was not angry, but forceful in his annunciation of racism. >> sunday night at east eight eastern. c-span, where history unfolds daily. in 1979, c-span was created as a public service by america's cable television company. today we continue to bring you unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court, and public- policy events in washington d.c. and around the country. c-span is brought to you by your cable or satellite providers. our first guest of the morning is represented ben klein, republican of virginia users on the judiciary committee and also the education and labor committee. good morning.

>> good to be with you. a first time for you on this program for for those who don't know you, give us a snapshot of who you are and how you got to cover >> i am from the shenandoah valley, little town called lexington. i live there with my wife and 26-year-old daughters. i am a small-town lawyer and worked on the hill for a little while for congressman bob goodlatte he represented the district for 26 years prior to my being sworn in. and so, those values that i have been seeking to bring to washington, face, family, community and those are the values i am fighting for every day. >> one of the things you first have to tackle being a new member of congress is this idea border security, particularly on the southern border. what you make of the proposal we've been hearing about when it comes to the money for border security and keeping the government open? >> 40 security is a critical core function of government, and if we can't do that, then it falls that we can't do so many other things, and it also hampers us when it comes to crime, drugs, so we do need border security. i don't think this deal from what i can tell delivers border

security for us. it seems to be too little money, it seems to come with strings, including lack of funds for new construction and actually is really only replacement money and we need more to address the problems of border security in this country. so it's a start, and if it keeps the government running, i am understanding the president is going to support it and sign it, but i wish we could've gotten a better deal for the people. >> would you support it? i have to look at the exact language, but from the parameters that i have read, i am unlikely to support of it. >> why specifically, the funding issues or other issues? >> it is. when the president needs $5.6 billion to make sure that we have that barrier in place, in all the areas that it is needed, and we end up with $1.3 billion for replacement barriers, nothing new other

than the type of barrier that goes up, and i have yet to see the parameters of the deal, but from what i understand, additional language in there about no new wall construction, that's a problem. >> why is that a prerogative? >> i think there is an emergency on our border. i think the president is correct that we do have to take additional steps, and so, i look forward to him doing that as well, whether the combination of the money in this deal combined with the additional money that can be accessed addresses the problem is yet to be seen, but i hope that the president will take what steps are needed to make sure he does get that border security that he has promised, that i promised in my campaign, and that the american people are expecting. >> would you support an effort to lift money for various other, even some appropriated

monies to complete this job if the money proposed is the only money he will get? oh well, congress controls the power of the purse. it is the congress response ability to appropriate funds for specific purposes. of congress gives him the flexibility to redirect that money, that he should redirect that money to address those priorities that are critical. and border security is a critical issue right now, and we do need to address that. >> how many republicans share your view of thinking about this proposed deal currently do you think? >> i think there is a mix in the party, i think you will see some support and some oppose. he will see some democrat support and some oppose it. i think the bill will probably pass. i think the bill will probably be signed into law, but that being said, the american people expect more, and i hope that the president will deliver more when it comes to border security. >> this is represented ben klein, republican of virginia, freshman member of congress, serves on judiciary and education and labor committee.

you can ask him questions 202738 8002 for independence. if you want also too, you can do so. as a member of the judiciary committee, what do you think about the direction it is taking particularly the investigation of the president? >> i was disappointed in the tone of the hearing last friday, which was supposed to be an oversight hearing. that is how it was billed when it was first advertised, instead what we saw was an effort by the majority party to dig in and try and elicit responses from the acting attorney general that gave information about the robert mueller investigation, when the report is not been filed yet. so i think it is presumptuous to try and get information out of the acting attorney general when there is an ongoing investigation, and i think we should wait until the report is

filed, and then see where that report leads us. but for now, i was disappointed in the tone on friday. i asked several questions about immigration reform because it is important for us to reform our legal immigration process in order to address a lot of the problems that are coming from illegal immigration, crime in our communities, drugs, human trafficking, sex trafficking. these are problems i see in the shenandoah valley, i'm sure they're seeing it across the country, and we need to make that our top priority rather than a partisan preemptive investigation into an ongoing investigation. we should wait for that report. >> due physical the committee ultimately is to talk about impeachment? >> i think there are some on the committee who would like to pursue impeachment, >> including the chairman? >> i think that is the question for the chairman. i think that the chairman is

