government that asked them to risk their lives for this great nation will not stand by them in this moment of grief. >> that was senator dick durbin on the floor minutes ago expressing outrage, denouncing the news that families of fallen soldiers will be denied death benefits because of the shutdown. good morning, everybody. i'm thomas roberts. this is the same congress that has failed to put an end to this shutdown, now saying they're ashamed and embarrassed that their failure to act has now resulted in a failure to be there for families of american servicemen who have made the ultimate sacrifice for this nation. chuck hagel is at dover air force base where the military conducts dignified transfers, the solemn return to american soil of the fallen. that's where the flag-draped coffins of four american service members will come home today. four of five killed in afghanistan over the weekend, their families being denied the $100,000 check known as the death gratuity. money that helps families bury the loved ones that they have lost. here's the result of the outrage over what's happened to these

families. the house expected to pass legislation to restore these benefits despite the shutdown. coming up several democrats are expected to hold a news conference on the senate steps about it. joining me now, jim miklaszewski. mik, explain to all of us, the presence of the defense secretary, chuck hagel, at the sight of the dignified transfer at dover, what does this achieve? >> reporter: this is a gesture to show that the pentagon, the dod and second hagel support the troops. the problem, according to officials here, that the pay the military now act, which allowed service members to be paid during the shutdown, specifically mentioned that they could receive their pay and allowances, such as housing allowance, but it didn't talk about this death benefit or payments to the families of those service members who had died. and even though the lawyers, they put their heads together with the justice department trying to figure out how to make that work, they just couldn't

make it work and they had to reject it. hence, congress today is going to at least make the first steps toward fixing that problem, thomas. >> mik, in the meantime, the great veterans group, fisher house, is stepping in to help fill this void for these families. explain what they're doing. >> reporter: it's interesting because i just got off the phone with officials at south com. there was a sergeant major gonzalez who was killed over the weekend in a drug detection mission in colombia, of all places, and his remains are in miami. they will eventually be transferred later this week up to dover air force base. and they told me there that they are aggressively working with organizations like fisher house to provide the funds necessary for those family members to travel to dover for the dignified return sometime later this week. so -- and as one official put it, look, despite the shutdown, we're going to take care of our military families, no matter what's going, this is not part

of the quote, no matter what's going on up in washington. >> jim miklaszewski reporting from the pentagon for us. thanks so much. happening this hour on the hill, the house veterans affair committee holding a hearing which they're looking at the impact of the shutdown. among those testifying is secretary eric shinseki of the u.s. department of veterans affairs. joining me is retired admiral joe sestak, now a u.s. senatorial candidate. sir, it's good to have you here. as you know we remain a nation at war and service members risking their lives on a guarantee from the u.s. that their families will be taken care inform case they are killed in combat. the father of one of those that was lost this weekend, killed this weekend, telling nbc news, quote, if congress were trapped in a car that sunk down in a river, i would swim to the window, look at them all in the eye and say suck water. that's from randall patterson, whose son is going to be returned today to american soil. how dangerous is this whole situation for the morale of our troops, for the morale of

american military families, seeing what these other families are having to live through. >> there's not a question what's happened here is demeaning. actually it's very disheartening because a number of these senators and congressmen and women who actually voted to send our service members to war are now denying them, their families the benefits that should accrue back to them. i mean they can't even travel to meet their loved ones to come back home. they can't even get the remaining pay that is due them, even though the service member has died for the remainder of the month. i think this begins to demonstrate that when you have 1% of all the families of the united states of america that have had a family member directly involved in this war, that suddenly you're starting to have people scurry around in the congress who should have known better, that shutting down government when it does things like this well meant it was senseless. so does this have an impact on the military? you bet it does.

