agreed on a number. it s $38 billion in cuts. harry reid said that this morning. the one issue holding up any agreement to prevent a government shutdown is federal funding to planned parenthood. republicans want it, democrats do not in any way. so you re having to see these negotiations go down a road which is quite tricky to navigate. all right, how do you make sure that federal funds there s also a law that says no federal funds can go to abortion, but how do we curtail federal funds going toç any private organization that engages in a broad definition of abortion services and family planning serves. democrats say, look, it s fine to give money to planned parenthood because they do so much for women s health. things like mammograms, things like family planning. republicans say, no, it s a slippery slope. any money to planned parenthood will be involved in immoral causes. that s the issue democrats are saying. republicans say it s spending. where it really is, nobody really knows
parenthood. i do not believe that that s really what s keeping us from allowing the government to continue to operate. the majority leader has been in the negotiations, he s in a position to say that. if that s the case, then it seems to me we re in a very untenable position here, at least the majority leader is, because planned parenthood is not the only entity that can provide medical care in this country. we re listening to senator jon kyl there of arizona giving a rebulttal to harry reid who spoke candidly about the what the main sticking pointing that s dragging all of us potentially into a government shutdown with less than 13 hours to go. we re fogoing to talk to former republican congressman bob barr. it s nice to have you with us. we just heard senator kyl saying he finds it hard to believe this is all boiling down to a subsidy harry reid just moments ago said that s really the main sticking
so we are following the latest word from washington on budget negotiations as they are ongoing. we have heard from speaker boehner and leader reid this hour. neither side seems to be budging. sna snoor senators are on the floor right now discussing and the debate behind what s behind the debate. patty murray saying women would not be pawns in this government debate. now, negotiations do continue on capitol hill as president obama weighs in from the white house. a live update next. beautiful sk. i m your venus i m your fire .needs protection. introducing venus proskin with moisture rich shave gel bars enhanced with a triple blend of body butters that create a layer of protection for your skin with every close stroke. leaving your skin beautifully smooth. and your goddess just beautiful. well, i m your venus new venus proskin moisture rich.
bill up and pass we are following very closely the latest word from washington on budget negotiations. we ve heard from speaker boehner and leader reid. the democrats are standing firm asking the speaker to help president obama reach a deal. dick durbin just said it would be an embarrassment to let the government shut down. senate republicans are voicing their frustrations over the lack of spending cuts. as part of msnbc s week-long look at the black agenda and efforts to build a stronger america, we examine the role that women play as leaders in this country and how their involvement helped shape the discourse needed to solve our nation s most substantial problems. i m joined by melissa harris-perry, professor of political science and african-american studies at princeton university and stephanie brown, national field director for the naacp. ladies, thanks for coming on today. stephanie, i wantç to start wit you because right now we re on the brink of this government shutdown as re
worth pushing our government to the brink. who knows but that s the decision they re making right now, is it worth it. right now they believe it is because there is no hope as we know from negotiations in terms of preventing a government shutdown at this time. the clock is still ticking but there is no real hope right now, thomas. it s less than 13 hours to go. luke, thanks so much. also want to pass along a programming note that we are expecting to hear from senator harry reid from the senate floor coming upç just in a little while, so we re going to keep an eye on that and bring it to you as soon as we get it. again, we heard from speaker boehner briefly at the top of the hour but nothing substantial that came out of his address to the media. as you just heard from luke, the fact that this could all boil down to one basic social policy that could shut down the entire government come 12:01 a.m. as you can see we ve got the countdown clock there on the left of your screen and are w