Governor advocating on behalf of the people. Were sitting in the first studio of frank lloyd wright. Wright was actually born in Richland Center in wisconsin which is not too far from here. And he was, his family took him first to massachusetts for a time, and then they returned to madison. And he grew up in madison, spent his teenage years there and attended some of, very briefly, a few years, at the university of wisconsin before he decided to take off and find his fortune in chicago. Decided he should come out to this part of the country which is where her family was, the lloyd jones, welsh pioneers, and spent his summers here. So he spent his teenage summers in this valley and on these hills, and thats where he got two things. He got his love of nature and his understanding of nature, and he also got his understanding of the topography of these hills. Watch all of our events from madison saturday at noon eastern on cspan2s booktv and sunday afternoon at two on American History tv on cspan3. Here on cspan2, were arrive at the National Press were live at the National Press club. Fcc commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel along with members of congress will start off the conversation, then well hear from leaders of various organizations representing minorities. Youre watching live coverage on cspan2. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] and this discussion on Work Force Diversity should get under way shortly here on cspan2. The u. S. Senate is out today. Heard a lot of discussion this week on the keystone xl pipeline. They will resume work on that next tuesday. Over in the house, moon while, today meanwhile, they will vote on bull cassidys bill, the congressman from louisiana, that would immediately authorize construction on the pipeline. Look for coverage, as always, over on cspan. In the meantime, while we wait for this discussion to get under way, were going to bring you some of the comments this week from senator Mary Landrieu of louisiana. I was hoping to catch the senator before he left because i wanted to ask him and im not sure hes going to slip back in here but i was going to ask him if he thought maybe, because i agree with him, that that new approach to bipartisanship could start today. I dont think we have to necessarily wait until january. There are some of us that have been ready, that have worked in a bipartisan way literally for years getting really important things done for our nation, and im sorry that the senator slipped away. Im sure hes got some other pressing business. Because i wanted to ask him and absolutely agree with him on the priorities that he just laid out. I think he just said that the American People want us to act and act together in their interest. I think i heard him say that in the top of his list that he was particularly anxious to work on was the keystone xl pipeline, the expedited export of natural gas. I think he said it was important for jobs in america, helping strengthen the middle class, sending a very positive signal to them that we heard them in this election, that he was troubled about the falling Median Household Income and wanted to do something to raise it. And i think i heard him say that he was concerned or that he was, how shall i say, he was thinking that some of these things would really push putin back on his heels. Ive been one of the ones sanctioned by president putin, and there are a few others that are on that list, so ive been of that mind for a while. I think he also said and referred to ted kennedy, one of our dear friends and mentored many of us not just democrats, but republicans as well with his straightforwardness, his honesty, his passion, his capacity for extraordinary work and his willingness to Work Across Party Lines as the senator from pointed out, called up the Great Partnership with senator kennedy and senator hatch and talked about the 80 20. Lets agree on 80 . We might not agree on everything, but lets move forward. I think what were his words on the 80 , that we do agree on. So i want to come to the floor today to ask senator cornyn from texas particularly and senator mcconnell and senator reid and others if they would join me in moving forward on the keystone xl pipeline. This has been a project that has lingered far too long. It is clearly supported by 60 or more members of this body. It is a piece of legislation that has been endorsed by the new majority leader, tobe majority leader. He is a cosponsor and a leading cosponsor of the legislation. There are a significant number of democrats on that legislation, and i believe with a push, significant push in the next few hours, that we could actually get the votes that we need to pass the Keystone Pipeline. Now, in an hour or so at the request of the minority, im going to wait for about an hour, and then im going to propose a unanimous consent to do exactly that, to set up two hours of debate tonight after the vote and then have a vote on the Keystone Pipeline tomorrow. I believe it is time to act. I believe that we should take the new majority leader at his word and stop blocking legislation that is broadly supported by the American Public and has been for quite some time. I want to say yes to majority leader, new majority leader mitch mcconnell. The time to start is now. The public has clearly spoken. And i believe that we can move forward on several important pieces of legislation. Senator reid mentioned the marketplace fairness act. That is another very important piece of legislation that i believe needs to be moved through, and with a little push right now, it could get tone, and it would be a significant boost