a couple of more calls. john is in florida. that guide to calls back ago does not know what is going on in israel. obama has all of these illegal

aliens without identification. the military cannot get on. is shipping people all over the place you don't know where they are at. they will be here forever. heard he has al qaeda in his cabinet that he is appointed. host: president obama has al qaeda in his cabinet? where did you hear something like that? caller: it has been a while since i heard it. i heard he had them. this guy don't deserve to be the president. this is the democrats line. caller: thank you for taking my call. i think israel has a lot to do with the terrorism.

i don't think people realize that the palestinians were put out of europe. now they are put out of their house. the news media at tends to lean withe israel when it comes bombing activity. i think it is a one-sided news coverage in relation to it. most of the tv and radio. israel.n toward that is my comment. host: thank you for your call. kevin is on the republican line in west virginia. the american public has been dumbed down.

terrorism is more than just guns. it is a business. israel does not have anything in theyonstitution that says have to kill their neighbors. these others want israel off the map. this was real. am i safer? no. they have going to stay offshore. you are more threatened by corporations?

i think they are all in bed together. you have companies have money offshore. the people are sharing the burden. no party has reduced the size of the federal government. host: a quick look at the new york times.

kris richard who is only independent line. feel safer? caller: absolutely not. is a police state. he refuses to protect the borders. he refuses to go after the enemy. it is almost as if he is assisting. done a done deal gone bad. ambassador stephens was being to al qaeda weapons

and the muslim brotherhood. that deal backfired on him. when our military tried to they were relieved of their command and put under arrest. allowed ourration embassy to be destroyed. host: we appreciate your calls. we will hear next from a couple of veteran foreign journalists talking about america and foreign-policy challenges.

later, the american legion's executive director will talk about whether congress can pass ava health care before the august recess. >> our guest on q&a. >> you are dealing with the daily tyranny of the inbox. it you are focused on the crisis of the day.

part of my responsibility was representing the secretary of defense on a deputies committee. group a senior-level working through issues and developing options. there was a lot of crisis management. when you're in a think tank, your utility is not second-guessing the policymaker. it helps to do some work to raise their gaze and looked over the horizon and see what they will confront a year from now or five years from now. how do i think more strategically about america's role in the world? >> the creation of see nas. is tonight on q&a at 8:00. the watergateo scandal led to the only resignation of an american

president. american history tv revisits 1974 in the final weeks of the nixon administration. the judiciary committee considers impeachment of the president. whatu have questions about the framers had in mind, whether the activities that had been found out i the committee and impeachable, can we prove that richard nixon knew about them and even authorize them? >> watergate 40 years later at 8:00 eastern. washington journal continues. host: joining us this morning to talk about foreign-policy challenges, a couple of foreign reporters based in washington.

gentlemen, thanks for being here this morning. we are talking about the reaction and the role of europe in terms of ukraine. let's talk about ukraine first grade reports say there is an agreement that the site can be seen investigated at last. you aretory unfolds, both based in washington. what are you looking for in terms of the u.s. government? into issuing more sanctions? germany is going along.

ofkel has been a supporter tougher sanctions. country'sarm the economies. there is no alternative to suffer -- tougher sanctions. i think europe is going along. it is a tough job to keep 28 countries together. to keep them on the same page when you go forward with sanctions. there is a balancing act between the eu and the united states. guest: that is right. it has been quite an interesting and colorful argument between the british and the french this week. there has been tough rhetoric

from david cameron saying we need really tough sanctions and europe needs to do more. the british are taking the lead. they were looking at the french trying to sell warships to russia. the french came back and said this is the debate led by hypocrites. they pointed to all of the russian oligarchs who live in london. there is russian money in the city. cameron was embarrassed by the revelation of an auction item that was won by a russian oligarchs wife. with davidnnis match cameron and the mayor of london. host: does the u.k. have less at stake?

there was a graphic about how much natural gas and energy the u.k. gets from russia. if you look at the graphic, countries like germany get 40%. 18% for france. 20% for italy. how much of those considerations is going into the making of foreign-policy? guest: it is part of the foreign-policy. it won't cause much trouble going into the next winter. germany has a lot in storage. italy is very worried about those sanctions. especially because of the energy supplies. the europeans have agreed on tougher sanctions. sanctions on electronic equipment for oil production in russia.

