the health-care law and the debate over the federal budget. the effects the current budget debate could have on future political campaigns. our guest is josh kraushaar. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] host: good morning, this is forhington journal" september 24. the president heads to the united nations today to deliver a speech expected to address specific international concerns such as syria, iran, and the middle east and you can see it on c-span at 10:00 today. with the speech as background, several stories in the paper this morning, we want to give your opinion on the role of the united nations, especially as it plays out in international affairs. you can get your thoughts on the role of the u.n., especially in light of the president's speech

today, in one of three lines this morning -- host: you can talk to us on one of our social media avenues as well. -- we have about 50 respondents on the facebook page. and you can also reach out to us @www.c-il j,ournal span.org. many of the stories reflecting specific issues on the president's beach. at the goal. look the president's diplomacy at the u.n. meeting you."

host: to give us a little more context of the president's speech today, joining us on the phone is jeff mason who covers the white house for reuters. tell us a little bit -- you may have heard headline -- but as far as specifics, what is the president expected to say when he addresses the u.n. today? guest: the white house has not really leaked anything from the speech yet but he is very likely to go to the topics you just mentioned, very closely. obviously everyone is eager to hear what he has to day -- say , in terms of the

threat of u.s. strikes and the diplomatic solutions that was agreed to with russia. everyone wants to see where he is going from there. whether he needs to push for the threat of military strikes, which he probably will. middle east peace is a big chunk of what he hopes will be his legacy when he leaves the white house than three years. so, he is looking for some progress and he is looking for momentum. iran, theirnd with speculation he will meet with president rouhani while they are both in town. if we get a taste of that in the speech, that will be interesting as well, because the two men could run into each other later in the day in a u.n. session. >> has the white house itself -- host: has the white house itself played up the importance

of the speech in particular compared to past speeches? guest: i don't think they played it up but just the context of where we are, based on what is going on in the middle east, what is going on with syria, what has been going on with iran . it raises the stakes -- as the headline -- it will be a lot more scrutiny. it is true a lot of times the u.s. president will come and speak at the general assembly and, sure, people pay attention because it is the u.s. president but it just does not come in the same context as residential speeches today. host: several stories in the paper specifically looking at iran. will some kind of dialogue take place between president obama and iran's president rouhani? guest: still unclear. the white house has left the door open for possible contact but they have taken pains to say

, for diplomacy like this to happen between two top leaders of the two governments, the iranian government has to take action and show it is series about adjusting the u.s. and western concerns about its nuclear program. it is really difficult to say whether or not there will be some kind of encounter. if there is, it is unlikely to be a meeting, unlikely to be a sitdown bilateral meeting between the two men. it is more likely to be something like a handshake or a on the sidelines. host: has the white house given any indication that the behind- the-scenes meeting will take place with the president's key advisers with these countries we talked about this morning? yes, and they have indicated there have been meetings going on already. both sides announced there will be a meeting between the two one, close one -- plus which are the members of the un security council, plus germany,

with the iranians later in the week. that is a high-level meeting, including secretary of state john kerry. that is the first meeting at that kind of a level and many, many nearest between a u.s. a leader and iranian leader. so, there have been lower-level talks or encounters. and it is going to be sort of pushed the to at least the secretary of state level later this week, if not the presidential level today. the: jeff mason who covers white house for reuters talking about the president's address to the united nations today. thank you for your time. guest: my pleasure. host: again, we will read through some stories looking up the specifics jeff mason highlighted, but if you want to talk to us about your opinion of the united nations and its role in international affairs. here is how to do so --

host: twitter is available to you and facebook is available to you as well as e-mail. pat coming from carnegie, pennsylvania. caller: how are you doing? host: i am doing well. how are you? caller: it is kind of chilly here in pennsylvania but i kind of like it. the reason i am calling is to give a more realistic respect to -- as to what the iranians are looking to achieve. because, when you look at the state of israel, which is basically in control of the united states, there is absolutely no way whatsoever that the israeli government is going to allow for any type of peaceful resolution with the iranian issue. our actions with the state of israel have become so demonstrative, they are in such control of our country and they are doing everything possible to ensure that there is going to be a military confrontation.

and i guarantee you that the american people are not going to support this. host: you started with specifics -- talk about the larger role of the u.n. and what it plays in international affairs? caller: look at how the united states and israel are being isolated. the united states and the date of israel are now singular actors in the global environment and the world is turning on the united states with the fact that israel is not in complete control of our country. our nation being isolated like it has never been in our history. host: pat from pennsylvania. milton from vineland, new jersey. democrats like. caller: you know, this nice gentleman from pennsylvania -- by the way, good morning -- the kind of took a little bit of my fun there. because i agree with him in certain ways now. i don't have a real radical views for the most hard, but i think a lot of what he says makes a great deal of sense.

of thet is the role united nations in the world and how does it work with united states? we are going to be independent and make our decisions regardless. for example, the prime minister -- if you call them the prime minister of it around, rouhani, because we do not study their history and don't follow their political views on a daily basis -- like, i never heard of this guy until he came on the scene and is the prime minister. i am sure the people in iran would say, milton, you are quite silly, you don't follow our politics. you don't know this nice gentleman has been around 20 years doing all this great stuff. to me he is an anomaly, coming out of nowhere. let me tell you something, take this word like obamacare and canadian -- who is the canadian born guy who had dual just recently,il ted cruz. mr. canadian. five years ago, you never heard of him.

all of a sudden he is like on the scene with enough power to decide what our national politics and can approach our reelected president told to toe on a grand scale. the: those issues about funding of the government, especially when it comes to the health care law, will take place with two legislators on our program. the first 45 minutes, we're taking a look at the president speech which you can see on c- span just after 10:00. we want to get your thoughts on the u.n.'s role in international affairs. host: robert lambert off of twitter this morning added this -- what comes to mind when i think about the u.n., a useless waste of time and money. some of the specifics played out in the speech, especially when it comes to u.s. relations. here is "the washington post"

up.write eight reasons, but number six is russia's dilemma. he says -- host: the president is reportedly expected to address the area when it comes to speech state -- today. mark is from melbourne, florida. republican my. i'll ago how are you doing, pedro? host: fine, go ahead. has a: i think the u.n.

limited role in international affairs. --n it comes down to what, down to it, military force is more prevalent. look at what happened in syria. they decided to give up their chemical weapons when we threaten them with a naval bombardment. that is my feeling. how: when you say limited, limited is their role, do you think? negotiate.y you sit down and negotiate across the table, but the u.n. doesn't have any army behind it or a navy. it is fairly limited. world whatmes in a it comes down to is who has the bigger stick. is melbourne, florida. washington, d.c., franklin am a democrat line. caller: thank you for c-span and thank you for taking my call. i think the u.n.'s role should be more clearly defined, whatever it is. the u.s. needs to step down and

concentrate more domestically and less internationally. that is why we have a u.n.. these people at the u.n., they get these nice assignments to come from all over the world. they end up at this institution, but when it comes to deliverance, they don't. so i think they truly need to step up to the plate and get more involved in foreign affairs . we can clearly understand what the rollers, especially when we have crises in the world. , a viewer atitter this --adds this -- host: one of the ways you can reach out this morning off of our twitter page. the president's speech at the u n general assembly will take place lot just after 10:00, and:10 specifically today, you can watch it on c-span and then catch it later on our www.c-span.org or our speed --

and our c-span video library. from st. louis, missouri. democrat line. watching your program this morning about the united nations and the general assembly, which i think is very important. what i thing happens at times, we as americans have a tendency to look at things just from one side of the picture. you take this problem with celia right now. why can't we understand that if we are the allies of israel in the middle east and we are vetoing every resolution passed why can'tted nations, women stay with russia as an -- why can't we understand with the russia as an ally to syria, they have the same option. if we interfere on the side of israel in the middle east and russia is on the side of syria, we both are doing the same thing.

i think the united nations is important, but it all depends on whether we want to be one sided on the middle east. put together a poll taking a look at the u.n., especially if it is needed and if it is effective. here are the results that they said. this is a from march of this year. view, does ther united nations play a necessary role in the world today or not? those responding yes, 66%. those responding no, 29%. as of 2013. back in 2005 when the question was asked, the margins about the same, 64% saying it does play a role today, 34% not. but then if you go back to the mid-1990s -- or the late 1990s actually, 85% responded saying it was important, yes, 11%

saying it did not serve a role in the world today. that is by gallup. asking is dee, we're about your opinion of the united nations in international affairs. go ahead. caller: yes. want to comment -- hello? host: go ahead. caller: i want to comment about the u.n. today. first of all, i agree with the former caller about what he said about israel and peace between and the israelis and things. i think it is good that president obama is willing to talk to iran or any country who want to, you know, become allies or make peace. 2008se the campaign in saying that he would have a

or anyation with iran country that wanted to make peace and get rid of chemical weapons, etc., and things. so, i think it is good. if he would have a conversation today on's leaders that, he is only doing what he campaigned on in 2008. host: what do you think the end result would be of discussions, should they take place? result?the end i think if the president of iran is a serious, the end result would be they get rid of their chemical weapons program and let the u.n. come back into their country. host: that is the from indianapolis, indiana. ynn off of twitter says -- i

would like to see more discussion and more information on the united nations. not enough people understand it's intentional -- intention. "the wall street journal" talk about iran like the caller did -- host: you can reach out to us on facebook if you want, the question about the u.n. role in international affairs. we posted it, and about 50 people when we started had some response to it. here are a couple --

host: again, a couple of thoughts that you can make on facebook as well. hefacebook, on twitter as heard about, and also on the phone lines that are on this green, they all start with a 202 area code -- host: from "the washington times" commentary section, to theu.s. ambassador u.n. john bolton, under the bush administration, has an op ed. he is saying --

host: again, the fault of john bolton, former ambassador to the united nations. lancaster, pennsylvania. good morning, honor democrats want. we are asking people about the

opinion -- the opinion of the role of the u.n. in international affairs. are going to have to stop listening to the tv and just talk on the phone. israel serves as a peacekeeping country in the middle east. and -- host: what do you think about the role of the larger u.n., what role does it play? , please, go ahead and talk and stop listening to your tv. caller: it is a peacekeeping country and i think the united states, it is a good thing the united states is also helping i -- i think if we did not have israel there, it will be a farmer dangerous area amenities. host: jason is up next, , florida.s

caller: i think we should follow the u.n.'s lead on this, because they are the ones who are supposed to be in charge of all of that off. that stuff. and we are trying to get in charge of too many things without the international community backing us. host: such as? well, we got into all sorts of wars without -- i can't really say all sorts of wars, but we have done a lot of without thel things international community backing us, and i don't think we should be doing that because a lot of ist we depend on international trust in the and if we abuse that trust, we will not be in a good place. you are saying let the united nations take the lead in

some of the international roles and take what they do and follow its example? yeah, and it would be really nice if they wanted us to do something, if they help fund us to do it so we did not have to pay the bill for everything. what i wasically saying. host: that was jason from florida joining us from the independent line. again, your opinion of the u.n. role on international affairs. next, new york, republican line. the beginning of the united nations was set up between roosevelt and churchill and the name united nations was used because of the allies working together. to so manyd it problems. they just couldn't figure out where to put the darn building. rockefeller donates millions of dollars. been a democrat sponsored program from day one. when we got into korea, the

united nations caused so much of our problems. when we got into korea, the american troops, which were most of the united nations troops, and that time were underneath a russian leader who was the president of the united nations. it just goes on and on and on. now today with the united nations, the united nations is not solving anything. talkingeople coming and and doing nothing and nobody listening. nobody does anything. that is my statement. host: as i am hearing you, no role that it plays currently in international affairs? caller: i think the united should be abandoned in the building turned into expensive condominiums. host: do you think it is -- with iran and syria and all the things common to the forefront? caller: nothing will change. absolutely nothing. they are just -- all it is is called a tactic -- stall tactics

for companies who need time to do what they are working on. host: a viewer says -- from new york, independent line. your opinion of the u.n. role in international affairs. caller: good morning. i think the president appearing today and i think discussions in general are were -- are very, very important. whether we are talking about a community or nations. if we don't need to each other, then we become isolationist, and i don't think it is a good position for our country or any country to be in. i think a sample would be when finallyian president one in and began to work negotiations to start the process to give up weapons. that is better than going to war.

