among those testifying at the house select subcommittee on the coronavirus crisis. watch live at 1:30 p.m. eastern on c-span 3, online at c-span.org or listen on the free c-span radio app. and you can jn us on facebook, twitter and instagram. we will get to your phone calls, texts good morning to you all. we'll get to your phone calls, texts, tweets. let's begin with the debate on

the floor last night before the house passed, via party line vote. the debt ceiling raised and the funding of the federal government. here's the speaker of the house making her pitch to lawmakers. >> crucially this funding will include the suspension of the debt limit through december 2022. addressing the debt limit is about protecting a full safe credit for the united states, which foundards wrote into the constitution in the 14th amendment, section 4 state, the validity of the debt authorized by law shall not be questioned. this is not about future spending that some would like the give the impression. no, this is about paying bills already incurred. including the social security recipients, who have benefitted from the bipartisan covid relief legislation passed last december. as i said before, congress is

ironclad in its commitment to never letting the full safe of the united states come under threat a commitment that has long been bipartisan. indeed, our approach in the cr to the debt limit is modelled after legislation proposed by gop senators in recent years. since 2011, each of the seven times the debt limit had needed to be addressed, congress has done so on a bipartisan basis, including three times during the trump administration, when the debt, during the trump administration, rose by $7.8 trillion. much of that incurred in terms of honoring our commitment on covid. but a very big chunk of it in a tax scam to get 83% of the benefits to the top 1%. it should be noted that just 3%

has been accumulated under the biden administration. threatening to force the united states into default would be reckless and dangerous beyond measure. last time the republicans tried this a number of years ago, even the thought of not honoring the full safe and credit, lowered our credit rating. >> the speaker of the house making the argument on the floor that lawmakers should move forward with raising the debt ceiling and funding the government through december of this year. republicans, for their part, are arguing they don't want to go along with this and they shouldn't because democrats have more spending planned. listen to republican of pennsylvania, congressman, dan malder. >> today the national debt is higher percentage of gdp as it's ever been. it threatens to burden future generation. after spending $5 trillion, 3.6

was bipartisan, for covid relief, it's time to address this very serious issue. this democrat majority has rushed head long towards excessive and unnecessary spending. working families are already feeling the impact of the $1.9 trillion spending bill that continues to drive record inflation. now moving forward with a maybe $5 trillion tax and spending spree, which is not only the single largest bill ever brought before congress, it's also the largest tax bill, also the largest antidomestic energy bill. and also the largest entitlement bill and largest amnesty bill ever. the only thing got cut was the $1 billion which was somewhat explained from the iron dome funding for defense of our ally, israel. their bill would actually limit, mr. speaker, private sector growth, which is the source of

the revenue, the golden goose, if you will, and reduce gdp. this comes from a report from the school of business. this is nothing short of big government socialism suffocating free market capitalism. while this pill works its way through congress, democrats are asking republicans to sign a blank check for their reckless spending. they're asking us to suspend the debt ceiling to finance reckless spending while we stand on the sidelines, which we're not going to do. as the senate minority leader put it, this is like cosigning a loan before a gambler's trip to las vegas. they want to finance a socialist agenda, and pay for irresponsible policies in more ways than one. we simply cannot stand for this. >> the republican argument against raising the debt ceiling. we want taturn to you now this morning. it's your turn to tell

washington what you think of this debate. wayne a republican. what do you think they should do in washington? >> caller: well, from pennsylvania is absolutely correct. i have 12 grandchildren, ten will be under the age of six. those children are faced with a debt burden that already is beyond comparison. inflation that is going to result will be the most ownerous tax on poor people in the united states. we should not extend the debt limit. >> raising the debt sealing is not about future spending. it's about the spending that was done, they say, under the trump administration, that raising the debt ceiling would pay for the cares act, which got bipartisan support and signed by the president for covid-19 relief and argue the tax hikes under

the trump administration. >> i think when you're bankrupt t doesn't matter how you got there. we are bankrupt right now. in america. we can't pay it off. the definition of bankruptcy isoing more money than you can pay. and it doesn't matter how we got there. we have to make a move. you cannot continue to spend money that you do not have, no matter who started it. >> tony in connecticut. independent. >> caller: good morning. i think we're showed things on tv and only showed half the story. i spoke to you last month when you showed me the last spending bills and i said to you you only showed half the money up there. all they do and it's not just c-span. it's the rest of the media.

you only show the high level stuff that -- and that's half the amount. you admitted to me on tv that oh, yes, we will look into it. i watch you guys every day. you show just half the stuff everybody's looking at and not what people really are voting for. maybe we can get some honesty and get a legitimate debate if we saw all the money being spent. not just half, like on the infrastructure bill. what's going on? they took a billion dollars out of the israeli budget for the iron dome? what? are they nuts? i don't understand this country. someone do math on the trillions we're going to spend once the interest rate goes up. oh, my gosh. >> all right, tony. and larry in chicago text us to say can someone explain what is the point of a debt ceiling if it's not going to be followed?