they are targeting high-tech equipment from russia. this is despite the military equipment. it is important to hit the oligarchs. the financial sector in russia is important to put pressure on vladimir putin. there will it be any pressure unless you hit them. when you look at russia, there is lot of pressure on food and -- putin from the right wing. they think that he is not harsh enough. is not standing up to the west and he is too weak. it is not to say that the u.k. does not have financial interests. guest: they are very strong indeed. about energy and

the rhetoric of other countries hitting the energy sector. it is deeply embedded in the city. includingf oligarchs some of the soccer clubs in britain. it is tied up in party donations and the fabric of the domestic economy. want to make sure that our viewers and listeners are part of the conversation. we welcome our international callers. you can join us on facebook or twitter. our guests are washington bureau

chiefs. does europe need or want a stronger u.s. presence? or is somebody like david cameron or angela merkel enough in terms of response to the russians? guest: it depends on germany. been very keen on aligning with europe on the sanction issue. he knows that if you want to hit russia, you have to have germany on your side. strong economic relations between germany and russia. germany is the economic powerhouse of europe at the moment. in the question of sanctions, it is up to mrs. merkel.

guest: i think that is a key question. traditionally looks to the netted states for world leadership. there is a degree of sense that there is a vacuum of u.s. leadership. president obama is not known for his robust leadership. i thought that was quite striking on the political spectrum. in washington you have a strong message from the administration trade hillary clinton expressed it most directly. they are looking for europe to take the lead on this. it feels to be like a political tennis match. everybody is saying you first. to get your

reaction how this story might be played in europe. there is a new york times story. is there general support in your countries without? guest: the germans are very hesitant when it comes to military action. data, germanshe

are for tougher sanctions. 52% back cover sanctions. amount sayble germany should go forward on its own. when it comes to military action or aid, they are very hesitant. germany is very war wary as the united states is. i am sure that president obama will give more military aid. he is saying in his meetings with his staff to be very cautious. people gets when this kind of stuff and don't know how to use it or it gets into the wrong hands. that is why he is so cautious with serious to deliver more

sophisticated weapons. host: you mentioned that syria. the you think europe was pleased with the way the syrian situation was resolved in terms of the chemical weapons? guest: from the british point of view that was when it was a turning point about president obama. there was a real shock that president obama then go to congress, and then withdraw from that when broke the deal over chemical weapons. i think increasing the lack of american leadership, and of the downside of inaction, if you would like, certainly in syria,

and to a lesser extent in russia and ukraine. german see with a little differently. they are happy with the outcome. there was a negotiated settlement. the end of the day, it was successful. about 100% are removed. i think how the whole thing was done, they were not very happy then. suddenly, obama was asking the apartment -- the parliament. then you needed russia help to get the settlement done, to , -- chemicalarm weapons. >> from the british point of view, i get the sense the outcome is not yet known. one big theory is that the a side machine has -- assad regime

is in place. cross-border whole is when the state there -- a big systematic central the master -- domestic terrorist act. >> a lot to talk about on foreign policy and challenges. , martin klingst. how big are your bureaus and do you just cover washington? >> it is just me. it's me in washington and then we have a new york correspondent. times have a piece of paper. >> i'm the only one here and then we have someone in new york and the west coast.

>> first up, steve, thank you for waiting on the independent line. go ahead. >> good morning. i just want to run this by for you. richard nixon's the real world -- war. you counter -- one or the other's. is budapest agreement shocking to those who constantly and maybe, korea, including's mind, the houses he de factoort of agreement that the eastern company -- countries will always be under his orbit, i will listen on the phone. that is a very good question. when you looknow,

at russia, they feel humiliated. they lost their empire and withdrew quite peacefully from the eastern part of their empires. and from east germany. i think for them, it is a big loss. there have always been a lot of russians who said, we went quickly ahead, and we should have been tougher with the united states and the west. there was also a nato russia founding act in the 90's. part of this founding act air t to russia that there would be no permanent deployment of nato troops in the frontier states. states and theer

ones on the russian border. now they feel somehow betrayed because so many countries not only wanting to join the eu but also nato. it is a tough issue. always the west has not sideon a very diplomatic and negotiations did not always go well. sometimes, the west was hosting and saying, we won the cold war. some of the rhetoric was not very good. well, russia is only a regional power, i think that harmed him and made him furious and show the world russia is a power and you need russia to negotiate with iran and syria so they are world states. int: do you think the issue syria and ukraine is more