veteran, when we don't talk to each other and we act unilaterally to do what we think is right, we put ourselves in the present of other not cooperating and it comes out economically as well as -- so i think what the president is doing is right and i think we need to do it more, whether we are republican or democrat or independent. because we can't be in ireland all by ourselves. >host: the thing people will pay more attention to this speech than others. because of a ran in syria? caller: you can bring a horse to water but you can't make the horse drink. but i think if you don't try, nothing ever happens. world sociologically -- we tend not to listen when people start to say something. tend not to listen when people start to say something we basically don't agree with. all nations, to some degree.

so i hope our leaders in the world are smart enough to sit back and listen to what is said and then make the dissemination -- determination best for our country in the world. we will be sure, addressing the budget issues that will be taking place, specifically in the senate, a test vote on the budget am a which you heard about, along with the health-care law. it is set for wednesday. a story in "the hill" from alexander bolton is he a little bit about what is going on time the scenes. host: it goes on to say --

host: that is in "the hill" today. continuing on our topic, your opinion of the u.n. role on international affairs, saying, off of twitter -- host: you can get felt up of twitter, facebook, and on the phone as well. joe from connecticut, republican line. caller: how are you doing today? those who still believe the united nations is a human rights organizations with the best of intentions are kidding themselves. the u.n. does not stop violence, murder, or genocide.

it catalogs, documented, and it and when the higher rages out of asked for the united states to help. the u.n.'s driving mission is to accumulate power and sovereignty of individual nations and fundamental individual rights. to prove it, just look at the gun ban treaty. that's about all i got to say. host: new york is next. , democrat line. caller: how are you? good morning. i am supplies connecticut is so pessimistic. it seems to go with a scene. thehat seems to go with theme. people are not aware of the process at the u.n.. it is not just the united states , all countries are talking. we cannot isolate ourselves or remove ourselves from a discussion and allow the world to destroy itself. that is the point. ,here is a discussion going on

so just out of practicality we can't -- for every thought going on. someone does not stop from being a desperate or a dictator. that is not the role. what i can assure everyone that they are constantly working in the background beyond your personal pessimism and beyond some of the crises we feel are started, for example, by dictators that the u.n. should control. they don't have control. they are a response organization. host: one of the things in the background that people may not understand, can you give an example for people to latch onto? caller: certainly. the discussions over syria and russia, all countries are talking about it. they don't wait for an event to come into view and then i am sure in the background those discussions are going on in terms of monitoring, for example, the sarin gas attack, where it originated and organizing that administratively, and the

logistics of getting paid -- people in there, protecting those people. there are u.n. forces from all forces who are giving their lives. what are these people talking about? do they think they were politicians doing that? they volunteer. from various countries, they have been killed and sacrificed their lives. for famine and vaccinations and all of these things that some listeners i am hearing find teddy. .- petty but the theme i am hearing is the personal pessimism of how they see their lives on the world and the projected to the entire world. this is the world. we all have to live here. from new york. "the washington times" takes a look at the latest over at the irs. the lerner, the person at center of the irs tea party scandal retired after an internal investigation found he .as guilty of neglecting duties her departure marks the first

government official to pay a significant price in the scandal. the republicans were quick to say the decision does not put the matter to rest, pointing out she could still be called to testify before congress. the internal revenue service confirmed her retirement in a statement but said it cannot release any more information because of privacy concerns. ead story in the world briefing section of "the new york times" this morning talking about global spending to fight aids, saying it has remained essentially flat since the 2000 and eight financial crisis. --2008 financial crisis.

host: potomac, maryland, independent line. caller: thank you. so many countries achieve their sovereignty and independence through the united nations. if you think the u.n. is useless, you delegitimize all the countries. mosley is in the u.s. and the debate is going on in the u.s., and it is mostly because of the zionist lobby. there are resolutions against vacate the occupied areas, and just because the zionist lobby wants to ignore those resolutions, they have this debate in the united they take the role of

the united nations and those the picture.rom host: you can also contribute by e-mail if you want. this is george from colorado saying -- host: one of the ways you can reach out to us, later in the program, we will take a look at spending issues with two legislators joining us. it will take place starting at 7:45 this morning. the u.n.dent addresses general assembly today in new york city live on c-span just 0.ter 10:00, 10:1 george. fairview, west virginia. independent line. caller: thank you. basically if the united states

wants people, other nations, to listen what the u.n. has to say, the votes that they may, the sanctions they passed, or whether or not to perform some kind of action, then we have to go by it ourselves. we can't have times when we follow it, expect other people to follow it, but then we don't follow it ourselves. it should be an all or nothing kind of thing, you might opinion. and if you are the kind of person who says, well, the u.n. is a waste of time and you should not be involved in it, that is fine. we should get out and save the money. if we are going to be part of it, we need to be part of it 100% of the time. you can't have it both ways. you can't join in and have these nations telling other nations what to do but then when you want to do something and the other nations don't agree with you, you can't just not go along with the u.n.. think the u.n. can

add something to the current discussions taking place over syria and iran? of course. the u.n., i think -- again, if we are going to be part of it, we need to all of the roles and use it as a forum to invite the other nations in -- russia, syria, iran, china. they will all have that involvement. use that as a lead form to get everyone involved and have the discussion. otherwise, why keep paying the money we are paying the u.n. and not use it to the fullest possible effect? saying that decker to stay relevant the u.n. needs an overhaul of his organization and methods. on the phone lines as well, you can see on the screen, and you us onso reach out to

facebook. "the new york times" this morning. you heard our guest probably at the top of the program saying perhaps some type of interaction will take place between president obama and the president of iran. the white house, according to the diplomatic memo, says -- oh, this goes back to history. talking about fast -- past history with iran. host: it gives you a little bit of background as far as trying

to get discussions talking between the two countries. some papers reporting if some type of exchange takes place, it would be the first time in quite a bit for those types of discussions. adele from birmingham, alabama. democrats line. caller: yes? counsel,itude of decisions are made. nations can be counseled -- as to what is happening right now -- or individually. as i said, in a multitude of counsel and the decisions are made. host: what does it mean specifically about how the u.n. ?onducts its business it means the u.n. would oversee the nation's as a group.

host: patricia joining from illinois. independent line. i am overall supportive of the role of the u.n., however, i am concerned that the u.s. has exercised extraordinary control over the conduct and performance is of the u.n.. i don't think it is as impartial as it should be. u.n. isink the diplomacy, which is to use tomahawk and missile diplomacy. i really believe, though, wholeheartedly that it is time for the u.s. to withdraw internationally and to concede that the u.n. has a valuable role to play. --i alsonk that

think, as an aside, the u.s. should pay all its dues to the u.n., talking about financial dues. and i do believe the u.n. should be given a better opportunity to resolve conflict around the world. that is what it was intended to do, that is what woodrow wilson thought of in the wake of world war i when he started this idea. unfortunately the u.n. has been spoiled by u.s. interests. int: a follow-up story today's "new york times" taking a look at guantanamo pay. you might them ever a story stemming from a hunger strike taking place. the headline in the paper saying a hunger strike is largely over, according to the u.s.. charlie savage writing the story, giving some detail, saying --

host: the story goes on to say that the state department in june appointed a new envoy, cliff stone, to work on issues related to closing guantanamo. host: jerry from rhode island. the role of the u.n. in international affairs. good morning. caller: i think it does play a role in international affairs. on, but at least getting people from different countries and different cultures

together so that they can discuss their problems of the world events on a world stage. --t of my regulations regulations of the united nations when i was taking civics class a while ago, when it was the united states and russia. russia had the veto power. i am not sure if they still have the power. then you have the palestinian liberation organization, yasser arafat showed up with his weapons and everything else. at least we are getting different cultures together from , and we don't have so much of a narrowminded view in the united states of other cultures. is very important, both for the united states. i think we could go a lot

further studying international relations and understanding people from other parts of the world. if it does that, i think it is helpful to the world stage. comments offe of of facebook this morning. this is edwin christians saying -- host: there were about 50 respondents when we started this program, but you can continue on with the conversation if you wish on facebook. span.ook.com/c- and twitter is also available. and you can send an e-mail, too. the front page of "usa today" on the affordable care act. the front page by kelly kennedy --

host: one more call on the role

of the u.n. in international affairs. anthony from illinois. republican line. good morning. caller: good morning. how are you doing today? host: fine, thank you. caller: i follow the u.n. -- [inaudible] 19 60s, 1970s. is kindeel the policy like -- to ensure freedom in the world, to get things done. nk -- to take the u.n. out of the country because it don't stand for nothing. i remember israel had a war with , with these countries

rockets, and the u.n., germans, all nationalities. i think this country is ready for the u.n. no more, i think we should be more for nato. host: that is the last call we should take -- we will take on the topic. the president will speak at the united nations and you can see it live on c-span at numeral 10:10. we will continue a discussion on the affordable care act on the funding of the government. to guest joining us to talk about the topic. senator ron johnson, republican of wisconsin. taking a look at the senate side as they debate the cr legislation to avoid a shutdown. later on, virginia representative jim moran, democrat from virginia. as we continue to talk about potentially a government shutdown next week. this continues as "washington journal" comes back in just a minute. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

>> we wanted america to be better. we wanted america to live up to the declaration of independence. live up to our creed, make real our democracy, taken off of paper and make it real. so, when i got arrested the first time, i felt free. i felt liberated. and today, more than ever before, i feel free and liberated. rights leader and congressman john lewis from last year's national book festival. he will be our next guest on "in-depth" sunday, october 6, and he will take calls and comments live for three hours. also, november 3, biographer delete -- kitty kelly. january 5, radio talk show host in.k livev

and the book club continues this month with "this town." leave your comments on facebook and twitter. >> c-span online archives will redefine social buddies education in america. archives and clipping capability, they are treasures. it is easy. here's how. go to www.c-span.org and go to the video library to watch the newest video -- go to most recent, click what you want to watch and press play. you can also search of the video library for a specific topic or keyword. to find a person, just type in their name in search and go to people. go to their bio page and scroll down to their appearances. and you can also share what you are watching and make a clip button ore the set

handled tool, at a title and description and then click share and send by e-mail, facebook, twitter, and google plus. c-span video library -- searchable, easy, and free -- created by the cable tv industry and funded by your local cable and satellite provider. "> "washington journal continues. us senator ron johnson, republican of wisconsin, member of the budget committee, to talk about issues related to spending, government shutdown, and other related issues. welcome. guest: good morning, how are you doing? host: fine. do you think it can be avoided at this point? guest: don't want to play brinksmanship with the economy and there is no reason for one. heart of what americans are seeing is just the other dysfunction of the place. i come from the private sector. manufacturing. my background is accounting. it is hard to convey the dysfunction of washington, d.c. one thing i would like to point out to americans is what they

need to do is watch this very carefully and make sure they don't rely on the federal government to solve their problems, because the federal government was never intended and not designed and not capable of running the 23% of our economy that is in charge of not much less of 39% but on trajectory managing of about 30 years. hope americans are watching this very carefully and start realizing what we need to do this by devolving power away from this dysfunctional place and start bringing back -- which is really the constitutional framework, governing close to the government which is better than this alternate universe called washington. host: do you support the house bill as it stands? guest: every republican will like to see obama care repealed .r defund it -- defunded somehow we are going to have to work through this process. i never really understood the endgame of this particular strategy. i have done a lot of strategic planning in my lifetime.