why is this always discussed when it keeps happening all the time. and "a capen the amount of debt the united states can incur, the debt limit does not authorize any new spending. it just allows the government to finance spending congress already has approved. because federal revenue comes in waves and because the united states runs a deficit, the government can rely for only so long on its monthly income. the treasury must issue bonds to cover the gap between what congress promised to pay and the government's means to pay it. that's from the "the washington post" dealing with the debt limit is typically a bipartisan exercise, in part, because failing to do so would be catastrophic. now, right now, from the "wall street journal," they report that the government is -- the treasury department is currently using emergency measures to cover america's bills for several months until the debt

limit is raised or suspended again. glen in texas, republican. it's your turn. >> yes. good morning. this is in texas. i'm opposed to extending the debt limit because that is giving the democrats more money to go out and campaign in their upcoming ilection in 2022. also, i'd like to see the republicans get more democrats online to quail all of this trillion dollar spending that joe biden is wanting to do. we got to get this guy out of office one way or another. in eight months, he's brought the united states from greatness to poorness. it will take ten/twenty years to get back on the americans stage as far as being a superpower in the world. >> all right, glen. in texas.

what do you make of this debate over the debt sealing and government spending? >> caller: [ inaudible ]. >> can't hear you. you're muffled. >> caller: when the republicans were in charge of the debt ceiling, the republicans they had a unanimous vote with the democrats and they had money that they were given to all the rich people and corporations and they did very little for the people that needed the money. but now it's turned around. when the democrats want to give money to us, the normal americans, the republicans they don't want to vote unanimous.

they want to vote we don't get anything. why do the republicans feel that it's all right to give money to the ceos and to the corporations but when it comes time to give money to the people, they got a problem with that? the money belongs to the people. we pay more taxes than the corporations or the ceos do. so, if it's time to spend money, it's time to spend money on the people. >> all right. ardel. jonathan. what's your message to washington on this debate? >> caller: from my understanding, the democrats are control. all they need is a 51 majority vote to, i guess, on

reconciliation, to raise the debt ceiling on their own. >> reconciliation is separate. what we're talking about is a lot of washington jargon but a continuing resolution that would fund the government through december of this year and then they'd have to come up with spending levels by that next deadline. and then they tied this to raising the debt ceiling through december of 2022. it's putting it on the plate of republicans of whether or not they're going to fund the government and raise the debt ceiling, pay our bill said or let there be a government shutdown. >> caller: well, from what mcconnell said yesterday, he was saying what i just said. if the democrats want to raise the debt ceiling, they can do it. 51-vote majority will do it. >> okay. amy in hawaii. democratic caller. hi, amy. >> caller: hello?

>> good morning. yes, go ahead. >> caller: i'm rooting for the bill because president joe biden is doing a really good job and i think they should vote for the bill. it would help americans, a lot of people. that really need it. and that's what i'm rooting for. >> okay, amy bernard in new york. hi, bernard. >> caller: good morning, c-span. i'm going to make a statement here that you might think is outrageous and intelligent people who call in might understand it. what we're doing here is trying to destroy america. this is not happenstance what's going on. these last eight months are a plan. this is part of the overall plan that's been going on maybe for more than 50 years. and it means to take over of america, to turn it into a

one-party socialist/communist whatever you want to call it system, where the only ones that the democratic party will dominate america. we have already turned into a fascist country. >> all right, bernard. and the previous caller said democrats, if they want to raise the debt ceiling, that they should do it on their own. politico with the headline, house sends shutdown patch, this package that passed last night under party line votes in the house, and debt fix to the senate demize. why the politico reports this. that all but four republicans said that they'll vote against it. kennedy and few other gop senators are likely to vote -- they said the funding bill needs support from at least ten republicans to make it through the upper chamber and it's expected to fall short. so, there's a 60-vote threshold in the senate. they do need republicans to vote

for this package that passed through the house last night. listen on the majority leader, chuck schumer, democrat of new york, making the argument on the floor. >> we know the republican justifyification for forcing default is totally dishonest, plain and simple. don't ask me. just listen on the "wall street journal." here's what it said. quote, congress would still need to raise the debt limit this fall, even if no new major spending programs were enacted. this idea that they don't want to deal with future spending is false. ask the "wall street journal." the fact is our continuing resolution would suspend the debt limit through december of 2022, an amount of time commensurate with the debt incured as a result of passing the bipartisan $898 billion covid relief legislation of last year.

remember, that was drafted by republicans, voted for by republicans. but on the floor by leader mcconnell, who voted for it and signed by republican president. democrats work with our colleagues to pass this bill because it was the right thing to do. for our families, our small businesses and suffering communities. our cr is now carefully tailored to account for this debt. this is as reasonable as it gets. and so, for republicans to suddenly throw their hands in the air and abskaund from their responsibility to pay debt they proudly supported is nothing short of a dine and dash of historic proportions. >> the new york senator, chuck schumer, democratic majority leader in the senate, making the argument of why republican said should continue funding the government to avoid a shutdown. here is how republicans are responding.

this is of wyoming a republican saying on twitter, democrats want to pay for all of this by raising taxes on your income. on your retirement savings and even on your death. everyone will end up paying more. if the democrats want to go it alone on the spending, they're going to have to go alone on raising the debt ceiling. senator kevin cramer, republican, if democrats are fine raising trillions in new national debt on their own, they should have no problem raising the debt ceiling on their own either. ivy, in the bronx, democratic caller, what do you think? >> caller: i think we should go with biden's plan and they should raise the debt ceiling. i think the republicans always throwing out a red herring. because when they're in office, they do what you just said. they raise the debt ceiling for themselves. when i have to budget my home,

i'm always including the debts that i incur. so, when i get my check, when i get my money, i'm making sure that i pay off my debts and take care of utility said, rent, food and then i buy clothing little by little. in budgeting, you make sure you pay your debts. so, as inflation grows, it's going to grow. the republicans just don't want to take the money from the rich. because they still stick with the trickle down economics and we've seen that doesn't work. that's all i have to say. >> on twitter, derrick says let's not honor the ridiculous tax breaks for the wealthy and you have mitchell. in new jersey. we've seen this movie before, the full faith and cred otof the united states is perpetualy being used by the republicans to manipulate their base and influence spending. each side will call each other's

