, what do you think? guest: we want to get them home, they are in custody and i think for trivial reasons i believe but the russians want to trade for someone in custody here for significant reasons. we have seen it with iran and north korea, they hold hostage american citizens sometimes for no reasons or trivial reasons and they hold them hostage to get back someone who was a spy or conducted felonies in our country. i would not travel to russia i'm sanctioned anyway so i can't go. but the fact is, don't go to russia where you are under threat and you have a dictator that is doing what he is doing there.

they can hold you for no reason. iwashington journal continues. host: joining us from capitol hill this morning is congresswoman dina titus. let's begin with the gdp news that just came out shows the economy shrank .9%. are we in a recession? guest: we said yesterday that we weren't in a recession. the federal reserve chairman powell said he didn't think we were in a recession. the job market is still very strong. that's an indicator that we are not in a recession. and those folks who are working will be putting money back into the economy. we know what a recession is like

in nevada. we survived it from about 10 years ago and this is not it. host: what are people telling you in nevada? guest: we were the hardest hit in the country. we had an unemployment rate of about 35% so it's amazing to see the strip totally closed down in the early days of covid. however now we are the fastest recovering. people were locked down for so long they wanted to get out and have a good time and what better place to go than las vegas. our traffic through your airport was record numbers. people are coming back for holidays. we need to get our conventions back however. we are working towards that and international travelers. we know we have a way to go. people want to be sure that this recovery will last and they want to be sure it affects all votes, not just those at the top. host: we learned that senator joe manchin has agreed to a package of proposals that they are calling and inflation reduction act. it includes 369 billion dollars for climate change, a 15 percent

minimum tax on corporations. do you think this is going to reduce inflation? guest: i will vote yes for it. it will return some money. caps on the medical cost will work to our advantage. investment in renewable energy will certainly move us away from fossil fuels. that will help. and there will be a savings overall. maybe it wasn't big back -- build back better, but it's build back pretty good. host: it will be a while before you see the impact of this. the federal reserve yesterday has a shorter-term impact on the economy and the federal reserve chairman decided to raise those interest rates .75%. was it enough? guest: i think it's enough for now. you don't just want to jump really high.

we are not returning. it's a gradual increase in i think it will help. host: do you think the president and/or the federal reserve waited too long to act on inflation? guest: no, i don't. you don't want to swing the pendulum from one extreme to the other. we needed to do something. the legislature was acting. some of the states were a little slower in getting out the recovery money so that has now taken place pretty effectively. i'm glad we are acting now. you have to remember joe manchin was not being very cooperative until the last minute and there is some doubt about what the lady from arizona was going to do, kyrsten sinema. host: you have a voting situation as well, some lawmakers have tested positive for covid-19. that has thrown voting up in the air. there is also in the house a

delay on a vote on banning assault weapons. that is tied up in legislation for funding police and other public safety proposals. where do you come down on the ban on assault weapons and this package? guest: i'm a member of the gun violence prevention caucus. remember the worst shooting in american history was in my district. about 60 people eventually died from that murder at a concert right on the strip. so i am very much in favor of doing some kind of gun violence regulation. i wanted to see us do bump stocks because that's what the person in my district used was a bump stock to turn a regular weapon into an automatic one. i don't think you need weapons of war on the streets of our community. and you see how many gun deaths have occurred since then. whether you are in a movie

theater or a dance hall or concert or church or grocery store, school. you just feel like your children and loved ones and neighbors aren't safe anywhere. so i am a cosponsor of banning assault weapons. i'm also in support of additional funding for police training, community policing. to be sure they have what they need to get the job done to protect all of us and then go home safely to their own families. i would have voted for that bill had it come to the floor. host: i want to invite our viewers to join in and ask you questions as well. democrats (202) 748-8000. republicans (202) 748-8001. independents (202) 748-8002. caller: greetings from the people's republic of new york. actually i'm in the finger lakes area which has nothing to do

with the petulant cesspool that is called new york city. -- pestilent cesspool that is called new york city. -- two consecutive quarters of negative growth is a recession. now all of a sudden he has changed his mind. as far as joe biden goes, and bear with me. i think lately everything that's been going on with the white house is just a big distraction. the last couple states he went to, the democrat people that were running for office had so-called scheduling conflicts so they couldn't even show up with the president of and then joe takes off for the mideast to try to beg for oil which everybody knew the saudi's were going to say no. so to me that was just another

