we are also monitoring our social media team at facebook.com/cspan.

welcome to today's washington journal we are going to be speaking to a reporter today about that topic but first i want to show you the full video that senator joe manchin released yesterday announcing he would not be running for reelection. [video clip] >> i got into politics because of an argument i had with by dad. he owned a furniture store in west virginia and our local state representative came in and asked him for a favor saying you owe me for all the things i've done for your little town. when the man left i said to my dad, -- that moment marked the difference between civil service and self-service. my dad told me politics was a bad business.

i didn't disagree with my father but at that time i did. i use the famous line from kennedy's address, ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country. i was 13 when i heard it and i'm still inspired today. my family is devoted catholics who immigrated from czechoslovakia. i knew president kennedy's words would sway my dad. it took a minute but my dad said he would support me running if i made a vow to serve all people and not just myself. that promise made to my dad has been my guiding light. i have never cared where good ideas came from and i never blamed one side for creating a problem or once i could fix it. when america is at her best we get things done by putting country before party, working across the aisle and finding

common ground. many times this approach is limited me and how water but the fight has been worth it. today weston -- west virginia is attracting more attention we are building roads, bridges manufacturing plants and infrastructure more than mall than at any time. i believe in my heart of hearts that i have accomplished what i said to do for west virginia and made one of the toughest decisions of by life and decided i will not run for reelection to the senate. what i will be doing is traveling the country and speaking out to see if there is an interest in creating a movement to mobilize the middle. to the west virginians who put their trust in me and fought side-by-side, it has been the honor of my life to serve you.

thank you. every incentive in washington has been made to make our politics extreme. the majority of americans are worn out. our economy is not working for many americans from the rising cost of food and fuel and everything in-between. we have a border crisis with illegal drugs entering our country every day. our national debt is out of control and americans do not feel safe in their own communities. we are providing critical aid to two allies fighting wars for their survival and we must prevent being pulled into a war ourselves. these are american challenges that affect everyone of us we need to face them together. i know our country is not as divided as washington wants us to believe.

we share common volumes of family, freedom, dignity and the belief that together we can overcome any challenge. we need to take back america and not let this divisive hatred further plus apart. public service drives me every day, that's the vow i made to my father 40 years ago and i intend to keep that vow until my dying day. may god bless america, the great state of west virginia and each and every one of you. host: that was senator joe manchin saying he would not seek reelection. we are asking if he should run as president in 2024. joining us is dave weikel. welcome to the program. was this a surprise move by senator manchin? guest: it was a surprise but

speculated about for the past three years that senator manchin will turn 77 and he has been courted by groups that want an independent presidential candidate. he had threatened to quit during some of the tougher. it's a biden's administration and he was losing and pulling to the governor. there was a hope that he could pull something off but he hadn't uphill battle with most democrats. it's surprising but it makes a lot of sense. host: remind us about this third-party him what's his connection to it? guest: no labels is across partisan group that until the

cycle has mostly focused on getting members of congress to agree to principles like deficit reduction, breaking gridlock. this last year it's been focused on getting ballot access to a third party that would offer an alternative to a biden/trump election. democrats have been mobilizing, nancy pelosi came out against this next week saying this is a plot to reelect donald trump. senator manchin has never rolled out running for president even though it would be unlikely in this move and his discussion to tour the country to talk about

bipartisanship. he has done this anyway. his voting record has given him an image of -- you may not be the -- you may not be in the mood to run for president but he will be asked until he rules it out. host: he talked about his frustration with both parties, what was his politics and his differences between the two parties? guest:e is a conservative democrat, a west virginia democrat. west virginia is a historical union state that was heavily democratic when mansion started his political career and when he

was elected governor in 2004, 2008 and is now a republican state for cultural reasons and policy reasons. the democratic parties embrace of green energy and senator manchin was persistent to that. a state that is very pro-gun although he would try to find some kind of compromise to find a way with the left-leaning views of the party. he had barely said interest politics on guns, abortion, spending and became tougher and tougher in his career through the senate. he opposed the obama agenda he

gets reelected to vote for parts of the trump agenda and if you look at voter registration over time, he gets elected when it was still very democratic state. as a republican state that still likes to get federal funding but one that is culturally very happy with a pro-gun, pro-life republican party. host: what you think his biggest accomplishments were? what will his legacy be? guest: the legacy he will be appreciated for by democrats is rescuing the bill back better program after killing it in 2021. most democrats also appreciate

that he voted for almost every judicial nominee that biden put up. he had little trouble getting his conference to vote for judicial nominees. but he also withheld his vote for the child tax credit which was a big bite and priority in 2021, senator manchin was critical he wanted to make sure people who were on drugs were not getting benefits. he had to let it go. there are lots of the act that dealt with childcare but he didn't wanted spend on that. -- didn't want to spend on that. the mike krantz and republicans

appreciate that he slowed down the spending because his idea that the post-covid spending would increase inflation. it was a factor in increasing at but his record as a voting democrat is going to be viewed a lot more positively. but he made a lot of opponents inside the party. that tapered off over time when it became clear that he would not bend if he was protested. he might even move march of the right. he enabled much of the biden agenda. he was a reliable vote for judicial nominees, there is no play for bipartisanship when it comes to the courts.

the fact that he was there for high profile votes on brett kavanaugh who he supported an amy coney barrett who he did not. he angered liberal democrats for voting for cavanaugh. he made lots of people unhappy and that was part of his plan and politics. he was never going to vote in lockstep with the party but it's a complicated legacy. economically, he was probabl perceptive incorrect and s policy, that will be sorted out over the years. host: dave weikel political

reporter, think you for joining us. we will go to your calls and start with carmine in pennsylvania, democrat. caller: good morning, we all know what this whole thing is. first of all i don't want ma nchin to run for anything he voted more from o'connell than schumer. if he wants to run for no labels it is a phony political party that comes up every four years and he refused to show the list of donors because we know who is behind no labels. it is these billionaire corporate oligarchs. so no, i don't want manchin to run in 2024. host: sylvia is next, and

independent. caller: i used to be a republican until this last election and yes i would vote for senator manchin. i worry about his age a little bit. but i really respect him and his wife. i always wanted to move to west virginia. when i was republican he would go more to the right and stop a lot of these loony bills. i was excited that he was going to run for president. thank you. host: take a look at what nancy pelosi sait no labels. said this to cbs news at the beg of this month. i think no labels is perilous to our democracy. i say that without hesitation.

this is about an illusion be created that it's about nonpartisanship and bringing people together when they jeopardize the reelection of joe biden i can no longer remain silent on that. ed is next from georgia, a republican. caller: my trouble with manchin i heard the speech at the beginning of the program. he never once mentioned anything about school choice. i don't want to vote for anyone who is against school choice because these kids are psychos that can't read or write. we may have to do something quickly because i am telling you we will have a whole bunch of idiots running around in 20 years. thank you. host: james from new york, new york, a democrat. caller: the thing about joe

manchin that bothers me is that he receives 500,000 in dividends from fossil fuel. the people from west virginia, appalachia he cut their unemployment. he plays both sides of the fence and right now he is giving biden more of a narrow margin because it will be difficult to place another senator in west virginia. he liked kyrsten sinema, look at what she did during the senatorial runoff with raphael warnock and walker, she became an independent. i don't trust him he leans to the right and we are in a time where disinterest doesn't work. he is not to be trusted.

i know he has been good for the democrats when it comes to the infrastructure bill but he has not to be trusted. now we have to make up for lost senate seat because of him. he really irritates me to no end and i will die being a democrat. i've been a democrat my whole life. living in a houseboat and driving maserati. he is not to be trusted. host: in july senator manchin and governor huntsman were introducing no labels and he was asked about presidential bid. [video clip] >> we are talking about a

prospective unity ticket and if you weigh your options he said he would decide by the and of the year. when you consider him a running mate? >> john is my friend and i think people are getting ahead of themselves. we are here to make sure the american people have an option in the option is can you move political parties off there prospective sides they have gone too far right and left. the only way you can threaten them is if you have people out there who said i cannot win without the independent. an independent republican, and independent democrat. if they have another option then the parties are in trouble. let's see what happens everyone thinks we need to do something. >> if you get on the race and

spoil the election, with that factor into it? >> i've never been in a race to spoil it i've been in a race to win. with that being said, let me say this to all of you. the only place in the world where the next election starts the day after the previous election. that's not what the american people want. they want to make sure your answering problems. and the problems you have with border security you have to secure the border but you have to have a path forward with workpieces. you have to fix the deficit problem. when is the last time you heard about the debt? it is 35 trillion dollars today.

no one is saying a word. we started out with 5.8 and 2001. and it shot up. if you want to blame democrats that's fine, we are all guilty. everyone is guilty. and basically, if people make you believe you are divided don't accept that. you would not be sitting here if you are divided. it's the politics of washington their business model is better if you are divided and nothing gets done. this model is better divided than united. host: that was senator joe mahin and here is some reactions ox. this is the governor of west virginia and he will be running r e senate.

senator e nchin and i have not always agreed but we are lifelong west virginians, and we love the state beyond belief and i respect and thank him for his many years of public service. sin republican say they like their odds in west virginia. -- senate republicans s they like their odds in west virginia. as you said, we still have much work ahead of us thank you for your friendship and i look forward to that continuing. we have surely from ohio. caller: good morning and thank you for c-span and you look beautiful in goldenrod this morning. host: you know this is mimi, not greta. caller: i'm sorry you look

beautiful in that color. joe manchin is a flip flop in per. people in west virginia they left their state and they are truly hard-working people but he has mistreated the people of west virginia, he has mistreated the coal miners. he is in it for his family and self but people have given joe manchin credit for the small things he has done and this man is not to be trusted and i am so happy he is leaving. west virginia deserves better than him. host: alright kelly from lufkin, texas, a republican. caller: i meant to put independent on there, i screwed up. i was a republican but now i am an independent. as far as i'm concerned both

sides are doing horrible. i am not for trump or biden being reelected. i am from maryland and i have friends in west virginia and i have nothing against joe manchin , he's a great senator. but i have friends up there and it is a ruby red state and i don't think you will get reelected if he bells out. -- bails out. like the previous caller said she cannot be trusted. he has stopped a lot of things that biden tried to do as far as build back better. other than that, i live in texas and my biggest problem is the

border. we have open borders down here and it is horrible. between the democrats and republicans they need to come together and do something about the border. host: since you grew up in maryland i want to ask you about larry hogan. what do you think of him because there's been speculation of him running as an independent? caller: i love maryland. i'm about to move back up north in the middle of next summer. i don't like texas anymore. it is a bad state. even though they don't have any income tax but the prices are through the roof. host: david is in michigan, a democrat. caller: good morning, thank you

for taking my call. i am a first time caller. joe manchin has been playing both siheence for 20 years. i will not vote joe manchin. he did not even wagn off on the civil-rights act. he was wish y-wash i don't tre happy-go-lucky look on his face. i have a problem with him. i would never vote for him. he took time away from the democratic problem. host: you are going to be voting for president biden or is there anyone else you would be willing to support? caller: yes ma'am.