important to the russians then either to the europeans or americans? guest: certainly. what the question gets that, it and it is very good, is the of,ific cold war mentality a colonel, his historic ambitions or a great russia. certainly from the obama administration passes and if you come the united states, and to a lesser extent, europe, this failure to understand this, i that u.s. foreign policy treat spoon as a reasonable, western minded individual, and it is a lot more complicated than that. we have seen it in recent days were all these western predictions that putin would bound down the hatches after the airline jet, and except that he had taken a

huge public relations -- quite the opposite. more weapons gone to the ukraine. i think u.s. western policy needs to realize we are dealing with somebody with a different worldview and different mindset in the u.s.. -- van the u.s.. democrat onnking the foreign affairs committee, this is the tweet -- that is the house foreign affairs committee. let's go to sterling, virginia. john, good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. i want to set think the president of the united states, he damages himself when he mentions the serious issue. when he says there is a redline and anytime the syrians cross the redline, we will do

something about it, he has not done anything. luden understood that america is timeed right now, every the russians, they have done it before when they attacked georgia. nothing has been done. they attack ukraine. and they have seen that every time's president tries to put always johnher, mccain or lindsey graham is attacking the president. we have seen america is divided. europe does not trust us because we are not speaking in one voice. i do not think he will understand and he does not care about what the international community thinks about him. all he cares about, as long as i can use my time and do what i need to do, i will keep doing what he is doing. who will not accept anything about this way. thank you for taking my call. in terms of the war

weariness in this country, and we talked about it earlier in our 9/11 edmund, the of peak factor, does that enter into some of president obama's decision and politicians in europe? say definitely. you have the war weariness in the united aids and europe and rightly so. no one wants to go to war over ukraine because were means a war in all of europe. so, i was slightly disagree because i do not think obama is doing nothing. i think he is doing quite a lot, not to say he is retreating from he is not sometimes, really caring about foreign policy. in america just wants to be in isolation again, which is not

true, because you see this government being involved in so many different crises all over the world. you see them involved in syria and africa and the near east. there toy is just negotiate a cease-fire. he is always around when it comes to ukraine on the united states went forward and asked for sanctions against russia. you cannot say they are not doing anything. i agree it in syria, was handled badly. at the end of the day, they galloped they wanted. shouldline meant syria not have chemical weapons. he did not mean you're going to interfere in civil war. the chemical weapons in the use of chemical weapons crossed a red line. everyone was thinking, ok, he is send missiles against a side's chemical weapon

plan. that did not happen but the negotiated settlement got rid of the weapons. the result is there. i would say it was handled badly but the outcome is ok. guest: i raise a degree of the united states withdrawing from the world in terms of foreign policy. certainly not isolation. i would not argue any of these decisions are easy ones. if you look at syria, the cliché, there are no good , i mean, i think i disagree with martin on the chemical weapons deal. if you look at it in isolation of actual chemical weapons, that still has to play out. the other way, as any world ever got a bigger boost from using chemical weapons. assad is essentially now the leader the u.s. demanded has to be removed,

a party, a bacterial. i think assad actually came out on top. and i agree with the caller --adly speaking that brute and other westerners in the world would've looked at the public, almost handwringing and public musing about what to do and how difficult it was from the obama administration. instructed them and how to view the u.s. and the west. >> quickly. guest: yes, i would like to respond because i disagree. i think it ended badly, no doubt about that. neighboring countries of syria and the united states questioned whether the united states has a backbone.

missilesd sending would've changed? nothing. maybe it would've been worse. international pressure on a side and the russians to participate in that. they have the biggest influence on the side. if you just bomb and do not have chemicalme with weapons removed, it would not lead anywhere. would not have changed the civil war at all. it would not have stopped isis or other groups, insurgents. it would have been limited action. if you do not get rid of them all, what is the outcome? nothing. >> let's see if we can get a couple more calls here. indianapolis. this is george. hello. >> i have a comment. concerning the politics, the policy of the united states and some european countries, mainly

the united kingdom. i want to make a clear separation between the policy of germany compared with one of the united kingdom. it is not concerning energy. it is concerning the mentality of the u.k., who have become a little bit of a dog of following the aggressive policies of the united states. i can give an example concerning ukraine. ukraine is an artificial state. it is made out of five provinces. part of a romanian province, and then the russian part of crimea. host: where are you from originally? caller: romania. host: i appreciate your

question. we will get a response. the issue of u.k. following the -- washington in 19 and nine, from then to 2003. run-up to thethe start of the iraq war. the notion of britain, george bush's -- was very widespread. a gift to cartoonists. i do think that to a large government istish in all of the white house and it sort of changes. the leader ofhad the opposition party coming to washington, getting heavily criticized for being here for a so-called photo op when it was going on.

