magazine's list of the 100 most employ children people in the world and asker you think should be on that list. reporter maris a lbello on her recent article about -- marisol bello host: good morning. members of congress reacting to a plan outlined yesterday by the justice department. it would provide a path to clemency for prisoners in jail on drug violations. ahead on "washington journal," details on this program, as well as your calls, comments and reactions. open --e lines are republicans, (202) 585-3881. democrats, (202) 585-3880. independents, (202) 585-3882. the president is in japan for a

tour of asia. in the include stops philippines and malaysia. were american doctors killed by an afghan security guard who opened fire at a kabul hospital. one headline from "the wall street journal." troops -- truce with russia crumbles. you can send us a tweet at @cspanwj. facebook at us on facebook.com/cspan or you journal@c-span.org can send us an e-mail at journal@c-span.org journal@c-span.org . the clemency shift is consistent with the white house effort to

address the rising cost of prison overpopulation and what it sees as an unfair justice system, especially to those serving longer sentences because of tough criminal penalties put in place years ago. there's is also this headline with a photograph of the deputy attorney general who made the announcement officially yesterday. with crime rates at historic lows, eric holder has urged the sentencing system be overhauled, portraying it as a civil rights issue. here is more from the deputy attorney general yesterday. [video clip] looking to get different kinds of clemency applications by meeting these criteria. the applications that were in prior to this time may not have met this criteria and we were looking for those that did, found them, work and develop them, and brought them to the president's attention so he

could consider them. he did and granted clemency in those eight cases. we decided we wanted more like that. host: that announcement from james cole yesterday. is layinge department out new clemency guidelines and expected to make thousands of drug offenders eligible for reduction in sentences. the president can reduce or pardon. the power has been used on a case-by-case basis. story.following the new policy by the obama administration, but the president and attorney general general have been talking about this. in terms of the magnitude -- are we looking at hundreds, thousands of potential convicts that could be released under this plan? looking at are thousands of applications that

will end up coming in. i do not think they have a sense of how many well getting clemency under this. we'll have to wait and see how many do get pardoned. host: how will this work in terms of the justice department reviewing applications and what kind of time line are we looking at? guest: they're trying to put resources into reviewing the applications and getting answers out on a quick timetable. they have appointed a new head of the pardon office, they are putting out a call to get other federal prosecutors put on detail to the review office. they are soliciting from outside groups and from the federal public defender's office to help review these applications and get answers out quickly. a lot of the criticism, going back many years, has been that the clemency office takes a long

time to review applications. you never hear from them for years. i think they're trying to turn that reputation around. to oneet me go back sentence from your story. you say that should the president grant clemency to each new eligible inmates, the move would be an unprecedented use of clemency power. can you elaborate? guest: we were trying to say that this is -- because in the past it has been granted on a case-by-case basis, this is a way that they are using an administrative action to put in place these guidelines that will -- we quoted a professor saying it is creating new sentencing guidelines through executive power. in the past,hing, we waited for congress to weigh in on, but this is the obama administration moving ahead in

doing that on its own. host: we are talking with aruna viswanatha and i want to get your reaction to some republicans who have been critical of what the white house announced. the story begins by saying top republicans on the senate judiciary committee slamming the president for trying to circumvent congress with a plan to consider clemency for more convicted, nonviolent drug offenders. it is being called an alarming abuse of the pardon power and it is a pandora's box that has been open. senate's longest serving republican said the president has authority to grant clemency to certain individuals that are no longer dangerous to the community, but i hope he is not hoping to change sentencing policy unilaterally. can you respond to that?

guest: that is the main criticism that you are hearing. powera use of executive in a way that you would not necessarily see used through the clemency process. it is thenitely -- criticism that you're going to hear. we will have to wait and see how this process will play out. they laid out some strict criteria. it is not totally clear how many will actually end up getting goesncy after this process all the way through. the deputy attorney general announced that those that need assistance will have free legal assistance. is this setting up a new division within the justice department in terms of personnel? throughinvolved to go

what will presumably be one -- thousands of applications for clemency? guest: several outside advocacy groups have created a group -- a pool of attorneys that will be handling some of these cases quid pro quo. if it meets the criteria aruna g us on the phone. thank you very much for being with us. guest: thank you. your callsnt to get and comments and reactions on this. we are getting some of your responses on facebook. this is what it looks like. your thoughts on these new guidelines. one viewer says this is bad news for the multibillion-dollar private prison industrial complex that will lose a ton of adding good.

caller: let me preface this by saying the democratic party is and they of slime establishment wing of the republican party is stupid. we have a justice department that is suing states for things like charter schools, fast and furious, administration that is criminal in the true sense of the word. we have criminals flocking other criminals who happen to be down the food chain. this is not the end of this. remember the clintons gave pardons to some of the most notorious criminals. one was on the number one fbi list. these drug offenders, the fbi studies say for every federal crime that is conveyed it -- sevented, there are like crimes committed that do not go convicted. when he gets close to the end of watch, every black

panther is going to be released, --ry criminal that might be will get a full pardon. pedophiles -- the administration gave a pardon to a pedophile in illinois. he was a congressman, reynolds was his name. they say he is not a pedophile, but the girls were like 16, 17, still a pedophile. this administration loves to create chaos. host: nick, tennessee, appreciate the call. on our facebook page -- the drug war is stupid. i agree with the decision. ended the war on drugs. jim glover says we do not need to put pot smokers in jail, that

cost too much money. michael mccaffrey says and that the criminalization of all drugs. treat abuse, regulate use, and of the war. liverman says good. the democrats line, good morning. caller: good morning. change it.ink he can i am not going as far as the last caller, but i think if they are not going to punish people for using drugs, they should change the law. they're saying that crime is that an all-time low in the united states. you start letting all these people out -- they may be nonviolent crimes, but they do things to get money to commit these crimes. they mudb houses,

people, they rob stores, you will see crime go to an all-time high. i have friends that have been havesive century -- that been in penitentiary and as soon as they get out of jail, they go right back to looking for drugs and finding ways to get drugs. this is a big problem for the united states. host: thank you for the call. reaction?, your i have a question. i was wondering if -- i think the clemency is going to be good on this for nonviolent offenders. is -- was wanting to know the people that got arrested in had a past drug

offense, nonviolent, for say, marijuana, are they going to be eligible for having that drug offense expunged off their records? they will not have that stigma that they have been arrested when they have a background check for a job or whatever. it will not show that they have been arrested for smoking pot when states are starting to legalize it for medical use and stuff because it is helping people. host: thank you for the call from ohio. front page of "the alanna could journal-constitution -- the atlantic journal constitution." a new gun law splits law enforcement. it allows those that have a registered gun to carry the gun in a number of public places, including select locations inside an airport. -- the fda globe"

looking to regulate electronic cigarettes. on clemency for convicted drug offenders. the story is available online at cnn.com. more lawyers will handle an anticipated flood of clemency request. the changes are the latest step in an effort by the attorney general, which he calls smart on crime. it seeks to remedy the disparity in sentences over powder versus crack cocaine. here is more with the attorney general. [video clip] make thepproach will criteria for clemency recommendation more expansive. it will allow the department of justice and the president to consider requests from a larger field of eligible individuals. these reforms go into

effect, we expect to receive thousands of applications for clemency. the department of justice will meet this need by assigning dozens of lawyers with backgrounds in prosecution and defense to review applications and provide scrutiny that all applications require. was the attorney general in his weekly address, discussing more details on the plan that was fleshed out yesterday by james: his news in hisnce -- james cole news conference. i do not think a lot of people understand -- when reagan was president and his wife did the crime on drugs, three strikes you're out, there are people doing life without parole for pot. for pot. now they are legalizing pot and they are still in jail, for marijuana.

i do not smoke, but you have criminals that are doing time for murder and getting out on parole because they only did one murder. you have people that are smoking pot that did it three times and they got arrested and they are doing life. that is crazy. the states are paying for them people in the god damned prisons, paying for medicals and everything else in these people that are calling him saying they're going to be the sex offenders, that is not what they are doing. they are talking about people that got the three strikes, you're out on pot. host: thank you for the call. a political story as hillary clinton, back on the college campus, travel to uconn as she delivered a speech. speculation continues on a potential race for the white house in 2016. from the style section of "the

washington post." clinton memoir sparks a tussle. the networks via for what they call the clinton "get." robert barnett will help orchestrate her media campaign and no decisions about media strategy have been made. brian williams to ,ox news to cnn to diane sawyer all vying for that first interview with hillary clinton. for c-span2 at that 's book tv. hampton, virginia, democrats line. good morning. caller: i think it is a good thing. the reason why it is a good thing, like the previous caller

said, there are people in prison and in jail for these nonviolent crimes. it is foolishness. people should not be in jail for smoking marijuana, for child support, things like that. i do not have any issues like that, but my understanding was prison was supposed to be rehabilitative and what we have now is penal systems. it is a waste of time and money. send the people to some type of program to help them get off drugs. thank you. that is my comment. have a good day. host: thank you for the call. a headline from "the new york times." the piece begins with the announcement by the justice department to canvass the entire federal present -- prison population to find inmates who chromatid -- who committed low-level crimes and could be

released early. the latest effort to break from the criminal justice policies created to fight drugs. is joining us next. good morning. caller: good morning. host: please go ahead. caller: i want to speak to one of your callers. people seem to have a misunderstanding of what is going on. from what i understand, they are going to give clemency to drug offenders that are doing time. these are drug dealers, not drug users. texas was talking out thatowing people

will go back to committing crimes to obtain drugs. that is not the people that they're talking about. they're talking about drug dealers. host: george makes this point. rural prisons will lose and their offenders surrounding localities tax income based on prison population count. headline from the washington post. as the justice department outlines criteria, making this point -- the justice department is planning to send surveys to all federal inmates by may 2. the goal is to start identifying inmates. to u.s. was also sent attorneys asking for help in selecting him and see candidates.

