FROM CNN WIRES:
Washington (CNN) - On one side were pegboard panels mounted with various assault rifles and semi-automatic weapons - including a Bushmaster similar to the one used in last month's Newtown school massacre.
Behind the stage stood police officers supporting a renewed ban on such firepower. One by one, victims of gun violence told their brief stories and expressed support for a new federal ban being proposed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein on some assault rifles and semi-automatic weapons.
Almost six weeks after the Connecticut shooting rampage that killed 20 first graders, Feinstein said she planned to introduce her measure later Thursday, with Reps. Carolyn McCarthy of New York and Ed Perlmutter of Colorado doing the same in the House.
Feinstein's proposal would upgrade an assault weapons ban that expired in 2004 and also outlaw ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.
She said the goal is to "dry up the supply of these weapons over time."
This morning on "Early Start," CNN's Paul Steinhauser looks at the details of Sen. Feinstein's plan and the public support for this type of assault weapons ban.
READ MORE: 'Enough is enough,' Feinstein says in proposing new gun ban
It was like the first day of school on Capitol Hill yesterday as new members of the 113th Congress were sworn into the Senate and the House. Among the freshmen joining the House was Republican Representative Ron DeSantis of Florida's 6th Congressional District. DeSantis was one of less than a dozen newly elected members of the house who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan. He's also a Jag Officer in the U.S. Navy. Hopefully, he's prepared for upcoming battles in the House. Representative DeSantis joins us now to talk about his first day on the job, and what he plans to work on. First off, he says he would not have voted for the fiscal cliff deal passed earlier this week.
Members of the 113th Congress will be sworn in today. There will be twelve new members in the Senate, adding three Republicans, and eight Democrats with one Independent. Eighty three new members will be joining the House, 34 Republicans, and 49 Democrats. Democrats retain control of the Senate and Republicans will retain control of the House of Representatives in the 113th Congress. Among the 49 newly elected Democratic freshman representatives is Representative-elect Ami Bera, from the 7th Congressional District in Sacramento County, California. He joins “Early Start” live from Washington this morning.
The House passed the Senate approved fiscal cliff legislation late last night with a 257 to 167 vote. Rep. Jeff Landry is a Republican from Louisiana and a member of the Tea Party Caucus. He voted against the bill and joins “Early Start” this morning to explain his reasons.
Landry says he was opposed to raising taxes on anyone, “but we're hiding the fact that we're spending way more than we're taking in.” He stresses the failure of the bill to work on the “16.8 trillion deficit and debt we acquired on the backs of future generations;” the looming debt ceiling fight ahead. “The sad part about it,” he says, “all we did was basically take us off one cliff, only to put us on one that's much higher.”
Landry also expresses disappointment in Speaker Boehner, criticising him for allowing the president to undo the promises he made after the 2010 elections. “The president was able to get the speaker to undo everything he promised he would do for the American people over the last Congress.”
All eyes are on the House this morning. Shortly after ringing in the New Year and plunging off the fiscal cliff, the Senate voted on a plan to avert it. But the question of 2013 is whether the House will follow suit. Congressman Jason Altmire is a Democrat from Pennsylvania. He's a Blue Dog Democrat, and therefore a fiscal conservative. Altmire, who is considered to be one of the most independent voters in the house, has crossed party lines before and is willing to do so to work with getting stuff done. He's also retiring at the end of this session. We hear from him live from D.C. this morning.
Rep. Altmire confidently says he will vote for the Senate approved fiscal cliff bill if it comes to the floor unamended. "I think you will get most all Democratic votes on the house, if they allow it to come to the floor. I think half the Republicans, maybe slightly more. This will pass if they allow it to come up to a vote.”
This morning, we wait with bated breath to see if a fiscal cliff deal worked out between Vice President Biden and Senate Republicans can pass the House later today. Ron Meyer is Spokesperson for the conservative group, American Majority Action. Long critical of how Boehner has been handling fiscal cliff negotiations, his group has suggested that Speaker Boehner resign for proposing his Plan B. Meyer weighs in live from D.C. this morning.