god is at the forefront of mines. the 2012 election withign, david cameron president obama, watching a basketball game, lavishing praise on president obama. think to a large extent, there is a default british should-policy that we get as close to the americans as possible and stay there. davidi wanted to play cameron from the house of commons last week, critical of europe, accusing them of turning a blind eye. here's some of what he had to say. defining moment for russia. the world is watching and president putin faces a clear toice in how he decides respond to this tragedy. i hope he uses this moment to find a path out of this restaurant and dangerous crisis i and he russia support for

separatist spirit if he does not change his approach to the ukraine in this way, europe and the west must fundamentally change our approach to russia. those of us in europe should not be reminded of the consequences of turning a blind eye when big countries fully smaller countries. we should not shrink from standing up to the principles of governing contact -- conduct for independent nations in europe your there has been reluctance to face up to the implications of what is happening in eastern ukraine. it is time to make our power from -- our power and influence felt. we should push our partners in the european union to consider a new range of our hitting economic tensions against russia. after the prime minister spoke last week, they were considering sanctions. the --that was not because prime minister cameron

spoke. harsh words, but i do not think britain is taking the lead. to be frank. it is good he is supporting it. not the first were most important on those issues. guest: i agree with martin on this pair that is old fashioned europe bashing from the british prime minister there. taking away with accusations, ,omewhat persuasive hypocrisy and as far as i know, david cameron is going ahead with his 135,000 pound tennis match the wife of the russian oligarchs there,o, to the right the new -- very tough rhetoric against russia as well. there is reluctance in the british government to actually against russians

that bite in financial terms. guest: if i may say something to the previous question because regimen last what -- was asking about an official state in the ukraine, it is always debated what kind of state is ukraine. crimea is a tough question. historically. ii, you neverr thought you would forcefully change orders again. you had seen that in the balkan wars, and the european union, one of its biggest advantages and successes is to peacefully have those. no right one is side of the changing the border. vladimir putin is trying. you can debate about the state and they have a future of how they are, but internationally

recognized state, you cannot just one sidedly change the borders. our caller, indianapolis, good morning. >> good morning. we have a couple of issues we discussed constantly. this issue. at the old retiree coffee , the first one is europe spends very little on the fence can dare to the united states but benefits greatly from the united states for benefits spending. since the soviet union, we no longer really have an x essential threat to the united states. why are we spending all the money in europe? when i was the department of defense auditor and i realize someone between 35% and 60% of what we spend is directly for the benefit of europe. secondly, since the advent of fracking, the united dates is no longer subject to the same

threat of energy from the sources that supply europe, especially oil. need easternnot hemisphere oil anymore. doesn't that give us far less of of the state ability -- sustainability of the middle east? why are we getting involved in what is essentially a european problem? it is not an american problem. european problem, not an american problem. why are the european spending little and then blaming the united states for not showing up and carrying their code for them? here in the flyover zone, we tend to ask these questions. i do not know if they are asked in washington or the left coast, but they are asked here. host: good questions. we will try to get answer. martin klingst. guest: i do agree europe is not spending enough or has not spent

enough on their defense budget. it is less than two percent. at the same time, you now see the united states reducing. in the long-term, they go down to two percent and they were four percent. nevertheless, i think europe needs to do more. it is not only a question of money. it is a lot of waste spending being done in europe with different armies not cooperating and not funding joint weapons systems and so on and so forth. i also totally agree with what you said that the ukraine is actually a european problem and it needs europe to act. europe is acting, but at the same time, the baltic states and others, members of nato, they need reassurance. the united states being the only remaining superpower is a strong

backbone of nato. host: what about not keeping up with the pace of american spending? guest: they have to do more. it is tough at the moment because of the crisis and but in therdship, long run, europe needs to do more and needs to coordinate his defense policies more than they have done in the past. it i agree, but i would still say ukraine is also a u.s. issue because of nato. reassuranceof the of nato partners in the states and russia. when you talk about oil and gas and fracking, surely the united states is not only becoming self-sufficient. it is becoming an export power when it comes to oil and gas. i think it is less dependent. still, on political terms, the united states needs europe. even more than in the past.