i have a problem with joe biden's age that i will be voting for joe biden because it's the only choice i have. i trust joe biden and i don't trust donald trump or joe manchin because he has been playing both sides of the fence for 20, 30 years. thank you for taking my call. host: michael is in north carolina, a republican. caller: good morning mimi. i just want to say it was nice to see you twice on the air and i hope that happens more often. it's great to see you this week. i just want to say that i think it is great senator manchin's consider running for president. i think it would be a benefit to give people more of a choice rather than a no-name independent or libertarian he

brings a lot of swagger to the race ticket. i thought it was interesting, something i heard someone say on another network. mr. manchin said if a republican and democrat were to eat lunch with you and you put money on the table to pay for the meal, the republican would feel bad about it. i thought that was interesting. host: have you decided who you are going to vote for? would you vote for joe manchin? caller: yes i would. yes i would but i tell you what, i am a republican and i voted for donald trump twice but as i've said i don't think i could ever do that again because of january 6. if he becomes president, he will be my president and whoever becomes president, they will be

my president. i have not decided and neither has mr. manchin so there's a lot to play out. host: ocean city, new jersey, and independent, ed. caller: yes he showed run. the democrats and republicans should be put out of business, they are like the whigs and know nothing party. but yes, he should run. host: would you vote for them? caller: now i'm a third party candidate myself vote at o'donnell. caller: good morning mimi, i'm calling about joe manchin, he's afraid to run an election in his own state because of trump.

this is something he's just trying to get attention for. i want to talk to that caller and school choice. he was calling young people idiots and everything. to me that idiots are the people acting trump. we have to worry about these idiots today, it's the ones right now voting for trump that we have to worry about. i they voted for a true conman. i don't know why they think all these young people are idiots they have more sense than these people who are backing trump. host: let's take a look at the statements put out biden no labels about this to senator joe manchin is a tireless vnd longtime of the no labels movement.

the senate will lose a great leader when he leaves but we coim for standing up to lead a long-overdue national conversation about solving america's biggest challenge like inflation, the border, dead and growing threats from abroad. regarding ourket we are gatherinint from our members across the country to understand leaders they would like to see in the white house. we will make a decision by early 2024 about whether we nominate a unity ticket and who will be on it. john is calling from illinois, good morning john. caller: good morning how are you doing today? something that no one talks about regarding joe manchin is the torture being imposed on

people like myself who are disabled and suffering from intractable pain. joe manchin wanted to support a study to prove that people like me are nothing more than depressed, lying dope fiends. we are being used as experiments, guinea pigs, lab rats and when we look at who is making money off of this it is everybody. we create problems like with me. i am told that my blood pressure is too high. you can look seven years ago when i was not being tortured and denied medication, all of my things were fine. host: so you need opioids and

you're not able to get them? caller: i get barely enough. the use of mme, the dosage requirements. this is donald trump's opiate commission that use the cdc guidelines for new patients. they have been telling the country for seven years that there guidelines are being misapplied and nobody is doing anything. joe manchin is one of the guys profiting off of this. his daughter was running a pharmaceutical company is making money by treating ancillary diseases and coming up with ideas that may be should do a 12 step program. as a disabled veteran this makes me sick. if by some miracle i am still here after the march primaries i

plan on running as an independent in the 79th district. jackie haas voted against the bill to use mme. host: gordon is in kansas, a republican. caller: i think manchin should get kyrsten sinema and as his vice president and go for it. because every vote they pull away from the democrats, i will love it. and if people want to call me an idiot, that's fine. call me deplorable, i don't care. host: did you watch the debate a couple of days ago? caller: i was back and forth from the rally to the debate. host: is there anyone in the

debate that you would consider if trump was not on the ticket? caller: rick scott probably. -- tim scott. host: tim scott? caller: i won't vote for chris christie because he needs to go on that 600 pound life show. host: steve in indiana, a democrat. caller: i'm calling to comment on joe manchin. i don't think you should run again. matter of fact, i think he should resign right now. he has been nothing but a strong man for republicans. that has caused us problems in the past.

he and kyrsten sinema have single-handedly destroyed joe b's vision forca and because they have put stranglen his vision, it's happening positive in thisstill country. i traveled the country, the eastern half of the united states there are construction jobs going on everywhere. buildings are being put up and i'm not talking about 10,000 square-foot buildings, i'm talking hundreds of thousands of square feet. look at the battery plant the world's largest battery plant in deep red kentucky that just won with andy beshear. joe manchin has no business in

politics. he is part owner of a coal company and his daughter is in pharmaceuticals. he has no business in politics. he lets his family's business overrule his voice in washington. host: here is samantha on next she says i look forward to more people running against joe biden. he should be a one term president. and off facebook if it means taking votes away from biden, yes. and mike says no thanks, we have enough guys over 75 running. enjoy your retirement. and next, from florida. caller: i do believe joe manchin should run as an independent. he would make an excellent vice

president for governor desantis. i only see positive things in florida. i am in the american legion and we have a big veterans day program and tomorrow will be standing room only. yesterday our honor guard was out of school to see hundreds of little people singing god bless america was heartwarming. life in florida is great. governor desantis will make life in america great and joe manchin would make an excellent vice president and that is all i have to say about that. host: patty in altoona, pennsylvania, a republican. caller: i'm glad he is running we need more democrats going up against biden. the more the better because i do

not think i did well make it to the primary because of his age. as far as people calling republicans idiots. if a democrat doesn't, you hang up on them. have you decided who you are going to vote for? caller: no, and not yet. host: how are you leaning? caller: i like vivek he is very good. he is standing strong right now. you have a good day. host: next we have a democrat, good morning. caller: hello? host: go ahead winston. caller: i'm sorry. joe manchin he is useless.

from sea to shining sea the worker shall be free. as opposed to israel. host: we are not talking about that but we can talk about it during open forum. the associated press says senator joe manchin considers an independent 2024 run. the article says he has benefited from waiting to reveal where he stands with the chamber closely divided in this article is from october 14. he has taken the same approach when it comes to the next phase.

the 76-year-old expressed growing frustration with the polarized u.s. two-party system. he said i'm having a hard time the two-party system will be the downfall of her country. wonder what you think about that and if you think he should run for president in 2024. bobby from west virginia. caller: i am a former coalminer and we have our local right where the massacre happened back in the 1920's and the coal mines. -- in the coal mines. i have a lot to say about joe manchin if you give me a minute. while he was governor in the

state of west virginia he allowed coal operators to oh millions of dollars of unpaid funding to workers compensation and under his watch as governor, he caters to the fossil fuel and call industry rather than workers. under his administration they privatized workers compensation. i know so many workers who are disabled and the only thing they qualify for his social security disability benefits. it is very hard to take care of your family. west virginia is known as a coal state and that's how we take care of our families.

i hate him he destroyed the livelihood of a lot of people here and we have scars and we don't forget that. he turned his back and instead these fossil fuel companies paying worker compensation. host: what do you think of your current governor jim justice? caller: jim justice, my wife and i voted for him when he was a democrat. we should have known better, i was told better by my democratic friends and that he's a billionaire and underneath he's a republican. and he brought trumpeted town and switch parties. i am not favorable to jim justice i would like to see

someone from the democratic party to run. i don't know if we have enough time to find someone to run against him. he dropped severance taxes. host: let's go to george in kentucky, and independent. caller: yeah, how are you doing? i think joe manchin would be a good alternative because this country is split down the middle. biden is too far left and trump is too far right. there are a lot of people that want to see a strong president back in the white house and i believe joe manchin can be that. he's the kind of guy who can bring this country together and get both parties, they have both

made great mistakes. on one hand, trump wants to keep america number one and i believe in that philosophy. but joe biden with the problems his family is having with rumors of kickbacks, he is giving this country away. they are prosecuting people for political reasons instead of getting down to what the american people honestly need. i think manchin is the kind of guy who could bring this country together and i would vote for him. host: on the line for democrats, tim, good morning. caller: note to both him and kyrsten sinema. he killed biden's agenda. biden had a good run on ending

childhood poverty but they did not want to do it. he is enriching his own family and plus he is 76. after this presidency, we have to get younger. people complain about him being too old but they still vote for the same people. like the bills that trump passed and biden past you need to compare those so people can understand what's going on. thank you for listening, have a great day. host: here's a statement president bideased yesterday. he said he spent 40 years -- he has dedicated himself to his

people and west virginia. during my time we have worked together to get things done for hard-working familie the bipartisan infrastructure law the pactich make sure our veterans getare they rve to the inflation duction act which strengthens our energy security and lower prmy cost. i was proud when he con ketanji brown jackson to serve on the supreme court. joe in the entire manchin should be proud of his service. i continued to work together to get things done for the american people. that is a statement from president biden. but speak to joe from virginia next. caller: good morning. host: good morning.

caller: i do not believe joe manchin will gain any traction at all. he's just another establishment politician who is part of the problem and not the solution. if i may, can i tell you who i would vote for and why? host: sure go ahead. caller: i would vote for donald trump because he understood economics he was a businessman and things worked well when he was in office. he understood about cheap oil and products in the hell down inflation. i would like to give some advice to the republican national committee if they ever want to win another election and that is to depoliticize abortion. i would use the analogy of gay marriage. there was once a time where they stood against gay marriage but then they realized that was a political loser and they never

won another election again. i am personally against abortion and i would never advocate it for my wife, daughter or granddaughter but i think it is time to depoliticize abortion and we need to bring women back on board because they are fiscally conservative and morally conservative but they believe abortion is taking away one of their fundamental freedoms and christians need to wake up. we live in a secular country we don't live in a religious dictatorship and we need to be able to win elections again and if we want to win we have to take abortion out of our charter. they need to wake up and depoliticize abortion. host: let's talk to george in circleville, ohio. caller: i am a christian to and

we probably aborted our great presidents. god has a plan for everyone who enters the earth. look at all the millions of babel site have been aborted since roe v. wade. i graduated from high school in 1974. even though we had high interest rates, look at the middle class today? i am 68 years old and i have granddaughters who are 12 and nine. in speaking of joe manchin. you know why he is not running again as a democrat? they have a rule that if you go against their party they will not fund their reelection. do you notice every time there is a vote in the house of representatives no one has strayed. can you tell me there is not one democrat that would agree? it doesn't make sense that

people can't realize what's going on in the nation. what agenda does biden have? he has terrible foreign policy we are headed to world war iii. host: and you are definitely an independent? have you decided to vote for? caller: probably donald trump. wish you wouldn't talk as much but his policies are right on. we get a three .2% increase in social security. if i get 20,000 that's a $600 increase. do you think that will allow seniors to make ends meet? you talk about domestic terrorism sometimes i think that our government is the worst terrorist. look at what ayden has done with the illegals coming in, abortion like crazy, drugs like crazy.