the completed surveys will be sent to the clemency project, 2014. formsill sift through the that meet the justice department's criteria. it is composed of stewart's organization, the federal public defenders, the american civil union and are working to recruit and train lawyers on how to screen inmates for eligibility. there is this story that points out chairman goodlett is ripping the president's plan to offer clemency to potentially thousands of nonviolent offenders. he says congress, not the president should determine the length of sentences. president has the authority

to issue pardons, but he needs to use them sparingly. he has again demonstrated his blatant disregard for our nation's laws and the system of checks and balances embedded in the u.s. constitution. that story is available online. howard, exeter, rhode island. good morning. caller: good morning. i would like to comment on the clemency. an injustice to the american taxpayer. these people put in jail for nonviolent crimes. i am not my brother's keeper. smokese people want to dope and do drugs, if they want

to kill themselves, that is up to them. why should taxpayers be held responsible and pay fees for these dopes? the government ought to get off of this business. you do not put a guile -- if you're going to put a guy in jail for life, you may as well executed him. it upsets me a great deal. that is all i have to say. paul sends this e-mail. i believe all nonviolent drug offenders that the states have contracted out to privately owned a prisons should be released. his practice has failed miserably and creates criminal activity like drug abuse inside these places. clemency?ewer says

it is ok to be drugged up and addicted? tell this to vermont state police. meanwhile, a story from abcnews.com. it is related to drugs and fourth graders selling marijuana. thattory points out fourth-graders have been investigated for the sale of marijuana. both boys got the weed from relatives. the of the kids took marijuana without the consent of their grandparents. adults 21 and over have been able to buy recreational marijuana legally since january 1. these two fourth-graders are being disciplined and do not face criminal charges. keith, bristol, tennessee. caller: good morning.

fourth-graders selling drugs fits into my comment. it is a perfect opportunity, with all the legalizing of the drugs, they are more than jobs in salesand and so forth. host: thank you for the call. a look york times took at the three strikes and you're out. president bill clinton proclaimed that three strikes and you're out needs to be the law of the land. here is how the debate was framed. [video clip] bombarded viewers with scenes of murder, mayhem, blood and guts. the war on crime. it seemed lost. >> there is terrorism in america. we live in fear.

>> the murder of a california child by a man with a 20 year criminal history was a tipping point. new sentencing laws, call three strikes, you're out, were seen as the answer to the repeated offender -- the repeat offender menace. >> three strikes and you're out. host: that is from a new york times video documentary. backtiffer penalties put in place in the 1980's and 1990's. this announcement would allow clemency for some convicted drug offenders. .j. makes this point. is this going to be the new precedent? is it ok to commit all of the crimes you want -- just don't be violent.

-- servinglemency justice. concluding with this point. president obama understands the damage of the war on drugs. with eric holder, he pushed for reductions to crack cocaine sentences and has had almost a blind spot when it comes to clemency, granting fewer petitions than any modern president. hamilton defended the pardon power in what he calls an essential counterweight in the severity of criminal law. that power is in mr. obama's hands. now he must use it. back to your calls. martha, michigan, republican line. good morning. caller: i have a quick comment to make. people need to know how they can get their hands on the application process.

this ine to follow order to get the clemency. havef these comments something you should consider, but you have to get to the nitty-gritty. that is all i wanted to say. host: liz, detroit, independent line. caller: i have a comment and a question. the questions asked by the president as a very important question. my question is this. i hear people talk about we need to get a certain type of program for them, to help them get off drugs because they're using too much morning -- too much money for prison. drug programs will cost money to. people are going into them and they're not making the change. few, but they are not doing anything on a greater impact. we have to be careful of how we

this.ing to balance people will become addicted and they will need assistance and they will have behaviors that may not be positive for our community. that is my response, mike,, and my question. what do you do about the cost? liz, thank you for your call. , weou have just tuned in welcome your calls and comments. on an announcement yesterday, anticipated by the justice department, this provides clemency for convicted drug offenders. the justice department outlines the criteria for these clemency offers. victor has this point on our twitter page. the disparities in drug sentencing laws has been shameful. making a reference that we are hearing quite common this for-profit prison

sentencing. a related story that we found on yahoo!'s website area and -- website. marijuana may cause heart problems in young adults. the findings are in the journal of the american heart association, raising concerns about these a few marijuana as many parts of the world are relaxing laws on its use. complicationsart appear to small and the study, which included nearly 2000 people who sought medical assistance. attacksple had heart and circulation problems related to their brain and limbs. a greater concern is the high death rate. one patient died according to french researchers. the percentage of reported

cardiovascular convocations tripled. the story is available online at yahoo.com. tony, chapel hill, tennessee. caller: good morning. a couple of things i want to say about this. --is stupid to start with especially marijuana, some of these other drugs. -- theyl dea, the state are not going to like this and all that they're letting them out. testing're doing is people, complicating all of the oferials -- confiscating all the materials, the drugs, the cars, everything they claim was acquired by law -- i mean, by illegal drugs. they are loving that. that have guys

guns they got from this confiscation. they have to leave them until people go to court, but after that -- [indiscernible] host: thank you for the call. sandy making a reference to the story we just read. fourth graders becoming pot entrepreneurs. we are witnessing the continued devolution of colorado. this story -- moscow warned .gainst attacking kiev

the president was saying he hoped to see russia follow through over the next several days on the agreement, the agreement was in geneva, switzerland. officials are saying that they anticipated the u.s. asset freezes and the visa bans would new setnced against a of prominent russians by friday. the president talked about that. he is in tokyo, japan. the start of a weeklong, four nation trip. the president saying that russia "teed up."re the president is warning that the u.s. has teed up additional

sanctions against moscow on the have days, not weeks to renounce the actions of what he calls militias and armed pro-russian separatists who hold buildings in eastern ukraine. larry, carmelo, indiana. republican line. i am retired from the u.s. justice department. if you would go to any federal and look into the people that are locked up in a federal penitentiary's, you will ninen average of seven and prior convictions before they even get to the penitentiary level. you are not getting -- boys and girls out of the penitentiary. they have had a life of crime before they were sentenced.

if they want to alleviate a problem, they could probably go to the county jail on a first-time offense and along those people up, but that would be up to the state. you have to remember, when people are locked up in the seven 29 times, e timesve -- seven to nin they have prior convictions. you can give them training and they will turn it to the side and go back to a life of crime. they get their high that way. a bank for $20,000, spent 30 years locked up, and they think they have done something. based on your expertise, what do you think of the president's land for this? caller: it is political. every president tickets to the end of the term, they always do

something like this. this two years in advance because they haven't done anything. they are turning back blacks into the community because they are black. host: thank you for the call. hope fades in south korea with the ferry that overturned. several hundred, mostly high school students, were killed. this is one of the backdrops the president will face when you travel to south korea and malaysia as the investigation continues to what happened to flight 370. protests in the philippines preceding the president. the president will be coming back to the u.s. next tuesday. this is one of the photo terms -- the photographs in the front page of "the washington post"

this morning. i do not smoke marijuana, and i think it is silly for people to injure their health using this stuff, but two percent of the people have cardiac problems, look at all of the people that drink alcohol, which is a legal drug. we have assault on wives, family members, hepatitis, all of these different diseases we get from alcohol. nobody says anything about that. the other thing i wanted to say they're talking about people committing many crimes compared to people that have been arrested for drug offenses. the three strikes law, we are not talking about people that committed many offenses, we are talking about young people who have gotten into a quandary by doing something stupid and have

gone a long sentence for. we are trying to help people come back into society. we are not trying to help the official criminals. let's not get this confused and try to have americans against something because the president says we need to do this. host: tom, thank you. this point -- the bottom line -- there is no hope in the black community. no one is motivating the kids to escape the cycle of poverty. tweet or joins a us on facebook. today" --page of "usa u.s. troops land in poland to boost allies. we covered this yesterday. and as part of c-span's video library. you can check it out anytime

online on c-span.org. let's go through what the criteria is for the clemency. you would receive a lower sentence if you were convicted today versus 10 to 12 years ago. if you have served at least 10 years of that sentence, if you do not have significant criminal history, if you have demonstrated good conduct in prison, no history of violence prior to or during your current imprisonment, or have low level offenders with no ties to large-scale criminal organizations, gangs, or cartels. e took questioned yesterday. [video clip] >> the vast majority will probably be drug offenders. been denominated

career criminals because they had priors that were minor drug cases that were called felonies. we want to make sure that we are not foreclosing the possibility that there are other types of worthy ofthat are this kind of clemency, where there was an unfairness that took place because of the operational law. we are open to looking at whatever comes in. host: that is from james cole. more headlines, courtesy of " the newseum." -- 170,000.rce will besident joe biden in attendance for this sporting event. speaking of sports -- the crowd goes old-style. field, 100 years old yesterday. hattiesburg, mississippi, independent line.

