republican senator chuck grassley wants to take away their get out of jail free card. he is here tonight. and finally some good news. those annoying text spam messages could soon disappear. we are on the case. ♪ gerri: all that and more coming up including a record day in the market. dow closing in the green for the eighth day in a row. getting further into record territory. repayment is coming soon, my friends. what the president playing nice with republicans wining and dining them so all is well in washington? we can expect a rousing chorus of come by on capitol hill? wrong again. the two sides could not be farther apart. today paul ryan really sinks his plan. ryan's plan would balance the budget in 10 years, something sg soon-to-be released democrat proposal has no intention of doing. ryan would cut spending down to only 19% of gdp down from 23% right now. much of the cuts would come from medicare and medicaid. he was turned medicaid over to the state cutting spending by $750 billion. starting in 2024, seniors will have the option of the traditional form of medicare

chuck grassley from iowa, ranking member of the judiciary committee joins me now.hank you for being on the show, always great to see you. you got a t of attention this week for a conversation that you had with attorney general eric holder on this very issue. i want ouriewers to hear precisely what he said, here is the attorney general. >> i'm concerned the size of so of these institutions becomes so large it becomes difficult for us to prosecute them when we are hit with indications that if you prosecute and have criminal charge, it will have a negative impact on the national economy and perhaps even the world economy and d think that is the facts are these institutions have become too large. gerri: the administration disagrees with you. but i have to ask you, senator, are the banks simply too big, the major ones, five or six that do business with so many americans in this country. >> doesn't that bring up a whole other issue of if they're too big you can't govern them, you can't punish them, you can't discipline them, maybe that is an issue we have to deal with bu

you might find chuck grassley trying to unarm children on school buses. i want to ask about the bock ground checks. our senate friends voted unanimously against private background checks for gun sales today. you heard senator schumer lamenting that. do you think that bill could pass the house? >> for some reason, that is one of the stickiest wickets with the nra. as you know, that even when they do background checks, they can't keep them very long. they have to destroy them. of course, it is important we know that the idea somebody will come and confiscate their guns is utterly ridiculous. how awful it is that 30,000 people lose their lives here and i'm so appalled at what happened to that 6-month-old baby in chicago today where a gunshot wound and death are just commonplace. for a 6-month-old baby to be shot five times america knows it has to do something. and it has to do something now. >> john: it is appalling and sadly preventable. you heard schumer say there was a moment after the newtown massacre where he thought congress could come together, at lea

you see chuck grassley's bill out there. harry reid's bill has been watered down. did we wait too long? >> look, i think the strategy of the nra and opponents of new gun safety laws has been from the beginning to try and slow the process down, to try and let the memory cool of this horrendous event in newtown. i do think, as you pointed out, 92% of americans still support background checks. there's a gun trafficking law that is advancing through the senate that i think has real possibilities of passing. there are other measures as well. we have to keep -- if you support those, you have to keep plugging away. i do think it would have been preferable to strike quickly, but that's not the way the process in congress works. so you have to work with the situation that you find. the best thing you can do is keep the american people involved in that debate. today, we heard the report from newtown and this unimaginable image of 154 rounds being fired at these kids in less than five minutes. that ought to refresh people's sense of urgency about this. by the way, every day i

rand paul, and chuck grassley.expect any more good words about any other republicans. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪ now find the most hard core driver in america. that guy, put him in it. what's this? [ male announcer ] tell him he's about to find out. you're about to find out. [ male announcer ] test it. highlight the european chassis 6 speed manual, dual exhaust wide stance, clean lines have him floor it, spin it punch it, drift it put it through its paces is he happy? oh ya, he's happy! [ male announcer ] and that's how you test your car for fun. easy. this show is about being up to date, staying in touch with everything that is going on politically and putting my own nuance on it. in reality it's not like they actually care. this is purely about political grandstanding. ♪ >> announcer: taking your emails on any topic at anytime, this is the "bill press show," live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: joe will join us in the next hour about north korea and about drones to kills. on rand paul p