democrat run cities have the highest crime rates recorded. host: but speak to robert in pennsylvania, a democrat. caller: let's revise that to independent a republican, not a democrat. host: you called on the wrong line. caller: i apologize. i don't even want to recognize a party how about a u.s. citizen? host: what do think about joe manchin. caller: i love the other colors talking about what joe manchin he is a business to make money. in this country the working person is a sucker. i think he will do a fantastic job. i have no opinion on joe biden.

i am going to a food bank today, we go once a month. the prices of groceries are too high. we are living paycheck-to-paycheck. i went to ask people, where were you five years ago compared to today? i don't think it is one man's fault. but you have 535 politicians dictating to 440 million people on how to live their lives. you are on tv working and you don't have a politician doing your job. the garbageman, doctor, lawyer. we weren't in wars five years ago. host: we were in wars five years ago. caller: were we?

within nine months of joe biden's first term with the inflation, we have gone 35% up on rent. host: i have to move on to fit in john from kentucky, and independent. caller: good morning, thank you for taking my call. i think joe manchin is a treasonous trader along with everyone else in this government. according to article four section four of the constitution . they have done nothing good for this country. joe biden is obama's puppet. we are in the worst financial situation this country has ever been in and it will never get better until these people do the job of representing the people. host: bertha in colorado, a

democrat. caller: thank you for taking my call i watch every morning. joe manchin is like joe biden. we have been sick of our legislature and congress been for decades. they are still too old, too establishment. why can't we get fresh, young, intelligent people in the government? i will not under any circumstance vote for joe biden despite the fact that i am a democrat. i wouldn't vote for joe biden or joe manchin. my girlfriends and i we decided if the ballot comes to biden or trump we will write in liz cheney because she is the only person that has showed integrity. host: and that is all the time

we have for today'segnt. coming up next, bloomberg news laura davidson and stephanie lyons discussed the results of swing state polling and policy issues in the news. then later, military times editor leo shane discusses his reporting on veterans affair and those issues impacting vets. we will be right back. >> c-span campaign 2020 four coverages your front row seat to the presidential election. watch as we follow candidates on the campaign trail as you make up your own mind.

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thrives. get informed from the source on c-span. unfiltered, unbiased, word for word, from our capital to wherever you are. this is what democracy looks like. c-span, powered by cable. >> washington journal continues. host: welcome back. i am joined by laura davison, deputy politics editor, and it stephanie lai, national politics reporter from bloomberg. guest: thank you for having us. host: i will start with you, laura, on the pole you did. tell us what states you covered. these are swing states. what the big takeaways are? guest: arizona, georgia, michigan, nevada, north carolina, wisconsin and pennsylvania will decide the 2024 presidential election, which is why we are looking at

them. there's a couple big takeaways. trump is leading in virtually all these states. michigan, trump and biden are neck and neck. otherwise, trump has a sizable lead. this is important because some of these estates are states biden won in 2020 and would need to win again. host: when you drill down in here -- guest: when you drill down in here, you are looking at the issues where voters trust trump over button, on things like the economy, which a lot of voters say will be their top issue. they trust trump more than biden. foreign policy is less important to voters. single digits of people say this will be the first thing on their list when deciding who to vote or, but it's important for what the white house is doing. you have wars in ukraine and the israel-hamas conflict taking a lot of the president's time as

well as the debate in congress about where money should be going. so looking at those debates, voters say they want more money here for the u.s., border security, versus overseas conflicts. you are seeing a disconnect between both and biden is doing and what voters are concerned with. host: if we look at some of the individual states, some of these are within the margin of error, some small, but some are quite large. north carolina is a nine point difference between trump and biden. guest: that is correct. between these estates, two have sizable leads for trump. he is leading in north carolina and georgia outside the margin of error, so this is significant. between the first poll we put out in october and now, trump's lead and georgia has grown by 2%. this is a state he's being

indicted in. we are seeing that despite these trials come he is still gaining support. host: how do you define a swing state? i wonder how you become a swing state, become, you know, definitely not a swing state. guest: it's more of an art than a science in developing this list. there are states like michigan and pennsylvania that have gone -- but have flip-flopped in recent elections, and that's the key definition. there are others on this list, notably north carolina, that's more of a reach for democrats. it has tended to be for republicans in the past. it is when the biden campaign is eyeing is one they could potentially pick up or a democratic senator could win, but looking at the polling, that's where you see the biggest delta between biden and trump and suggests it may not be a swing state this year. host: i want to ask you about rfk junior. the poll found 10% of swing

state voters back an independent candidate, which is in this case rfk junior. why? it seems like a large number. guest: that is correct. what this polling shows us is that voters don't necessarily like joe biden or donald trump as their candidate for 2024 and some people are starting to look at independent candidate. with joe manchin announcing he's not running for reelection in the senate, that could pose another threat to these front runners. we are still far out from the general election but this is what we are looking at for 2024. it's presumably going to be biden and trump for a rematch. having these independent voters not necessarily like either candidate means an independent candidate could pose a real risk. host: a risk to who? what do they take from president biden? guest: there's a risk they could also take from trump.

some of their views don't necessarily fit along democratic party lines. it is too soon to say this would drastically hurt biden more than trump. host: laura, i want to ask you about the conflict in the middle east and the poll was asking swing state voters about president biden's handling of the situation in the middle east. do they think he's doing enough to help israel and civilians in gaza? guest: you saw that people are split. some think he's doing too much and some too little, but generally that he's hitting the nail on the head. where it gets interesting is when you go down into some of the demographic data underlying it. where the warning signs are for biden here is particularly young people and voters of color think he's doing too much for israel. that's where you see this divide in the democratic party where some people are going if israel

wants it or needs it, we will give it to them. some voters are less in support of israel and perhaps have more super the for gaza and the palestinians -- more sympathy for gaza and the palestinians. host: here are the results of the question on who do you trust more to handle each of the following issues. trump leads biden on all the issues, including immigration, u.s.-china relations, russia-ukraine more, israel -hamas -- russia-ukraine more, israel-hamas war. the russia-ukraine war is about 1.5 years old. but other war just started. what are your thoughts? guest: these are swing state voters. trump has a benefit in that he's not in office so he's not being tested the same way biden is. it's easier to -- easier

for voters to say i don't like out biden or congress is handling you rain whereas -- handling ukraine whereas trump can have a rally without having the burden of governing. immigration has been a signature issue for trump going back his entire political career and one that biden has struggled with. been an increase of migrants at the border. the ministry should has -- the administration has different policies. you have people saying there's too many migrants and we don't have the services to handle them. it's a very acute issue for people. it is not necessarily what we think of as a big foreign policy issue that affects people but people are seeing immigration issues in their hometown now. host: what did the elections this past tuesday tell you about where we could be heading for 2024? was there anything indicative about that? guest: certainly. one point for democrats is that they were messaging abortion. to see these democratic

candidates farewell reminds the party that this could be a winning message. i was with trump's campaign advisors wednesday after these election results came out and a lot of them said it's not from's fall. they are trying to defend the former president, sang republican candidates tend to do better on ballots when donald trump is on the ballot and this is not really a reflection of his influence over the party now but that, come 2024, should he be on the ballot again, we will not see the same results. it's mixed messages from different parties. host: we will take your calls. you can give us a call by party. democrats, (202) 748-8000, republicans, (202) 748-8001, and independent, (202) 748-8002. you can also text us and send us a post on social media. let's go to the phones. dale is in riverdale, maryland,

democrat. good morning. caller: how are you? i have a question and a comment. my question is how much did you spend on your survey and -- can you tell me that? guest: no. host: sorry, dale, they don't know. caller: that was my question. my comment, this polling, i did a little research the last couple days, and there was a harvard study in 2020 showing that the national polling, like for the past 10 years, was about 60% accurate, which is basically a coin toss, which kind of explains how it is that these numbers don't seem to jive, because obviously, trump is such

a poor candidate overall that for him to be leading would indicate that the polls have to be wrong. host: comment? guest: i will say that from biden's advisors, they often say that polling data now only reflects the moment in time and it's not necessarily indicative of what we would expect to see in 2024, so there are many uncertainties between now and 2024. for instance, all of donald trump's criminal and civil trials will play an effect and change the dynamics of the race in unforeseen ways. host: let's go to robert in arkansas, democrat. caller: where does this polling come from? every time i look around, you see something about polling and trump's leading joe biden. one more comment. i think people vote -- all he

wants is power and once he gets in power you are not going to get him out. . are people that naive about trump? that's exactly what he's going to do. one more thing. he got roe v. wade. the speaker the republicans have says he was to go after medicare, medicaid and social security. it will take them the same amount of time to take care of social security, medicare and medicaid. host: all right, robert. he mentions a couple domestic issues. he mentioned roe v. wade and medicare. guest: these are issues we also looked at in the poll. abortion is one of the issues that biden polls more strongly than trump on. you saw this tuesday.