good morning. me and my cousin phyllis were sentenced to five years and we were drug users. we are clean now. the loss should apply to nonviolent offenders -- the law should apply to nonviolent offenders. the majority of the people that are drug dealers are drug users trying to do things to support their habit, like in our situation. is owingbrother that for amandatory years minor drug conviction. -- now wehould be have drug courts that were not available when we were going to jail. this point, responding to an earlier tweet. no one is motivating those kids? the black community is very

diverse, including education and income levels. continues inton the chevy cobalt, another vehicle that was recalled more than 2.5 million cars recalled. gm saying replacements which parts are on the way to dealers. back to politics. another bush. jeb bush making a statement yesterday. i am thinking about 2016 run. he was the most vocal about considering a run for the white house in 2016. attold a crowd of about 200 a charity fundraiser in new york city that he is thinking about running for president. as one of theame first questions posed to bush. after the answer, the room went wild. he said, would you call and tell my mom? making reference to an interview

we conducted with barbara bush in which he thought it was time for the bush family to move aside and make room for others. if you want to check out that interview, it is part of our video library. dorothy, florida, good morning. caller: good morning. i think they should go ahead and he -- give the prisoners the clemency they need. they have a chance to make their lives better. theyey do not want to, will go back into the drugs and marijuana coming up on our next election in november, to legalize it in florida. it gives them a chance, if they want to make something of their lives, they can. if they don't, that will go back to using the drugs.

easier, less expensive, to bury them than it would be to feed them for 20, 30, 40 years. they should legalize the marijuana and get it over with. there are people that need it for medical use for the cancers and other diseases that they have that may give them relief. --ng people do not realize host: thank you for the call. i heard the excuses that the attorney general and president is making, but as a black father and grandfather, if you live in some of these cities -- i live in the city of a new work and it is a -- newark and it is a disgrace.

people that are being pardoned that are using it is farther from the truth than anyone can imagine. people arrested -- they never go to jail. if you could come to the city of newark and see what goes on in some of the streets. we fight to keep the streets clean. the people selling never get arrested. i hope the president and talk to general would the people. not the politicians. we have a guy running for mayor in the city of newark and he says i know how to deal with the gang members. you don't need to deal with the gang members. you need to do with the people who live in the community. it is a total disgrace. host: moses, thank you for the call. this headline -- ukraine tensions rise as the truce

crumbles. russia warns that any attack on its citizens in ukraine would be considered an attack on russia itself. the elections in ukraine scheduled for late may. now inr troopers are poland as part of the nato operation. we are going to take a short break. when we come back, the issue of common core standards and the debate over its adoption. michael petrilli will be joining us from the,'s fordham institute. -- isagazine will joi out today with the most influential people of the world. you're listening to "washington journal." we are back in two moment. ♪

[video clip] >> we engage in a strong symbol of american democracy. the peaceful and respectful exchange of power. passed the gavel, which is larger than most gavels here, but the gavel of choice of mr. speaker boehner. [laughter] pass this gavel and the sacred trust that goes with it to the new speaker. god bless you, speaker banner. [applause] god bless you, congress. god bless america.

[applause] >> thank you all. it is still just me. madam speaker, thank you for your kind words. thank you for your service to this institution.

to welcome our new members and families on what is a very special day. all of us who have been here remember the first day that we served here. us can tell you that you will never forget today. >> washington journal continues. >> we want to welcome michael petrilli. good morning. think you for having me on. host: our topic is common core standards. it is a set of standards and

initiatives put forward by the federal government. nga andeveloped by the the council of chief state school officers. place fordards are in k through 12. here's a look at where it has been adopted in green and yellow the states that have not adopted it, including alaska, texas, indiana, and virginia. explain. me correct you on one thing. you said this would put forward by the federal government. there is confusion about that. in fact, it is something that the states did on their own. it started before president barack obama was in office. ,fter the process got started the federal government put

forward some strong incentives for the states to sign up. this started in the states and is being run at the state level. that is where the debate is. host: is it working? guest: it is too early to know. byse standards were adopted the states in 2010. we do not have the tests that go along with the standards. they are being field tested right now and in number of states. they will go live for the first time next spring. that is when you can say that the common core standards are really being implemented in full. this is important because we have had standards and tess for 20 years in this country. kids are performing better than they were two decades ago.

standards were set much too low, the test were much too easy, and we have had all of the standards and testing that people like to complain about. because the tests have been so easy to pass, we sent the wrong signals to parents. the signal is, your kids are doing fine. to go on, they get their high school diploma, everything is gray. then, these people go to college and they are told, i am sorry, but you are not ready to take college-level courses. you have to go back and take remedial courses in math and reading. 1, 2, 3 courses before you can even start. the expectations of our public education system were not high enough. they were not connected to the standards of the real world. the same thing happens if a young person wants to get a job after high school. times, they show up to try

to get a decent paying job and the employers say -- i have a job, i would like to hire you, but you do not have the reading, the writing, the math, or the problem-solving that you need. the idea is to raise the bar so that the expectations at the elementary and secondary level are high enough to prepare students for success. that is so is all about. that is why this momentum is important. to go back to the criteria for the standards. in terms of the implementation, what is the incentive for states to do this? they provide resources for states to adhere to these principles? guest: let's talk about the federal rule. it is important. my colleagues on the right -- it is a big concern for people. these standards -- they came together and said we acknowledge that we have standards that are not very good and we have these tests then nobody likes. they are low level.

let's see if we can do better. if we team up and provide political cover to one another, we can set the bar where it needs to be. they started this process. there was this federal incentive, this race to the top program. this provided incentives for states to embrace all kinds of reforms. part of that was on the common core. states adopted the common core and had a better shot of winning the grant. this happened three or four years ago. that has come and gone. statesat happens in the with the standards? there is no more federal resources tied to this. the federal government did invest in the test that comes along with the standards, but it is up to the 45 states to decide what to do with them. the states that are doing a good job are serious about retraining teachers and developing new materials, about changing what happens in the classrooms. it is to make sure that the teaching and learning is the kind that needs to happen. governor ofrmer

tennessee and a former education secretary, and now the senator of tennessee weighed in on the issue. [video clip] >> how about academic standards and curriculum? there are states in rebellion over the so-called common core standards. they are about higher standard for children that need to learn more. the problem is, washington got involved and people in our state and many states do not like national school boards and washington control of public schools. i think we should stop and think about this. i would prefer to see the government in washington act as an enabler of states and local school boards rather than a mandater. guest: i think he is right.

you heard him say these are high standards. tennessee has embraced the common core and has done a great job of training teachers. they have embraced a variety of reforms, including higher standards. the federal government has no business involved in this. a lot of us that support common core are very frustrated and angry at the obama administration for politicizing this issue. it is not just the race to the top incentive, but the president took credit for these incentives. you have the secretary of education who cannot help himself and like to talk about the standards at every turn. every time he talks about the standards, he seems to say something nasty about the opponents. we need to turn us back to the states.

that is where it started and that is where the real action is in education. host: this is an interview he did. he said that there needs to be accountability. we need to make sure that the federal government, in partnership with states, are holding teachers accountable so that teachers -- so that students can get through k through 12. guest: i disagree that the federal government should have that strong role in education. people want education control at the state and local level. the common core, there was a federal incentive that happened four years ago, but overwhelmingly, it started in the states and is the province of the states. the states have that power. indiana decided they do not want to do common core. that is their right. it is the states under our system of government, under our

constitution, that has this responsibility. --,'s fordham institute does the thomas fordham institute does groundwork in the great state of ohio. we do more on the ground work on school reform and oversee charter schools and push for andrms like rental choice education -- parental choice and education at the state level. the common core standards are quite good. we have not talked about that yet. when you look -- i hope your viewers go on the website and look at the standards and read them. they are commonsense standards for reading and math that are quite traditional and also very strong. the kinds of things we want our own kids to know and be able to do. like the standards,

you do not want washington dictating them. right. host: we will get to your calls and comments. we are dividing your phone calls between teachers, parents, and all others. parent, (202) 585-3880. teachers, (202) 585-3881. all others, (202) 585-3882. we will start with mary. good morning. caller: i am a grandparent and retired teacher. i am in favor of the common core standards, especially an hour stay, mississippi. of is have become aware an out and out war against common core. evangelical christians, the

jimmy swaggart show that comes up. his wife has a panel, all kinds of conspiracies and things about the children that could be used against them. and it is anti-american. they were saying they get credit for it. disheartening to see that christians have -- are fighting against this. i am a christian, presbytery in. i want my grandchildren to have a good education. igher children need h standards. they need to be held accountable for what they do. people understand why

who send their children to private school and who homeschool their children are fighting such a roar against this. i help my grandchildren with their homework every afternoon. i want them to do very well. my older grandchild goes to a fabulous school. i want my grandchildren in this small town to have the same opportunity. host: thank you for the call. guest: a great call. it is true that the common core standards are important for a state like mississippi. their own standards were set at such a low level over time. this will be a huge improvement for places like mississippi. the tests are much more higher-quality tests, partly because we have the scale.

mississippi didn't have the money and we have that again. there is a lot of concerns on the right and on the left. of people that are opposed. i blame the president. by taking credit for the standards, the president politicized it. people have heard that and they start to believe that. this must be a government conspiracy to take over our schools. that makes people very nervous. host: our guest is michael petrilli, a graduate of the university of michigan. for more information you can log onto edexcellence.net. there is this from ron. let's hear from rob from

massachusetts. you are a teacher? caller: yes, i am. i teach high school. host: massachusetts has the common core standard? caller: correct. host: go ahead. caller: from a teacher's thatective, i find teachers are most frustrated with the place -- pace of implementation. get the test done as soon as they can so that there can be ratings of teachers and schools. that sounds a lot like the previous initiative, no child left behind. i am in favor of higher standards.

and other teachers feel they are not being listened to when it comes to and limitation. of like to push back of one thing that mr. petrilli said. when it comes to the role of the federal government, an important aspect is that because congress has not reauthorized no child left behind, the u.s. department of education has been requiring states to adopt the state standards as a condition to receive a waiver from the requirements of no child left behind. i'm sure every state that received a waiver had, gore and limitation. guest: great call. it was not a requirement to do common core in order to get these waivers. several states including virginia did not do the common core bowler able to get a waiver from the no child left behind act. that is to redesign their

accountability system. teachers do overwhelming support the standards. most teachers are excited that the tests will be better tests. they are not going to be low level, fill in the blank level tests. the concern is whether teachers will be accountable for the test scores right away. most states have been smart to say is not fair to put teacher'' head on the chopping blocks to teach these higher standards. we areouple of years, not going to hold teachers personally accountable for those test scores until we get used to the new system. host: this is from one of our viewers saying they are confused. guest: right. that is right.