going to have a challenge on his hands when it comes to his members of the majority on the committee because they are pushing hard, summer pushing harder than others, but there's on her already out there vocally advocating for impeachment. >> when you say the challenge, will the challenge be for those if he listens to those members or those who don't want to go that route? of the challenge will be for the chairman to lead and have his members follow him. so if he wants to lead a specific case, it might be too slow for some, too fast for others, those are always the challenges facing a chairman, i was a chairman in the state legislature in virginia, and so that's a challenge for every chairman, so hopefully he will be able to manage his majority and instead of letting the loudest and most vocal lead the dialogue. >> again, our guest joins us for the first time in this is the first cold for you. joe, democrats line, go ahead.

>> good morning. >> good morning. >> why is it that you and congress, republican congress don't hold the president feet to the fire when he claims he was the greatest negotiator, and that mexico would pay for the wall? why don't you all hold his feet to the fire with that as opposed to having us as taxpayers, add to the deficit when democrats in office, all republican say the deficit, the deficit, i don't want my grandchildren to pay for the deficit, but now on c-span, they showed how the deficit has risen since donald trump has been in office. and you all know this man is

crazy. why is it that you don't stand up for the american people. >> next caller. >> i think the deficit is a huge problem. i am coming into a democrat congress. the house is controlled by the democrats, and i hope that we address the deficit and the debt which is $22 trillion. it's going to be an issue that my children, their children, future generations are going to have to deal with, and i am hoping we can introduce four words that we here in richmond all the time, we can't afford it. we have to balance our budget enrichment. states have to balance their budget every year. we can get a handle on our finances in washington if we prioritize on the core functions of government. border security being one of those things, but the president is trying to lead, unfortunately, we have an establishment that likes to spend tax dollars and they are

spending too many of your tax dollars right now. >> from missouri. democrat line. justin. hello. >> sorry, i am getting a delay here. first and foremost, thank you representative klein for being a public servant. on the wall, man, i don't see how it can work. most illegal immigrants come through a port of entry which is only like an airport or any other way people come through things. how can a wall fix this? >> i think a wall is part of an overall package to address border security. i think it does come through technology. it comes through improved border points of entry. it comes through improved bed space and deportation procedures, judges to make sure that when they are detained that process moves quickly, any person who comes in illegally is quickly deported back to their country of origin.

and so, we have a lot of different angles to come at this problem, but we do need to address that. in the deal on the table doesn't seem to fully address the problem. >> this is bill in illinois, republican line. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> message for democrats first off, just in case they didn't get the memo, in 2016 we held an election, a gentleman named donald j trump was elected president, not nancy pelosi, not chuck schumer, not dick durbin. donald j trump. now he has the right to bring a couple of proposals and get the congress to pull them through, why are we electing a president? my solution to the problem would be, an executive order and reimpose the, i forgot the

name of it now, the restrictions on spending as the democrats understand they are liable to lose up to $55 million based on current revenue, i surely would negotiate very quickly on money for the wall. >> okay. >> it is important for everybody to come to the table and negotiate. i think the people who were appointed to get this deal need to stand up a little bit stronger for the wall and for funding for the wall, the money that was appropriated for this deal, one.37 $5 million is not enough, and i am disappointed in that. so i hope we can add to that package, the president has money available, and we

ultimately will be able to secure our borders difficult do you think this rises to emergency status should the present want to go that route? >> there are different provisions of code that allow for a national emergency declaration, and so, i do believe that in some cases, the president does have that authority to declare that emergency and use existing funds. so i am sure that if he does that we will take a look, congress will take a look, and i am optimistic, though, that he has the authority to do that, and if he does, i will support that. >> our guest served in the virginia house of delegates from 2002 through 2019. does it surprise you that governor ralph northam is still the governor? >> i am disappointed that he is not put virginia first and stepped aside. the yearbook photo that was in his medical school yearbook was abhorrent, racist and terrible and has no place in virginia today.

