thank you. >> senator grassley. the comment was made about support from newtown and i'd like to put a number of testimonials that have come in indicating support from newtown. i'd also like to put in the statement from the united states attorney that testified that in a 2004 follow-up report to the national institute of justice, the same researchers concluded that the use in crimes of assault weapons subject to the 1994 ban declined by more than 2/3 in the first nine years the ban was in effect. and also a statement from professor tribe, if i may. >> without objection, that will be part of the record. senator, hold just a moment unless you want to yield to senator lee. >> let's yield to senator lee. >> ok. senator lee. and for scheduling purposes, you might -- there is a classified matter that is going to require senator grassley and i and a couple other members of the senate to be at and as a result we will recess at 11:45 subject to the call of the chair which may bring us back today or tomorrow. we'll see. but ju

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

thank you. >> senator grassley. the comment was made about support from newtown and i'd like to put a number of testimonials that have come in indicating support from newtown. i'd also like to put in the statement from the united states attorney that testified that in a 2004 follow-up report to the national institute of justice, the same researchers concluded that the use in crimes of assault weapons subject to the 1994 ban declined by more than 2/3 in the first nine years the ban was in effect. and also a statement from professor tribe, if i may. >> without objection, that will be part of the record. senator, hold just a moment unless you want to yield to senator lee. >> let's yield to senator lee. >> ok. senator lee. and for scheduling purposes, you might -- there is a classified matter that is going to require senator grassley and i and a couple other members of the senate to be at and as a result we will recess at 11:45 subject to the call of the chair which may bring us back today or tomorrow. we'll see. but ju

today iowa senator grassley voted in opposition to pass the senate committee today.a listen to senator grassley. >> mass shootings will continue to occur despite universal background checks. criminals will continue to steal guns and buy them illegally to circumvent requirements. when that happens we'll be back again debateing whether gun registration is needed. >> michael: we should point out grassley is the only republican to vote with the democrats on another part of legislation which is the gun trafficking and straw purchasing of guns. so when you have opposition like this, what do you say to them, monte frank as you hear senator grassley say this? >> i mean, first, i would say that i respectfully disagree. background checks has got to be the center peace to an effective strategy to reduce gun violence in our cities and states. it's not the only piece. there are four pieces to it, and those are the four bills being currently discussed. when you put it together with the trafficking bill, which i was pleased that senator grassley supported that. you saw the weapons

senator grassley and i drafted a bill together. antifraud provision is an important part of the dodd-frank wall street reform act. the department has broken records over the last several years for criminal and fraud recoveries. in narcs the 50th anniversary of the supreme court decision, which affirmed that no person should face prosecution without the assistance of -- i remember as a young lawyer reading the book of that gideon's trumpet, and how much that impressed me. i'm encouraged by the justice's department's access to justice. we need to do more. i was glad to see the announcement to standardize and improve signs across the country and incorporate idea -- and i appreciate the attorney general joining me in recognizing the mounting problem of our growing prison population. devastating consequences, shrinking budget, it's a human cause. we have to find more constructive ways to solve turning away from excessive sentences and mandatory -- attorney general holder was confirmed four years ago. the department was -- reeling scanda

grassley? >> can ask, is it going to be possible to get this done before the chairman and i go for a briefing? spent i don't believe so. i do know about your schedule but i have a number of other amendments that are be happy to take -- >> in that case, we will, we're not going to be able to finish by the time because of, unfortunately, neither senator grassley nor senator feinstein or i are able to talk about the nature of this. we will, we will recess subject to the call of the chair. and we will get this bill completed. i appreciate the honesty. we stand in recess subject to the call of the chair. [inaudible conversations] >> [inaudible conversations] >> the u.s. senate is about to gavel in. senators will spend the morning on general speeches. this afternoon, they will turn to continue to government funding past march 27. the federal government is operating under spending authority that runs out at the end of this month. live coverage now of the senate here on c-span2. the presiding officer:

