his tax rate, mitt romney reveals his tax rate. fair or unfair? and fact or not? are the congress members back in session refresh and ready to change the world -- or not? let's go "outfront." well, good ooevening, everyone. i'm erin burnett and "outfront" tonight, and welcome back, congress. we missed you. we really did. after -- well, that may have been a bizarre and appropriate slip of the tongue. but members are back in the house today to make up for frankly an abysmal 2011. the track record. full of failures. they didn't raise the debt ceiling which caused america's credit rating to be cut which hurts all of us. and they didn't agree on a budg budget. and they didn't have a super committee deal. and no tax cuts. so it is no surprise that the cnn poll shows that 11% of americans approve of the way that congress is handling the job. that is an all-time low. more people approved of how bp handled the gulf coast oil spill. while members were off, some took trips abroad. majority leader eric cantor led a delegation to the middle east and france. both delegations of both parties went to west africa and india and the philippines, but all of this could be something that americans could deal with if next session was productive. certainly not like 2011. right now, real challenges. the battles ahead are eerily similar to last year. and the debt ceiling limit expires on the 29th. and our super committee hopes reside on you. and bush tax cuts expiring in 2013, in january, and we have to figure that out by the end of the year. major challenges, but we are hopeful. we have had divided governments in the past and everyone says it is not worse, but they fixed it and got better and that is the american can-do way. all right. we want congress the feel the heat, but see the light. let's make them work. we are joined by congressman sewell from new york, and congresswoman grimm. i am glad you are smiling after the intro, but you are sitting here a democrat and a republican, and are you going the work together? >> i think that one thing i have learned as a freshman is that it is important to collaborate. collaboration is important. i have hope because in alabama my delegation had to come together after the april tornadoes. republicans and democrats, in order to provide for disaster assistance for the constituents so with that hope springs eternal. >> i can tell you that i am standing next to one of my favorite freshmen colleagues regardless of the side of the aisle. she is great, and we have had many conversations on the floor and it is the process that needs to happen. we are a polarized nation right now and nobody can deny it, by it is our job to get it back together, and i know i am willing to do it, and my colleague is. this is a new year and opportunity to overcome the challenges and put the country first and i'm excited to get to work. >> i am, too. >> okay. let's keep that sound bite, because it sounds happy and i'm elat elated. congressman, last week your president came out and said i want to get rid of six agencies and made them one, and some people in your party said we want to do more than that, and so we won't give you that. we won't give you anything. that really came ouf ff as more the same and bad spirited. what are you going the do about that? >> well, first of all, the part of the frustration on the republican side is that we've put a lot of the initiatives on the table already and if you look at the bills that have passed the house already there are duplicative things that we should have consolidated going back to the last year, and it is frustrating feeling that the president is taking some of the initiatives and dusting them off and saying they are his own and we are supposed to support it, but why didn't we support it all year long? it is frustration, but at the end of the day, we will get it done. >> you will get it done. let me ask you about the debt ceiling issue, congressman gram, you again. you have to cast a vote disapproving in your case? >> yes. >> why is that? why not say, we all know that we have to do this? that could be a good way to make a goodwill gesture? >> well, i think that because the negotiations up to this point have not been completely in goodwill. i think that most of the republicans and a lot of my colleagues on the other side realize that we are facing an out-of-control debt crisis, and we have not been able to get it under skcontrol. we have not put together a plan that the rest of the world deems credible as well as the united states. >> well, i agree, they are playing political games and we have to raise the debt ceiling, because america pays the bills and i know that and you know that and having a resolution on the floor just to vote no about raising the debt ceiling when you know that we have to work together to do so is brinkmanship. >> i respect that opinion, i really do, but at the same time america pays the bills, but america has been living way above its means for so long that if we continue on that, we are three years away from italy. we know what is happening in europe, and what is going to happen there. >> and how about that representative grimm, the debt problem awareness is a credit, but -- >> why aren't we dealing with it? this is another step to say, we have been fighting all year long to control the debt and put a plan in place to deal with it, but we have yet to do it. so it is not ceremonial, but a reminder to america and the president that we are