chuck grassley should be embarrassed. and i suspect he will be when there's another mass shooting, be one of which will surely take place in his state if we don't draw the line somewhere. >> and governor, if the old law had been in place, more children would be alive tonight in n newtown, connecticut. he could only have killed that many people with the high-capacity magazine, and with the assault weapon, and since his mother had obtained guns legally, there's no indication, no indication, that that home would have had illegally obtained guns. he would have had -- he would have been limited to legally available weaponry if he was to go in and do that under the assault weapons ban. >> lawrence, it's even clearer than that. at the home were ten-round magazines and twenty-round magazines. he chose not to take those. he chose not to take them for a very simple purpose. he went to that school in my state with the purpose of killing as many people as he possibly could. that's why he had that gun, that's why he had 30-round capac

and iowa senator chuck grassley is opposed to comprehensive background checks. he's saying he's going to craft his own gun control bill without them even though, as you said, 90% of americans want the background checks in law. sir, even if grassley's bill fails as expected and a bill of background checks passes the senate, do you think it will make it through the republican-controlled house? >> it will if the speaker of the house will bring up the issue before the congress. if they'll bring it up on the calendar and he'll let us have our day on the floor giving us -- both sides have the opportunity to make their case befores our colleagues, before the american people and then we have a vote, i believe strongly believe that background checks would pass the congress. but again, it comes up to is the speaker of the house going to give us the opportunity to actually vote. >> john: congressman jim langevin democrat of rhode island and a member of the house gun violent prevention task force, thank you so much for coming on the program. >> john: when congress cuts mone

you know, if there were ten people behind me, chuck grassley said, yes, we could do this. something more than just sea bass has to change, and i think that might be the most significant thing out of this week, which is that mitch mcconnell and obviously these are mitch mcconnell's team have made me realize that you can no longer make president obama a one-term president, and if you cannot root for his failure, if you cannot spend four years gunning for him to fail, then you are going to have to do something else while are you in the senate. maybe for some of them it's just dinner. maybe for some of them it is, as tom said this morning, there could be under the guise of tax reform some piece of revenue that they could sign up to. >> and emphasis on do. before we continue to bat this around, let me bring in the woman with all the answers to our questions, nbc news capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell. >> if that were only so. >> it's true. kelly, let's talk a little bit about the attendees at last night's dinner. some of those names are a lot more familiar than others.

now iowa republican senator chuck grassley is saying it may be time to stop having the straw poll. >>> the state legislature in arkansas has overriden a see to you of a bill that passed that would ban most abortions from the 12th week of president. governor mike bebe said he vetoed the bill because he thinks it's unconstitutional and it conflicts with the decision in roe v. wade. >>> in a few day there's will be no more people in the peoples house. the white house is suspending tours of the executive mansion beginning this weekend. those automatic budget cuts are to blame. house speaker john boehner said he was disappointed that the tours were being stopped but he said the public tours of the united states capitol will continue. >>> republican congressman lewis gomert of texas proposed an amendment that would require white house tours be resumed or else the money would be cut off for any travel for president obama to go to golf courses. no tours, no golf. >>> and now for another look at the weather, meteorologist bill karins joins us. good morning. >> busy, busy day of trying to figur

iowa republican congressman chuck grassley is drafting his own gun control legislation, as an alternativeatic leaders. a spokesman for grassley but he is known as an weapons, and has been skeptical about new house democratic leader nancy pelosi was in san francisco. she is also speaking out about the need for gun control laws. and she had some harsh remarks about the national pelosi's office is planning control laws next week. a campaign started in tucson arizona is promsing *free shotguns for people to protect themselves. the armed citizen project says this could be the solution to tucson's crime problem. they want to give shotguns to single women and homeowners. it costs four-hundred dollars for each participant to receive a shotgun and weapons training. the campaign has already raised 12-thousand dollars. the armed citizen project seeks to arm neighborhoods in 15 cities by the end of the year. mallon brothers magic? watch this -- alakazam! ♪ [ male announcer ] staples has always made getting office supplies easy. ♪ another laptop? don't ask. disappear! abracadabra! alakazam! [ male ann

or elsewhere lawmakers were split about drone use listen to senate intelligence ranking member chuck grassley who talked to r t who we spoke to after this hearing when it comes to domestic use of drones and whether it's by the government or whether it's by private individuals yes i have very much concern about is the constitution being violated his privacy being violated those issues don't come up when you're using grown in military action all news has come out however that the obama administration is considering switching the drone program a program from the cia to the pentagon which may give the media more transparency and we are going to leave it off there but for more of the stories we covered check out our you tube channel you tube dot com slash our to america and you can also had to our website r t v dot com slash usa our producers are working on stories we don't always have time to get to on the air and you can follow me on twitter.