senator grassley? >> once again, thank you for coming up here. i want to follow up on your response to senator cruz and i think he talked about introducing a bill. do you believe that congress has the constitutional authority passing a law prohibiting the president to use lethal force against american citizens on u.s. soil? and if not, why not? >> congress has the ability to pass -- >> whether the legislation -- well, congress has the constitutional authority to pass a law prohibiting the president's to use lethal force against american citizens on u.s. soil? >> i'm not sure such a bill would be constitutional. i would have to look at the legislation, but i would have that concern. >> but your basis is is because of article 2? >> i believe so >> one last question in that area, given the belief that it would be constitutional to use lethal force against american citizens on u.s. soil in some instances as you said, would that theory extend to permitting the executive branch to use enhanced interrogation techniques against american citizens on u.s.

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

senator grassley. >> yeah. i would like to suggest three steps here. one would be to take care of the nominations. the other one, i have an issue that i'd like to just make a statement on. and then i have a general statement on the, on this whole issue of the four different bills, and i would like to have any of my members that want to make statements just before you bring up the legislation and then have debates on the legislation. >> well, you know, obviously i'll give time. i mean, i think that we tried last week to get as many of those statements, including mine and yours, out of the way. but naturally, i'll yield to people who wish to make statements. also, some are going down for the bill signing, and others i do not want to lose a quorum. but go ahead. >> well, as you can see from the absence on my side except for maybe three of the newer members, we all have people that have responsibilities in other committees. that's why i bring that up. let me say that we're able to, i think, unless one of my members want a vote on alejandro's, i think we ca

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

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

. >> republican senator chuck grassley. >> the grassley amendment in the senate. >> is crafting his own gun bill. >> strips out the universal background checks. >> known to be an opponent of background checks. >> everyone knows the politics of this issue are hard. >> we've got to suck it up. be courageous and do the right thing. >> there are some powerful voices on the other side interested in running out the clock or changing the subject. >> there is not a bill on the hill that provides a universal check. >> why not? >> universal checks is a dishonest premise. criminals aren't going to be checked. >> i think they're out of touch with the american people. >> a vast majority of the public support background checks. >> their assumption is people will just forget about it. >> it's now been three months since one of the worst mass shootings in american history. >> less than 100 days ago that happened. and we've moved on to other things? >> we can't forget it's the families, it's the victims and it's the future victims if we do nothing. >> this time really is different. shame on us if we hav

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

there's talk of a grassley amendment in the senate he's known to be an opponent of background checks. is this a feel-good substitute that will let people vote for gun laws, but not do anything tough? >> i hope not. feeling good won't stop the next deranged guy from getting out there and killing a number of americans. so what we have to do is have real substantive changes to the law that makes it very sensible about who will be able to possess a weapon. and i don't think that's that difficult, andrea. right now virtually every american, nine out of ten americans intentionally support us closing the loopholes, that allow people who are deranged or criminals from obtaining weapons. we should be able to at least move there and go on it other things. in california we've gone to the step of saying weapons of war? you shouldn't possess those. assault weapons are not for the street. they're for war. >> ha do you say to members of congress, democrats and republicans, especially democrats, in red districts, who are the biggest problem, potentially the biggest hurdle to getting some sort of toug

grassley: yes. mr.leahy: i realize we're not going in the normal order, where the manager of the nomination would go first. i simply ask shall did and because we have a hearing going on with the attorney general -- i'd ask unanimous consent that when the distinguished senator finishes his speech, whatever length it is, that i be then -- and all time will have then have been used up and there not being any time reserved for the manager of this lecialtion i as- of this legislation, i ask that i have two minutes tend of his speech to continue. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. grassley: for the benefit of my distinguished chairman, i didn't realize yesterday that he spoke on this, and i should have been over here yesterday speaking object it as well. and so that's why i asked for the extra time. in new york v. stern, ms. halligan advanced a novel legal theory that gun manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers contributed to a -- quote, unquote -- "public nuisance of i will ly