the federal government had no role in drafting or dictating the standards. carrotovided the big with race to the top first states to sign up. many states did sign up because of that incentive. the government has paid for the development of the test that goes along with the standard. i wish it hadn't happened but it did. far outweigh the negatives. education is ay problem for some on the right. santorum has posted this op-ed and he says the following. "it was by an act of the

government, the state secretary of education or the state board of education. the people most affected, parents and teachers, never had a chance to weigh in." a teacher from maine, good morning. caller: good morning. i am a teacher and had been a teacher for 17 years. i completely agree with high standards. our teachers need to be held accountable. what i am struggling with as a teacher is balancing all these targets or standards and how to implement them. i agree about the speed of implementation. when we look at standards that might not have been as rigorous and ample meant the new standards, what is happening is

students are coming up without the proper skills and having to do remediation on targets that came before. beinghey are not retained, they are moving on in the high school is flooded with having to remediate and hold students to a high standard. how do we intimate something and then remediate? theecond issue is where is love of learning? where is the creativity? how can i teach a passion for learning when i am micromanaging all of these small targets? it is a balance of a love of learning and a checklist of all of the targets. host: from minus what grade

level you teach --remind us? caller: seventh grade language arts. host: what is the key to being a successful teacher? caller: creating a love of learning, i believe, with our students. it doesn't matter how long or short the list is of standards. orstudents don't have buy in don't care about what they are learning and don't have a passion for what they are learning about, all of them -- you can fill in the blank. if i can inspire a love of learning than my job is not being done. host: how do you measure your own success? what is your benchmark? we do use standardized tests but i understand that is one small facet of a student's

learning. community beautiful within my classroom. i can tell by looking at a ting, bys wri discussing this with them and their parents how they have grown. it is less from the about the standardize test. it is not the most important benchmark. host: sounds like your students are lucky to have you. we will get a response. guest: absolutely. she is correct when she says this is hard. we are changing from a system with low standards and now we go to higher standards. that transition is tough for students and teachers. it will be tough for a while. they are coming into middle school with much higher

expectations. that is why we need to be providing a ton of support for teachers, a lot of training. we are talking a lot about the politics around this. i remember in my high school days, some of my best classes or advance placement classes where the teachers were phenomenal. there was a next arnold test at the -- there was an external test at the end of the year. not a single state legislature had adopted the standards. that was the case for the state standards. that has never been a role for state legislators. in education, we have had a notion we should not have education, especially the content control by politicians.

that needs to be controlled by representatives of the broader community. that was not different than this process. it did happen quickly. there was a chance for people to weigh in. we have a chance to engage the public, hear everybody's concerns and i hope decide to move forward with these higher standards. what is the alternative? that doesn't make any sense. host: what is your background on this issue? guest: we have been studying state standards for 15 years. we were putting out reports every couple of years looking at the standards saying these are not high enough. back in the mid-2000's we started advocating for common standards.

may be the way is to get the states to do this together. strong advocates for the idea of common standards, especially for high standards. host: you have worked in the education department during the bush administration. is the department working the way it was first designed? guest: there is no doubt it is more powerful than it has ever been. arne duncan has had more discretion than any other secretary. there has been a big amount of funding. it is also because congress has not managed to renew the major education law. it is now seven years overdue and the administration is basically legislating from the executive branch. i would say many people in washington are concerned that

the department of education is out of control and has much more power than it should. host: a question from vivian. you can share your questions on our twitter page and on facebook. let me turn to this map. texas,a, virginia, alaska has not adopted the common core standards. what does it mean for those states? guest: they continue to have their own standards. in some of the states, the standards are pretty good. i would argue the tests are not very good. they are missing out on a historic opportunity. there is a ton of material that is being developed that teachers

and students can take advantage of across the country, and teachers in those states will not benefit as much. it is up to those states. we believe education is a state responsibility. host: we are talking about the common core standards. mike is joining us from michigan. caller: are you there? i keep hearing the state's right issue. two things. if we continue with states rights, we would still have segregation. attack on public school. that attack has been ongoing. defunding public schools in michigan.

michigan has dropped from a great educational system and is joined mississippi at the bottom. the attack on common core is irrelevant. all kids should have an equal education. i keep hearing the states' rights. they maintain education. in michigan, the urban schools are being attacked and seamlessly by defunding. almosturban schools have twice as much money as the urban schools. in michigan, muskegon school district is a chartered school system. that is the goal in michigan, to goal toward charter schools, .yber schools host: thanks for the call.

guest: i understand these concerns around equity. there has been a history where to federal government had make sure that change happened at the state level. you see a strong commitment to education reform throughout the country. mike and i may disagree on some of those reforms. charter schools are outperforming traditional other schools, particularly for minority students. we may not see eye to eye on that. funding continues to be an issue. we spent something like $700 billion a year now on k-12 education across the country. how can we make sure we get better results? having solid standards are a

fundamental way to get to that equity that mike is talking about. host: steve is a teacher, and morning. -- good morning. host: tell us where you teach. 974 to: charlotte from 1 2001. union county, full-time until 2005. i have retired but i do substitute. a couple of things. i think higher standards are great and we need them. once you implement them, the standards are dropped or the teachers are blamed. here is the whole thing. there are only two people responsible for a child's education, and that is their parents.

you can blame everybody in the world. the parents are who is responsible for a kid's education. people are talking about the standards being forced down their throats. no child left behind was forced down everybody's throat. it was set up so it would fail, because of the way it was set up. one last comment. how many years have you taught? we have all these education gur us that have never been in the classroom. they don't know what is going on. the whole thing with education, it doesn't hold up to the money necessary or the money is not there that you need. north carolina teachers have not

had a raise in five years. host: thank you for your perspective. guest: let's talk about the parents. the biggest factor will be what is happening at home with the parents. i have two young boys now. we work very hard to make sure we are giving them the support that they need. there is a lot of kids who don't have that family support that they need. 40% of our kids today are born out of wedlock. a quarter of our kids are living with just one parent. i know how hard it is to be a parent when there are two parents in the household. as a public education system due to support those kids? would it be easier if everybody has the two-parent family like

in "leave it to beaver"? a lot of kids don't have that support that they need at home. we have to help them be successful. host: you taught in clarksville, ohio? guest: i got my teaching certificate when i was in college and i taught for a couple of years, basically a camp. host: this is from bill. guest: it doesn't address special needs students particularly. there's been a lot of tension about how the tests are going to assess kids with special needs. for students with cognitive his abilities, and will be a real challenge. of the kids have other disabilities. host: if you haven't autistic

child, do they take these common core exams? guest: they will take the exams. we have a policy that basically everybody gets tested. there are some provisions where students with severe cognitive challenges can take different exams or a low level exams. are working to make sure the system works for those kids. host: a comment from one of our viewers. indiana.s is from mike pence announced indiana was with showing from the common core standards and that they will open the floodgates because many states feel common core is not working.

guest: let's talk about what happened in indiana. they made a big announcement that they are pulling out of the common core. they had a commission to come up with their own standards. the new standards look almost the same as the common core standards. many critics are angry at the governor. many of the tea party folks are now saying, "we are mad at you. we wanted something that was nothing like the common core. you give us something that is 95% the same." there is a lot of pushback. will use the common core language anymore. that is a sense what is happening in indiana. most of the states that have signed up for the common core are still moving forward with the common core.

these are good standards. the tests will be much better than what states have today. indiana has been thrown into chaos. they are not sure what the testing system is going to be. they have two sets of standards out there. it is a bit of a disaster. they didn't think through what would happen. host: our topic is the common core debate. our guest is michael petrilli. mary lou is our next guest. caller: good morning and thank you for c-span. mr. petrilli, i have a quick question for you. are you of any particular political persuasion? democrat, republican in the

, independent? we are going back many years. we had parent teachers association's. most of the time the parents and teachers plotted the course of education for their children. people are skeptical about this is because it seems like in many cases the parents are being pushed out of the picture. it seems like it is being taken over by the educators. many parents are choosing to homeschool their kids. one issue that concerns me with common core, an this is happening in other areas. people are being more or less force to conform, to be uniform in all area, to think and feel the same about different things. i think this is in the needs creativity on the parts of

children, especially those with special needs. my feeling is if you stifle the creativity of a child, you ruined them for life. you said earlier many people on the right are opposed to this, i think we are tired of being told , people not directly involved in children's education are or should be how to handle things when it should emanate from the home. thank you. guest: very well said. if people look at the standards, you will not find anything that is about conforming to a point of view. i would not support the standards if that was the case. i want my kids do have a chance to be creative. how to learn math and make sure

you know your times table and make sure you can do fractions. there is a big focus on making sure kids have access to great works of literature and learning about science and history and the founding documents and shakespeare, all of which should help students have access to all of the great humanities and the ability to be creative. for a lot of people, the term common core sounds like we are trying to make everybody common. bey say, "i what my key to extraordinary." but look at the standards. this is all very basic and very traditional and the foundation to go on and learn at high levels and be creative in life. when the kids to be able to read and write and do math. host: this point from beth who sends an e-mail.

guest: i just think that is incorrect. teachers were very much involved drafting the standards. teachers overwhelmingly embrace the standards. the major teachers unions are behind the standards. most say this is what we want. this charge is coming from the far left. this is somehow a big moneymaking scheme. we hear this a lot. they run busing companies and sell textbooks and desks. that has always been there.