>> as we all know, the house expected to pass legislation today to restore these benefits to families of the fallen, but there are certain house republicans, sir, suggesting that it was the defense department, not congress, that dropped the ball on this. congressman duncan hunter said i'm at a loss about why the department of defense did not take a more active role in notifying congress and insisting that changes in law occur immediately. so what's your reaction to representative hunter there, kind of deflecting at least some of the blame straight at the pentagon and not at their own feet over this? >> first of all, i want to thank duncan hunter for his own service in the army, but all that said, what happens when so many go down to washington, d.c., is they want to be judged for their intentions, not their deeds or their lack of deeds. and the finger pointing begins. look, we learned in the military that we are not just responsible for our duty, but we are to be held accountable for our duty and that's what the senate and the congress aren't doing, nor

is mr. hunter when he just wants to point across to the pentagon. we obey those law that say we defend, and if he had this question, why didn't he ask it before he voted for the law? where was his deed, not his intention of making sure that service members, of whom he served with, were taken care of properly? >> sir, if you'll stand by with me, we now have some of the testimony from secretary eric shinseki from moments ago. >> if the shutdown does not end in the coming weeks, va will not be able to assure delivery of 1 november checks to more than 5.18 million beneficiaries, including veterans who are 100% disabled, surviving spouses, eligible children orphaned by the death of their military or veteran parent. >> okay. so there we're getting the idea now the numbers, over five million beneficiaries are going to be out in the cold come november 1st. it doesn't seem like any of these dates are really getting

the attention of people in washington, d.c., the number of days the shutdown is going on, whether or not the debt ceiling is looming on the 17th and now the secretary advising everybody about the november 1st date. >> you know, the only reason that in addition he's not able -- he doesn't say that the health care that provided to millions of our veterans that have come out without limbs, with posttraumatic stress disorder and tbi, brain injuries, is because in 2009 congress passed a law that said we'll fund one year ahead the health care of our veterans. now, if that debt ceiling is broken, thomas, we will have up to 40% of our veterans thrown out of the va system, no longer being able to take care of their limbs. look, let me tell you what a taxi driver just told me as i was driving in here today. he said he brought up this topic that i was going to be on and he started to talk about the impact of our va because of the lack of

governance in washington, d.c., with the shutdown. he said, you know, i served in vietnam and we veterans saw a lot of shit that the rest of common americans never saw, but it made me and my fellow veterans humble. i hope that at least something good comes out of this, that our congress members become humble and understanding that they're supposed to be of a government of, for and by the people. they are not supposed to be harming people, particularly veterans who are double the citizens. >> joe sestak, thanks for your time today. i appreciate it. >> thanks for having me. joining me right now is florida congressman, debbie wasserman schultz. it's good to have you here. we drilled down on a lot of what's going on in the house democratic caucus. they're headed to the white house to meet with the president today. what kind of strategy do you think needs to be discussed? >> well, i think what we're going to discuss is our continued support for putting a clean spending resolution on the

floor immediately so that we can reopen the government and looking ahead over the next few days now, that we have to make sure that we fight hard to get the republicans to understand that we have to pay our nation's bills. i think the best example of how callous and ignorant the republicans' actions have been is this military death benefits issue. i mean that someone like duncan hunter, and i commend him for his service as well, but that someone like duncan hunter doesn't understand that there are ancillary casualties of the actions they have taken to shut the government down, like the families of troops who have been killed in the line of duty? i mean what were they thinking? they have been so narrow-minded and so extreme that they have been willing to even shut the government down and continue to insist on leaving it shut, all in the name of stopping or derailing the implementation of

health care for everyone in america. it's just -- these people have been elected to office and they're acting like they were elected to their nursery school student council. >> let's talk about common ground and the potential to find it because we've got your republican colleague, paul ryan, writing in "the wall street journal" the president is giving congress the silent treatment. both sides should agree to common sense reforms of the country's entitlement reforms and tax code. we had senator bernie sanders on our show earlier this week predicting things like social security are the gop's real target here, not just obama care which is really the glitch in the cr and continuing resolution for the government and the shutdown that we're seeing now. how do you see the government reopening and getting a debt ceiling deal done when the list of demands potentially keeps growing? >> well, that's the problem is that they have -- the republicans continue to put a smorgasboard of their most

