>> whatever you want to call it. organized crime. >> that's total crap. who told you that. >> dad i've lived in the house all my life. i've seen police come with warrants. i've seen up go occupant at 3:00 in the morning. >> so? >> do the kids find $50,000 in gold and a .45. >> as you can imagine cast mates and friends are shocked and devastated. edie falcone sent this. i am shocked and devastated by jim's passing, i consider him a friend. the love between tony and carmela was one of the greatest i've ever known. soprano as creator called gandolfini a genius. gandolfini won three elm egypt's

as tony soprano. and james lipton said on "morning joe" today and he was true talent. >> he made it took easy all great actors make it took easy and he made it took easy. people thought that's jaime gandolfini. he was acting brilliantly. >> joining me right now by telephone with new developments from rome is nbc's claudio lavanga. what more do we know about the circumstance around his death? >> reporter: we found occupant that he was staying at a central rome hotel. last night in his hotel room with his son michael, a 13-year-old son, some say about 10:00 in the evening local time which was 4:00 in the afternoon eastern time, he felt unwell in the bathroom of the hotel room.

michael saw that and called out for help immediately. hotel staff rushed out to the room and found gandolfini lying on the bathroom floor. he was still alive as the director of the hotel told us this morning but became immediately clear that he needed salah osman ahmed cal attention. that's why they called an ambulance right away. the ambulance came and then at the same time the sister of gandolfini arrived as well and saw the scene. they all rushed to the hospital where a doctor there told us he arrived, his heart, when he arrived wasn't beating already. so he was dead when he arrived at the hospital and pronounced dead despite the attempt by the doctors there to resuscitate him. of course the family now are

close in their grief. they wouldn't talk to the media. they left that job to a friend of theirs doing a press conference in i had name. this is what he had to say. >> first aid was administered before mr. gandolfini was taken to the hospital we died of an apparent heart attack. our prayers and condolences go to mr. gandolfini's family and friends. we ask you all to please respect the family's privacy at this difficult time. he was found in his room by his family. >> reporter: now we spoke to the director of the emergency ward at the hospital where the body of gandolfini lies in a morgue in the center of rome. he told us that today, his body underwent an autopsy which is a common practice when somebody has a heart attack. obviously the autopsy will come

out tomorrow and after that he will be cleared for the family to take the body back home. >> thank you. i want to bring into our conversation now tv critic for hit fix. he's the author of "the revolution." thanks for joining me. this is a gut punch to the entertainment world and fans of gandolfini. in your book you called "the sopranos" that show the one that started the revolution in tv dramas how we have them now. how did the character, the tony soprano character and gandolfini's portrayal pave the way for anti-heroes that we hold up so dearly in tv. >> for decades that were unwritten rules how flawed a character could be. you had to be redeemable. you had to be good guy. tony soprano was never a good guy. he this certain sympathetic

qualities. overall he was a sociopath and the show was unapologetic about that. the fact that we watched the show and we loved it so much told the industry that hey wait a minute, maybe the old rules don't apply any more and maybe we can be more adventurous and try more things like we got with the wire and breaking bad and "madmen." >> watercooler show the next day. however it's been said alan that gandolfini had a dark side. he would disappear. one much his co-stars happened to be on the "today" show and touched on that. i want to show everybody. take a look. >> there was a time that we were supposed to shoot a scene where my character basically wants to kill him. wants to throw him into a propeller blade. he disappeared. no one knew where he was for a few days. and it was -- it was his own -- he wrote me a wonderful letter after that saying, you know, you were there for me and i wasn't

there for you and i apologize. >> there more of a side to james gandolfini that we didn't know about? we certainly feel we know him from his portrayal of that character. >> jim had a temper, he had some demons. he struggled with those while making the show. he was also a really shy and reserved and generous individual as well. you hear all the time when you talk to the crew anyone who has worked with him, he was really salt of the earth in terms of his celebrity. he was always uncomfortable it not because he was aloof or arrogant didn't think such a big deal should be made about him doing his job. he told my colleagues would you ask a guy who drives a truck how he does it. he was complicated. when he had darker moments he could channel that into the character and he helped push david chase to make tony a darker more uncompromising

character. >> one thing also being remembered, he produced two documentaries about veterans issues for hbo. so what more about gandolfini's life and career can be held up for his legacy? so many people would attribute "the sopranos" and that character to him. he has a bigger legacy than him. >> any time you saw him in a movie it was a small part. yet you would walk away saying who was that or after "the sopranos" you would say wow gandolfini was great. he tried to channel his celebrity into doing things like that documentsary. he was just so proud he was able to put these wounded veterans out there in a platform and get people to watch their stories because he was tony soprano. >> we hope hbo do a marathon of soprano episodes so we can binge on it. thank you for your insights on the actor and the man james