bluff but this will ultimately get passed. we have no choice. we should raise the debt limit so high this never becomes an issue again. and in illinois. debts and deficits don't matter under republican presidents, just biden. and my state is raising my electric bills for green energy. inflation needs to stop. kenny an independent in georgia. what do you say? >> caller: so, i got the issue fixed, right? so, if you look at the debt clock, gold should be priced at 20,000 per ounce. if we went back on a gold standard, we could use reserves to pay off all of the debt, if they wanted to give up all the gold in fort knox. or the significant portion of it. and so, that is the answer, which i suspect, eventually we're going to get to because the whole rest of the world is going to lose faith in the

dollar and it's going to come to that eventually. thank you. >> to richard, louisville, kentucky a republican. what do you think would happen -- is happening here in washington? >> first off, you have to you're a republican doesn't mean you're a conservative. now, if you go back and you look at the spending bill when donald trump was president, and we had control of the congress, you had conservative tea party members that said, this is nuts. and they voted against it. but because you had every drunk en sailors on the democrats and mitch mcconnell and kevin mccarthy on the republicans, they passed it. i say, and you had a gentleman a second ago saying we have to pay off the debt. you're never going to pay off the debt. you just kick the can down the road. look at your grandchildren. look them square in the eyes and say i'm going to make it so miserable for you when you grow up, there's a chance you'll have nothing.

folks, do not allow the debt ceiling to rise. >> here's what the treasury secretary janet yellen wrote in a recent "wall street journal" piece. the u.s. has never defaulted, not once. doing so would likely precipitate a historic financial crisis that would compound the damage of the continuing public health emergency. default could trigger a spike in interest rates, a steep drop in stock prices, and other financial turmoil. our current economic recovery would reverse into recession, with billions of dollars of growth and millions of jobs lost. jonathan in kingston, rhode island, an independent. jonathan. >> caller: good morning, greta. nice to talk to you. so i would like to speak to the american people and just let them know that the debt ceiling discussion in congress is all just political theater. congress discussing the debt limit is like a group of lions

getting together and promising to only eat zebras when they're hungry. because we have a fiat currency system, money can be created out of thin air, so there is no real tangible limit on the amount of money we can create. when richard nixon took us off the gold standard in 1971 to help fund the vietnam war, he destroyed the integrity of our currency, and now the chickens are coming home to roost. get ready, america. there's nothing we can do to stop it. have a pleasant day, greta. it's wonderful to talk to you. >> all right, jonathan. this is from politico's reporting about what passed in the house last night along that party line vote and is now being sent to the senate, and they will vote either later this week or early next week. and politico reports that this house passed package would keep the government funded at current levels through december 3rd, presenting a typical

pre-holidays spending deadline. it also includes $28.6 billion in disaster aid, including for storm-battered red states. as well as $6.3 billion funding for afghan refugees. all of that tied to a debt fix as well, and politico reports that it is headed to the senate and that it will meet its demise there. lunesa in ford, virginia. democratic caller. good morning to you. >> caller: good morning, greta. mitch mcconnell and kevin mccarty will do anything to destroy joe biden has in place. this is just all political theater by them. they didn't complain when trump ran up the deficit by cutting off taxes for the rich. this is all a political game for the usual gop hypocrisy. i vote that we extend the debt

and let the republicans shut down government if that's what they want to have in their future. >> aaron in baltimore, maryland, republican. >> caller: good morning, greta. not a republican. an independent, actually. and good morning, america. i'm calling to give my opinion on this debt ceiling debacle. which is basically a political theater. the debt came through the trump administration's tax cuts for the rich and wealthy, and that's why we're $7 trillion and counting in debt, and biden wants to add another $4 to $5 trillion. with that being said, we're in trouble, and somebody got to get a grip on washington, d.c. and these people that run this country. thank you. >> james in williamsport, indiana. when your social security payments stop, don't point your finger at the democratic party. mitch and the rest of the republicans want to shut down the government only because they don't know how to govern. vote these bums out, is what he

says. terrance in michigan. we will go to you, terrance. good morning. >> caller: yeah, thank you for taking my call, greta. this is not theater if we default. that's a reality that i think the republicans are willing to go. they don't want government to work. now, i don't know how many times you and me taxpayer are going to bail out the corporations and banks. and the largest employer in this country is the pentagon at 3 million. is that socialism? i don't think so. but we have to figure out how to pay for this raise in the debt. and i hope we can do something in this country. it's pretty clear we are kind of stagnant. we can't even fill a pothole in this country to fix anything.

infrastructure, there are so many things that we could do here. all right. raising the debt ceiling is going to be one of those things that has to be done. you have to figure out how to pay for it. but it's clear that in this country, we are stagnant and incapable of doing anything. and clearly, republicans like that kind of government. they don't want government to work. so this isn't going to be theater if the republicans go ahead and go down the road of defaulting. and we will see the repercussions of that like we have seen the repercussions already of the republicans and how they operate. >> all right, terrance. what terrance is talking about when he mentioned infrastructure, separate from what the house passed last night, they passed a continuing resolution to keep the government agencies funded at current levels through december 3rd. and they tied that to raising the debt ceiling until december of 2022.

