mean running up our debt, so people don't like to vote on it and typically, there's some guns in terms of making the president's party shoulder the burden and then there's some political campaign later that smacks around for saying, joe smith voted to raise the debt ceiling by $2 trillion and it soupds terrible and it's a fun talking point for politics, but it always gets done. if there is a budget package that includes the debt ceiling vote, it's not the debt ceiling that is driving the negotiations, it's stick into the budget negotiations because if you're going to take a bunch of votes any way, you might as well go ahead and stick that in there. you have never seen in the history of the united states, the debt ceiling or the threat of not raising the debt ceiling being youzed to extort a president or a governing party.

and trying to force issues that have nothing to do with budget and have nothing to do with the debt. so, here's where we are and i think this is the bottom line and i want to make sure everybody's clear. i have presented a budget that deals with, continues to deal with our deficit effectively. i am prepared to work with democrats and republicans to deal with our long-term entitlement issues. and i am prepared to look at priorities that the republicans think we should be promoting and priorities they think we should be, we shouldn't be promoting, so i'm happy to negotiate with them around the budget. just as i've done in the past. what i will not do is to create a habit, a pattern, where by the full faith and credit of the united states ends up being a bargaining chip to set policy.

it's irresponsible. the last time we did this in 2011, we had negative growth at a time when the recovery was just trying to take off. and it would fundamentally change how american government functions. and if you doubt that, just flip the script for a second and imagine a situation in which the democratic speaker said to a republican president, i'm not going to increase the debt ceiling unless you increase corporate taxes by 20%. and if you don't do it, we'll default on the debt and cause a worldwide financial crisis. even though that democratic speaker didn't have the votes to force through that particular piece of legislation, they would simply say we will blow the whole thing up unless you do what i want. that can be a recipe for

government and i have responsibilities at this point not just to the current generation, but to future generations. and we're not going to set up a situation where the full faith and credit of the united states is put on the table every year or every year and a half and we go through some sort of terrifying financial brinks man ship because of arguments people are having. the good news is that we can raise the debt ceiling tomorrow just by a simple vote in each chamber and set that aside and then we can have the serious argument about the budget and there are significant differe e differences still between democrats and republicans when it comes to the budget, but it is going to be important for all of you i think over the next

several weeks to understand what's at stake and to make sure that you are using your influence and whatever you can to get back to what's, what used to be called regular order around here. doing things in a way that reflect the genuine, messy negotiations of democracy, but do not promise apocalypse every three months and i think this is the time for us to say once and for all we can't afford these kinds of places. i know the american people are tired of it. i'm toored of it and i suspect you're tired of it, too, because it's pretty hard to plan your business when these kinds of things are looming at any given moment.

let me stop and open it up for questions. >> and there you have it, president obama at a business round table in washington, d.c., talking about the economy. talking about raising the debt limit. talking about the budget as well. we should note just an hour or so before the president addressed those business leaders, we heard that house speaker john boehner announcing that he will be calling for a vote on a bill to defund the care act. we are going to have much more on this story throughout our hour here. the other big story topping our agenda this hour, system failure. how did a man who was losing his grip on reality, hearing voices, how did he get and keep a job that granted him top secret clearance and access to military facilities? just minutes from now, the head

of the defense department will announce a hard look into how and to whom military clearance is given. the more we learn about the navy yard shooter, the more it seems that signs were either missed or ignored. signs that he was a very troubled man. the most recent alarm, this most cent alarm was sounded just six weeks ago. rhode island police contacted authorities at a nearby naval facility after an encounter with alexis in a newport hotel. he apparently told officers, told officers, that he was hearing voices. that people were sending signals his way to keep him from sleeping. after that, crick e ets. nothing, that warning did not stop him from going to the virginia shop where he bought that remmington rifle, it did not stop him from gaining access to the base and killing a dozen people.