it's clearly a strong message for democrats and one that you see biden's campaign figuring out there messaging. they are spending a lot of money, more than the incumbent president technically would, on advertisement -- typically would come on advertisement. social security and medicaid also looked at in the poll. that's important to a lot of voters, particularly older voters, who tend to vote at a higher propensity. that's more evenly split between biden and trump but trump had a slight edge there. and also issues like the federal debt, which has come up in relation to the whole speaker fight. trump also beats biden on that one -- in that regard as well. host: missoula, montana, independent. caller: good morning. hello. my comment is basically, you know, that inflation is bad, ron desantis is bad, and they keep

going on about how they are a christian nation. we are not. my final comment, and i hate to say this, but anyone who stands up to genocide in 2024 is who i am voting for. thank you and goodbye. host: have a go of an issue is the israel-hamas war in biden's popularity and taking votes away from him? guest: in some ways, the democratic party is fractured on this issue. we see younger progressive voters supporting humanitarian aid, palestinian rights, but there's a large base of the democratic party that does not feel the same way. in this poll, we saw a 9% of swing state voters care about this as their main issue. even though it is still in the single digits, it is a significant issue they are looking into and thinking about. again, the economy is top of mind for these voters. host: barbara in oklahoma city,

oklahoma, independent, good morning. caller: thank you, mimi. i'm at a loss for words almost. these other callers are saying these polls are not right. we are going to have a red wave the last eight times and we have not had one. and they are saying it again. it's ok. i don't care. but i want to say this about abortion. you know, when they go up to make a law, they go too far. that is too far. that will never work. you are never going to win again, republicans, until you start doing for the people. you are against us 90% of us -- us, 90% of us, who want abortion to be available, of course, because it kills people when it is not. i lived in a time when it was not legal like this and they

were dying on the streets. my school friend. it was horrible. you don't understand younger people, that you need your own rights to make any decision for your health and this is crazy that c-span lets these republicans get up here every day and say the same lies over and over and they keep saying why don't you answer? we have answered those lies over and over and you are the only one that i see that once in a while says how did you get that? where is your proof? because they have no proof and they keep saying, well, the election. 63 times they went and tried, you know. the judges said you don't have proof. host: barbara, let's get a response. guest: one of the things on abortion, which was on the ballot this week in ohio, voters

voted to enshrine abortion access in the constitution, and so that was -- democrats are taking some hope from that. every time this has come to a vote, it has basically gone the way of supporting abortion rights. these things are structured differently. if you look at the polling, gallup polling and others nationwide, some or full abortion access has upwards of 80% support. joe biden's approval ratings are significantly lower, 38% to 39%. democrats are trying to figure out how we make sure that biden, when people think of him, when they are thinking of who to vote for, they see abortion as -- that he is a conduit for having those rights and that access. that is the tricky messaging part for democrats as they go

forward. host: let's go to the line for democrats. in texas, david, good morning. caller: good morning. joe biden is president and i think these days he wants to run again. he should think of himself, say i'm going to decline from running again, because there are younger candidates with the same policies that will make the country better than it is now. also, there's too much attention . you are voting for the country that you voted for. there's not enough attention to our country. there's illegal immigrants, homeless. you have to deal with the homeless. and there's too much attention across seas. we are not going to have a country after a while if this continues. thank you.

guest: a lot of voters feel -- if you look at the polling -- feel similar to the previous caller, wanting more attention on the economy, things like crime, on things like homelessness. these domestic issues are the things that drive voters to the polls, particularly in a presidential year, when you don't have the super voters, the people who will come in a midterm or off cycle but when there's more broad support. elections going back decades. domestic issues and the economy are generally the top issue. host: eric in georgia, independent, good morning. caller: good morning. you are wrong. i'm a black voter. i helped nancy pelosi. the black community is mad and we are not going to vote this time for joe biden. we are the most critical group because we are strategically in

states that the democrats cannot win unless we come out in high numbers, extremely high numbers, and those swing states. you are taking money and giving it to israel, from us, ukraine. rudy writes -- voting rights, police reform. we are getting filled out here. these people you are bringing over getting welfare. i'm a democrat. i vote. and what we see is you have given things away overseas because you rich white people, what you are doing, you are making money and sending money. all of them are doing it. nikki haley. all these people. mike pompeo. jared kushner. steve mnuchin. trump got $1 billion of steve mnuchin. in the united states, the reason

why white people, the majority, vote republican, is because they know the democrats will go them the goodies, so they can vote their racial issues. host: let's get a response. guest: i would start by saying, to the previous caller's point, biden and the dnc have recognized the need to reach out more to minority voters. these voters helped deliver joe biden the white house in 2020 and it's too much to assume that people will continue to turn out for him if they don't reach out actively. some reporting my colleagues and i put out this week revealed president biden has outspent every single candidate in the election cycle thus far on advertisements targeting key swing states, for voters like eric, to be able to message his economic policies, his legislative wins in the last four years. host: so what do you attribute to the drop in popularity among african-americans? guest: among some polling i have

seen, it appears a lot of issues relate to domestic issues, like the previous caller mentioned. when it comes to issues like crime and the economy, really, policies that hit home for a lot of urban center. host: let's talk to alan in fayetteville, north carolina, a democrat. good morning. caller: my goodness. you are wrong. i'm a black man, a vietnam veteran, combat veteran. you understand? joe biden or barack obama created an economy for donald trump to come in and destroy. that is what they did. ok. here we go again. joe biden is creating an economy for trump to try to come in and take advantage of. look at what's happening. everywhere you go, roads, bridges, buildings being built.

he knows that this economy is getting ready to take off and he is trying to come in again and take reddit -- and take credit from it. what is wrong with you people? where do you get your polling from? i did a survey and 60% was republican. only 38% were democrats on your polls. i mean, what is -- my goodness, people, what is wrong? host: we got it. guest: the color describes a really interesting phenomenon happening now -- the caller describes a really interesting phenomenon happening. the economy by some metrics is doing well but people feel as though the economy is not doing well, so when you look at the poll we did, biden does not get a lot of credit for things he

has done. you recall biden passed a big infrastructure package, made the bipartisan deal in congress a couple years ago. trillions in spending. but trump actually gets better approval for handling infrastructure even though he never passed a bill. this is a real conundrum for the biden people. how did they talk about the things they have passed -- how do they talk about the things that have passed? they passed a big semiconductor bill, the results of the inflation reduction act, money for renewable energy, electric vehicles, but when you talk to people, they don't necessarily credit joe biden with that, and that is where his campaign is. how do we reach these voters, educate them? host: of the results of that trickled down? has there been enough time for people to see a difference in their life? maybe that's why he's not getting credit. guest: in a lot of cases, no. for the infrastructure bill and

inflation reduction act, these are tenure bills with -- our 10 year bills with 10 year plan suspending. people won't necessarily appreciate the new bridge until it is done. these are things that, even when they were passing the bill, biden's team was talking about, how do we make sure this money gets out fast? president obama did the same thing when the recovery act was signed. like, hey, this is brought to you by barack obama. this is what they are wrestling with because people don't necessarily connect something that happened two or three years ago with their lives today. host: an independent maryland. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for giving me this opportunity to express. i am in london forstmann and i'm an independent -- in law

enforcement and i'm an independent. i voted for donald trump and i was disappointed by him. in 2020, i had to vote against donald trump. i did not really vote for joe biden. i voted against donald trump. if donald trump is the candidate and biden is the candidate again, i will have no choice but to vote against donald trump. i'm just saying this to say i don't like bidens policy at all. i don't like him on the economy, on immigration. i don't like the fact that he has capitulated to the extreme left of his party. so that was my comment. host: ok. what do you think? guest: looking at and worried about is trump's team about

this. how they feel about his previous administration or where they are now in terms of his liabilities. there are things stacked up against former president -- against the former president. host: rhonda, good morning. caller: good morning. wow. what a week we are having here. first of all, i would like to say i'm not worried about the republicans winning because they will lose on abortion. that's just the way it's going to be. you have all these republican women out here that are going in the voting booth and they are voting democratic because they are not going to give control of their bodies to oldman -- old men. they are not going to do it. it will ruin women's lives. the main thing i am calling

about is i want to know why the republicans cannot find someone decent to run against joe biden. the only two people up there that i like that are republican would be chris christie and nikki haley. that is it. the rest of them are trash. they are so far out there that they are trying to put in an authoritarian government. that is what they are planning behind-the-scenes to take our country over. if we don't help ukraine, if ukraine loses her democracy, the united states will lose her democracy and donald trump will never leave again. he will change the constitution. he will install who he wants, somebody like guiliani, to run the department of justice. this guy is a thug. you need to go on youtube and look at these court hearings

that donald trump and his family rn. host: ok. any impact of the trials and legal problems on his popularity? guest: it makes it more popular. it is the sort of counterintuitive answer. you look at the fundraising and these things that have had him in the news. these candidates cannot get any oxygen because he's having a mugshot. his fundraising went up. interest in him shot up on the internet. his opponents are having difficulty breaking in. you look at someone like ron desantis, who started out maybe being the main alternative, within 10 or 12 points of trump, and has had this slow down slide since may. someone like nikki haley has been on the uprise recently. she's still -- even in some of these early states, pulling around 12% to 14%, trump is at

50% or higher, which suggests he is almost inevitable. voting starts in two months. host: there are polls that say if mr. trump is convicted in any of his criminal trials that has popularity does decrease. did you see that in the swing states? guest: we did not look at that specifically in this poll but there are a bunch of polls out there that suggest the real russian is how quickly -- the real question is how quickly do these proceed? does anything happen before he is the nominee? it's likely that in march or april he could lock down the nomination before these cases have a chance to play out. whether that happens before november is another question but there are a lot of things that play. host: let's go to taxes, republican, carol. is it carol? caller: good morning. you guys look sharp in your uniforms.

i am retired military. host: it was an accident. don't give them a hard time. caller: the jackets look sharp. the question i asked is how do you conduct your polls? i did not hear a clear answer. all the other answers, you guys are easy to follow, but is it a random select, is at the percentage of republicans versus democrats? please answer that question of how you conduct the polls and have a great day. host: there is on their article in bloomberg at bloomberg.com that says this poll surveyed 4922 registered voters in seven swing states. we mentioned those estates and here are the numbers. the surveys were conducted online from october 30 to november 7. the aggregated data across the

seven swing states were weighted to approximate a target sample of registered voters based on gender, age, race, ethnicity, marital status, etc. so if you want a little bit more detail on the poll itself, it's at the end of that article on bloomberg.com. anything you would like to add? guest: just want to add that on the margin of error, when you look at all the swing states together, it's about 1%. when you drill down to the individual states, it's fire, between -- it is higher, between 2% and 5%. host: was talk to daniel in texas, independent. caller: good morning. many people before me have expressed what i'm about to say.

