he and i got together this past sunday night we were at a congressional research service seminar at williamsburg virginia. we got together and addressed all the freshmen together and we said we stood there next week other at the microphone and said we understand this problem with the perception of congress. cheryl: entitlement reform, many investors say that is the biggest issue you have is entitlement and it has to be addressed. it is possible to cut that? >> everything is on the table. certainly some things are more important than others, but right now we are facing a crisis coming into a time we have to raise the debt ceiling is absolutely vital that we do not hold the debt ceiling hostage. in fact, a top republican said you cannot hold the debt ceiling hostage. cheryl: it will happen. as you are well aware, this debate is coming on the debt ceiling, you will be very involved in that, what do you think you can do to advance the debt ceiling debate in the right direction of the country? >> any discussion about the debt ceiling must include a spending cut, serious discussion and movement and ac

rich edson is live from that republican retreat in williamsburg, virginia, with details. i guess are they retreating a little bit, rich? >> well, i'll tell you if their strategy passes congress, we're going to be doing this again in the next few months talking about the debt ceiling bill. this is bill the republicans plan to vote on next week. this is three-month increase in the debt ceiling contingent on both the senate and house passing a unbillion jet. republican line has been for some time, the senate failed to pass a budget in years, and they say without passing the budget they will not increase the debt ceiling nor, this bill says, will lawmakers get a paycheck. the reaction from the senate majority leader harry reid's office, good that republicans are backing off holding the economy hostage because there are no significant spending cuts in this proposal. just a three-month increase, contingent on the senate passing a budget. in a statement, they say, if the house can pass a clean debt ceiling increase to avoid default and allow the united states to meet its existin

connell: that is a good start to the discussion, we will continue to cover it out of williamsburg. thank you guys. dagen: so, lance armstrong, what was the purpose of that interview last night? oprah dropped the ball, the wheels come off her bike and he just seemed like a jerk. is that what jim gray thinks? known fonone for some very contl interviews himself. we will hear from him shortly. connell: that was well put. and even if the state income tax, one governor who wants to help business. wayne rogers loves the idea. wayne is also coming up. as "markets now" continues. just about $95 oil today. we will be right back. ♪ [ male announcer ] this is karen anjeremiah. they don't know it yet, but they' gonna fall in love, get married, have a couple of kids, [ children laughing ] move to the country, and live a long, happy life together where they almost never fight about money. [ dog barks ] because right after they get married, they'll find some retirement people who are paid on salary, not commission. they'll get straightforward guidance and be able to focus on other things, like e

lori: house republicans huddling in williamsburg at their annual retreat to squash internal fighting and hammer out a strategy to deal with the looming debt ceiling. melissa: chaos in algeria, the fate of dozens of hostages is unknown. some reportedly have escaped. fox news middle east analyst and lou dobbs will weigh in. first, time for stocks, let's check with the floor the new york stock exchange, nicole petallides is standing by. the dow just awful session highs, but not having a bad day. nicole: not bad at all. up about 90 points off of the highs of the day. was yesterday a fluke? we had five days of gains, gave back a little bit yesterday and back in the green again. look at the nasdaq up more than half a percent. the s&p 500, gains across the board. economic news for labour numbers and those were good, housing starts have been on the move as well, that was well above expectations. let's take a look at some of the homebuilders in particular, which have had a great run recently. tilden permits at multiyear highs. ben willis yesterday talking about optimism. there is a look at le

house republicans are enroute to williamsburg, virginia for their retreat. they will consider the options for the upcoming debt ceiling fight. short term increase with modest spending cuts to a 4-year increase including overhaul of the tax code and entitlement programs. back to you. tracy: sound ambitious. rich edson, glad you could stick around and talk to us. we're 29 days away from the debt ceiling d-day. ashley: we are. tracy: will be valentine's day actually. ashley: not pretty though. as you just said, tracy, less than a month away from hitting the debt ceiling. while several ideas have been floated to address it our next guest says it is time to skip the gimmicks to reach a long-term solution. wouldn't that be nice. tracy: imagine. ashley: maya mcginn necessary, committee for responsible budget and head of the campaign to fix the debt. maya, democrats came out with a new plan to eliminate the federal debt ceiling. tim geithner thinks we should eliminate it. ben bernanke thinks we should eliminate it. moody's a while ago why are we using a debt ceiling

republican leaders assemble ad man you of options they for their members in williamsburg, virginia. one. items is delaying implementation of president's health care law. savings would go to decrease the debt ceiling. there are a host of options on the table. short, three-month debt ceiling increase, with smaller amount of cuts all the way to multiyear, perhaps 4-year increase in the debt ceiling so long as it is accompanied by a major tax overhaul. and overhaul of the entitlement system. this on a day after fitch offered another warning saying a couple of things. one that the aaa credit score we have is at risk if there is another debt ceiling fight but republicans are focused at the part that says credible meaningful deficit reduction has to be part of this in order to keep the aaa credit score. house majority leader eric cantor responded to that with a statement saying, it's time for president obama to stop putting our credit rating at risk and acknowledge we need a credible deficit reduction plan attached to any increase in the debt limit. from the white house we heard from presi

republicans on thursday will have their annual conference retreat in williamsburg, virginia to discuss their debt ceiling strategy moving forward. back to you. >> and speaking of responsible bookkeeping as the president was, you're just getting word the president's budget won't be delivered by the february 4th deadline; is that right? >> yes. a spokesman for the house budget committee confirms the white house communicated to them they will not get their budget to the white house on time. this is a deadline they met in the past, although, it's not like the white house will not come out with their budget. releasing the budget. thanks so much. >> from washington to wall street now, eyebrows raisedded on wall street watching records amount of money flow from stocks as bond rates are near historic lows. is this finally the great rotation out of bonds? that question to bill o'donald, head of treasury strategy at rbs. welcome, bill. great to see you as all. >> thank you. >> the most in equities in 2008. is there a rotation. a what's your take? >> well, my take is that one of the spurs to that

this is a result of three day meeting here, the republican retreat in williamsburg virginia. this is the bill that the house will vote on next week, a three month debt ceiling increase and debt ceiling increase is contingent on the house and senate passing a budget. the senate hasn't actually passed a budget in years. the bill also withholds congressional pay without congress passing a budget. the one problem with this for a number of republicans, there really are no other spending cuts in this. remember the boehner rule dubbed the boehner rule says any increase in the debt ceiling must correspond to equal amounts in spending cuts. >> not quite the same reaction from house minority leader nancy pelosi saying: >> so the republicans are taking the debt ceiling debate moving it off a few months perhaps take place in april or may so they can focus on the automatic spending cuts set to hit the budget at the end of february those are known as sequester and also government discretionary spending authority that runs out in march. plenty of budget fights and it looks like we will be h