instead of the pentagon only asking how this happened, it's also members of congress. >> when there is new derogatory information on somebody that's gotten clearance, how do we have that clearance pulled. >> from congress to the white house, president obama has ordered a broader look at security standards for all government contractors and yesterday in an interview, the president talked about the talk. >> i do get concern that this becomes a ritual that we go through and we create for months where we have these horrific mass shootings, everybody expresses understandable horror, we all embrace the families and obviously, our thoughts and prayers are with those families right now as they're absorbing this incredible loss, but yet, we're not willing to take basic actions. >> joining me now, pete williams.

i understand you've got new information on the investigation right now. what can you tell us? >> well, one of the puzzles here has been why was this done. why did aaron alexis do what he did and what i'm told by senior officials is they have yet to find that answer. the profilers say that when someone carries out a mass shooting like this, they have some target in mind that brings them into the facility with a gun in the first place. you see that in workplace shootings where someone feels they've been treated badly wi l boss and after shooting that person, they continue to shoot. but in this case, investigators say they have not found why or what the target was. they can't understand why this happened.

why alexis kept shooting and strange thing is they understand the events, he enters the building, goes up to the fourth floor carrying a bag he's brought into the building. goes into the restroom, comes out with a shotgun. begins shooting with the shotgun, then goes wak down to the first floor, shoots the security guard, takes the guard's gun and goes back upstairs again and resumes shooting. now, authorities say most of the people who were killed were killed with the shotgun blasts, some of the wounded we know were hit with shotgun pel lets, but some were hit by the handgun that authorities say alexis took from the security guard, so the motive, i guess you could say the prime target here is still unknown. >> are you hearing anything about some sort of connection perhaps between alexis and any of the victims? >> no. that's the problem here. none whatsoever. we know the connection between alexis and this building he was

going into. he had been working there as a contractor. he had come up to washington in late august. had been staying in various hotels, working in various facilities, including the navy yard and officials say including building 197, which is how he was familiar with the layout of the building and able to move around quickly and had a sense of where he wanted to shoot. he wanted to go up to this balcony where he could be in a defensive position and still have a wide variety of targets available to him. >> pete williams for us in washington. thanks, pete. nbc news national investigative correspondent, michael isakoff, is also in our washington bureau. you've been digging into the sheer number of people that have these clearances and precisely how it is that we dole out these

clearances as well. some possible props with oversight here. what have you found, sir? >> exactly. there's a lot of attention on this issue, both in the defense department, the white house and in congress. the government's spending over a billion dollars a year to do these background check, but there's a lot of mounting evidence that these checks are inadequate, we have active criminal investigations of usis, the company is the background investigation on edward snowden. there have been something like 18 criminal convictions of employees who falsified background checks. falsified interviews, submitted fraudulent reports, said they

claimed to interview people who they did not. in one case, a dead person was reported to have been interviewed and that does raise questions about how adequate these background investigations are and i am told that justice department prosecutors and defense department officials are reviewing very closely both the what happened here and what's happened in a lot of these other background investigations. >> michael isakoff, again, we should note for those of you watching and listening, we are expecting to hear from defense department officials any moment now. when those comments happen, we will bring them to you here on msnbc. we also just a few moments ago, heard from aaron alexis' mother. for the first time, just moments ago. let's take a listen to what she said. >> our son, aaron alexis, has murdered 12 people and wounded several others.

his actions have had a profound and lasting effect op the families of the vick ttimvictim. i don't know why he did what he did and i'll never be able to ask him why. aaron is now in a place where he can no longer be able to do harm to anyone and for that, i am glad. to the families of the victims, i am so, so very sorry that this has happened. my heart is broken. >> kathleen alexis there from her home in new york, just a few moments ago, again, speaking out for the first time from her brooklyn home there since her son shot and killed 12 people earlier this week in washington, d.c. two days now since those 12 people were gunned down at their workplace at the navy yard. nine months since 26 people including 20 children were murdered. this ad by newtown action alliance is running online now as its members descend on washington this week lobbying

for stricter gun control legislation. yesterday, the president talked about legislation that congress failed to pass earlier this year. >> universal background checks -- >> initiated a whole range of executive actions. we've put in place every executive action that i proposed right after newtown happened. so, i've taken steps that are within my control. the next phase now is for congress to go ahead and move. >> carlos' sister was killed inside newtown, elementary. at noon today, he and other supporters will be holding a news conference on the capitol steps. good to see you, but hate it's under these circumstances. i see that you have a picture there of your sister. >> i carry this around with me so the representatives know that my sister was more than just a name. or more than just a number.

