were crying. host: i think we got the point. caroline ratcliffe? guest: i would say that some of these free programs, particularly snap, did come under attack when we think back to the last presidential election. all sorts of talk about snap. as i mentioned, in the farm bill, the house had lots of proposals that would result in deep cuts in that program. social safety our net, tax assistance, that has really not been, it has not picked up slack with the great session. -- the great recession. some of the programs have gotten smaller, snap is now the largest. i think politically it ends up getting more attention. in, is the usage

of food subsidy regional? largest usage and per capita usage? here is the map again. we are going to take this call. darker blue are the heart usage sta -- darker blue are the higher usage states. val in minneapolis. caller: i don't think she answer the question properly. reading here in minnesota about how food is being literally taken out of the mouths of children. that leads me to this comment. but first i want to say thank you to c-span. you have done shows like this peopleou have had two on and they are supposed to be giving contrasting information or opinions. wouldk in the future it

be helpful if you could approach it from a more grassroots perspective. for the last question, the caller asked, i think they would have a more appropriate answer. my question was this -- when you all speak about food insecurity, i understand that the biggest problem in the country is not food, we have an abundance of that. the biggest problem for low income people who rely on food stamps and other programs, the biggest problem is housing. host: got it, thank you very much. any response for that caller? show: our research does that states with higher costs of housing have higher levels of food insecurity. the two tend to grow together, housing and food are the big-budget items in the budgets

of low income households. food, get assistance with it can help you pay your bill better because you don't have to put your money into food. if you get help with housing, it can free up money for food. right in saying that housing along with food is a major concern. people whoo see that spend less on housing are spending more dollars on food. host: caroline ratcliffe with the urban institute, mark nord economiche usda's research service. thank you both for being on the "washington journal." forttle left in our program this morning, we want to return to where we started. the fact that the republicans recently met to discuss their strategy. the democrats are meeting this week to discuss their strategy. the president speaking live in about an hour.

the president declared 2014 a year of action. we want to hear your views. what do you think, what do you want from washington? is washington to bake, is washington not doing enough? -- is washington too big? think about where you see washington and your life. dial in on one of those numbers or sunday tweet, @cspanwj. we will begin taking those calls in just a minute. ♪ >> watch our program on michelle obama saturday at 7:00 p.m. eastern on c-span/ monday night, we conclude our series with a special program from marshall washington to michelle obama. >> she brings financial

resources, makes a mount vernon a successful operation, makes it possible for washington to be away for 8 years. >> there was something about abraham lincoln that she help develop. lessons in etiquette that helped polish him for washington society. the political parties that they had, they invited important people. theparties talking with wives of very important gentlemen, she wielded a lot of power. both over mr. lincoln and where he was:. >> the involvement of mrs. roosevelt is right from the beginning. she becomes much more active in her role after 1921, when franklin roosevelt contracted polio. she would encourage franklin roosevelt to continue his political ambitions. ladies, from martha

washington to michelle obama. monday night at 9:00 eastern, live on c-span, c-span radio, and c-span.org. i think it is more important than justice itself. there is a small number who arely, of people going to enter into a courtroom, much less have entangled with the law. c-span radio continues its series of oral history interviews with former supreme court justices. associate justice tom clark at 4:00 eastern. fm in washington, online, and nationwide on xm channel 120. we bring public affairs at cents

from washington directly to you, putting you in the room at congressional hearings, white house offense come every things, and conferences. offering coverage of the u.s. house. all is a public service of private industry. c-span, created by cable tv 35 years ago and funded by your local cable or satellite provider. watch us in hd, follow us on twitter. "washington journal" continues. host: about 25 minutes left in this morning's "washington journal." the philosophical question, it was really interesting to talk with you about what you want from washington. we know what the politicians say they want. what do you want? how do you view washington from where you live? we will put the numbers up on the screen. spend time thinking about it. trying to have a nice, thoughtful conversation like we did this morning.

it was really interesting. giving you another chance to voice your opinion about what you want to see out of washington. a couple quick articles. 2016 ambitions, joe scarborough cannot wait to give politicalabout his ambitions. he was interviewed on "the view," barbara walters asked if he wanted to run for president. asked, i day, he was will not rule anything out. i have always been open about the fact that the greatest honor i ever had was being in the house of representatives. i have always said i wanted to get back in, just a matter of timing and when that happens we will see. joe scarborough talking about 2016. here is hillary clinton talking at new york university last

night. the most important if she could offer women in public life was a lesson she took from one of herbal models, -- took from one of her role models eleanor roosevelt, "grow skin like a rhinoceros." partnershipa between her family's foundation and the bill and melinda gates foundation. she was closed for an hour by her daughter chelsea along with: the gates -- along with melinda gates. from politico, mark warner tweet. "snowbama" #fail blamed for a deleted tweet. time, waiting of for the virginia gop to claim this winter storm was caused by

the affordable care act, #snow bamacare." this got to 26 seconds later. if that respondent -- it got responded to. "is mark warner tweeting political attacks from his official account?" then this came out a minute #fail,"oops, staff removed as quickly as possible. enjoy the rest of your day." that is in politico. this is the front page of "the climate change could lead to global conflict, yet politicians squabble. nicholas start out of the u.k. what do you want from washington, how do you view washington? randy and iowa. caller: good morning.