there was a lot of talking about europe not important anymore. it is so important on global issues, when it comes to iran and syria. not only the ones that play in pivotal andpe is probably, you know, the closest partner the united states can .ave to handle host: florida, good morning. are you there? jay, go ahead. caller: good morning. i am not shying to defend the comment -- trying to defend. the comment. we seem to make a lot of statements about not wanting big nations to bully any nations.

be only when it serves our purposes. the united states has done a lot of funding rebel groups that we now call terrorists. look at other countries and say, do what i say and not what i do. taser taking my call. -- thank you for taking my call. guest: that is a widespread view. not being struck with i think american public opinion on the ukraine. it is much more critical of russia and putin. killed in the malaysian airline flight when it was hit by missile, iaratists

do not know whose fault it was, but i think all of you should just stop. wanting tosense of stay out of everything. i think the caller certainly expected something that is not only american public opinion the british public opinion as well. cai ask about another issue, the effect of u.s. eavesdropping particularly on angela merkel and others? eavesdroppinghat has not harmed the image of the u.s.. they say documents provided by edward snowden have identified both brazil and the german testellor angela merkel targets of you stopping. germany and brazil despite that continue to hold a positive view of mr. obama. what is your sense of that?

it is true but the positive view has declined. 90% of thepened over germans thought he would do a good job. 70%.ly nevertheless, the support is declining. overall public view is critical because of the united states. not only the monitoring of angela merkel's cell phone come it was now a double agent i think at the moment, the transatlantic nation are not in the best shape. good morning. is, whymy question doesn't u.s. and europe bowed down to israel and constantly talk of maintaining israel's

safety? what many onare of who is doing with regards to gaza? that country is being completely stifled. hamas boko haram is not correct. they are freedom fighters that are totally desperate. they want a way out. israel conducted many terrible acts when they wanted freedom. understand why. people in the world are all fighting israel. >> that is an issue we have not touched on yet, the israeli-palestinian conflict. tie in the influence of european leaders with the decision the

u.s. makes on israel. click figured foreign policy issue at the moment in britain. this is the preeminent one, if you like. it has gotten much more coverage in the last week or 10 days. the the situation in ukraine has appeared in terms of the british public, sentiments have -- would be reflected by the last portion of the british public, much more sympathetic toward the palestinian cause against israel than public opinion is in the united states. today aboutory dramatic of attacks a british soldier killed in 1941. demonstrations in france.

.here are many reasons i am certainly not suggesting people sympathetic toward the palestinians are anti-semitic or thrown the kind of toxic around. on the british side, not too much different between the camera -- the cameron government and the obama administration. we saw him speaking to the house there. if you listen to william hague, much moreing evenhanded sitting on the fence, heavily critical -- heavily , aticized by israel successor of only about two on cameron, who neatly

visited israel becoming foreign big difference between the united states on gaza -- is it gettingny, as much play as the u.k.? guest: a lot, maybe not as much. i would say the general public is still supportive of israel. even though the public opinion is shifting, with every settlement israel built, you becomes morelic critical. we see more pictures of gaza, it is hard to win this war of pictures for israel. no country can accept being bombarded with missiles. some action. take proportionate? no. i would say what happened in the

last days is devastating. to say, hamas are not freedom fighters area they deny israel's right of existence. this makes it very difficult. say it is a very complicated issue. as we have seen overall the past decades, you think you have some kind of settlement and it falls all part. sides is creating hostile action again. this is a sad thing. i think, you know, we have to come to terms. israel has to come to terms and it must stop its settlement because otherwise, we do not see a very good future there. the back-and-forth on truces and cease-fires, hamas declares a gaza cease-fire. our

guest this morning is the washington bureau chief for the , andy times, toby harnden martin klingst, joining us to talk about u.s. and foreign policy issues. tragically ukraine. minnesota, mike, good morning. caller: good morning. first of all, thanks for c-span. i enjoy c-span. ," this may journal be the second time i have called in 13 years. this may be the last time i'm ever able to call life. because of the changes. i get my internet through comcast. host: we don't want to lose you. caller: i know. i do not have cable. because of tv everywhere, i will lose you live. but i enjoy all the video. host: you will be able to get that. caller: i want to answer you