she was a human being that had her rights taken away from her. >> as you've talked to lawmakers on the hill, as you're having those conversations today, what are you hearing from them? are they saying anything different to you this time than just a few moments ago? >> i feel like they're saying, they are saying different thicks because you know, there have been, the shooting in d.c. has basically clarified the fact that it can happen absolutely everywhere. there's no safe place that it can't happen and they, i think some of them are hesitant because they know that you know, they don't want to be the leader of the movement, but sometimes, you just have to step out of the crowd. >> today, republican senator, kelly ayotte and mark begich are calling for a vote on a mental health bill they are sponsoring. do you think that what we saw

happen, what we saw play out there in the nation's capitol earlier this week, do you think that's going to move the dial at all on this debate or are you skeptical? >> it will move it in some ways, but you know, this is a very long battle. and we knew this from the minute we started that you know, change isn't just going to come the day after. it's going to take months, maybe years. but we are in it for the long haul and you know, i hope these families are able to grieve in privacy and i know because that was the one thing that i wish. we were able to grieve. >> i want to talk to you about another aspect of this thing here. the video game aspect. that we talk about. we talk about guns and mental health, grand theft auto 5, i'm sure you're familiar with this game. it's estimated to rake this about a billion dollars in sales in the first month alone.

we're talking about a game, simulated killing of machetes, ak 47s, grenade launchers, sniper rifles. we know the shooter and the newtown shooter adam lan sa were both said to be obsessed with playing these games. do we need to focus more attention on that part of the problem or do you think we're making too much of that? >> i think you know, we need to focus on that aspect because that has a lot to do with it. but you know, that's not something we take from a congress point of view. that's something a mother or a father needs to watch because it's all up to them. if they want to let their kids play these games, some day, they're going to have to deal with those consequences of what those kids do. >> how old are you? 16, 17? >> 16. >> 16 years old, a fantastic young advocate. thanks so much for your time.

>> thank you. >> good luck this week. >> thank you. >> questions about aaron alexis and his mental health lead to this big question. should public safety trump privacy? weigh in on our facebook and twitter pages as well. switching gears here, there's a new report out that reveals that 46.5 million people living below the poverty line last year, yet this week, house republicans could be voting on a bill that would make the crisis worse. if passed, the bill would cut some $39 billion from the food stamp program over ten years. nearly twice as much as republicans wanted to cut in june. it would also toughen work requirements. could throw some 3.8 million people out of the program next year. house democrats did not mince words as they called out their republican colleagues yesterday.

>> dishonest. for them to suggest that people are not in need, it is dishonest to say that people want a handout. people don't want a handout. they want to be treats like human beings. >> it's either an incredible lack of sensitivity or ignorance they have. >> i know that within the ranks of the republican party, there are people who are true to their beliefs on sunday. and the rest of the week as well. >> we're going to have to hit pause and come back to the food stamp conversation. chuck haguer right now talking about again, this formal review of security procedures at military insulations all over the world. let's take a listen. >> and president obama. first, our thoughts and our prayers are with the victims of families. and all who have been affected by what happened in the navy

