Billion in spending reductions fails to meet the test that the president promised the American People as a balanced approach. I hope the president will get serious about working with us on a balanced approach. Tomorrow, the house will pass legislation to make permanent tax relief for nearly every american. 99. 81 of the American People. The president can call on Senate Democrats to pass that bill, or he can be responsible for the largest tax increase in American History. Host joining us by phone is Susan Ferrechio, chief Congressional Correspondent for the washington examiner. If 51second press conference. Guest there have been press occurrences in the past where the speaker has come out and made a brief statement and not answer questions. To come out and say we are going to pass this bill and say the ball is in your court. The republicans want more cuts. I think they have shown a willingness to put tax revenue on the table. I do not think Speaker Boehner can get much more past unless there are cuts. Even the most moderate of republicans say their willingness to raise the tax rates and put revenue on the table is truly dependent on whether they feel like they are getting spending reductions they think are necessary to reduce the nations debt been begging you heard the speaker say the word balanced. That is a key word. Lets make that even. I think once both sides get to a number that is pretty close to even, i think were going to get a deal. Host what is happening today on the house floor . Guest for weeks now, some republicans have been saying what we need to do the president has been winning the p. R. Campaign on this. What we need to do is pass our own bill to put pressure on the democrats. They will come in today and they will take up a measure that will extend the bush era tax cuts for a certain segment of income earners, those who make below 1 million. It stops the overall tax cuts for everybody which is something the president has been asking for. It raises rates on socalled millionaires. That gives the president what he has been asking for, basically which is to raise taxes on people who he considers wealthy. The president has a Different Number in mind. The ones to raise rates on people earning more than 200 the ones to raise rates on people earning more than 250,000 he wants to raise rates on people earning more than 250,000. It is clear that both sides will reach a number. Both sides are bidding. We do not have a winning number yet. Host do you expect the congress to be in this weekend . Guest that is a great question. Having talked to some Republican Leadership aides, the expectation is most recently they will come in today and pass this measure, and tomorrow they have to take up some other matters. Then they will go home. Now, there is talk about them returning on the 26th and the 27 which are the days following christmas. People are speculating if the president and boehner are meeting, perhaps there can be something agreed upon or they would stay in and get the work done through the weekend. Anything is possible at this point because both sides are still talking and both sides are trying to work out something that can pass the house and the senate and be signed into law. It would require passage by the democratic minority and maybe just a small number of republicans. He really needs a number he can pass through the house with the majority of his conference. Host Susan Ferrechio is the chief Congressional Correspondent for the washington examiner. Here is an article from the c span website that explains what the votes of today are about adn the rules surrounding those votes. You could go to cspan. Org to read this article. The other issue in washington is of course the gun laws. Here is an article from the New York Times. Here is a picture of chad knox in ohio. Just a little bit from this article we want to spend this first section of the washington journal asking gun owners only to call in and whether or not they think any of the gun laws should be changed. You can see the phone numbers on your screen. You can also contact us by social media as well. Please identify yourself as a gun owner. You can make a comment on Facebook Page. Or send an email. A little bit more from this New York Times article that is in the New York Times this morning. From the Washington Post that is an the Washington Post. Gun owners only we want to hear thinkwhether or not use iyou gun laws should be changed. Caller i do not think gun laws should be changed. In new york, we are in a quandary still with the assault weapons ban. As a citizen in new york, assault weapons did not drop in new york. They still have their own assault weapons ban. You can have assault weapons in new york as long as they are manufactured before 1994. Host what kind of weapon do you own customer caller i got rid of misl weapons because it was a money thing. I have the small caliber. 22s right now. Host hi, ron. What do you think about the gun laws as a gun owner . Caller i have two weapons and i call them weapons because i served in our military. I have a critter gun to take care of small rodent. I would never consider an ar15 for that purpose and an extended clip for Something Like rabbits or groundhogs is laughable. I also own a 12 gauge shotgun. As a person who handles an assault weapon, i can tell you they are designed to maximize killing of human beings. They are not sporting weapons of any kind, and allow people to have them with extended clips is laughable. I expect members of the nra are going to continue to expel this mischaracterization of what these weapons are for. Host frank is from oklahoma. We want to show the front page of usa today this morning. Caller i do not think the laws need to be changed. I have a 380 that i carry as a concealed weapon. It is about the same size as a 