that's home to senator chuck grassley, and grassley is the ranking republican on the all-important judiciary committee. there is a bit of progress to report from that committee chairman pat strike leahy said bipartisan senators will support legislation. we'll watch how robert me menendez is handleing the mess, conservative website the daily caller started this whole mess back in november when it posted this video of two women making the claims. daily caller standing by his reporting saying the posts have alleged prostitutes all mixed up. senator menendez said he's the victim of a smear campaign but his problems don't stop there. this is all connected to the senator's dealing with dr. solomon melgen. senator me then menendez denies that he was part of the patronage. david schuster joins us from new york. hi david. >> great to be with you again. >> michael: tell us what you're learning about the menendez controversy. >> the menendez camp is overjoyed that the "washington post" put out this story suggesting that the daily caller got it completely wrong even though the daily caller is suggesting

it's a letter from the clergy, the religious leaders of that town to chuck grassley of iowa asking him to support gun reform. all the other signatures, all the fine print, clergy and leaders from all across the country. today, 26 cyclists, one for every victim in newtown arrived in washington at the end of a 400 mile ride to ask for a concrete reaction and not just words. they were joined on the final leg by members of the virginia tech cycling team. for reasons that you can understand. two of the riders today are the parents of a child from sandy hook. the political pressure against gun reform is always there. it's always there. everything you look at in this country that's ever happened on gun reform. you can also see the political pressure there on the other side. it always looks like it does now, but it is being met by a political force for gun reform that appears to be definitely equal if not greater, both in magnitude and intensity and commitment and that organized pressure is buoyed by the fact that gun reform has the country. a "washington post" poll today on gun policy. asked

in five minutes iowa senator chuck grassley joins us on the breaking news and on the growing controversy on the president's power to kill americans potentially on u.s. soil using drones. ♪ >> well, some of the venezuelans now living in america are cheering the death of president hugo chavez. some of hollywood's biggest names are mourning. oscar winners, sean penn and oliver stone released statements paying tribute to their friend. penn says quote, the people of the united states lost a friend it never knew it had. while stone, who directed a documentary on chavez called him, quote, a great hero to the majority of his people. another man is weighing in, former president jimmy carter released a statement praising chavez's commitment to improving the lives of millions of his fellow country men. but the man's death raises serious questions about the future of a country that's one of america's largest oil suppliers and chief harrigan is in caracas, venezuela with more. >> venezuela sharply split on hugo chavez, half the nation hates him, half the nation loves him. we're seeing the love on dis

>> chuck grassley, the senator from iowa, certainly thinks so.hat's because not only does perez want to use the impact analysis, but he doesn't want the supreme court to rule on constitutionality. there was a case last year in st. paul, minnesota, a case pending before the supreme court, would have given the court a chance to take a shot at the desperate impact and whether or not it's constitutional, and there's some evidence that justice got involved and persuaded the city to withdrawal the case. i think chuck grassley wants to ask about that, and i hope the senate delves in. dagen: could be an exciting confirmation process for a labor secretary. >> deservedly so. dagen: than seen in the past. what else should they ask about perez's background? >> well, it's -- i think he's emblematic of and administration thatments to use the rule of law selectively to help some people instead of others and use statistics selectively. for example, the same statistics that show blacks receive loans at lower rates than whites, show whites receive them lower than

tyler and sue, i can tell you that there are senators on capitol hill, including chuck grassley, whore very upset by that. they say it is not the department of justice's job to take on economic conditions. they say department of justice should just go after crimes wherever they see them. guys? >> michelle caruso-cabrera jois us. is there a distinction? >> there a distinction. we have seen the government prosecute other financial institutions in the past, they have failed. when you prosecute an entire institution, it is extremely problematic. individuals, very have heard other members of the administration say things like sometimes you're too big to jail and you work for the bank. they are talking about individuals. i don't buy that. any rule that you can't enforce, any law you can't enforce because you fear consequences, go back and look at where that law stems in the first place because that's a problem. >> eamon, i'm thinking of prior instances. bp was prosecuted and pleguilty felony counts. that's a pretty big company. you look back it bernard edwards, they went after him. >> a >>