shipyard on monday. we will grieve, we will remember and we will comfort each other. the department of dfs is a strong and resilient community. and we will do everything we can to help our colleagues at the navy yard get through this terrible, terrible crime. coming day, more information will come to light about what happened. about what went wrong and importantly, what must be fixed. yesterday, i directed two department wide reviews. these reviews will be led by deputy secretary ash carter and we will do everything possible to prevent this from happening again. first, i directed a review of physical security and access procedures. at all dod insulations worldwide. the highest responsibilities leaders have is to take care of

the people and our people deserve safe and secure work spaces, where ever they are. second, secretary carter will also review dod's practices and procedures for grants and renewing clearances. this review will be closely coordinating with other agencies currently examining these procedures, including the dni and omomb. i've also directed an independent panel be established. it will conduct its own asse assessment and security procedures and practices. they will provide hair findings directly to me. the department of defense will carefully examine p assessments, the conclusions and recommendations of the reviews. and we will effectively implement them. as you know, the navy is also conducting its own review and those results will feed into the

broader dod review. where there are inadequacies, we will address them and where they are failure, we will correct them. we owe the victim, our families and all the people nothing less. thank you. >> thank you, mr. secretary. i want to add my condolences over monday's horrific shootings at the navy yard. my heart goes out to the families of the falling to those injured during the attack and co-work co-workers and the entire navy family. while i cannot discuss the details the, i can discuss the bravery of the first responders. even in the midst of tragedy, there are moments of triumph. the most visible feats were accomplished by military, police

and emts, but there were other unseen moments equally heroic. i was especially inspired by the story of omar grant, a navy yard civilian who helped a blind colleague to safety as they exited building 197 in the middle of the shooting. omar refused to leave his friend behind. the urge to run toward danger to help someone in need is the testament to an american's character. our military family will continue to help those in need. secretary of the navy has designateded status to provide care to those injured in the attacks. we've also organized teams to minister to those in need and counseling services are available to those affected by monday's rampage. i look forward to your questions. >> mr. secretary, to the general public who sees a string of events, snowden, hasan, bradley manning and now this, it's sort of looks as though there are

incidents, studies and something happens again. is there, you did extensive studies after the hasan incident, so can you tuck about what is it, what changes were not made then that should have been made. are that there gaps? when you look at security clearances, should we lower the bar to include more personal information or take note of greater personal information in order to protect safety? where is that line? >> first, obviously, something went wrong. that's the -- point of the directives that i have going forward. we will review everything and from that review, that intensity of that review, the depth on the width of that review, we would

hope we will find some answers to how can we do it better. the fact is starting with the tragedy of what happened that day, and you mentioned other tragedies, we don't live in a risk free society. and every day, all the millions of dod employees, whether uniform or civilian, that come to work of this country, contribute to the security and safety of this country. there's always some risk there. that isn't a good answer. that's not good enough. they deserve the security of a safe environment. we will find those gaps as i said and we will fix those gaps, so to go beyond that in specific areas of your questions, i would leave that to the review. there are many questions that are going to be asked, need to be asked. and the intensity of those reviews have to go down to every

aspect. the security of physical premesis, the security clearance, standards of that security clearance. are they strong enough? why do we do certain things the way we do? we need answers. and we'll find answers. >> well, i just add to what the secretary said. in terms of what we changed after some of those earlier incidents, early indications are actually contributed to the, to a less horrific outcome. more alert notices, coordination in advance of crisis with other agencies of government. training for employees and law enforcement on active shooter scenarios, so i mean, some of the things we did as a result of those earlier incidents, we believe actually reaped the benefit we intended. the clearance is one i think we

very clearly have to take note of and the secretary directed us to do so. >> do you believe that the security clearance procedures and investigations are not rigorous enough or that for the lower level security clearance that ten-year time frame may be too long and again, a question for you, general, on syria. you have expressed concerns before about the did i feel difficulties in securing chemical weapons sites in syria, even in a nonhostile environment. if syria should agree to open up its sites, just how difficult would that be? do you think it's even possible to secure those weapons during a civil war? >> well, on your question regarding time frames on security clearances and the