guys if you are aware of a matthewreporter named lee and if they go to the state department briefings, do you have a matthew lee in your country? guest: i am aware and i admire his extremely skeptical questioning in briefings. certainly, in britain, we have a tradition of very adversarial -- oftens that also have strong attitude and political direction there. the bushr during administration, a lot of americans and people in the administration were quite upset by reporters coming here and not standing up with the american press when the president entered the room. i know president bush was irritated by some of the very cheeky questioning from british

reporters. i think skeptical and adversarial questioning can veer into showmanship sometimes. certainly from some tv reporters, they can be all about them sometimes. on the other hand, sometimes, american questions can be overly long-winded and three parted and questioner,e whereas i was find a shorter and , the lessse questions wiggle room they have to answer the second part or third part of your question, the only that they want to answer, and avoid answering the first part of the first question, the thing that really needed to be answered. let me make a quick response because mike asked about it.

we are making a number of enhancements to our website in 2015. mike, we encourage you there. sounds you have gone to live tv at c-span.org. you will find out all the .etails there is a statement there about how it impacts your ability to continue to get c-span coverage. c-span.org/tveverywhere. democrats line. caller: good morning. i would like to take a minute to first of all thank both of your guests for being here today. we do not often get to hear from a point of view outside america. we appreciate your being here today. i would also like to extend that to all the guests throughout the years. we appreciated as c-span viewers. c-span is definitely the best format here on tv for getting

the real behind-the-scenes news. i look forward to it as this off year election comes up to see the experts we do not get to see in a regular election year. how much of of you keeping an i on congressional elections this year? guest: congressional elections are big for us. ortish campaigns for six eight weeks, the permanent campaign, 2016 and will be my fourth presidential election. there are a lot of residences, the u.k. independence party in britain, which has a number of parallels with the tea party. this week in today's paper, i did a story with a talk radio tennessee,found in

supporting the tea party anti-establishment candidates trying to oust in the democratic party there, and talking about nigel and the u.k. independence party. residents and a number ofr parallels. -- ofroadlyachel parallels. more broadly speaking, i hope people are aware because i have been writing about this, that democrats get hammered in midterms and that would mean gridlock in the last two years of president obama passed his presidency. >> i would say the germans are not too interested in congressional races are there interested in the outcome to see if there will be a power shift in congress and see how it will affect the last two years of the obama presidency. the germans are more interested in how you are going to settle

these issues and come to terms and how obama is going to appease the germans. it is a tough time at the moment. they are more interested in the issues, but not in the congressional races. i was held in britain, popular culture has a big part of this. everyone watches the west wing, the big port -- point of reference. ."ouse of cards do not forget scandal. there is a fascination with the theater of american politics and the personalities and the intellectual process in the political process, as well as the issues. we have about five minutes with our guests. let's get a few calls. caller: i just want to talk

with the u.s. relationship its neighbors and how it pertains to upcoming presidential elections. for somebody who lives in slough's will and and just got back from there a few weeks ago, i want to ask our guest for what they think of senator rand paul, who i think is the front runner. father, ron, was very good and very important to american ideals. i think rand wants to make the u.s. what it was, like .witzerland tangled in alliances like nato. and monetary policy, specifically the svp in , -- erland host: we appreciate the perspective. guest: he might be the front line -- the front runner.

i'm still doubtful. when it comes to europeans, now youd you will see -- now will see probably the majority would agree with his opinion on intelligent issues. they think the right of privacy ,as to play a stronger role that intelligence services should be limited or agencies should be limited and that and shouldhigh-value be safeguarded. i think europeans would be very skeptical when it comes to foreign policy. it is very isolationist. he wants to withdraw and cut foreign aid. we are living in a world with so many crises, dangerous crises, and you need to be involved. europeans are involved and obama is involved. relation when it comes to foreign policy is in pretty good shape.