extreme ideas on the list of things that they're insisting on we include in any -- in any potential deal and then, of course, not excluding, although paul ryan didn't mention it in his op-ed, not excluding the fact that they also want to repeal or delay obama care. look, we -- this is very simple. democrats in the house and the senate have voted repeatedly to just keep the government open, to adopt a clean spending resolution. thomas, remember, we've even agreed to the number, the spending level that the republicans proposed that we oppose because we know that it can't be my way or the highway. we have to be responsible. we have to pay the bills. we have to get the government up and running and we have to make sure that kids can go back to their head start program, that the hungry can be fed, because the usda food that is provided to homeless shelters and to food programs is running low. we have to make sure that troops killed in the line of duty are able to have their families'

death benefit paid. the way that can all happen is the republicans need to stop pitting those interests against one another and to reopen the government. >> congresswoman, it all hinges about obama care and what they want -- >> it shouldn't. it's unacceptable. >> what they want to put into the cr. but i want to talk about the rollout and online health care and the exchanges that came out on october the 1st. this may not be the first time you're seeing this clip, but health and human services secretary, kathleen sebelius, appeared on "the daily show" monday night and i want to show it to you and get your thoughts on the other side. >> we're going to do a challenge. i'm going to try and download every movie ever made, and you're going to try to sign up for obama care and we'll see which happens first. >> okay. >> how many have signed up thus far? >> fully enrolled? i can't tell you, because i don't know. >> my concern is can you run it okay? >> we will. >> the va has huge problems. i'm concerned. >> we are not running the

insurance programs, we're running -- >> you're just running the enrollment. >> that's right. >> so how would you respond to the messaging and the criticism that there has been about the rollout of obama care, the access to the exchanges, the glitches in the system that do exist and the fact that there isn't any hard data, even though the government is not running the actual insurance exchanges, it is running the rollout and should be able to provide every curious american about the data and certainly journalists about the data of how many people are actually signing up accessing obama care. so where is that number? >> so clearly we're eight days in and to be insisting on data being produced day by day for a six-month enrollment program is a little bit unfair. and, you know, the good news that came out of this problem and hhs has acknowledged that there's obviously been some technological problems with the

serv server, but the good news out of that is that the servers were apparently designed to anticipate about 50,000 people a day going on the website and moving around and they -- it turns out it's been 250,000 a day. so it's very clear that there is demand. it's also clear that they need to fix those technological bugs. i don't know any software program or app for that matter by any high-tech company that doesn't have bugs and fixes that need to be made in the first few days of the rollout. and so that's why in part there's a six-month enrollment plan. so the analogy that i've used repeatedly is that the republicans, because they don't like their kitchen redesign, are trying to burn their house down. and that's what they're doing by trying to take the government down with them and our economy. we need and we've acknowledged all along, like we've done more than 200 years, thomas, if there are problems that arise through the implementation of the affordable care act, which

inevitably with a change this big there will be, we need to work together to fix those. what the republicans are trying to do, they don't want to fix the problems. they don't even acknowledge or agree that everyone should have access in america to quality affordable health care. that is the rub. and they don't accept that president obama was re-elected last november. it is time to work together and move on. even al gore, who didn't -- who vehemently disagreed with the supreme court decision that made george w. bush president in 2000 accepted that the supreme court's ruling was the final say and moved on. and the country moved on. that's what our democracy is all about. we have to work together, accept when we win and accept when we lose and work together to move our democracy forward. >> we wish you the best of luck because it doesn't seem like it's going that way right now. we've got to jet, but congresswoman and dnc chair debbie wasserman schultz. we wish you the best of luck -- >> we need it. >> -- to figure all of thissous because it's dragging america down.

janet yellen is expected to be introduced today to be the president's pick to be the next head of the u.s. fed. and she's not your father's fed chair, also ahead. >> we can't make extortion routine as part of our democracy. democracy doesn't function this way. >> so the president's position that, listen, we're not going to sit down and talk to you until you surrender is just not sustainable. it's not our system of government. >> president obama and house speaker john boehner exchanging verbal volleys over the shutdown, but what's boehner's end game? we've been asking how is the shutdown impacting you? weigh in on twitter with the #don'tshutmedown. ♪ 'take me home...' ♪ 'i'll be gone...' ♪ 'in a day or...' man: twooooooooooooooooo! is that me, was i singing? vo: not paying for scheduled maintenance feels pretty good.