there is a concern that some now this is a big conspiracy. read the standards. suddenly the conspiracy starts to melt away. host: from another viewer -- guest: i will speak personally. i learned an important lesson from the no child left behind years. regardless of the ideology, it is hard for the government to have a positive impact in education without a lot of unintended consequences. you have to work through the states and the schools. it turns out to be a big mess. we are better off making sure the states had the lead on education. the federal government can do research but should not be driving this train.

you can read details at courtstandards.org. there is an initiative, voluntary opts -- voluntary adoption by the states. -- robert from alabama, a teacher, good morning. former teacher, i substitute now. high school math. i'm a little nervous. said, the community, and the school, makes a good .tudent

the parents are so important, they have to send -- different from the teachers betting almost time disciplining the children. i was advocated 40 years ago, eighth grade student who leaves alabama to go to new york should be on the same curriculum level there is someone will always be at the top and someone will at the bottom. you have a standard. standard book is a curriculum. the same ipass now bama is the york.n new teachers should compose the common core curriculum. it is good for the country. some people do not want a lot of people educated. states like alabama and mississippi do not want a lot of have can americans educated.

same education is why people, the only way you can discriminate against them is color. our students will be better. our teachers should have the greatest input. [indiscernible] the doctor has one client, the lawyer has one client, and the teachers have 20 to 30 comments. you did not sound nervous at all. [laughter] thank you. do difficultrs work and do not get the praise or the pay they deserve. the good news is these common core standards are just standards. the curriculum, the textbooks and what we do every day, that

is still under the control of local educators and it should be. a lot of educators are excited because they are working in teams and saying, how can i do a better job teaching math and english? so my students can go to college and write a college paper? there are states out there who same standards and people have been doing all the work for four years and they have been retrained and we are all of a sudden having a political debate that says, hold on. because barack obama likes these standards, we should pull out. the teachers are saying, what are you talking about? we have been doing this for four years. we finally have momentum. i hope we can put the politics back to this focus. how can we implement these. there is a lot of work to be

done. a tweet -- let's go to diana, last call, a parent and a teacher from staten island, new york. caller: good morning. i'm a little nervous. i agree with standard criterions. the thing that concerns me is, what is the control group? what are you judging it according to? i do not understand how i kid can pass the test really well one year and not do well another year. those criteria's are the ones they should be judging for the kids. is ther issue

performance on standardized tests. some kids do better and some do not. thing. another last but not least, it seems the whole year goes something like this. might generalize it, but the first few months of the year when it starts, they review whatever they did last year. to may, they drill and drill and drill to pass the tests. from may until june, they review whatever they have done. when are they really studying? the test should be a minimal criteria or somewhere minimal to media criteria. and the on be above

those tests. they should know the material and to well above and beyond those test. diana raises an important issue. it is back to the test again. we have had low level tests. all the -- the results, it works. incentive foruge schools to do that. with the common core, the drilling will not work. lot more writing and creative responses. what it means is the only way to help get your test scores up is to do a good job with the material. it will go a long way in solving the problem. it will bring back high-quality teaching and learning in the classroom. so many teachers do the common

core and say, hey, this will be good for our students. transition, there will be a lot of work to be done to explain to parents why is it your child passed last year with flying colors and this year the it did not. tose standards are related the real standards. class is people want to follow you on twitter, how do do they do so? thank you. we hope you follow us on twitter as well on c-span or if you are listening on c-span radio. magazine is out today. the 100 most influential people in the world. who would you include as the most influential?

for democrats, the number is 202. if you are a self-described independent or party member, 535, 3882. if joining us outside, that --mber is 202 marisol bello joins us. first, a c-span radio update. >> the associated press says the

situation is boiling plans for a showcase deal during president obama's visit. two -- too many issues to resolve. transpacific partnership. the federal communications to propose newet rules, allowing companies like disney, google, and netflix. special, faster lanes to send video and other content. net neutrality, the idea that no providers of legal internet content should face discrimination and that users should have equal access to see any legal content they choose. the proposal comes three months after a federal appeals court struck down for the second time .gency rules intended

the export import bag of united states kicks off its annual conference today here in washington. conservative groups, including heritage action, are pushing lawmakers to do away with the bank. ae chairman will mount vigorous defense of the organization this morning, and also addressing the gathering today will be john kerry. covering the event that begins in 15 minutes. those are some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. year, therethan a have been allegations and insinuations but i know about the planning of the watergate break-in and i was involved in cover itive plot to up. the house judiciary committee is now investigating the charges. on march 6, i ordered all materials i had previously

furnished to the federal prosecutor turned over to the committee. these included a tape recorder of 19 presidential conversations id more than 700 documents agreed to respond to a subpoena by tomorrow. president nixon responded to a house judiciary commission subpoena. his response plus reflections from carl bernstein sunday night at 8:00 eastern on c-span three. c-span brings public affairs

events from washington directly to you, putting in the room for congressional hearings, white house events, briefings, and conferences. all as a public service of private industry, we are c-span brought to you as a public service by her local cable or satellite provider. like us on facebook and follow us on twitter. washington journal continues. host: welcome back. we will spend the next half hour hearing from you on this question. the mostre to, with influential people in the world, who would be on your list? time magazine has done so. joining us on the phone from new york, thank you for being with us. the top 10, announced earlier this morning? we do not rank the list.

you can do it yourself. it is a list of the 100 most influential in absolutely no particular order. redford, maryt barra, and jason collins, the first player in one of the major u.s. pro sports leagues to come out as gay. robert redford is best known for his acting abilities but a leading activists of global warming and the environment. guest: he is on there for his acting. he has been an outspoken and incredibly involved environmental activist, but this was the 30th anniversary of the film festival. he is the godfather of independent film in america. of thesemajority incredible futures that have come out in the next decade would not have existed had he

not created the incubation platform with sundance. host: a story this morning, saying it is reenergized with jeff as the owner of the washington post. why did he make the list? amazon remains incredibly influential and every year, they dig deeper and deeper into our lives, whether the soap we buy for family for serial, or their new latest gambit to deliver by drones. the purpose of the drones is what catapulted him this year. listing an institution a little bit. not only did he imbue it with incredible energy and vitality, but it red hat -- it had a renewed sense of purpose.

let's go through other names on the list. probably no surprise that pope francis is on the list. a democratic senator and a republican senator, rand paul. senator fromrmer new york wrote it. it is more an appreciation. one of her earliest forays into politics was her politics. he says she would make a great president and she dares anyone to underestimate her. hillary clinton is on the list. her book is out on june. guest: her book is being read as something to a precursor or not. a number of reasons. of course, secretary of state.

the will she won't she shadowboxing. host: walk us through the history of this list. we began it in 2004 and the idea was to chronicle the most influential people of the year. that is perhaps a worthwhile exercise. quite predictable. you have the readers of the nations come you expect all the various central bankers. this is an attempt to get influenced in a number of ways. the athletes, the actors, the musicians, economists, scientists, whose breakthroughs contribute immeasurably to research. a snapshot of those who are shaping our world and that we think so -- think will do so in ways we can barely predict. the process begins around

november. we reach out to our correspondents all over the world. one of the great things about it is as we have gone on, and number of alumni pitch in with , writing suggestions about previous winners and so on. it is a fun, rolling club. cousin -- president obama also on the list. who's apprised you the most? guest: i like jason collins entry. you look merely at his stats, no way he qualifies. two points of the games at the end for the nets. out in the to come major sports league, his influence will come out far beyond the stats of his basketball card. host: you and the editors get to

select the 100 but you also have a viewer poll. about 3 billion people have weighed in. yes, it is a wonderful way to reach out. way to engage influence. it does not have any bearing on the final decision we make on the list. if you wanted to put someone on the list that do not make the time 100, from your standpoint, who would it be? isst: i will have to pass only because there is always next year. host: somebody said there, anybody can have a bad century. thank you for being with us at time magazine. to get your calls and

comments on the 100 most influential. if you are coming up with the list, who would it be? secretary of state clinton made the list and she was in connecticut this morning and she traveled to the university of connecticut, celebrating the victories and the ncaa that -- basketball tournament. post, the washington networks vie for clinton get. all the networks are trying to get her, whether 60 minutes or primetime special or cnn. they all want the first issue -- interview with secretary of state. bobby is joining us from urbana, illinois. withu are going to come up the most influential list, who would be on it yet though -- it? caller: president barack obama. ridiculed, talked

about, scorned by his republican , and dignified. a dignified president. i think he is wonderful. that is my influential person. host: thank you for the call. questions asses the attorney general announces the plan yesterday. this is a story from the washington times. it is consistent with the white house effort to both address rising costs, prison population, and what is seen as an unfair justice system. for the very same offenses. this is what the deputy attorney general said yesterday in washington. you are looking to get different kinds by meeting the

criteria. applications in club -- prior to the time may not have met the criteria. we were looking for those that did, found them, work and develop them and brought them to the president off his attention last year so he could consider them and he did and granted clemency in those cases. we decided we wanted more like that. host: back to your calls on who would be on your most influential list. you want my list? francis. pope bill gates, warren buffett, , senator jeff , akley, senator ron wyden

congressman, peter defazio. host: thanks for the call. christine, pennsylvania. democrats line. .aller: amy goodman i was just watching democracy now 10 minutes ago. wasfactoid that i picked up , jones hit, killed four americans. another program from the 18th. it is very creepy when you actually hear news and that happens. what is going on here? amy goodman. 15 minutes, approximately.

