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clocks. >> how more can be hard, but squatting in a diner for internet work is even harder, that is why we are providing lower income students cess to affordable internet so homework can just be homework. cox, connect to compete. >> cox support c-span as a public service along with these other television provider, giving you a front war seat to democracy tibet. >> good morning, it is tuesday, march 7th 2023. primaries are increasing and cities across the country, in d.c. the city council chairman said yesterday that he is withdrawing the crime bill ahead of the disapproval resolution in the senate. that could overturn the bill. that crime bill includes the elimination of mandatory minimum sentences for several crimes, as well as the reduction of maximum sentences,

crime such as robbery and burglary. this morning, we are asking what you think should be done to enhance public safety around the country. what new policies you would like to say from the federal government. our phone lands are divided by party affiliation, democrats -- republicans -- independents -- you can send us a text -- at be sure to ascend your first name and city-state, and we are on social media facebook dot com slash c-span, and twitter and instagram at c-span wjet. welcome to washington journal, before we get to your calls i want to show you the headlines and this article from the washington post. it says this, crime code bill for d.c. in limbo. the article says the senate this week plans to vote on whether to block disease overhaul of its century old criminal code from becoming

law. even as city leaders tried to pull the legislation before federal lawmakers could weigh and. if the senate resolution is successful it would be the first in more than three decades to overturn a piece of d.c. legislation, striking a blow to the cities efforts for self rule and towards state statehood. the d.c. council chairman on monday wrote to the senate saying he was withdrawing the city's revised criminal code act of 2022, a move that senator bill haggerty, a republican who sponsored is disapproval resolution targeting the criminal code called a, quote, desperate and made up maneuver. in a bipartisan vote the house last month approved a companion resolution against the d.c. legislation. if the senate does the same president biden has said he will sign it. you can take a look, here, at the headline, the front page of the washington times. that headline senate will not let d.c. hold crime bill,

lawmakers, to go on the record with disapproval of softer penalties. we are joined now by that cohen, a congress reporter for bloomberg government. zak, welcome to the program. >> let's talk about that d.c. crime bill, why did that council chair and -- washington are turning over d.c. ordinance with her time in decades. which is something obviously the city council, which, like other officials in washington are worried could undermine their efforts for d.c. statehood. generally speaking congress does not interfere in the actions of the city's mayor or city council, which operate as the government for the city. but, this particular religion to the criminal code which

changed how some classes are classified and reduces sentences on some crimes would be exception. that particular overhaul is something that congress does not approve of, and so they're working through the process, the house is already passes by large, bipartisan measure the same day that congressman -- was attacked in her apartment building by an apparently homeless man. and, now it is in the senate where extremist morrow a large bipartisan vote senators will disapprove of this particular overhaul of the d.c. criminal code. just last month, president biden after saying that he opposed the effort to overturn the bill did not say how he would veto it, then last week said that he would, in fact, sinus republican-led measure. and so -- >> and, zak, remind us why this crime bill is so controversial. >> it really classifies a bunch of criminal offenses, and they brought the republicans take offense to that eliminates mandatory minimum sentences on things like carjacking, i

believe. which obviously is on the rise here in washington. and, so, republicans think that in an era of rising crime, not nearly a historic high that certainly higher than it has been in recent years. they think that the city, the nation's capital should not be reducing sentences on those particular crimes. so, it is also a political issue, something that republicans have made an issue up in the 2022 midterms. it was delivered in the house of representatives. i think this is an opportunity to attack a crime in the place where they work. >> why is that the senate is going forward with this, why won't they just drop it since the d.c. counsel has said we do not want to go forward with a? >> right, did he says a council chairman sent a letter to vice president kamala harris as the president of the senate and the residing officer, say i am withdrawing the bill, i cannot become law without going

through this congressional approval or disapproval process. but, dissent has essentially said there is some procedural specifics here. but, essentially they are not voting anymore on the actual city council bill, but on the house passed bill. so, republicans still forced this bill and put democrats in a tough situation after jim twain tackling crime in the nation's capital and deciding whether to overturn the will of voters in washington, d.c.. they are still going to vote, and the fact that it has bipartisan support. they can probably find a way around if i thought this is no longer an issue, but, this is something that lawmakers feel they need to lay it on. >> what about senate majority leader chuck schumer? is he not able to stop the vote? >> most things in the senate, the majority has the power to control when it comes to the floor. in a house that is republicans in the senate that is the democrats, but, the d.c. home rule act that set up the current system. that gives to see its own autonomous city council to set up a flaws as provision allows

congress to disapprove of laws within a certain time period. especially when it comes to criminal code. essentially, republicans can bring up this boat after a certain amount of time and there's nothing anybody can do to stop it. and, unlike most legislation it is a simple majority to pass the resolution. whether it has the force of will or not, because the city council has withdrawn its law. this is more like a sense of a seven as opposed to a binding resolution. that being said, if the city council had not withdrawn the law that simple majority still would have held because of that. >> and there are, right now, three democrats that have indicated that they will vote for this. that is senators manchin, heinrich, and casey. are you expecting those numbers to go up? >> i found it was eight or nine democrats until at this point that they plan to vote for this bill in the senate. the highest ranking democrat in the senate who is not top

shower, two sundays from the battle, one from arizona who just won reelection there. bob casey, tammy baldwin who is up for reelection in wisconsin has said she will vote for it. i talked to senator baldwin about it and she basically said look, i'm in favor of state herb right now d.c. is not a state and is within congress's purview to withdraw with review this law and we will vote to overturn it. it is put democrats in a very tough situation, i think the fact that you have moderates like joe manchin on one side, and more liberal senators on the other side indicates to me you are going to get a good chunk of the democratic caucus to vote for this. >> and, zak, any other crime related issues coming before congress or expected anytime soon? >> i think senator hagerty was on fox news yesterday, the sponsor particular bill answers on the reparations committee. he has said he will use his powers there as well, usually appropriations bills are where congress gets into the nitty-gritty of the d.c. law.

and, how to make changes to that. i believe that is how they were able to partially rollback legalization of marijuana in the city. and so, we can see some rioters trying to attach the appropriations bill needs to passed by september 30th. unless they pass a temporary extension. certainly that is something that republicans, especially in the house, will want to tackle over the next two years heading up to the 2024 presidential and congressional elections. >> all right, zak cohen, congress border bloomberg government, thank you so much for joining us. >> sure thing. >> let's take a look at white house press secretary kareen jean pierre, she was asked about the administration's opposition to the d.c. crime bill at yesterday's press briefing. >> questions on it is a crime situation, does the white house have a response to city council wanted to pull back a proposal? >> so, as you all know we litigated this about two days last week in this very room. the president expressed concerns on certain provisions

of the d.c. crime bill. and, as we can say the daca councils process is still ongoing so we will not comment on that any further. >> so, also, when we were discussing this last week you said the opposition to the crime bill, but you also said that congress is meddling in its affairs. why didn't the president give us a heads up that the president wanted to silence over? >> she also said that she understood where the president made this decision. way, let me get into it. what you just asked a question, let me finish your first question that you asked. which is, first of all, she also said that she understood why the president made this decision. our team, the inter governmental affairs team is in constant communication with her team. and, was last week. don't have anything to preview or any specific discussion that occurred. but, they are in constant communication. >> that was the white house press secretary talking about that d.c. crime bill, but, we

are asking you across the country what should be done to enhance public safety? and, we are taking your calls. doug is up first in san jose, california. republican, hi doug, good morning. >> good morning. these policies that they see council was proposing have been enacted by liberal da's all over the country. and, they resolve has been a significant uptick in crime. criminals don't follow the law, but, they do know by and large what the law says. and, if they know that they can get away with something that they are going to take advantage of it. that is why so many businesses here in california have found themselves being victimized over and over again by shoplifters who know that they can get away with shoplifting. and, not interested. >> what do you think needs to

be done, doug? do you think it should be stricter sentencing? >> yes, we should go right back to the policies that were in place before all of these liberal da's got into office. and they decided that criminals were really the victims instead of law-abiding citizens. we need to go back to what the policy is where when mr. trump was in office. >> all right, let's go to lakeland, florida. sean, independent, good morning. >> hi, how are you doing? i don't know what is wrong with people in america that they seem to believe that just putting people in prison, incarcerating folks will stop crime. this statistics show that the united states in any place in the world, that we still have crime. and crime, regardless of what country you aarian crime is

directly proportional to property. the poor people are the more crime happens. and, this uptick as the guys before me talked about and crime is because people don't have money. people commit crime because they need money. so, if you could all spend as much time on crime as you do focusing on getting people paid, getting people wages, getting people jobs. then this what crime would go down. but as long as you are doing this, subsidizing other countries, subsidizing walmart because people working at walmart are still collecting food stamps because they do not make enough money to live. then you have a problem. and, so, now somebody on the outside looking at that is like, why should i go work at walmart? working all day to not make any money, when i can go out here and commit a crime and live like a king? that is why the problem is. >> all right, robin is an alabama, independent line, good