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so the rhetoric and the dramatics are ramping up in washington, as week two of the government shutdown rolls on with no end in sight. >> the american people do not

get to demand a ransom for doing their jobs. you don't get a chance to call your bank and say i'm not going to pay my mortgage this month unless you throw in a new car and an xbox. >> what the president said today was if there's unconditional surrender by republican, he'll sit down and talk to us. that's not the way our government works. >> we're $30 trillion in the hole. plus another $17 trillion in debt. >> actually i think i'll just tear it up. it's time we quit borrowing money against the future of our kids. >> dana milbank joins me right now. it's good to have you here. the longer this whole thing drags on, the stakes get higher. we get a synopsis of the language laced through the president's words. we hear ransom, extortion, deadbeat, hostage-taking, blow the whole thing up, insane. speaker boehner has been hitting repeat on the word conversation. does either side have an exit strategy here or is it just a

lot of hot air? >> it's not clear even if people wanted to get out of this now, it's not exactly clear how they do it. the republicans sort of forced by the conservatives are now in a position where they can't seem to agree to anything if it doesn't include removal of the most important achievement this president has had over the last five years, and obviously the president can't surrender to that. so it does seem to be this war of attrition where they just check the polls and see who's coming out the worst. but i'm seeing no sort of appetite -- you know, a general desire to have the government running but no appetite to give in on either side. >> we've got this interesting article from politico about john boehner's potential end game reporting that interviews with tea party-aloined house members reveal a modest rise in support for boehner. so here's an example of the tea party mentality that we're talking about.

business insider has awarded ted yoho an award for the stupidest thing said about the debt ceiling which was i think we need to have that moment where we realize we're going broke. i think personally it would bring stability to the world markets. >> yeah, i'm not picking up a whole lot of interest even from the conservatives now on the debt ceiling. i think they feel like they basically switched their priorities. they feel like, okay, they're engaged in this fight over the shutdown. they feel that they can win it, even though the polls would indicate this they're not winning it. whereas they think to allow the country to go into default would really affirmatively turn things against them. so i think there is a lack of unity on fighting obama on the debt ceiling and they're really going to make their stand where they have been making it right now. >> and what's the temperature when we think about now we've got the military death benefits, the issue with that as we have these flag-draped coffins coming home today. both sides are posturing for who

is on the right side of watching this part of our sad american history. but neither side really comes out smelling like a rose. and it's just a demeaning slap in the face to our american military families. >> well, to the american military families, to people who are relying on a whole range of government programs. sorry, there's -- somebody is coming in my ear, thomas. but the whole range of people from head start recipients to the people getting the women, infants and children nutrition program. so it's not just the troops, it's not just the families of the fallen, it's not just the veterans, it's everybody. and the republicans would like to have this strategy of sort of releasing one hostage at a time and i think the democrats are rightly saying that's just not the right way to do business. >> sorry about that extra voice in your head. normally they're just in my head.

great to have you on. thanks so much. in an earlier block during our interview with former congressman sestak he used an inappropriate word and we apologize for him using that word. we'll be right back. [ female announcer ] who are we? we are the thinkers. the job jugglers. the up all-nighters. and the ones who turn ideas into action. we've made our passions our life's work. we strive for the moments where we can say, "i did it!" ♪ we are entrepreneurs who started it all... with a signature. legalzoom has helped start over 1 million businesses, turning dreamers into business owners. and we're here to help start yours.