distraction because we had the inflation report. i just coincidence come out at the same time he takes off. host: how do you respond to that? two consecutive quarters of the economy shrinking. that has been a common measure of whether or not we are in a recession. guest: you can't just take those things out of context. other things were going on during the clinton administration that are different from what's going on now. the forecasts all the u.s. will end the year with about almost 2% growth. the job market is different. the housing market is different. the international situation is different. you are talking apples and oranges when you tried to compare to the clinton administration. you have to take these things into account. host: will you be campaigning or

have you been campaigning with president biden in nevada? guest: i supported president biden early and i thought he was the right man for the job at the time and i still believe that. i think we have not talked enough about the things we have accomplished in the president, the vice president, any members of the candidate and a of them have already been to nevada. some obviously to stand on stage. host: in florida. democratic color. caller: i believe the country would be way better off. they say they are having trouble picking the right people to be president and vice president. john kasich. the man who can't be bought. and leslie clark. the great former general would be our prescription for the best for this country. and i also think the deal that schumer and the other guy put,

the guy from west virginia. i think it's a sham what they were doing. they are putting the people off. and i think you look great smoking a cigarette. thank you. guest: i look great smoking a cigarette? i don't smoke. thanks. i think wesley clark is quite an admirable person, too. he was running for president a number of years ago and came to nevada. i have stayed in touch with you. i agree with you on that. as far as the shame, i have been disappointed in mention, too. he's like if you don't play my way, i'm going to take my ball and go home. we will see if the deal goes through. i never think it's over until the lady sings. we have a couple more days here this week and hopefully will move forward because i do think it's got some good things in it and the president has endorsed it.

it's got some good things for health care, energy. we will keep our fingers crossed and see what happens. host: the 360 $9 billion for climate change, would it address droughts and wildfires in the west? guest: there is a separate bill on drought and wildfire that we think we will vote for it may be this afternoon or tomorrow. it's got a number of pieces in it that i have supported because nevada is the driest hottest state in the country and our water is shrinking from the colorado river. we may see the federal government put in some regulations. we share that order with a number of other western states. but he dreamed we would have as many people as we do living in the valley there. i'm pleased to see those provisions in that bill.

they make the systems more efficient so we aren't losing water. it's about doing recycling and projects with california. it's putting money into volunteer firefighters and firefighting equipment so we can better address drought. that's a whole big package. i might just vote for that. host: does this legislation address who gets the water or what companies get the water and how it's being used? guest: most of water use is determined by local government. for example they set standards for watering lawns and where grass can be planted. set building standards for what kind of low-flow plumbing you can use in construction. so that's not in this bill.

that's usually done at the local level. also this legislation will overturn the law of the river which was a contact put in place for the colorado river a long time ago. saying in the west is that whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting over. host: in texas. independent. caller: i just think that our representatives need to quit thinking of themselves as leaders. they are not leaders. they are representatives of the people. she said earlier is very telling -- what she said earlier is very telling to what all these people are doing. she said i don't think that having weapons -- it doesn't matter what you think, ma'am. the constitution is doing the thinking for you. we had men that fought and died to do the thinking for you. and your job is to uphold the constitution. that's your job.

guest: you know, i appreciate that. when i take that oath of office, it is to uphold the constitution. but i would like for you to show me where in the constitution it says you have a right to carry a weapon of war on the street. the amendments to the constitution are not absolute. they've been interpreted over time and the supreme court has said you can put limitations on gun ownership. and when i say i, i am reflecting the vote of the people. the majority of the people in the united states want to see some kind of gun regulation and that is certainly true in nevada even though we are a big cowboy state. we had a legislature passed an anti-bump stock bill and they passed where you have to sign and have a background check before you can get a gun. those are reasonable things. i'm not taking away any weapons from people who fought and died. in fact many of them feel the

same way as do many responsible members of the nra. so i'm not talking about me. i'm talking about the people they represent. host: let's hear from cliff in oceanside california. republican. caller: yes. i believe the only reason why you are there, miss titus, is because of the californians migrated their to nevada -- there to nevada and put you in office which is the wrong thing because they lift the state to ruin that state. that's what i heard from my friends there. they said don't come back here. it's just as bad as california. host: congresswoman do you have a response to that? guest: most of the people from california moved to nevada because the tax structure is so low. you don't have to pay an income tax. sales tax is much lower. gas prices are lower than california. housing prices are lower than california.

seven if hasn't become california gated. host: sam in maryland. republican. caller: yes. do i speak now? host: go ahead. caller: i think she mentioned something about inflation and a lot of inflation is because of the cost of shipping products by truck and i think instead of the general public of which i know several people got checks and they really didn't need them. i think the truckers should get the stimulus check or they should get subsidized. in that way they should bring down the cost of transported items. foods, produce, whatever. that's my opinion. host: congresswoman, what do you think? guest: i agree with you. that's what happened in some of the recovery act.