the activity is something that we can all condemn. so i called for him to step aside. i am disappointed he is not., not only because it is a bad image for virginia, but it also hurts her ability to bring johnson to virginia. it hurts his ability to go out and recruit businesses to come into virginia. we need a chief executive who can go to other countries and other states and say, come to virginia, this is where we want you to bring your jobs, and not have this cloud over his head as he does it. so the attorney general has similar issues. he has apologized. the lieutenant governor has different concerns of his own that are legal in nature. so it's a bad couple of weeks

here in virginia. we are hoping to move beyond that quickly. >> is there provision within the house of delegates that could directly address the issues concerning the governor or allegations against lieutenant governor? >> impeachment is an option but not one i think will be pursued. i am hopeful the governor will put virginia first instead of his own political viability and step aside. >> virginia also has elections this november, do you think these elections come november could be affected by the governor still in office? >> absolutely. i think there is a general unhappiness with the way things are going in virginia, the way our leaders are failing to lead, and so i think that will definitely affect turnout and who comes out to vote in november and how they vote. >> this is represented been caught. next call from vermont, independent line. this is chris. hello chris. go ahead. >> good morning. before i make my comment, as i listen to this debate, i think we are all finally thinking and feeling with the native americans must've felt a few

hundred years ago when all of us were showing up on the shores and boarders that they were privy to. but my question to mr. client is, i was wondering, when will congress bring in the chamber of commerce, small business associations, and question them about why they hire undocumented workers? you know, that seems to be the main attraction for many of these undocumented workers. you have small businesses, very wealthy business enterprises, farmers in california that would prefer to hire undocumented workers instead of, you know, treating domestic american citizen workers with dignity and paying them a living wage. i wondered if mr. klein would commit to congressional hearings that would focus on

small business, medium sized businesses and question them about why they continue to create this whole for undocumented workers. thank you. >> i think that's a great question, i think there are bad actors out there. most business try and follow the law, but there are businesses out there that hire illegal immigrants, and e- verify is a program we are trying to implement in this country where businesses have to verify the legal status of their employees, and that is a program that should be encouraged. it should be used. and we need to reform our legal immigration process as well so we have worker visa programs that actually address a need in this country. make sure that when people come to this country, that the visas are processed quickly, that they can come here and leave and come back if they follow

the law, and the programs should be efficient and effective. is dead, we've got a broken ego legal immigration process can terminate to illegal immigration. >> from maryland. republican line. tim go ahead. >> hello congressman. i've a question regarding a new york times article pointed out in the earlier segments that talked about the hiring of attorneys that seem to come in with a fair amount of prejudice towards our president. and i thought the idea of hiring attorneys was that they were supposed to be nonpartisan so that there is object and is in any type of hearings that would go on or any of type of for lack of a better word trials that would go on regarding the president. i was wondering how is that possible that they would bring in biased attorneys like that? >> well, i haven't read the article myself, but if we are talking about the house judiciary committee hiring

additional attorneys, to assist with investigations, that is within the power and purview of the judiciary committee majority . so the german decides he wants to hire additional attorneys to handle those questions, it's unfortunate because it is a diversion of resources when we are not waiting for the robert mueller's investigation to conclude for report to be filed, when the chairman was to go ahead based on limited information and use resources to go in a direction that the majority of american people are not interested in pursuing, yet where right now right we are waiting for the facts. we have other issues that are important, immigration, crime, and the judiciary committee, i am on the subcommittee on intellectual property. we have china trying to steal intellectual property from this country. we have terrorism in this

country that is another subcommittee i am on. the constitution is another subcommittee i am on. these are areas i would love to pursue instead of having to devote time and energy and additional resources to an investigation that's not ready and hasn't received all the information yet. >> one of the things you have to vote on is hr one, which the democrats unveiled shortly after taking power. in particular speaks to several voting issues, including making election day a federal holiday in expanding voter registration amongst other things. when you think about these proposals? >> i think it's an unfortunately a political package designed to maximize and entrench their own control over the system when it comes to taking public dollars, about a 61 match a public tax dollars going into campaign coffers. that is not what the american people voted for. that is not what they want. i think that increasing access to voting is important, and i support increasing that access to voting, but when you combine it with measures that are simply designed to tilt the scales toward the democrats, and those with public financing