gandolfini. >> still ahead the house votes down a democratic amendment to the farm bill and cuts the food stamp program by $2 billion. other republican amendments would make it harder for americans to get the assistance they need. congresswoman wasserman-schultz will talk about whether the republican policies is alienating women, minorities and the poor. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] for dad's first job as dad. nissan tests hundreds of child seats to give you a better fit and a safer trip. snug kids, only from nissan. ♪ what makes a sleep number store different? what makes a sleep number you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. they say, "well, if you wanted a firm bed you can lie on one of those. if you want a soft bed you can lie on one of those."

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luke russert is joining me on the phone now. >> reporter: things are moving forward, thomas. the importance of this, above all else is politics. the immigration reform bill they want to get to 70 votes. they want overwhelming supportive measure coming out of the senate for the house gop to punt the bill. one of the big issues the house gop has about this border security issue, they said it was not secure enough. john boehner called some of the provisions laughable earlier this week. this group of senators came up with this idea, all right, why don't we do this. why don't we double the size of the u.s. border patrol, have 700 miles of border fernsing and make the e verify program stronger and whatnot. it's been dub ad border surge plan. it's something that schumer, mccain pushed back on last week saying no we can't go that

route. but now maybe this is the only way we can get that magical 70 number that we need to have in order to push the house gop forward perhaps this is the way to do it and democrats are saying right now maybe we're not giving away the entire farm, if you will by going with this approach. >> senator john cornyn brought together his ideas for border security that had been dubbed a bit too costly. other people dubbed that to be poison pill. why has there bean reversal. why have they been able to carve out the fund and been able to agree with more border security. >> it made it so incredibly difficult to get to the pathway to citizenship and that really is the entire game here. democrats and immigration reform advocates want any time bill to have that pathway to citizenship that's clearly marked. they said the cornyn bill would

be too difficult. i want comes on the heels of cbo report that immigration would be beneficial for the economy. the idea here is all right if this is going to be beneficial to the economy overall, why don't we find some funds within the budget which can to be done when they really want to do it. it's a dirty secret here on capitol hill. why not find the funds to double the border patrol, get the 700 miles of fencing and in order to get that pathway to citizenship. folks are sort of saying that apieces both sides and honestly at the end of the day the political players in the gop that need though to happen who want to see their future election prospects more bountiful, they are pulling the strings a little bit on this as well. >> what's been the post-results of speaker boehner meeting with the hispanic caucus yesterday? >> from talking to folks they said it was productive, he heard them out and he understands the issue. boehner has been around here

since 1990. he was involved in this to some degree when it was trying to be done in the bush administration back in '07. john boehner's real problem he has over 150 something members that have a very small percentage of latinos in their district, people that are going to be affected by immigration reform. they are pretty much lined up against this because they don't necessarily -- it doesn't sell well to their constituents too much. he has to be able to bring this through. what he said the other day was very significant, this whole idea of, you know, we're going with the majority of the house republican conference. that's very significant and can't be down played at all. if that's what we're going to be standing by here on capitol hill the prospects of even this bill with the border surge going through are very difficult. >> right. luke russert. thank you. i appreciate it, buddy. the house is expected to vote today on a farm bill from the

agricultural committee that would impact millions who use food stamps. republicans want to cut money from the s.n.a.p. program. 2 million people would lose their benefits. one would require drug testing for food stamp recipients. another adds new work requirements. another would create a food stamp registry. >> self-reliance means if anyone will not work neither should he eat. >> really poor children in really poor neighborhoods have no habits of working. and have nobody around them who works. they have no habit of do this and you give me cash. unless it's illegal. >> teach a man how to fish he can feed himself for a life. don't simply feed fish. >> joining me right now for our sound off segment nbc contributor goldie taylor. it's great to see you.