entire specifics and components of security clearance, time frame, the depth of the clearance, kind of clearance, access different clearances give individuals, we're going to give all of that. obviously, the longer clearances go without reviewing. there's some jeopardy to that. there's tho question about it. so, we're going to take a look at every one of those components. >> on syria, my current role an the current role of the military is to provide some planning assistance to the prevention of chemical weapons. who has the lead and as well as to maintain the credible threat of force sthould the diplomatic track fail. my comments ab the securing of the stockpile remain valid. that is to say it's a very challenging, it's a very

challenging environment. indicators are at this point though that the regime does have control of its stockpile. and so long as they agree to the frame work, which causes them to be responsible for the security, the movement, the protection of the investigators or inspector, then i think that the answer to your question is it is feasible, but we've got to make sure we keep our eye on all of those things. >> but the idea that syria or with the help of international stance, other foreign military. >> all right, there you have it. general martin dempsey, chairperson of the joint chiefs of staff, chuck hagel there primarily about what happened in washington, d.c. earlier this week. promising two things. defense secretary hagel promising they are going to

reviewing physical security at military insulations all over the world and more specifically, here's the highlight, also reviewing the practices for granting and reviewing these security clearances as well. michael isakoff stuck around for us. our national investigative correspondent. might the folks who aren't familiar with this clearance process, walk us through how these clearances are granted and the initial granting of it and then what the renewal of that clearance as well. >> exactly, and there's a lot of attention on this in light of the alexis shooting and the fact he got this secret security clearance despite his earlier arrest on gun charges and later arrests on gun charges an other matters. and was able to keep that security clearance for ten years. so, basically, here's the process, craig. you apply, you're in the military or civilian contractor and in order to get a security

clearance, do your job, you have to undergo a background investigation that's normally conducted by the office of% until management in which your entire past is supposed to be looked into. any potential problems, flag, then a report is done and decisions are made on whether you get the clearance or not. the problem is a, that there are a lot of questions about the thoroughness of those background investigation, more and more opm has been contracting out the job of doing those investigations to outside companies. and federal prosecutors have found numerous instances of the people doing those background investigations, submitting fraudulent reports, maintaining they interviewed people they never interviewed. not thoroughly checking and then there's the question of the standards and secretary hagel

referred to that. and said you know, are the standards tight enough? that's certainly a question that arises in light of the alexis matter. >> michael, thank you so much. again, alexis, hasan, manning, first question posed there. all of these names, these folks that on some level has been able to seemingly penetrate this clearance system to a certain extent, much of the investigation today will be focusing on the warning. this specific warning that rhode island police gave to the navy about hallucinations that aaron alexis was having just last month. these new details is is forcing the federal government to review its clearance process when people show signs of some sort of mental disease. my colleague rachel maddow went through an expansive timeline highlighting red flags military officials seemeded to have missed. >> this report about him having

paranoid delusions, so motivating to him that he was calling police and staying up all night and moving three times in a night to three different hotel rooms. this happened apparently while he really was traveling for work to various us navy insulations as a contractor for the united states navy who had a security clearance and a background check. since july, aaron alexis worked at naval insulations in arlington, virginia, in cherry point, north carolina, in stafford, virginia. and of course, at the navy yard in washington, d.c. the company that employed him said today had they known about his mutt principle arrests and the mental health issues, quote, that would be a a flag. we would not have hired him. ah, but they did an even after the newport, rhode island police

encountered a man -- and that police department notified the navy that they had a contractor on their hands with serious, active mental problems. and they faxed them the report and even after naval station police say they would look swoo it, apparently, no one did or if they did, nothing happened. nothing triggered any problem on his employment as a contractor. nothing triggered any problem with his security clearance or background checks. nothing triggers any problem with him having continued access to u.s. naval facilities. none of the arrests, none of the misconduct problems that he had while in the navy, which you think the navy might know about. none of his weapons charges, nothing. nothing happened and now, less than six weeks after newport, rhode island police called the navy to tell them they had a guy