morning. >> good morning. thank you for having me on. i think the answer action that i said happened january 6th really did not happen, on tv last night. i think the people that are on the committee should be the ones that should be arrested, and they should be prosecuted. >> so, robin, we are talking about what you think should be done -- >> i know what you're talking about, but i am talking to people who are committing crimes on tv and getting violated. and, then you are talking about prosecuting poor people. capital punishment should be used on capital crimes. as i have to say. >> there it is in flint, michigan, good morning, david. >> good morning, c-span, and this is a big problem of crime, it is just a problem that i think the republicans are just trying to make it a big thing

so they can try and use it for their 2024 elections. but, it is a problem, ever since the pandemic has been over it seems like it went up for some reason. i don't really know why. but, i know in my city of flint, i am so happy hour crime is down. we are not on the worst list of cities anymore. i am just excited. i'm so happy our crime is down. >> why did that happen, david? >> i don't know, the mayor really went out and worked with the county. and the counties around us and around flint. and with the police. i have to say, they have done a good job, our crime is down. i don't know what happened but it is so nice not to be on that worst less. i think people should use it as a political thing to try and

win elections on it. but, it does need to be solved. i will say that. >> let's hear from a republican senator. he was on fox business yesterday about his opposition to the d.c. crime bill. >> it is amazing to think the d.c. counsel, after two years of work our reform in their crime bill, has come up with a situation where they would actually lower the penalties for major crimes in the district. the district of columbia has turned into, basically, a wave of crime right now. we have carjackings tripled over the past three years, homicides exceeding 200 per year over the past two years. the d.c. government's response to this, right now, is to hand out carlos, we all walks to people who are worried about getting the car stolen. this is ridiculous. at the time we are seeing a crime wave, i have constituents coming to visit me every day, my staff live there, i am there working every week. the district needs to be a safe place, not an embarrassment to the nation. when the d.c. council passes a law like this, in fact the mayor even vetoed it saying it is not making the district

safer. i am not going to allow it to stand. i have responsibility on the appropriations committee for the d.c. government. i'm going to take responsibility seriously and we will push back and overturn this. >> so, your take on what joe biden says, the president said he will not veto this and i guess that upset some of your colleagues on the democratic side. >> it certainly upset the far-left, maria, they love the soft on crime policies, it did not work very well for the democrats in the last election, you pull people in the district of columbia, 72% of them agree with me. the d.c. police union agrees with me. the police truth, may they support the posture i'm taking. we need to push back on, crime get serious with crime, we'll encourage it. d.c. council wants to encourage, it it is making the district of columbia nation's capital we need to solve this. >> during this first hour we ask you what you think should be done to enhance public

safety around the country. here is a tweet from a congresswoman, ayanna pressley says this. yet another reason we need full d.c. statehood. no one. including those two aim who address a and ronald is next in north carolina. republican line. >> ronald? >> hello? >> while you are on the air. >> okay, i'm concerned what is going on in the country. last night on tv the democrats were panicking following him around like a zombie. they are talking about getting hillary back in. the country is sick, we will be better off if trump was back in to give back, to build the wall. put our country back strong again. and deal with china.

>> so, ronald what do you think needs to be done as far as policy to enhance public safety? >> we have to stop the border policy. that is what is where the crimes are coming in. they are killing people, they are coming here, and arcades, this new generation is panicking. they don't know what to do. that is what is wrong with our country. >> all right, shirley is up next. indianapolis, indiana. online for democrats. surely? >> good morning, good morning, thank you for the opportunity to express my opinion. i understand here in indianapolis used to be a pretty peaceful town to live in what the crime rate pretty low. i have noticed that crime has increased exponentially in indianapolis and i know i hear a lot of negative comments about the police department, how it should be defunded. however, i think we need to

have a greater presence of trained police officers. police officers who are trained specifically to help de-escalate potentially volatile situations, we need satellite modules situated in the higher crime areas in the state. just there presence and increased numbers could be a deterrent for some of the increased criminal activity that we are seeing. i do not know whether the number of police officers is literally going to rectify the issues that we are seeing. we also need more directive to be given to our youth populations. i see a lot of criminal increase. and, more intent for criminal activities in this younger generation. they don't seem to have any direction or guidance. no i'm not saying we need to an act or establish different policies for children. i just think there needs to be greater guidance.

holding the parents or individuals for their care in greater responsibility in times of crimes and act by these children. so, i am not sure if that is the answer, that's just my opinion. >> all right, shirley, take a look at this article from the l.a. times. lapd should stop handling non emergency calls, police union says. the article says the los angeles police department, their largest employee union is looking to have officers stop responding to more than two dozen types of calls. transferring those duties to other city agencies well focusing on more serious crimes. as part of its upcoming contract talks, the los angeles police protectively it intends to tell us it ingratiated that it is willing to let other city departments or nonprofit agencies respond to calls about panhandling, illegal sidewalk landing, urinating in public, mental health episodes in which there is no threat of violence

or criminal activity, and dangerous dog complaints in which no attack has been in progress. such a shift would pre up officers to focus more on violent crime. some of more cases, and improve officer morale. the union said. let's go, next, to donald in raleigh, north carolina, independent line. you are on the air, donald. >> yes, first of all i just think that we need, the entire country needs to look at crime, what crime is. that, is those people who break the law. and, in reference to the caller from north carolina just a few calls ago, right taking the question to try to whip it over onto democrats and said that biden was bumbling. north carolina citizens are like most other citizens in the country, we have a few geniuses but most of us are average.

he seems to be a full. what we need to do is just go ahead and handle crime, those who break the law, treat them like lawbreakers like we have in the past. and, the incidents of january six. if you want to think that was not an insurrection you know, you just don't have a grasp of reality and you are not going to get one. but, i want to say this, as i close that is that for the people who want to think trump is going to work miracles, but, he has a dark, deep percent, and even if you are in sure, if you are in church and you find out they are going to have communion, and you find out that the person serving communion is the devil you had better run. >> all right, let's go to the

republican line, janice, good morning. >> good morning. well, in my opinion a great things that should change is the entire administration, and the democratic party. it was them who started up with the defund the police and it went on from there, and that is just ridiculous, now, not to mention all of the prosecutors that are funded by soros who refused to prosecute crime. i lived in san diego, california, for 50 years and i moved because i could tell what was coming down the pipe. san diego is not that bad, yet, but it is getting there, the homeless situation is out of control. and. >> how is it where you are in

pompano beach? >> it is better, basically out here the police are very cordial, they are respected, there is not any crime going on all outrageous. people are not walking into walmart and walking out with thousands of dollars of things, and nobody is being held accountable for any crimes whatsoever. as it was happening in san diego. they went into one of those upscale malls and walked out with thousands of dollars of stuff. and nobody stop them, nobody held them accountable. i don't understand how people can not hold the entire democratic party responsible for this. >> and, janice, you think that was happening because there were not enough plays. so, you would recommend more place? >> absolutely, what i would

recommend is that they enforce the laws on the books. because, the police cannot do their job. i mean, what does it do to arrest people when they're out of jail before they finished the paperwork. nobody is enforcing the law! and, at the end of the day the bottom line is all of this started from the democratic party. they were the ones who enforced all this lawlessness. no one on that side wants to accountability. >> all right, janice, let's take a look at the d.c. council president. he was reporting yesterday talking about his decision to pull back that easy crime bill. >> if we were to send that they'll back up tomorrow, change the issues that have been complain about there would be other issues that will be brought up, that have not been brought up yet. so, i think just pulling it back and assessing what the next step is.

looking at some of the issues, explaining better what the legislation doesn't does not deal. so, that will take some time. i don't foresee that it will be a quick change. >> on cnbc this morning speaker mccarthy said he could not believe that the d.c. council had decriminalized carjacking. force, you did not do that. but, that is the political headwinds your face. >> correct, i said this before, crime lends itself easily to demagogic rhetoric. and, there is nothing about the legislation that the criminalizes carjacking. the fact of the matter is that the criminal code maintains carjacking as a separate offense. most of the states do not even have the specific offense for carjacking. and, what the revised criminal code does in regard to carjacking is to have a maximum

penalty that, if i remember correctly, is about ten years longer than what the typical sentences for armed carjacking. that is the challenge, the messaging is quite clear to me, that the headwinds that have prevailed in congress are about the politics of next year's election, and not about the substance of the criminal code. the fact is that the criminal code has hit these headwinds, which is why i pulled it back. >> we are asking you this morning until the top of the hour what you think should be done to enhance public safety around the country, in your community. take a look at this tweet from a representative who says this, the d.c. city council just caved and withdrew their dangerous crime bill to lower the maximum penalties for burglary, carjacking and robbery in washington, d.c.. this decision comes less than a week after house republicans

voted to block this dangerous bill, randy is up next in michigan. democrat, good morning, randi. >> good morning, maybe, how are you? me, i think the biggest problem we have here in the united states is the very same thing that we had back in the nixon era. it is laced wisconsin and michigan. i live right on the border, here, wisconsin is full of drugs. michigan has a whole bunch of positive. with consequence here, thereby are, potluck to you back to wisconsin and sell it. those people get caught with it, they sit in jail until they can get it out of their system. if an alcoholic drinks in three days he can go back to work, in three days he gets to go back to work and work. all of these pot heads they have to go an average of 31 years for a trace amount. for 31 days. >> randy, what do you recommend?