withways starts acknowledging, trying to ascertain what reality is and what is the situation. unfortunately for republicans and conservatives, the reality is president obama won reelection, senator harry reid is in control of the senate and it is pretty hard to for senator harry reid to pass a bill that andunds --defund obamacare have president obama sign it. i think there are better strategies. certainly it is incumbent on republicans to show the american people what our ideas are for health care reform, but what we need to be doing is start painting the picture of what obamacare is really going to look like once it is fully implemented. i think what we are seeing right now is it is not going to be a very pretty picture. i think the best chance we have for preventing obamacare from taking firm or permanent root -- ithow i like to talk about -- is, as this thing does get rolled out, i think americans are going to be not particularly happy with the results. we are already seeing it.

president obama's big supporters and the unions are demanding this is change because they recognize it threatens the 40 hour work week and certainly not producing job growth and creation. so, across-the-board, the obamacare -- it will be a disaster for the health-care system, and let's face this -- and let's face it, our federal budget and freedom. host: what do you think about your colleague ted cruz? guest: again, i don't see how it ends in success. i like to recognize reality. i like to set achievable goals. i don't see defunding obamacare with harry reid in the senate and president obama in the white house is an achievable goal. i think a far more achievable goal just might be a one-year delay. let's face it, president obama personally acknowledged that obamacare is a train wreck and he delayed a number of provisions by executive order, and quite honestly, i don't think he -- i don't know if he has the legal authority to do those things.

working with the democratic colleagues potentially to delay it a year. this bill is not ready for prime time. if we utilize our levers of power properly we might convince them it is in their best interest to delay this a year, and then what we should do is take the next year, part of the 24 -- 2014 election and that a series of rotation about what we need to do to fix the health care system and run mandate,election as a eight, to finally repeal obamacare and, b, to institute the types of free-market reforms, the types of reforms that give consumers the choice and start limiting the rate of growth of costs instead of expanding it and produces a health care system that is better for most americans. host: senator mcconnell said he will not filibuster and other senators as well. are you in that camp? guest: it is based that depends on how it is presented to us. it is critical not to allow a to repeal obamacare.

what the defund group one at a vote in the senate to defund obamacare and to see passage of that bill, i think it will be very difficult to try to prevent from that standpoint. guest is here until numeral 8:30. host: if you want to send a spanwj or you can e- mail us. in theyou make it work senate? guest: the way i approach negotiations and businesses is you find -- figure out what you agree on. i think the house has had enough senators giving them advice. but if i were in control of the house what i would be thinking let's putg his

together -- and let's put together a cr that funds the vast majority of government, the things we all agree on. let's get it to the senate and have the senate passed the vast majority of funding for the federal government. if we want to have a little bit of a debate and discussion over obamacare, whether it is defunding, one-year delay, or how about rejection of the opium rolling giving congress and staff special treatment of those exchanges, we can do it -- a rejection of the opm ruling. but let's not talk about a massive shutdown of one third of the government, which is really what the part of the whole cr is about. what most people don't understand, two thirds of the federal government is already fully appropriated. it is mandatory spending. it will be spent regardless of what happened, whether we passed a cr or not. even discretionary spending would also be spent automatically because it would have to be national security or

there is part tied to mandatory funding. of the debatest about a government shutdown is really a debate about something that is far scarier than reality. host: ashburn, virginia. regina on the independent line. you are talking with senator ron johnson. republican. -- ler co- caller: my opinion actually change the view a few seconds ago. being someonern, who was laid off, my husband and taking such a significant cut in our finances and being offered health care just for myself is $482, and we have three children. so it is like we have to break, -- split the children up on different health-care plans and things like that. becauseotional for me our government is just crumbling. that is what it seems like, you

know? i just really hope you guys do something to help us. i know a few seconds ago -- i am sorry. depend one should not our government, but we pay you guys. we pay you guys to protect us. to just do what we need you guys to do. and i really think that if we -- going our hands back toward the u.n. stuff -- helping these other countries. american needs to help america right now. and if there are more republicans like you in the senate, i think that we could get it done. guest: regina, first of all, i appreciate your comments. i talk about what we all agree on. i really believe we all share the same goal. we want a prosperous america. i am concerned about every american. we all want every american to have an opportunity to build a good life for themselves and their family. we certainly have a wide diversity of opinions on how to achieve that kind of prosperity,

how do we provide those types of opportunities. i guess i am asking people to look at just the evidence of how washington d.c. is really not working particularly well. it is not working well right now. that is part of my message is let's take a look at how we can take control away from the federal government, take it back to the states, bring it back to our communities. i think that is probably a better approach and that is what i am talking about in terms of real health care reform, how do we bring more consumer choice more how do we get individuals more involved in their own health care as well as the payment of it? how do you create the structure so you allow the free-market competitive system to control costs rather than have washington d.c. start rationing care to control costs? host: john from miami, florida, democrats line. are you there? you are on, go ahead. caller: senator. wonder if you can answer this question for me. i am real curious, you keep

putting obamacare down when there is a president who is trying to help all the poor people. -- hard-ard working working people. you put obamacare down when it is the law, it was passed. it is the law. and yet the republicans are trying to kill this wonderful thing that obama is trying to do for us. and another thing, senator, can you tell me in detail what kind of insurance you have and who pays for it? if it is not the taxpayer? guest: first of all, john, what we are seeing is that obamacare was passed on a very partisan basis and even president obama's union backers are taking a look at this law and saying there are a lot of problems with this bill. it is just not ready for prime time. it is not going to work as advertised. president obama claimed if you like you health-care plan, you can keep it. well, it's not true. he says when you pass obama

care, the family -- family premier with declined by 2500 during the first term and it is actually up. there were a lot of broken beenses and promises not borne out. john, we are a compassionate society. compassionate society. how do design a social that for the people that need it that does not creep into the people that do not meet it and bankrupt our nation? our national debt is almost $17 trillion. if we hit a debt crisis, if interest rates spike -- if we go back to the 30-year average adds moreate, that than $600 billion a year to our interest payment. that is all we spend on defense and medicare.

it is not that i am not compassionate. i am incredibly concerned that this nation is going to bankrupt. reservehe world's currency. we can print money, but that will not go on forever. if we have a debt crisis, all of the spending people are relying .n will be put at risk i am trying to be fiscally avoid fiscalnd to calamity. host: bill bennett in "the wall street journal" says you have set aside money to supplement health care costs for your own staff. guest: i am a business guy. you have a budget, and you realize that does not have to take care benefits. most members of congress to not have a clue how much the benefits cost for the people they employ. i realize this was happening.

there was the clear intent of congress to make sure that members of congress and their staff purchase their insurance through the exchanges, and just loseother americans will benefits and have to access health care through exchanges. not allow the federal government to make payments into those exchanges amongst the qualify for subsidies based on their income. it was a clear intent. i recognize law as it is, so what i have done is not spent more than half of $1 million per year of my budget, first of all to be fiscally responsible, and also realizing that at some point in time this law would kick in and i would have to do something to help the people working for me pay for health care. i have run business for 31 years. i always make sure people had good health coverage. host: this headline says you

might sue over the car about, as it is known. -- carve out, as it is known. guest: i do not think that president has the legal authority to introduce this policy that will allow the federal government to make contributions to health care in the exchanges. there will be millions of americans that lose health care because of obamacare. when they lose health care and they have to buy through exchanges, the only subsidies they will get is what they get based on their income, except for the federal government and staff. that is the way the law is written. president obama has circumvented that. what i intend to do if that law is implemented -- i believe i will have legal standing to overturn that ruling. "the wall street journal" editorial says you're probably david bidder made -- colleague

david bidder made an effort to make sure members of congress live under it. traction -- why did that gain traction? are at ast members clip that. if you look at what was offered, in the end, it seems the clear intent was make members of congress or staff purchase health care to the exchange and not allow the federal government to make contributions. you either fall the lower change the law. host: tacoma, washington. this is nancy, the public in line. seek out -- republican line. caller: hello. i am retired military. i did not hear what you just said. i saw your mouth move.

host: go ahead with your question or comment, these. -- please. caller: hello, senator. i want you to get behind senator cruz. i do not care what he is saying or what he is doing, the get behind him for the american people. this is any legal law. it is not about health care. it is about insurance. oversight.e right to they cannot deny you for existing conditions and they children on their parents plan until the age of 26. that was regulating the insurance companies. then the democrat party decided to punish the american people,

decided to mandate -- you had to purchase something you did not want or did not need. then the supreme court changed the wording and made it a tax. now, i want you to get behind senator cruz and stand your ground. nancy, every republican is united in wanting to repeal, the fund and limit the damage of obamacare. the sad fact of the matter is president obama was reelected. voteroberts was the swing in saint obamacare was constitutional. i did not agree. -- saying obamacare was constitutional. i did not agree. need torvatives, we paint the picture of what obamacare will mean to our health care system. we have to have a super majority supported the american people to

have democrats start thinking repealing, or we'll need to win more elections. the better thing to do would be to win 2016. it is a political process. you have to inform, persuade, when the argument, and the sad fact is we do not have the super majority of americans putting pressure on washington to repeal the law. host: if you want all that to happen, what about senator c ruz's approach? guest: i do not see how that leads to successful defunding of the bill. you have to pass a bill through this senate that defense obamacare. some were misled that we supposedly have the power of the purse. purse. one-of the of the purse.

you have to pass along to the senate, which means harry reid has to cooperate, and we have to find five democratic senators, in about one month, six democratic senators would we lose the seat in new jersey -- we need to have those people join with republicans to repeal and defund obamacare. so far, not one democrat has broken ranks. i do not think that political dynamic has changed recently. host: senator harry reid took to the floor yesterday to talk about issues that will play out this week, specifically about house republicans, the influence of the tea party, and the president's health-care law. here is what he had to say. [video clip] republicanhe house bubble, they cheered a plan to deny health care.

outside there is a radical tea party plan to shut down government has been called the dumbest idea ever by one republican senator. canyon,een called a box a morass under which republicans unscathed.cape it is called a suicide note by another republican senator. the reviews are in, and they are universal -- the ransom required by house republicans you to government open is unworkable and unrealistic. host: senator johnson? guest: part of the big problem obamacare has is it was jammed through on a partisan basis. in 2010, when this law was there was not the coming together -- there was not

compromise. it was jammed through on a totally partisan basis. the american people have been totally divided on this ever since. it is really why i ran for reelection. it is really what produced the way the tea party candidates that won in 2010. there is frustration that john roberts, from our standpoint, ruled the wrong way. you have seen the frustration level play out here. what i would like to do is everyone take a look at the reality of the situation. i would like democrats to look at the fact that there union backers are realizing this law has many damaging factors. i would like republicans to recognize we did not win the election. harry reid is still in the senate. let's start informing the american public. in the end, this all goes back to the american people. what are they going to want? i think if republicans, if the

medical community -- if we start painting the picture -- doctors are really concerned about their ability to deliver quality health care. how do you do this? from a macroeconomic standpoint, obamacare promises to dramatically increase the demand for health care -- 30 million more americans getting health care that did not have it in the past -- that is not exactly true, but 30 more million while we reduce the supply. we are taking money out of medicare. that is reducing supply. that is not an economic prescription for reducing cost, but an economic prescription for rationing, lower quality care, and that is the picture conservatives need to paint to the american public so we can repeal this bill before it damages our health care system and the budget. host: on twitter -- why delay one year, why not fix the parts that are not working? guest: that might be the default

position. i think possibly we can convince democratic colleagues who realize this is not ready for prime time. president obama is delaying all parts of this bill. why don't we take a pause -- let's say it is not ready, let's wait a year. we'll give the bureaucracy more time. we can talk to democratic colleagues about the most powerful aspect. 79 medical device tax -- senators voted to repeal that during the budget process because they are starting to see when you tax medical device we have virtually stopped investing in new medical in themanufacturing united states. that is shipping jobs overseas. we need to be removing the most damaging aspect of obamacare, while certainly i would be arguing to repeal the whole thing. it would be difficult to piecemeal the whole thing.