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just keep your elbows in a little more. you think this will catch on? maybe a little. [ male announcer ] want to win your own football fantasy? just tell us, then use your visa card for a chance to win it. have mercy upon us, o god, and save us from the madness. >> that's the chaplain of the senate admonishing members of congress even as he says that prayer opens the chamber for business. on a regular basis. i'm going to talk with him about whether he thinks prayer can help at this point. and janet yellen, that name, that woman, expected to be presented today as the president's pick for the head of the fed. but was she his first choice? [ male announcer ] maybe you've already heard what they're saying about the nissan altima. ♪

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expected to formally nominate janet yellen to replace ben bernanke has federal chief chairman. yellen would be the first woman ever to lead the central bank. she says a former white house adviser and currently serves as the fed's vice chairwoman. she played a key role in the master plan to keep interest rates at record lows to support economic recovery. josh barrow and elon. janet yellen was not the president's first choice for this role, was she? >> no. actually the president's first choice was one of his former advisers and former treasury secretary, larry summers. he was the leading candidate for this role. he had been a close by obama's side during the relegs. he was an architect of the stimulus plan. but unfortunately the white house was unable to secure

enough support from democrats, from their own party in order to ensure he would be confirmed. as many as five democrat senators on the senate banking committee said that they planned to oppose summers' nomination. when that news came out, summers withdrew his name from consideration saying the president would have to expend too much political capital in order to get him confirmed. >> some of the president's closest advisers have expressed concern about fresh leadership and the fact janet yellen has been involved with so many of the current policies that that might not be the best direction. do you agree with that? >> oh, no. i think what the fed needs right now is continuity. they have made good policy changes over the last year, of which yellen has been a key architect, that have given clarity about low interest rates for time to come. and that's, i think, what wall street wants. people think of summers as having been a candidate that was aligned with the banks. when you talk with people on wall street, you hear they think janet yellen provides good economic stability. the stock market went up a lot

when summers withdrew and that's when we knew yellen would get this nomination. today it's official but we've known about a month this was going to happen. i think the fed has been doing good things and she'll provide good continuity. >> there is some republican opposition. senator ted cruz has already said that he's going to use the nomination to look for leverage to pass for requiring a deeper audit of the federal reserve. ylan, senator bob corker said i voted against vice chairman yellen's original nomination because of his dovish views on monetary policy. dovish view its, does that add up? >> janet yellen has been a strong supporter of the fed's easy money policy. the fed is pumping about $85 billion into the economy each month. there have been many folks, even within the fed, who have wondered whether or not that money is really effective in supporting the economy. and certainly many republicans have questioned that role as well. so janet yellen is seen as

someone who might continue that program and in fact might continue is longer than ben bernanke may have. so she's a supporter of easy money. >> josh, i want to talk about that. she is certainly going to be the most important economic female, world policy, monetary leader. the u.s. domestically, we're facing our own fiscal issues right now, what's going on in washington, d.c. how do you think she's going to be able to handle that upstream current and also how do you think the markets will respond? we've seen what happened when people thought larry summers was going to be involved and he withdraws his nomination. how do you think the markets will go? >> i think janet yellen is the right person to do this right now. given the dysfunction that you see in congress and the dysfunction you have in fiscal policy in the united states where the government is doing things that will cause the economy to shrink, shutting the government down, creating the prospect of a crisis where the government can't pay its bills, the federal reserve can be a rock of stability and take actions that support the economy while congress is failing to do

so. i think yellen has clearly indicated she thinks it's proper for the fed to do that in times when we do not have a self-supporting economic recovery, the fed should stimulate the economy. it's not that she's for easy money all the time. to the extent we've a stronger recovery and better fiscal policy, i would expect her to back off the easing program leading the fed but i think she has the right perspective in terms of being responsible when congress can't be responsible. >> i like the idea of rock of stability. josh, ylan, thanks. you can watch president obama's announcement live at 3:00 p.m. here on msnbc. have mercy upon us, o god, and save us from the madness. remove from them that stubborn pride which imagines itself to be above and beyond criticism. forgive us when our prayers are