one of the biggest bones of contention is yesterday chuck grassley said it just won't work, because itey look rather than the damage they can do. he also brought up newtown, but take a listen. >> this had bill been law, but at the same time sandy hook still would have happened. it would not have stopped a machinely disturbed person while stealing a gun that this bill would not have banned from his mother, and then shooting unharmed children. >> sir, what's your responsible to that argument? >> well, first of all, the bill also prohibits high-capacity magazines, and in fact had this ban been in effect, some or all of those children might well have been spared. the reason is very simply the shooter had to change magazines. he had a30-round clip, which he exhausted. he had to change. that enabled children to escape. so had there been a ten-round clip, he probably would have had to change earlier, more students could have been spared, it would have taken him longer. the assault weapon he might have somehow had access to some some other source or from his mother, but the point is they mass

committee with all the democratic votes on the committee but only one republican, iowa senator chuck grassley, all the other senators on the committee voted against strengthening the penalties for straw purchases, penalties for people who buy a weapon because they can pass the background check and knowingly pass the weapon off to someone who cannot pass the background check. these are the senators who voted against that in committee, orrin hatch, lindsey graham, ted cruz, jeff flake and jeff sessions all voted against strengthening the penalties for straw purchases. also today, there has been a huge release of new information about the elementary school shooting at newtown, connecticut, information in some cases different from what we thought we had known before. in detailed, very long search warrant reports released by connecticut prosecutors today, we learned a lot of new information about sandy hook. we learned about the large numbers of weapons of all kinds recorded from home to of the sandy hook shooter, different knives and swords and blades, a number of guns including the gun the shoot

. >> and you're reporting that senator chuck grassley is writing his own bill. with all these different things that are sort of out there, could it make the effort even tougher, manu? >> that could give cover to republicans who are to oppose the plan that the democrats are pushing. they can say, look, we are supporting an alternative plan. they would argue that they're not obstructing efforts to try to stem gun violence. also what that could do is attract a lot of red state democrats, people who are up for reelection, say in alaska, louisiana, north carolina who are concerned about some of the more expansive gun control measures, even the universal background checks, piece that the president is pushing. that could give some -- attract some of those folks. it's going to be very hard to get anything through the senate. we'll see this fight come to a head next month. i'm not expecting a whole lot to get through in the next coming weeks. >> of course the point person on this, former senator and vice president joe biden said yesterday, quote, i think we're on the vrj

then you have chuck grassley supported in committee a bill that cracks down on straw purchasers and illegalr of guns. that's got a chance. then the least controversial one is the bill that ramps up school safety and security. so three of the four measures--there seems to be optimism that three of those could make it through the senate. some of those possibly the house. we'll have to see. >> michael: for a lot of people who are against guns, the most important is the assault weapons ban. jonathan easley from the hill. thank you so much. now from attention seeking to attention shirkers. mitt romney did his best to keep his views under wraps but then a video leaked that said he thought 47% of of americans are moochers. scott proudy was a bar bartender was there that night. and the night before he worked at a dinner for president clinton. he was impressed with how nice bubba was. >> i felt an obligation to release it. i felt an obligation for all the people who couldn't afford to be there. you shouldn't have to be able to afford $50,000 to hear what the candidate actually thinks. >> michael: ju

. >>> senators chuck grassley and jeff flake have come from states with a large number of gun owners.as the senate panel is said to take votes on -- joining us is pollster chris wilson and columnist for the hill karen finley. the ad comes from americas for responsible solutions. that's the super-pac founded by giffords and her husband mark kelly. senators grassley and flake also on the senate judiciary committee, considering all the gun control legislation, and they have an "a" rating from the nra. when you look at the ad and strategy here, is targeting these senators good thinking? >> absolutely. these votes in the judiciary committee coming up will be very important particular larry as we've seen the gun trafficking legislation moving forward, the background checks, is where we have the most agreement from the american people in terms of support and among in the meantime ra members. nra is vehemently opposing it, so going after key votes is important to keep this legislation on track. >> they're trying, of course, to bring the votes together. "the washington post" reporting that som

and senator chuck grassley is also working on an alternative bill that would likely remove backgroundcks, which could further complicate the process. but hey, he's just doing what he's paid to: grassley got over $6,000 from the n.r.a. in his 2010 re-election campaign but on the other side of the aisle, some democratic funders are fighting back. two big donors announced today they wont fund any democrats who don't support background checks. for them, enough is enough. >> he comes to us from washington d.c., collin, welcome back inside the war room. >> good to be back with you. >> what was the mood like at the white house? >> the mood was intense. i mean, there was a lot of emotional people there mothers who even a few months ago lost their child to gun violence. you saw mothers behind the president and vice president crying during statements that were made. it was just a reminder of why we do this, to put a face on a problem that needs to be real for so many of us, that 91% of us support measures that would reduce the likelihood of these types of shootings happening to their family. it

