budget committee ranking member chris van hollen has proposed a balanced alternative seven times, but the majority has not allowed us to consider a balanced plan on this floor. if we had on this floor an alternative to the sequester that achieves real deficit reduction which we know we need through a balance of revenues and targeted spending cuts, mr. speaker, i believe that the majority of us, republican and democrat, will come together and support it. it's time for speaker boehner to appoint budget conferees to the house and senate negotiators so they can begin to reach agreement on a balanced compromise. i will continue, mr. speaker, to call on both parties to listen to the men and women of packs river, of webster field, of indian head, quantico, folks in north carolina that mr. jones represents, folks in maryland that i represent, the folks in connecticut that mr.

congressman chris van hollen was in that meeting.ll have him joining us briefly in a moment. >>> another story we have been following closely today is what we could learn by this friday and the fate of alex rodriguez and major league baseball. according to reports the mlb has told the players union which pros it plans to suspend in its drug investigation and which ones will receive stiffer penalties for allegedly obstructing the biogen sis case. alex rodriguez could face a lifetime bans and his lawyer spelling espn and new york radio, quote, we are focused on an appeal. joining me is ben writer, a staff writer with "sports illustrated." this week's cover store for "sports illustrated" is entitled "the last days of a-rod." and in the interview he talks about being a role model certainly to his own two daur daughters if not other kids out there. ben, thank you for joining us. according to the new york daily news if rodriguez accepted a settlement that could call for him to be suspended the rest of the year. the entire 2014 season witho

congressman chris van hollen as always thank you for your time. >> thank you, richard. >> back with our panel. you heard congressman chris van hollen saying they needed something in between. what they had to vote on yesterday was too much. what was that in between and did you agree with what his solution is? >> i don't think there's any in between that can pass congress. the house is really the best chance for opponents of this nsa program really to clamp it down, to pare it back and they were very close yesterday. the senate is much more difficult body for those opponents to get legislation through, the supporters of that program are in prominent position, people in the intelligence committee, leadership are all with the white house on this. there's going to be an effort to pare it back. maybe there's a middle ground. but you won't expect much of anything other than window dressing. >> the poll shows more people are concerned about this. here are the numbers. are they concerned enough here to accept that want trade off of privacy over here security? >> it's interesting. the vote was ve

i'm sure the numbers include the many supporters that democratic congressman chris van hollen who i'm delighted to say joins us. good afternoon sir. >> it's great to be with you. we may be losing our family's support at this time. >> i fear for you. but the leader of your opponents in congress, speaker john boehner, says his job and i'm quoting him, is not to legislate but to repeal legislation. he also says he's ready once again to use the debt ceiling as a hostage. i assume, i guess, we should appreciate mr. boehner's honesty because basically, what he's saying is that his caucus doesn't care if their actions damage the country. the only thing they will care about, their sing ghoul lar priority for this nation is obstructing this particular president, isn't it? >> well, that's exactly right. as the president said today, we should be building up our economy. we should not be tearing things down. unfortunately, we have a republican majority especially in the house of representatives, where if the president were to adopt the republican platform tomorrow and say yes, i agree with you, t

i want to bring in congressman chris van hollen. so there a representative of your state. what do you expect the president to say. you heard what chris matthews said the yelping that has happened over the years. will hat roll over the progress that the democrats have made. >> i'm pleased the person introducing the president is a maryland and a constituent. chris ma thes is absolutely right. republicans are not only rooting for the affordable care act to fail they are trying to do everything they can to make it fail. what the president will do today is talk about the very real benefits that are already in place, already in place for kids, already in place for consumers. >> we'll go straight to the president. stand by. >> i want to thank all of you for being here. there are a couple of people that i want to make sure to especially acknowledge. first of all, the leader of the democrats in the house of representatives and somebody who worked harder than just about anybody to get the affordable care act into law, nancy pelosi. we had some outstanding members of congress here, so