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

go ahead. >> good morning, chairman leahy, ranking member grassley. i want to thank you and the rest of the members of the judiciary committee for inviting me to testify here today. my organization, the association of unmanned vehicle systems international, is the world's largest nonprofit organization devoted exclusively to advancing the unmanned systems and robotic community. we have more than 7,500 members, including more than 6,300 members in the united states. the industry is at the forefront of a technology that will not only benefit society but also the u.s. economy. earlier this month my organization released a study which found that the unmanned aircraft industry is poised to create 70,000 new jobs and $13.6 billion of economic impact within the first three years of following integration of unmanned aircraft into the national airspace. however, the industry understands that this technology is new to most americans, and they are pained being informed by what they see in the news. this hearing is an opportunity to address the misconceptions abo

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

grassley amendment number 156, for ms. mikulski amendment number 431, for ms. ayotte amendment number 158, for mr. cruz amendment number 202, for mrs. murray amendment numbered 439, for mr. crapo amendment numbered 222, for mrs. she haoepb amendment -- shihan amendment number 438. the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: mr. president, i want all of our members to understand that the second amendment that we will be voting on tonight is the ryan budget. there seems to be some resistance among my republican colleagues in bringing up the house republican budget for a vote, and it's pretty easy to see why that is. last year's house republican budget was in fact soundly rejected by the american people in the election. and since then it continues to be very clear. the american people prefer a balanced and fair approach that puts our economy and our middle class first. not an extreme irresponsible approach. unfortunately, house republicans put forward a budget last week that doubles down on the rejected ideology that the american people spoke

senator grassley saying that mr.epared to address the issues before the u.s. senate. this goes on to the senate help committee. if he clears that to a full vote in the u.s. senate. cheryl: his resume does not add up to the qualifications needed for the position. this is going to be an interesting argument in washington. thank you very much. we'll keep you busy. well, is the situation in cyprus something more? advisers on the cyprus risk premium he expects to develop in the markets. he's going to be joining melissa and lori coming up at 1:00 p.m. coming up here, bar owe now, pay later. employees are rating the retirement account. tax pains. scott from the tax foundation is going to be joining me next as we kick off a week long series on what is sure to be painful. your tax appointment. we'll be right back. friday night, buddy. you are gonna need a wingman. and my cash back keeps the party going. but my airline miles take it worldwide. [ male announcer ] it shouldn't be this hard. with creditcards.com, it's easy to sea

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

grassley made the point that the burden is on those who are trying to limit constitutional rights andse who are trying to defend the rights. that's a counterpoint but an interesting argument. >> michael: the bill passed committee, but will it pass the senate? >> no, this bill won't pass the senate. there are too many red-state democrats democrats who are up for election in 2014. west virginia is a case study in that. this is the most controversial gun measure that has gotten out of committee and it will probably not pass the senate. >> michael: and ultimately do you think we'll get anything? what do you think will come out of the congress? >> yeah, i think we will get something. there were three--they've been working on this to two weeks holding hearings. there have been three bills and there is the chuck schumer bill which he has some republican support at first but then some republicans have backed away since then. all the republicans said they were hopeful they could back the final bill. there is going to be an amendment that will be allowed on the floor. then you have chuck grassl

. >>> 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

but hey, he's just doing what he's paid to: grassley got over $6,000 from the n.r.a.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 was intense but encouraging to see the president's commitment again. >> you've been to a lot of these events. you are certainly the face