sherrod brown is working with david bitter and chuck grassley as well to try to break up the big banks. there is encouraging news there. i asked senator brown now that you're working with the republicans, do you ever go out. >> do you ever go bowling together? does that happen anymore? >> we travel together. there's some discussions together. there's some occasional meals together. it's not enough. part of it is we see the world very differently. cenk: i wanted to end the show on kind of a fun note ear and talk about whether you're a democratic, should you hang out with republicans should you go bowling with them. ok so i brought in the panel be jacki sheckner is back, casper the friendly host, anna kasparian, jayary jackson the reverend is here, as well. anna, would you date a republican? >> no, i wouldn't. cenk: flat out. >> no, i wouldn't date a republican. i care about politics too much. we would always be arguing and i would have high blood pressure. i'd fool around with a republican. cenk: very interesting. >> carlmala, would you date a republican? even if you're a democratic, bu

right now behind-the-scenes negotiations between moderate democrats like joe manson, tom colburn, chuck grassley, he's trying to come up with a republican bill. we'll see what happens there. >> now we got another big sizzle story today, does the gop have a secret plan to repeal obama care. robert, i want to begin with you before we bring in our distinguished guests. this is a story on the national journal. mitch mcconnell arguing that since the supreme court has called obama care's mandates taxes, therefore it can be repeeled by going through the so-called budget reconciliation approach which means you only need a simple majority of 51 votes, you don't have to need 60 to stop a filibuster. now, what do you make of this, mitch mcconnell endeavor? >> reporter: this is about politics. sources close to senator mcconnell tells me when it do 78s 14 the gop is just going to hammer obama care. they think this is a viable political issue and become increasingly unpopular as it's implemented. >> is that going to be their campaign argument or one of the biggest ones? >> reporter: it is. in 2010 it was abou

you have this ranking member of the judiciary committee, chuck grassley, along with high profile teaarty types like ted cruz and senator from utah pup have texas in there. they wrote a letter asking senate judiciary chairman pat lachey to slow down, that it is going too fast. sometimes when people say, hey, slow down on this type of legislation, that is one tactic to be able to defeat it. we saw with healthcare legislation in 2009 within 2010, a lot of opponent said, let's slow down, let's stop the hearings, that is the first step of stopping legislation. >> let's talk to rand paul for a second. how do we think his aspirations may be influencing a quick turn on immigration reform? >> it is a striking term from when his father was campaigning for the president spip particularly in 2007, 2008 when he ran tv ads very critical of comprehensive immigration reform. now you have rand paul part of the tea party. ron paul's son, endorsing in one way or another a type of pathway to citizenship. now, the devil is in the detail on the citizenship. it means a lot of different things to a lot of d

. >> senators sherrod brown and chuck grassley of ohio and iowa sent a letter to the department of justice're concerned about this. they say our markets will only function efficiently if participants believe laws will be enforced consistently and violators will be punished to the fullest extent of the law. there should not be one set of laws that apply to wall street and then for the rest of us. here's what the department of justice said. no corporate entity no matter how large is immune from prosecution. but also said prosecutors must determine whether there would be disproportion gnat harm to investors wsh pension holder, customers, employees and others who were not culpable. they did not like the response they got there. they called irt evasive. and said the department of justice didn't respond to a series of questions the senators asked about how often they've actually deferred prosecutions based on concerns about economic impact. >> thank you so much. reaction now from republican senator david vitter. >> yeah. he's been working with democratic senator sherrod brown on a bill to make s

