thursday morning on c-span, c-span now or online at c-span. org. for c-span voices 2024, we are asking voters across the country what issue is most important to you in this election and why? >> this political season is immigration. >> i think homelessness is an issue. >> we invite you to share your voice going to our website and select the record your voice tab and 0 second voice tab. c-span voices 2024. be a part of the conversation. >> c-span is unfiltered view of government and funded by these television companies and more,

including comcast. >> do you think we are just a community center. no. we are partnering with community centers to you students can be ready for anything. >> comst supports c-span as a public service along with these other television providers. giving you a front-row seat to democracy. " continues. host: mark pocan joining us now. congressman, several though to ask you about. first, the failed effort by house republicans to impeach alejandro mayorkas. your reaction when that was called? guest: there is almost no reaction given the dysfunction the majority has had. they should have never put it on the floor to begin with followed by another measure they should

not have put on the four to begin with. if it is not a censure or meaningless task, we cannot get anything done. it was an incredibly unproductive session. i cannot justify anything this current leadership does in the house. it never should have been there in the first place. host: the other bill, the aid package for israel, why should that not have been on the floor? guest: it was being worked on in the senate and this was done to derail that effort. the house republican dori last year when they formed their majority and when kevin mccarthy tried to become speaker, he gave it away to more extreme members and now they are allowed to give democratic votes. this session is one i have been looking for to looking in the rearview mirror on waiting to get to november. host: the republicans in the senate said they would walk away

from the procedural votes set to take place in the house. what happens from that bill that was put together? are there pieces of data that could be salvaged? guest: the house republicans are going to do whatever donald trump wants and he think this is the only issue he has. he has 93 indictments at all of the other problems he has a into november. rightfully so, what congress has not gotten right is immigration. we have things we need to repair around that. because of that, they don't want to do anything. when there was a chance to get something done in be senate, -- in the senate, they turned around and opposed it because donald trump opposed it. that is not governing because that is following someone who is a cult leader. that is the modern republican party. host: the headline from usa today, trump can face trial in

election allegations. a court in d.c. rules against his absolute immunity claim as a former president. your reaction to that end your expectation of what happens when that goes to the supreme court? guest: on this you are a diehard kool-aid drinker, no one believes a president can break any law. the intention of our laws is to it than that. wally donald trump believes that. -- only donald trump believes that. he is going to move forward all of his legal cases. at the end of the day people will look back and say do we want to go back to that divisiveness or viewer to look at what joe biden has done, everything from investing in infrastructure to lowering prescription drug prices to so much more. the contrast with i am very comfortable with going into november. host: one of those legal issues

is taking biz tomorrow 10:00 a.m. eastern -- is taking place tomorrow 10 a.m. eastern, the court really -- the court ruling that donald trump could not appear on the ballot in colorado. we will be taking that up tomorrow morning to spend. you will be able to hear the oral arguments tomorrow because cameras are not allowed in the courtrooms yet. your expectations for how that will play out? guest: i truly don't know. i am trying to follow up with what we are doing in congress. as you can tell from last night, not very much. if i try to keep track of legal pieces of donald trump, i would have to have that is a full-time occupation. i cannot but i think the american people can figure this out, someone with this many troubles maybe isn't ready to come back to the white house. host: rissman mark pocan with us into the house comes back --

congressman mark pocan with us into the house comes back. you can phone in until then. democrats, 202-748-8000. republicans, 202-748-8001. independents, 202-748-8002. we will start on the line for democrats, brandy and indiana -- randy in indiana. thank you for joining us. caller: i don't believe what is going on with these folks. i have no faith whatsoever. i agree with the last gentleman that was on in most parts he was talking about. it is like the elite in congress. they are not going to do anything about the border. that is the first thing they had to do, shut that border down. we have to send the people back where they came from and admonish them to go to the nearest embassy they can get to and make the application to come into this country legally.

if they come in illegally, no questions asked. turn them from where they came from. tell them to quit coming. they are traveling thousands of miles with their kids. they are sending their kids across the border with notes, telephone numbers. it is baloney. i have no faith in our countries -- in our congress. guest: when donald trump was president you had a republican majority in the house and in the senate. he did nothing about the border. this is a political issue that people have used instead of solve. when joe biden has asked for resources so he can process people quicker at the border so they can be returned, congress won't give him money. they want this to be a lingering problem going into november and it is congress's obligation to change the laws.