9 millimeter. Host so it is a handgun. Caller i carry it as a concealed weapon and i am licensed to do that. I have a home defense weapon that i use, a model 191145 caliber semiautomatic. Host do you carry that into a weapon with you at all times . Why . Caller yes. Physicallyow and limited as far as my own self defense is concerned. There is a lot of crime in our neighborhood. The helicopters flight over here all the time chasing criminals. I would like to mention something about the sandy hook incident. I found it ironic that these people were meeting in the school for all this prayer. When prayers outlawed in school. Also, they had the high priest of abortion there giving his appeal which became very political. That is just ironic. Host a lot of the conversation is about these extended clips. How do you feel about those . Caller i have a different take on owning Assault Rifles and extended clips and things like that. We are guaranteed by our constitution bill of rights to be able to own these things. It is not necessarily for Home Protection as much as it is to be ready in case we need to refresh the tree of liberty with the blood of tyrants or to protect ourselves from invasion. I dont see anything wrong with being able to own these. I tell you what. That sandy hoook thing was such a crushing event for all of us. We have to think this stuff through more. Host have you ever had the opportunity to use your weapon or to pull it out . Caller not since vietnam. Host scott, good morning. Caller i believe the gun laws should be changed. These gunfree zones should go away. If you want to change the gun laws, those zones should go way. If i am not mistaken, the ar15 was in the car. It was not even used in the massacre. Host what kind of weapon do you own . Caller i carry a 380 lcp. I use an 870 remington pump for home defense. I use a hunting rifle which has the same caliber as an ar15. I have had to show it one time and the fellow changed his mind about wanting to get in my car with me. Host front page of the Washington Times regarding the commission that president obama announced yesterday fort pierce, florida, good morning to you. Do you think gun laws should be changed . Color coat yes,i d. Do. Er yes, i we used to go hunting, me and my friends, all the time. I cannot understand why we need assault weapons to go hunting when we just shoot rabbits and squirrels. You would have the swiss cheese. Assault weapons is nothing but to kill a massive amount of people. It is a military weapon. We are not at war here in america. I can understand that we need to arm ourselves but that weapon has no business being in the hands of the American People. That was horrible what happened to those kids over there in connecticut. If we do not stand together, we ought to throw it out the window and protect american citizens. If we cannot do that, we have failed as an American People. Host what kind of gun do you own . Caller i have a shotgun, a rifle, and a pistol. I used to keep them in the house. I dont have them in the house no more. To me, you know, and i love hunting, but assault weapons it just has no business. Host have you ever been a member of the nra . Caller no, never been a member of the nra. Host from our Facebook Page, jess says jeff says nicholas, what kind of gun do you have . Caller i have two fire armas, an ak47, and an ar15 bought as recently as yesterday. Host why did you buy one yesterday . Caller i have wanted one for some time but just didnt. In anticipation of a ban, i made the decision to go out and purchase one. That being said, i want to say i am in favor of huge increases in guncontrol law. I think one of the things that is most disturbing to me is to hear fear mongering on both sides of the conversation whether it is coming from anti gun or progun individuals. What i hear from the progun individuals is that the way to combat crime is to throw more guns at it. I could not possibly disagree more. I think there are some people who should not have guns, definitely should not have guns, this individual involved in the sandy hook tragedy. There are people who should not have the right to. I am in favor of have the background checks. Whether the money comes from the gun buyer and the cost goes up in order to get proper background checks done or you just dont buy a gun. I think a huge problem that the guns being used to commit these crimes are usually unlawfully picked up or bought. I think there was a representative of new york who made a statement saying he had out of all the gun crimes that have occurred, they found one of them in a year was actually committed by someone who illegally obtained a gun and all other crimes were committed by illegally bought weapons. Host what was your background check like when you went in to buy again yesterday . How much did it cost . You say there should be more laws about guns but you went to go by one. Caller there should be a limitation in who can purchase a gun. I think they should demonstrate that they are mentally sound mind and absolutely no criminal background record. Anything that could be a red flag for mental disturbance should immediately despite the individual from picking up a weapon. I do not believe in the right to say what weapons you can and cannot own. There is no reason to own an automatic weapon. A lot of people say there is also no reason to own a semi automatic Assault Rifle. I disagree with people saying we need it for home defense. If you choose to own a semi automatic Assault Rifle and you are safe and take safety as something that is very serious and mentally in the capacity to do that, they should have the right to do it. The difference between myself owner and theolonany other gun individual in the massacre is what is going on in their head. If we take a hardline approach to screen out