in elections is meant to do. it is meant to take more taxpayer dollars and send them into the current majority pockets, that is not electoral reform, that's just simply entrench a majority. >> to reject all those proposals such as making election day a federal holiday? what is wrong with that. >> i think that could be a solution if it is viewed separately and apart from all of these other proposals. unfortunately, you don't have a washington we have in virginia, the single-purpose rule where each bill comes up, and if the cobbles together a bunch of different things, you can separate them all out into separate votes. and that is what we need in washington because then the good ideas will move forward, and the bad ideas that been attached to them can fall away. >> this is south carolina, republican line. >> yes.

okay. i was calling because i have a few statements and a couple of questions. i would like to know, these people in the white house hollering for impeachment, who are they that can holler for this impeachment when we americans voted our president in and we want him in and we want him to stop this immigration from coming in. and we want the wall to protect, and also, i am wondering 100% for president trump. he is our president, and they need to let him act as though he is our president. and we need the wall to protect our country, and i don't understand why anyone would not want to have this wall to protect our country. >> thinks.

>> i agree with the caller. i think the american people voted for president trump because he articulated positions on immigration, illegal immigration, building the wall that the majority of americans supported. is trying to implement that agenda. i support him in that and hope we can continue to get that issue addressed on illegal immigration, continue to wall built. points, and so i will do my best as a member of the minority in the house of representatives to make sure that my district's views are represented, that illegal immigration is addressed, and that the wall gets built. host: from new york, democrats line, eric, hello. caller: the bottom line is trump is a con man. he hired illegal immigrants himself, and just recently he fired them. --ple consider these guy this guy is a con man, this guy is the biggest fraud of all time, and you know it, and everybody knows it. bye-bye. guest:

i think that the american people voted for president trump and he articulated a great need in this country for border security. there is a concern that our borders are not secure and he was the one that charted out a solution to the problem that the american people embraced. and we need to recognize that and move to implement that agenda. others in this country may not agree. but that is what the american people voted for. iran on those same issues on border security and on fighting illegal immigration and that is what i am intending to do in congress. >> democrats line, lori from georgia. >> i have a couple of comments. one, just to go back to an earlier statement that was made about the mueller investigation. as a citizen, i do promote for the investigation to go on.

and to whatever is found at the end, whatever he finds to be, satisfied with that. i do hope that it goes on. and i do hope that if there are any findings in it, that people are held accountable for their actions against our country. because this is a very serious situation. and i did notice the results on the internet, on facebook and stuff like that when i would go on there and would see people that i knew and have known for years. but i would see stuff that would pop up on their accounts. and i would see the way it would play in to people's attitudes and personalities. and changes that were made. as far as the border is concerned, my problem with this is, with the media, you have one station will tell you one

thing and another station will tell you another. i looked towards c-span for correct information. and if the president is up there stating facts to people at rallies or anyplace else and it is information that is not accurate, i expect our government station to give us the facts. to give us the truth. >> thank you very much, caller. when you say government station, we are not funded by government. it is a long known fact we are funded by the cable industry. >> well c-span does a great job of giving americans a view into how the government works. and i grew up watching c-span and watching the u.s. house of representatives on tv. now that i'm here, it is amazing to have them be a part

of telling the story of what is happening in the government and the people's government. so i am working hard to make sure that my constituents back home hear about what we are doing here in congress and what i am working to accomplish and congress and what is being considered, whether it is on the judiciary committee, education and labor committee i am sitting on or other committees. what is happening now on border security. the judiciary committee awaiting the mueller investigation. hopefully we will wait until that report is filed before we make any moves to have additional hearings or additional investigations because really, as a prosecutor, when i was a prosecutor back home, i didn't move to indict before the police report was filed. i waited. and that is what we need to do here. >> you are saying that the judiciary committee is taking