there, they will be excited to see rand paul. guest: i think rand paul is a fascinating candidate. he's potentially carving out a new position for the republican party. policytalked a lot about of doing something for poor people in the united states. he is populist, antiwar street i think it is something quite significant. i interviewed him so many times last year and we're following him very closely indeed. oklahoma -- naomi, oklahoma, on our republican line. caller,e go to our last the ukrainian president in the

washington post this morning in their opinion piece this morning, on the situation in the ukraine. the headline is, stand with ukraine. my country needs help in facing the threat from russia. to achieve the solutions, the lead deskd take the united states should take the lead working with the european union. support of ukraine to ensure these terrorist are not able to strike again. what is the purpose of an opinion piece like this in the washington paper and how will this resonate in european capital? that is clearly aimed at american policymakers. he detects some division between europe and the united states, and division within europe, david's piece in the new york times about military action is very interesting. earlier, martin mentioned the

troopsnt to be no nato stationed in eastern european countries. what you have from the ukraine and from poland is a constant desire for the united states and europe to do more. guest: i would also say he is facing the american public, saying ukraine is important. states,the united often, the opinion, what we should care about in the ukraine at they, it is addressed world public because we are facing the nato summit and the nato summit will deal with the question of how to ensure the eastern european partners are allies of nato. that is coming up in the beginning of september. one more call from pennsylvania. hello there. caller: yes, i am here.

the first thing i have to say is, thank you to the cable companies for c-span. i would like to suggest that u.s. foreign policy be changed so that 50% of the money spent teachinguntry is english. that is all i have to say. host: doing what? guest: he said he wants 50% to be spent on teaching english. both, martinou read thatan people online? yes, but it is in german. 50% should not learn english, they should learn german. [laughter] your where can people read

reporting? guest: it is a subscription site. urge anybody who wants to read to subscribe. will look at the issue of the veterans health care with two bills that have been proposed and passed in the senate and house. our guest is the legislative director of the american legion who joins us next on congressional efforts on fixing the v.a. situation. we also open up the phones later on to hear your priorities in congress as they get that for august recess later this week. that is all ahead. ♪ [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

>> next month, on booktv's in depth, ron paul. a dozenritten more than books on politics and history, passess latest, america education system. the conversation as he takes your calls and e-mails and tweets live for three hours sunday, august 3, at noon eastern. tune in next month for mary frances berry. in october, a supreme court expert discusses [indiscernible] is our guest in november and the center for american enterprises president and noted musician. >> c-span brings public affairs

events write to you. and offering gavel-to-gavel coverage of the u.s. house, all as a public service of private industry. we are created by the cable tv industry 35 years ago and brought to you as a public service by your local cable or satellite provider. watch this in hd and follow us on twitter. washington journal continues. is joining uslli for the next 45 minutes talking about efforts in congress to approve veterans health care in the wake of the many problems the v.a. has had, particularly in the health care area. thank you for being here with us this morning. we have you with us because a deadline awaits next week in congress. there are efforts to pass both a bill in the house and senate and get legislation out and approve before the august recess.

what does congress primarily want to do to fix some of the health care problems, particularly the ones we saw at the v.a.? you are correct. the house and senate already passed measures now being conference. they have a conference committee that consists of lawmakers from both sides of the aisle and chambers, sitting down and trying to work out some of the differences between the two bills. we believe, because we have been involved in some of the discussions and have been privileged to be asked our advice and counsel on some of the measures, we believe they are very close to reaching a deal now. we were a little disappointed when they did not reach a deal prior to the july 4 break. now that we're coming into the summer break, we are confident a deal will be reached in a day or two. >> take us back. why is congress on such a short deadline to get something done for the v.a.? veterans are dying

waiting for the health care. it is an important issue that lawmakers need to address. the v.a. needs help. the v.a. can only get that help through congressional efforts. in some cases, additional laws. not odd -- not all, but some cases. definitely additional funding and resources. most important, the v.a. needs open ande to be more transparent with stakeholders and congress to let them know what their needs are so we can try to help them. -- : aside a special line for veterans and we want to hear from you this morning. is the legislative director with the american legion. where have your efforts been focusing in the past couple of weeks? have primarily been

working with veterans at the ground level to work with each of the sites identified as trouble spots within the department of veterans affairs. we have been speaking directly with veterans and we have been helping them process their clients, helping them get through the bureaucracy. we are identifying some of those folks who have waited longer than necessary and we are working not only with veterans but the department of veterans affairs to try to ensure these veterans get the care they need. closely with congress to try to develop legislation that will address getting these legislations off the backlog. i especially appreciate the fact you set aside a special line for veterans because they are the quintessential nonpartisan issue in congress that really does not need partisan bickering. that is why it is important we work on this together. like things were working along pretty well but late last week, we saw senator bernie sanders very frustrated by a situation that arose last