it is a disaster. more than 20,000 pages of laws, rules and regulations, and they are only half done writing the law. three and a half years of implementing it, and they have only written half of it. that is a problem. host: clyde is on. caller: hello, senator ron johnson. i have a real he's about this -- about this insurance thing. i thought obama was going to fix health care, maybe somehow get hospitals and doctors not to years so much, but for and years insurance has been a real problem for everyone. staffctors have to get a just to fill out the forms for regular insurance. hospitals charge more. even in my industry -- i do heating and air-conditioning --

when insurance is up, you automatically charge more. -- now you have to have insurance for your pet. now it is going to be mandatory. i was not sure what mandatory was, what i know what it is now. it seems like we see "mandatory" all of the time. personally, years ago, my wife had to go to the hospital, and it was a $2000 bill. i have insurance for years. the doctor said we are only going to pay $900 because you have an accelerated deductible because you never use your insurance. so, i dropped it. i never felt that are. host: so, caller, your question or comment for the senator? caller: i am ranting and raving.

i am totally against obamacare. i do not think the government should be an insurance company and i'm hoping you can defund it or whatever the hell it takes to get rid of it. guest: part of the problem clyde is describing is the government's involvement that health care, as they do not pay it reimbursable rates that cover the cost of the hospital. care providers shift the cost to the private sector, which is one of the reasons why private insurance rates have skyrocketed. i am in manufacturing. you always go back to the root cause. and 1950, we started moving more to a third- party system. $.68 of the health care dollar was spent by the patient. now only $.12 is paid for by the patient. $.88 is paid for by somebody else.

so people do not even know what things cost, much less are concerned about what it is. theemoving the consumer of product out of the process, we have taken free-market discipline out of control in the cost. the two areas where government has gotten involved -- health care and education -- those are two areas of the economy where costs have skyrocketed in relation to the rest of inflation. i give my powerpoint in terms of the cost of college. the cost of college since the 1960's has increased at 2.4 times the rate of inflation. health care has similar outsize cost increases at the rate of inflation -- against the rate of inflation. difference, is the well, government involvement. we have poured money into education and we have enticed our children to it incurred $1

trillion of student loan debt. government involvement is always well-intentioned, but there are serious negative consequences because you cannot command the economy. the soviet union was not able to do it. is a basket case. how many people vacation to cuba? it does not work. host: herman. pittsburgh, pennsylvania. democrats line. caller: good morning. how are you doing. guest: very good. day this billthe was passed, republicans have been crying the blues. please, answer this question. if people reelected president is an electione between you and the democrats one, how do you want to change the system and repeal the bill

because you do not like it? that does not make sense. we have heard your story for over three or four years now. we know all of the negatives. why don't you start talking about the positives of the program. thank you. standpoint, the 2012 election was not run as a mandate to appeal obamacare. .t was shoved off to the side all of the promises president down made, rate coming $2500, they have gone up $2500, keeping your health care plan, you cannot. the to do the matter is cleverly, quite cynically, delayed implementation of the health- care law until after the election, and now he is delaying other bad parts of the bill until after the 2014 election.

i've seen polls where 40% of americans do not even realize obamacare is the law of the land. as we move toward implementation now, people are just now for the first time recognizing it was not quite as good as it was advertised. start seeing to the negative consequences of the health-care law. that is just a fact. from our standpoint, i am trying to be pretty even keel about this, as reasonable as possible in terms of looking at the facts, the damage that obamacare will cause to our health-care system. i am happy to reach out and work with democratic politics to certainly remove the most damaging aspect -- and that repealing the medical device tax so we can invest in medical device manufacturers again in america, but, again, it has to be a two-way street. i'm going to have those discussions. host: kelly. texas. for taking myyou

call. i would like to respond to something mr. johnson said earlier, that i believe republicans and conservatives need to clearly point out more of the actual damage. i have three specific things i would like to see constantly addressed, and the first thing is the huge increase in deductibles. we got a note from our health care provider that our deductibles would be raised to $10,000 per person, and that is $20,000. our premiums are going to go up over 300%. we are looking at $32,000 a year to keep the same kind of health insurance coverage we have now. the second huge thing was actually discussed today on another channel by the ceo of the mayo clinic, and it is a huge increase in out-of-pocket expenses because he said that many are now realizing that while you get a decrease in your opinion, your deductible, and

out-of-pocket expenses -- when you come to the mayo clinic, huge amounts of things that were covered in the past will now have to be paid out of pocket. main guerrilla in the room is what many people do not leave, the huge impact at the independent payment advisory board could have on senior citizens. sad state of a affairs when our country will be looking to just a few of pointed people who may or may not have anything to do in the medical field, and they will have control over every citizen in the world's care with the stroke of a pen. host: thank you. guest: we sign inkling of what the independent advisory board would look like. they looked at data showing that women under 50 probably should not get a mammogram because it will save a few lives but not enough to justify the cost.

that is a government unit making that call when i believe individuals ought to have the freedom to make that decision themselves. unfortunately, that is really the rationing board. that is their function. 15 unelected bureaucrats looking at health care. americans should not be utilizing that treatment. we'll make that decision. i think it is the wrong way to go. what has made the country great is a free market, competitive system, where you have millions of consumers making millions of individual consumer choices, determining what level of quality, level of service -- what kind of price you want to pay for whatever they buy. one thing i always try to point out is what a free market competitive system during keyes is the lowest possible cost, the highest level quality. it just does. i was in business.

data like competition? provided that it for my business. when you have $.88 of every dollar paid by someone else, we do not have the consumer connected anymore. host: what should be done about the debt ceiling? thet: first of all, anytime president of the united states comes to congress asking for the authority to increase the debt burden on our children and grandchildren, that ought to be a serious discussion. that ought to be a debate. when we are facing the types of deficits we are facing over the next 30 years -- we do not have a 10-year budget problem. we have a 30-year demographic problem. the baby boom generation. politicians from both parties have made promise after promise, but they did not make the provisions for paying for those promises. as part of my work for the white house -- with the white house,

we ran a rejection. we have always seen the hockey stick graphs. our most realistic number showed 30 year deficits of $107 trillion. it is primarily driven by medicare. three 6 trillion dollars in medicare, $11 trillion in social dirty 6 trillion dollars in medicare, 11 joined 36 trillion dollars in medicare, $11 trillion in social security. it starts with what we agree on. most people do not want to look at the numbers again they are big and scary, so instead, they talk about these problems with demagoguery. his ryan, whether you like proposal or not, it is a real proposal in terms of what we can do to save medicare for future

generations. the other side runs ads with paul ryan pushing granny off of a cliff. that does not help us get to a solution. s overlook at the solution 30 years. let's start recognizing of the population lives a lot longer. we need to start factoring that truth into our entitlement programs, and we need to layout -- if we were to adjust the retirement age from 55 or 67 to x amount ofver years, what does that solve? let's get export -- experts to score the solutions, that way members of congress are informed about the challenges we face and what solutions are. host: on the house side there is

talk of raising the debt ceiling to not funding the affordable care act for one year. your thoughts? guest: how about a one-year delay. president obama has acknowledged the bill is not ready for prime time. he is delaying all parts of the bill. host: tie it to the debt ceiling? guest: why not? obamacare will cost about $13 trillion. i realize those are projections, that he gives you a sense of how expensive obamacare is going to be. i have talked about social security and medicare and how those things will be $47 trillion in deficit bending over the next 30 years. how can we afford another $13 trillion? no one talks about those numbers. trillionlk about a $4

or $5 trillion problem. i might stabilize the debt over the next 10 years. i have white hair. 30 years used to seem like a long time. it is not. the time to address these challenges is now, but you have to do with real information. it is a fiscal problem. you have to start looking at numbers. people's eyes glaze over really quick when you look at numbers, but we need to grapple with the numerical problem and what is the numerical solution. host: james. carmel, indiana. democrats find. caller: good morning, senator. guest: good morning. caller: i have a question about the health-care system that you want to repeal. we need a health care system. i remember in the 1960's when my wife and i had insurance plans, owned insurance plan separately, but they covered each of us.

it is like you buy two products and you get two items for it. they used to pay double if we $1000 interest, and we used to get $2000. insurance company figured out to's call that, that even though we paid for -- to solve that, even though we paid for two, we only get one. i have cancer now. it is harder to get health insurance in the future. wants to repeal obamacare because it is not a good plan. i would like you guys in the congress to come up with a better plan and replace obamacare rather than repeal it. we need something. i am tired of going to the emergency room and saying hundreds of people going in there for common health insurance that have no insurance, it will never pay. a lot of them are illegals come but they are not turned away.

host: james, thank you. guest: there is an awful lot of cost shifting. what happened in the 1960's? we initiated medicare. they estimated it would cost 12 billion dollars in 1990. it ended up costing 100 9 billion dollars, almost 10 times the original estimate. we have produced all of that cost shifting is driven a private insurance rates. we're basically subsidizing government care within medicare. to me, that is part of the route crosses -- route cause of the problem. --'s increase the government let decrease the government cost in health care. contain costsou and improve quality and customer service is to the free-market whereitive service individuals are in greater control over their own health

care spending. what is a shame about obamacare from my standpoint -- i provided health care for 31 years. over the last three years, we shifted to hired a double plans to reduce premiums, but i did not talk at the remains savings. i invested them within hsa's and within three years everyone the people that worked for me at $5,000 in their account to pay. it's is how the marketplace responded. mart,se of hsa's wal- walgreens, they predated walk in clinics -- created walk-in clinics. now, the marketplace gave you an option to go into walmart, and rather than pay $200 for an emergency visit, go to walmart, get your inner infection diagnosed for $35. the free-market is a marvel.

it works very well. we need to rely more on that type of freedom in the free- market system rather than look at the federal government had look at how much armband onto the health care system system 1960 -- harm they have done to the health care system since the 1960's. we'll be far better off with more individuals making consumer choices. host: we have to finish, but what is the timetable starting wednesday as far as a vote is concerned? guest: nobody knows. coming from the private sector, it drives me nuts, the under dysfunction. -- under dysfunction. it is not like september 30 is a surprise. i said to my colleagues let's get a budget passed before we go on break. obamacare, to defund let's have a discussion, but let's be prepared to negotiate and compromise so we do not threaten a government shutdown,

but that is not what we are in right now. maybe that thing to do would be pass a few short-term c.r.'s. let's fund the things we agree on. off theet the shut down table. if there are things we disagree, let's leave that, but i think that will be a small part of the budget. i think it would be a far better approach than all this brinkmanship. host: senator ron johnson from wisconsin. thank you. guest: thank you. host: we continue this conversation with representative james moran. josh kraushaar from "national journal" will look at congressional elections. right now, an update on news from c-span radio. u.s. nuclear regulatory chief spoke today in tokyo and said contaminated water leaks at the fukushima

nuclear power plant has been known since early in the crisis and have worsened because japan acted too slowly. he went on to say in the u.s. and japanese officials knew the leaks would occur when massive amounts of water were used to cool the reactors after a major tsunami in march of 2011. he added it was a surprise how long it took japan to tackle the problem. japanese officials confirmed the contaminated groundwater water has been leaking into the pacific ocean. gregory esco, who resigned as chairman of the u.s. nuclear regulatory system was in japan as part of a single group. the united nations general assembly is underway in new york city, and "the washington times" tweets that israel plans to boycott the speech of the new iranian president. theident obama addresses

body this morning, and c-span will have live coverage shortly after 10:00 a.m.. you can watch it on c-span or listen on c-span radio. those are some the latest headlines on c-span radio. span2 booktv asc- over $9,000 with nonfiction authors including bob woodward. >> we're going to do the book after he died, and i was horrified, and then i was delighted. >> i have always felt that people are more alike than they are different, so the artist in me rose to that occasion. if i could create something that permitsving and that the kind of distance that you sometimes need from what is painful, then people will understand, and understanding is basically what is fundamental.