>> i recommend changing the law, we have all watched, i have seen probably more than 1000 people smoke pot in my life. i have seen that 20 times in a bar, just last week i watched, at the tavern i watched methamphetamine being sold, i watched heroin being sold, and i watched alcohol being sold, do you know of any drugs that are harder than that? how about we start going after the drugs that are the hardest? alcohol is the most dangerous drug. you have never seen a heroin addict be able to come out and say cards, i have watched my brother do heroin in the bedroom, come, outside, down ten minutes later be able to sit there and play cards. his head was great. i have watched my brother during three cans of beer and could not even say his name. >> randy, we tried prohibition, what are you asking? >> we use our brain and say

which ones the hardest truck, how but we do all of the thing and we put people at the top of the hill on a bicycle and give them different drugs, here's your math, here is your, crackers, alcohol here is your pot. let's see who can make it to the bottom of the hill? and then we will be able to tell people the truth about what part really is when. >> let's talk to ricky next in philadelphia, independent lime. >> hello, ma'am, good morning. my situation is on this crime, crime is running rampant. everything ever since the pandemic crime has been running rampant. i think and crime has gone up about 100 percent murder, robbery, carjacking, and like, other things have run high to. if you are going to --

it's just like an open drug wave. people are definitely addicted, sleeping on the sidewalk. it is running rampant. >> ricky, do you have any ideas as to -- >> the city university. >> ricky, do you have any ideas as to what you think should be done? >> what should be done is -- a couple of things. pretty much you have to -- education is one. -- drug programs for -- increased our police also to make all the neighborhood safe for everybody. nobody should the scare, can't

go out. can't take their kid out because of the crime. most of the people are scared because their child might get hit -- hit by a stray fire. >> ricky, let's take a look at a couple more tweets here as congresswoman -- beth van duyne who says despite soaring crime rates, how democrats are putting people over politics by voting against a resolution to disapprove of the d.c. councils new soft on crime proposal. they're putting defund the police politics over public safety for the people. senator mike braun says i'm thankful to d.c. councils radical sentencing bill is dead upon arrival. the nation's capital is already experiencing assist historic crime crisis. violent criminals across the country must no longer be emboldened. here is senator katie boyd. brayden fortunately, we're seeing the same pattern in cities nationwide. crime is that a 25-year high

across our country. threatening the safety of american families and communities. we need to hold criminals accountable and back our tremendous law enforcement officers. terrance is next. raleigh, north carolina. republican. good morning, terrence. >> good morning. i think it's fixing the schools, getting rid of the unions and making schools teach our kids how to be productive and thrive. as far as crime is concerned, i think we should take the gloves off. you commit murder, get your trial, get convicted, you die. might get your one appeal, then you die. you possess fentanyl, you die. you carjacks someone, 25 years, period. these people have to feel the law. put more cups in the street. not gonna matter if you keep letting them out of prison to go on commit merck crime. you're right but child, you rape a woman, life. it's simple. to me, it's simple.

letting them out to recoup their crimes -- it doesn't matter what color you. are you commit a crime, he should pay for it. and pay quickly and pay the ultimate price in most cases i believe. >> let's go to the line for democrats in dayton, ohio. good morning, kathleen, you're on the air. >> hi, thanks, i love washington journal. appreciate all the work you guys to. i think people have made a lot of great suggestions. most of us all know it has to be multi-pronged efforts. i spent time in dayton, ohio, where i grew up. used to be a manufacturing town. he used to be thriving. now they're zombies walking on the street everywhere on math. whatever else they're on. the issue is really huge. then, i spent time in boulder, colorado. a very different town than dayton. there is a lot of homeless there.

there are also lots of math issues. we need to do more training of our police officers, more serious training in regard to mental health or get mental health professionals on the streets. we need to have more serious repercussions in regards like the one gentleman just said in regard to crime. i do think our police officers need more training but need to be paid better. this is a very serious job. a lot of them check into their pay, they're just not paid very well. my brother in law here and in ohio is a psychologist. he's been dealing with mental health issues for kids for years, decades. he says he's putting band-aids on all their problems because there is not enough mental health counselors. we need to increase that as well. i wanted to ask you guys. -- some guy from florida earlier talked about jobs. in dayton, people east be

making 25 bucks an hour in the 90s. now the prevailing wage i think is about 11 bucks an hour. including walmart. people need to make more money so they can choose to keep a humble home, keep a car. that increases drug use and depression. clearly, poverty has something to do with all this. >> jay is in milford, pennsylvania. independent line. hi, jamie. >> hi, how are you? i want to ask a simple question. what about the parents? does anybody have accountability for these children or young teenagers. as a new york city police officer for 13 years now, i can assure the public right now and this is a real as it comes. police are not gonna get involved unless they have to. the system letting, people go.

-- why arrest him if they're gonna be let out? that is correct. police officers now in new york city are gonna do as little as possible because they're afraid of getting in trouble. and going to prison. >> what do you suggest? >> i believe in the court system. that obviously, crimes -- you have to be punished. there has to be accountability for these crimes in the people right now, with the black and the white issues. i don't care with anybody says. it is. everything is against police. nobody wants to take accountability in york city on who's doing the crime. you don't hear one thing about who's doing the crime. when it's white officers, everybody's very quick to jump on that. i just feel it when new york city. i can assure people that crime is gonna go higher. they can give you all the stats they want. police don't want to get involved. and there are --

you never see that. never see it. might have a few stragglers but not overall you won't have massive protests. i hope the people understand but cops are good people. there are many bad ones to. i've seen many things that i shake my head. thank you very much for taking the time. >> let's take a look at this article from axios. it says dallas has become a model for policing. it says that the u.s. senator jon court introduced a bill last year shaped at least in part by dialysis methods to offer federal grants to pay for a de-escalation and mental health response training at law enforcement agencies. president biden signed the act into law in december. the texas senator recently discussed the funding it during a visit to a training academy at the dallas police department she called a role model for other citizens. it's this despite widespread calls for nationwide police

reform, after the murder of george floyd in 2020, many federal efforts have failed to pass. the law enforcement de-escalation training at received bipartisan support is one of the few exceptions. let's talk to kathy next. delaware, republican. hi, cathy. >> hi, good morning. thanks for taking my call. this morning just on the news, there were two reports. one of which the state police officer in maryland, this is -- the gateway to the resort town of ocean city. this is a very rural area. this police officer was shot several times. was likely able to survive. the second incident was another man who had shot his victim seven times. luckily able to survive. the point i'm making is that

this urban crime is spilling over into other areas that have since been inundated with i believe everything to do with drug trafficking. that is a deliberate linked to the problems with the border. however, if the problem is that why do we keep voting for democrats when they know that there is no change in sight? it's just not happening? the point is to go to the polls and vote for a conservative whomever that might be. so that you can stop this escalation of lawlessness in this country. i know understand why we continue doing the same thing over and over again. it's not working. >> kathy, we got to your point. let's go to baltimore, maryland,

line for democrats. tom, good morning. >> the morning, c-span. i think that we're at today is the product of 40 years of the industrialization of our country. in the 70s, factory started closing in the united states. we lost steel plants, we lost auto assembly plants, we lost everything and paid well for working class people. alternative economy to that is -- which we see rising. marie -- relationship between the industrialization, poverty and crime. i think until we bring industrial jobs back to this country, that pay well, we're still gonna have the same problems. thank, you ma'am. >> tom. are reminding people that we are taking your calls up until 8:00 eastern time on what do you think should be done to enhance public safety. you can give us a call out by -- democrats (202) 748-8000,

republicans (202) 748-8001 and independents, (202) 748-8002. here is what president biden said about that d.c. crime bill. i supported d.c. statehood and home rule. but i don't support some of the changes d.c. council put forward over the mayor's objections such as lowering penalties for carjackings. if the senate posts overturned the d.c. council, what the d.c. council did, all sign it. here is top house democrat hakeem jeffries. he was on cnn over the weekend. he was talking about how he thought 2024 politics was behind president biden's decision. >> would it be a mistake for president biden to sign this bill overriding the decision by a city that is 50% african american on how to govern itself on the issue of crime? >> i don't to characterize what president biden may or may not do -- in response to something that

the senate has not even done yet. what i can say is that all continue to support the principle of local government control over local matters. someone in some hundred thousand people in the district of columbia. they elected city council, they like the mayor. they continue to work out those issues. >> do you think part of this is the white house and some of those senate democrats were talking about -- worried about tough reelection campaigns being worried about democrats portrayed as soft on crime? >> i think we have a strong record on the issues. we passed gun safety legislation over the objections of the nra for the first time in 30 years. that will save lives. we have to do more. certainly have a vision for doing more. for banning weapons of war on our streets. and acting criminal back on track legislation. the front besting in dealing with mental illness as argon safety legislation will do to the tune of $500 million. i think we can lean into this