living above our means and we are spending money that we don't have and borrowing from nations like china and putting ourselves in a debt crisis that we may not get out of. we have to continue to ring the bell, and have america get a handle on it. >> and the super committee was charged with doing that and failed. what will each of you agree to that might upset your party that you would agree to that might help that problem. we agree there is a problem? >> if you want, i will take it first. we can join a group go big which is bi-cameral and work on procedural to do something tangible and the world says it makes sense, whether it is $4 tr trillion or $5 trillion and what i promise and i will promise my colleague on tv is that anything you put on the table i agree not the de t to demonnize or shootdown. i want to listen to each other, and we need to do it in parties an conferences to not demonnize each other's ideas and work together even if we disagree. >> i agree with you. listen, i agree that we agree on this issue which is collaboration and working together for a common cause. i think that for me i have joined a bipartisan caucus as well, the common cause which is a group of freshmen both republican and democrat and we are committed to working t ing together to solve some of the biggest problems and i look forward to working with you, michael, and we will get this worked out. >> if there were more members like this, we'd have it figured out. >> what are you getting married? you are wearing the same outfits, and -- >> i asked, but she said no. >> my mom is watching. >> thanks to both of you. we appreciate it and we will hold you to it and have you back. >> thank you. >> thank you. and democrats and republicans have gathered a recall for governor walker. the end of his days? and now iran says they are give back the secret drone, sort of. really, i have the drone. really. and we have obtained the tapes of the downed cruise ship in italy and they indicate that the port authority had to yell at the ship's captain. man: my eltrill s king ban this team of guinea pigs to ty bo so to save some y, d inea pig: row...row. they genatectry, wch le me rf t. guinea pig: row...row.took one, 8 months to get the guin: ..row.ow...row. they genatectry, wch le me rf t. lile cbby one to yell row! guineaig: ro's kof strange. guinig: row...row. such a simple word... row. anncr: t an easierayof strange. save. get online. go to geico.com. get a quote. e u 15% or more on car insurance. but my nose is still runny. 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"outfront" now, the author of "grand new party" and also, the deputy communications director for president obama. good to have both of you with us. good to see you, jen. and rihan, only two governors have been successfully recalled, so is this a good example of the people's process, and they got the signatures and is this how the system should work? >> well, it reflects the depth of the frustration and how the ideological divides are shaping the electorate. last time it happened in california it was a democratic governor recalled and this time it is a republican governor recalled and my fear is to see it a back and forth and again and again and a tit-for-tat, and i think that the underlying issues are much more scrambled than people understand. >> jen, what is your point of view, because the people recalling him say he didn't say he would do all of these things, but a loft opeopt of people are to office including presidents who come in and don't do what they say they are going d and they do it, and is this enough of a ground to have is a recall? >> well, erin, recalls are rare and there is a high bar to jump over to recall someone, but this is more than a million people who have signed petitions in wisconsin. that is 25% of the people who are eligible to vote in the state who are so dissatisfy and so unhappy with the governor, they have right through the democratic process, and the process allowed by law to take action. so i don't think that this is the start of a trend, but i think that it is more of a case where people in the state are so dissatisfied with the governor's attack on worker's rights and they are taking action. >> i think that it is absolutely the start of the trend. the last time of the recall, arnold schwarzenegger came into office and tried to curb the power of the labor unions and he then lost, because these folks have extraordinary resources at their disposal and they spent $25 million to go against a group of senators, but much more th time, because they are saying that dues are no longer mandatory, and you should be able to choose whether you want to pour your salary into what are essentially political campaigns and they know that if you drain that money away, they will not choose who their bosses are. choosing your bosses is a great way of seeing to it that you're constantly getting paid more regardless of the productivity. walker is not the best messenger, but this is fundamentally a purple proposal and not red proposal, because it gave the republican and the democratic mayors to come to common sense bargains with public workers in the state. >> even chris christie who has had tussles vocally and in the midst of them with new jersey said that governor walker did not go about this politically the best way. >> here is what i know about governor walker, today, nearly 1 million people, and the petitions are turned in and nearly 1 million