>> the point is that no argument is given to that effect. facts aree relevant considered, and this is regarded as one of the half-dozen cases where a just war theory entails that the use of military force was legitimate. >> we are the only national television network devoted exclusively to nonfiction books. every weekend throughout the fall we are marking 15 years of booktv on c-span2. >> "washington journal" continues. host: we are joined by representatives james moran of virginia, a democratic representative serving the eighth district which includes arlington, alexandria, and falls church. welcome. give us your thoughts on whether you think a shutdown will happen or not? guest: i do not think a shutdown will occur as of october 1, but if the continuing resolution to

continue funding government for the next 45 days is not resolved there iser 15, i think a higher likelihood we could have a government shutdown then because there is a confluence of the need to fund the government as well as the need to raise the debt ceiling. byh of those will come due then, and right now we do not have a plan to get us beyond that point of contention. i would not be at all surprised if there is a government shutdown before the end of the calendar year. host: if the senate sends back a clean bill to the house, are there any indications as to what speaker john boehner will do? guest: i think he will turn to the democrats to get him the votes to get it past the white house has indicated they would sign a clean bill for a short time. and that level of funding you dollars -- that level of

funding is going to be in a hundred $80 total. 988 billion dollars total. year for the sequester begins january 5 team. i think the white house figures 15.as -- i think the white house figures to get are leverage deal that would not only raise the debt ceiling until the end of 2014, but would also keep the government funded, and perhaps shelve the whole idea of the sequester. 900/-- 900-oes that plus figure do as far as how the government operates? guest: it is still invasive financial reduction. the 960 $7 billion is almost a drastic cut to the defense establishment, not only contractors, but federal

employees. a number of our weapons programs intelligence and technology programs within the defense department. i expect a whole $21 billion in the final analysis will not all be taken from defense. is the discretionary programs that have taken all of the reductions since last january. the increase in spending is actually occurring in the nondiscretionary programs, the so-called mandatory entitlement programs. that is where the money is going, yet cuts are coming in the discretionary area. of course, that is really what theides the secord in future. all of the things that we think of as the government -- national security -- that is where we are going to if you need to take the

cuts unless we resolve this sequester, which no one wanted. frankly, unless we put more revenue on the table, as well as reforms to entitlement programs. host: you serve arlington, alexandria, falls church -- how is that area affected by sequester? guest: we are affected as much as any part of the country. it is part of the washington metro area. i have tens of thousands of federal employees, and even more people that are on contract with the federal government in defense and every other discretionary agency. so, it would severely impact our economy and the lives of our citizens. it needs to be avoided, but the sequester, unfortunately, is death by 1000 cuts over the next eight years. frankly, it's a brief government shutdown was to resolve --

result in a -- it's a brief government shutdown was to in resolving the sequester, it would be worth it. can reach out to us on our twitter page and send us e- mail. what should be done about the debt limit? guest: the debt limit should be abolished. denmark is the only other country you visit. or noto decide whether we will pay the bills that are already do. if we do not want to incur the debt, we should not authorize programs, but this is after the fact. this is to say the notes that are outstanding -- ali ledoux pay interest on them when they are we going to pay interest on them, pay them when they are you? act that anyone would default on the debt is unthinkable.

the fact that members of congress take this in a cavalier way is astounding. the debt limit was raised 17 times under president reagan's term, who seems to be there theological hero. the idea that they would hold the government hostage and jeopardize the currency system for the whole world -- the dollar is the most stable currency. they could shake up international financial markets in a way that would produce chaos and suffer substantial losses to not only the american overmy, but economies all the world. obviously, we are interdependent now in a global economy, and we are dependent on a stable economy in the united states, and certainly a stable currency. this would introduce that could have long-term damages. so, even the thought of it

destabilizes international financial markets. certainly, if we delayed paying our debt, it is almost inconceivable. theatter how irresponsible congress has shown itself to be, i cannot believe that it could possibly be that irresponsible. host: our guest joining us until 9:15 a.m.. the first call is from albany, georgia. johnny. , crestline. -- democrats line. caller: i am just calling to say if we change the name of obamacare to some caucasian senator's name, it would go through with ease. it to republicans are so determined to shut the government down to keep a black man's name from being on legislation, shut it down. it would be the weakness of the democratic government to stand

by and allow the republicans to press their will on the country like they are doing it. let it shut down. do not argue with them. guest: i appreciate your thoughts and perspectives, sir, but if we shut it down, a lot of people will suffer. head start families will not be able to go to school. social security benefit applicants will not be able to have their social security applications process. the same thing for the veterans administration. national parks will be closed. there will be real suffering across the board if we were to shut down the government. we would realize the role that the government plays in our lives in a beneficial way. with regard to obamacare, president obama had some issues with calling it obamacare initially, and i think he realized it was going to be his legacy.

it is the law. it is going to continue to be the law. be implemented, and over the long run i think president obama is going to take a ride when it is implemented -- ande when it is implemented the cost of health care goes down, insurance rates go down as well, and where -- when people do not suffer because they do not have affordable, accessible insurance available to them. host: rosemary from rome, georgia. republican line. caller: two quick points. clearly it is senator harry reid threatening the shutdown to make political points, and one part of the process is a supported -- supposed shutdown could have been avoided if this was worked out in july and august instead of taking six weeks off in august and part of september instead of working. whether republican or democrat,

we are paying you to work, and that is what we expect. thank you. guest: well, we did work through july. i agree with you with regard to august. of course, i live not far from the capital, so it is easy for me to say. i generally work anyways when we syrians,n dish network and my staff works even harder iods.strict work per the problem is we have not done anything when we have been in session. we will go back into session tomorrow, wednesday, but on the house, we will have to wait for the senate to act. with regard to senator harry reid, he made it clear that the house version of the continuing resolution is not going to pass because obamacare is not going to be repealed, but he is going

to put forth a continuing resolution that will be signed by the president. so, i do not know why you have decided that senator harry reid is at fault. he wants to put forward legislation that has a chance of passage, and that is what we are all supposed to be doing. host: our previous guest said the law was not ready, and there is a front page story on "usa today" on what they describe as a glitch that could leave some kids out of it. is it ready? guest: we have to look at the history of other such rollouts of large programs. with regard to medicare, there was a great deal of resistance from the republican party in 1965. in fact, there were some glitches after it went into effect. you do not know what the glitches will be until after it goes into effect, and there were

refinements to the program that took place over months and years to the point where people on medicare want to keep their are loath to anyone that wants to take it away from them. will see a similar thing with the affordable care act. there are glitches in legislation and regulations that will begin implementation. i think -- this particular issue that denied some people affordable coverage is because the law applied to individuals that are working, but did not specifically identify their families. so, there are some children of people who would be covered by employers that might not be included. and i wouldhat, hope we could do so in a bipartisan basis. host: was it a good decision to delay the employer mandate?

guest: i do not think it matters a whole lot. i just assumed we had not elated. i think it would -- delayed it. i think there would have been glitches there as well, but there was pressure to do so and so many things to do by october 1 and the implementation by next year, i think the administration said we do not need the employer mandate immediately. matter aally does not lot in the long run. donis from romney, west virginia. republican line. caller: good morning. my comment is my health insurance, we have been notified in west virginia, that it could increase as much as 50%. republicansat the are going to let this bill take

effect, and by june of next summer you will see an outraged public across this country because they will hit him so hard in their pocket books. congressman moran, i'm wondering anyhe democratic party has plans for this outraged public? my mother manages a business in winchester, virginia, and they are beside themselves. he did not know how they will afford all of this expense. it is concerning that congress can not discuss things instead of having a person like harry reid telling everyone the way it is going to be here and i will exceed corporation on both sides of the fence. thank you for listening to my complaint. you, sir.nk i, too, would like to see more cooperation on both sides of the fence. i do not believe you will see the insurance you mean increases

that have been suggested by some of the insurance companies -- the insurance premium increases that you have seen suggested by insurance companies and brokers. people do not know what they will be paying because the exchanges will not be set up, and then you could compare what you choose to pay and what coverage you want to the benefit of competition. you will have several plans. it was planned to be more comprehensive. the prices so far, across the country, have been significantly less than anyone anticipated. in fact,re inflation, has been less than it had been he for obamacare was legislated, -- before obamacare was legislated. insurance companies are limited to not taking more than 20% off of the top for their own purposes.

80% has to go into health care. the so-oing to bring in called free riders who do not have insurance and go to the emergency room when they need health care. that is the most expensive type of care possible. we all pay for that in higher insurance premiums. that is not going to happen. there are going to be any number of events of programs that will -- any number of preventive programs that will be free to people and we know that will save tens of billions in the long run in terms of reduced illness. in the long one, i think we are going to come more in line with other countries that spend half as much as we do, live longer and live healthier lives. host: george is from fairmont, west virginia. democrats line. good morning. caller: good morning. good morning.

my senator is mr. mansion, and i have a couple of things here. if the government is shut down, why are the democrats continuing to scare the elder people that they're not going to get social security checks? that money comes out of people that are working every day of the year, and every paycheck takes social security out and that goes into social security. that is not part of the budget. social security is not part of the budget. why are you trying to tell people it is in the budget? it is not in the budget. it is a separate account like your savings account. the government should not be able to go in there. if they do, they should go into prison, just like anyone else who went into someone's bank account. as far as health care, when it was first brought out, the democratic party did not put this on the table for everyone to see, encoding both parties on both sides.

they did everything behind closed doors, and nancy pelosi even came out on national tv and said let's pass the bill first and then we will read it and see what is in it. how can you pass bills like that? host: thank you. many: do you have republicans the car on the democratic line? host: we get all kinds of colors. guest: i bet you do -- all kinds of callers. isst: i bet you do, and this one of them. i do not think we are scaring people about the loss of social security benefits, and i certainly did not suggest that is going to be the case for current and fisheries. current beneficiaries will -- beneficiaries. current beneficiaries will continue to get their check. social security is paid for by discretionary funds. people that are eligible because

they turn 65, if the government were shot down, you would not have your claims processed, so it could affect a new beneficiaries, and it could have other long-term consequences as the program does have to operate with personnel that are paid for in thethe general fund labor, health, and human services appropriation bill, and that has not been passed. that is part of the continuing resolution. in terms of your other things, i have heard those talking points, and i think some of that was more rhetorical than asking a question, as we obviously have some difference of opinion on the politics and the policy behind the affordable care act. host: wesley. florida, chapel independent line. this is kathy.