on their hands who thought he was being screamed out through the microwave, less than six weeks from that notification from the police department to the navy, 12 people are dead and so is he. >> my colleague last night joining me now, dr. jeff gardere, practicing psychologist, tv personality as well. when you hear those details, how surprised are you that he was able to get as far as he did in obtaining the security clearance? >> actually, i'm not that surprised because we are very, very ignorant as to what mental health issues are and we're dealing with sheer numbers when we're talking about our veterans and we know that it's been a real problem for veterans with mental health issues with ptsd to get the treatment they need and we know president obama's trying to step this up of course with the military, but it's still a major issue. >> this is what joe scarborough

said this morning on "morning joe" about the mental health component of this tragedy. >> background checks, criminals, that's easy as far as i'm concerned. terrorists, yeah. that's easy. you move over into this mental health range, where it's so critically important that we encourage people to go get treatment. when does the red flag go up and when does the psychiatrist go, my gosh, psychologist, my gosh, this person -- and then sudd suddenly, they are punished for getting the type of treatment they so desperately need. >> i want to ask that question to you. as a medical professional, you know the law. where is that fine line between a person's privacy and the public's safety? >> that's a great question because when we look at what happened between alexis and the rhode island police. he called them and said, i need your help. they are people coming after me. i'm hearing voices. he's clearly stating not only is

he paranoid, but he's hearing voices, too. 20/20 hindsight, i don't know what happened with the rhode island police, but anyone who calls you, it's the humane thing to at least make contact with that individual and take them to an emergency room because clearly, this is a person who is psychotic and they are indicating that they are out of control. that makes them a danger to themselves and a danger to others, so, yes, it was passed on to the naval officials, what happened with the rhode island police. that, i would like to know. >> it seems as if sometimes that we ignore not just one sign, but sign after sign after sign and we ignore them until all of a sudden, someone mows down a number of people, then said, oh, my goodness, they had mental, these mental issues. are we ignoring or just flat out ignoring those who are mentally ill in this country or is there more to it than that?

>> i think it is ignoring. in some ways, it could be a denial, but when we're talking about mental health issues, craig, it is something that is so complex. we don't always see them manifesting themselves. the point you made earlier, the rights of individuals who are afreud of getting someone committed to a hospital, i think at this point with all of the shootings that have happened, we need to say if you're having mental health issue, let us help you because if we don't help these individuals, it's a disservice not just to the people who were hurt, but a disservice, it's inhumane to the people who have these mental health issues and are screaming, screaming for help and we know that's what this individual did. many times. >> always appreciate your insight. thank you. >> and don't forget, you can share your thoughts on today's big question. mental health and gun control. should it trump privacy? you can weigh in on twitter and

facebook. we also spent so much time talking about the shooter, wanted to take a moment to remember a few of the victims. three women and nine men lost their lives monday morning. they were mom, they were dads. they were sisters, they were brothers. they ranged in age from 46 to 73. we are just starting to learn details of their shorteneded lives, including 51-year-old arthur daniels. grandfather of nine. lost a son to gun violence in 2009. his wife told "the washington post" she begged him to stay in bed that rainy morning, but he went to work instead like he always did to take care of his family. >> then there was 61-year-old vishnu, a marine engineer, a university of michigan graduate who came to this country from calcutta, to give his family, n

including his two children, a better life and 53-year-old sylvia frasier, who worked for the government since she was 16. always thinking about her family and her friends first. you can head to nbcnews.com for more details on all of the victims. how can i be a more fun mom? hmmm. can you dance? ♪ bum ba bum ba bum ♪ bum ba bum ba bum no. no? can you make campbell's chicken noodle soup? yes! [ wisest kid ] every can has 32 feet of slurpable noodles. now that's fun. mom, you're awesome. oh yeah! ♪ bum ba bum ba bum [ gong ] [ wisest kid ] m'm! m'm! good!

