. You are trying to get Unemployment Benefits restored. ,he jobs are all going overseas so, you need to back up, put everything to the side, and lets get the jobs going. So, if you want these immigrants to have jobs there are no jobs, so why are you trying to work on this . That is a stall tactic. You need to concentrate on one item because youre never going to get anything done. You are not getting anywhere. You are slipping in the mud. Host all right, keith. Guest i think it is critical and essential that we have a modern, 21st century immigration in United States. We have 11 Million People in the shadows. We should register them with the government and have them pay their taxes. They should pay fines, they should learn english, learn about our way of government, we should incorporate them fully. I believe they should begin in a pathway to citizenship because it is the right thing to do, and i want them to fulfill every last responsibility and obligation to this country and i have as a citizen. Iwant somebody saying maybe do not have to do everything everybody else has to do, and i do not have the same commitment that everybody else has. Host are you able to go to the democratic retreat . Thet i am not going to democratic retreat. I am going back to my Congressional District immediately after this before the snow hits washington, d. C. , so i could get back to chicago. I have things to do back in the district and i going to get those things done. Host what you think the strategy should be for House DemocratsGoing Forward to push on Immigration Reform . Guest it took a while, greta. It was not like back in 2007, 2008, 2009 democrats were in charge of the house of representatives but we did not propose Immigration Reform because we did not have the vote, even though we were 240, 250strong, but we worked on that. Now there is a large group of people 90 of the democrats in the house of representatives would support the bill as it is put forward in the senate proposal, but i want to take a moment to talk about the senate proposal. There is this thing that has become it takes 13 years from the moment you join the legalization process, if you are undocumented host in the senate bill . Guest 13 years before you have the opportunity to apply for american cynosure citizenship. It is a long road. You have to pay fines, learn english, cannot be unemployed, have to get right with the law. It is a straight and stringent road there, as well as should be, and the immigrants are ready to take that on. Plus, you know what if you eliminated 11 Million People from the United States of america, they would stop going to stores. Wher been to towns they have bee i find and you know what i find . I find ghost towns. All you have to do is go to post ville, iowa. It is a ghost town now. All of the immigrants were buying clothes at the clothing store, building up empty apartments, creating more i mean, look from 75 of all Economic Activity is what . When people go by something. One go back to mexico second. Mexico is the secondlargest trading partner of the United States. Second. Why is that important to jobs . They are buying our goods, greta. By buying our goods they create millions of jobs in the United States for people who live here. Lets look at how jobs are created and not try to build a moat around ourselves. If we do that we wont have Economic Activity does businesses every two keep us destroy mission that we are. Host you have been working in the house with a group of republicans and democrats in pushing for Immigration Reform similar to the gang of eight in the senate. Rollup door, congressman, was part of your group that got together. R, congressman, was part of your group that got together. Here is a headline from fox news latino. Guest i think that is regrettable. Intelligent and very knowledgeable about immigration policy. Suffice to say, i spent 5 months with him crafting the legislation. It seems a little ironic that someone i spent 5 months with drafting the legislation now says dont do anything or you shouldnt have a job. I hope raul comes back to the table because i think he can be an important part of not saying no. You have a lot of people in washington who say no. Democrats propose something, republican say no. Republicans propose something, democrats say no. Lets try to learn how to say yes in washington, d. C. Host kathy in texas, republican caller. High, kathy. Caller how are you . I live in texas and we have lots of mexicans, and they hardworking, very, very kind people. The problem is, we live in a country of laws. I say that is a problem because we must get a handle on this by shutting down the border first. There is just so many people here illegally, not even just mexicans. Into so many. It has nothing to do with their nationalities. We came from europe, our families came from sicily, we did it the legal way, we have the american dream. But i feel democrats are giving this country away. It really is sad that they are turning people against each republicansing, oh, dont like mexicans or republicans dont want to help these people. We do, but we have to do it in a legal way and i think they are very kind and Everybody Needs a chance. We had the chance here and our kids are all doing excellent. A but follow the law, thank you. Guest i think that is exactly what we are trying to do. We are trying to make them right with the law. At the same time, our system is broken. We want to fix it. Now, we can say that we can go about the business of trying to deport 11 Million People. Number one, that is not a realistic alternative. You are not going to deport him 11 Million People. Barack obama has deported more people than any other president in the history of the United States. , barackh enforcement obama, 2 Million People have been deported, a devastating effect on our community. But what we must understand is there is still millions and millions even if you kept