how is the medicaid going to be handled for all of these people that were encouraged to sign up on october 1? filmed under by -- thumbed under by michelle obama? who is going to pay those premiums? those, hownot have are they going to pay for them? i know i am not making a lot of sense. explain medicaid. said medicare.ou that is not really affected by the affordable care act. in terms of medicaid, that is a program for lower income people. 70% of medicaid money is spent on long-term care in nursing homes. a lot of middle-class families,

for example, will do what is called spin down is so that they are financially eligible to put their grandparents in a nursing home. that will be paid for out of medicaid. medicaid is a joint, federal, and state program. in some states the government pays 50%. in new york, massachusetts and northeastern states. in the southern states, the federal government pays a much higher proportion of the cost of medicaid. it is determined in that fashion. now, in some states are going to -- theyantage of the are going to take advantage of the expansion of the health-care coverage. 100% -- they federal government will pay 100% of the cost. many states have rejected that. my own state of virginia, for example, has rejected that, so

there would be 400,000 people eligible for medicaid, single thane with less income $12,000, for our family of four, it would be less than $32,000. wills that have opted in include as many people as are eligible, and in many cases that is hundreds of thousands of new people in what is funded jointly by the federal and state government. of course, those are folks that i referred to previously. it is because you are poor and do not have insurance does not mean you do not need and cannot get adequate care, and, other people pay for it, and they generally pay -- the most expensive show -- unimaginable. they will hopefully drive the cost of health care nationwide down significantly. host: bill bennett in "the

washington journal" wrote this for the car out word -- carve out portion, what were your thoughts? time, at this point in members and their immediate staff are not exempted. they are under the exchanges in their individual states. now, -- host: they get a subsidy assistance now or do they not? guest: they do now. they get less than large corporations. the federal government divides federal employees health benefits. on average, the employer pays 72%. the employee pays 28%.

that is a little less than most corporations provide in terms of the proportion of the employer benefit. the thinking was, as is the case in the private sector, you continue to offer insurance plans that are working. this is an insurance plan that is not broken, so people would suggest why should we be trying to fix it because the employer contribution is not out of line with the private sector. nevertheless, members and their immediate staff will have to go into the exchanges just because of questions like this -- why are you exempting yourself? of course, the congress was not planning to exempt itself because it has insurance now and a plan that works. some of the people on the will keeps, they

their federal employees health benefits plan. it is just the members that are carved out for exceptional treatment in that they will not be able to keep the current land. they will have to change it -- current plan. they will have to change it and go into the exchanges as if they did not have insurance. host: host: fred from kentucky, republican line. caller: our budget was where we could afford to give him access -- we had money left over out of our pocket. my question to the gentleman -- we appreciate your service, also, to the country -- is this. what amount of our budget do we give away to other countries? i can't go down the street now because of the amount of retirement that i get and get to my neighbors like i used to be able to.

how can we continue to give our budget money or money that we have borrowed to other countries carte blanche? i heard a figure of $1 billion given to a country the other day. are we going to stop giving that to them because they did something? my question to you is when do we stop giving all her money away to other countries and start giving it to our self and help ourselves so that we can continue to help our -- help other countries later on and get the economy back on its feet? thank you. guest: thank you for the question. that spending comes under the foreign operations appropriations bill. it is one of the smallest of all of the appropriation bills. money, wems of giving do provide over $3 billion each , and thatid to israel

is exempt from the sequester. we also provide about half of that amount to egypt as part of an agreement that was made israel toypt and maintain peace in that part of .he world it is likely that egypt will continue to get its money. in terms of money that goes to other countries, there is not a assistance, and that assistance has been cut back substantially because of the sequester, because those are considered discretionary funds. in fact, multilateral contributions to international organizations were cut substantially in the foreign operations appropriations bill. if you are concerned about that, you should appreciate the cuts that have been made. now, there is other assistance that goes out under the defense department, but that is related

to military conflicts. we obviously have provided over $1 trillion to iraq, for example, and some of that is in rebuilding could ultimately we will probably provide a most as much to afghanistan. we still have troops in afghanistan, unlike iraq. there are other conflicts around the world we are trying to address. but that is in a different budget. you are probably talking about foreign aid. foreign aid has been cut significantly and most countries don't get a whole lot of assistance from the u.s. government anymore. host: our guest is a senior member of the appropriations committee, representative jim moran of virginia. he serves the democratic party. he serves the eighth district -- arlington, alexandria, falls church. there was an op-ed in politico by david price, a member of the appropriations committee.

"twilight of the appropriations." congress' nder of power of the purse to the politics of a polarized, i per person house -- hyper-partisan guest: david is a close friend and he is 100% correct. i couldn't agree with him more. i appreciate the fact that he wrote it and i wish everyone as far as it. host: the process, though -- guest: the process isn't working. host: what is that affect future motions by the appropriations committee -- but does that affect future motions by the appropriate and committee? guest: of course. the constitution gave the

legislative branch the power of the purse, and that power is exercised through the probation's committee. -- through the appropriations committee. in recent years, the appropriations committee has been stymied in its ability to perform its work. it used to be a bipartisan function. we used to be able to get our .ills passed on time we would work within the confines of the revenue that was coming in. as 2000 -- back as recently as 2000, we had a surplus of a projected $5.6 trillion. cuts were passed, in 2001 and 2003. all of those were deficit- financed. then we started a war of choice in iraq and another war in afghanistan. none of those were ever paid for. .e expanded part d of medicare and then we had the financial

implosion, largely due to deregulation of the financial industry. now we are in a situation where we have seen about a $10 trillion fiscal reversal instead -- instead of a surplus, we have a deficit as far as the eye can see. because we took so much revenue off the table without ever paying for it, and we started wars that we have chosen not to pay for, and the baby boom generation, my generation, is taking down more money from medicare than on average it has ever paid into the program, less the expansion of social security -- plus the expansion of social security. 10,000 baby boomers join the roles every day. 77 million will be living longer and better than any previous -- previous

generation. some of whom will absolutely need social security, $1200 a month on average. others don't need it. some are absolutely desperate for the health care that medicare provides good others don't need it. -- that medicare provides. others don't need it. but everybody gets it and this country cannot afford that unless we figure out how to bring additional revenue into the picture. until we do, it is the discretionary programs that the appropriations committee funds that are going to be cut. that is nih research, that is roads and bridges and public our educational system, that is our research and innovation, that is our national security, that is our thomistic law-enforcement -- that is our domestic law enforcement. that is what is being cut. host: maryland, democrats line. caller: i want to bring up one thing. i want to know why the no one got upset when the prescription

drug program had those major problems, when it had the doughnut hole. that didn't get worked out until the started working on the health care program. in addition to that, i find it awful strange that prior to representative moran on there, senator johnson talked about opening up the health care centers and this. creating a lot of problems for small businesses and the community -- in the community. of the -- you have three most richest people in the world and you talk about giving them additional business by opening up their own health care centers to look at people with minor ailments rather than pushing the that obamacare set up. , when one oflmart the biggest problem they have in dealing with a lot of small

businesses and taking is this a way -- taking business away. host: got it, caller. guest: thank you for your comments, sir. with regard to the doughnut hole and medicare part d, that will be closed under obamacare. i might as well call it obamacare, since everybody else does. , youregard to walmart mentioned, it is true that the income family alone has of more than 30% of the entire american population, more than 30 million working families together don't earn as much money as the walmart family alone makes out of this economy. that is not to say that walmart doesn't provide affordable goods extent toes and the which they are willing to provide insurance to their employees and services, i would assume that is a good thing,

generally speaking. host: i would get a response to this comment from a viewer. guest: that's not true. the u.s. house is not done much of anything in the last four years, certainly. in the last term, writes primarily to the u.s. house, less legislation was passed than any time since world war ii. in his current term, we passed less than half of what we did in the last term. the u.s. house is largely dysfunctional. i don't believe that it is serving a short or long-term needs of the american people in terms of controlling it. they can make things difficult. you can keep digging holes in the road, but eventually we are and it is justn a matter of time before the u.s. house is replaced with people

who actually believe in getting things done. form florida, independent line. caller: how are you doing today, representative james moran? i have a couple questions on what is going on -- going around on youtube, and most of the conspiracy internet websites. as a young individual -- i'm 21 years of age, and it came to me as kind of a shock that a lot of people are talking about -- which are currently representatives of the supposedly who are union recipients. how do you feel as are presented if that our country is run by the same people that are in a group that as was at all settler, as was -- as was adolf not name my -- name, but just by research i found out on my own.

it is just confusing me as a young kid in florida struggling to provide for myself and my girlfriend. well, i would suggest you might want to broaden your research somewhat, sir. follow all of can the conclusions of your research. but even though i am disappointed with the u.s. house majority, and of course, the last, with pejorative comments, i was talking about, frankly, the republican leadership in the house, which has not been very successful in getting the work of the people are probably -- work of the people accomplished. but i don't think they are following any path of some of the worst people in world history. these are people who are trying to carry out the wishes of their constituents.

they have an ideology that i don't happen to agree with, but they are working within a democratic system. some of them are quite intelligent. most of them are quite committed to their objectives. most of them are fairly transparent in what they are trying to a college. trying toent -- accomplish. far different from any kind of dictatorial system. again, i don't know where you are going to school and what sources of research you are using, but you might want to look out -- look at some alternative views of history and current events. saying story on politico that the house minority leader is spearheading a plan to advance a comprehensive immigration bill, combining legislation that passed the senate judiciary committee with a bipartisan border security bill from the house homeland security committee. guest: i hope we can get some form of immigration reform passed. i am not optimistic.

but it is possible that if we could get a bill that would come through the house, he even if it was just to authorize the so- called dream act -- children who were brought here, not making any decision of their own, if they are good students, shouldn't they be able to afford higher education, isn't it in our nation's economic interests? if we can get some bill, however limited, past through the house, it would go to the senate and the conference would write the bill, the conference between the house and senate. i would love to see that done. i doubt that it will be, but anything is possible. if we can get comprehensive immigration reform, it would be a good thing for our economy and our society. moranrepresentative jim of virginia, member of the appropriations committee, serves the eighth district, thanks for your time. guest: my pleasure.

we have done already? that was fast. [laughter] host: that's a good sign. we will take a break. when we come back, we will look at current issues in congress and how it might impact efforts in 4014. -- in 2014. josh kraushaar of "national journal" will join us. first, an update from c-span radio. onan update on the attack the mall in kenya. three soldiers have died and eight others have been injured in a fight with the militants who attacked the upscale mall in nairobi. the kenyan red cross confirmed that at least 62 people have been killed. it is still not known how many more may be dead inside the building. the militant group that attacked the mall says it is still holding hostages alive inside the building, and that its fighters are, in their words, still holding their ground. the associated press tweets that the new york city police department is increasing police

presence at malls and shopping areas after the kenya attack. security is tight in new york city as the united nations general families now underway -- general assembly is now underway. you can hear president obama's remarks live on c-span radio or on c-span. later, bill clinton discusses the new health-care law, part of a session sponsored by the former president's foundation. the joint appearance comes exactly one week before people without health insurance can start signing up for health coverage through new insurance marketplaces. it will be bill clinton's second effort in recent weeks to promote the three-year-old law. those are some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. student cam video competition is underway, open to all middle and high school students. we're doubling the winners and prize money. minute a five- to seven-

documentary on the most important issue congress should consider in 2014. by january 20, 2014. need more information? visit studentcam.org. >> the book tells the story of a nuclear weapons accident in arkansas that occurred in 1980. i use that story, that narrative, as a way of looking at the management of our nuclear weapons really since the first nuclear device was invented in 1945. and i hope to remind readers that these weapons are out there, that they are still capable of being used, that there is probably no more important thing that our government does that manage them. because these are the most dangerous machines ever built. and i think the subject has fallen off the radar quite a bit since the end of the cold war. >> words you do not want to hear together -- "nuclear weapons"

and "accidental detonation." sunday night at 9:00 on "after this," part of booktv weekend on c-span two. c-span online archives will redefine social studies education in america. "thanks! the c-span video archives and clipping capability are treasures." it's easy. here's how. go to cspan.org and go to the video library. to watch the most recent video, the gandhi -- click on the tab. you can search the library for a specific topic or word, or you can find a person. and their name, hit search, go to "people." you can share what you are watching and make a clip. use the set buttons or handle tools, at a title or