these individuals, which we are not doing our system is flawed. There are people who are buying guns who should not be allowed to buy guns. Host what was the background check for you . Caller the one i bought yesterday was a 10day background check. I am in favor of longer and a much more indepth background check. California is considered to have one of the strictest. On my ak47 in oregon when i was going to the university of oregon, i had no background check. I bought that thing with a paper license and was in and out within 10 minutes. Before i could get to the door, they tried to pitch me on getting a concealed carry and buying more ammunition. Host how much was the ak47 . Caller about 450. Host here is a comment from our Facebook Page if you want to continue this conversation on our Facebook Page, you can go to facebook. Com cspan. You will be able to join in on the conversation. Do you think gun laws should be changed . Eric . Caller can you hear me . I absolutely think they should be changed. I do not think there is any reason whatsoever for anyone to own an assault weapon. There is no function for them in sportsman life at all. The only reason is for people to feel macho. I own a couple of hunting rifles and a shotgun. Host front page of the Washington Post the nra is scheduled to hold a press conference at their headquarters about 20 miles outside of washington tomorrow. There are scheduled to hold a press conference tomorrow, and cspan cameras will be there. Here is more from the Washington Post again, this is a frontpage story in to Washington Post. Next up is john in new mexico. John, tell us your story. Caller good morning. I was raised in texas, and my grandfather had a farm. A rite of passage is when a boy turns six or seven, you teach them how to shoot with a. 22. We never had more than anything with three bullets in it. We would go out in the woods with two bullets sometimes and we could shoot two deer. That is all we brought. The man had two bullets in a Double Barrel shotgun. I just do not understand. Right now i have a remington bicentennial 742 semiautomatic hunting rifle. It is probably the most beautiful rifle remington ever made. It shoots four. You can put three and the magazine. I have never needed more than one bullet. Host all that said, john, what changes would you support to the current gun laws . Caller we need to do away with all of these big clips. You take any gun and put a big magazine in it, you make it a war gun. Who buy these guns and there are so many people buying guns that do not have any business owning a gun. Whos to say who has the right to own a gun and who doesnt . That is when we get into a problem. This guy got into a fight with his wife once. This guy cannot own a gun because you get into a lot of gray areas. If we made a law where your gun can hold six shots. Period. That means your magazines have to be altered to where there is a stub in there and and it can only hold six. That would save some lives. You are not going to save all the lives. Dont forget the fertilizer bomber. He used a truck and some fertilizer. You are not going to stop the crazy man but we need to stop these easy access to these war guns better tools of mass destruction. There is no business a private citizen has with big clips or any Assault Rifles. There are at least a dozen different Assault Rifles that are relatively cheap with those big clips. That ought to make people turn them in. Host we have to leave it there. Senator Charles Schumer from new york in an op ed this morning in the Washington Post senator Charles Schumer concludes this way that is senator Charles Schumer. Randy is from california, good morning. Caller good morning. I feel the nra should not have 4 million members. I feel like they do not have a real debate for this situation. I remember watching cspan and assault weapons it had 60 days before and it was going to expire. We had immaturity house and senate for the republican party. I was really disappointed because i was so angry. Was going to buy two ak47s with a bunch of ammunition here in california. Win california decides what happens, it goes to the rest when california decides what happens, it goes to the rest of the nation. Assault weapons are too dangerous and they are not the right thing we should do. From northlene carolina, good morning. Caller good morning. I am 64. I went to go get my permits so i could purchase a firearm about a month ago. My friend started a gun making business. I wanted to support him and his family so i purchased one. A woman needs protection when she has nobody around to help. I decided because of my granddaughter that i would get a permit and help her get hers. Purchase ouro weapons from my friend who is going to help us decide what to use. I am also disabled and i own a business. I feel more comfortable that i have some way to protect myself because i cannot run. The other thing i wanted to say was that this always seems to be happening with the men. It seems like the government is easing up on taking control of defendople so they cant themselves in case of a crooked government. I know there is a lot to worry about but that is what i worry about. I am not always going to be here to try to protect my family so i want them to try to learn how to protect themselves. Host here is a reporter from the state department in the New York Times of there is a hearing live today at 1 00 p. M. On cspan3. This is a House Foreign Affairs committee about the attack on the u. S. Consulate in benghazi. This morning, the Senate ForeignRelations Committee will be holding a hearing with several stateauthorities from the department. Those to debut hearings, both live. The one at 8 00 a. M. This morning will be live on cspan 2, and the hearing at 1 00 p. M. Today at 1 00 p. M. On cspan3. From politico this