issue moving forward. based on substance. >> that was to keep jeffries talking about crime and that d.c. crime bill a. we're asking you what do you think should be done to enhance public safety around the country and will go next to john in connelly springs, north carolina, independent. >> -- what's wrong is we've taken the power away from the police. they don't have any power anymore. like the teachers in schools. there are not allowed to put their arm around a child's neck. i got two kids at school that -- that's what's wrong. everything go. it's >> what more powers do you think police should have? >> what they used to have a long time ago. i remember when the teachers had the authority --

if you are not afraid with police -- look what happened in georgia. do whatever they want. if you get back to the law, that's what's wrong. -- god help, you think. you >> evelyn it baltimore, maryland, democrat. good morning, evelyn. >> good morning. i've listened to everybody calling this morning. here in maryland, they're working on a bill that anybody 25 and under cannot be charged with a felony. i am a democrat but that's the worst thing i've ever heard. by the time you're 25, you should know better. by the time you're 18, you know right from wrong. i think the thing that would help everything is if they would pay more attention and

put more funds into education. starting from pre-k. instead of making -- using money to keep constantly building jails and detention centers. it might help. the kids's over the age of 15. they're going in the wrong direction. it's gonna be hard to turn them around. if you get them from the very beginning, that's what's gonna make a difference. all this other talk from the democrats, the republicans. if you can't catch these kids in the beginning, nothing is going to change. >> william is next in milwaukee, wisconsin, independent. hi, william. >> hi, thank you for taking my call. when i was a kid, i was afraid of the cops. my parents were. they instilled into me if i ever brought the cops to my home, to their home, i would be catching. i think parents should be

responsible for their child. the child is under 18, 17, 16, commits a crime, that'll be a felony. -- put him in jail for a couple years. if a child or something like, that the parent should be facing the criminal charges. aiding and abetting. they should go to jail for a year or two for what the child did. i guarantee you the kid will never do it again. if the kids knew that would happen. it would be twice before breaking the law. that's all i got to say, thank you for taking my call. >> dave it is an island new york. republican. hi, david. >> i. thank you for taking my call. i also believe that the laws are to be stricter and enforced. i think there should be a lot of research done on to how the outpatient programs are working for a drug rehab's. i think that the work. i think the people focus on not doing drugs, crime goes down.

i don't see any of this money that's being spent, lifting anybody from poverty into the middle class or the upper class. more money needs to be spent their. i think the education level needs to rise. >> all right, adrian is in california, democrat. good morning, adrian. >> adrian, are you there? >> edwards in new jersey, independent line. good morning, edward. >> good morning, i am here. i think enhancing public safety. we should do something about how accessible guns are in our country. it's a gun acceptability problem i think that we have most. we were not safe from random acts and supermarkets, different houses of worship, our schools.

access to guns in our country. we should do something about that. i want to have a wider view what public safety -- most people say crime, carjacking crime, drugs and alcohol. crime, we should look at crime like in a wider spectrum. the white collar crime, if you will. and militarization of our police forces. if we would spend less money on militarization of our forces and our local police forces i believe. it would make us all safe. we breathing are federal minimum weight. providing social services for the people. housing, health care overall jobs. i think that would do it. thank you. >> carol from panama city senses attacks who says guns are the biggest problem. republicans to get money from the nra refused to do anything about it. next is the governor the likes of trump and all his crazy

dangerous supporters in congress. they don't love america, they just want the power to rule like the autocrats they want to be. dave in tampa, florida, republican. good morning, dave. >> good morning. i just have a simple question to ask. we don't seem to making much progress remodeling our system of life. we have a partner next to us called mexico. i don't even know if we have anything more than a peace treaty with it. they're allowing bombardment of drugs over our border. what if we simply suggest we might return all these drugs and just let it rain from the sky with all their rain clouds. all those trucks right back to mexico. we can send it over. that's my thought for the day. >> roger, four, dwayne indiana. democrats line. >> yes, good morning, america. i think that the crime, the

high crime that we believe is going on in the country is a lot to do with how much the conservatives hype it up, talk about it. i'm not saying that there is no crime in america. i think it's really no different than what it's been the past 30, 40 years. if you look at the new and pretty much every state in the city, you will see more on the news black crime. the only crime in america's poor working drug attic black folks. you know what i mean. i think the police officer's could be more trained and more educated on how to de-escalate and to work with the community to prevent let's say a cowboy

shooting someone in the back or a cop shooting someone when they are actually submitting to their arrest or whatever. i strongly believe that the hype that we are hearing about crime -- it's outrageous, if that's the case then -- crimes of all sorts happening in every city, every state, every time throughout the country. let's check in on pittsburgh, pennsylvania, independent. >> i agree with the former -- couple callers back with the need for social services. i'm a social worker. i used to work as a therapist for the state drug treatment program. the biggest issue i saw was people who are freshly release

from incarceration. was a lack of resources. they didn't have stable housing, they didn't have food, they didn't have clothes, they didn't have access to the basic needs. social determinants of health play a role. these people are more likely to go back to a life of crime than to live on the street and narrow. they don't feel they have another option. they were never taught another way to do this. i had one of the highest success rates in graduation because i didn't just provide therapy. i provided resources to help get them on their feet. if we can provide -- i think what we need to do is create more long term housing that is actually dignified, not like projects that we see. places that people want to live. i think if we did, that we would see the crime rates go down significantly. and also, having social workers responding to mental health calls to 9-1-1 rather than police officers. a lot of the times you see a police officer escalating the

issue rather than defusing it. they're not trained to deal with mental health crises. social workers are. i think that would play a big role in getting that dealt with and getting it reduced. i want to save shutout to -- he's been a great source of education on your show -- helps people get more involved in politics. >> regarding what terrorists said. here is a opinion from the new york times. part of it is saying that recommending that just as chair was saying, to change to answers mental health calls. a substantial share police calls reach from 5% to more than 30% involve behavioral health issues. which call centers and officers are often ill equipped to answer. according to a 2015 survey by the police executive research forum officers receive nearly 60 hours of firearms training but only eight hours of training for handling people with mental illness.

jack is next. in montana, republican. good morning. >> how you doing. my opinion is we need to get back to being the tough america that we used to be. mental health is a big issue. everybody wants to talk about guns but you have kids running around nowadays that are shooting each other over arguments. to me, that's a mental health issue. we didn't do that in the 80s, we actually -- in this political correctness. in this racial rhetoric needs to go. we need to get back to the tough america we were. be tough on crime. quit empowering these criminals and start empowering law enforcement again.

i am 52 and i've watched america go downhill since the obama administration. everybody wants to talk about how great obamacare was. one way it was but in another way, it put millions of people that had -- that were mentally ill on the streets. >> let's go to line from democrats. st. louis, missouri, elaine, good morning. >> good morning, wonderful program. thank you for the service. i want to say that i appreciate all of this, and all the americans are calling in. we need to learn from one another war. instead of placing the blame, we need to construct -- the way that we want the future to look. i think we should learn from alaska. and find out more about --

if we gain people the money -- when people are returning from the prison system, they don't have resources. if everyone had a guaranteed income and if everyone took the opportunity to learn from others, i really feel as though -- there are countries out there that people -- who were we to tell a person how to live their life if it doesn't affect us personally. >> let's hear from william in jackson mississippi. democrat. good morning, william. >> good morning, thank you for taking my call. i'm gonna be brief. we talk about --

time and time again, you look on youtube. you look online. you will see -- the police violating peoples rights. they're not held responsible. time and time again. 1% of the police that do wrong to people are prosecuted. that's not right, they shouldn't have their own counsel, the police investigating police. i listen to some of your callers talk about the democrats, talk about how good it is -- i want people to know this. slavery, jim crow, -- all the conservative laws and rules. -- i live in a state and my district. my second cousin benny thompson voted for appropriations to come in. the only representative in the system voted for him. in his trust ticked is not getting a set of that money. all conservative districts are

getting it. they were the ones that voted against the. then you have people like this last color calling in talking about -- affordable patient protection act. they're the ones who are benefiting from it but it's a bad idea. another bad idea but hillary -- >> william, we're at a time. want to think everybody who called it and participated with us. during this first hour. next on washington journal. lines for american manufacturing president scott paul discusses the state of manufacturing in the u.s. and the impact of china's economic and trade policies. and a leader foundation for the defense of democracies benham ben taleblu discusses a report that shows iran is in advanced ages of building a nuclear weapon. we'll be right back. >> on thursday, the center for

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>> be up-to-date in the latest in publishing with book tv's podcast about books. with current nonfiction book releases, plus best seller lists, as well as industry news, and insider interviews. you can find out more on c-span now, our free mobile app, or wherever you get your podcasts. ♪ (202) 748-8000 journal@c-span.org -- >> washington journal continues. host: >> washington journal continues. >> welcome back to washington journal, i'm joined now by scott paula. he is the president of the alliance for american manufacturing. we're gonna be talking about competitiveness with china. welcome to the program. >> thank, you could be with you. >> let's start with the alliance for american manufacturing. tell us about it. who are the members and how is it funded? >> first of all, we've been around for about 16 years.