chris van hollen, for instance, rosa delauro on head start, for instance.u get members back in their districts -- even the most fiscally conservative ones say this is a dumb idea. finding the solution that doesn't involve too much -- >> thank you, sam stein, thank you, joan walsh. thank you to the viewers who tweeted us with examples of how the cuts are hurting them. chris w. tweets, i work at oasis youth center in tacoma, washington, and provide key services to lgbt youth, 14 to 24. our funding has been slashed. we want to hear from you an how congress' cuts are affecting you. tweet us with #unkindestcut or go to our facebook page, facebook.com/hardball. we'll be right back after this. >>> let me finish tonight with this. yesterday as we discussed in the program, the washington, d.c., city council has voted to impose a higher minimum wage on large retailers. retailers with corporate sales of $1 billion or more. and operating in spaces 75,000 square feet or larger. it's really all about walmart. the federal minimum wage is $7.25 and where washington, d.c.,

chris van hollen. i want to fix something that i said incorrectly in a question to wendy davis. the last democratic u.s. senator from texas was floyd benson. treasury secretary of finance chair and an icon of the democratic party. so my regret on that. >>> and in a few hours accused boston bomber dzhokhar tsarnaev will be making his first appearance in a boston federal court. he's facing a 30 count indictment by a federal grand jury. tsarnaev has been accused of using weapons of mass destruction, killing three people, wounding more than 260 in that april 15th marathon 3w078 being. joining me now is nbc justice correspondent pete williams. pete, this is the first time we'll see him. what are the issues we're likely to see? >> the main one is he'll enter a plea. that's the main one. the first formal facing of the indictment that the grand jury handed down in late june. he was arrested in april. he had an initial appearance but that was in a hospital where a federal judge came to him because he was in no condition to go to a court because of gunshot wounds. he had difficulty speaki

chris van hollen, rosa delaura on head start.you get members of congress back in their districts, they will all bemoan sequestration and the cuts they have had. even the most fiscally conservative say this is a dumb idea. it's finding a solution. >> thank you, sam, stein. thank you, joan walsh. and thank you to the viewers who tweeted us with an example of how these cuts are hurting them. chris works at oasis youth center in with washington. we provide key services lgbt youth 14 to 24. our funding has been slashed. i want to the hear more how congress cuts are affecting you. tweet us with the #unkindestcut, or facebook.com/hardball. we'll be right back after this. [ female announcer ] as you get older, protein is an important part of staying active and strong. ensure high protein... fifty percent of your daily value of protein. low fat and five grams of sugars. [ major nutrition ] ensure! nutrition in charge! [ herbie ] eh, hold on brent, what's this? mmmm, nice car. there's no doubt, that's definitely gonna throw him off. she's

chris van hollen, for instance, rosa delora on head start, for instance.their districts -- even the most fiscally conservative ones say this is a dumb idea. finding the solution that doesn't involve too much -- >> thank you, sam stein, thank you, joan walsh. thank you to the viewers who tweeted us with examples of how the cuts are hurting them. chris w. tweets, i work at oasis youth center in tacoma, washington, and provide key services to lgbt youth, 14 to 24. our funding has been slashed. we want to hear from you an how congress' cuts are affecting i you. tweet us with #unkindestcut or go to our facebook page, facebook.com/hardball. we'll be right back after this. "stubborn love" by the lumineers did you get my email? i did. so what did you think of the house? did you see the school ratings? oh, you're right. hey babe, i got to go. bye daddy! have a good day at school, ok? ...but what about when my parents visit? ok. i just love this one... and it's next to a park. i love it. i love it too. here's our new house... daddy! you're not just looking for a hou

this is what budget committee ranking member chris van hollen has put forward seven times, mr. speaker, only to see it prevented by the majority from receiving a vote. the speaker says let the house work its will. well, perhaps this is the will of the house. i hope not. i urge my colleagues to work together across the aisle so we can end the sequester, end the sequester and restore fiscal discipline in a way that does not harm our security, our economy, the most vulnerable in our country or america itself and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: members are reminded not to traffic in the well when someone -- when someone is peaking from the well. the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia, mr. rigell, for five minutes. mr. rigell: i thank the speaker. i come to the floor this morning to call for a change in the house calendar. r. speaker, leader set priorities. they identify the challenges and opportunities that face their organization. and they assess them and put them in the right order and then they align their rganization's calendar to make su