this up at the space, you are not going to do put yourself out of the problem you are not going to deport yourself out of the problem. Look, nobody in the congress, ugliest in thet, house in the senate has ever proposed a system that says, here is the money, go out there can you imagine trying to . Ound up 11 Million People those people are married to american citizens in many cases. They have relationships with of those of us who are here, not only from mexico, but from poland and ireland in the philippines. Most of them have been here more than 10 years. The system is broken. I want to fix the system in a realistic manner that helps drive our economy. Host should the president stop the deportation guest i think the president co should continue to ex his ex expand his executive authority to stop the deportation of immigrants roots in the country. There are millions of american citizen children who, through no fault of their own, have parents who are undocumented in this country who are working. If you are a gang banger or drug dealer or criminal, put you in the front of the line and out of this country. First, we will punish you right here in the United States, but then we want you out. Look, there are 2 types of people who come here. There are foreigners who come here and there are immigrants. I make the distinction between the 2. The immigrants come here to do valuable work should valuable, essential, critical work. I wish for just one moment i andd show the lady in texas the other person in alabama what the landscape would look like in america if the 11 million were just to disappear. Who would be working in the fields in georgia, alabama, mississippi, south of this nation . Not to speak about who would be working the fields in california. Look, you can go across this country and you can say what you want, but nobody wants to do the dirty, backbreaking, filthy the work of working in agriculture in america. And americans are sending their kids more to college, more and more each day, graduating from high school and college. That is a good thing. Sends their kids so that at the end of the day we will give you an artificial salary of 15 an hour. Aint gonna happen. In the hightech industry, we need people with math skills and science skills so that america can be the kind of competitive nation it has always been. Host here is a tweet. Guest i dont care. I have worked with the Republican Party. Greta, you know better than most that every time i have proposed immigration legislation, i did it with john mccain, with kennedy, back i did it with the john mccain and with kennedy. Back in 2003 and 2004. I have been a bipartisan moving forward. I believe this should be an american solution. Part of the problem, i will say this, george bush was the last president elect he got 43 percent of the latino vote. He won. But if youre going to continue to criminalize because when you pass the lot id arizona and to show your papers i will tell you right here on this program they are asking you for your papers with the pull you over and i was born in this country i resent any law that stereotypes the and promotes that kind of stereotypes. It is wrong and american. We should not have those type of long as. Ar to me that the demographics are such that that is going to happen. Host what about Chris Christie . If you becomes the nominee let me point out that when he won reelection, this past year, he carried 51 of the latino vote. That is in new jersey. That is that election. That is not a president ial election. That is a local election. The other thing is that Chris Christie also says he would support the dream act locally in new jersey. He was being very kind and doing outreach work to the latino community. I guess my answer is twofold. Number one, he tried to show a new face of the Republican Party. George bush got latino votes, too, because he showed a different face to the immigrant community in this country. My point is, republicans can do well. They can just be a party you want the Republican Party to be a National Party . You want to gain the presidency of the United States . Guess what, youve got to change her politics on immigration, because if you dont, you will always be a party of provinces, towns, and localities. If that is what you want, to never be a player again on the national scene, just continue with your antiimmigrant rhetoric. You will not be able to reach sufficient number of communities in america to win the national election. Host kathy in florida, a democratic caller. Caller good morning. Good morning. Say americawant to is a land of laws, and it really because if anything we do, we go to jail. It doesnt matter. Trespassing, whatever, you go to jail. If these people broke the law, how can they not go to jail . Face toa slap in the the ones who go to jail for anything walking, trespassing, anything could get to go to jail for breaking the law . Are you kidding me. They need to go to jail. Host ok, kathy. Congressman . Civil offense to work in the United States work undocumented. It is a misdemeanor. I dont think we are going to fill our jails with people who commit civil offenses and misdemeanors. Those who engage in criminal activity should have the full force of the law brought against them. We want to get that done. Again, no one has ever proposed preparing the kind of system with the requisite resources necessary for today. Lets go out and have the federal government with all of its agencies using all of its Police Powers to go up and around 11 Million People. I want you to close your eyes and think about that. Nobody has ever proposed that because they know it is not realistic. I have a realistic solution to the problem and i have a bipartisan solution to the problem. Republicans and democrats, lets look at the issue of immigration. The aflcio, labor movement, got together with the u. S. Chamber of commerce. Those 2 institutions fight in