we are pretty unique in washington and that were a partnership between the labor union. the united workers. some of its domestic manufacturing partners. when we focus on manufacturing policy, trade policy. we advocate for public policies that would strengthen our economic security manufacturing in america. >> the funding comes from those members? >> absolutely. it's a right through collective bargaining. again, it's kind of nice because usually either your business or your labor in this case. we bring both of the table. i think it gives us a little more power that way as well. >> i'll remind our viewers that you can give us a call if you'd like to ask a question or make a comment. airlines are by party affiliation. so democrats, (202) 748-8000. some republicans, (202) 748-8001. and independents, (202) 748-8002. we do have a line set aside for

if you work in the manufacturing sector. be sure to call in if you work in the manufacturing sector on special line which is. (202) 748-8003. you can also use the line for sending us texts. earlier this month, you testified before -- house select committee on china and you said this. our hubris and neglect aided beijing's ambitions. weekend are capabilities and hollowed out our middle class. explain that and what capabilities were weekend? >> sure, thank you. the concerns of this committee has is with the policies of the chinese communist party. how they may threaten american security, human rights, variety of different concerns. i wanted to contribute also that we've made some missteps along the way in the united states. the way in which we invited china into the world trade system. was basically a blank check. built on trust that china would

fulfill its obligation. that didn't pan out. we also under invested in making ourselves more competitive. i think that's changed recently. the combination of those policies of the chinese communist party as well as the fact that we were not prepared lead to some devastating consequences. basically, stuff that we were ones making the united states are to be made in china. we had no plan. >> devastating consequences like? what >> for example in the midwest we lost tens of thousands of factories over a short amount of time within the span of a decade. in a lot of these communities, these factories, where the major employer. particularly for workers who did not have a four year college degree. there were no other options. all sorts of bad things happen. that there was a ripple effect because his workers weren't spending money at the grocery store.

one contributing taxes. in many ways, these communities suffered and they're still digging out of the holes. i think it's really interesting because there was some research that's been done at princeton and m.i.t. that showed that the job losses and the wage loss also contributed to some devastating social consequences. more deaths of despair. higher divorce rates. lots of profound impact for these communities. i think to the agree, we probably saw this manifests our politics over the last seven or eight years as well. >> let's talk about manufacturing jobs in the u.s. currently al put it on the screen. there were 19,000 jobs added in january. an average of 33,000 jobs added per month in a 2022. that doesn't sound like it's a bad thing. >> this is a good thing. i think the last couple of years, we've seen a reversal. first of all, the pandemic brought to light that if we

don't want massive amount of shortages or supply chain disruptions, we need to invest in american manufacturing again. i think many of the private sector have woken up to that fact. i think our public policies or some to reflect that as well. we're seeing some big investments in american manufacturing. where there were a couple of decades where there weren't a lot of land announcements of ribbon cuttings. it was mostly planned closures. now we're seeing all sorts of planned opening announcements in high tech, in steel. lots of other stuff as well. i think the pandemic brought into focus that we can't depend on china or other countries alone to supply the goods that we need to, particularly in a time of crisis. we're starting to turn around the ship. i think the focus on china still important because. there still a lot of work that

needs to be done. >> let's talk about semiconductors. that s en a big roblem with the supply chain and not vi enough conductors. let's take a look at the chips act. it says tht e 53 billion dollars in grants for semiconductor manufacturing and research investments to support regional technology hubs and tax credits to promote investment in semiconductor manufacturing through 2026. give us an overview of how that chips act is supposed to work and if anything is been happening so far. >> i think a lot as been happening and it's good news. the initial round of funding has spurred a lot of private sector investment. you've seen firms somewhat brand names that people will recognize the like intel and texas instruments. announced that they're expanding or building new semiconductor manufacturing facilities in the united

states. all over the place. a lot of these are at high tech semiconductor manufacturing. we're also gonna see some investments in the supply chain as well. this is important, this is happening in arizona, happening in idaho and new york in ohio and lots of different places. the ideas will be able to supply more of the semiconductors that we consume in the united states. we got to a point, a generation ago in the early 90s. we made about one third of the world semiconductor. it's we consumed about that much to. just last, year we made about 7% of the world semiconductors. our consumption had stayed very high. we built up this big deficit, this major dependence on china and on taiwan and elsewhere. that's starting to come home. we're starting to see the fruits of that. within the next couple years, i think that's gonna give the united states a lot more capacity, a lot more ability to be resilient and to make sure that we can buy -- all the gadgets that we depend

on. and take for granted that we saw months and months of delays on just a year or two ago. >> critics are going to chip activist real policy. where taxpayers are picking winners and losers. i want to show you something from us one select committee on the chinese communist party hearing. kentucky gop republican andy barr spoke out against those calling for the u.s. to adopt that as a lever against china. >> as china expert and former defense department official michael pillsbury has written, the ccp is entering the final phase of its 100-year marathon to replace the united states as the world's global superpower. underappreciated dimension of this strategic competition between the united states in the ccp. one of the reasons why the ccp is arguably ahead of schedule in that marathon is the ccp's economic aggression against the

west. but i believe very strongly that the united states should not mimic the chinese industrial policy. should not copy the chinese command and control system. we should not embrace overly broad measures that would raise questions about our commitment to a market economy which is a key source of strength for the united states in contrast to china's communist central planning policies. in other words, as this committee does its work. and as we consider policy responses to the threat from the ccp. i would submit to my colleagues and to policy makers in this country. we should not try to counter china by becoming more like china. >> scott, what do you think of? that he says we're gonna become more like china. >> in that hearing, i agree

with about 99% of the things that were said by everybody. which is ratified in the hearing. i did not agree with that. i thought that he was kind of setting up a straw man. thechips act is so far away from beijing's command and control economy, i couldn't draw more distance to that. as i mentioned, these are private sector firms that are using a lower cost of capital to develop in the united states. i think it's extraordinary the government's not going to run these factories. it's not going to tell them how to produce, what do you make anything like that. there will be conditions for getting that capital. it's gonna give them a head start. it's nothing -- the government literally owns hundreds upon hundreds of what are called a state owned enterprises. that manufacturer and they have no profit noted, all of these american companies are gonna still have a profit motive. the other thing i which status

that we've tried i think could be purist approach, the free market handoff approach for a couple of decades in terms of trying to compete with with china. we've had lots of tax cuts for corporations, lost a deregulation. none of that has made us -- in a more competitive position. maybe corporations a lot of richer. this is gonna make sure that they're making returning some of that to the united states. they're investing in factories here. they're gonna give us a layup. i agree with congressman barr, we should not be like china. the chips act is far from china as you canpossibly get. >> you've been doing this for a long time. even watching this topic for a long time. why do you think there's been a shift now among congress and policy makers. this renewed focus on china and competitiveness with china. >> i think a couple of things have produced a harmonic convergence of events. first, as i mentioned before, the pandemic. i think broadened a focus of

how the pendant we are on china for things ranging from medicine to ppe to semiconductors. i think that caused a bit of a shock to the system. i think a number of things happened. i remember the ship being stuck in the suez canal that created disruptions. maybe this idea of having a part fly back and forth across the world. maybe we can simplify that a little bit. make a bit of that closer to home. i think the theory changed a little bit as well. i also think that i will say i've done -- i think some policy makers are waking up to the fact that the chinese communist party. she jinping. he wants to use the west. he wants a user technology, he wants to use our consumer base. he wants no other part of western values. he wants to create -- recreate a chinese state that

is both powerful. that is driven by the party. that is not aligned with market forces. he's kind of gotten what he wanted out of american companies which was their technology, trillions of dollars in investment. now he's saying we're gonna do this our way. send you to the highway. i think that also has driven some of this concern. >> it's not just the investment. it's intellectual property that he got from american companies. >> that's exactly right. in some cases, it was given away in terms of technology transfer internet ventures. in other states, it was stolen through industrial espionage or through a lack of enforcement of piracy, property. that added up to 600 billion dollars in losses for the u.s. economy which is a profound amount. i think that's a big concern. something that i heard during that hearing was that that's an issue that both democrats and republicans still definitely

want to tackle here. >> we're gonna start taking calls. ago one request for you which is about the bipartisan infrastructure law. what have we seen with that? what impact have we seen to manufacturing people abilities? >> that's a great question. i was explaining before. one of the things that we did not do a good job of is making our economy more competitive over the last couple of decades. the infrastructure act is a piece of that no american anymore efficient. we'll have better broadband, better transit, what better shipping. better logistics supply chain abilities within the united states. all of that is great. we've seen orders come into material suppliers for infrastructure. as you've seen both president biden democrats republicans some of whom didn't support the infrastructure bill are at a ribbon cutting ceremonies for a lot of these projects. we're seeing a lot get done. gonna be 1.2 trillion dollars in investment over the next