they also need to deal this week under democratic control in the house and senate, they plan to bring forward the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bipartisan infrastructure bill. and they want to move forward on the build back better plan by the reds, the $3.5 trillion what they're calling soft infrastructure proposal. so that is still also happening here in washington. let's go to paul in ft. lauderdale, florida. republican. hi, paul. >> caller: good morning, greta. greta, you know what i long for? i long for a return to a piece of history of the united states that you'll never see in history books. but which people probable my age, over 70 years old, remember well. and that is that the days when

people would hardly even ever vote, which sounds bad at first, but the reason was that the democrats and republicans agreed on so much stuff, there wasn't any difference between them. so why vote, because they basically all wanted or nearly wanted the same thing. that was the boring history of politics in the united states. and i just would love to return to those days. >> okay. >> caller: now, as far as the current situation is concerned, there is nothing that the democrats haven't said to republicans and republicans haven't said to democrats when it comes to the debt ceiling that isn't the same for each one. they say the same thing against each other when the other is in power. that's exactly what's going on, but there's one element that people need to realize is

happening this one time that's different. when donald trump had his tax reduction and all the debt stuff going on, he had a ten-year plan for balancing the budget. the democrats don't have that. as a matter of fact, even after the congressional budget office said that these changes don't pay for themselves, the democrats were still out there saying that it pays for it. so here's the signal to me. the government doesn't have any intention whatsoever of paying the debt that it's racking up. none whatsoever. and what does that mean for the average american? there's only one way to pay it off. it will pay off, believe me. the inflation roller coaster is not going to stop. and the only way you can pay it off is to inflate past the value, in other words, devalue the dollar to the point where the economy keeps balancing.

and that's going to devastate the lower tier of our economy. >> all right, paul. i have got to leave it there. we're going to take a short break. if you have called in already, hang on the line. we'll get to you. for others thinking of calling in, please do so now. we're going to take a short break. when we come back, we'll speak with two lawmakers, up first, buddy carter, and then brendan boyle of pennsylvania. we'll be right back. >> today, the president of the children's defense fund, reverend starsky wilson, and economist douglas holtz aiken will be among those testifying at the house select subcommittee on the coronavirus crisis. watch live beginning at 1:30 p.m. eastern on c-span3, online at c-span.org or listen on the free c-span radio app. >> you can be a part of the national conversation by

participating in c-span's student cam video competition. your opinion matters. so if you're a middle or high school student, we're asking you to create a five to six-minute documentary that answers the question, how does the federal government impact your life. your documentary must show supporting and opposing points of view on a federal policy or program that affects you or your community using c-span video clips which are easy to find and access at c-span.org. c-span student cam competition awards $100,000 in total cash prizes, and you have a shot at winning the grand prize of $5,000. entries must be received before january 20th, 2022. for competition rules, tips, or just how to get started, visit our website at studentcam.org. >> washington journal continues. >> joining us this morning is congressman buddy carter, republican of georgia. a member of the budget committee. sir, how did you vote last night

on the package to raise the debt ceiling and continue funding the government? >> well, i voted no. i along with 210 other of my colleagues. we voted against it. >> and why? >> well, first of all, we need to decouple these two things. obviously, what the speaker is trying to do is to get cute, if you will, and combine things that would entice one to vote for something, and then at the same time, include the debt limit, which i'm not going to vote to extend the debt limit because that would just give them the opportunity, them being the democrats, the opportunity to pass the $3.5 trillion socialist wish list that they're proposing here. >> when republicans were in control, and president trump was the president, did you vote for the tax cuts? >> oh, absolutely. absolutely. tax cuts and jobs act were, i think, one of the signature pieces of legislation that were

passed by that republican -- by the administration, by the trump administration, and i think it was a great economic stimulus, and it's been proven to be just that. >> did you vote for the c.a.r.e.s. act? >> i voted for the c.a.r.e.s. act, yes. the first four bills, i guess you could say there were five, but nevertheless, the first bills i did vote for, yes. >> you heard the speaker on the floor say, this is -- raising the debt ceiling is to pay for those two things that you voted for. how do you respond? >> i think that's erroneous, and i think that's intentionally misleading on her part. obviously, a pandemic is an extraordinary event that has happened, that most of us, all of us have never experienced in our lifetime. and certainly, it called for extraordinary measures.

and we did just that when we passed the c.a.r.e.s. act. and i would submit the c.a.r.e.s. act was good for our country. it provided the paycheck protection program, which, you know, saved hundreds of thousands of jobs in my district alone. and throughout the country, saved millions of jobs. so it was something that was very much needed. that was just, of course, one part of it. there were other parts that were certainly beneficial to all of us and beneficial to the citizens of this country. >> so why is it erroneous for the speaker to say we have to pay that bill now? we promised to spend that money, and now we have to pay it. >> well, i think it's erroneous because what her intention is, is to raise the debt limit so that we can -- so that the democrats can pass, as i said earlier, their $3.5 trillion socialist wish list, the progressive priorities they're proposing.