chip roy from texas on the floor saying millions of people came across the border when donald trump was president. this has happened under democrats and republicans. we need to do this in a bipartisan way. the senate attempted to. we will have to wait until november. host: from geneva, wisconsin. this is john. caller: good morning. the democrats were not charged the first years of this administration. that must not have been important to you whenever you had control of the house and the senate. i would encourage everyone to google whitewater wisconsin and look up any illegal minor being sex trafficked. these democrats contributed to the indentured servitude of

these illegals -- these migrants who had to pair coyotes -- who had to pay cody's -- pay coyotes. what are you going to do about that? guest: first up, i do agree that the rules in the senate, unit 60 votes and they did not have 60 votes. -- you need to 60 votes and they did not have safety votes. i came to congress in 2016 and there were 60 votes for a compromise that john boehner refused to take up in the house. we were busy during those two years doing a lot of things. one, getting us out of covid. two, investing in our infrastructure, roads and bridges. three, we were getting manufacturing here like computer chips and things that create jobs. four, we were reducing the cost

of health care and prescription costs, fighting with companies on drug prices. we got a lot done in those two years. you cannot point to the trump administration and talk about the africa package they had. they talked and they did not deliver. we delivered. host: this is jeff, republican in nebraska. good morning. caller: i call in to say it is easy for you to sit on the tv and lie when you're sitting in fake news network. the southern border has been broken and you did not do anything to fix the problem because you want the problem. the bill in the senate to fix the problem is a complete lie and you know it. thanks. guest: you are so wrong in so many ways. the border has been wrong for decades and people know that. even republican representatives said millions people came through every year during the

trump administration. we have some real issues. i went down to el paso and watched the processing of people and we are not funny people to do it. they, profits are doing this. that is not the intention. we have to do something different but we are not. the president cannot do this alone. it is congress's responsibility which we did not do in 2013 when the bipartisan proposal came over with 68 votes. yes, the republican majority did not take it up -- yet, the republican majority did not take it up. we know we need to do things differently down there but to say it happened the last three years as you have a channel changer who only goes to one or two channels. i recommend hitting the up and down button. host: what is an aunf? guest: it is any authorization to go to work which is

congress's response ability. host: why do you think what is needed now? guest: a president has to notify congress but is up to congress to authorize that. the question is are we at the situation where we are going to war or not? the question has been looking at the middle east. our concern is it appears to be a widening conflict outside of gaza and many of us who warned that -- many of us warned that early on. part of a reason why i think it blake check to netanyahu -- a blank check to nanda who's administration -- netanyahu's administration is the chance of young americans being called there. that is why we have the authorization according to the constitution and i want to be using it sparingly when it is in the u.s. interest. host: james, democrat. good morning. caller: i would like to ask a

couple of questions about the bill on migration. senator murphy himself said the border never causes -- never closes. i would like to ask you to explain why a bill prevents the federal government from using the limitation be put on it of 1400 for only 270 days in the first year, 220 five days in the second year and 180 days in the third year? that is almost half of a year of unfettered open immigration. another thing, the federal government, there are 900 drugs that increase the price for big pharma, they are funding the arcadia institute and care, plus catholic charities to go below the border, tell everybody have to come in and when they get in

here, they pay them again to support them. i am a democrat. i have been a democrat my whole life and i'm getting tired of the people who voted against the horrors of socialism condemnation like mr. mark pocan did. you don't talk about anybody else. i don't care about trap or anybody else, this administration is the biggest bunch of bums i have seen in my life. guest: he has been all over the place. i don't know what he means by big pharma funding the border. i can tell you this, one of the bills we passed was the efficient reduction act. we capped the price of insulin. we are negotiating for drug prices on the most popular drugs to lower the cost for americans. that is long overdue. you did not see that happen in

the trump administration and you did during the biden administration. there are so many measures like that. republicans want to turn back on the affordable care act. that is making sure tens of millions of americans have health care. i am not sure what the caller was saying because he was all over the place pretty well -- but when it comes to health care, this administration has done more and since we started the affordable health care act. host: what are your views of medicare advantage? guest: i could spend a half hour on that subject. medicare advantage is a private alternative. it cost more than medicare. they overbilled us $140 billion in the last year. that is enough to cover every person on medicare. they turned a dog people of cases.