five or six years to come out of the infrastructure bill. that's gonna lift our efficiency and our competitiveness up in the manufacturing sector. in a way that we have not seen for many decades. >> let's go to the phones now. peters up first in new york on the republican line. hi, peter. >> good morning, mimi. mr. paul, i saw you testified before congress. i have a couple of things to comment on. this issue about outsourcing started back in the 1970s when i was a young man. there -- this was bipartisan. republicans and democrats allowed american companies to outsource their factories to china and other countries. because it was cheaper for them to produce goods and services. goods in these foreign countries and ship them to the united states than it was to manufacture them here. the problem with the way we do

business is that subsidizing manufacturing over here. i guess for example with the chip spill. isn't the complete solution here. we tried that during the obama administration with a cylinder to make solar panels here in the united states. they went out of business because they couldn't compete with china. i think we need to adopt a policy that japan has. we're companies who are manufacturing here in the united states cannot close down their manufacturing here. if they want to open of companies and other countries, fine. possibly use the profits they make their to subsidize their companies here. that's fine. if they decided to close down and go overseas, then we tax whatever they ship into the united states so the companies that are producing here can make a profit. also it wasn't discussed during

your testimony was what environmentalists played in this problem. with all the environmental regulations and everything else that goes with it. it makes them more expensive to do business here in the united states. >> peter, let's get a response. >> thanks for the question. i think it's a very good one. during the testimony. i did articulate i think how we got what's called the china praise which is in impossibly low price. if american firms can't compete on a level playing field then that's right, jobs are gonna go overseas. particularly with the case of china, a lot of the advantage that was built up was artificial unfair. partly because of a lack of enforcement of their labor rights laws or their own environmental laws. if you've seen the smog in beijing, we definitely don't want to stoop to the level. it's really bad. we saw currency manipulation

that made their goods artificially cheaper coming to the united states, made our goods more expensive. we saw these trillions of dollars of government subsidies that made chinese factories more competitive. peter, i read with you that investing in our semiconductor industry or any other industry alone isn't gonna do it. we also have a trade solution to that. part of what i think is helping drive some of this manufacturing back to the united states or the tariffs that are in place. another controversial. but they do serve as a deterrent for more firms to set up operations in china. they also are gonna drive supply chains over the long run out of china as well. right now, about a third of chinese products that are coming to united states -- very few of these are consumer products. mostly what we call it immediate coutts. they're going to something else. that's having an impact as well. i agree that it's more than an

investment solution. you need a treat solution that's well if we're gonna be effective in all of this. >> speaking of trade, we have a question here for you from gary on twitter. who says what are we going to do about the 350 billion dollar deficit with china? >> the deficit is a challenge for china. it peaked a couple years ago it is going down a little bit but that is a massive loss of u.s. capacity there. eventually, kind of like our budget deficit. the trade deficit isn't just some esoteric number that never has to be paid. there is the consequence to it. part of it is eroding our own manufacturing capabilities. part of it is that we are enriching in one of the republican members made this point during the hearing. we're enriching the chinese communist party through a lot of this. there is a lot of factors in this. the value of the dollar. consumer behavior. where companies are locating their production. there's tons of things that

impact all this. another pretend like it's an easy solution. that you just can't wish away this trade deficit. it's gonna take a focus. until there is a focus on how you deal with this, it's really not to come down. >> steven is next. freeland, maryland. democrat, good morning, steve. >> -- the ignorance of our legislative branch. 40 years of outsourcing and offshoring. and now, all of us said in, we're working up the big dump giant. and the big jim china so far behind now in manufacturing were not coming back anytime soon. not in five years. it took 40 years plus to get here. technically, the legislative points of the united states of america. enacted laws and outsourced to offshore. is the pandemic, all of a sudden when the pandemic came as you said. we all realized -- we don't have anything here.

we don't have anything here because we don't make anything here. the reason that is because the united states is no longer a country that does. we're a country of talkers. there is no way in god's creation we are going to turn this around in five years or ten years. it's going to take -- socioeconomic policies takes 40 years to see how those policies are going to pan out. >> steve, you agree with that? >> i think steve asks is a great question. i'm more optimistic, i'm gonna say. i think it's going to take wes than 40 years. i think that there is a couple of things that we have to be aware of. i think steve correctly diagnosis that it was both democrats and republicans that kind of neglected all of this for a number of decades. you can't blame one side or the other. it was a bit of both, frankly. what we need to do moving forward is first of all making sure that the investments that we're making in domestic

manufacturing stay there. that they're not rolled back in any way. we also need understand that semiconductor is, well important, or one small part of the manufacturing ecosystem in the united states. there are many other cases where we have significant vulnerabilities. we depend a lot. pharmaceuticals is a great example of this. we are incredibly dependent on china and the chemicals that go to active pharmaceutical ingredients. for things like antibiotics that we depend on. me some focus on that as well. what do we can't afford to do is reverse the policies that have been put into place. it is gonna take time. i think we can get there are. we've never seen more manufacturing construction take place in the united states the way -- we're never gonna recreate the manufacturing economy of the 70s, the 60s, 50s, the 40s. is not gonna be that way. we are in a global competition

in the. factory for different. there's automation, there's robotics. all sorts of things now. whenever gonna have that. i think that we can have a new manufacturing economy that still looks pretty awesome. it's gonna have thousands of people in it. it's gonna be a lot cleaner. it's gonna be exciting. i think that there is a lot to look forward to if we play the policy card right. >> bradley is next in west virginia. he were to manufacturing. hi bradley. >> good morning. can warning, see. spaniard morning, scott. -- when i got out of school was a move to cleveland, ohio. work for at&t. telephones. manufacture telephones and stuff. it shut down, now you get the telephone from across the water. when he goes bad, he threw in the garbage. -- southeast of cleveland had big steel mills -- they also had steel mills from

pittsburgh. charleston, west virginia. had them in everything. all them is gone. it's a disgrace that our manufacturing has moved to foreign countries. the thing of a days is the dollar. to show you a good example of, back in october, i bought a brand new general motors. it was a little buick car. i did not look -- my wife bought it, i told him to write a good contract. when i got home on saturday, -- i got the paperwork out and guess where the general motors car was made. it was made in china. i was so mad, i could -- i could've gone and burn it. then i had my refrigerator worked on with the general electric here in west virginia. they put a little fan in and before they get put it in, asked the guy said look on the

box and see where that's made. i'm a vietnam veteran. we lost thousands of veterans over in vietnam. anyway. the guy open the box and guess what? general electric's move to vietnam for the cheap labor and the fan in the motor was made -- i got so mad, i told him i said you can just about take that thing out here and thrown in the river. if it wasn't for shutting the refrigerator down. general electric, american company. >> bradley, let's get a response. >> bradley, thank you. thanks for the perspective from west virginia. i think it's important one. something that gets overlooked by a lot of folks in this town. i will say gm, and general electric, both those companies so manufacturing the united states. you can still find appliances, cars are made in the united states. got a look closely at the label. just because it's an american company doesn't mean it's gonna be manufactured here. looking at the label is

incredibly important for all of that and having access to it. by the way, there's a lot of folks want to make it harder for consumers to know where their products would be made. we're fighting back against that the federal trade commission in congress to make sure that there is both truth in labeling and that things are well labeled so consumers know exactly what they're buying. it is also true that in the case of both appliances and automobiles. where there used to be a lot of domestic production, there is now a lot of imports coming in as well. there is many complications -- complicated reasons for that as well. i'm optimistic. bradley, i have a colleague in west virginia. he was just telling me that -- the steel mill in written has slowed down a lot. there's four new hiring in critical mineral processing and

some other things like this. there is exciting opportunities that are happening out there. virtually every manufacturer i know right now has a hiring sign outside. they're all looking for help. which is a great time to be looking for manufacturing job. in almost every part of the country right now. >> terry is next in a lafayette, indiana, independent line. hi, terry. >> good morning. thank you for taking my call. want to say good morning to america and the things for c-span taking my call. mr. paul. another great -- ron paul and rand paul -- president a manufacturing. that's great. i think rand paul would make a great president but maybe since trump so popular, i love the guy to. maybe he'd make a good vice

president since he's not as popular as mr. trump. i'm very happy that -- industry is starting up here in america. we need to buy american stuff. that helps america. america needs a lot to help right now. makes me happy to see this program. >> terry, let's go to bill and syracuse, new york. democrat. >> good morning. i tend to over top so if i do, just coming off. i am sitting here, watching you on a chinese television set. wearing primarily chinese clothes. going to be driving my nissan which is japanese. i recognize that the companies that are doing this are not u.s. companies.