washington, d. C. Everyday, spending tens of millions of dollars lobbying against each other. The farmworkers union, created by cesar chavez, that together with the largest growers and they agreed on how they would and futureurrent agricultural workers. The New York Times and the wall street journal couldnt be more different in their editorial positions. I have seen divisions among religious leaders as deterrence and lutherans and evangelicals presbyterians and lutherans and evangelicals in very conservative protestants with catholics and muslims and jews altogether. It seems to me that the only place where it will cant where people cant find Common Ground and the rest of america we can find Common Ground, and every other spear of society and influence we can eptd Common Ground, exc the house of representatives. The fact that the republicans put forward their principles tells me that there is Common Ground. Boehner didnt just wake up one day and write those down and scribble them on a piece of paper. Those were thoughtful, well thoughtout principles that they put in black and white. He must have believed that there were certain that she was a certain currency, leadership in the Republican Party behind. That there was a certain currency, readership and the Republican Party behind that. The first battle is to say that this is something we want to move forward. They knew it would be difficult, but you have a very extreme ght that you have a very extreme right wing of the Republican Party that is telling them now. And there is that small demographic. Host lets go to cody in aberdeen, washington. Caller hello, thank you for taking my call this morning. I would just like to say that i support Legal Immigration and i am not a racist in any way. Our country was founded in this way Legal Process of immigration. In my town, aberdeen, weve experienced a huge loss of jobs after the logging industry , with the mass and now with the mass influx of immigrants, from all over central and south america, i am not just going to label them as mexicans or colombians or whatever or they are latinos. It seems to me the tend to do a lot of shopping at their own stores, that they are not going to go and shop at a regular American Store or they are going to go and buy food that came from their own country instead of foods that come from our country. Host is that a concern . Caller it is a concern of mine. That is one concern, yeah. People come here and immigrate to our country and then spend money they are making in our country on stuff that is coming from their own country. Host ok. Congressman . Guest im sorry, im just at a loss here. I like chinese food. Does that make me unamerican to go to a local Chinese Restaurant . Or a Thai Restaurant . Or greek restaurant . It is part of america, eating different foods from different countries. If i only each these burgers and hotdogs, that makes me 100 american . Thing if you are upset that the immigrants are eating ethnic food, you should and thesesafeways large american corporations that have their ethnic aisles, ok . Lets not kid ourselves. Target does it come every major american corporation, you know what they do he says, oh, they dont buy. That is nothing but a pack of lies. On a spanish and ethnic tv and you know it youve got . Ford and gm and every Major Corporation in the language selling those products. Back at the plant, they are americans speaking english producing those cars and goods. Commerce if i want to communicate and i want to sell something, then it is ok. Unless it is a group of people going over there and eating food that they are used to from their country. The fact is that i am happy that italians and greeks and chinese cap that italians and greeks and chinese kept their delicious culinary menus because i continue to enjoy them and that is part of the diversity of america. Host the caller started by saying i am for Immigration Reform and i am not a racist guest against it. Host do you think that people against Immigration Reform are racist . Guest no, i have not said that could i have heard racist comments from people who are against Immigration Reform. Look come here is the fact. Every survey that has been done, the wall street journal or cnn, says that two thirds of American People are for legalizing the 11 million and giving the pathway to citizenship. The vast majority of American People believe that, and they are white and black and hispanic and of every color. I think that when you go out to america and speak to the American People, they want to fix our broken immigration system. Im telling you, it is only the house of representatives where there is a problem. Part of the problem is you have addressed this issue before on this program part of it is we come from these Congressional Districts in which all were thinking about is the very next election. There will be immigrants and s and europeansno that they will be in the Southern District so people say, i would just disregard that. Of themselveshink as being an american representative. They think of themselves as being the representative of that Congressional District in and only that Congressional District and not the broader views of the American People, and they want to get elected. And then you have these primaries, republican primaries, in which the influence of a very conservative sectors of the Republican Party outweighs the rest of the Republican Party. I think that, unfortunately, is what is pushing a lot of things. Host congressman, we need to let you go because you need to catch a flight before this storm comes to washington. Guest showing up to work to on the next washington journal. And impact of the keystone xl pipeline. We will talk with the cohost of msnbcs the cycle. About what to expect and president obama second term. Former federal Regulatory Commission speakers speak with us about the electric grid. A begin at 7 30 a. M. Eastern on washington journal