people signed to oust the governor and he is in new york doing a fund raiser with the former ceo of aig so it is clear that he is disconnected with the challenges of the workers and the families in his state, but at the same time, budget cutting has become an attack, and a weapon by the republicans across the board and not just governor walker, but you know, you look at the cut, cap, balance which is something that the republican candidates including mitt romney and others in congress have touted. there are concerning issues that i think that people are going to take a closer look at over the next couple of months. >> but they have state jobs though, and that is a national thing that there is improvement there, but they have, jen? >> wisconsin -- sorry? >> wisconsin among others? >> well, that is true, but at the same time, people are concerned, also, about making sure they have the rights. making sure they have the, you know, the ability to stand up for their workers in the state, and workers, you know, ak cro a the country and this is an example of someone overreached and trying to cut down on the rights of workers, and people will take a close look at this. >> and this is straight forward, illinois is right next door to wisconsin and it is a state where they tried to balance budgets and a state where they laid off huge public workers where wisconsin said a common sense agreement on the labor agreements on health care costs, et cetera, and they fired way fewer workers and better for the public workers who wanted to keep the jobs in wisconsin than illinois. so if you want to go illinois down the road and see services deteriorating go that route. if you want a situation where the democratic and the republican mayors can come to common sense agreements that is what walker's proposal did. >> two different world views and thank you both for coming on to share. >> all of you, let us know what you think on twitter. >> thank you very much. security today is tighter in teheran. the country taking quote remarkable measures to protect the nuclear scientists after last week's murder of a leading scientist. now we are not sure exactly what that entails for security, but the government is has arrested several suspects linked to the assassination. we are trying to find out if the arrested were iranian or american or other nationalitien, because iran is keeping the nationalities secret and they are blaming the united states and israel for the murder. we asked cia security expert about it. >> we have asked the iranians to identify either agents of israel or another foreign power such as saudi arabia if they can produce any kind of evidence that connects them with a foreign power, we could be looking at a major international incident, so this is something that we need to watch. also, today, egypt sent a nation to the united nations signed by 140 countries, including china, saying that they quote condemn america for violating iran air space with the sentinel drone. now, iran has the top secret drone and you see it there on display and there is a big development on the return of the drone. remember president obama saying this -- >> with respect to the drone, inside of iran, i'm not going to comment on intelligence matters that are classified. as have already been indicated, we have asked for it back. we will see how the iranians respond. >> all right. well, iran responded today and saying it is sending a toy replica of the drone, yep, and they are going to inscribe on the belly, here on the star wars here, and we will tramp the u.s. they offered to send it to the united states in pink. yeah. presidential candidate mitt romney, a multimillionaire pays a lower tax rate than you. we will talk about that. and the government says that america is overrun by giant snakes and planning to do a number of things about it. and which of these beers comes from america's largest brewery. place your bet on facebook or twitter, and yes, these beers are chilled and ready for the staff to drink after the show. the answer up next. helps defend against digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. hit me! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'. but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today. five, four, three, two, one -- this is prohibition! >> this is a raid. >> open it up. so the u.s. fish and wildlife service announced today that it is banning the import and interstate transport of four non-native constrictor snakes. the decision that takes -- oh, ah. the decision takes place in two months. the burmese python and the yellow anaconda, and the northern and southern africa pythons and injurious wildlife has threatened the everglades and other species like wood rats and wood storks. according to the fish and wildlife services quote, burmese pythons have already caused substantial harm in florida. by taking this action today, we will help prevent further harm from these large constrictor snakes to native wildlife. that brings us to the number, $100 million which is the amount of money that the department of interior spends every single year to control pythons and other invasive species. the figure includes the hiring of adorable snake-sniffing dogs like thomas. we met thomas. he is supposed to find and eradicate pythons and other constrictor snakes. we met the dogs and visited the homeland security training center, and because pythons can devour animals such as a 60-pound deer, this has to be the