so other worldly they are no earthly good. may the tirades of majorities or minorities be equally impotent to sway our lawmakers from doing what is best for america. >> that was senate chaplain barry black, not mincing words while giving the opening prayer on the senate floor over the past few days. he's been admonishing members every day since the shutdown. he said when the military can't pay death benefits to troops killed in action, enough is enough. barry black joins me now. sir, it is nice to have you on today. as we were watching there through your role as chaplain, the kind of words your using there, stubborn, tirade, we get the moaning of what you're trying to pass along. what kind of response have you been getting from members? have they been listening to you and coming up in response to the sentiment that you're trying to

impart to them? >> i interact with members on a daily basis, and i receive positive feedback from both sides of the aisle because i am articulating what many of them themselves are feeling. >> but when we talk about what they are feeling and they are coming up to you to talk about it, it doesn't seem as if that their intention is translating into deed. >> well, when you're playing a chess game, you have to deal with the position on the board. you may want to attack the king, but if the position basically says you can't attack it, then you must play the position on the board. so i think the legislative process is cumbersome and often unattractive and unfortunately you have to play the position. so many of them are dealing with the stalemate and they are aware

of the fact they are dealing with a stalemate. >> chaplain, let me ask you to stand by for a second because harry reid, senate majority leader, is holding a press conference now on the steps of the capitol. >> republican governor of nevada yesterday, brian sandoval, said something that was very alarming to everyone in nevada. he said nevada is in danger of catastrophic consequences if the republican shutdown lasts longer. now, brian sandoval is a conservative republican governor. he said he may need to call a special session because nevada is already running out of money. as mark warner will explain maybe later, because he's certainly explained to me having been a governor, the pass-throughs are extremely important to a state. and obviously the state of nevada is a good example of that. if this republican shutdown continues in nevada, 365,000

food stamp recipients will see their benefits halted. not cut, halted. 425,000 women, infants and children would stop having food for their babies. in nevada, 425,000. unemployment benefits will be stalled, other programs like rape crisis call centers eliminat eliminated. the adjutant general appointed by a republican said the situation is dire. while he said the national guard remains ready to respond to an emergency, it has had to postpone drills and has no money for operations and maintenance. right now, he said if our trucks run out of gas, we can't put gas back in them. if our airplanes don't have gas

in the tanks, they just sit there. it's pretty dire, again his words, not mine. governor sandoval rejected the piecemeal approach being advocated by republicans in congress. here's exactly what brian sandoval said. at no point do i want to be in a position where i have to pick between women, infants and children and those on unemployment benefits and those employed by the national guard. for every person all these things are extremely important, end of quote. ladies and gentlemen, across this great nation of ours, tourism is being hurt, little strip malls are being hurt, big supermarkets are being hurt, everybody is feeling this. so as brian sandoval said, for every person, all these things are extremely important. we are here ready to negotiate.

that's why we are here. we've been trying to open a negotiation on our fiscal challenges for the better part of a year. and some of the people have been doing much of the negotiating are going to be the four that are going to speak. as i look around and see what we have tried to do, it's really frightening why the republicans aren't willing to sit down with us. today is the 200th day since the senate passed chairman murray's budget. over 200 days republicans have objected 20 different times to going to conference. we've asked to go to conference, we asked to go to conference to work out a reasonable budget compromise for six months. going to conference on a budget will allow us to negotiate any

issue they want to talk about. here's what mitch mcconnell said yesterday. he said i should work it out with the speaker. but here's what he said earlier this year, and i quote. if the senate version is different, he's talking about the budget, than the one the house sends over, send it off to conference. that's how things are supposed to work around here. we used to call it legislating. direct quote by mitch mcconnell. yesterday on their legislative program for a day, because it appears the speaker is only working a day or hour at a time, here's what he suggested. a super committee. but listen to this super committee. they limit what we can talk about. that's a hell of a super committee. so basically what we've been saying is the speaker and my republican friends should take yes for an answer.