and that's the reason they're trying to increase the debt limit. look, we have got to get spending under control in our country. i'm a father of three. a grandfather of five and soon to be six. and what we're doing here is saddling generations, future generations with debt that they're not going to be able to overcome. we have got to get our house in order. this is intergenerational theft here, and what is going to result in is going to be a lower quality of life for our children and our grandchildren, and that's just something that i'm not willing to do. >> "the washington post" says, a cap on the amount of debt the united states can incur, the debt limit, does not authorize any new spending. it just allows the government to finance spending congress has already approved. because the federal revenue comes in waves and because the united states runs a deficit, the government can rely for only so long on its monthly income. the treasury must issue bonds to cover the gap between what congress has promised to pay and the government's means to pay

it. dealing with the debt limit is typically a bipartisan exercise, in part because failing to do so would be catastrophic. your response? >> well, certainly, you know, look. nobody wants to see a scenario where we default. i don't think that's the intent of republicans or democrats. but at the same time, we have proven time and time again that we cannot control spending. and i will go as far as to say that's true with republicans and democrats. and we need something extraordinary to make us become accountable, fiscally accountable, and perhaps this is it. but you can make the argument, you have already spend that many. it's been authorized. i didn't authorize this package, i didn't vote for that. i wasn't in favor of it. so much pork in there that i voted against it.

so we have got to get this under control, and it's going to take something extraordinary, as i say, to force us to get it under control. >> don in salinas, california, republican. >> caller: hi, yeah, i have a few things to say here. the first is, the sad, sorry excuses i'm hearing from the democrats, excuse number one, but trump did it. really? you went to harvard, you went to yale to make an excuse like a child who says my brother did it, i want to do it, too? that really blows my mind. and then the saddest excuse is to get in front of the camera and say, hey, we are so bad at managing the money that we're going to go into default unless we raise the debt limit, and the default will hurt you. and i'm not sorry for it one bit. you guys are going to have to raise the debt limit or you're going to hurt, not me. i'm going to keep getting my

check. i can't believe this stuff coming out of washington, d.c. nowadays. you know something? i live in california. i'm paying $5 a gallon for gas. i'm paying big time taxes on everything. i'm paying more for my electricity than anybody else in the country. and then the government says it wants more of my money. like i owe them. you know, you guys, you guys have become a sad, sad -- i don't even know what to call you, caricature of a government over there in washington, d.c. >> all right, let's get a response. congressman. >> well, i think these are valid points being made by the caller. you know, you talk about the price of gas. you talk about the fact that inflation has run rampant. and you know, the democrats will argue, it's transitory. as soon as we get the supply chain worked out, it will go away. i don't believe that for one minute. i don't think the caller believes that for one minute. talk about the price of gas

that's gone up 47%. and what is this $3.5 trillion package going to do? this socialist wish list? what is it going to do? it's going to build more inflation. it's going to cause more inflation. and inflation is nothing more than a tax. inflation is nothing more than a pay cut for people. and that's what we have to keep in mind. that's what this $3.5 trillion socialist wish list is going to do. make no mistake about it. what is going on in washington, d.c. right now is all tied in to what the democrats are trying to do with this $3.5 trillion socialist wish list. we could resolve all of these problems that we have got right now with the debt limit. we could resolve the infrastructure, we could pass this $1.1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, although i do have some serious concerns about it. nevertheless, we could get that done. if the democrats would simply do away with this $3.5 trillion

monstrosity they're proposing. and oh, by the way, it's not really $3.5 trillion. it's $5.5 trillion. if you look at it, this is bernie sanders' proposal, that calls for spending $68 trillion over the next ten years. that calls for adding $17 trillion to our national debt. it's already around $27 trillion, $28 trillion. this is simply ridiculous. >> let's hear from ronny in san jose, california, independent. ronny, are you with us in san jose, california? one last call for ronny? okay, moving on to mike in long beach, california. democratic caller. >> caller: yes, hello. actually, i'm an independent. how i see it, i'm just looking at everything historically. and this debt started back during the ronald reagan

administration. in this belief in a trickle-down theory that by cutting taxes for the higher income people, you would get an extraordinary growth. we did get a good growth during his years, but that's quite a bit to do with the baby boom generation getting into their peak spending years. bill clinton balanced that budget. but in january 2001, we did have a balanced budget. but because of the trickle-down tax breaks that george w. bush put into place in 2001 and 2003, which created the annual deficit that we see today, add in trump's tax breaks, and we have the debt you see that we're arguing about today. we're not bankrupt. it's time to start raising the

taxes. and somebody has to pay. >> all right, let's take that argument. congressman. >> look, what we have got is a spending problem. what we need to do is to cut up the credit cards here in washington, d.c. it's been proven time and time again that the tax cuts and jobs act, and any time you cut taxes, it does stimulate the economy. i would much rather give the citizens of this country the opportunity to choose where they want to spend their money as opposed to sending it to the government and letting them decide where to spend it. that has been proven not to work time and time again. the tax cuts that were put in place in the tax cuts and jobs act, they did stimulate our economy. you mentioned yourself during the reagan years that the tax cuts, the trickle-down effect, it did have a positive influence on our economy. and that's what we need to do. but we need to keep in mind the problem in washington, d.c. is a spending problem.

until we get control of our spending in congress, both among democrats and republicans, we're always going to have this problem. >> laura in spokane, washington. republican. >> caller: yes. good morning. it's a pleasure to talk to you this morning. my concern is this, the amount of the government gathers $3.46 trillion every year in taxes. and i want to know why that isn't enough. you know, that's a lot of money. and yet here we have this big huge bill that basically does nothing for our country. it does something for somebody's agenda, but it does nothing for our country or the american people. when president trump went in, he got the money he needed to build up our military, and people could stay in business because those taxes didn't just go to the rich. it went straight to the employees. and that helped families.