most americans, we are not into details. it is just soundbites. i remember the election between hillary and donald. a lot of free advertising was given to trump from cnn. that is what is happening now. the current president is doing what he can and he is showing results from what covid and donald trump's policy have wrought on the economy but people do not go into details about what's really going on. they just go by soundbites. most of the working people don't

take time to digest what is going on. host: what do you think? guest: to his point, every time trump has gone to court, he's made a big effort to appear in front of cameras and to talk to reporters. part of that is within the campaign strategy of politicizing these cases, to make it seem like the biden administration is somehow getting involved in their trials. this is unfair to him. this sort of weaponization is something he's trying to convince voters on. host: let's go to cincinnati, ohio, the lifer democrats. karen. caller: good morning. how are you? host: good. caller: that's good. i was calling about the government and, to me, it seems like an authoritarian type of government. it doesn't seem like there -- the american people have much

say so in anything other than issues being on the ballot and we have to come to the poll vote on one issue, but african-americans have to deal with police brutality. there's no real reform in the police. you know, with police reform. women have been treated so inhumane and, you know, we have to deal with other issues outside of the issues that they are trying to push across. we have to deal with abuse. you know? from men in power that can target african-american women, can target anybody they want. what kind of society will set up hate campaigns against women in

kids and nobody says anything -- women and kids and nobody says anything? guest: she meant and she was in ohio and ballot access and the ability for people to get things on the ballot. that's been an issue in ohio and other states. ohio had a measure that would raise the threshold for these things to pass. it was seen as a way of keeping abortion rights more restricted. we saw this week they voted for more abortion access. this is kind of an interesting case study in democracy at play, particularly on the abortion issue, where a lot of people who

on that. host: and his next. caller: disappointed with the democratic party. i feel you but we have to use common sense. i let everybody -- i love everybody and i have to tell you that i am talking now to the people of color. i am saying this to you because i know from experience, just dealing with politics and with political parties, i will be

voting for joe biden for the simple reason that wisdom tells me that if i vote for the republican party, i know they don't care for black people. the percentage of black people in the party, of people of color, is low. the democratic party looks like the united states to me of all colors and creeds. number one, there are concerns about the senior citizens. there are concerns about social security. i do not get social security. i get an annuity because i'm a senior -- i'm a retired federal employee. if you're concerned about health care, you need to vote for the democratic party. if you are concerned about somebody trying to control your body and tell you what you can

and cannot do, you need to vote for the democratic party, and if you are concerned about labor, they care nothing about people. they care about money. host: all right, virginia. any comment on that? guest: the dnc has been focused on reaching these voters to continue to highlight some of joe biden's priorities and legislative victories when it comes to health-care costs, lowering the cost of prescription drugs. that's something we saw in congress passing through. in many ways, being able to get that message out is something they have been focused on. host: karen is next, alabaster, alabama, republican. caller: good morning. i just wanted to call in and say

what's happening to trump is just another way for the democrats to interfere with the 2024 election because they cannot beat him at the ballot box and of the reason the polls -- i have not seen these poles but you keep saying this, that if he is convicted then people won't over him. that is because people are under the impression he cannot be voted for but he can be voted for. and what he's going to do if he's convicted is go to the higher courts and it's going to be overturned and on --and the election will be over and he will be gone. that is why they are trying to keep him off the ballot. in colorado, they have a lawsuit trying to keep him off the ballot for insurrection, and he has not even been charged.

host: just about the poll i mentioned, this is the new york times. it says this year trump indictment have not sunk his campaign but a conviction might. polls by the new york times and cnn show his strength in key swing states, in part because of concerns about president biden's age, but a conviction could be the difference in 2024. guest: i would start by saying trump in an interview yesterday, well, it aired yesterday, and he answered that question, you know, what will happen if you get convicted?

say, if you have to drop out or people pressure you to drop out. his answer was he will continue running and he things he has the platform and voice to push through into the general election. host: mary is next -- larry is next, north carolina, independent. caller: good morning. how are you doing? host: good. caller: good. i have a comment and a question. my comment is i believe the supreme court voted that the roe v. wade scenario was unconstitutional and it goes back to the states and that is exactly what's happening so enjoy that value and vote the way you wish for those scenarios for the abortion issue, but stop making it a republican versus a democrat scenario. my question is, with journalism becoming opinions with an

agenda, how much do you think that's going to affect the 2024 election? thank you very much. host: do you want to take that? guest: i would push back on love the color had to say about journalism just -- on what the caller had to say about journalism being just opinions with an agenda. we look at polling, economic indicators, data that comes from congress on the cost of these bills, who is affected, all of this, and that is what we do to inform our reporting and the questions we ask and the stories we write. host: richard, san francisco, california, democrat, good morning. caller: good morning. there's a lot to this whole thing. i really don't believe in the accuracy of these poles. it is way too early. those swing states are a little closer, you know. we have the electoral college

which is outdated. it is not even being used for the purpose it was supposed to, to win elections even though you lose by 7 million votes. with that said, you know, there was a whole agenda by the republican party to put conservatives on the supreme court, which they forced through, and they said we are not going to do anything with roe v. wade. there you go. there should not have even been that. these people are unqualified to be on the supreme court but there they are. you can blame that on republicans. as far as joe biden goes, people don't know enough. he was instrumental in all the policies that obama put together. obama did not have any connections with the senate, the congress. joe biden had all the connections with the senate and congress and everything else. host: why do you think president biden is not getting any credit, even now?

why do you think that is? caller: one thing is, you know, democrats are bad about touting how many good things they have done. you know, i don't know what their problem is about putting it out there, like, one through 10, the things we have done, which are impactful for people. i was helped by the joe biden administration because i was put into foreclosure by a corrupt mortgage company and they had a program where they sent $1 billion for mortgage holders who had problems financially. it was illegal. i got money to help me with that. i also had my student loans wiped out. host: let's get a response. stephanie? guest: this is why you see the biden administration pursuing these policies that they know will resonate more with voters directly. infrastructure, things like student loans.

you know, things that individuals see right away. biden has gone through multiple iterations, had things struck down by the courts, but was able to announce something to a more targeted group. the other policies he's getting credit for and people sought early on in his ministry should directly -- his administration directly out of the pandemic, things like the child tax credit. people got payments every month basically getting that credit ahead of time, a couple hundred dollars per child. that expired at the end of the year so that's not something people are currently seeing. democrats tried but were not successful passing that. these are things democrats talk about wanting to be able to do. the issue is they don't have the votes in congress. host: david, democrat, good morning. caller: good morning. what i want to say is people need to look at history. if you check history, the last

10 republican presidents -- eight out of the last 10 republican presidents throughout country into a recession. george w. bush almost bankrupted america. joe biden and obama pulled us out of that and gave trump an economy he took credit for. three months in, he was saying he created the economy. people need to pay attention to those things. the facts are the facts. and if you check those facts, you will see what i'm talking about. the other thing is, according to the numbers, we should be in a recession, but for some reason we are not, and it's because god is involved in this thing. host: we are running out of time. stephanie? guest: to that point, i think every president outgoing will say someone else took credit for the good work they did or blame them for the bad work they have done. that is something we have seen biden and from go after each

other for in the recent campaign stops. host: all right. that's stephanie lai, national politics reporter for bloomberg, and laura davison, deputy politics editor, also from bloomberg news. you can find their work and the poll we were talking about at bloomberg.com. ladies, thank you. coming up on the washington journal, leo shane joins us to discuss the issues impacting veterans today and his interview with the v.a. secretary, dennis mcdonough, but first, more of your calls. it's open forum. democrats, (202) 748-8000, republicans, (202) 748-8001, and independents, (202) 748-8002. we will be right back. ♪ >> when you read about the political history of illinois, yooften see the word

corruption. for stce, from january 1961 until january 2009, illinois citizens elected a different meant to be their governor's. four of those eventually went to prison, all convicted after they were out of office. robert e hartley has written 11 books about the politicians of illinois, including one titled power, purpose and prison. mr. hartley writes these men met their downfall under different circumstances. he asks, where did they go wrong and were they able to recover self-respect in spite of their punishment? >>obert hartley with his book on thiepode of book notes plus. but notes plus is available on the c-span now free mobile app or wherever you get your podcasts. if you ever miss any of c-span's coverage, you can find it anytime online at c-span.org. videos of key hearings, debates

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c-spanow, yourront row seat to washington, anytime, anywhere. >> a healthy democracy does not just look like this. it looks like this. where americans can see democracy at work. where citizens are truly informed -- when citizens are truly informed, our republic thrives. get informed straight from the source on c-span. unfiltered, unbiased, word for word. from the nation's capital to wherever you are. the opinion that matters most is your own. c-span, powered by cable. >> washington journal continues. host: welcome back. it is open forum so any issue on your mind regarding politics or public policy, give us a call and let us know your thoughts. i just want to make sure you are aware of this.

this is the hill.com -- thehill.com with this article. biden set to meet with china's chie in san francisco for high-stakes summit. biden will meet the chinese president on november 15 in san francisco in what the white house views as the most important and consequential lateral meeting of his term. the leers will meet on the sidelines thesia-pacific cooperation summit one year since they last talked face-to-face on the sidelines of the g 20 summit in bali, indonesia, aconflict between washinon and beijing have derailed cooperation and munication. it will mark the first time the chinese leader has come to the u.s. in six years. in 2017, he attended a lavish dinner meeting in former president trump's mar-a-lago residence in palm beach, florida. the white house holding back from giving xi a

procedures trip to washington but expressing commitment to writing a relationship that has veered off track. in alexandria, virginia, tina, good morning. caller: good morning. i just want to say that joe biden's administration should send letters to their constituents about his accomplishments. in fact, the democrats in the house and the senate should go out to their constituents to let them know about joe biden's accomplishments, and if they have any accomplishments themselves, they should let their constituents know. people will not call in to say joe biden is not doing anything. it's not true. if they have it in writing, they will know. and if people have access to the

internet, they will know. they need to have a website set up for everybody whether they are democrats or republicans or independents so everybody can know what joe biden has accomplished, what he's doing. republicans need to do the same things for their constituents. we will know what he is doing and get it in writing. host: we will go to chris. caller: i want to go over joe biden's a compliments. foreign policy. his administration has given money to her ran -- to iran. border policy is terrible. in san antonio, they are running migrants right through there with the taxpayers money.

between el paso and brownsville, at least 200 people are getting murdered a day and women under 10 are getting raped every day and you are doing -- and joe biden is doing nothing about it. and inflation. i paid 3, 4, five, six dollars for gas today. host: list talk to louis in new jersey, independent. good morning. caller: i am an independent and i'm not a big fan of biden. and trump, actually, but i'm tired of hearing democrats saying republicans are for rich people and so forth. that is a joke. remember republicans wanted to pass through e-verify, so everybody has to show their social security number. all these migrants coming

through our driving wages down and i just cannot believe that black democrats still vote for democrats. democrats have treated minorities in the inner-city, driving wages down. it's a joke. host: who are you going to vote for in 2024? have you decided? caller: i'm going to vote for trump. biden is not in control. he is not the president. i mean, $200 billion over ukraine? just five -- just $25 billion would take care of the homeless. you know, it's just -- democrats don't care and a lot of republicans don't care and the debate the other night, i watched it, and that v guy, whatever his name is? he nailed it.