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we're going to continue to do everything we can to repeal the president's failed health care law. this week, will pass a law that locks sequester savings in and defunds obama care. >> in the coming week, we will unveil a plan to extend our nation's ability to borrow while delaying obama care and protecting working middle class families from its horrific effects. >> that's a line we've heard over and over for the past six, seven months now.

the gop's obsession for repe repealing obama care. three years after the law was passed and just shy of two weeks before the rollout, house republicans -- attaching the funding of obama care to the funding of the federal government. this is today's topic. the managing editor for think progress, suzie kim, a national politics reporter and frank goddard, editor of political wire. good to see all of you. let's start with what the president said a few moments ago. at this business round table in washington, d.c., saying this country's credibility was not a bargaining chip and that he was sick and tired of this nonsense. >> flip the script for a second and imagine a situation in which the democratic speaker said to a republican president, i'm not going to increase the debt ceiling unless you increase

corporate taxes by 20%. >> we picked that sound bite because the president said flip the script as well. in prod terms, how disastrous could this be? >> it could be a complete mess. we're not talking about passing a budget or implementing a budget here. the house has done that. the senate has done that, but republicans in both chambers have refused to appoint confer ree to iron out the difference. what we're talking about is simply an extension of current policy for several months, but republicans are so concerned that obama care will take effect on october 1 and that americans will like them that they'll never be able to repeal the law at this point. so this is what we're talking about. it's really, it's a sign of a completely broken, dysfunctional congress at this point. >> we were trying to get an accurate count of the number of times this has been taken and we couldn't and we know it's somewhere between 40 and 50 times. we know this is an exercise in

futility. we know that even if it passes the house, it will be dead on arrival in the is that the. the president is not going to sign a bill that in any way, shape or form dismantles his piece of legislature from the first term. why? why do we do this? why do we play this silly game? do this dance? is it purely pandering or is there something more to it? >> i think from boehner's perspective, there is more to it. one statement he said in that clip, which is mostly overlooked by a lot of people is the first part of the sentence. lock in sequester savings. by holding a vote on this, boehner's hoping they'll throw a bone to conservatives on the right flank who are demanding that republicans hold a firm line on obama care, but in fact, by doing that, he's making it seem like the sequestration, the cuts we are currently experiencing, that's the default. that's the new normal and that's

what democrats don't want and i believe boehner is hoping he'll come away with. budget cuts that will decrease funding for the next fiscal year, which democrats have been unable to do so far. >> you have written that speaker boehner used to be strongly against this type of move. why do you think he's doing this know? is it simply if you can't beat the tea party, join them? is there more to it than that? >> he's given up. he's washed his hands. he's going to hold these two votes on bills as you say can never become law. he's saying to the senate, you handle it. then kick something back to us that will ultimately have to pass because we're not going to shut around with government and default on the debt that would really destroy the party they would be blamed for it. i think the fear though when it comes to obama care, you have

employees making different arguments. one is obama care's going to fold and it's going to fold under its own weight. if that's the case, why are they working so hard to undermine it? mainly because they know it will succeed. >> how does that play out? a month from now, what are we talking about? >> well, you know, i don't know. the first thing we have to look at is a government shutdown and it's increasingly likely. the democrats might accept that as a possibility because what happens in a month from now is that the debt ceiling becomes a real problem and if congress doesn't come to some agreement on the debt e ceiling, we see catastrophe, really. financial markets, we see catastrophe for americans and their interest rates they pay on their mortgages. when you look at it that way, i think the democrats, at this point, if it takes a government

shutdown to put pressure on the republicans in congress and that backlash against the republicans for shutting down the government, that's maybe what's going to happen. >> we will leave it there. thanks to you all. and with all the serious news going on, we like to laugh. we like to smile. we wanted the lighten things up just a bit and get this story to the show today. take a look at this. check out this woman. a british woman's dance at the bus stop has gone viral. her name is ellie. and her jam was caught by a guy across the street at a cafe who was apparently not stalking her entirely. he loaded the video on to youtube and through this abba sound track underneath and wouldn't you know it, it's gotten her a gig. she's been invited to perform at a production at her town's theatre. ♪