as we know house speaker john boehner is delivering a speech on the economy today yet house to want to cut money for hungry kids, disabled adults, struggling seniors, 200,000 kids would be kicked off the school launch program. prebs won't talk about a gun strij but want one for food stamps. this is a big dichotomy going on. >> it's remarkable that they want to invade the privacy because i happen to be poor in this country that want somehow i open up my life, my private life to the federal government. i think, at the end of the day we haven't had a meaningful farm bill since 2008, since this president was elected and there are some reasons for that. obstruction is one. disconnection with this nation's poor. one in five children in this country lives in poverty which means, you know, there is no guarantee that there's going dinner tonight, breakfast in the morning or lunch in the afternoon and that's something you and i thomas can counts on every day. under the house bill we see that

they want to cut the food stamp subsidy for exist families to $3 a day. that's about a $1 a meal. i'm not sure any of us can feed our families on that kind of money. they want to readjust or tighten the income requirements for receiving food stamps. that will quick 2 million families off the s.n.a.p. roles leaving them with no other resource outside of maybe the local church pantry which my mother works at a church pantry, those shelves are getting thinner and thinner every day. >> listen to how they are selling this. be republican congressman pete sessions said and the comments they pretty much speak for themselves. take a look. >> what we're trying to accomplish is to end eligibility of food stamps that compete against those families, those needy families that we talked about for rapists, pedophiles and murderers. whether rapist, pedophiles or

murderers will be eligible. but its pedophiles, murderers, rapists, those who have, should have enough money -- >> what's your response to that goldie? >> i think it is a systemic risk to demonization of our nation's poor to say that people who are poor also happen to be disproportionately rapists or murderers. that isn't the case. at the end. day, you know, we are talking about shoring up or putting more money no an already cash rich crop insurance program and stripping money away from need i families. you know the farm bill first initiated during the great depression was mean to have a two fold impact. one to make sure we have strong domestic production in terms of our farming and two to make certain we address the nation's neediest to make sure children and families receive the proper nutrition. with the proper nutrition you have a greater stronger economic

outlook. stew dips show children who enter school without breakfast, children who enter school and don't have a great lunch tend not to flourish and grow economically as they move into their adult lives and so if you can just make those small impacts on a child's life then you're looking to improve childhood public health, you're look toimg prove the way they perform in school you're looking the way they perform out in the world. i think this is really, really a bad grd our gop. >> we'll leave it on that note. the senate did pass its version last week that includes a $400 million annual cut. one fifth of the house's cut. we'll see where it goes from here. goldie taylor thank you. officials reverse a subway and a bus fare hike but will it stop the massive anti-government protests that's being witnessed in brazil. new allegations of sexual assault in the military. three midshipman at the naval

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♪ after all, what's the point of talking if you don't have something important to say? ♪ . ing market alert to pass along. take a look at this. stocks on wall street, red arrows. the dow jones down by 236 points on top of the 200 points that were lost in the last session. the selloff was triggered by comments from ben bernanke that the fed bank could wind down its bond-buying program. the dow we're watching it, it's down 231 points. want to take you back to the developing news. in the senate word of a border surge deal from the gang of eight breathing a lot of new life into the immigration talks and this deal could come within hours. if we take a look at this politico headline it says house

on gang of eight bill whatever. joining me right now is congresswoman debra wasserman-schultz. we'll investigate that politico headline and get your reaction. great to have you here. as we talk about this so-called border surge deal would double the number of border agents and ensure fernsing is completed. it was written by republican senators corker and hogan. no bill would go the floor with majority support from republicans. do you think the plan in the senate has any chance of surviving the house with congressman like steve king using words like amnesty and people we saw yesterday out front on the capitol trying to say immigrants are more about takers than they are makers. >> well thomas if you look at the fact that republicans, that president obama was re-elected with 71% of the hispanic vote in this country, and that the words that republicans have used to

try to seem like they have a softer approach to dealing with the issues for the hispanic community their deeds are certainly the opposite. last week the amendment passed by steve king on the homeland security appropriations bill that would reverse president obama's bill on dreamers, that would undo you prioritization how we deport undocumented immigrants. it takes away any priority. you have the speaker like you said who this week said that he doubts any major immigration reform bill can pass at all. then you had a huge rally led by steve king on the grounds of the capitol yesterday with tea party extremists who actually hurled an insult at my colleague, a republican from miami and yelled at him during a press conference he should speak english when in their mine he had the nerve to actually say a few words in

spanish. the out of touch extreme republican party is just over and over doubling down on how they really could care less about the priorities of hispanics in this country, and it's why our party will continue to benefit. >> how did the congressman react to that? >> you know, i know belard very well. he took it in stride. it's yet another example of the stranglehold that the tea party extremists have on the republican party. they've not changed. they didn't get the message from the voters who clearly chose president obama and democrats direction for this country and they continue to show, give the back of the hand to hispanics in this country, all across america every single day. >> up heard the word amnesty alive. you heard the calls for mr. president make that wall higher. calling immigrants takers. >> this is in spite of the fact