he did, you know? host: all right. let's go to quincy, michigan on the line for democrats. good morning. caller: hello. yes, i am sure some election denying republican listener will be able to help me. i'm wondering why trump and his co-conspirators, instead of the trial for the events of january 6, seeking to have that dismissed, and raving in protest against it and vowing -- why don't they welcome these trials as an opportunity to present a compelling evidence they have been claiming to possess for years and thereby vindicate themselves before the nation and the world? instead, he rants and plays the victim and we have to be held in suspense, anticipating, as

sidney powell phrased it -- pleading guilty with people testifying admitting that there was never any compelling evidence, only lies. magical and wishful thinking that he displays every day, which, by the way, can be his only defense at the trial, that despite the evidence to the contrary, he is still convinced he won the election, despite what his chief of staff told him to the contrary, despite what his lawyer told him, despite what the attorney general told him, the fbi. every expert told him he lost. think about it. his defense is simply to deny reality. it's basically an insanity plea. yes, your honor, if i do it, that makes illegal and if i think it makes it true. host: all right.

we have to move on. charles in arkansas, good morning. caller: good morning. a lot of people are disturbed by the humanitarian crisis in gaza and, by definition, a war is a humanitarian crisis. i understand there sympathies because it is horrible when you look at it but hamas started the war. there's an old peacenik song. well, hamas has been studying war. if you look at the military infrastructure, billions and billions of dollars and millions of manpower hours, ok? so i don't know how you make peace with someone who studies war. now fast-forward to a greater humanitarian crisis.

hezbollah has 100,000 rockets. they could decimate israel's civil society. israel may or may not have nuclear weapons. how would they respond? certainly people can make biological, chemical and radioactive or dirty bombs. and someone should go to the palestinian people and say, if all this occurs, how are you going to make out? how are people in the west bank going to make out? how will gaza make out? the whole place will be host: let's take a look at what the assisted rest is saying. israel agrees to four hours getting pauses in cost to allow civilians to fully. jonas is in philadelphia, democrat. caller: hello. i am calling today in light of the recent polls for the

election. i apologize about the chimes in the background. i called to ask this question to people who voted for biden last election. those the plan on supporting trump in 2024. if the reason we voted for a biden last time was because he felt repulsed and fed up with trump's behavior, how is it now you are all of a sudden okay with it? i ask because trump in my opinion only got worse since the last election. for example, the january 6 insurrection happened after the 2020 election, not before.

two, there are other candidates besides trump that are running, like rfk. if they don't want to vote for a biden again, why cannot vote for rfk? for this reasons, i cannot understand if they voted for a biden solely because they despise trump, why within now all of a sudden be okay with him -- why now with their all of a sudden be okay with him? host: gary in indiana. good morning. caller: pretty interesting this morning. we are talking rave reviews when it comes to this catch-22 election. i live with a troubled heart and

i have been saying this for weeks. it has been a long time since we had a decent man in office. the last one i would say overall was jimmy carter. he was not not a great economic president, but he was one heck of a for policy guy. reagan was a decent man, him and bush, but they had their part in the iran-contra affair. barack obama i suspect personally was involved with isis. i might be wrong, but i believe there was a possibility he was. let me tell you. the premise is telling me you cannot be a politician and a good person at the same time. either you are a better person to begin with or something about politics krups you.

-- corrupts you. they don't want to vote for nothing more than the lesser of two evils. host: are you going to vote in 2024? caller: i will think about it. i will not promise anything. if you cannot be a decent human being, don't run for office. for you who are going to vote, think about what i am saying. you might think you're helping the country but you are contributing to that person's agenda. host: let's talk to doug in danville, illinois. caller: i have been into politics since high school. i have been following a lot of your statements, a lot of the people are right about our

presidents. one thing that irritates me a lot and i'm sure your viewers out there will definitely agree with me. many of the veterans that had family were kicked out of the motels, they were told reservations were canceled. they had put illegal immigrants in those motels. the state i live in, our democratic governor pritzker signed into law, you cannot believe this, he is going to make illegal immigrants police officers. there is a federal law that states they cannot have firearms. at the same time, he did sign a bill for that. not only that, we are the only state in the u.s. where he signed bills telling all the illegal immigrants to come up from the south, come to

illinois. we have a place for you to stay, food stamps, whatever you want. i do believe in immigration, i really do. let's do it the proper way. -- was on television and he was asked where are these terrorists you guys have caught. his answer is they may have gone back. that is not an answer. i am sure we have sleeper cells in the u.s. right now and there is only one person to blame and i think we all know who that is. i don't understand why democrats don't want to build a border wall. every country in the border -- in the world has borders. that is basically what i want to say. host: i did look up this issue with the army navy game, they

will have rooms for soldiers. some vets is coming to find a place to stay for the game at gillette stadium. they had hotel rooms booked but the migrant crosses is complicated stash migrant process -- migrant process is complicating things. hotels in the foxboro area were double booked. i was troubled to hear that may have been folks move from hotels , that was a decision made by the hotels. ronald's next, new orleans, louisiana. democrat. caller: good morning. everyone is debating whether joe biden did this or that and who needs to do this and that. america, we have all been taught to be honest, to try to do the right thing, to try to not lie,

cheat, or steal. but i don't understand about america, they see what donald trump has done in accepting this. the reason people are accepting this and not trying to shut him down, there is one reason. they are like-minded. there is a part of america like that. if you are not going to be -- yellow telling me not one kid -- you all need to put him out of this picture and whether joe biden did or did not do it, that is not even the issue. we all have jobs. what happened on the sixth, you

need to shut down trump. that is all i have to say. host: let's go to the land for independents. maryland. caller: thank you. host: go right ahead. caller: happy veterans day, thank you for this service for all the veterans out there there it as a veteran myself, i wanted to share some perspective on the israeli-palestine gaza conflict. i resent our service personnel being sent to defendant performance while we have problems in the u.s. -- defend foreign lands while we have problems in the u.s.. right and wrong is not that simple and i would encourage people to go out there and get

information that they can better understand what is happening. i don't think we should be sending our personnel to israel and i don't think we should be sending our dollars in support of murdering innocent civilians and babies. i would like to see our money used here in the u.s. to improve health care, improve education for all americans and i would like us to have more of a focus on our own borders and our own affairs. thank you so much for listening. host: this is an article in cnbc. "pres. biden: all other workers deserve deals like the one from detroit automakers. following the successful negotiations for new contracts, president biden the remarks near any of the plant on his

administration's efforts to boost unions. [video clip] pres. biden: i called sean turning red let him and he says the credit goes to all of you out there. it does. it does not hurt to have a leader with a backbone like a ramrod. wall street did not build america, the middle class build america. the union built the middle class. it is still true today. americans know it and that is why unions are more popular today than they have been in decades. six weeks ago i went to michigan to join your brothers and sisters in the picket line.

but i did not realize is it was the first time a president ever did that. it was second nature. >> that shirt looks good on you. pres. biden: i have worn this shoot a lot, you have no idea. i have been involved in uaw longer than you have been alive. you guys sacrificed to save the automobile industry. you did. some of you were not around, but i minute. -- but i mean it. now the auto companies are doing exceptionally well. autoworkers should be doing incredibly well as well. you saved the auto industry. they should step up you -- they

should step up for you. you cap negotiating around the clock and in the end, the deal you reached set a new standard. over 30% increase in wages. bigger pay increases over the next 3.5 years and the last 22 years combined. host: that was the president yesterday in illinois. open forum for a few more minutes. bobby is a republican in kentucky. caller: it don't matter what color you are, if you are for joe biden and kamala harris, you are stupid. host: why do you say that? caller: a look at the stupid stuff they do. kamala harris stepping up with a

word salad and biden carbon -- biden can hardly speak. these people are calling in about a generous sixth, how about for some or all of the thugs burned places down and kill all of the? you people need to get real. host: dayton, ohio. democrat. greg. go ahead. caller: yesterday i was watching c-span. the judiciary senate committee. i finally figured out what the word woke means. senator graham -- this was a battle basically about getting an oregon state judge to become a federal judge. senator graham was in a position that we are going to make a mess of this community for its nominated.

the reason being is because of the word mixed. this is something i learned yesterday. mixed is any honorific. they basically said because it is mixed, an lgbtq-like acceptance. following that was tom cotton of arkansas and then mike lee from utah and finally senator kennedy and the also the same thing, you cannot use the word mixed. i looked it up and it was developed in 1901 or 1910. it wasn't accepted until 1970.

the point that gets mutated is that this is an expression on how you want to be called. it is a manner of respect. that is my point. host: that is the last call for open forum. coming up next, leo shane joins us to discuss issues impacting veterans and his interview with dennis mcdonough. we will be right back. >> book tv returns to the texas book festival, live from austin. saturday at 12:15 p.m.,ovage includes craig nelson on how

franklin roosevelt prepared the country for a second world war and a panel discussion on free speech in america. on sunday at 11:00 a.m., we will focus on women in science with the author of "of "the six -- "the six and the author of "starstruck." a discussion on the gun violence and -- in america. watch the texas book festival life this weekend on book tv on c-span2. to see the full schedule, visit our website, book tv -- book of tv--booktv.org. >> watch c-span's series "books that shaped america." we will feature "free to choose." it was written after developing the series on the same name and argues for free-trade, lower taxes, limited to government

regulations, and school choice. "free to choose" continues to spark debate. milton friedman won the nobel prize for economics and was an advisor to margaret thatcher and president ronald reagan who presented him with the medal of freedom. a lecture of economics at university of southern california santa barbara will join us on the program to discuss the book. watch "books that shaped america" featuring "free to choose" monday on c-span, c-span now, or online at c-span.org. scan the qr code to listen to our companion podcast where you calearn more about the authors of the book featured. >> c-spanshop.org is c-span's online store. browse through products,

apparel, books, home to core, accessories. there is something for every c-span fan every purchase helps support our nonprofit operation. shop now or anytime at c-span shop.org. >> healthy democracy does not just look like this, it looks like this. americans can see democracy at work where citizens are truly informed and public drives. it informed straight from the sources. unfiltered, unbiased, word for word from the nation's capital to wherever you are. the opinion that matters the most is your own. this is what democracy looks like. c-span, powered by cable. >> "washington journal" continues. host: i am joined by leo shane

from military times to talk about veterans. talk about the pact act and what it was intended to do. guest: this was the most controversial veterans benefits expansion we have seen in 30 years. this was passed by congress and supported heavily by president biden to recognize military tactic exposure issues in a new way. we have had a piecemeal approach to things like agent orange exposure or radiation exposure during military training. eva v.a. would adopt individual illnesses, make them things you could apply for military disability for. the pact act has tried to turn that on its head, especially in relation to burn pits. if you manifest one of two to four different career -- one of 24 different illnesses or