on cspan. Senator john mccain came to the senate floor and argued for u. S. Intervention in serious the water. The Arizona Republican who serves talked about the humanitarian crisis in the country. We have talked about the atrocities that occasionally show up on our Television Screens and the impulse of Many Americans is to change the channel and we must not avert our eyes and this includes our ability to empathize with the suffering of others and to acknowledge their own sense of revulsion what is happening in syria today and these are graphic and disturbing pictures. They are the real face of war and human suffering in syria today. A war that our nation has power to help and in which we are failing to do. These images are drawn from a cache of more than 50,000 photographs that were taken between march of 2011 and August August 2013 by a Syrian Military policeman from this individual eventually defected to the opposition along with the photographs, which were meticulously reviewed and verified by three Renowned International war crimes. This includes abuse, starvation, torture, and killing of approximately 11,000 detainees which what amounts to crimes against humanity. These are very disturbing. I urge every member of congress and the American People to read this which can be found on cnn. Com and the guardian. Com. Only a handful of these images have been released publicly, but the authors have provided their own startling commentary on what they reveal. David crane is prosecutor in sierra leone and the man responsible for indicting Charles Taylor and stated that many of the photographs show groupings of bodies that look like a slaughterhouse. In this includes guilty of Industrial Age mass killings and this is good for the causes of death due reasonably infer that this is a pattern of behavior for the forces of bashar alassad. And one who also served as the chief prosecutor for sierra leone and that includes those who are found still alive in the not the death camps after world war ii. Yesterday in a hearing in the committee on armed services, whether these photographs which depict the crimes against humanity are authentic area and they have no reason to doubt their authenticity. The United Nations is now doing its own assessment of these images is confident that the u. N. Team will validate this. Does anyone seriously believe that they dont have the motive to murder 11,000 people in its prisons . And it is a pattern of behavior within the Syrian Government. It is part of their doctrine and these children are being used as human shields and threaten to kill the children of opposition members or they did not surrender. And this includes government forces. I will spare you this because it is unspeakable. But i urge you to read the entire report which can be found on the United Nations website. The majority leader. I would ask my friend if he would allow me with unanimous consent request. As usual, i very much appreciate this courtesy than this stunning delivery and this appears uninterrupted. Without objection. If the papers have not arrived from the house, the majority warders designate to concur the house amendment 125 at 1 30 p. M. Today. If the message has arrived prior to 1 30 p. M. , that surely be will then be recognized move to concur on the house amendment 125 up to 30 minutes and this includes the house amendment which has been laid on the table all of the above. Has any objection . Without objection and so ordered enact it would have up to four vote starting at 1130 and 130 we will come back and finish some other Business Today as well. We hope to have a lot of things today. And we should know within the next few hours how accurate the reports will be with a snowstorm. And every reporter, for example, on how syrian authorities have used explosives and bulldozers to demolish thousands of residential buildings and entire neighborhoods in some cases. For no literary reason whatsoever, just as a form of collective punishment of syrian civilians. Human rights watch researchers have also documented that whole of the Syrian Governments airstrike campaign against damascus and in particular the regimes use over the past few months on what has become known as barrel bombs. My colleagues were not aware of it and they are oil drums or other large containers packed with explosives and fuel fuel and shrapnel and glass in all manners of crude and legal material. The sole purpose is to maim and kill and terrorize as many people as and they are indiscriminately drop from syrian aircraft schools and bakeries and mosques and other areas. One video of the barrel bombs aftermath from a man stands in front of a childs body and cries out oh, god, we have had and not very please help us. These are just some of the many reasons why are director of National Intelligence referred to this era crisis yesterday as an apocalyptic disaster. And with more than 100 30,000 people dead, after more than one third of the syrian population has been driven from their homes. Its no longer just a humanitarian tragedy for one country. But they are being aided and abetted by thousands of agents on the ground as well as russian , money continues to flow to the saudi government even as they removed the chemical weapons. In the conflict in syria is devastating to its neighbors. And this includes the crossborder attacks by both of the Syrian Government and opposition fighters in response to hezbollahs role for fighting. Half of the population was soon be Syrian Refugees and that suggests that they now represent 15 of the population in jordan as part of the social instability. This includes the more islam Islamic State which now possesses the safe haven which expands large portions of those countries. No more is this more heartbreaking than in falluja. Where hundreds of those who were killed and wounded in fighting to risk their lives against the terrorists and extremists that wear the black flags