it helped businesses. they could buy business equipment, get new employees. and everything. it was going really well. but now to add this $3.5 trillion and another $1.5 trillion, and all this other stuff. it's just -- i don't believe we have the right kind of people in there that can handle that kind of money responsibly. >> all right, laura. congressman. >> i think she's hit the nail on the head. i think this young lady is absolutely correct. it doesn't matter if it's $3.76 trillion or $1 trillion. if you can't -- if you can't appropriate or if you can't control what you spend, it doesn't matter how much you're going to bring in. what we have got, again, is a spending problem. if you're going to bring in $3.76 trillion, then you need to spend $3.76 trillion. if you're going to bring in a trillion dollars, you need to only spend a trillion dollars. the problem is with the

spending. how did they do it in washington, d.c.? how do we do it up here? we say, oh, these are the programs that we want. and this is how much it's going to cost. we're going to spend that much money. well, we're only bringing in $3.76 trillion, but what we wanted was $5 trillion, so we're just going to go in debt. that's not going to work. sooner or later, it catches up with you, and now it's catching up with us. until we can be fiscally responsible and only spend what we bring in, then that's when we're going to get things under control. look, i was a small business man for over 32 years. you think that i could have revenues of a million dollars and go out and spend $2 million? no, i could never do that. if i had revenues of $1 million, i was going to have to do one of two things. figure how how to increase revenues or cut my expenses to be appropriate with that million dollars. and that's what we need to be doing in washington, d.c.

>> leroy in braddock, pennsylvania. democratic caller. >> caller: yes, i basically want to say that it just seems like when the republicans get in office, they do what they want to do. and there's nobody to stop them. you know, they run roughshod over top of the democrats and do whatever they want to do. now, when trump got in office, he let the rich people bring all of those hidden taxes they had offshore come flooding back in for literally nothing that obama was trying to stop so they got that. and you might as well say almost tax free, and then trump turns around and gives a tax cut for the rich on top of that. you know. i mean, and it's just -- we always got money for this

country or that country or this country, and it's the working people here that they're taking the money from but they feel like they have a problem, you know, sharing the money and spreading the money around to help people that's here. >> let's get a response. congressman. >> well, i can understand the gentleman's frustration, and certainly, it's frustrating to me, too. and you know, president trump had a policy of america first. and certainly, that meant that we were going to make sure that we were taking care of our own. it's important for us to take care and to help and be humanitarian in other countries. i get that. we all get that. we can't take our eye off what's going on here in america as well. and you know, look, we all want everybody to pay their fair share. whether you're rich, poor, or middle class. we want everyone to pay their fair share. and i think that's incumbent

upon us as lawmakers and as members of congress and legislature to make sure that that is indeed happening, and certainly, i'm committed to trying to do that and have been since i have been up here. >> under the tax cuts passed by republicans and president trump, did you make sure that the wealthy were paying their fair share in corporations? >> you know, that seems to be the democratics' rally cry right now. it seems to be joe biden's rally cry. you know, fair share. what is fair share? let's face it. you know, this war on rich people and those who have been successful in capitalism, and look, i have been both. i have been poor and now i'm comfortable. i'm not certainly wealthy but i am comfortable, and i will tell you that it is frustrating for people to pay in and see all

this waste. and i'm constantly reminding myself of that, whenever i'm up here, whenever i'm voting on a bill, i try to think of tin terms of, wait a minute, what about the guy like my dad who worked in a paper mill, who worked shift work in a paper mill and worked for an hourly wage? what's that person, what are they thinking about this? and how is this going to impact them? is it going to help them? but i also want to think about those people who are stimulating our economy and who are investing in our economy. how is it going to affect them if they're going to be creating jobs. so you know, there is a fine line here, but i tell you, i'm growing weary of this fair share argument that joe biden has been making all the time. you know, it's wearing thin, i will tell you that. >> john in north carolina, republican. >> caller: yes, thanks. i just can't believe what's

going on up there in washington. i'm almost 78 years old. me and my wife, we live on $1800 a month and everything going up. i know when trump was in, gas was $2 a gallon, and now it's over $3 here. all our food is going up, and they just spend like -- i don't understand it. i mean, i know they're all rich, it ain't going to bother them, but people like me, that's who it's hitting hard. and i just wish they could do something, and i hope they don't raise the debt ceiling. stay in there and don't let people intimidate you. thanks. >> congressman. >> what a great call. and this is contact lyexactly we talking about, inflation. someone on a fixed income, $1800 a month, trying to make ends meet, and now gas is going up, now food is going up. the staples we have to have, they're going up.

inflation is a tax. it's a tax on everyone. it's a pay cut. that's what we have to keep in mind. this $3.5 trillion socialist wish list is build more inflation. that's what we refer to it as, the build more inflation act. and that's what it's going to do. it's going to hurt people, just like the caller that we just heard from. that's the people it's going to hurt the most. you know, when we talk about inflation, who does it hurt the most? it hurts the most those low income and low -- middle to low income people. that's who it hurts the most. because they are the ones who can least afford it. that's what we have to keep in mind, and this is -- this monstrosity of a bill, this $3.5 trillion socialist wish list is going to do nothing more than increase inflation. >> joel in michigan, democratic caller. you're on with congressman buddy carter. go ahead. >> caller: hi. first of all, i'm going to say this, when trump got into

office, the price of gas was $2.28 a galb. it got up to $2.89 a gallon in his administration and nobody cared about that. the price of gas under biden is about the same increase as what it was under trump. in 2018, i was paying $2.89 a gallon. and when trump got in, it was $2.29. as far as this tax rebate that you were talking about, i will tell you, look up the i cap report where they say that $1.7 trillion was actually a ceo stock buyback program, and that's what icap reported. and icap has reported there are companies like chevron and halliburton who pay no taxes, make millions of dollars, and receive millions of dollars in tax rebates. you know, it's not for the poor

people, you know. it's a republican corporate welfare system, where the rich get the richer. >> we'll have the congressman respond. >> well, first of all, out of all due respect, i have to disagree that, you know, tax cuts do work. they do help. they do help lower income people and middle income people. because you have more money to spend. inflation, again, is nothing more than a tax. and it hurts people, particularly those people on fixed incomes. but if we can get more money into the economy through tax cuts, then there's more money for people to spend and that just has a beneficial effect on the whole system. and that's what was accomplished through the tax cuts and jobs act. that's what was accomplished in the trump administration. and that's why our economy was humming.