cancers, you are covered. instead of having to prove it was related to your military service, you should just be able to go and say i have contracted asthma for this rare cancer -- for this rare cancer and now you have to pay me benefits. disability benefits can be thousands of dollars per month. it is like changing. it is an expensive bill, $300 million over 10 years. that was the fight, whether or not this is adding too much to the national debt. it did get through and now we are in the implementation phase. we have had 500,000 new claims. the v.a. is working hard, 80% of claims have been approved. is a massive undertaking for the v.a. to add these folks in. part of bringing them in his opening the door for them to get more v.a. care. not every veteran qualifies, but

individuals who have service-connected issues can get treatment. the hope is not just that they're getting compensation, but also getting better treatment. host: what was the genesis of the pact act? people were saying we have suffered from these burn pits for a long time, but only when a celebrity, jon stewart, makes it a big issue. then it passes and he starts getting the benefit. guest: it is hard to tell what the tipping point is. the veterans groups have been on this for a few years. this is something new, but always saw was jon stewart's involvement and another key point was president biden talking about the issue of

improving health care for burn pit victims in his state of the union address. that was a tipping point. the state of union is a posturing speech, a way to highlight a lot of these issues. it was the first time this burn pit care for veterans and illnesses was brought to that level. that give extra momentum on capitol hill and give impetus for things to pass through the house. we saw the fights over the summer of 2022. everything with legislation gets complicated. the veterans groups have been fighting it for a long time but we are pleased to see that it moved ahead last year. host: how has the v.a. ramped up to deal with the influx? there are a lot of veterans that were exposed to toxic burn pits. they are also screening every veteran to comes to -- that

comes to any facility. guest: that is why the v.a. has ramped up its hiring. it is already second-largest agency in terms of spending within the federal government. up to 450,000 employees. $320 billion it next year or for the current fiscal year. they have put in emphasis on that, getting more doctors in, more nurses, more staff, more claims so they can handle this workload they saw coming down the line. i got a chance to talk to secretary mcdonough and other secretaries and they have said with all of that hiring, they think this coming year they are going to have a pretty heavy emphasis on that. the numbers are just going to increase for the short-term. the backlog is going to increase. the backlog is an abrupt's

ability claims that takes more than four months to process. that was as low as 70,000 before covid hit. it started to swell after covid and now we are seeing it go up even higher. they are predicting it will rise to the middle of next year before they can get a handle on this flight of claims coming in. host: for those who would like to call and ask a question, central time zone, 202-748-8000. mountain pacific, 202-748-8001. we have a lance of the site for veterans and their families. that number is 202-748-8002. a new york times article about investigation of artillery blast exposure, a bombardment that broke the islamic state in syria and iraq. it also took a toll on the

troops to fire the cannons. what do we know about that and what has been the response? guest: war causes a lot of problems, not just for those being shot at. we are talking about traumatic brain injury, posttraumatic stress disorder, the conditions the troops were forced to put up with. since the story broke, the v.a. secretary has said his staff has started to reach out to some of these folks monitoring these individuals, see if there are ways they can find to help these folks. is not in in the system yet necessarily. the goal is to try and identify early are there problems we are seeing, are there things they can treat. this has been one of the knocks

on the v.a., they are two reactive -- too reactive. the v.a. has said we need to find ways to dissipate trying to help before that happens. host: in addition to the interview he did with you, he spoke at the national press club about progress made at the department. [video clip] >> v.a. processed nearly 2 million claims in 2023, shattering the previous year's record, to that point the highest ever. that meant 1.5 million veterans and their families and survivors received over 160 $3 billion in earned benefits. we are also providing more care. dva delivered more than 116 million health care appointments , exceeding last year's number

by more than 3 million. it is not just more care, it is better care, world-class care. study after study shows we deliver better health outcomes than the rest of the health care system for our veterans which is a big reason nearly 90% of veterans that come to v.a. trust us to deliver their outpatient care. host: that was secretary of the v.a., dennis mcdonough. what unique of those numbers? is it started to trickle down to veterans? guest: it is a lot of big numbers. v.a. services are in demand and the number of veterans in america is steadily declining. the big wave of veterans is older generations.

we are seeing her folks come in but they are not replacing. a few years ago, 23 million veterans, now we are talking about 18 million veterans. v.a. services seem to be even more in demand than they have been. more folks reaching out, more folks with more complicated medical histories. as the secretary said, they are seeing more disability claims. they are processing more claims than ever before. even as the number of veterans in america is going down, we are seeing because in demand continue to rise. host: let's talk to callers. johnny is first in south carolina. caller: i am a 77-year-old veteran. my benefits have cut down from 60% when i was 62 to 30%. i tried to get help from my

congressman, no results. i have no idea why they want to do that to me because i have had stomach problems. i can keep nothing on my stomach . host: you are going to v.a. facilities? at v.a. facilities? caller: yes, in charleston. [indiscernible] guest: getting your disability rating produced is unusual and i think that is something there was able to reach out to if they're not getting response.

the joke among veterans advocates is if you have seen one v.a.. there are some who are great. some have backlogs. some it is frustrating to get to a doctor. folks who can access the care are happy with it but the wait times are still too high. a lot of that depends on his illiberal area or metropolitan. host: nico is next. caller: i am an army veteran. i did military police investigations. the reason i duly did military was because the previous commander in chief and his policies regarding transgender people in the military. i had been bullied and ostracized. even after leaving the service

people thanked me for my service and they are republican, i know they are voting against my rights. it feels like they are stopping me in the face, turning around and trying to get rid of me. host: -- guest: to five years ago, the v.a. announced they would start transgender services. that was hailed but so far the v.a. has not follow through with the rulemaking answering to offer that. that has been a point of frustration. in receipt of probations bills that have come out of the house, house republicans targeted this

is one of these social issues they want to have. that would create a lot of complications for veterans applying -- relying on them. for transgender veterans, that is not surprise me. there is a lot of next emotions from the caller because it is a situation where you don't know what is going to be there and it is hard to lie on v.a. if everything is up in the air. host: what about abortions in v.a. facilities? guest: that is another one in appropriations bills republicans say we need to target. pva said there was her offering abortions regardless of what state laws are. we are governed by federal law. if your state does not allow abortions, the v.a. can perform abortions and allow them. they laid out some broad areas

where they provide abortions for rape and incest. it is health and safety of the mother but it is defined broadly. that has lawmakers upset there are not more specifics. they have performed fewer than 100 abortions over the past year. it is not a major operation. it is not a major drain on resources. it is not something creating a lot of quality but it had political issue and one we have seen a few lawsuits filed over. host: let's talk to henry next. caller: dva, i applied for that -- the v.a., i have applied for that. i applied under the pact act for

diabetes and hypertension. i got a letter yesterday after i applied in may. they denied it, even sleep apnea. i used to have sleep apnea because i am a vietnam veteran. i am 74 years old now. i got sleep apnea because i had it. the v.a. did not know anything. guest: did they deny your hypertension claim for agent orange exposure? caller: yes. and the denied -- they denied sleep apnea. i took the sleep study and have to go a private doctor to get surgery done. i could not tie it back to this stuff.

they denied everything. i am done with them. they talk a good game but when the rubber hits the road, it don't get me wrong i love my doctors down there at the v.a. they have been taking care of me pretty well. guest: i hope the caller does not give up. this is a theme we hear from a lot of veterans. navigating this system is so frustrating. they throw their hands up in the air. i am glad they're using v.a. services and having some success. my unprofessional advice would be to go to a veterans service organization and reach out to someone like disabled american veterans, american league. host: hypertension should be covered. guest: hypertension is covered under the pact act. there is possible there was something that fear in the way he filed. it is possible there is a minor mistake.

this frustrates a lot of veterans. a lot of people assume this should be as easy as filling out an annex card and sending it in. this is a complicated process and if you don't have the right people with you, you could end up missing out on benefits and on real help you need. host: jim is in whitehall, maryland. guest: i am a retired -- caller: i am a retired air force person and i love the v.a. i big complaint is with other veterans. i find so many of them file bogus claims. a veteran reaches the age of 65 and all of a sudden the sudden they are on social security and they realize they don't have enough retirement. they hit the v.a. up with every claim in the world. a lot of them get turned down and they get mad and complain about the v.a..

we spent two to four years in the military, you think the government owes you but you don't claim anything for 50 years and then you get to retirement age. it is not the v.a.'s fault they did not plan for retirement. i think it is wrong that the v.a. pays for erectile dysfunction and all these other small claims when you could get that in 50 years you did not claim. the v.a. is getting a bad rap. they do nothing but help veterans. i want to thank them for everything they have done. guest: that may push back a little bit. -- let me push back a little bit. the v.a.'s response is that veterans have earned what veterans have earned and we have a process to weed out folks making bogus claims. the rate of claims rejected is

pretty steady. there is not a real sign that folks are filing bogus claims. folks who are looking at a lot of transition issues. they might be trying to find a job. there is a lot of machoness in the military, saying i don't need help. sometimes these problems take years to develop. tonight's is one commandment see when you are younger but as you get older it gets worse and worse. i understand where the caller is coming from. there is a lot of frustration in the veterans community. there are also a lot of veterans where it takes years for these problems to issue. issues can take five to 10 years before you see long-term respiratory things. i would not judge a veteran who took 10 years before they filed for the first time because some health issues may be lingering in their body and the country has made a commitment.

when we find out this is something costing you, we have a responsibility to make sure you are taken care of. host: you wrote an article, "advocates push supreme court to extend educational veterans benefits." what is that about? guest: this is a big case that has to do with the main education benefits, the post 9/11 g.i. bill and the older montgomery g.i. bill. the g.i. bill paid some money but didn't cover the full cost of college tuition. the post 9/11 g.i. bill covers the entire cost, 36 months of tuition, room and board, other stipends. this case deals with any army veteran who tried to cap into both benefits and the v.a. said he couldn't use the old one. . he exhausted all of his education benefits but said i paid into this bill program, i know you are phasing it out, but

i invested in it and i should get another year of tuition money. it would help me with my studies. the v.a. said you can only pick one of the two. this fight has been for years. you have to pick one of the two? it fits into technical areas but depending on how to record, we could see 1.8 million veterans get an extra year of college tuition to be able to finish up a degree or get a graduate degree. a lot of these folks are through and not doing this, but it is significant to look at the future and say how are we dividing benefits up? what is owed to veterans? the montgomery g.i. bill, they paid into it. can we just erase that off of the board? host: -- is next in nevada. caller: thank you so much for taking my call.

