be extortion potentially. more broadly, we have a situation where we have an unaccountable presidency in this moment. there s a lot this president has done to run through the red lights and the stop signs in our document and o government and our system of laws. if congress doesn t step in to put some halts up, we could move inadvertently into an unaccountable presidency, a presidency that who ever s in that office can do whatever they want and say so what, what are you going to do about it? they re saying i m not going to comply with the law requiring that we turn this over to the whistleblower. i m not going to comply with the law that requires that the president east t president s tax returns be turned over to congress. make me. and no one is making them and that creates a problem for the structure of government. it s vital that this oversight
eric: we have new information on nelson mandela. he s 94 years old and says to be resting comfortably, after a procedure to drain fluid that s built up around his lungs. it s a condition commonly associated with numoania. the authorities are reassuring south africans that mr. mandela is responding positively to his medical treatment. president barack obama has told reporter this is weekend that he wishes the former president a speedy recovery. arthel: get well, mr. mandel a. the u.s. is dr. 3 billion in the hole from students defaulting on higher loans. higher education is expensive and jobs are hard to come by and interest rates could double, soon if congress doesn t step in. in today s take-charge consumer protection segment, how it keep your education expenses under
homes and get these fires under control. we ll bring you more information as it becomes available. gregg: the united postal service has always relied on federal money to keep it aloft. it has never needed a bigger life raft than right now. agency officials have warned they may not make a 5.5 billion dollar payment to a retiree account later this month. the postmaster general has say the postal service could default as early as this winter if congress doesn t step in. joining us chairman of the senate subcommittee which oversees the postal service. senator, thanks for joining us this labor day. with the advent of computers and smartphones, e-mails, texting, even electronic bill paying, sending letters through the postal service is in many ways less relevant now and some say obsolete. indeed, many say, we should just shut it down. do you disagree?