of al qaeda that hang above the city. It now enjoys this thanks to the crisis in syria, and poses a direct threat to National Security and that of our closest allies and partners. The secretary of Homeland Security said syria is now a matter of Homeland Security. And the tribal areas of pakistan and afghanistan where al qaeda planned a september 11 terrorist attack. They have warned that they have now aspire to tack attack him and heard of it should have taught us anything, it is that global terrorists will occupy and plan attacks against us and can pose a direct threat to our National Security. And this was in afghanistan of 2001. And the conflict is a National Interest but it is more than that. But it is and should be an affront to our conscience and images like these should not be source attorney source of heartbreak and sympathy but a call to action. Not too long ago after this began, that he was issuing his president ial study directive on mass atrocities. In it he stated that preventing it is a core National Security interest and a core moral responsibility of the United States. He went on to say that the refugees full across the borders and they wreak havoc on reasonable stability and livelihoods. This includes this and this is a massive scale. We are haunted by the atrocities that we did not stop in the lives we did not say. And i would like to quote them at length it is at the center of our international order. But the sovereignty cannot be a shield to convince them of wanton murder or International Community to turn a blind eye. Should we really look this up in the face of this and they should say so and reckon with the logic of mass graves that was the president of the United States and i agree with every word of what he said. But how are we to reconcile these turn words with these images from syria and where is our president obama today. Where is president obama and i am a moral responsibility and he refuses to accept that they can slaughter their people with impunity and while the history of the world looks on in stands by. And the cold logic of mass graves is right there and our government is doing what we have said throughout the past. We tried to comfort her guilty consciences by telling ourselves that we are not doing nothing. But everyone concedes that nothing we are doing is equal to the horrors that we face and we are telling ourselves that we are too tired or weary to get involved. And we tell ourselves that we have no good options as if there are ever any good options when it comes to Foreign Policy in the real world. But that it is too late now. It would be any comfort of the syrian mother who will lose her child, is that any comfort . We are telling ourselves what they once pull themselves between people of that we knew nothing. Where is our outrage and shame with the conflict in syria and they certainly are worse than fewer now and no one should believe that we are without options even now. That is an excuse for inaction in these images haunt me. And they should on all of my colleagues. And what haunts me more than this unfolding before our eyes is the thought that we will not do anything immediate about it. And how it falls into questions the foundations of our Global Leadership and how an american presence will stand before the world as previous inaction in the face of mass atrocities in faraway lands. Especially with what all of us know to be true right now. Limited though it may be, they could exercise the options at its disposal and we could have done something as to our everlasting embarrassment, but we did not. And we have to apologize for our current failure. Shame on us if we let history repeat itself that way. 30 million by 2015 is expected to be the shortfall. And the House Democrats will discuss it. Later, immigration legislation. And president obamas pick for the Deputy Defense secretary who robert bork and the department of chief Financial Officer for testifying at their confirmation hearing weather permitting. And a center panel holds a hearing on passenger freight trains. And this includes the federal Railroad Administration and the National Transportation safety board. Weather permitting. Booktv is live this weekend from savanna, georgia. Lily coppell on astronauts and john rizzo on his work with the cia and Deborah Solomon on the life of norman rockwell. Part of the threeday weekend on booktv. We will take your calls and emails and tweets from noon to 3 00 p. M. On keep cspan2. Join the conversation go to booktv. Org and click on book clubs to enter the chat room. A Senate Panel Examines the Highway Trust Fund which is expected to sell the gas tax. Richard trumka also talks about this as well. This is such an important issue. Including averting a major crisis and we will hear from witnesses who are National Leaders representing businesses and states and workers and i am so pleased to once again welcome tom donohue i always feel when they are together that we have a winning issue. The transportation cabinet and doctor pete lorraine, president and ceo of american roads and transportation builders and i want to say to all of you here, there are devastating impacts they estimate at the that the Highway Trust Fund may run out of funds as early as september of 2014. Which would create cash flow problems for the summer construction season. And it led to the bleak scenario and states already beginning to develop contingency plans to prepare for production and funding, including this as well. This is terrible for businesses and workers and for our nation. According to the transportation of federal funding is cut and we wouldnt be able to fund any new projects. Officials from other states have made similar statements in the effects are very negative to say the least. Businesses will be more luck than and that will be felt throughout the entire economy. It must be by an infusion of funds otherwise the cbo estimate that new products in 2015 would need to be reduced to zero. This includes Highway Safety with 2015 with almost 1. 