restaurants got money so they can keep their employees hard but trucking companies also butted from that as did truckers. they were not left out of the stimulus and recovery assistance. it came from the federal government to the states. host: an earlier caller said he heard there was a rumor of a fourth stimulus check. can you talk about that? guest: i have not heard that and i don't know of any movement on that right now. host: met in waldorf, maryland. republican. caller: i'm retired navy and defense contractor. in the last six months, job offers did not feel the drop from my level experience from mid-100,000 down to under 100,000. in six months.

i think that's indicative of what's happening to wages in this country. inflation is skyrocketing, which is are dropping. thank you. host: are you hearing that as well. wages are dropping? guest: i'm hearing businesses are offering higher wages to get people to come back to work. during covid people got very accustomed to working from home. they put themselves in harm's way to take care of the rest of us and now businesses are trying to get people to come back even though they stayed at home. some of the things we need to do and this is happening in nevada and other states at the state level is up with child support so women can go back, raising the minimum wage which hasn't occurred in years. so you see some of that going on. i don't know about defense

contractors. i thank him for his service in the navy. but most jobs are going up, not down. host: anthony is in staten island. you are talking with congresswoman dina titus of nevada. go ahead. caller: my question is -- the last bill in a recession, you can't spend your way out of this. i don't understand what you people are doing. host: are you talking about this latest deal between senator manchin and senator schumer? caller: yes. the last bill didn't work. when trump left office with 1.6 inflation, now you are at 10. host: let's take that argument. guest: there are a lot of figures floating around. it's a lot of money, but it's aimed at reducing inflation.

helping to fix the supply chain and bring down the cost of medicine. helping to move to renewable energy away from fossil fuels so we won't be dependent on places like saudi arabia. so is the glass half-full or half-empty. i think those previous programs work. when we had covid and businesses were shutting down and people were laid off and children were home from school and we didn't know how to cure it and it was spreading around the world, it took a government investment to get us through that. if you didn't want that check or that help for your business and you wanted everything to shut down, maybe that would have worked better in the long run. i don't think so. host: grant in salt lake city. independent. caller: i come from utah and i'm concerned about the water level in the colorado river.

i'm concerned that what happens when there's not enough water to turn the turbines in hoover dam. and that supplies electricity to god knows how many people. and the level in the colorado river is constantly going down. everybody's siphoning the water off upstream. so i don't know how you're going to get the water back. guest: i am totally in agreement with you. salt lake city, i think the lake is at its lowest. colorado river hasn't been this low or lake mead hasn't been this low since they first filled it up. you can fly over to las vegas and see the bathtub rings around the lake. we are in a 1200 year drought in the west. some places have too much water here in the east and we don't

have enough so everyone is looking at ways to conserve water, to make our water systems more efficient, to recycle projects. there is talk about desalinization plants in california along the pacific to bring more water. we have done everything we can practically to conserve water. so i agree with you. we've just got to pray for rain i think is what we've got to do. host: terry in minnesota. republican. caller: good morning. two quick questions. i see you are on the homeland security deal. homeland security has stated that our southern border is secure. do you agree our southern border is secure? what if the unemployment rate is so low, how come there's so many jobs available? why are they still haven't filled the over three or 4 million jobs haven't come back

since 2020? is it because a lot of the labor participation people are choosing just enough to come back to work? thank you. guest: i think we need immigration reform. i have always said that and i stick by that. there are things that need to be done at the border. certainly we need to advance better technology. we need to be sure that our border guards have the equipment that they need. we need to be sure that the immigration judges are in place so that we can move these cases through. we have to be sure that people who are coming here aren't terrorists. i think there are mechanisms in place to vent people before they get any kind of refugee status. i don't think we need to build a wall. i have never seen a wall somebody couldn't climb over or crawl under. that's not going to be the solution. but we need to do some things to

make the situation better. nobody wants just open borders. you have to have a border for your country to be secure. that's why they call it homeland security. the secretary of homeland security has made some segments that made -- may be controversial -- statements that may be controversial but that doesn't reflect what our committee has been working on. there's other kind of security issues that are plaguing our country. one of them is cybersecurity. that's not people who are coming through the board to get a better life for their families or get away from hunger or get away from roving gangs that help them hostage and killed their children. cybersecurity comes from all over the world and it's not easy to go after and that's a big focus of the committee right now. keeping your information, your credit card safe. keeping hospitals running, power plants, all of those things that can be attacked through the cyber sphere.

host: i apologize, i have to interrupt you because the house is coming in, as you know. but we really appreciate your time this morning. all of you members of congress are very busy.