. >> now republican senator chuck grassley said it was stunning to hear the attorney general say thatand he aided the attorney general recognize that had in effect the big banks and their senior executives have a get out of jail free card here. also talked with some financial services executives other in washington today, one person i spoke to and disagreed and said the size of a financial institution is not at all the department of justice going after illegality. seemed sort of difference -- prosecuting someone because they actually broke the law is going to hurt the world economy. i don't get that. >> the keynote everyone brings up is of arthur anderson. if you bring charges against a firm, does it damage the firm and if the firm is so big that it collapses and impacts the global economy, is that something the justice department should consider even if they think there's illegality there. >> all right. eamon. thanks so much. eamon javers. of course, many blamed the banks for the great recession, something we came out much sooner than expected or do we. joining me right now to talk a

and the single largest tax cut was the extension of the alternative minimum tax which came from chuck grassley who voted against the plan. three and a half weeks and not a single republican in the house votes for it and three in the senate not including those that had most of their amendments at it and then we move on from there to not a single one voting for any significant initiative. that to me represents a difference. and a difference would suggest a willingness to find out how you can solve some problems even if there are other places you want to stop. a contrast between where the parties are now so there are no angels here but we really do have one party that is not that far from the midfield area although it has moved and the other party is behind it. >> did you hear any of what norm said? >> i think the problem is with both sides. as i said, the republicans are worse. i don't like the bull post framing because it depends on who decides where the middle of the field is and so a lot of republicans would probably say well yes, but we said for 40 years we don't want to go there and now our

. >>> on wednesday attorney general eric holder responded to questioning from chuck grassley asking whetherity the justice department prevents them from prosecuting major banks. >> i am concerned that the size of some of these institutions becomes so large that it does become difficult for us to prosecute them when we are hit with indications that if you do prosecute, if you do bring a criminal charge, it will have a negative impact on the national economy, perhaps even the world economy. and i think that is a function of the fact that some of these institutions have become too large. >> dodd/frank wall street reform, one of the most hard fought achievements in the president's first team, through a number of regulations to be iron the out. big banks and allies have responded to the legislative defeat of dodd/frank with assault on rule-making progress and agency's task of carrying it out without little public scrutiny. they've been successful. according to david polk, 176 of the 398 required rules have been missed, missed proposed dead lines. only 148 of the rules have been finalized. 74 sti

starting today a variation on that ad is airing in iowa for two weeks, and it's mentioning senator chuck grassley break with more show. stay with us. ♪ very, very excited about that and very proud of that. >>beltway politics from inside >>we tackle the big issues here in our nation's capital, around the country and around the globe. >>dc columnist and four time emmy winner bill press opens current's morning news block. >>we'll do our best to carry the flag from 6 to 9 every morning. [clucking]. everyone wants to be the cadbury bunny. cause only he brings delicious cadbury crÈme eggs, while others may keep trying. nobunny knows easter better than cadbury! [♪ theme music ♪] >> announcer: ladies and gentlemen, it's the "stephanie miller show"! ♪ i'm walking on sunshine woe ho ♪ ♪ i'm walking on sunshine woe ho ♪ ♪ it's time to feel good ♪ ♪ hey all right now ♪ ♪ it's time to feel good ♪ >> stephanie: yeah. this hour brought to you by go to my pc. i want do you try it go to my pc free for 45 days click on the try it free button and enter the promo code stephanie. [ applause ] >> stephanie: kathleen m

for search and rescue maybe car chases, but senator chuck grassley said something very interesting yesterday the constitution, does not mean they should be able to constantly surveil like big brother. >> yeah. this is the clash -- we see it on a number of fronts of technology versus constitutional rights freedom, liberty and privacy, and you see a brood alliance on this issue, and it's because in part of the increasing use of these drones. we now have hundreds of thousands in the hands of law enforcement for the purposes you say -- and you would like this. the drone doing the high-speed car chase, and searching hundreds of miles of water for an overturned capsized boat yes. but they are getting increasingly smaller and tell thinker. we now have humming bird sized drones that can fly through your bedroom window and perch on your wall and do surveillance. >> bill: divorce lawyers are going to have a field day. >> they have drones that have small explosive charges that can take out you and not the guy next to you. we have bug-sized drones. you don't need to wiretap your phone anymore. you can f

chuck grassley. >> congress has a constitutional ability to pass a law to use eatal force against american and there's that. and senator layhe. >> in your letter to senator paul, you left open the possibility of using lethal force against american citizens on u.s. soil can you agree there is no scenario where it would be appropriate to use a drone to strike down a u.s. citizen. >> the government has no intention to carry out any drone strikes in the united states. it's hard for me to imagine a situation in which that would occur -- >> he needs some -- >> stephanie: yes, a therabreath lozenge, i was just going to say that. we'll be right back on the "stephanie miller show." [♪ theme music ♪] >> stephanie: hello, current tv land. hour number 2. jacki schechner what is going on when rand paul is making some degree of sense, and the headline is governor jan brewer begs for party to expand medicaid. he said the human cost of this tragedy can't be calculated -- >> i have learned that mercury is in retro grade. >> stephanie: that's it. [ bell chimes ] [ applause ] >> either that or the zombie apo