made in usa, he says -- doesn't say where the -- where my chair is our, doesn't say what the company is. most companies are in fact international. they're owned by people from all over the world. this ships bill starts to move in the right direction. it gives us a chance to have a regulated industry where we can said how much they're going to give us the consumers the -- did not have to pay for everything at the highest prices. it also to a certain extent says manufacturing here are, don't manufacture offshore. you can manufacture offshore is cheaper. unless we razor tariffs and we if we reserve tariffs, china or other country the world will be the same thing. >> okay, bill. comment? >> bill, i totally get the point about the companies,

whether the japanese or whatever. i will say this. there are a lot of global companies that do of manufacturing operations in the united states. they've set up here for a variety of reasons. some of it is tariff avoidance summits. because we have the largest consumer market in the world. where five-person of the world's population. by about almost 20% the world stuff. it's a really good place to be if you want to sell into this market. again, i also agree i think we're getting to this point that there needs to be somewhat corporate accountability here. the chips act as provided that. you're not gonna get troops money for a factory that's overseas. there has to be in the united states and what those jobs to be good jobs. so that you are creating some value and some ripple effects throughout the communities in which these are located. i think that's a good positive step in the right direction. just tie a knot, i know the

prior caller was from lafayette, indiana. i'm a hoosier so i love the seat of indiana. i think it's awesome. i would never believed the million years that there be a semiconductor factory coming to west lafayette indiana. by god, there is. thanks to the chips act. >> let's go to falls church, virginia. doug is a republican. hey, doug. >> hey there. thanks for taking my call. i'm a big fan of c-span. obviously, manufacturing is so important for the health of the economy but also making sure we are not shipping jobs road. also, god forbid, if we get a military conflict, having that manufacturing capacity will be really important. all the calls you are taking show the concerted effort on both sides for people to purchase made in u.s. goods. i don't know the requirement that if you buy the physical good the it has to say where it's made on the box. but if it's online, that's not the case. most people who go through

amazon, it's really difficult to find where it is made or to avoid goods made in china. another top at some point around china to make that a requirement. does your guest have any thoughts on whether that would be effective in why that would have failed previously? >> what do you think? >> doug, that's a great question, there is a legislative solution to this. i know that senator tammy baldwin from wisconsin was one of the sponsors of this. it was called the country and have online labeling act. you are absolutely right. you buy something on amazon, target, alibaba, wherever, there is no requirement they tell you where that progress's is made right now. even though a physical marking, as you indicated, is required for everything from clothing to automobiles, if you are making the online purchase, you might

not find out where that product is made until you actually get that product into your hands. senator baldwin's bill, and it's bipartisan, would change that. it almost made it in to the chip act last, year one of the things that got tossed out at the last minute. i'm optimistic, particularly with this focus on the value of american factoring -- there will be an opportunity to get it done this year and you can contact your own -- let it know it's important. you >> -- independent, hi robin. >> thank you so much for taking my call. hello, mr. paul. i really appreciate it. your testimony during the -- i thought your perspective was really -- i order a lot of things online. i don't, i'm not able to be out in public to do things.

but i don't know, oftentimes, where those things are coming from. i'm kind of -- as i watch these meetings, we are in this game of chess and the only reason the -- this trade with china has become a big source of contention is because they are allied with russia, iran, enemies, basically, of the state. i feel it's been a long time coming. previously, there was a dozen 0.5 billion dollar debt to china mentioned. i'm wondering, how much are they pulling on -- and what you think we can really do within this administration's time and perhaps the next two put

ourselves in a better position on the board? >> all right, robin. >> robin, that's a great question. one of the things it's important to know about this in the select committee that was formed is it doesn't have any legislating authority. it can make recommendations, it will do a lot of investigations, discovery hearings, bring issues into more of a spotlight, as it has tried to do over the last week. there will be a lot more of that as well. it's ultimately going to be up to other committees in congress to get legislation across the finish line. that is what i'm very concerned about. that's where entrenched interests can get in there and make stops. a lot of companies are perfectly fine with the status quo, making a lot of money with shareholders, a whole lot else that is suffering. i will say though that, again, we've seen both republicans, the last administration with

tariffs in particular, the biden administration with restrictions on semiconductor technology with domestic investments and maintaining those tariffs, which he did not have to do but it chose to do. i think we are seeing a positive trend to wear a lot of this is happening. >> alexander is in brooklyn, new york. alexander, you are a government manufacturer? >> i think that was stated wrong, but i may garment manufacturer. >> oh, garment manufacturer. >> it brings the point of government contracts, it's an interesting conversation. i actually was one of many manufacturers here during the pandemic, the clothing manufacturing sector we, provided ppe for the government. through the pandemic, it was evident that government manufacturing could come back if we were given the opportunity. once the pandemic was over, not

over but ppe wasn't needed, the government just went back to manufacturing in china and tried getting different kinds of contracts. we were always outbid by people that were manufacturing in china. what i will just say is this, and i know time is short, as far as our industry goes, the united states has a huge capability of manufacturing cotton goods. cotton is just all out to the south, you have tons of mills. what they will do is actually make the yarn here, bring it over to latin america, make t-shirts there, and then bring them back to the united states. a billion dollar industry and we only make 2% of it here. i just want to know -- i understand there is investments. >> go ahead, scott. >> alexander brings up a good

point. first of all, there were a lot of domestic manufacturers, particularly in garments and textiles, that stepped up to make ppe when we cannot get access to it. it really literally was a life saver for a lot of people and i agree that it was wrong for both the government and also for the purchasing organizations, the middlemen that supply the medical industry, to lean back on china again. we have got to, i think that needs to be reversed, there needs to be tariffs reimposed on the chinese ppe and we need to reassure that. but yes. one thing i learned from that garments and textiles is you have the intent to make it in the united states, it is possible to do that. it is not wide scale right now. a lot of obstacles stand in the way. i think a brand like american giant that has made --

from start to finish dusts off in the united states has been wildly successful. there is clearly a market for it but it takes that intent, that investment, and overcoming a lot of obstacles. >> scott, the fed has been raising interest rates. has that had an impact on manufacturing? >> it has, me. it has made things more difficult. manufacturing has been doing well in spite of it. it could be really booming were not for the fed and the fed's actions, i think, have an impact on manufacturing in a number of different ways. first, interest rates tend to reduce demand for people buying products. whether they are taking out a loan for an automobile, a new house, construction materials, all that is manufactured. that has a ripple effect as well. the second way it impacts manufacturing is when you are raising interest rates, you are also raising demand for the dollar because the treasuries, everything, looks more

attractive. interest rates are better. that attracts a lot of foreign investment in the dollar as well. the net result of that is that the value of the dollar increases. it makes our exports more expensive going overseas, it makes imports coming into the united states cheaper for american consumers, which some people like, of course. but this is hard for american manufacturing. we've seen our export performance kind of lag because of the overly strong dollar right now. >> the fed chairman, jerome powell, will be testifying in front of the senate banking housing and urban affairs committee. that's coming up today at 10 am eastern. right after this program over on c-span 3. you can watch it on c-span now, our free mobile video app, or online at c-span.org. let's talk to c-span -- democrat, hi steven. >> good morning.

thank you for taking my call. all i can say right now, i've been watching so many -- in america. i think what is happening is no one is watching the -- all the gets. environmental change is happening in the world. stuff is wearing out quicker because it's metal to metal on steel. like everything, it gets harder to lubricate something if you are not tracking the railroad stock. you need bar codes at all the rail cars, tracking them, they are wear and tear, and what's happening. bar code readers are all over the country in supermarkets and stores. like everything, you don't lie, you don't cheat, and you don't steal, and you do things according to the rules of the next door neighbor rule. what your next door neighbor to see what's happening. this country needs to feel the same way about itself. good neighbors have good fences, but they are aware of what's happening in their

neighborhood. >> last comment, scott? >> stephen, you make a good point here. the freight rail industry would be well-served by investing in both the rolling stock that the carr harris and making sure our freight rail infrastructure is safe, secure, modern as well, and i think that's going to be very important from our perspective as we move forward. >> all right, president of the alliance for american manufacturing, scott paul, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. thank you to your viewers as well. >> next on washington journal, it's the foundation for defensive democracies -- he discusses a new report that shows iran is in the advanced stages of building a nuclear weapon. stay with us.