to business and retail that are being hurt every day by our inaction. But my comments today are going to to be about the Keystone Pipeline because i am chair of the Energy Committee for the United States senate. And im going to do everything in my power here and at home on the campaign trail where im still in a runoff, as you know, to get this project moving forward. One of the extraordinary facts about the Keystone Pipeline is not what it is and im going to talk about this in a minute and what it does but one of the most extraordinary pieces of argument for why we should pass it is the Unprecedented Coalition that supports it. Now, there are other bills that have a longer list of supporters. There are pills that have pages and pages there are bills that have pages and pages of list. But this particular bill has a relatively short list of organizations, but they are extremely powerful, and they are extremely diverse which makes it compelling, and i think it makes us or should make us want to stand up and respond to this coalition. Im going to read their names, because ive got some time to do this before i call for unanimous consent to pass the original hoevenlandrieu keystone bill which is a standaa loan keystone bill as originally introduced with 45 republican cosponsors, every member of the Republican Caucus is already a cosponsor of this bill. And we have on that bill about 12 democratic cosponsors. And i am confident that we have the additional votes necessary to pass it. The american chemistry council, the american concrete pipe association, the american exploration and production council, the american highways users alliance, the American Petroleum institute, the american road and transportation builders, american truckers association, associate general contractors of america, association of oil pipelines, concrete reinforcing steel institute, distribution contractors association, independent Petroleum Association of america, Industrial Minerals association of north america, institute for 21st century 21st century energy, International Brotherhood of electrical workers, Laborers International union of north america, and let me stop there and make a point. Many bills that pass here or are attempted to pass here either have a list of all business organizations or all labor organizations or all environmental organizations or all, you know, highway contractors. This bill has such an extraordinary, Diverse Group of some of the strongest Business Leaders in the country, and i want to underscore to my democratic colleagues that are supporting this piece of legislation tremendous support from labor unions. Because labor unions, like Business Leaders, want jobs. They want profits. They want success. They want more investment in business creating good middle class jobs. And the difference between the oil and gas industry, which ive been pleased to be a strong advocate for in many, many different facets, is that this industry does produce the kinds of jobs that americans really want. Not minimum wage jobs, not just slightly above minimum wage, but jobs that in my state the senator knows this because hes well aware of this start at 60, 70, 85,000 for a young man or a young woman coming out of high school or trade school, let alone college. These are very important jobs. Thats why labor unions are represented here along with Portland Cement association, the plastics industry, the united senator landrieu on the floor this week talking about the keystone xl pipeline bill which will come up for debate in the senate next tuesday. Itll come up for a final vote today in the u. S. House. Look for coverage at noon eastern over on cspan. Here on cspan2, were waiting for this discussion hosted by politico hosted by politic335, rather, on Workplace Diversity. Theyll hear from a number of members of congress and fcc commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel and that should get, this discussion should get under way shortly. Well have it live for you here on cspan2. In the meantime, a day ahead of the start of the second year of open enrollment for the Affordable Care act, we focused on that this morning on washington journal. Well show you some of that discussion. Host Jayne Odonnell is with usa today, a Health Care Reporter for that newspaper. Open enrollment begins tomorrow. Is it going to be ready . Are the sites going to be ready . Guest well, i think its going to be as ready as it can possibly be. All the works been done. Were all waiting to see, and im sure the folks in the government are nervous but probably not as nervous as they were last year because theres been so much more testing. Its incredible. I think its weeks and weeks compared to ten days. Host its march 23, 2010, that the president signed the aca. Guest been a long time ago. Host whats the consensus on its success . Guest boy, its still pretty divided. Theres, certainly, listening to your callers and talking to people regularly, people are pretty divided. Its very politically polarized, as you well know. I hear from people, you tend to hear from people that are unhappy more than people that are happy. Ive heard from a certain number of people that even if theyre unhappy with certain aspects like the difficulty of finding the doctor that they really want in a plan that they can afford, thats a big concern. But some people are getting care they never could have gotten, so i do hear from a fair number of people that would be bankrupt if it wasnt for the law. I do tend to hear from people who are unhappy about how much theyre paying out of pocket. Host new republican majority, house and senate. How is that going to