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

grassley: i -- the presiding officer: the senator from iowa is recognized. mr. grassley: okay. mr. president, i -- and colleagues, i rise to speak about amendment 156. i'm offering this amendment to the majority budget to ensure that tax reform is revenue neutral and the money available to do tax reform is not used for spending, as the underlying resolution proposes. i'm pleased to be joined in offering this amendment by a number of my colleagues, senator enzi, leader mcconnell, senator cornyn, the finance ranking member, senator hatch, as well as senator burr, roberts, portman, isakson, thune, coats, and rubio. in order to ensure tax reform does not become a tax-raising exercise, this amendment eliminates the nearly $1 trillion in new revenue and the reconciliation instructions called for in the majority's budget. it further creates a deficit-neutral reserve fund for pro-growth revenue neutral tax reform. the budget reconciles the finance committee to come up with nearly $1 trillion in revenue. i spoke last night how difficult that is to do unless you want to tax middle-income ame

grassley: thank you. over the ten years that i was chairman or ranking member of the finance committee, i worked with several budget committee chairmen. they were senator domenici, senator nickles, senator gregg, senator conrad. we did not always agree on every issue, but by and large, there was coordination between the budget committee and the finance committee. basically i had past chairmen, republican or democrat, come to me and say, "tell us what you can do or not do within the finance committee so we don't give you an impossible task when a budget resolution is adopted by the united states senate." and it worked very well because they respected the institutionalized knowledge within the staff of the senate finance committee, both republican and democrat staffs, as well as the more important institutionalized information that comes from the joint committee on taxation. now, as i said, we didn't always agree on every issue, but by and large, there was that coordination. unfortunately, the coordination

is there enough people to, that, senator grassley's request u.s. circuit judge for the 8th circuit be held over. we've held over ken gonzalez before, but senator grassley has asked me to again postpone it, al brady violation, u.s. attorney office looking into the matter further. i've looked at it. i'm prepared to move forward but because of the ranking member we'll hold over another week. >> i like to add to what you said, with discussions from both senators from new mexico and i feel they understand what we're trying to get answers to and they, i, i think i have satisfied them for a while. and i don't think it is going to take very long. >> and, an attempt to hold it up for the saying of holding it up. i know you talked to the senators. i appreciate that. they both told me you did and i think following the normal commenting in this committee, i'm happy to hold over again. so, senator cornyn, you have an amendment? >> can i ask, senator lee has a statement that i would like to put in the record. >> of course. and and the record will be open for any

what you're seeing is brown and grassley are pointing the finger where they apparently, according to take into account economic damage. they are saying they should be concerned with whether or not there was a crime committed. the department says we have a wider context to take into account. >> joining us now to talk about this, former white collar prosecutor tom cur ren, now head of white collar criminal and regulatory enforcement. our panel is with us. tom, hsbc. laundering mexican drug money. pushing money into iran. these are criminal offenses. can you throw a bank in jail? >> no. as a matter of fact about a hundred years ago corporations weren't held criminally responsible as well. it's a new thing. lenny brewer says you have to take into account individuals at a corporation do you charge pensioners and their customers and anyone else? >> for what purpose? you will choke the criminal justice system. >> you bust them. arthur anderson. >> it's like the too big to fail. too many entanglements. >> the supreme court said arthur anderson wasn't the right thing to have done. arthur ande

grassley has opposed background checks, which are included in reeds bill. background checks were starting to look like the easier get but are they now also in serious trouble as well? >> look, now here's the truth. >> knows the politics of this issue are hard. but we also know what the president has said that is correct it is time to act. it is right and responsible that we take some steps that can make things better here. and we know that background checks is one of the most effective ways to stop people from getting guns who shouldn't have guns. >> i know you're an issues advocacy group, you are don'twork on behalf of candidates, but why not decide to raise money and just go after lawmakers who don't bend to your well the same way the nra does? >> today ofa has over 100 events across this country on our national day of action on gun violence. we're going directly to members of both parties to say the time to act is now. we can get things done like background checks, like high capacity clips, all of those things can get done. i understand politics are bad,

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.