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russia's invasion of ukraine, bringing you the latest from the president and other white house officials, the pentagon, and the state department, as well as congress. we also have international perspectives from the united nations and statements from foreign leaders. all on the c-span networks. the c-span now free mobile app and c-span.org slash ukraine. i wear web resource page where you can watch the latest videos live or on demand, and follow tweets from journalists on the ground. go to c-span.org slash ukraine. >> washington journal continues. >> welcome back to washington journal, my guest is behnam ben taleblu, a senior fellow at the foundation for defense for democracies, welcome to the program. >> thank you so much. >> let's talk about the foundation is, your mission, and who funds you. >> it's a 501(c) (3) nonprofit nonpartisan organization, we

probably thinking a think tank, a research center activity c now for about two decades. founded after 9/11, the terrorist attacks of 9/11, it had a middle east national security terrorism focused. in the ensuing two decades, it went on to cover a host of other issues. iran, china, russia, north korea. basically the who's who of the adversaries of america. not taking any foreign government funding. >> i want to start, we will be talking about iran's nuclear program. defense undersecretary under -- he said something about iran's ability to make a nuclear bomb. here he is. >> iran's nuclear progress, we left the -- has been remarkable. back in 2018, when the previous administration decided to leave that -- it would've taken iran about 12 months to produce one missile,

one bombs worth of fissile material, which they can do in 12 days now. i think there is still the view that if you can resolve this issue diplomatically and put constraints back on their nuclear program, it is better than the other options, but right now the juicy pla is on ice because there was an arrangement on the table last summer that the iranians are not going to take and iran's behavior has changed since then, not the least of which their support for russia and ukraine, the subject of the conversation here today. i don't think we are on the precipice of reentering the jcpoa. >> a couple things there, behnam. first was 12 days. was that surprising to? you >> know. the regime has steadily eroded that when you break on a timeline -- and it made qualitative nuclear advances starting right around the time of the biden administration was inaugurated.

you had the regime do several things to speed this up. drop the clock all the way down from several months to about two weeks, as you mentioned. and they installed more advanced centrifuges, machines that don't break as much. they installed -- it's actually quite critical for the sneak out program, not a massive break out kind of program. the regime has been enriching not just to 20%, which it lasted pre-nuclear deal. it did not in january 2021, april 2021 to 60%, a very important subject of discussion is the regime that started with 84%, their highest enrichment reported rate ever. that was detected by the iaea -- decided to amass 84% entering the regime is increasingly comfortable taking these risks. the one area i would take umbrage is where doctor call was dividing the nuclear timeline, the main -- leave the nuclear deal. yes, it is true iran has broken

the barriers imposed on the program founded with that deal, but lest we forget, even prior to that deal, the regime had accumulated anywhere from 7 to 9 bombs worth of low enriched uranium on its own territory. the idea that this is uncharted water and that the clock has to be may 8th, 2018 withdrawal is a misunderstanding of the program. i'm glad that -- i'm not on the precipice of reentering that deal precisely because iran feel so comfortable escalation today, it is happy with the pulled punches of the biden administration. it is breaking through newer barriers. it's not the biden administration's fault. it's not the -- the former president's fault, the reason we have -- is because of iran. >> the undersecretary had said it was a mistake for the trump administration to pull out of the iran nuclear deal. do you agree with that? >> i think style has a substance of its own, many of us learned that the hard way

during the four years of the trump administration. looking back on, it i think we cannot have a holistic policy that is aimed at constraining the missile program, the drone program, and doing something much more credible on human rights, while granting the regimes apparatus of domestic repression and foreign aggression, massive sanctions released. those two things don't square with me. what i have liked to leave the deal in a different way? yes. it was the transatlantic road between america and its european partners necessary in 2018, 2019? yes. good things have been done very differently? yes. the fact is they weren't, and the entire time from 2018 to present, across administrations, iran has not -- it is fighting, contesting the united states of america. to start and stop these stopwatches on different administrations, again, it's a misunderstanding of iran's goals, it is not going to spite one another, it is trying to spite the united states. >> i will remind our viewers, if you would like to call him

and ask a question or make a comment, you can do that on our lines by party affiliation. democrats -- republicans -- independents -- the undersecretary also said that some deal with iran would be better than no deal because it would put constraints on them. even though it is not likely that we will have any deal with iran currently, do you agree with that? >> and when he run is increasingly comfortable giving drones to russia to use against civilian targets in ukraine evolving its ballistic missile program to never before seen levels of accuracy and range, increasingly repressing its own people for five plus months now, in particular iranian women and girls have been leading nationwide anti regime progress. -- i don't think we should be in the business of throwing this regime a lifeline. philosophically, should you

have diplomacy on the table? you should have all options on the table. my qualm with the way the biden administration approach this is because of the unfortunate type of partisan politics in the nuclear deal. it was very clear to america's adversaries, not just iran, but russia, china, north korea, where the administration wanted to take a different tack from its predecessor. that created the space for the kind of gains iran has made around its nuclear program. philosophically, some constraints might be better. but what we try to wait for those constraints is where i would take umbrage. i would love to see those who want some constraints but meat on the bone, who exactly, iran, are you going to greet sanctions and relief to? what kind of behavior chance -- has the central bank of iran stopped funding terrorism? -- a terrorist organization. has the regime ceased to use major oil and petrochemical sales to fund its regional destabilization? if you can answer me those and tell me those entities deserve sanctions relief, we can have a conversation about -- >> iran itself doesn't even

want to come to the table? as of last summer. >> that's a whole new ball game. whether we have a debate or deal or no deal, some, deal bad deal, no deal, the cabal of men at the helm in toronto right now are ultra hard-line. the regime has consolidated. what you see now with the current president, the new national security elite, as well as the direction -- who has been in the middle east's longest serving autocrat now. he is quite content in setting up these ultra hard-liners for a new generation of these omicron public after he passes. lest we forget he is 84 years old. he's had this job for three plus decades. he seems to be in no mood for a compromise. he has an assessment, a sticky reputation willis estimate that the u.s. is on the way out of the region, that the u.s. has a best strength to organize a coalition against iran, because america cannot do it itself. it will take a lot for us to change this impression. again, it is sticky in his mind. it is reinforced by a whole

variety of things. not responding to the 83 beirut terrorist attacks, not responding to the 96 tower terrorist attacks, the way the u.s. left iraq, the way the u.s. left iraq and afghanistan -- former president obama used to say assad -- islamic respond look basically sacrificed everything alongside -- to keep assad there. the regime has an impression that america is not the super power it once was. these guys are increasingly comfortable with escalation. it means and that even if we pull our functions or we do engage in restraint policy, which doctor paul or his proponents maybe for, that is a fundamental misreading of where the adversary is today, one has to only go back to what former secretary of defense madison used to say, which is the enemy gets a vote, and i think it's high time we understand the nature, the intentions of this enemy. >> i want to ask you about ballistic missile capability in iran. you wrote a report about it. it's not just the missile itself. you've got to be able to carry that missile to a target.

where is iran right now in that capability? >> thank you very much for mentioning that it was a three plus-year neighbor of love. i have been with fdd for literally a decade as of last month. eight of those ten years have tried to cover this one threat. the reason is that for more than a decade different u.s. directors of national intelligence have said that iran has the largest ballistic missile arsenal in the middle east. that is more than turkey, u.s. ally israel, more than u.s. ally saudi arabia. that should be particularly worrisome given the consolation of bases we have their. the regime has gone this past decade from seeing those bases as a threat as seeing those bases as an opportunity for potential attack. if you remember after the u.s. struck iran's chief terrorist in january 2020, in the islamic responded with a 16, short range -- to bases housing americans. we nonresponsive the regime sensed from the trump administration even then has emboldened them to go even

further on their missile program. their missile program is so precise now that the russians reportedly are interested in some kind of a missile deal with the iranians. i think that should really worry the europeans, given how comfortable the regime is proliferating drones, but the missile program is making qualitative advances. we have the quantitative advantage, now they are layering on a qualitative advantage. things like maneuverability, survive village, range, precision, these are all changing vectors of the iranian ballistic missiles threat. it's in the hands of their proxies. yemen, for instance, which iran co-opted and is now a full-time proxy of the islamic republic, they now have medium-range missile capabilities. for the first time ever, it's documented in the report, rather than the capability going from a patron to a proxy, from iran to the houthis, we are now seeing reversed proliferation, where iran tests a whole new system in yemen in a foreign dealer once it has proven its battlefield effectiveness, and then moves

that and we labels it as a whole new weapon in the arsenal of the patrons. rather than patrons a proxy war going proxy to patron. this is an evolving game if you are trying to stop the iranian proliferation problem. >> any direct threat to the u.s. mainland? >> the regime actually has a self-imposed political cap. it's not a technical, cap is a political cap on its ballistic missile range, about 2000 plus kilometers. currently from western iran, hypothetically, they could strike southern europe, all of turkey, bulgaria, parts of romania, parts of ukraine, things like that. they do have a space launch vehicle program and countries like india and the past have used a space launch vehicle technology to move towards a potential icbm capability. they have both liquid propellant and solid propellant systems which give you different levels of maneuverability and reliability. ideal for an iranian weapon would be a solid proponent system. that program, unfortunately, is

in the hands of the islamic revolutionary guard corps. that same entity driving the nuclear program the drone program domestic production, also driving this range threat and routinely irgc officials talk about changing this range cap they have, saying it's not permanent. they have made leaps and bounds and strides in this program last year. when the whole world was infatuated with running drones, i read an article in 2022 talking about changes to the new motors the regime had. the regimes of ultra hard-line outlets called these motors basically a pathway towards an iranian icbm. they are increasingly comfortable flirting with this capability, and unlike what we did with the north korean threat, the u.s. was too late to, respond we should get out ahead of this threat. >> aside from just the drones, talk about the growing alliance with russia and iran's support for the -- >> we will leave this not to take you live to a hearing on the impact of crypto asset

mining, including the environmental impact. the strain on the electrical grid, and noise pollution affecting surrounding communities. hosted by a senate environment and public works subcommittee, we are watching live coverage on c-span 3.