the president has put forward and the senate judiciary committee passed and the measures which chuck grassleyed which will make straw purchases a felon. >> that's an important bull. the bill to have universal background checks responses ordered by chuck schumer passed. this ban on assault weapons. i am telling you i would love to know what you think about this. 866-55-press. but senator feinstein knows what she is doing. she authored the original bill, which had its flaws because it was too easy for gun manufacturers to make minor changes. she has tightened up on that. i think the number is 257 semi automatic weapons which would not be covered by her bill just to make sure that, you know people can say -- people can't say this is banning all guns or confiscating all guns kind of approach. she is clear in what is and what is not covered up this legislation. she has written it and defined it very very carefully. i will tell you something else about senator feinstein and i know her very well. i have been on -- she is a good friend of mine, but i have been on both sides of issues with her despiti

host: rachel smolkin, chuck grassley makes headlines for voting on one of these -- in favor on one ofhese proposals. how significant is that? guest: the chances do not look good for any significant action on gun control legislation. many americans do not want to see movement. the assault weapons ban was always a non-starter. there was not tremendous support on that, even with democrats. we might get action on that context. that seems to be fading. host: let's hear from shane in mississippi. good morning to you. caller: i watched the news every day and i watch fox and c-span and i listen to everybody. we are doing too many cuts. we need to go back in history and look at our forefathers and what they did. they created this country upon getting out of debt in keeping the country safe. it is going to take going to work and making something. it is going to take a business perspective as far as making money and trying to save money. i read a lot about thomas jefferson. he makes perfectly good sense to me. we can not be cutting down trees to make paper. host: let's hear from our guests. anyt

that's going to be a huge, huge debate.this the more conservative republicans like somebody like chuck grassley, jeff sessions, are really zeroing in this issue for the debate. they're moving away from the think we'll still hear some of it but they're moving away from the amnesty welfare charges and zeroing in on the border security piece so if the gang of democratice leadership doesn't have a good response for them, that could derail the whole conversation because it's a hard talking point to argue against. know ouru say, i border is not quite secure because people in southern arizona will tell you the border is not secure. thishensions were up 9% year and anticipated to be the same this year so people are to cross. host: and the "arizona republic" friday, "tight border discourages migrants from going across, once they get because of all these strict penalties, tougher penalties, of that, crossing has become more dangerous, people are backuraged from going home. guest: that is true. one of the pieces of the temporary worker program or legalization program has always been the ability for people

senator chuck grassley of iowa, the only republican to support it. the panel debated other bills. one requiring federal background checks for nearly all purchases, banning high capacity and magazines and boosting aid for school safety programs. again, the committee has recessed subject to the call of the chair. >> senator dianne feinstein speaking to reporters as she leaves the committee room. again, the judiciary committee not finished their work. meanwhile, the discussion is on the budget and the deficit at the white house. president obama is inviting the top house budget writers to the white house for lunch today. the lunch date with budget committee chairman paul ryan and the ranking democrat chris van hollen follows his dinner last night with a dozen of republican senators. trying to build support among rank and file republicans for starting talks on a long-term deficit reduction deal. in new york this morning, the u.n. security council has voted unanimously for new sanctions against north korea for its latest nuclear test. the resolution was drafted by north korea's closest

committee, senior actually member of the budget committee on the republican si side, senator chuck grassley, who's been involved in these issues for many years and been a leader on them for many years, is with us. and i would yield to senator grassley of iowa. mr. grassley: mr. president? senator sessions, distinguished ranking member, i'm going to try to show you and other members of the senate that the numbers that they think that they can raise revenue from -- $1 trillion -- are not going to work. now, you can take different taxes and add them up and up and up and they come out to a trillion dollars, but i'm going to show you, based upon votes that's been taken on the other side of the aisle, that it just isn't politically possible for them to do it unless they're willing to vote differently than they've ever voted before. because they've got to take on some of the most popular tax credits that are in the tax code. so that's what i'm going to do in the few minutes you've -- you've devoted to me. mr. sessions: thank you. and you take such time as you would choose. but i would just note, a