-- they turned down people to many of the cases. they are turning down cases to save money and that cost people's lives. we do have a much deeper look at medicare advantage -- medicare advantage. you cannot call yourself the latest is postal service and floor delivery -- you cannot call yourself in the united states postal service and floral delivery. only medicare is medicare. host: you have a tweet yesterday directed at the postmaster general. can you explain? guest: it used to be the postal service worked really well. when mr. dejoy came aboard, we saw him dismantle processing centers. in wisconsin, there is only one place in the state that processes mail. if you arsenic something from one side of town together, it has to go to milwaukee and back. we have people this winter that

did not receive mail for five days. there are problems there and we need answers. i just wanted to get simple answers for my constituents. two, i serve on the appropriations committee that has oversight over the postal service. we needed postmaster general to come in and get some answers. it is not just my district, it is across the country. i don't think the postmaster general is doing the job necessary. we need to have subcategory. -- we need some accountability. host: about five minutes left with mark pocan. this is greg from texas, flower mound. independent. caller: i was a democrat answers become an independent -- and since become a dent -- an independent. it is based on this border issue

and this administration's handling on this border. and the messaging. they have been telling us the past three years there is not a border issue, there is not a crisis at the border. now we have a crisis at the border and we need new laws and more money and more spending to do this. like many of the other colors you called in before me -- callers who called in before me, i have hit a wall with this administration and their handling of the border. there is schizophrenia around it. it is time that the american people have some change here. quite frankly, this administration is failing us miserably doubt here in texas when it comes to the border issue.

the only way i can make that happen is to leave the party because the party has done a miserable job for the american people and cast my vote somewhere else . the party has become a one creek party -- a one trick pony and that is donald trump. all they can say is donald trump. it is sad that is all this party has to offer. host: conner smith? -- congressman? guest: even republican members of congress from texas have said this was a problem even during the trump administration. it has been a couple of decades congress is not done their job. i first session of congress, there was a bipartisan bill that had a pathway for citizenship that got 68 bipartisan votes and then john refused to take it up because at the time the tea

party did not want to take it up. this has been going on for a long time. this three years mind is nothing but a talking point. i went up to el paso with the person who reps in that area. she has a bipartisan plan she is trying to get through congress. if we got put the resources to process people properly, people are waiting sometimes seven years to get the proper processing to see if their to stay or not. that is ridiculous. when republicans refuse to give them money, you are going to have problems. it is ultimately congress's fix. presidents can do some band-aids here and there but it is up to congress to deal with something. the senate tried to come up with something at house republicans trended down. i understand people should be frustrated.

the frustration needs to go where it needs to go. to blame joe biden for this as if it just happened is something you clearly only get from some news networks talking points. host: you mentioned congresswoman escobar, what is her program? guest: she tried to do it the bipartisan way. . she represents an el paso, there are no resources for federal employees to process people so you have a local government taking this burden on and local nonprofits. we visited facilities, they are doing the best job they can but it is not their responsibility. it is the federal government's response ability and part of the reason the process takes so long and so broken. she would be a great person to come along with the other layperson on that bill. just a half hour of what she's talking about and it would be very enlightening. host: this is mark out of california, republican. good morning.

caller: good morning. i am a combat veteran, i have been a firefighter since 1999. i am embarrassed to be an american watching congress. congress is just corrupt, everyone of them. let's talk about the affordable care act. the affordable care act is terrible because as a professional firefighter if he is a ritual mandate went through, i would have been taxed an extra $800 per month. you guys are corrupt. you sold us out. i am understood to be an american. you should be ashamed of yourselves. host: congressman? guest: thank you for your service, i'm sorry you're embarrassed to be an american. before the care act 20 many people have access to health care. it is not true you would have been taxed $800 a month.

watch some other networks, maybe comedy central would be a good recommendation to get some levity in your life. what is problem with people having access to health care? every industrialized country has universal health care. the closest we have is what we have. there have been improvements because of the affordable care act. why do you want to have a neighbor sick? is in the society's best interest to have health care. prescription drugs, why do we pay more than other countries? we are getting ripped off by big pharma. joe biden did that, he made sure we are negotiating for prescription drug prices. people need to broaden their media sources. you can get the same feet you will always get and you will get no diversity.