it is so important. the screen went black. we will go to march next, from connecticut. good morning. caller: i would pick ralph nader. maybe he was in my copy of time. he was not on the list. caller:aw. i'm from connecticut. he was a great influence on me when i was much younger. i started a citizens action group in water very. also on the list are two senators. i think they are just wonderful. their dogged work in getting us some decent gun control.

thank you. >> thank you for the call. you can join in the conversation. you could send us a tweet or an e-mail. --e tweet said, yes, he did. a political story from politico.com. the billionaire environmentalists and some of the nation's biggest democratic donors, huddling behind closed doors next week in chicago with union bigwigs and progressive superstars to plan on pulling their country to the left. alliance, aof the secretive club of wealthy liberals, the closest thing the left has to the coat brothers. tom is our guest on c-span's fromam who joins us

clermont county. to influence the 2014 midterm .lections joseph is joining us from hershey, pennsylvania. who is on your list of the most influential? warren.elizabeth i'm not sure she is on it. host: she is. caller: my other question, steve, is your call numbers, republicans, democrats, independents. the same number for republicans and democrats, this time. whether that was a mistake or not, i do not know. why is it not alphabetical or numeric? it is always republicans first. r.at is an i would go to america. you always put republicans first and always call them first.

and ih it all the time see it. once in a great while, you will put democrats first, even though the number is 3880. you know have the correct numbers. what we do, we change it every month. we put the democrats on top one month and then the republicans just to mix it up to the number state -- stays the same but we rotated on a monthly basis. noticed itever changes. host: call us next month and hold our feet to the fire. such -- why doe you waste so much airtime repeating the numbers? is ridiculous. host: we always have new viewers and listeners and we want to make sure they have a chance to participate. caller: one more, why do you not have these guests come on together so they could exchange comments with each other?

always one point of view and not the other. host: i think we try to do a pretty good job of having a balance on all topics. sometimes we will have a point of view and a couple days later, another. on another program, we will have a roundtable with two different points of view. you phone in and tell us what you do and do not like and that is the best feedback of all. think you for phoning in. randy fromto georgetown, illinois. go ahead. good morning. i think revenue -- reverend billy graham. he has done so much for people. i believe he lights the world up. are we talking about people from the past as well? if you had to come up with

a list of the world's most influential, who would be on the list? caller: i think, like i said, billy graham, and the president, because i believe he has done a and i believe our governors from those states, they do a lot of work. i am not a big speaker of government, you understand. these people do a lot of work for us and our influential. are influential. host: the president is in a weeklong trip to asia. this morning at a news conference, he said the u.s. is teeing up another round of

against russia. those sanctions could be announced as early as friday. the latest on the situation in the ukraine, warning against attacking on russian interests. the story says russia warning yesterday it was prepared to retaliate against any attack on citizens in the ukraine. --

additional sanctions are forthcoming. on our independent line from rome, new york, is donna. good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. i really enjoy watching c-span. most influential be dr. benjamin carson. i think he is a wonderful moral and man of integrity. i also agree with the caller about the reverend, billy graham. more i would like to see on the .ist, ted cruz thank you, i will hang up and listen to responses. thank you. next, joining us from moundsville, pennsylvania, on our democrats line. good morning. caller: i think my number one a strange selection but

i think with president obama's trick in asia, it is timely. the former prime minister, leak on you. i feel he has been an influential person in terms of geopolitics and we lived in an increasingly globalized society and i thought it was a good selection. in the world of finance, mohammed al arian, he is a big figurehead. he has made a lot of key pronouncements on the economy. third would be vladimir putin, again, touching off on what is happening in that particular region of the world. host: vladimir putin is on the list. would imagine he would be. was mohammed also their? -- there? host: i did not see his name but you -- he could be.

you can check it out on time.com. caller: we live in a blue -- globalized society and it makes sense to make these selections. thanks for the call. republican line indiana. graham, clint eastwood, ted cruz, rand paul, and chris christie. he stood up. he did not let them pull him over. that is pretty much it. another story on the president posses travels to japan. he said the u.s. would stand .ith japan and that he, the u.s., and the president would defend the u.s. if it were attacked. japanked off his visit to

, also pushing for a trade pact that faces hurdles in washington and tokyo. stop inident will not china this time around but beijing causes growing footprint will be a matter of discussion in all the countries he visits, japan, south korea, malaysia, and the philippines. all of these nations are involved in disputes in china, mostly in sign the uninhabited bits of rock and waters that continue to play in the region. vincent is joining us from oklahoma. the question, if you had to come up with a list of the most influential, who would be on your list? i would like to say mary is the most influential. by voting, i broke the law. i will tell you why.

host: go ahead, we are short on time. re you with us? ok, we will go to delta, oklahoma, good morning. caller: good morning. even though they come to opposite conclusions, i would say paul ryan and van hollen. numbers, even the if they do not agree. they both know the numbers. everybody. the numbers they are coming up with and what they're debating right now in america, they are both very influential to the public. thank you for the call. next from springfield, massachusetts. good morning. caller: make you. just make a major list of corporations.

in accounting one, corporations are not people, so the private debt will not be taken away from them, their people now and they have on anything. whatever force is driving everything in america that the people do not want, would be the most influential corporation. thank you. because of ongoing stories of sexual harassment and luden profane language, the washington post has this story. the navy reassigns the next leader. , relieved of his duties according to the navy, and below that is a photograph of some of the protests preceding the president posses visit to the philippines. i believe the president returns next tuesday. a political story looking at midterm elections in four states

that will determine the bounds inour in the u.s. senate 2015 fear those states, arkansas, kentucky and ireland, louisiana in play. a power player who passed away is the subject of a story this morning. following his death at the age of 95, bob's numeral was in dallas. he got his final farewell yesterday that washington posses national cathedral where the theme was bipartisanship. his talked about relationship with every president from lyndon johnson through barack obama, including friend,y from his fellow texas native, and secretary of state. >> after the implosion of the soviet union, bob and i went to

visit the president, who invited us to take an eastern style song. neither one of us had any earthly idea what an eastern style sauna was. after quite a few latkes and 20 minutes in the heat, a large bundle of eucalyptus branches were picked up and began scratching me on the back and legs. he said he did it in order to open up doors and increase therapeutic benefits of the sauna. after witnessing this, he bolted from the scene. -- strauss told it from the scene. he went outside and told security detail, get the president on the phone. his secretary of the state is buck naked and being beaten by the -- [laughter]

above all, bob was a pragmatic centrist. a one-of-a-kind wisemen. does not he once said, have to be something that only old men recollect. whether you are in politics or in the press, he said, it should be the standard of behavior. imagine a scene when bob met our creator, who created -- greeted him with a simple question. it is of course a question that each of us should ask ourselves from time to time. would you have done anything differently while you are on earth? bob responded exactly as he did in 1993, when a reporter asked him the same question. "i do not have any regrets about hething in my life," explained.

"i like the whole damn deal." bob, we not only like you, we love you. tribute atg washington posses national cathedral for bob strauss. the former democratic re: broker of passed away at the age 95. the entire event is on our website. check it out. your comments on time magazine. ats is what it looked like time.com. the 100 most influential. with the list, who would you include? good morning. caller: i would include you alreadyrice and said elizabeth warren is on the list. treasurehey lie a trove of ideas for economic foreign policy and governing.

i hang up, i would like to make a suggestion for mr. brian lamb, who has done a wonderful job with c-span. i would like to see a program such as he has done on the civil .ar, done on race if you had the time, if he could devote at least a month or two to that subject. the surreal aspect of it and the reality aspect. the basis of that could very well be tom brokaw posses documentary in the 80's about of race as itpect pertains to america and the real aspect of race having to do with it being a social construct and that there is only one race, the human race, anyway. ok, thank you. i appreciate the suggestion. we have focused extensively on

the civil war and race issues on american history tv and we hope you check out our programming on c-span3. this weekend, we are focusing on the 40th anniversary of nixon watergate. back to your calls on who would be on your most influential list . republican line, good morning. thank you for taking our call this morning. the top of my list, etc. in the lord jesus christ. i think the largest independent church in the world, the they reallyapel. teach the truth. earth, millions of years old, it is just not that old. a lot of things you could learn you can go not know

to your computer. they take the world's largest independent church, and thank god for them. >> thanks for the call. today, the story in poland, you heard from the nato secretary-general, former danish prime minister who announced a beefed-up residence of nato troops in europe and the first u.s. troops landing in poland, the goal to boost allies as tensions continue in the u.s. and russia. a political story from politico.com, jeb bush was in new york yesterday saying he is thinking about running in 2016. he was thinking about it. this was in response to a question posed at the luncheon. maggie of politico has the story.

from clinton,g us north carolina. if you were to come up with a list, who would be on it? caller: ? caller: good morning. c-span, barack obama, the united states military, the supreme clinton.llary thanks for the call. one of our viewers saying, i would nominate time magazine interns who spent many hours compiling the list. interns, including those at c-span who do a tremendous job. a short break and then we'll turn our attention to another issue, hunger in america. 49 million americans facing the risk of hunger. we will get an update from usa .oday and marisol bello

that is coming up in just a moment. first, a news update in the c-span radio studio. good morning, nancy. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> good morning. violence in afghanistan today. doctors killed by a security guard in the hospital where a security guard who worked for several years and fathers who are visiting. a visiting nurse was also wounded. the doctor and did -- entered the compound and walk toward the building when the guard opened fire. turning to the u.s. economy, jobless numbers in this our show the number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose 24,000 to a 329,000 last week. the labor department says the average applications, the less volatile number, rose 407 50. despite volatility, applications have been declining in recent months.