the opposite approach? >> from what i hear, if the judiciary committee is moving ahead, the hearing on friday was certainly premature. because questioning the acting attorney general on conversations he may or may not have had with the president about the mueller investigation which is not concluded, yes, that is premature and we have to wait for that report to be finished and filed. >> as a prosecutor and litigator, do you think this kind of report, when it is filed, should be made public? >> i think transparency is important. so it will be left to the president as to whether that specific report is made public. i am an advocate for transparency. i always have been. and the more, the better. >> let's go to one more call. valdes, in illinois. go ahead. >> you said you grew up watching c-span. perhaps you should have heard a little more american history. you have not mentioned one thing about how we started this

problem 50 years ago. i am a mexican-american and i am retired law enforcement from california. if you go review that come you can tell your audience. as an example, the lady from south carolina seemed completely ignorant about how we got to this problem. we invited the illegal people to come here and work in the fields. and everybody was good with that and still they -- until they started getting into the trades. if you look at california, which is where i am from, it is completely dominated by the latino population. and moving east. as a race. and virginia will have its troubles as well if it doesn't already. if you want to be honest, explain to people how we got to where we are. and i will submit this to you. it will never trust. the demographic is changing. i am married into white people. as are my four brothers have also get you scott or perhaps you should move. >> immigration as part of the country's history. >> we want to encourage legal immigration and that is the

key. we want to discourage illegal immigration. the rule of law must prevail in this country. we have laws for a reason and we have laws regarding immigration. when it comes to immigrating to this country legally, people should have to go through the process and work visas and other opportunities to come to this country for areas of the economy that are needed. we want to encourage people to go through the legal process. but when it comes to illegal immigration in this country, we have to take steps to stop it and end it and that is what i am fighting to do. >> thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> the c-span washington journal. coming up thursday morning, 2020 democratic presidential candidate john delaney on his presidential run. texas republican congressman chip roy

talks about the tentative border security deal. and educator school safety network cofounder and director of programs amy klinger on efforts to improve school safety. be sure to watch c-span's washington journal live at 7:00 eastern thursday morning. join the discussion. >> there are nearly 100 new members of the house of representatives this year. ohio, west virginia, maryland, mississippi, and washington. those our of the states that added one new member. representative anthony gonzalez was a football star at ohio state before the end anapolis colts drafted him in 2007. after injuries cut short his professional football career, representative gonzales earned his mba at stanford business school. he is the first latino elected to ohio's congressional delegation. representative carol miller served over a decade in the state house before voters in the west virginia's third district elected her to

congress. politics runs in her family. she is the daughter of samuel devine whose seat will later be filled by a future ohio governor and 2016 presidential candidate, john kasich. congressman michael guest was a prosecutor in mississippi for nearly 25 years. the last decade as district attorney before his election to the house. he is also a sunday school teacher at his local baptist church. representative david chon and his brother opened a small liquor store and delaware in the early 1990s. the company eventually moved its headquarters to maryland and has expanded to become the largest independent fine wine retailer in the country. and washington's eighth district, he elected representative kim schreier, a pediatrician and the only female doctor and congress. new congress, new leaders. watch it all on c-span. >> illinois is a land of lincoln. certainly springfield is the city of lincoln. the home is here. the old state capitol.

law offices are here. of course he is buried on the outskirts of town at oak ridge cemetery. so lincoln is extremely important to the city of springfield. >> the c-span -- c-span cities tour is on the road exploring the american story. this weekend, we visited springfield, the capital city of illinois. >> illinois had it made. when they knew they were going to build a new capital, they wanted something to shock. they wanted something that showed illinois and we are it. that is what this building is. and that is what it represents. >> with the help of our comcast cable partners, we will learn about the life of our 16th president. >> he built this network that eventually he used in the 1850s to put himself into the position of getting the republican nomination for

president. >> these are the gloves that were and abraham lincoln's pocket on the night of the assassination. you can see the remnants of the blood on these gloves today. >> join us on book tv this saturday at noon as we speak with local springfield authors and this sunday at 2 p.m., to learn about lincoln's ties to springfield and the political history of this town on american history tv. watch the cspan cities tour of springfield, illinois. working with our cable affiliates, as we explore the american story. >> next, hearing to examine pain management alternatives to opioids. the senate health committee heard from physicians, a pharmacist and an addiction advocate on efforts to end the epidemic of opioid addiction. the hearing is just over two hours. >> the senate committee on health education labor and pensions will please come to order. senator murray and i wi