that president obama has the most border patrols and border security deployed at the border of any previous president. has cracked down on employers who are tracking down undocumented immigrants and hiring them. these folks don't get it. >> we have 11 million illegal immigrants being deported and ad voluntary indicates are very angry at the president for this because 410,000 undocumented workers were deported last year. that's an all time high in this country. do you think we're basically on the same path as we were before the 2012 election because we got foot dragging on immigration reform. we got people on the right talking about a woman's right to choose. remarks about homophobia. seems like we're deja vu all over again. >> the republican party in congress have put their extremism and extremist agenda on steroids. they put at the top of their

agenda not jobs not getting the economy turned around but voting to make sure we can reach into the personal lives of women just yesterday to prohibit them from making their own personal health care decisions. their ignorance and their extremism is shocking, and it's just going to don't give democrats an opportunity to show voters that we have their best interests at heart and that we fight for the middle class and working families and that's what president obama and congressional democrats will continue to do. >> thanks for make being time for me. coming up next our agenda panel will dig deeper on the border deal. president obama promising action on climate change but is it a change we can believe in? that and much more next. [ male announcer ] moving object detection. ♪ blind spot warning. ♪ lane departure warning. safety, down to an art. the nissan altima

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today's agenda panel and joining us a reporter from salon and soon to be reporter for msnbc.com. the executive editor of liberal oasise. the producer for "the rachel maddow show." it's great to have you here. obviously immigration is a hot topic right now on the hill with the senate taking up this border surge topic and security issues that have been raised about this. as we one it it will double the size of border patrol requiring 700 miles of border fernsing n-cluds this e-verify compromise. do you think this is going to be what it takes to get everybody on board and to get the house excited about getting organized. >> well, the best kind of compromise we can hope for. something has to happen to get more republicans on board. it has to get through the house or it's not going to happen pinpoint needs a big vote in the senate to get to the house. if they can have a compromise that doesn't make the path to citizenship more are a duous.

you'll still have flow of illegal immigration to this country. doesn't matter if we double border patrol. if you can get here through legitimate purposes that stuff is a side show. should be enough to keep the left in place and have real compromise. >> one of the senators leading the charge is bob corke. if i play a part of what he had to say. >> for people who are concerned about border security, once they see what is in this bill, it's almost over kill, peter. i think if that's the issue that people have, i think everyone working together has come up with a way to deal with that issue. there's members on our side that i think this is going to meet their test from the standpoint of border security. >> so how is this any different from what we've seen last week with john cornyn coming out with what he wanted to see for situational awareness and the

phrases that he was using about border security and john mccain came out basically said well it's not going work it will cost too much we don't have the funds for that. where will they get the money. >> interesting how the fiscal responsibility goes out the door when it comes to militaryizing the border. there's a major concern here that by dragging the bill to the right it's going to die lut it and at the same time a lot of republicans won't vote for it. senator durbin raised the concern that he only sees right turns from here to the path to through and that doesn't necessarily guarantee that the house is going to vote interest. house republicans seem pretty again it. i think that there's -- the border security circumstances a red herring. doesn't deal with the visa over stays. the board certificate plenty secure right now. if this is what it takes to pass it great but it's overstated as a security concern. >> we saw yesterday the all day dissent rally basically from the house side of things and take a look at what happened when marco rubio's name was mentioned.

>> they broke american law. that's why they get all this money. now you can ask what, well senator rubio says that they are going to have to pay -- [ audience booing ] >> all right so booing there senator marco rubio's name. we just heard from congresswoman debra wasserman-schultz when her colleague belard was there spoke in spanish he was chastised and said you should speak english. is this vocal minority of tea party patriots going to steal away any compromise on immigration reform on the house side? >> certainly think the congressional republicans, the contingent that poses immigration reform hopes so. they are running out of excuses. there's a bipartisan bill so there's already republican buy in. yesterday we got a report from the congressional budget office about the cost bill and it will

reduce the deficit. the notion the legislation will cost too much has been taken off the table. if we go what senator corker talks about over kill, it's not clear what it is the republicans will complain about. they have nothing left in way of excuses to criticize this bill, all of their concerns have been addressed. at this point it's just a matter of ideology, but frankly at this point i don't know what else they have to say. >> meanwhile while this is all taking place it seems as if the president is getting ready to push major policy changes when it comes to climate control and we heard from his speech in ber in there other day how it was bringing up the responsibility we need to show for this and now we that have "new york times" article saying obama readying a missions limits on power plants, regulations that limit the carbon dioxide from existing power plants and is it kprat to

