without employment, without jobs, and that could be part of the package. we are going to insist it has to be part of the package. they complement each other and help the economy. sir, as you adjust your earpiece, i can see it s irritating you slightly, so thank you for bearing with us. what part has a chance of realistically passing? honestly. honestly it s going to be difficult. already boehner and the leadership, kantor, ryan whose budget he proposed last year that they approved in the house was would have been devastating to medicare, medicaid and to jobs across this country. already they re saying it s dead on arrival. i think the american people are going to want this congress, both sides, to deal with this issue in a very, very profound way and deal with the president s budget. it needs a hearing. it needs the opportunity to succeed. i think the president s budget is a balanced budget.
of maryland. good afternoon, sir. martin, good to be with you. republicans are today floating a plan that would extend just the payroll tax cut without the need to pay for it. is this a deal that you think democrats might be able to live with? well, martin, we should move forward on all three pieces. we could extend the payroll tax cut for 160 million americans, and i m glad to hear our republican colleagues seem to be saying they re willing to do that without offsets that sock it to others in the middle class, but we should also make sure the millions of americans who are unemployed through no fault of their own and have paid into the unemployment system continue to get support. there are millions of seniors on medicare who rely on doctors, and that s why it s important we deal with that piece as well. and as you know, sir, one of the things that republicans would like to attach to any extension of unemployment benefits is drug testing. is that something that democrats
better for president obama? the the thing that s best for president obama is to continue to create the contrast between himself standing up for the middle class, fighting oil company subsidies, standing up for seniors on medicare, instead of middle-class families and who have chosen ideology over solutions. every time we make that contrast, democrats win. congressman steve israel, who says the house is in play, wouldn t have said that 6 months to a year ago, thanks so much. good to have you on. thank you. what will it mean for the campaign as well? we ll talk about that coming up. who is the your business entrepreneur of the week? d.j. foreman took over her family s business, she moved it away from diamonds and gold to offer more unique rings, pendants and necklaces. she scaled down, moved to a
he can do that, romney s been attacked throughout this campaign, but romney has a long history of firing negative shots against other people. just ask giuliani, huckabee, anybody else. if you want to beat him, you ve got to go beat him. bill: i want a quick pause because the democrats are now speaking on the hill about this payroll tax matter. we heard boehner 20 minutes ago. steny hoyer, now, the democrat from maryland. taxes will go up for 160 million middle class, working americans. unemployment benefits will expire over the next 60 days for 2.3 million americans. and 48 million americans, seniors on medicare, will have the security of having their doctors available put at risk. we ought not to be creating that kind of uncertainty and anxiety among the american people. the stakes are too high to be
obama wants to raise taxes, the republicans want to reduce spending. the republicans are going to win this fight, obama s not going to get his tax increase, and we will get the one-year extension. it may happen this week, may happen in two months, but the effort to lie and say that the democrats in the senate who are not allowing the bill to move forward are somehow in favor of the bill, strikes me as odd. both sides agree sooner is better than later. grover, standby, i know you want to watch this with me. we have the democrats responding and making statements on this very issue. take a listen. unemployment benefits will expire over the next 60 days for 2.3 million americans. and 48 million americans, seniors on medicare, will have the security of having their doctors available put at risk. we ought not to be creating that kind of uncertainty and anxiety among the american people. the stakes are too high.