description, click share, send by e-mail, facebook, twitter, or google plus. searchable, easy, and free, created by the cable tv industry and funded higher local cable or satellite provider. -- funded by your local cable or satellite provider. >> "washington journal" continues. host: welcome back. we're joined by josh kraushaar, the editor of "hotline." thank you for joining us. guest: good to be here, juana. host: lawmakers are focused on the fiscal fights going on. battle over obamacare, whether it is going to be funded and the endgame for republicans and the white house, is going to be decided over the next five to six days. it has political consequences, especially on the republican side of things, where we are seeing these divisions between the ted cruz wing of the party, if you will, and the more establishment wing of the party, and one of the more -- one of

the bigger developments in the last 24 hours is that mitch mcconnell, who is up for reelection, tough primary, and announced he would not be notbustering the cr, would be joining ted cruz to defund -- his version of the defund movement, and mcconnell is going to draw criticism for that position on the right but it is in the medic of the divisions facing republicans across congress between the house and senate, the more tea party activist wing, and the more establishment republicans trade host: given the divisions between mitch mcconnell and mike issue, ted cruz on this how important is obamacare in 2014? guest: it is one of the biggest issues is not the biggest issue that republicans will be running on in 2014. a disproportionate number of the races are taking place in southern states, conservative states, states where obama's health-care law is very

unpopular. you look at the polls that show a plurality, majority of the voters disliking the health-care law. those numbers are more significant in states like arkansas, kentucky, where mitch mcconnell is from, what states like alaska. the challenge for republicans is to be on message, any a lot of strategists across town are beside themselves that they have this huge political advantage when it comes to health care, and it comes to criticizing the of thent's law, but some more activist tea party members of the party are choosing to take the fight over government funding and a potential government shutdown, which is the one area of the health-care law where republicans can lose, where republicans are going to be on the losing end of the health-care argument. it seems like there is profusion coming together at the last minute, and it seems like republicans have this opportunity, but they question i -- the big question is if thi -- they can make the most of it. host: what can this mean for

mitch mcconnell andy dick primary he is facing? -- and the big primary he is facing? this largelyfacing unknown opponent, who is trying --accuse us macconnell of trying to accuse mitch mcconnell being an astonishment -- establishment figure. they both oppose president obama's health-care law, but bevin has been accusing him of not being aggressive enough, not supporting some of the more aggressive actions to defund the legislation. you have seen the arguments in this race take place over jr. which macconnell supported in the bush years. the emergency funding, which many to party republicans -- many tea party republicans oppose. mitch mcconnell has a two front war going on. he has to worry about this primary, which he is favored to

win, but he cannot take a challenger like matt bevin for granted. he has that edible democratic challenger, -- he has a credible democratic challenger, who has been hitting him from the left but she is trying to make her page as a more pragmatic reg -- pragmatic democrat. host: we are talking to josh kraushaar of "the hotline." we would love to take your calls. what about political risks for democrats? we have talked about republicans and the dissension between them. what could this mean for democrats and the white house? guest: there are new stories coming out on a near regular basis about major employers -- ups, trader joe's. we saw the cleveland clinic and -- cleveland clinic news.

they companies are laying off workers and dumbing some of the workers they have been covering on their insurance plans -- dumping some of the workers they have been covering on their insurance plans. even president obama delayed one big element, the employer mandate, for year because it doesn't seem ready to go. it is a big vulnerability for democrats. if republicans can get their act straight and have a unifying message, we are only a few days away from the actual october 1 deadline, when the flaws -- when the law is going to be amended or a big part of the exchange is going to take place. are finding that their health the situation is changing, if they have economic anxiety or uncertainty as a result of the changes, it would present republicans with a huge opportunity, a big vulnerability for democrats. falling on how this stance with the public. the research found that for the

first time in many years, republicans have an advantage on health care, two-point advantage when it comes to republicans versus democrats. you usually don't see that on an issue that favors democrats, but can they become united and have a united message on the issue? host: how will this impact chances of democrats taking over the house of representatives? guest: the way the districts are relying on the way things are shaping up, it doesn't seem likely. even if democrats have a good year, it will be hard for them to win the 17 seats necessary to take back the house. the big battlefield will be the senate could republicans -- the big battlefield will be the senate. sixpublicans need to win seats to take back the senate. that is a pretty tall order. that said, the seats are in conservative states. there are about seven seats that are in states that mitt romney carried. six of those seven he carried by double-digits.

republican strategy for the senate is when all the seats on, do well with the base, i could be a key to a majority. host: we start with elizabeth in iowa on our republican line. caller: hello? host: hi, elizabeth, thanks for, mi -- thanks for calling in. caller: i wanted to ask, this man is a reporter, and he should understand that the word "mandate" can no longer be used. the word is "tax." an employer to mandate. it is an employer tax. it is not an individual mandate, it is an individual tax. that is the only thing that makes obama care legal. the: josh, your take on semantics. guest: semantics matter, and

mandate or tax, it is both unpopular. the mandate is more in the tax provision. politically speaking, though, mandate, tax, it is not a good situation for democrats unless they can show that the law is effective, that is working and helping to ensure people and they're getting better insurance as a result. host: what's take another call from susan in reading, pennsylvania, on our independent line. caller: i have a question, just a practical question. my understanding of what i have read about obamacare is these exchanges -- bronze comes over, gold, and platinum. the obama administration is going to want everyone insured, and that is how insurance works.

the people who don't need it pay for the people who need it. that is the way the whole idea of insurance works. , a poortion i have is young man who graduates from -- can't find a job in his chosen career. part-time jobs at fast food, and he is expected to get insurance. what he gets is going to be the bronze package, because that is what he can afford unless he has wealthy parents. so the bronze package he is paying for. he is on his motorcycle, he is writing down the street, he it is wet, he breaks his clavicle, he goes into the emergency room, where he will need an x-ray, probably an mri. $1500 to $2000. the deductible on the bronze package is $2000 to $3000. how can that young man who has

student loans, working 2 part- time fast food jobs, pay for the deductible? .et's take it to the next step now he is home, is getting physical therapy -- host: all right, we got the gist of what you are saying. the different levels of care, can you respond to that? guest: one of the challenges the administration has faced in selling the law is they haven't delineated between access and quality. when president obama sold the law, he said you get everything -- better access, more quality, the whole shebang. lawreality is that the primarily expands access, which is a good policy goal and it helps certain elements -- certain constituencies politically. but most want their health care to be better. the hypothetical situation that the caller brought up is why the law is and not polling well. when you ask people if they

think it will help their health care, they are skeptical. they may think the law is good but they are not convinced it will improve the quality of health care. that is the big political challenge of facing the white house. expands access to people who are uninsured or could not access health insurance previously. but a lot of the stories that the newspapers have been reporting on, isn't going to improve health care? host: how of we seen people on the campaign trail frame the issue? guest: it depends on the state and the issue. democrats last week vote with republicans in defining the law, in a sterile and and -- in a north carolina and utah. very conservative districts, they voted against the law, and they could not have won reelection in all likelihood without voting with republicans on health care. ,n the more battleground states you are seeing democrats not defending every part of the law but making points that are more

in their favor -- most notably that it will help people who are uninsured get the access they need. they are saying that the law is imperfect and we want to work to fix it but we are not quite there yet. i'm going to work to fix the law, we don't want to repeal the law. that is the democratic messaging in most of the battleground, competitive states. host: we're talking to josh kraushaar of "hotline." greg on the republican line. caller: yes, i am listening to aushaar on television now on your c-span program, and i heard him state earlier that he said that the republicans need to get their act together. it is just remarks like that from the democrats to the republicans and from the republicans to the democrats that is creating this power struggle that we have got in washington now.

we need to get in there and just completely restructure washington, get rid of about half of what's in there. they are all overpaid. they're getting paid way too much money. i'm on disability. i making $36,000 a year. i'm living comfortably because i know what i'm doing. these people that are up in washington, half of them don't know what they're doing to just like i said, they are overpaid. we could save a lot of money taking that money and pay them all about $75,000 a year. they are not worth any more than that. we could take all those savings and redo our bridges, our infrastructure -- host: greg, thank you so much for calling in. josh, any thoughts there? guest: that sentiment, throw the bums out, which is why we have

had so many wave elections, why did he party is an influential force in american politics -- why the tea parties and influential force in american politics. people who have the view that the establishment has been there too long and are getting paid too much, you are seeing people in grassroots primaries exposing those sentiments and some are winning elections. some of the tea party candidates get elected and become part of the astonishment. marco rubio -- part of the establishment. marco, considered a tea party conservative, unseeded charlie crist. summer you asked the question, has the tea party wave peaked? what did you find? --st: progressive sentiments the grassroots sentiment is still there, but they have already won. they beat richard lugar, bob bennett, moderates they felt

were not conservative enough. there is still that sentiment. mitch mcconnell's hi mary shows there is the ability to upset an incumbent. but when we look at these races now in 2014 versus two or four years ago, there are not quite as many tea party challengers running, even with the high- profile ones in that house in the senate. not as many as there were before. tennessee, independent line. caller: yes, good morning could i agree with the other gentleman that called. it is not republicans that want to shut the government down. this bill is too big, nobody has read it, it keeps being changed, some people have to have it, some people don't. the founder of the soviet communist state, said socialized medicine is the keystone to the arc of the socialist state. host: thank you so much. josh, let me ask you this -- if

the shutdown happens, it will be the first since the clinton presidency. as a summary who studies politics, do you think it will come to pass? guest: we have seen this before in recent history, and the game -- banner -- john boehner is different than newt gingrich, and that he is part of the establishment wing and he has no illusions that he is more powerful than president obama. newt gingrich in the 1990s that he was a cool equal him had -- had he was a co-equal and equal influence with the president. i don't think john boehner has those illusions. i think the most likely outcome is we will see, like we did with sequester and the debt ceiling, some last-minute, very last somethingpromise, struck that does not involve health care were defunding the health-care law. we will see some punt yet again to avoid a government shutdown.

host: larry in tennessee, calling on the democrats line. caller: i would like to just make some comments. first, i think there is a tremendous lack of communication on the details of affordable health care act. -- there has been ,bstructionism in the states whose governors don't want for political reasons the affordable health care act to come out. they don't want the details to come out to the general public. it is all upon the citizens to take upon themselves to learn as much as they can about the affordable health care act. if they would go to www.hea lthcare.gov, the people can learn about the affordable

health care act. they are going to have to do that by themselves. it seems like everybody -- every time i listen to the radio or television, all i hear is obamacare, obamacare, obamacare, and no details about it. the public is sitting there and all they hear is this negative about obama care and no details. host: thank you so much, larry. you were speaking about the messaging and that goes to the heart of larry's, and. guest -- larry's comment. guest: most people don't know what is in the law. they still don't know what is in it. they are very skeptical. out there arend troubles implementing the law. -- if there are troubles and lamenting the law. they will find out directly.

with herve trouble health care, that is what will make people feel strongly. it is less about what is in the law and what affects your average -- americans are paying close attention politically, but if their health changes and they are having trouble getting a job and a small business because of certain changes in the health- care law, that will have a big impact politically. host: jake in new hampshire on the republican line. go ahead. caller: good morning. the supreme court passed the law, law of the land. but with all the changes that they made, it is not the law that the supreme court made. i think that case should go active the supreme court -- should go back to the supreme reviewed as ite- discriminates against the american people and it gives too much to the government employees . i will listen for your result.