senator grassley? >> once again, thank you for coming up here. i want to follow up on your response to senator cruz and i think he talked about introducing a bill. do you believe that congress has the constitutional authority passing a law prohibiting the president to use lethal force against american citizens on u.s. soil? and if not, why not? >> congress has the ability to pass -- >> whether the legislation -- well, congress has the constitutional authority to pass a law prohibiting the president's to use lethal force against american citizens on u.s. soil? >> i'm not sure such a bill would be constitutional. i would have to look at the legislation, but i would have that concern. >> but your basis is is because of article 2? >> i believe so >> one last question in that area, given the belief that it would be constitutional to use lethal force against american citizens on u.s. soil in some instances as you said, would that theory extend to permitting the executive branch to use enhanced interrogation techniques against american citizens on u.s.

what about that senator grassley?t if the passengers on board that fourth aircraft hadn't brought that plane down in shanksville, pennsylvania? there has been talk whether we were prepared to shoot that plane down to save countless other lives and would we have had a jury trial before we did that? would not our president have had the authority to make that call? >> well, without answering your question because it's a tough one to answer, i can tell you, here again, you have general holder taking two sides, different sides on the same issue. you know, when bush made-- >> i get. forgive me for interrupting you, you've made the hypocrisy point. i want to get to the substance because i see how it's easy to get outraged, senator paul you're going sitting there eating your dinner and get the drone, and i laughed because that's a little extreme, but eric holder seems to be talking about in a truly catastrophic situation do we really want to tie the commander-in-chief's hands? >> i think the answer to your question is a very

grassley? >> aye. >> aye. >> mr. lee? >> aye by proxy. chairman? >> no9. . >> 8 yays, 10 nays. >> senator schumer recorded no in person. amendment call up 11316 to ask for immediate consideration. >> without objection, it is before the committee. >> this would allow persons who have obtained a protection order, which is a broader definition then just merely a , this wouldrder allow people who love it obtained a protection order to obtain and possess the personal self-defense weapons prohibited by the legislation. the national coalition against domestic violence estimates 1.3 million per year women are traumatized by domestic violence, and one in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. when the sexual assault statistics are added, the numbers are staggering. the most vulnerable, this is a symbol of struck bridget struggle and the certification of real threat of danger they and their families must live with every day. we should ensure that at the very least they are able to own and possess the very tools necessary to prote

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

. >> senator grassley. >> [inaudible]. >> senator blumenthal. >> good morning, attorney general holder. thank you for being a. thank you for your leadership of the department of justice, an area that is so important, voting rights, doma, and other areas that are critical to the future of justice in this country. and i want to thank both you and the president for your leadership on gun violence prevention, and particularly his and your personal commitment to the people of newtown who are still grieving and hurting, and your personal involvement in trying to ease those continuing drama that still affects them as recent as yesterday and our telephone conversation. and i want to focus for the moment on gun violence prevention. as a law enforcement professional, not just as attorney general, but one who has been a judge and prosecutor, this whole idea of better enforcement of existing laws is one we both agree ought to be the goal, and it always is for any prosecutor. and yet enforcement of some of these laws is impeded by gaps in those laws, such as the absence of akron checks on firearms,

senator grassley, this is an incredible amount of paperwork that you are asking for.for every possible case reported to them by federal, state and local sources they are required to fill voluminous paperwork in response to your amendment instead of pursuing the criminals and those who are responsible for wrongdoing they will be filing forms with the department of justice. i think we know what the problem is here. this is a paperwork offense under the current law. we want to make it a serious offense. that is why some of the changes we are considering will make a difference. but i think senator feinstein is right let's get to the root of the problem regular reporting but please don't impose this kind of paperwork requirement on many offices that are struggling to survive. >> i disagree. there is such a big gap between prosecution and violation of the laws we have to know why these are not being prosecuted and if they don't prosecute them they ought to be telling us why they don't prosecute them and i think this report answers those questions and will help fill the gap