i want more responsibility for that has beenck in washington between the congress and the president. and all the environmental problems happening in north carolina and west virginia. shame. it is a i think we need to be more lessnsible with a little corporate welfare. corporations are doing well enough, they should pay their share. alan inndy in iowa, missouri. where is sedalia, missouri? caller: it is actually eugene, missouri. right in the center, halfway between st. louis and kansas city. host: how far from jefferson city? caller: 20 miles. host: how do you view

washington? caller: i would like fairness, i see, one of the things on my mind is the congressional hearings on the irs targeting conservative groups. i would like to see a special prosecutor appointed to get to the bottom of that. it seems like there is a majorety with campaign contributor heading the investigation. host: when you say fairness, do you feel washington is being unfair? caller: it seems like it is a one-sided from the congressional hearings that i watched. they were notlike getting a fair shake. regardless of if there is impropriety, i think if you appointed someone that had

nothing to gain or lose, it would be a more fair shake down. host: all right, sedalia, missouri. cynthia in indiana. independent line. caller: hello, thank you for taking my call. fromee with the caller missouri. i believe on both sides there is an agenda. i think addressing the moral issues of this country, they will not listen to any voice that has a christian in this country. they want to silence. prayer is a weapon. conviction,under the lord could turn it around, keeping the people in bondage with food stamps and everything else. the people -- the only thing left in the box, i pray that the

truth can get to the people, have a nice day. host: thank you, cynthia. mary from wisconsin. republican. caller: hi, good morning. i think to unfairly scrutinized the nonprofit organizations with the irs scandal is the tip of the iceberg. i think to go by assuming the political leanings by attacking them is just a bully. is using theation irs to attack people when they have a freedom of speech. a famous neurosurgeon who has helped millions of people in the world, he was able to voice his opinion at the national prayer meeting. they attacked him by going after him with his -- host: that is a specific example, does that make you distrustful? caller: of course. the president, you would not trust the president. it is coming from him.

the initial person in his administration was stephanie them to startting going after us. after the administration got reelected, she disappeared. she was on cnn for a short time. there is someone in the administration that gave -- that into afit philosophy about how you view washington? caller: this trust. they are trying to squelch people's freedom of speech by saying -- the democrats do not talk about him, they don't want the irs -- host: did you feel this trust prior to 2009? caller: yes, i had a feeling about him -- host: i mean when republicans were in the white house? caller: no, they have integrity and are more christian. host: what do you do in

wisconsin? nurse. i am a registered i took a job at walmart because i could not find a job here that would be able to be with my children. i want to get back. i was working at walmart, i saw all these people coming in with snap cards and handing me $100 bills. these people are working two or three jobs and handing the $100 the register. they were wearing the best of closing and able to walk and have fun, those people should be working. host: mary in wisconsin, this is linda in tennessee. democrat. want,: hi, what i normally i try to be specific, this is a general philosophy question.

i will give you a general philosophy. i want my representatives, both democrat and republican, to stop f me as a consumer in an economy whose only significant is the utility i can provide to the economy. return to thinking of me as a citizen of a country with rights. your chief sugar daddy, comcast. if you sign up for internet with comcast, comcast refuses to tell you how much it is going to charge you for that service. you say what is the additional fee, no, it is against our policy. you sign up and think you will pay $30 a month, is actually $50 a month. they do not have to tell you how much. why not? why don't they have to? so -- host: really?

you sign up for a server is and don't know how much you're going to pay? why would you sign up? caller: well, for example, getting on "washington journal," these days, it is better to go to twitter. i want internet, they are the only broadband service available. host: they don't tell you what they are going to charge? i don't mean to question you or suck up to our big sugar daddy here, but really? caller: yeah. i don't know whether that is controlled federally or on the state. i know the state passed a law that deregulated telecommunications. host: that goes back to your philosophy of washington. caller: right. please, i am a citizen, not a consumer. you just had a person on about

medical privacy rights. how could it possibly be true that one does not have control over one's medical information? youuse you are a consumer, are more important for your utility to the company than as a citizen with rights. when you aret -- listening to stuff on "washington journal" or the hearings and the speeches and everything, every time you hear even a hero like al franken say "consumer." replace that word with "citizen." see if you do not have a different emotional reaction to what is transpiring. that's it. host: what is your life like in tennessee? caller: i am not going to tell you. host: thank you for calling in. myra, pennsylvania. i would like to