the commerce department says orders for durable goods increased over 2.5% in march inlowing a 2.1% rise february. manufacturing seems to be recovering after a cold winter disrupted business activity. u.s. factories for long, long-lasting manufactured goods, posted a solid gain for the second straight month in march, a key category that signaled investment plans increased at the fastest pace in four months. those are some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. >> on saturday, the first conversation i had, it was not about where you're from and what your school is like, but it was about ukraine. it was about politics, our beliefs on education and religion and after that moment, i was like, wow, this week will be intense. it has been cool to see the evolution of our friendships and bonds, from talking about

politics and experiences and what we have learned and who you have met. this is an experience i will never forget. class i have always been cynical and thought, i can never really go that far in politics and politics is a caustic environment. slowly throughout the week, speakers i have met have chipped opinionut -- at that and maybe i do want to make a difference in run for something local and say local to my community. saidpresident obama yesterday, do not get cynical. cynicalnot need anymore people. >> one can make its product about our generation a lot is social media. we express our opinions easily. we send a tweet about what we think. and we like to talk a lot. there is conversation and social

media and we like to get our opinions out there. class the whole week has been all about learning. town where a small it is verily -- very politically homogenic. not much chance for people who do not think the same to get their opinions out without being ridiculed. being here has given me the opportunity to learn other viewpoints and to get my ideas out without being shunned for thinking differently. fromgh school students across the country discussed participation in the youth program, a weeklong government education program held annually in washington, sunday night at 8:00 on c-span's q&a. >> washington journal continues. host: our focus is hunger in america. marisol bello is a reporter for usa today. think you for being with us. the headline, a crisis working

for 49 million americans. what did you learn? based this was a story off a report that feeding america -- published earlier this month, it basically found there are 49 million americans who are food insecure. that is not the same is not the same as hunger. basically, food insecure is having the feeling you do not have enough money to pay for nutritious meals. since thehat recession, the number has not gone down. it has her main pretty steady since 2007 and 2008. one quote i want to highlight. he would say, the saddest thing is when my oldest son would say, mommy, you could eat my food. was pretty sad. i talked to a family in philadelphia, a married couple

and twins. they had moved around quite a bit, trying to find afford housing. their children have epilepsy and asthma. time to find homes -- trying to find homes that were safe and not filled with mold and mice and cockroach infested, trying to balance all of that, they ended up having to forego meals and cut back on food. not for the kids but parents. the parents would skip meals so they would eat a slice of bread and give it to the kids. when you have a six and seven-year-old saying that for the mom and dad, they response -- respond to that and say, have some of my food. the department of agriculture is responsible for the food and snap oh gram. receivinge person assistance, 14 years ago, it was about $73.

it is now $133 and $.41. time, theyng that had a really big boost in food stamps with the stimulus bill. up theally boosted amount families receive a month. that was cut late last year. cost of inflation and the rising cost of food. some people would say the formula is not quite right and not going up as much based on the cost of food and other costskr such as utilitiesill and that sort of thingin4. snap, foodlk about assistance program. half our children.

that has also been -- that has changed in terms of the number of children. when the program started 50 years ago after the one poverty, the poor or elderly. with social security and some of seniors, you had a flip, more families and children now who are considered poor and will receive food stamps and the elderly. if you look at northeast, it is fairly -- in maine. it is especially heavy. the number of those on food as a percent of the population. it is particularly heavy in new

mexico and oregon and lighter in colorado, wyoming, nebraska, north dakota. guest: poverty and food insecurity are connected. community,the generally, you hire food insecurity. in this -- in this country, poverty rates tend to be higher. then you have places in new indianbecause of the reservation, particularly. you see some of that. oregonu have states like where you have an outlier and you wonder what is going on in oregon. it has a robust economy. oregone economy is bad, goes bad also. what happened during the recession is oregon made a strong effort to make -- half more families sign up for food stamp for that reason. what you're seeing is a correlation of both poverty rates around the country and organ, anhe case of

effort to more families sign up for snap. host: how do you define the working poor in terms of income? guest: they do not need -- meet the poverty line. they are generally working, and, in fact, what is interesting is when you look at snap recipients, something like 80% of recipients are in households where there is an adult or two working. most of the people who receive food stamp benefits are working. workinge people who are seven dollars an hour, eight dollars an hour, nine dollars an hour, and cannot make ends meet. you cannot meet the utilities or rent.

you will see in the story i have written there and previous stories, countless stories of arounds having to bounce or working temporary jobs. working fora woman an auto plant store. making something like nine dollars an hour. do not have enough funds to pay rents. struggling. here are some figures. if you are an individual who earns under $12,000 a year, your declared to be in poverty. 42 people, $15,730 a year. under $24,000. that varies if you are in a city. it will vary significantly in terms of what you can live off of. guest: absolutely but the guidelines do not change. 2000 $50 a costs

month, or 800 a-month for a two-bedroom apartment, the federal guideline is still the same. l.a., live in new york or what you will have to pay will be higher. the 2012eport on survey. a large study conducted saying 49 million americans are food insecure. people who sometimes he lets go hungry or eat less nutritional meals because they cannot afford to eat better. is first ladyues michelle obama, the food deserts. you travel in cities and there is no place to buy bread and vegetables. absolutely. you see it a lot in world communities where people drive miles. kentucky was one of the places where president had -- president

johnson had visited. to get to a supermarket, you have to drive 45 minutes there. you definitely have issues related to access. when there is access, it is very expensive. folks end up buying things like ramen noodles or a lot of processed foods that then create their own set of health problems. me give more information in terms of what you found. across the country, mostly by south, one in five are food insecure. nationally, it is one in seven. say they need on average an additional $50 and $.82 per person per week in 2012 to buy enough groceries. people are seeing food costs

also go up. it is where you live. when you have something like, they were first doing the study and you had eight counties with high food insecurity also in places where the meal costs were high. this is back in 2009. today, 23 counties. high food security and high food costs as well. increase folkshe are seeing. we all see it. it would have cost us $100 to buy a weeks grocery -- groceries. now it cost 220 dollars for fresh food and fresh meats. for those who make decisions on this, the white house and congress, what does the report do for them? poverty and the varying programs that help the poor have

been since the creation 50 years ago, they are political footballs. big debates. depending on which side of the isle you fall on, it really depends on what you want to do. and a lot of discussion about trying to reform food stamps. depending on what side of the line they fall on, they will have to add more funds to it and change some of the guidelines that reflect the rising costs of utilities and food. on the other side, you have folks that say, you cannot just give people blank checks. you cannot give people blank benefits. you have to make sure there is a work component. the debate continues and the debate has been raging 60 years. , who's withl bello

usa today, on 49 million americans who face the risk of hunger or are food insecure. thank you for being with us. we will get to your calls and comments. from hollywood, florida, good morning. caller: good morning. [crying] i am just calling because i want you to help me. host: tell us your story. caller: [crying] host: i will put you on hold. we will come back you. i promise. stay with us. we go to bill, good morning. caller: hello. i would just like to say to people being able to eat, a

decent meal, have nothing to do with fraud or anything on this part of food stamps. food stamps have had a low rate of fraud. it comes down to the tea party and people like the coke the koch wrote this. the koch brothers. aboutok at what they are -- getting rid of social security. preamble,ry in the the united states of the people, by the people and for the people. brothers.e koch stampsin terms of food

him of the caller is cracked. there is a low percentage of fraud related to food stamps. i have visited places where people have used their food stamp cards to barter for other and by cases of soda and go out and sell it for cash. that does happen. it what it is very minimal -- but it is very mental. -- it is very mammal. minimal.very have many of the food stamp recipients are workers. 70-75%e something like

of folks that are receiving food stamps are actually working. you have everyone else who is the answer would be, no. it is a misconception that people may have of people that receive food stamps. many of them do work. the majority of them are working. let me share with our audience this chart. 1-2013.rom 2000 it has leveled off and went 13. was between 18-20,000,000 at the start of 2001. it is just below 50 million now. let's go back to maryland from hollywood, florida. you ok now? caller: yes. i was working and i have no income at all.

survive?pposed to how am i supposed to survive? -- my my social security drivers license was taken away from me so i don't have my drivers license. and in american citizen have my social security. the only thing i do not have is my drivers license. citizen. host: how long have you been out of work? caller: since june of last year because i used to work for aarp. the last employment was macy's incorporation. that was last year. june. i did not even receive my w-2. host: how is your health? caller: i'm 42.

my health is good. my sugar levels, which are high because i'm not eating properly. host: thank you for phoning in. very --ail and story is i have heard maryland's story around the country. what happens with families that were doing generally well before the recession -- people were able to get out of party -- get out of poverty, there were still a lot of people left on the margins of poverty. they were out of poverty as long as they were working. or ify lost their jobs they had a health condition or you name the circumstance that may have happened to them, it

was very easy to them to fall back into poverty. -- maryland's story is very typical of stories that i have heard. i would say to maryland that you might want to think about going to your closest food stamp store or offices. you might qualify. of yourknow all economic circumstances, but you might want to start there. in the land of plenty, many go without. this is the headline from last thursday's usa today. one of your viewers sang the hunger game is not a fun game. let's go to tom from texas. good morning. caller: good morning.

you need to go from the food bank to the voting booth. are we in russia or north korea? how can you sit there and let people cry? go ahead and get your license or whatever and vote. host: tom from texas. we will go to dave from california. i just wanted to make a statement -- i don't understand why the republicans are always cutting food stamps or anything that is good for this country. and why they don't raise the minimum wage. the minimum wage in australia is $22 an hour. a bit above mexico. i don't understand why democrats and republicans -- democrats say, if we raise the min wage, there will be less jobs.