say, bill, that these power plants are looking for some type of discipline and a guide to move forward? >> well they have been i want to for a while. they recognize that you negotiate a fair agreement now you get long term certainty. that's what they've been looking for. that's why this is such a big deal. much bigger deal than keystone. keystone is one defensive play to stop one project. this is an offensive play to win the whole ball game. power plants is the biggest source of gas emissions. they want to play ball. if obama can lock it in with the epa. it's a huge step forward. >> is that the biggest takeaway republicans can't do anything about it? >> president obama promised in his state of the union speech that even if congress didn't act he would act on climate change and this is finally taking action from the executive standpoint from agencies in the administration that have the power to do this.

it's similar to immigration reform in that it requires some long term thinking as opposed to short term political gain. unfortunately with the state of republicans in congress this is the only way to get anything done. >> is the president crazy like a fox to bring this up now or what? >> well i think that at this point in terms of second term agenda immigration is looking shaky. congress can't pass much much anything. this could be the real solid goal that he can get done in his second term and he doesn't necessarily need congress to do it. the state of the union address is important. he said to congress if you don't act on this i will. i don't think he was bluffing. this is his opportunity to make a major mark. by all indications he'll follow through. >> i want to say thanks to our agenda panelists. thank you so much. if you didn't get enough of our agenda panel find more from them on our website.

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>> at day another investigation into military sexual assault charges. three navy football players were charged with sexually assaulting a woman a year ago. when the case was first reported the navy did not press charges. it's re-opened now amid a flood of ug lir investigations so some that go straight to the top. the officer in charge of sexual assaults was charged with groping a woman in a parking lot. an army sergeant and self-prevention coordinator was accused of sex crimes and that investigation is ongoing. these cases add fuel for lawmakers who want policies alibi tupds within the military changed. one advocate for change, jackie speier. congresswoman it's great to have you here. the house approving two year mandatory prison sentence for being convicted of sexual assault. from latest pentagon report most

cases aren't reported. while punishment does matter is the real problem changing the culture and fear of reporting because of retribution within our ranks? >> exactly. in fact, only about 3,000 of the 26,000 cases are reported and of those 3,000 cases only about 500 go to court martial and about 200 get convictions. so it becomes a career ender for most persons who actually file a complaint. >> so some would argue the only way to make victims safer to report these crimes and to take the bias out of prosecution is to remove these case from within the chain of command. but the much heated debate the senate armed services committee decided the military still needs to handle its own classes and senator mccaskill is defending that vote on "morning joe" today. take a look. >> anybody who thinks what we did in the armed services committee is coddling the pentagon does not understand.

we've created a crime of retaliation and i firmly believe and this is an honest disagreement about which is stronger for victims, i believe there's less chance of a victim being retaliated against when the commander remains in the process at the beginning. >> so, while retribution is now criminal is that a valid point that the senator is making that they stay involved? >> i have the highest respect with senator mccaskill. i disagree with her. i'm committed to this issue and until we take it out of the chain of command we're not going to see the sense within the military of being feeling free enough to come forward and file a complaint. they get set to the side and identified with what they call a personality disorder and involuntarily honorably discharged. we have to fix this. other countries have done it. the uk, canada, awe usa, new

zealand, israel, all of them have and the it out of the chain of command. there's no reason why we can't do the right thing for all the people who serve in the military. it's not just about protecting the defended, bust protecting the victim. >> one of the strongest changes the army suspend a two star general who was a commander of u.s. force in japan for allegedly failing to properly handle a sex assault allegation. is accountability at the top that truly the key to culture change next to talk about how these are actually adjudicated? >> you're absolutely right. accountability, but also prosecution. until we prosecute more of these case, people are not going to feel, men and women who serve in the military who are sexually assaulted and rape will not feel comfortable coming forward. yes, because there's such a microscope that is lasered on the military right now they are taking the kinds of steps they

should have been taking over the last 25 years. >> thanks for make time for me. i do appreciate it. >> happy to. >> we'll be right back after this. you hurt my feelings, todd. i did? when visa signature asked everybody what upgraded experiences really mattered... you suggested luxury car service instead of "strength training with patrick willis." come on todd! flap them chicken wings. [ grunts ] well, i travel a lot and umm... [ male announcer ] at visa signature, every upgraded experience