you have to spend time to get the extra information out there because there is plenty people see that benefit their families. to come out and say you are embarrassed to be an american actor serving your country is unfortunate. a broader perspective would provide a different perspective. host: programming for viewers in the minutes we have left, there are several things you can watch today on c-span. on c-span two, a hearing at 9:00 a.m. eastern on military living conditions. officials from the navy and air force and army will testify at the house armed services committee hearing at 9:00 a.m.. this evening at 10:00 p., c-span covering nikki haley's lly in nevada. you can watch on c-span, c-span no c-span.org. we talked about this a couple of

times, tomorrow at 10:00 a.m., arguments in the 14th amendment case involving donald there are arguments here on c-span and c-span.org and the free c-span now video app. just a few minutes before the house comes in. we'll get more calls, congressman. this is ted in asheville, north carolina. caller: good morning and thank you for c-span. i love to learn so much from you. representative mark pocan, i appreciate you coming on. the witch hunts between hunter biden and the immigration problem being blamed on the democrats just continues. other than that, we don't seem to get anything done in washington.

one of the biggest issues i am concerned about is the national debt. i wish you elaborate on that. have a great day. guest: one of the things we have been talking about this week with congress is the trump tax cut proposal for the wealthiest where 83% of money went to the top 1%. a lot of that is coming up to be renewed and we have to make sure we don't do that because that added more to the deficit. when donald trump was president, he added more to the deficit than any other president in history. that is one thing we can do and we should do. i am glad joe biden did things like singing a text to every corporation. those corporations hiding hackers overseas to avoid paying taxes yet making profits here, you have a minimum tax now. that helped fund the initiative the president has done. more can be done in this area and we're going to have to with

the tax cuts donald trump did for the wealthiest. there is an opportunity to stop that. host: u.s. debt clock has the national debt up to $34 trillion and counting. this is jennifer in savannah, georgia. independent. good morning. caller: i don't understand why trump is telling his followers that are supposed to be representing people in the house to vote against that immigration bill because something is better than nothing. even if he gets elected, we are waiting almost another whole year. how is that making america great again? how is it he loves our country so much that he is willing to make every american on that border wait until he gets to be president before it gets fixed?

guest: that is the voice of common sense. i agree with everything she said. don't forget when donald trump was president not only did people still come across the border, but we know when the resident republican majority in the house and senate and donald trump was president, they did nothing about the border. they love to have fear as an inference at election time. you take this issue away, they don't have that fear factor. donald trump told him to stop. that is what is wrong with the current house majority. we cannot govern. 27 bills the entire last year is showing how pathetic it is. the last caller said everything in a reconnaissance weight --

and every commonsense way. host: >> "washington journal" continues. host: we are joined by congressman tom mcclintock. he is one of the republicans voted well yesterday upon the impeachment of alejandro mayorkas. why? guest: the same reasons i post the treatment of donald trump. is defined as for bribery or high crimes or misdemeanors. crimes relating to the office. alejandro mayorkas is guilty of maladministration on a cosmic scale, but that is not an impeachable offense and we know that because the founders considered that their deliberations and rejected it because it would place the executive branch under the control of the legislature and

destroy the architecture of the constitution. even if it were impeachable, the other question you have to ask is a practical one and is in a fantasy world in which two thirds of the senate would actually remove him from office, he would simply be replaced with another left-wing cabinet secretary carrying out exactly the same policies. it is not going to improve things to replace him with alexandria ocasio-cortez. it is not going to be solved by placing another left-wing official with another. it can only be solved by replacing the entire administration and that can only be done by the american people at the ballot box. host: you opposed -- the impeachment of donald trump. there is an investigation by republicans against president joe biden. do you oppose that? guest: that is regarding bribery and that is an impeachable offense.

whether there is evidence or not, that is it to be seen. host: you yet it -- you let it know that you were going to vote no and a 10 page document you can find on your website. what was it like on the floor last night when that vote was tallied and you were one of the no votes? guest: when you are an outlier, you better be sure you are right. i took a great deal of time to look at this carefully because i opposed to this administration's border policies. but it was so clear to me by the time i compiled that that this is the right thing to do. that provides a great deal of peace and comfort in moments like that. host: you took some heat from your colleagues on that. i'm sure he's on marjorie taylor greene's comments, but this is about 40 seconds of it. [video clip] >> mr. mcclintock said he is not going to impeach