we're ready to go to conference, we have simple, simple requests. open the government, let us pay our bills, we'll negotiate on anything you want to negotiate on. we're going to hear from the maryland delegation led by you know who, and then we're going to hear from the virginia delegation, led by you'll find out. >> senator barbara mikulski coming up to the microphone after senator harry reid was talking about the impact of what's taking place in his home state of nevada. but closing out there by saying that the speaker, referring to john boehner, should take yes for an answer and they have been ready to negotiate over fiscal challenges for a better part of the year. we were talking about the chaplain of congress in the senate, barry black, before we had the opportunity to listen to senator reid. sir, i'm sure you had the opportunity to listen as well. we were talking about the impact

of your words during prayer have hopefully been having on our members of congress. does it seem that the stubbornness is not going away? >> well, i'm very optimistic. i believe that my responsibility is to plant seeds and to water them. when you plant seeds and you water them, you depend upon the super natural movement of nature to bring the harvest. you don't go out checking to see if anything is pushed through the soil day after day after day. you trust the law of sowing and reaping seed time and harvest. so i am convinced that my labors, my prayers, my interaction with our lawmakers, my opportunity to serve them will bring a productive harvest. >> chaplain, i love the idea of planting the seeds and watching

them grow. but what happens if this is just a rotten crop of people that we, the american people, have elected to show us that they can't come up with a plan to lead, to govern, to do the jobs that we've elected them to do? >> well, i think that if we look at their history, we can see that there have been times when the soil that i'm planting the seeds in to continue the metaphor has been very productive. and these are the same lawmakers who have accomplished some fairly substantive things in the past. so i'm convinced that this is productive soil and that there's going to be a productive harvest. i started thinking about the movie of being there, peter sellers, so that's why i chuckled, but there you have it. >> i'm sending you a large, large bag of miracle gro for all

the work you're doing there in washington, d.c. when we talk about religion mixed with politics, it can certainly be a dicey situation. this weekend we had michele bachmann saying that she believed that the ends of days was near. i just want to play a small portion of that. take a listen. >> the united states is willingly, knowingly, intentionally sending arms to terrorists. now, what this says to me as i look at the end times scripture, this says to me that the leaf is on the fig tree and we are to understand the signs of the times, which is your ministry. we are to understand where we are in god's end time history. >> sir, how do you respond to people that look at and utilize religion in a way to lie and divide? >> well, i have a doctorate in theology. she's seeing a lot more in that scriptural passage than i am.

i don't think that you should misuse scripture and i'm sure that she's not intentionally doing that. i think that many times people make mistakes because they don't understand the scriptures. and the scriptures are not always easy to understand. >> sir, i understand you grew up in baltimore. i grew up in baltimore too, so i'm definitely sending you that bag of miracle gro for all that great work you're doing in washington, d.c. senate chaplain barry black. thank you, shiir, i appreciate your time and for being patient when we went to harry reid. >> thank you, thomas. we asked and you answered. we've asked you to share your shutdown stories. aaron weighed in, i'm ready to get back to work. being off is no fun when you're worried about money. jen shared my husband is our soul income and now furloughed. i'm permanently disabled, no savings and sinking fast. and then can't pay my gas bill, water or lights because i'm a vabld vet. -- disabled vet. we ask you to keep the comments coming in.

share them with the hash tag #don'tshutmedown. hey, i notice your car is not in the driveway. yeah. it's in the shop. it's going to cost me an arm and a leg. that's hilarious. sorry. you shoulda taken it to midas. get some of that midas touch. they tell you what stuff needs fixing, and what stuff can wait. next time i'm going to midas. high-five! arg! i did not see that coming. trust the midas touch. for brakes, tires, oil, everything. (whistling)

so it's been less than 24 hours since eight democratic house members were arrested during a massive immigration protest on the national mall. representatives john lewis, charlie rangel were among more than 50 people arrested. they joined thousands of protesters calling on congress to pass comprehensive immigration legislation that includes a path to citizenship. several republican lawmakers also attended the rally and made a bipartisan push. >> we've heard a lot of lip service and a lot of promises. both political parties have had the chance to solve it. neither have. it's about time we get it done this year. >> let's get a vote on the floor. we want a vote on the floor. call for a vote on the floor. because the time for immigration reform is now.