8 million jobs lost. No more new products. This means that states will be unable to do any new product as early as this summer. It is critical for our nation to continue investing in our aging infrastructure. Including other committees in the senate of the house. We must find a sweet spot for the dependable sources of funding for the Highway Trust Fund. A strong Transportation System is vital to ensuring the economic competitiveness of the United States of america and this requires federal investments in our transportation infrastructure. They found that 70 of u. S. Manufacturers believe that americas worlds are getting worse and 67 believe that infrastructure that all options should be on the table. They are not democratic or republican and i am so proud of the bipartisan support on our committee from my Ranking Member to every member on the committee that i have met with almost every one of them and i am hoping for a five or sixyear bill. It has begun discussions on the Highway Trust Fund. They know that they have that responsibility including our advocacy for a strong Transportation System. And we won these battles because of our unity. So whatever our distances may be in other areas, we know we have them but we do not have them here. Being partners is critical to our success. Thank you for todays hearing, madam chairman. We are finalizing our first date piece of infrastructure work on this committee and we are very hopeful hopeful about that. We increasingly turning turn it to big structure work which is the next highway bill. And we are both excited to do that and actively doing that. We represent a diverse connection but collectively a strong and common part of the issues. This is a critical component of our nations economy and our quality of life and firstclass infrastructure is fundamental to connect people and communities and it is a critical voting bloc for our economy. In 2111 u. S. Transportation system of 17. 6 billion tons which equates to over 70 trillion. Is that your suggested just last week, the cbo him out with an updated projection accelerating faster than anticipated. Action must be taken to avoid a nearly 100 drop in new federal funds in this resonates far beyond the lack of direct investment into our infrastructure. This includes the supply chains and Equality Movement of our bid in our overall competitiveness. Not only facilitate the unique characteristics of funding transportation infrastructure but also to provide funding safeguard for the highpriority. Putting such a structure on sound fiscal footing will restore the stability of the trust fund that is vital to economic growth. It is a core conservative principles that is part of the current flawed mechanism. And so i dont understand that at all. This addresses our customer needs while not imposing such a tax increase. When the structure was first established it was designed to build and is a highway system and was structured based on the simple principles that first you map out and to find a detailed plan and then you build a user base finance structure to complete that task. It not only produces the certainty of the authorization bill but it also establishes the Government Accountability and trust from system users. That type of thinking is part of this. The actions have represented a significant departure from the Highway Trust Fund and has prolonged economic uncertainty. Also the type of longterm investments wi also the type of longterm investments with Broad Economic Development at home and makes us more competitive abroad. If we are going to be successful in restoring that structure, we fundamentally has to put trust back in the Highway Trust Fund. To me this means that we cannot keep adding programs and eligibility to the trust fund that is narrowly focused or do very little to benefit those who pay into the system. It needs to be even more transparent than before. We need to be able to show where future investments may or may not be used on a project by project level. We must rebuild that by continuing to reduce the cost burden and impact of red tape in the chair and i are hard at work in forming a new bill that can rebuild that process and get the finance committee moving as the full partner on the finance pete. We hope to be moving abe base bill through the committee to encourage the finance committee to take it up and address the finance pete. So i very much look forward to your testimony. And your work of rebuilding trust in the trust funds. I think this gives the signal that we are very much a one mind which is very important im going to ask members to keep this down to where we are and we pass over to senator merkley. The department of transportation is very nervous about this with Highway Trust Fund and it also results in a direct impact of jobs within the state and we anticipate that we have a challenge and would lose about 5000 jobs if we dont succeed in 2015. And i am very aware that america spends only 2 of its gdp on infrastructure. In this includes going through a bullet train in that time. The aging infrastructure that we have is comparable and we have to do more and lets get it done in the infrastructure will fuel our future economy. Thank you for your support and comment. Thank you, madam chair. And thank you Ranking Member better and this is breaking out all over and this continues today with the reauthorization and we need to do better because the nation deserves better as senator merkley said. We need pass the reauthorization last longer than two years an earlier this committee helps this with matt 21 and the certainty of a longterm reauthorization and that being said we should still proceed with caution. We have considered increasing revenues and we should allow and encourage these experiments to continue and let it be the proving ground for some of