thank you. host: josh, your take. guest: there is a lot of skepticism towards the law and it is reflected in the polls as well. the key test is implementation. the pr game is over. people understand the arguments pro and con. the big question is how they react to the changes that are being made now. october 1, the exchanges start taking off. are they ready in time? are people going to be displaced as a result of certain changes not being ready? that is a big test for the administration. the pr game is over and it is up to successful implementation. host: we spoke about the potency of the health-care argument. what other issues will be driving people to the polls in 2014? guest: the economy. the economy and health-care are somewhat intertwined, but when you see the unemployment rate not going down like you would

normally see in a poster session --od -- poster session period,ession democrats face real challenges running in the economy. that will be a dominant issue. energy in certain districts on energy-producing districts. imposingistration is new regulations on coal producers. it is not going to be popular in districts and states like kentucky and west virginia, where we're have seen these competitive senate races taking place. .nd social issues you talk about the governor's race taking place in a november here in virginia republicans have been on the defensive when it comes to social issues. elli, nominee, ken cuccin has trailed by 25 points among women in a new "washington post" poll out today. democrats believe their ace in

the hole is to tie republicans to the unpopular cultural and social issues that republicans have taken. host: rod in tennessee on the independent line. well, thank you for taking my call. the impact of health care for me is that i am paying more for my insurance and less coverage. -- my workn mind insurance, i get my insurance from my employer. but the whole issue with this health care is how it is portrayed in the press. you keep saying republicans want to shut down the government. well, the house bill clearly says that if you are going to fund the government, except for will boil down to whether the people continue to believe the media or whether they don't trade -- whether they don't. that's my thought on it. much fornks so calling in. however previous shutdowns -- however previous shutdowns

played from the 1990s? guest: republicans took it on the chin in 1995. the polls at that time showed president clinton with a significant advantage. oint lead in, 30-p which side the public took that there is a poll out today obama and the democrats with a much more narrow advantage. when you hold one branch of government, it is hard to hold at the legislative and policy argument and it is hard to win politically. the gap between the parties from the mid-1990s and currently is narrower than it was, but it provides more risk to republicans. that is why you are seeing a bit of a reprieve from leadership. that is why you are seeing ted cruz called out by more establishment types. apparently chris wallace on "fox news sunday" said he was he

getting calls from republicans who are so do satisfied with -- who are so dissatisfied with ted cruz on this issue. host: memphis, it tennessee, democratic line. caller: thank you for -- hello? host: hello, thanks for calling. caller: thank you for taking my call. i would like to ask the gentleman about the affordable health care act. hello? host: you still there, aj? caller: yes. i would like to ask the gentleman -- the affordable health care act was voted in law. why is it that the republican party seems that they don't want this to come about and they want to shut the government down? i would like to let people know,

we can send money thousands of miles away in other countries and help other people, but when it comes down to helping our and taking the chance of helping the people in this country, we've got to shut the government down before we can do that. i don't understand how we can risk other people's lives -- soldiers. and now existing b -- and now if this thing be shut down, a lot of the soldiers won't get paid. host: aj, thanks so much for calling. guest: why do republicans oppose the law of the land? they believe it, but it is politically effective to do so. why do certain members of the caucus want to tie government defunding to it? politics and the policy are very you intertwined, for when

see conservative members of the house, members that were present conservative states, they go home and your average in situ it is not following all the nitty- gritty of what is going on on capitol hill. if they are conservative, they just want to get rid of the law. it is expedient for somebody like ted cruz, marco rubio, mike lee, to say that we will get rid of it, we will throw this back to obama by threatening to defund the government. it is easily put on a bumper sticker, and easy message. it is harder to convince constituents, folks voting in these primaries, that this is much more messy, that this is how things get dealt with in washington and congress. that is why you see this disconnect on the conservative wing join the campaign issues and the policy itself. e, go republican lin ahead. caller: first, i want to thank c-span on the great job they did. 2 quick points on the health-

care bill and the politics of 2014. number one, here in louisville, we have a huge health-care industry, and thousands and thousands of people are employed here. ishave a congressman who 100% for the obamacare and he has just refused to answer any questions about it. how do you think that would play in a district like this with him and being so, to be honest with you, fanatical about it? the other thing is that i don't really see a hot race between mitch mcconnell and bevin in kentucky. vinody really knows who be is and he is not catching on. thank you very much. with mitch mcconnell and these primary challengers in elections who people don't know about, they generally start out with bad identification, and then in the end of when they are

able to spend money and outside groups weigh in and pay attention, they have the ability to catch up at the end. mcconnell is in good shape. he has a lot of money, he is well-known, and even if people don't love him, they have respect for his influence. the question is can someone like bevin caps on at the last minute? -- caps on at the last minute? team is notell's taking this for granted. they saw happened to richard saw bob bennett in good shape and then not even be on the ballot. mitch mcconnell is a good shape for the primary but they are not taking risks. goes, he is inth a safe district and republicans are not mounting much of a challenge to him. host: let me play devil's advocate on the mitch mcconnell questioned.

what does it mean if he loses this primary? guest: we have seen tea party upsets before. it means the very future of the republican party in 2016. if you can upset somebody like mcconnell with a guy who is a total nobody until he jumped into this race, it shows that the power of the grassroots is ascended and we should be paying close attention to ted cruz, to rand paul. loses inmcconnell kentucky, even though rand paul is supporting him in the primary, sensibly -- ostenstib shot.nd paul has a real host: we have a call from russell in west virginia on the independent line. go ahead, russell. caller: good morning. what the conversation is missing

is a whole group of americans like myself -- i belong to a group called single-payer action, who want to get rid of the private insurance countries and replace it with single- payer. .hat is medicare for all i saw that the republicans held up their alternative, which they said compared to obama's 2000 pages is 200 pages. the single bill and the house is 40 pages, really simple -- it says get rid of private health insurance, replace with one public payer, everybody in, nobody out trade you go to your doctor, present your card, you have your medical history on it, they swipe it, no bills, no co- pays, no deductibles. it is the only system that controls costs. westernvery industrialized nation has a system like this, a single-payer system. even the right in these countries, like -- even the right-wingers in these countries, like cameron in the

u.k., they say there is no way we would take your system. you randomly call a number and canada and asked canadians, would you switch your system for our system? almost universally they say no way. , ok,obama should do is say let's repeal obamacare and replace it with single-payer. host: thank you so much, russell. can you speak about the international dynamic? guest: this is a flashback to the debate over the law itself, and aggressive so wanted a single payer system and obama decided that was not politically -- progressives wanted a single- payer system and obama decided that was not politically feasible. and some conservatives think that if the law doesn't turn out to be effective, if there are a lot more complaints and democrats start defecting, in 2016 you could see a democratic nominee -- say, hillary clinton -- run on single-payer.

if they find out that this law has a lot of problems, a lot of kinks, the message that the caller said, we could have a democrat critical of the health- care law calling for a more government-oriented system. host: tommy in new york city on the republican line. caller: hi, how are you? obamacare is too extensive, too many loose ends, just can't be done. it is ridiculous. we have got to figure out another way, and it should be repealed because you have got wemers in the states -- oh, will throw in something for the farmers to pass health care. what does farmers have to do with health care? what does this deal is a street -- what does the steelers history have to do with health care? and you keep on talking about mitch mcconnell, trying to get him out, it is i can see you are a liberal democrat.

what about getting barney frank out, who destroy this country? guest: to the caller's point, barney frank retired. health care is tightly integrated in this country with the economy. you are asking about the two issues. the economy is going to be a top issue as well. but there is anecdotal evidence that businesses are laying off people and the administration's decision to delay the employer mandate -- that is a sign that the health-care law is putting a brake on small business hiring. the 2 are very much intertwined. it remains to be seen the long- term impact come a but there's a lot of anxiety if you talk to small-business owners with the impact of the regulations are going to be for them. host: caroline in illinois on the democratic line. go ahead, caroline. caller: i want to first address josh.

first of all, he is lying about folks not liking obamacare. he needs to look at all the questions about polling. he needs to look at an article that jonathan alter wrote about this. you are being disingenuous in your comments and constantly in your reporting. i can't believe you are on c- span -- host: thank you so much, caroline. let's talk about these polls and what they are showing. you get a different sampling of people. guest: the big takeaways that a lot of the voters don't know what is in the law. there's a lot of anxiety and uncertainty about what it is going to mean. the plurality or majority, depending on which poll you look at, in opposition. i have not seen uphold taken in the last month showing more people supporting the law then opposing it. but you are seeing the once -- seeing nuance in the middle and

the intensity is significant. the people who support the law are not quite as a surgeon and are not quite as enthusiastic in favor of it. -- not quite as certain and not quite as enthusiastic in favor of it. you had this division between the left and the administration, where the left was a little bit disappointed that they didn't , that theypayer didn't get a more government-run system as part of the plan. you see some evidence that people who say they are not enthusiastic about it are coming from the left because they want a more government-oriented system. host: c-span will be televising the debate for the virginia gubernatorial race. what should we be watching for? guest: it is between terry mcauliffe and ken cuccinelli.

cuccinelli is being out race come out spent, he is having problems with his own party, conservatives not on board with this campaign. --s strategy is to train him his strategy is portraying him as the more competent manager, the person you trust to run the government. if you have seen one of the ads, it portrays terry mcauliffe as an unserious candidate who does not have command of the issues. you will see that contrast from the cuccinelli cap at the debate. he needs to raise money to match mcauliffe financially. unless he can change the message unfavorablesiffe's to a point that matches his, he will have a tough time in this race. host: if you were the debate moderator, what would you ask? guest: the bigger question in this race is what is the final strategy of the campaigns to

implement down the stretch. who does he need to win over? does he need to reach out to the base, to the tea party? because there are challenges that are surprising. for mcauliffe, the big question is do people trust him? he has not passed the competent test. can he be a competent steward of the state's economy? from floridat call on our independent line. good morning, richard. caller: i see we have a new host. welcome. host: thank you. good to meet you, too. caller: obamacare -- i've never seen a bill that affected so many people and cost so much and was kept in secrecy for so long. we knew nothing about this bill when it was passed. nancy pelosi made the statement,

we have to pass it to find out what is in it. we were told that it would cost less and be more accessible and quality would go up. we're finding out it will cost almost three times as much. accessibility is not going to be there because we are not going to have as much providers, tax,rs, nurses, medical and we were told that it would abortion,he illegals, and we found out it is going to fund illegals and abortion. this bill definitely needs to be either repealed and/or -- my suggestion would be to actually let the people vote on this bill in the next midterm elections. host: all right, richard, thank you so much. josh, the last word. guest: it is clear that there are a lot of hurdles the

administration has to overcome not just in selling the law but making sure that the implementation is done smoothly. october 1 is the beginning of the exchange process. we are seeing new stories and inorts about thinks -- kinks the system. are those minor, can they be overcome, or are these fundamental challenges to the implementation of the law? host: thank you so much. we have been talking to josh kraushaar from "the hotline." guest: thanks for having me. host: that is it for today's "washington journal." we will see you again tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute]

ask united nations general assembly this morning is taking place in new york city. chair started off the conference about 9 a.m. and he was followed by the president of brazil, who you are looking at right now. shortly, you will hear from president obama, and we expect him to talk about the chemical weapons in syria, and the ongoing peace talks in iran. it will start about 10 minutes from now on and we will have live coverage for you when it begins. also has abama series of meetings later today with world leaders. president is also in attendance, and questions are swirling whether or not president obama will meet with him. he will give his first remarks since his election to the u.n.

former also meet up with president clinton at the clinton global initiative later. later this week americans will begin signing up through the new healthcare exchanges for healthcare starting october 1. later this morning on c-span, we will be -- bring you a new discussion on the healthcare hostedce exchange roman by the kaiser family foundation. i will be at 11:30 a.m. eastern. at capitol hill, there will be a new senate budget committee willng at noon -- that start at 230 eastern