now, we get joe biden in office, and what has happened? all of a sudden we got inflation going through the roof, we got taxes going up, food going up, all those things we have to have are going up in price, and now we find that the money that we have doesn't go as far as it did before. and that is a problem. >> morton in vienna, virginia. independent. >> caller: good morning to all. can you hear me okay? >> yes, we can. >> caller: yes, the device that the congressman is using with regards to a business balance sheet and he cannot spend more than he brings in in revenue, that's a ludicrous device if you're trying to apply this to the federal budget. a business cannot spend money into existence. a family sitting at the kitchen table with a checkbook and a stack of credit cards cannot spend new money into existence.

the revenue -- the taxes are not needed to fund government revenues. let me say that one more time. taxes for government revenue and expenditure are not needed. the government spends new money into existence. it then recovers some of that money in the form of taxes to hold down inflation. so we need to turn things upside down and look at it in a different direction. it's called modern monetary theory. it's pretty well tested. thank you very much. >> congressman. >> well, that's certainly an interesting perspective. i apologize, but i'm not sure -- i would have to study that more before i could -- before i could really comment on it. i do think that we need more business people in washington, d.c. and more business -- more business thinking minds that,

you know, people like myself have signed the front of a paycheck, who understand what it's like to sweat, to make sure that you got enough money in your checking account to cover those people who are depending on you, who are working with you, and working for you. and that's the kind of what i think the kind of business model that we need to be using here in washington, d.c. as well as far as generating money and just printing more money. i think that's irresponsible. >> vivian in tennessee, democratic caller. >> caller: good morning. why don't you republicans eliminate the debt limit? we are the only country that do that. you all let trump when you all was in there, i watched you every day. you did this to this country. biden came in with this stuff left over. you know what? i'm sick and tired of you republicans getting out there saying all of you say the same

talking points. it's about time the democrats get out there and call you all out. during the pandemic, you all -- trump was the president. people died because of him. you all didn't say anything. you didn't hold this man responsible. you sitting up here, the lobbyists are paying you off. we all see that now. in georgia, when you're up there and don't want us to vote, give people water, how old people can't afford medicine. how can you sit up there with a straight face and say that you're -- >> vivian, there are a lot of issues there. is there one question for the congressman? >> caller: yes. why are you all doing this to us? the debt limit needs to be eliminated. we're the only country that do that, sir. >> okay, congressman. >> why are we doing this? why are we trying to be fiscally responsible? because of my children, because

of my grandchildren and my grandchildren's children. if we continue on the track that we're on, i'm telling you, this country, the quality of life in this country is going to diminish. and diminish significantly. this is intergenerational theft what we're doing here, saddling our future generations with this much debt. this is unacceptable. and irresponsible on our part. we can't -- you know, every generation wants the next generation to have it better. this may be the first time that we don't see that happen. i know i had it better than my dad's generation. my dad had it better than his dad's generation. i'm not sure that my children, and i'm certain not sure my grandchildren are going to have as good -- have it as good as i have had it. so that's the reason why. that's the reason why it's going to be -- it's going to take some tough choices. some tough decisions to be made to get our fiscal house in order. and we have got to do that.

that's a responsibility we have been charged with. a responsibility that we take very seriously, and that we're going to make sure that we do. >> congressman buddy carter, always appreciate the conversation with you, sir. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> we're going to continue with this topic and the passage of a package last night in the house along party line votes to raise the debt ceiling and continue funding the government. it heads now to the senate where political observers and senate republicans say it won't pass because all but four have said they will not vote for this package. joe in maine, you're an independent. joe, we don't have the congressman anymore, but what do you think about this debate? >> caller: wow. i'm so sorry i missed the governor. whoever he was, the congressman. the question i had for him is what is his definition of a lie?

the republican tax bill that was passed put all kinds of debt on. when in the last four years did he vote against any, any budget raise or any of these? the tax bill went to the top 1%. i wanted to ask the gentleman if he is in that, the people who are going to be taxed in this bill he's fighting for. and you confronted him straight out with the money in this new bill, in this budget bill we're trying to pass today, has nothing to do with the debt. the republicans made this lie up. all of a sudden, that's all crap. that budget money was supposed to be paid for. it has nothing to do with this bill that's in congress today. and he sat there and lied about it, and you confronted him on it. and he never answered the question because -- and the other thing i wanted to ask him is i have been sending in my tax

return on a post card the last three years. remember that? sir, the promise of getting a post card to do your taxes on. remember that republican promise? pulling your hair out. >> are you not? >> caller: he never did anything about that. >> we'll go to chicago, republican, your turn. >> caller: yeah, you know, it's so ridiculous to hear congressman buddy make this argument that he wants to be fiscally responsible. was it fiscally responsible to extend secret service detail to all of trump's adults children and steve mnuchin for months and months and months beyond -- >> caller, are you a republican? >> caller: on occasion. but it's really hard to find decent republicans nowadays. >> okay. >> caller: we do have one here in illinois. adam kinzinger, who has been trying to keep the party straight. but it's obviously now the maga