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we asked and you answered. question, mental health and gun control, should public safety trump privacy? claire weighing in. mental health is subjective. guns are bad. argument over. chase saying, if people would like to live in a nanny state, there are many countries to live in. and this one from michael. we wouldn't need to balance privacy if we focused on the real problem, mental health, and not the red herring of gun control. keep the comments coming. we are on twitter and facebook. meanwhile, residents outside new orleans are taking major precautions after a brain-eating amoeba has been found in the water supply there. now water officials are looking into whether water contaminated in the aftermath of hurricane katrina back in 2005 could be to blame. last week an amoeba killed a 4-year-old boy. he apparently became infected after playing on a slip and

slide in one of the hardest hit areas outside new orleans. n nbc's katy turr is there for us. what kind of precautions are people being told to take? >> reporter: they're taking a lot of precautions. we want to be clear, this is just in st. bernard parish. there's no boil water order going on right now. you don't need to boil your water unless you plan on getting it into your nose somehow. safer using a netty pot, they say. it's safe to drink. it's safe to bathe in. just be careful if you're putting your head under water at any point. the boy who died from this was apparently using a slip and slide. that's how all that water got up into his nose. if the amoeba gets in your nose and into your brain, it eats the flesh of your brain. that's why it is so deadly. so far in the past 50 years, there have been only two documented survivors of this. one of them was a 12-year-old girl out of arkansas earlier

this summer. state officials say they're looking into whether or not katrina could have played a role in this. there's still a lot of empty lots in st. bernard parish. they're worried, concerned, and taking a look at whether or not the stagnant water supply that's been baking in the sun, whether or not that could have contributed to this in any way. the cdc says so far they're unaware of any connection. as of now, it's just a theory being tossed around. craig? >> nbc's katy tur for us in st. bernard parish, louisiana. keep us up to speed on what's happening down there. i know you will. that's going to wrap it up for me. "now" with alex wagner is on the other side of this break. ♪ [ male announcer ] now, taking care of things at home is just a tap away. ♪ introducing at&t digital life... ♪ ...personalized home security and automation... [ lock clicks ] ...that lets you be closer to home.

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since enbrel helped relieve my joint pain, it's the little things that mean the most. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. [ doctor ] enbrel, the number one biologic medicine prescribed by rheumatologists. the house gop is doubling down on defunding obama care and shutting down the government, but the president may not even be at the betting table. it's wednesday, september 18th.

this is "now." house republicans have already voted 41 times to defund or repeal obama care, but they're not letting those 41 votes that went nowhere stop them from trying again. the 42nd vote, which will lasso the defunding of obama care to a continuing resolution to fund the government is now scheduled for this friday. this morning, after meeting with house republicans, speaker john boehner laid out the new strategy, if you can even call it a strategy. >> we're going to continue to do everything we can to repeal the president's failed health care law. this week the house will pass a cr that locks the sequester savings in and defunds obama care. there should be no conversation about shutting the government down. that's not the goal here. >> just to be clear, republicans dropped their initial plan to

shut down the government over defunding the nation's health care law because it would have been too easy for the senate to decouple the defunding of the nation's health care law from the funding of the government. the new plan is to make it impossible for the senate to decouple the defunding of the nation's health care law from the funding of the government so that the senate is given no option but to throw out that whole plan entirely. the logic here seems to be take a workable plan and make it totally unworkable. congratulations, republicans. for a party that seemed well over the cliff of ridiculous, you have proved there is still a little more ground beneath your feet. meanwhile, the rest of the country, including the president, eagerly awaits the finale of this preposterous exercise. >> there are significant differences still between republicans and democrats when it comes to the budget, but it is going to be important for all of you, i think, over the next several weeks to understand what's at stake. i think this is the