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the pentagon is explaining it as a, quote, off the cuff joke. defense secretary chuck hagel's remark yesterday when he took questions following a speech at the university of nebraska at omaha. >> okay. so who has -- way up in the back there. you're not a member of the taliban, are you? >> the person posing that question was a university professor of indian descent. pentagon officials say the previous question was about the taliban and hagel made the comment before knowing who the next questionnaire would be. meanwhile, what started as a hopeful weekend has turned sour. afghan sources assumed the lead role for security in their country from coalition forces. then the u.s. announced direct peace talks at an office the

taliban opened tuesday. president hamid karzai became infuriated by the taliban's move to cast their new office as a rival embassy and canceled talks with the u.s. then a tl ban attack yesterday killing four u.s. soldiers at bagram air base. today they're saying they would free a u.s. soldier for five senior officers held at guantanamo bay. barry mcafter rhee, thanks for being here. there's a lot to talk about the planned peace talks with the taliban. what does your gut tell you about that? >> we have to pursue that action. fortunate we have both of them are very capable people. karzai is a disaster. we've articulated a withdraw strategy. the tall pan are not convinced

they're losing. why would they talk seriously. >> when you say karzai is a disaster, are we in bed with the devil on that one? >> well, karzai is a kindly educated man, he's a pos tune, which is an advantage. he's term limited, in his own mind he's not going to run again. he's a huge problem dealing with not just the international community, nato in particular. i think single-handedly he's eroding the political support for continued economic and social security for afghanistan. >> the death of four u.s. soldiers yesterday, doesn't that's rode the possibility -- >> i think they'll bang at us all the way out. we're coming out by 2014. that's the right thing to do. the end of u.s. combat involvement. getting out of there is going to

be a complex matter. i remind people we've had 58,000 u.s. servicemen killed and wounded both in iraq and afghanistan. this is not only complex, but highly dangerous. >> the president bringing this up while he's on the road and has been in germany. this is what he had to say in reference to a taliban in a press conference with german chancellor angela merkel. take a look. >> i still believe you've got to have a parallel track to at least look at the prospect of some sort of political reconciliation. whether that bears fruit, whether it actually happens or whether post 2014 there's going to continue to be fighting as there was before the forces got into afghanistan, that's a question that only the afghans can answer. >> what do you make of that? this is cautious educated optimism? >> there's a good argument. we left afghanistan a lot better

than we found it. there's universities, health care, childhood education. there's an army and a police force. there's some room for optimism. the question will be, is there a political reconciliation process? yes or no. that's what's doubtful. and their neighbors don't wish them well. the pakistanis, iranians and others. fortunately secretary kerry and hagel both to try to puzzle through this process. >> how are we supposed to deal and try to figure out the political posturing and the political corruption that is over seen under hamid karzai? >> the corruption is almost unsolvable. the looting of the kabul bank, the diversion of resources, it's hard to imagine how we continue sending direct economic and military aid through their central government when we know they will divert the majority of it. so we're going to have to sort that one out or the continued engagement of the u.s. in

afghanistan will not work. >> general mccaffrey, great to see you. thanks so much. that will wrap up this hour for me. thanks for your time. tomorrow coming up on the show at 11:00 a.m., former intelligence analyst, russell toois, karen finney host of "disrupt" and msnbc contributor jimmy williams. know with alex wagner comes your way next. the citi simplicity card is the only card that never has late fees, a penalty rate, or an annual fee. ever. go to citi.com/simplicity to apply.

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[ female announcer ] let's talk about ways to help you establish and build your credit history. when people talk, great things happen. "the hunger games" comes to the u.s. house of representatives. it's thursday, june 20th. this is "now." as the house of representatives debates the farm bill this week, america is learning a lot about what the two parties think about poverty. the house republican bill under debate cuts $20 billion in the next decade from the supplemental nutrition

assistance program or, as most of us know them, food stamps. the result of that cutting, according to the center on budget priorities, among those harshly affected are the 22 million low-income children, 10 million of whom now live below half the poverty line and the 9 million low income elderly and disabled people who rely on food stamps to try to get enough to eat. just to clarify, the federal poverty line is $23,550 for a family of four. 10 million american children now live below half of that which is $11,775 for four people to live on for one year. and the house republicans would like them to live with less. a democratic amendment to eliminate the cuts to food stamps was defeated late wednesday by house republicans. but if saner minds might question the political calculus of such draconian