party. >> so you're continuing with your argument. >> caller: yes. it is not fiscally responsible. would republicans be okay with hunter biden getting secret service detail for month on end after biden leaves office? i doubt it. >> thomas, democratic caller. what do you think should happen in washington? should the senate republicans join democrats, enough of them, to raise the debt ceiling and fund the government through december? >> caller: i really think that we'll get things done with the republican party. as long as they're in control and get what they want, they got four supreme court justices. they raised the debt, they didn't stop the war like they promised. they promised to stop the war, they didn't do that. everything, their promises always benefit them, not the public, not the people of america. first thing they need to do is

start cutting the income they receive for servicing in congress or a senator. they are millionaires. they run millions of dollars to run for office, probably a $200,000 a job in washington that you work two or three days a work, and a staff behind them, all these people getting paid. if you never consider all the money going to pay bills. kentucky, georgia, some of the poorest states in the union, are getting more money than new york state, that pays more taxes. so they're not considering child education, for food, food stamps. they want to cut food stamps, any social program, veterans benefits they want to cut. prioritize health care for veterans, they're not considering any of those things. the only thing they consider is to make the country a place of

division. >> republicans are saying we will vote to fund the government just untie it from raising the debt ceiling. take a look at the hill newspaper. thehill.com with the headline, mcconnell and shelby, senator shelby who is the chair of the committee that oversees this in the senate, offer government funding bill without the debt ceiling tied to it. esther in canton, ohio, republican. hi, esther. >> caller: good morning, and thank you for taking my call. i just want to say something because i don't understand all these things. and i apologize for that. but you know, my checkbook, if it has zero balance, then that means i don't have no money. and that's why i would think that we need to have something to balance here. if money is coming in, money's going out. you and i, we have to live on a budget.

if our house payment is $500, we can't pay $400. >> esther, let me just stop you there and read this in case you missed it. this is "the washington post" editorial board. and they explain it, the debt ceiling, the debt limit this way. a cap on the amount of debt the united states can incur, the debt limit, does not authorize any new spending. it just allows the government to finance spending congress has already approved. because federal revenue comes in waves, and because the united states runs a deficit, the government can rely for only so long on its monthly income. the treasury must issue bonds to cover the gap between what congress has promised to pay and the government's means to pay it. dealing with the debt limit is typically bipartisan, they wreet, in part because failing to do so would be catastrophic, defaulting on our debt. so esther, does that help you understand a little bit? and what do you think?

>> caller: to me, it's going to go bankrupt. either we're going to have inflation like venezuela and have nothing here or we're going to have to do something here and work together. is how i see it. >> should republicans, when they controlled the congress and mr. trump was the president, should they have done something then? >> caller: well, to tell you the truth, i think we should have done things back in the '50s. okay, because it was sure different way back then than it is today. and they had balanced budgets way back then. and they did things, and they did have a budget. and they didn't have what we're having today. i mean, and you know, another thing is, people took care of their people. like, you know, i never send my mother to a nursing home unless it was absolutely necessary. and today, they don't care for their folks like they did back then. you know, and if somebody was hungry, my grandma, i remember

during the depression years, when a hobo came to her house and needed a cup of soup and some bread, and she took that out of her table to share with that man. okay. i don't see that today. >> okay, esther. let nee go to richard in tallahassee, florida. independent. richard, what do you think of this debate in washington? >> caller: well, i think it's totally ridiculous. and i just had three comments. i think mr. buddy, i forgot his last name, the previous gentleman. >> congressman carter. >> caller: yeah, he was totally untruthful. he represented himself as being comfortable and not wealthy. and his net worth in 2018 was $13 million. and if he wants to cut the budget and balance the budget, he needs to put forth a motion for the congress to be paid minimum wage and for their

housing to be provided and public housing units. and then they can do their work. that will cut the budget and help balance the budget. >> fred in stafford, texas. democratic caller. fred, your turn. >> caller: america, our congress is broken. and the congress is time for the american people to stand up and be counted. we're going to have to vote them out. we're going to have to vote the republicans out. that's just the bottom line. >> cathy in bethel, delaware, republican. cathy, what do you think your party should do? >> caller: hi. thanks for taking my call. listen, this legislation that is proposed, the most dangerous thing about it, not just the spending and the waste, there is a proposal that the banks now

have to send to the federal government any time $600 deposits or more are made into an individual's bank. >> cathy, which proposal are you talking about? >> caller: i didn't know about it until somebody mentioned it, and i looked it up, so i googled it. it said, yes, it's in part of the legislation of one of the bills that is proposed. and it just shocked me that we -- that the government would be allowed to go into your bank account and force the banks to report anything that exceeds $600. >> okay, cathy, what we're talking about is the house, all 220 democrats voted for a proposal last night, a package that raises the debt ceiling through december 2022 and continues running the federal

government, giving spending money to agencies to continue operating through december of this month. that is what they voted for, all democrats voted for it. all republicans voted against it. it now goes to the senate. we have showed you the politico headline throughout the morning where they report that it will meet its demise. enough republicans will not vote for raising the debt ceiling. george in conroe, texas, independent. >> caller: good morning. the strangest thing about this whole discussion is, in 60-some odd years, i don't know a single time when the budget or the actual outlay has ever been cut. they keep talking about these cuts that were made in the past. they were always for the most part cuts of expansion, of growth rate, not actual cuts