the more radical and innovative proposals that have been brought forward. What may work in one state may not work in all states. We need to examine the root causes. And not only as a result of increasing maintenance and Construction Costs are also as a result of increasing fuel efficiency and we need to ensure that all users shoulder and peccable burden on our nations growth. We need to safeguard the integrity of the gas tax and the user fee. Mainly building as well. Thank you, maam. And now we will tend to senator whitehouse and. Thank you, chairman for calling this hearing we value those things in our transportation and the structure to put americans to work and ensure that our goods and services can get to the market. They dont agree on many things but there are roads and bridges and create quality jobs across the country and help our economy move forward. That is nowhere more important in my home state of rhode island which suffers and Unemployment Rate of 1. 9 . We want to put Rhode Islanders to work. Built in 1964 it is showing its age that is badly deteriorated in the steel girders are cracked and wood planks have been installed onto cars crossing it below. With the help of a tiger grant including the work to do on the northbound leg and that Central Location is just one example of how the federal Transportation Program and that is part of the Highway Trust Fund. It is headed for zero and one against a zero that is going to be a real disaster for transportation and infrastructure. Including an agreement as to how we can address this authorization bill. And this includes how it works to emerge and hybrid cars working to fit into the value of the source for highway infrastructure. So i think the chairman and the Ranking Member and i appreciate the panel being here together. Thank you. We have talked about how this has worked with senator wyden and senator hatch. Not that it will be easy. Thank you, madam chairman. I do have a long and brilliant statement to give them for the record, were making a comment that i have seen we have four choices moving forward. We have 80 to 90 cut in this and actually has that figured out 100 . This includes shortterm extensions i have to say that its good for the soul. Its not too much with the democrats but the republicans. There is this passion for some republicans to get the conservative ratings and it comes along. And they use it like an example. The good news is that i was privileged to go over it and you guys need to understand that and i think you are doing this. I got all 33 of the House Republicans on the committee in one room and i told them about the we are demagogy mess on the floor and so im give them this one we had nine extensions that cost costs about 30 off the top and that is not something the conservatives should be doing. This includes enthusiastic supporter. And there are a lot of things that come out of the general fund it says clearly the main thing that we are supposed to be doing is defense and infrastructure. So my case rest and we will go after. Senator wyden and senator hatch are going to decide how this is paid for. Senator gillibrand. I cannot tell you how grateful that i am that we have this distinguished panel of witnesses to discuss this in our nations infrastructure and in our Transportation System. Including with labor and business without a Strong Networks network of roads and bridges to move us forward. Real damage if Congress Fails to act. Including businesses both large and small as well as the pending in our Transportation Networks to get home safely and reliably as well. We all know that the Highway Trust Fund is projected to become insolvent and that would have severe impacts in my state of new york. 40 of these projects are on bridges that are on need of construction or repair. This includes the Highway Trust Fund to start the projects next year and this includes restricting the use of roads and bridges that are no longer safe including the capacity for which they were originally designed. This could result in detours and delays and problems of getting things that need to be brought into our comments. It means more time and money and lots of businesses and families who are struggling to make it in this tough economy. And we really have to make sure that covers acts now. Instead of bringing the jobs here and keeping them here. There is no doubt that our roads and bridges are essential to the economic part of our nation. An investment in infrastructure is the key to expanding and strengthening this in promoting opportunity for the growth. It is time for congress to put infrastructure and investment on a sustainable course including Highway Maintenance and construction and that is one of the most important responsibilities. I am hoping that this committee will continue to work towards policy reform that will ensure that the federal dollars we are investing are devoted to tasks that truly value to the products. Thank you, senator fisher. Thank you are conducting this hearing, weird was panel and its always a pleasure. And this includes the longterm surface of transportation and we do a Longterm Service transportation operation to get predictability to our Transportation Program in this country. You have to have a reason of five or six years with the modernized Transportation Needs that we have. Many members have voted pointed out this. Not only do we have this in the way in which we can attract this type of Economic Community that modern transportation provides. It helps everyone, not including the commerce of the highway with less cars on the road. I could put plugin right now than we would like to get funded this includes our National Economy and federal government. Economy to the federal government but also for all of our communities. Its also a matter Graham Bierman and we have heard that many times before. Modernizing our Transportation System we provide a much more efficient wy