see is some common sense. they have a program called the wic program, they still have it. because it isse wic qualified. why can't they have the same thing, it is good food, not sugar or soda. it does not make any sense to give people things that are not good for them. yra, thank you for your time this morning. here is "the new york times," many doctors shift to jobs with salaries. american physicians worry about changes in the health-care care market are streaming into hospitals. practice from private has been most pronounced in primary care, but specialists

are following. offers filed last year involved hospital employment. impaired with 11% in 2000 form, a rise tonticipates 75% in the next two years. 25% of surgical subspecialists are employees rather than independent according to the american medical association. a little bit from "the new york times" this morning. gary and virginia on our republican line. you live inside the washington bubble, what do you want from washington? caller: common sense. host: what does that mean? caller: for one, getting rid of things like -- women in these war zones being

raped, we cannot offer them a full range of contraception methods. the first section of the 14th amendment. that was to keep slaves from being disenfranchised. we ought to repeal that, that is come toed by women to this country, have a baby, they have an american citizen. they take the child, go back home, they sent him to un-american military school ---- to an american military school. host: gary in virginia. lyle in st. paul. would like to see washington raise everybody's taxes to get rid of some of the debt. i would like to see them not reduce the entitlement programs.

host: may i ask a couple questions? how old are you? caller: 79. host: do you pay enough in taxes, should you be paying more? caller: absolutely we should be paying more. the republicans want to cut entitlement, that is taxing the poor people. everybody should have their taxes raised and pay fairly. i think it may be tough to pay off the entire debt just raising taxes. i don't think you should cut entitlement programs. host: why should we pay more taxes? caller: get rid of the debt. we're not going to get rid of it any other way. host: were did you get interested in politics? caller: 60 years ago. i used to be a republican, when they had a good republicans. now we just have right wing nu

ts. host: who is a good republican? caller: people that try to do good things, try no -- who do not try to abolish everything. host: the former governor of minnesota was a republican? caller: that was before my time. host: thank you for calling. minnesota,uddy in close to st. paul. caller: hi. i had a couple comments. just acrossler, the river in st. paul, i do not agree with at all. there are some of us that reside in minnesota that feel like we are taxed enough already. that comes not only from the state but from the federal standpoint. i think the notion of raising bt is to pay off de

ill-informed. we pay a lot. if we can do a better job of managing the money, being more smart in how we spent it, we will not have a lot of debt and the necessity to raise taxes. peter, i wouldn't call -- peter, i wanted to call it that hillary. she gave a speech and suggested the one thing she can share with others is to have thick skin like a rhinoceros. that was interesting, i was curious if she had mentioned and the other animals, give an analogy, sly like a fox, if that is something that came up. leaving a foul odor. politico and read

the article, she was quoting eleanor roosevelt about slings and arrows thrown out politicians. ruth, a columnist with the washington post writes about hillary clinton as well. we see, yourlinton perception depends on your perspective. opening sentence, all i am going to read, go to watcshi ngtonpost.com. hillary clinton is our national rorschach test. karen in norman, oklahoma. what do you want from washington? what don't you want? caller: what i do want is for them to quit spending so much money, blowing it down the drain when we don't have it. iat i want them to do is, would like them to cut the junk

off of food stamps, pop, chips, candy, energy drinks. they buy those at convenience stores for five dollars a piece. they can get easter baskets if it has one little pack of m&ms. they get the easter baskets, boxes of valentines candy. they say healthy food is expensive. so our cigarettes, but they figure out how to get those. if we are giving kids a free 800akfast and lunch, $ dollars a month in food stamps, why do they have food insecurity. all they have to feed them is supper, i don't understand. host: all right. karen in oklahoma. that will be the end of our show. it is a three-day weekend, presidents' day weekend, monday is a holiday for the feds. booktv and american history tv air for three

days. but tv is c-span2, 48 hours of nonfiction books. in this case, a three-day weekend because of presidents' day. go to booktv.org or c-span2 over the weekend. one of the things we are doing live is the savanna book fair, lots of authors, live from savannah if our crew makes it. we all know what is happening to the east coast over the last couple days. that will be a little bit of a challenge. saturday. american history tv, ahtv.org, c-span3. weekend, you get three days of american history. you can find all of that on c-span3. you have thing, if

been a regular viewer of "first up the" we are wrapping series this monday night with a look back. we have got one more live program on our first ladies, we have profiled each first lady from martha washington to michelle obama. live at 9:00onday, p.m. eastern on c-span, we will have a wrapup of our series. if you have been a regular viewing, join us for one more week. thank you and have a great weekend. ♪ [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014]

pro formaill be brief sessions today. congress is out before the recess on tuesday. democrats wrap up their retreat on the eastern shore and maryland. they will hear from president obama. the present beginning a long day today on the eastern shore of maryland and then heading to california and meeting with those affected by the drought. he will later meet with the king of jordan to talk about foreign-policy issues ahead of the issue by benjamin netanyahu. we will have coverage of the president, and coming up at 10:4 0 eastern. it week after signing a five-year farm bill that includes disaster assistance, it