affect the aca . Guest you didnt hear it as much on the campaign trail this year. It wasnt the big, hot button issue that some expected maybe a year ago it was expected it would be. I dont what im hearing is that there isnt going to be the mood to or even the its not likely to be repealed. There are probably going to be changes made. There are probably changes that everyone would agree should be made, certain loopholes closed. But youll be hearing some about it, but i dont think its going to be the priority it wasnt was. Host Supreme Court. Whats going to happen up there . Guest goodness, i certainly dont know that. Certainly, i would tell consumers even though the Supreme Court is going to look at whether the subsidies are, in fact, legal, if youre a state that didnt set up your own exchange, the everythings going to go as it is now. No matter what the Supreme Court does, the consumer shouldnt do anything different. They should still, what is it, about 80 percent of people are eligible for sub cities that buy on subsidies on the government exchanges, so people should still pursue those subsidies. Host is that the only case on health care that the Supreme Court is going to hear in the next session . Guest boy, im not a Supreme Court reporter. Thats the only one im aware of. Thats the big one and now, Jayne Odonnell, before we go back to calls, i want to point this out. Usa today has devoted a page and a half guest right. Host to your story this morning, and its on rural hospitals. Rural hospitals in critical condition, this is the front page of the usa today this morning. Is this because of the aca . Guest well, some of them say its a little bit of the last straw. It certainly isnt because of the aca. Rural hospitals have been in decline for a number of years, but its been accumulation of things, just kind of the death spiral theyve been in. Some of them, one of the hospitals i went to, richland, georgia, right up the street from plains, georgia, and their little hospital there the owner said that the Electronic Health records were kind of the last straw which are required under the Affordable Care act. But it largely, you know, the populations that theyre serving, theyre serving very poor populations that are on medicare or medicaid and, of course, georgias one of the states that didnt expand medicaid. Expansion of medicaid would probably make a big difference, but it wouldnt save a lot of these hospitals. Host and you have a chart in here of some of the hospitals that are closing. Lets show this. It looks is it centered down in the south . Guest it certainly does seem to be. There is a lot of it in the south. Of course, the south is also where theres been the least medicaid expansion. There were a lot of these hospitals. Its really ive covered Health Care Just over a year. Ive been a reporter for a long time, but there are just so many issues that go into this, and you just, you feel it can be rather depressing, and ive covered a lot of depressing things in my career, but theres so much that needs to be done in these areas. Peoples health so bad, and theyre not getting the care they need. So they certainly need to be getting some Preventive Care and Healthy Lifestyle changes, frankly. Host Jayne Odonnell im crystal hye, cofounder and editorinchief of politic365. Com. Today in addition to the release of our second blueprint policy report, well embark on a conversation about some of the policies and best practices that should be implemented and, in some case, replicated nationwide in order to insure greater Economic Opportunity for people of color and young people. Following my introduction, the report will have some remarks from members of congress. Were joined right now by congresswoman Donna Edwards who well be hearing from soon, and well also have the opportunity to do broader conversation between all of you here today, and so we thank you for coming. You know, as our National Landscape shifts, we find that people of color and young people play an even more Critical Role in dictating the socioeconomic health, vitality and Global Competitiveness of our country. We thank you for joining us today, and we look forward to parsing out some ideas and strategies for better positioning our communities and our country for greater opportunities and future successes. So a little context. Four and a half years ago politic365 launched just ought months before the 2010 midterm midterm just eight months before the 2010 midterm elections. Our goal was twofold. First, we wanted to create a place where people of color, especially our youth and young adults, could go to understand the key issues of the day and how decisions made by our elected and appointed officials impact their lives. Second, in addition to demystifying what can admittedly at times be a mindnumbing political process, we wanted to create a platform that uplifted leaders of color and helped them better serve their constituents by empowering people with information relevant to their lives and livelihoods. So we fast forward to today. And while we remain ever faithful to our founding principles, were even more committed to engaging, educating and empowering young people and people of color to become more active participants in the policy decisions that shape their daily realities. Particularly in view of changing demographics, it is neither prudent, nor practical for this nations growing majority of young people and people of color to sit on the sidelines while other people whose interests and outlook may not be our own or whose vision does not align with the greatest hopes and aspirations that we have for ourselves to dictate the p