>> joining me now is congresswoman jan sha cow ski. the house bill had no republican sponsors. we know there's some support on the republican side of the aisle. there were several republican congress members who spoke there at that rally. so what is next for immigration reform, or are there just too many shiny, distracting objects in washington, d.c. to have a comprehensive conversation about something so important? >> well, actually, i think the momentum is building. we know that the senate bill passed with incredible bipartisan support. 68 members voted in favor of the comprehensive immigration bill that they passed. the introduced bill in the house, though it doesn't have right now republican cosponsors, it has 174 democrats and incorporates only those things that have demonstrated that they

do have bipartisan support in the house or in the senate. so we believe very strongly that if a vote were called, that we would get that bill passed. we are willing, of course, to compromise. it would go to conference. we could all sit down together and hammer out a piece of legislation. certainly among the groups outside and the individuals, we had over 170 demonstrations in cities in 41 states across the country. a huge one yesterday. so this is a real issue. it's not a manufactured one. >> it is a real issue. what do you say about the critics that charge that the obama administration allowed the immigration rally to take place on the national mall? that's a national park, just a week after veterans have been impacted not being able to go and visit their national memoria memorials. >> well, the city of washington, d.c. is actually taking care of the logistics and the cleanup.

they're paying for that themselves, out of city funds. so this is not really taking money from the federal government to do that. so we were welcomed by the city of washington, d.c. >> explain to all of us the process of a congressperson getting arrested. do you have bail money in your shoe? >> well, i had it in my pocket. you have to have your $50 ready to go. but, you know, i joined people for whom this was a serious commitment out of the maybe 20,000 people. as you said, over 150 were arrested. showing a willingness to commit civil disobedience in order to draw attention to the need for a vote. it's really that simple. call the vote. let the congress have its will. let the republican leader call the vote, just like we want for the shutdown, for immigration reform. we think both would pass. >> well, it's good that your

wrap sheeting is getting longer for a great cause. thanks for being here today. i'd like to know the secrets about where you're keeping your bail money. >> right in my pocket. >> that's a good place just as well. thanks so much. i do appreciate your time. >> thank you. >> i appreciate all of your time at home. that's going to wrap things up for me. "now" with alex wagner is next. alex, i would go bail money in the shoe. >> at this point, i'm ready to hide my money under my mattress. >> i'm going to know where to look if you ever invite me over. >> that's coming, my friend. >> thank you. >> paul ryan finally dips it his toe into the shutdown waters, penning an op-ed that conspicuously avoids using the "o" word, and the right flank flips out. we'll talk unconditional surrender with luke russert, michael steele, and ezra klein. plus, the aclu weighs in on al qaeda suspect al libi, and the administration's complex

relationship with due process. and fashion guru and "vogue" contributing editor joins me live in studio for a discussion about the industry's race gap and little black dresses. all that when "now" starts right after this. [ male announcer ] this is pam. her busy saturday begins with back pain, when... hey pam, you should take advil. why? you can take four advil for all day relief. so i should give up my two aleve for more pills with advil? you're joking right? for my back pain, i want my aleve. le le store and essentially they

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liberated. released. decongested. open for business. [ inhales, exhales ] [ male announcer ] powerful sinus relief from the #1 pharmacist recommended brand. sudafed. open up. day nine of the government shutdown and republican leaders are hoping everybody, including can republicans, will forget why they started this fight to begin with. it is wednesday, october 9th, and this is "now." insurrection, mutiny, blood sport three. the fight for the republican party continues. in an effort to pivot away from the task of repealing obama care, house budget committee chair paul ryan emerged from hiding to publish an