making $22 ans -- these people are starving in this country and those republicans cut food stamps. i don't understand what's wrong with them. they should not be in congress. they should make the minimum wage -- raise the minimum wage. democrats want food stamps. dave from california. i won't offer an opinion on what the republicans or democrats are doing. what i can tell you is that when you talk to advocates for the poor or when you talk with

researchers who study this issue, what they say is that programs such as food stamps are extremely helpful for families. -- they not dependent should be higher because they really are the biggest help you can offer families. others will say that they are supplemental issues. they can help offer and add a bit more to the cost or to help pay for the cost of food. folks,u talk to something like food stamps is considered one of the really big helps to families that need it. host: in terms of the hunger are in the mides to low teens. north dakota is the lowest.

just seven percent of the overall population. based on reports from mississippi, it is at the highest and nearly put the three percent -- at the highest at nearly 23%. think for taking my call. i just have a comment -- whenever congress and the cutting social programs, their gop should take some of their own advice. if they want to cut the stem nap program,tep cut the taxand breaks for the top one percent. it costs $80 billion per year. that is nowhere near what we are spending on food stamps. read the bible. it says feed the poor. it does not take take from

the poor and give to the rich. the 95% are going to wake up because we can take control of this country. want to change in this country, you can if you have money. host: this is from one of our other viewers. created?ood deserts that's a good question. to laces like detroit -- i lived and worked in detroit for several years. good luck finding a supermarket in detroit. i mentioned this other community that i visited in kentucky earlier. -- if there isat a business decision at play who arer the folks

opening or not opening stores. you look at businesses like walmart. they are often in rural communities. they don't end up in all places. i don't completely know the answer to why you end up with that kind of circumstance. you talk to folks and there seems to be some concerns about whether or not they can even make money. you occasionally hear things like that. you have a population of people that want food. not sure i understand the argument. host: this is a tweak for michael who says, "poverty is .he root cause it should be the government's responsibility." let's go to rick from new jersey. caller: good morning.

way that we can fight poverty in our country without talking about martin luther king. before what he was doing his death. the poor people's campaign. you figure the money that was being funded, that stopped this war in vietnam and put it towards the poverty in our -- that is where he had to go. it was the same with bobby kennedy as well. wars and youbig put that money towards what needs -- from we have this tweet a viewer who says, "food and health care are basic needs. programs must be efficient.

they are not even close." how would you respond to that? guest: that's a very typical sentiment. you have a lot of people on both sides of the aisle who say something like food stamps is needed and helps, but how you administer it is more of the question. sayll have folks who you need these complicated formulas so they reflect the cost of families and the other side says you can't keep throwing money at this thing. you have to have people work for it. with cash welfare. there is a lot of debate about how to change and improve it. we have seen various proposals from members of congress related to that as well.

host: rick, did you want to weigh in on that? after 9/11, i figured clinton had our deficit down. every time there is a crisis, they shoot the deficit back up. host: thanks for the call. "mostlyon or comment -- women and children?" guest: mostly women and children because you have a high percentage of single-parent families that are poor. whether or not mom is , but earning minimum-wage salaries that maybe enough to support

children. 49 million americans who are food insecure. mike is joining us from burlington, vermont. good morning. caller: good morning. i would like to make a comment and ask two questions. she keeps reiterating about most of the people on snap -- they work. the reason why they work is because it's a requirement from federal law. they require the recipient to work. one of my questions -- i wanted to know, have you heard of any type of requirement -- if you ,re homeless, are you required

out of the are section, they have a certain amount they can get from the state. do she believe that some states use the food stamp program to classify certain individuals based on race or other special classes? i'm not sure if i quite understand the first question. it sounded like what he was asking was whether or not you qualify automatically if you are homeless. anon't know if there is actual qualification that says youou are homeless automatically receive food stamps. it is really based on income

guidelines. ,f you make a certain amount that is what will guide whether or not you're eligible. that does vary by state even though there is a federal guideline. if the state chooses to increase -- a particular student can choose to increase it to a certain amount. if just the fact that someone is homeless is enough of a requirement. the second point deals with one of the points in your piece, that issue of food insecurity. you make these points. of hunger or not having money to buy enough healthy food for everyone in the household is how you define food insecurity. it has remained at the same .evel since 2009 85% of food insecure households

have a working adult. guest: you talk to folks who study this issue. one of the things they will say is while the recession has improved and we are at the lowest levels of unemployment that we have seen since the seeing thewe're stock markets bounce back and a lot of ways in which we are bouncing back. the recovery still very slow. particularly for those working families. what ends up happening is you eithermilies that have -- cannot find a job that is paying enough or giving them they usedrs. may be to make $10 an hour and they are making seven dollars now. or you have families who would have been considered pre-recession middle-class.

families with parents having to -- they were laid off and are coming back at half their income. that was exactly the case in california. the grants for a nonprofit agency were cut and the husband was laid off. , theyey have found work were homeless for a wild -- they have since found work but they are making less than half of what these two. -- less than half of what they used to. they don't qualify for food stamps. that is another story we see quite a bit of. host: elise makes this point. if the husband walks out? we are seeing single homes andingle-parent

households headed by single parents with children that tend to be one of the largest populations of families that are poor and food insecure. you do have families with grandparents, single grandparents and single father, but the majority is single moms. host: an ap story dealing with hunger on college campuses. tuition alone has become a arising 27%en him at public colleges and 14% at private schools over the last five years. that according to the college board. you add in expenses for books and other necessities and many are left to choose between eating and learning. most students are not eligible for food stamps. thestory was posted in huffington post. what does this tell you? guest: i talked to folks who

say, it's me, i'm your neighbor. thats one of the things she said. "i am your neighbor and i have gone hungry. ." when the ncaa tournament was happening, we had a student from the university of connecticut who said that there were nights that he has gone to bed hungry. what ends up happening is that, if a student is from a family , you'refood insecure also giving them additional have moneyy food and to buy other things. you're not going to have that additional funds. at everythat it hits level. host: michael from new jersey. good morning. caller: good morning. a pointanted to make

about money. there is only a certain amount of it. , want people to understand when curtis granderson is making $15 million this year, which is enough for 2000 people to live on -- when you talk about poverty come you're talking about and in balance. .inbalance host: thanks for the point. most likelycing has caused millions of americans to become unemployed and therefore have to depend on food stamps." it definitely hints at

income inequality there. we have seen the gap growing wealthier and the rest for quite some time. we have been saying the decrease of that middle class. the recession really brought these home. these are trends that have been happening for years. this has not happened because of the recession. this has been happening for some time. the recession rutted home because you have some people in the middle-class suddenly on food stamps. and suddenly visiting their local food stamp pantry. this is a trend that has been happening for a while. you have a lot of debate about how to fix it or even how much of an issue it is. when you look at issues of inequality where not doing as

well as some other countries and the rest of the world, that is the first point. to the second michael, related to outsourcing, what you will see in a lot of -- i have visited a lot of communities around the country. what you will see is that factories have closed in communities where maybe that was the primary employer. thathas happened, once land leaves and goes somewhere else, there is not a lot of options left for folks. i remember visiting a community in north carolina where they make a lot of bottles. the industry there really has shrunk. there isn't much left. there wasn't anything left for folks. folks who maybe had been earning $18 an hour with benefits no

longer have that and don't qualify for other kinds of jobs. they have to go back and retrain. trying tolot of folks retrain in the health care industry. we see that all the time in the midwest when in comes to the car industry. you see that in community after community in michigan or ohio or wisconsin. there was a report looking at bill class in america and it says that the u.s. has fallen to canada and a number of european countries. how does that impact your reporting in this debate over food insecurity? -- whate end up having i end up seeing with these families i have talked to is that we have a wider pool of who .s poor or who is food insecure i will see families and have talked to countless families since 2009 who would have been

considered middle-class and were year. $40,000 a suddenly, they have lost their jobs and they don't have much to fall back on. maybe they have a community college degree or maybe even a four-year degree. because of where they specialized or they were able to find another job, that job is now paying them $35,000. when people fall, they can try to climb out but maybe they're not climbing as high as they had been before. host: in the 48 contiguous states, poverty for a family of atr defined as an income $23,000 or less. david is joining us from brooklyn, maryland. good morning. callr: i just want to because i hear a lot of other

colors call in. i guess i'm one of these heartless republicans that he's people. -- that hates people. republicanism stands for personal response ability. for how responsibility you deal with your problems. i live in a neighborhood that is very impoverished and i do ok. i'm definitely in the middle-class. the people around me, i can tell you, if they had any idea of financial literacy, they couldn't solve their problems. this is what happens to some people. they make bad choices and poor decisions and want to use those decisions that they made as reasons for their needs, which may be this program and many others.

also this from john who says the same thing. food stamps were meant as a hammock.t, not a 90% of the recipients are lifetime recipients. guest: i don't know about the 90% figure. you definitely do have a lot of generational families that are on food stamps. you look at communities like this one in kentucky where president johnson went during the war on poverty. you talk to families there and and will say, food stamps some of these programs really helped. this was an extremely poor community where they did not have running water or children were malnourished. now you go back there and you don't see that. yet, their poverty rate has gone -- 50%few percent to 30%

to 30%. it has gone down, but what they have done is create a culture of dependency. you have a lot of young people who know that if you don't have to work, you can apply for food stamps and cash welfare benefits which are harder to get in the last few years. they know they don't have to work and they can go on disability. you can go to places where you will see that. on the other hand, you will talk to folks who say poverty is endemic. generational and we need to find ways to help people get out of that. what we have been seeing with this recession is that when well andstart to do

you have something like the recession, they can pull themselves out of poverty. you have a health scare or an -- they're not quite at the place where they can pull themselves out and they end up falling back in. highlight the other side of what folks about these programs. host: hungry in america. for 49 million americans. based on a study of more than 44,000 americans across the country. her work available online at usa today.com. thank you very much for being with us. the president is in japan today. part of a weeklong trip to asia. he is ck