senator grassley, who was a former chairman of the finance committee, and i have come together and will offer an amendment to get rid of the fast-track process and provide for a pro-growth, revenue-neutral tax reform for corporate, business and individual taxes. i have a few other amendments i plan on filing as well to improve this budget. one would provide for a phase-in or transition for any changes to the tax code so that people and businesses can plan accordingly and we don't inadvertently put companies out of business or add people to the unemployment rol rolls. another amendment would require that each federal agency identify and prioritize its programs, its projects, its activities so that they can cut the worst first. as i mentioned the wyoming example. that way we get what's the least harmful and least painful and they would be spending reductions. we might even get into duplication between agencies. senator coburn and i did a little study of the health, education, labor and pension programs and we found that there was $9 billion -- $9 billion -- of duplication. now, you can't

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.

i think, senator grassley, we can get going.irst off i want to thank senator paul for having a filibuster which kept everybody still in town so we can have a quorom to talk about guns that may not have been his number one reason for doing it, but we take ancillary benefits wherever they come from. last week we all had the opportunity to talk about legislation before the committee regarding gun violence in america. we gave our speeches. and i hope we could make significant progress. earlier this week i was joined by senator collins, senator durbin, gillibrand, and senator kirk in the introduction revised legislation to combat the straw purchasing and trafficking of firearms. others have joined us in that bill including senator clow chew char, senator king, and i'll plan when we get on it i'll offer a substitute we find the provisions with the text of the leahy-collins bill. i reach out to the senators, those discussions bore fruit. the substitute incorporates a pending bills provision, and its creation of a specific crime for str

strong opposition and many republican senators, that is it is the basis of filibuster and senator grassleyp with a bill that excludes background checks so republicans and democrats that don't feel they can back stricter controls can say i voted for it. >> chris: what would that do? >> it would curb gun trafficking and expand the amount of mental health data sharing, but not actually prohibit these back of the car -- father to son gift of guns and these kinds of things that are out of the gun show process. >> chris: let's put up a poll. cbs news has a new poll. just after newtown, 57% supported stricter gun controls. now several months later, that is down to 47%. charles, we've seen this over and over again. in the immediate wake of a terrible tragedy the public responds and demands gun controls and as time passes, that demand fades. >> that is why we don't have direct plebicites every time on the internet. we have representatives that deliberate rate and debate and think about issues that to get a result that may be effect active. i think it's wise to wait until the emotion has passed. the

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

senator grassley will make a statement. we will then go to our first two witnesses and then the second panel. we will ask witnesses to confine the remarks as much as they can to five minutes or so. the committee will follow the early bird rule, which is first come. we will call on them first to ask questions. afterwards, in five-minute rounds. i will begin with my statement. on december 14, 26 parents received a called no parent ever wants to receive. they would never see their son or daughter again. earlier that day, a deranged killer wielding an assault weapon and armed with a high- capacity ammunition magazine, he shot his way into the sandy hook elementary school in newtown. he unleashed a rapid hail of bullets. he killed 20 young children, mostly six-year-olds, and six brave administrators in a handful of minutes that it took for law enforcement to respond to the scene. that event shocked the nation to its roots. the pictures of these little victims brought tears to the eyes of millions of americans. we're holding toda

so, senator grassley. >> i will pass the opportunity to make a general statement. i will wait until senator schumer presents his bill. then i will speak about that bill. is that ok? >> we have before us s374, senator schumer's bill. senator schumer, i yield to you. >> i want to thank you for the opportunity to consider this piece of legislation and the other important pieces of legislation you brought before this committee. i do not want to say too much, because the chairman has asked us to keep our statements short and because i am working on compromise legislation. the fixed gun checks contains my ideal approach to expanding background checks to all gun sales, a concept over 90% of americans support. it is not the only way to do it. i've been talking and continue to talk with colleagues across the political spectrum and across the aisle about a compromise approach, and i remain optimistic that we will be able to roll one out. soy're not 100% there yet, for purposes of this committee's markup, i have circulated my own bill, while we finalize a bipartisan compromis

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 >>