Meyer had correctly predicted very early on that the House would not pass Speaker Boehner’s Plan B measure. He offers his ideas about whether the bill that passed the Senate last night will pass the House this time around. “It could pass the House, but it definitely doesn’t have the majority of the GOP caucus right now,” Meyer says. He predicts that “at least 100 Republicans...will vote against this if they bring it up as proposed by the Senate.”
Meyer also speaks about the impact this fiscal cliff deal will have on young Americans who will feel the consequences down the road. “For people who actually care about saving my generation from a huge amount of debt, this bill is a complete joke,” Meyer says. “That's one of the things where I think House Republicans get it, where at least I mean the majority of our caucus gets it, where we're going to stand up against this plan because it's bad for young people, bad for our future. It's bad for the rest of America too.” Meyer believes a core group of Republicans will defend the idea that “this plan is gonna hurt and bankrupt our generation…and try to get a real solution done.”
Meyer also criticizes Grover Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform, for his role in the fiscal cliff talks. “He endorsed Plan B. And guess what?” he asks. “We shot it down. We had more than 50 Republicans against that bill. Grover Norquist’s power…it’s just Washington created. It’s media created.” Meyer further says the idea that Norquist is “some sort of magician behind the curtain is an absolute fallacy.”
Only six days remain now until the U.S. falls over the fiscal cliff. Even with time dwindling, President Obama and our lawmakers in Congress went off for Christmas vacation. The president will leave Hawaii very late tonight to come back to D.C. For an update on the House and Senate, “Early Start” hears from Congresswoman Nan Hayworth, a Republican from New York and a member of the Financial Services Committee.
Rep. Hayworth discusses the hopes of reaching a compromise within the Republican party with so little time left to work out a deal. "The common link that we all have is that we wanna see 23 million unemployed or under-employed Americans go back to work," she says. "And the only way to do that is to provide relief for our employers, small ones, big ones."
Rep. Hayworth says the onus is now on the Senate, which returns to work tomorrow. “We have to wait on the Senate at this point,” she says, “and that’s our challenge.”
House Speaker John Boehner's “Plan B” to avert the fiscal cliff failed to garner enough support from Republican leadership yesterday. The proposal would have extended Bush era tax cuts for Americans that make less than one million dollars. But the vote was ultimately postponed. Then the House went into recess for Christmas, and went home. Congressman Joseph Crowley is a Democrat from New York. He joins “Early Start” live from Washington this morning with the latest.
Only 11 days remain until the United States falls over the fiscal cliff, but a deal is still pending. House Speaker John Boehner's “Plan B” failed to garner enough support from Republican leadership yesterday. The proposal would have extended Bush era tax cuts for those making less than one million dollars, but a vote on it never happened. Rep. Michael Burgess is a Republican from Texas. He's also a medical doctor who's the Chairman of the Congressional Health Care Caucus. Rep. Burgess joins us live from Washington this morning with more.
Rep. Burgess reflects on the epic opposition Speaker Boehner faced from his own party when he tried to get the House to vote on his Plan B legislation. “It was unlike anything I have seen in my brief ten years here in the nation’s capital,” he says. He says he expected a last minute conference to whip people into shape, "but this was not that."
Rep. Burgess also believes the outcome is “clearly what the president wanted.” “The president has wanted the tax increases that are going to start on January first. He’s wanted the cuts into defense that are going to kick in with the sequester,” Rep. Burgess says. “I really believe this is what the White House has wanted all along.” Rep. Burgess thinks the president has barely engaged in the fiscal cliff talks in Congress. “The president has a lot of power, and unfortunately in this case, it was only between him and the speaker.”
Just 25 days away from the looming fiscal cliff, all eyes are on talks in Washington. The New York Times is reporting private negotiations between House Speaker John Boehner and President Obama. And the latest shakeup in politics is the resignation of Republican Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina. Who will fill his seat?
Ryan Lizza is a CNN Contributor and Washington Correspondent for The New Yorker. Lizza comes to the studio this morning with his take.
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