i would like for you to ask the gentleman to explain ideas that a veteran, 100% disabled and medically retired is not receiving retirement pay. between -- and the v.a., the v.a. takes the veterans retirement pay because they are receiving 100% disability when congress passed a law back in 2004 that allowed veterans to be able to double dip, which means getting disability and their retirement pay. i never received a check.

i had my senator look into the problem and all i get is a stalemate. maybe good comment on this. guest: the answer is that it is going to cost a lot. there are offsets that if you're receiving disability benefits and retirement pay,, two different things. one is paying you for the injuries you sustained, one is for the time in the military. if you are getting both, you may not be getting the entirety of both. . the answer boils down to -- recess to pay for this it has been a point of frustration.

host: hi, helen. caller: i am a veteran and why is it if you make over 6000 a year you don't qualify for services like dental or vision? guest: the v.a. does extend a lot of benefits to veterans who are impoverished, who really need -- veterans who are well off have reached certain income levels. they can get medical services on their own. if it is credited to military service and the result of being in the ranks, the able cover it. we get into do have other options, should the government get into it? host: niches in san antonio, texas. caller: i am a republican from

canton you living outside of d.c. i am not personally a federal or a servicemember myself, but i have tons of family and friends from over the years who are. i have never heard one of them say it was a smooth process. i am not entirely sure this is the right place for this question, but i am concerned when we are sending hundreds of billions of dollars across the world but there are problems here at home, especially with our veterans. this can be solved with putting a portion into v.a. services. i don't know if this is the right place for the question. guest: it is tricky because there is a fight going on in congress over how much money has gone into v.a. and whether it is being well spent. the budget in 2001 and 2002 was about $50 billion.

the budget projected for 24 is going to be $320 billion -- for 2024 is $320 billion. it is worth noting when you are talking about foreign aid and things like that, congress has always kept v.a. out of the conversation of cuts. i don't know the reductions in foreign aid are going to have any effect on veterans affairs budget, even when we talk about whether or not vod should see cuts. the v.a. has held on its own. we just go up every year, we don't see any sincere push to reduce the amount of v.a. services. it comes down to are they hiring the right people? are there ways they continue my bureaucracy rather than put more money into it? host: kimberly is calling from

california. caller: my question is today, it should not have to take congress any time to do anything for our veterans. they died for us and they keep us free. every soldier that comes in did the same thing. going to my other question, they have staff in some areas -- short staff in some areas. i don't know why you don't implement new doctors to fill those gaps and pay them on a budget salary to help our veterans. why is that not done? why have you not reached out to other people? you have for billion dollars budget and still cannot help our veterans. it should be in somebody else's

hands. host: the issue -- guest: the issue of hiring, the v.a. has emphasized this. part of the problem is not just that the v.a. is not hiring people, the people are not out there. when you get into the medical specialties in demand, sometimes it is not a matter of being to pay them, it is being able to find them. there are not a lot of folks who grew up on the east coast to have thought about moving to montana and want to work there. there are certain incentives they can put in there that might bring folks in. they have also tried a number of new initiatives. they have partnered with universities in the past and starting a new health care program to bring in more folks. the v.a. is the largest medical provider in the country and they have been the major training

program for a lot of doctors. it is a matter of getting the right people in the right place at the right time. if you are looking at the washington dc v.a. medical center, they have been able to politely folks but when you talk about montana and rural states, it is the same challenges -- which present some challenges. host: samuel is next in texas. good morning. caller: my question is -- have my discharge updated. i don't know if this is the right place. caller: i volunteered, i got out and things got rough.

i went back in to make a career out of it. when i signed up to go back in, i have a -- when i got to vietnam and i was in my regular pay, a his sister and she said she was receiving 20 $50,000 -- $2000 a month. i went to the v.a. center to tell them i was getting my regular pay and my -- of allotment. each time i went there told me they were going to take care of it. when i got transferred at fort hood, they were doing the same thing. i kept going and they said they would take care of it. they said they would give my wife a check for the allotment.

host: let's get a response. guest: that sounds like this ended up in financial mess for this veteran. other than honorable discharges and dishonorable discharges, there has been a lot more stuff on this. i would encourage the veteran to reach out. you can talk to the v.a. and see what options are there. the difference between having an honorable discharge and other than any honorable discharge is it can be significant for veterans. it is the difference between having access to these services versus hormones and educational services and other benefits. if it is something that ended up as an innocent mistake or some confusion, it is the kind of thing that is going to take a lot of work to fix but it's worth it because of the doors it can open up. the v.a. has been more generous in that regard. they have been extending more services to other veterans with

other than honorable discharges in the hopes that they can get things like metal care come help folks throughout the prevention and help them out where we can. host: we are a week away from a government shutdown, how is that what impact services? guest: less so than other government agencies. after the 2013 shutdown, congress passed advanced gush commerce put in place advanced appropriations for the v.a. each year. a lot of the funding for the current fiscal year has already been approved. if you go trisha gone, hospitals want shutdown, benefits will continue to be handed out. the things we see are a couple of hotlines, a lot of the headquarters staff will end up getting impacted. unlike some of the other

departments which will see furloughs, we are talking about a few thousand employees. the bad news is it is still effective v.a. and creating a mess of services. nothing government operated is on its own island. you may not be able to get the department of labor services used to get. you might get the g.i. bill, but other veterans centers connected to that may be closed down. still a headache, and still something that the v.a. secretary told me he is going to be working to convince them this is something they should avoid. host: let's talk to a bob in cleveland, ohio. caller: i am a 74-year-old veteran. i was a farmer -- a fireman during the vietnam era. the pact era does not cover fireman who have been exposed to film forming from.

i have to battle with that as well as my hypertension. i don't seem to be able to get anywhere. why is it that we have all kinds of medical evidence that links those chemicals as carcinogens and yet those benefits are being denied? i had prostate cancer and i can't seem to get the v.a. to recognize that link to my service. guest: this gets to the core of the frustration with the dva and how they have been toxic exposures. hypertext -- hypertension and prostate cancer, when exposed to agent words, these are perceptive conditions that if the veteran served in vietnam, he should be able to submit this and get processed.

if he was observing around these chemicals, what the v.a. has said is the pact act is going to create new processes for them to better address these kinds of issues. this might not be covered right now but if he submits and they do more of this, maybe he can be covered in coming years. in the past it might have been a 10 to 15 your process. a lot of veterans would die off and not see these benefits. there is a mandate from congress that we need to have a better approach. the v.a. will be able to move quicker and take these illnesses and get them spent. we have not seen them yet. there is only a few new illnesses and injuries that have been added related to the burn pit so far. hopefully in coming years we will see things like this situation where there is a clear

indication this group served and was exposed to chemicals and should be getting benefits. st you have a question from robert. "has the veterans affairs department considered medical cannabis and other alternative medicines for treating physical and mental the formalities?" guest: officially no and they are not allowed to because it is a schedule one drug. there has been a push to allow doctors to talk to veterans about some options, especially in states where this is legal. either i am using is on the side or with another doctor. the issue is still caught up in federal regulations. the v.a. has set their hands are tied, they cannot do much to talk about expanding care, even to research on this until congress acts and carves out some exceptions for them to look

into it. there is huge interest, specially as the v.a. has tried to pull back on a pure use because of the concerns about addiction and the impacts of that. it is something a lot of people are holding their breath, when we see some movement forward -- holding their breath, hoping we see some movement forward. host: dottie, you are next. caller: [indiscernible] i thought one government agency would acknowledge another government agency. [indiscernible] host: did you hear that? guest: i heard enough of it. the cover -- the caller said i

thought one government agency would recognize another government agency. welcome to bureaucracy. this is the red tape veterans are frustrated with. the v.a. is only giving him a partial disability for the same ones -- same wounds. it is not a perfect system, this is a point of frustration. there might be different standards. i am not familiar with how the department of education forgives lungs. if that is the case, i would see if there is some outside help the caller could go to, someone like a veterans service agent from their local county to say does this make any sense? did i file something wrong? is there some way to do this? to an extent, it is almost a game.

how many times can you file? how many ways can you do this? it should not be that way but in the same ways that you file taxes, there are ways you can approach things. the idea is not to for the system, the idea is not to say i am injured and i want to give money. sometimes it is a matter of did you explain this clearly so when a claims processor going through dozens of cases a day sees this, did they find the right keyword? did it end up getting kicked into a pile that says we don't cover that particular thing or that is a particular rating system? why is it not a simpler system? why is it not an index card i can fill out? can you check my records? don't you have these things? department of defense records for many years were on paper. we have lost tens of thousands of records in a massive fire at federal records facilities.

there are some that just don't exist so re-creating these records is still finding the right papers, putting them in the right file and hope they lead to the right page which is incredibly frustrating for veterans advocates. shane, thank you for coming. that is our show. we will be back tomorrow at 7 a.m. eastern on c-span. i hope you will join us then. in the meantime, happy veterans day and have a great friday. >> here's a look at our live coverage today on c-span. at 11:15 a.m., ftc chair lena con talks about law and regulatory transparency at an event hosted by the

federalist society in janet yellen speaks to reporters about her meeting with chinese officials on economic matters ahead of the summit in san francisco. you can also watch on c-span now, our free mobile video app, and online at c-span.org. >> monday, watching c-span's series in partnership with the library of congress, books that shaped america. it will feature the book freedom to choose. it was written in 1980, shortly after developing the television series of the same name, and argues for free-trade, lower taxes, limited government regulation and school choice. a bestseller, he to spark debate today. in 1976, milton friedman won the nobel prize for economics and was an advisor to margaret thatcher and ronald reagan, who presented him with the presidential medal of

freedom in 1988. a professor at the university of california santa barbara and author of a biography of it friedman will join us to discuss the book. watch books that shaped america featuring free to choose monday live at 9 p.m. eastern on c-span, c-span now, our free mobile video app, or online, c-span.org. scan the qr code to listen to our podcast, where you can learn more about the authors of the books featured. >> c-spanshop.org is c-span's online store. browse our collection of products, apparel, books, home decor, and accessories. there is something for every c-span fan and every purchase helps support our nonprofit operation. shop now or anytime at c-spanshop.org. c-span is your unfiltered view

of government. we are funded by these television companies and more, including buckeye broadband. ♪ buckeye broadband supports c-span as a public service, along with thesether television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> the senate judiciary committee met to consider whether to pursue subpoenas for republican donor harlan crow and conservative judicial activist leonard leo as part of an ethics investigation into lavish gifts given to supreme court justices. a vote was postponed after republicans file dozens of amendments that would prolonged the committee's meeting. chair dick durbin saying afterward that the delay was "due to sc