week. i want to show you some of his comments and hear what you have to say. >> i have been working, we all have, with our republican colleagues in the house, led by jeff, chairman of the house committee on veterans affairs. we put good faith offers on the again and try to meet republicans more than halfway. i am sad to say, at this point, i can only conclude with great reluctance that the good faith we have shown is simply not being reciprocated by the other side. know what led senator sanders to express this frustration? >> i do not know we particularly grew at that feet -- a grew that viewpoint for the negotiations have come a long way and are in good shape at the moment there it congressman miller, for the house side, has proposed what we

believe is an extremely reasonable offer, which basically says, the senate bill you have produced into the conference committee, we accept your we will go ahead and take that at face value. in addition, we will go ahead and authorize $10 billion to get through 2014. we are not really sure if there is more than -- that is needed at this point. one of the things that seemed to throw a wrench is when the secretary testified last week and then proclaimed that the department of veterans affairs need an additional $17.7 billion in order to continue to see the veterans necessary to catch up. >> the committee did not see a coming. >> nobody saw that coming. >> reflected what you said, this is the release that groups hit sanders of the negotiations, three veterans organizations, not just yours, for inserting that $17.6 billion supplemental

negotiations on veterans legislation, regardless of the merits last minute, the veterans request for 17.6 mike dollars in addition to spending only hampers an already difficult v.a. conference committee negotiating process. despite that, you say you are will work towards and come to an agreement? as we are confident. one of the reasons we were upset is because the primary reason for the conference committee to exist was to address the immediate backlog of veterans who were not being seen. we thought the conference committee was doing that to a sufficient level. we needed to make sure we understood where the money was going to be spent. that is why we have a hard time supporting that request, because we are just not sure what the plan is for those dollars. >> we have a veteran waiting on the line, james from miami, arizona. good morning terry >> good

morning. let me say this. i think the v.a. citizens, i am a 75-year-old disabled veteran. i will be 76 in january. served from 1957 to 1961. there should not be politics for every veteran. let me say this about the republicans. any never wanted to have kind of socialized medicine. shame on them that that they do not want to work together. i do not even have medicare. there are problems with it but it is still the best in the world. god bless america and god bless all active food -- active duty. is his experience typical

of your members? glad that was the first call because it sets the tone for the rest of the conversation. the v.a. was0 when developed. i was one of our primary goals. we believe in the v.a.. by and large, our members are letting us know the v.a. care they received, once they were able to get into the door, is some of the best care in the world. we support the v.a.. the active secretary announced at the hearing last week that $17.6 billion over three years, they would hire an additional personnel, 10 billion of that, to higher medical personnel, and also infrastructure improvements. bill is arepublican 10 billion dollar bill. the senate democratic bill is $45 billion, house republicans, $10 billion over two years. on the issue of robert mcdonald,

the nominee approved by the veterans committee, is it likely his nomination will be secured next week? we are fairly confident there will be relatively no issues confirming him. we have heard no pushback through our congressional liaisons that there will be any problems with that confirmation whatsoever. host: did you get a chance to talk to him before his confirmation hearing? guest: our organization has, i have not. host: texas, republican line, hello. ask,r: i just wanted to compare the v.a. with the g.i. bill. vouchers toe given go to any school. it was not a special school set up for veterans. why does there have to be a special bureaucracy for veterans question mark it is bureaucracy that is the problem. not the doctors and the nurses. why can't we just give veterans

the same kind of insurance our congressman gets? everybody can choose their own doctors and they have access to the best medical system in the world, our medical system. an excellent question. there are a couple of answers to that. the first answer is that we feel there are no better specialists in the world than v.a. doctors to deal with veterans. veterans come with specific needs. tdi, there are real unique and specialty care needs that v.a. doctors have an in london's of experience dealing with an a veteraning how needs care and what they're thinking. the other thing is studies have shown time and time again that v.a. health care is not only excellent care but some of the most cost-effective in the world. of the most

cost-effective care in the united states specifically and one of the largest health care networks. run with some problems recently but we believe it can be fixed and continue to save taxpayer money. that is the reason we support the v.a.. was sense of talking about letting veterans go outside the system. the american legion would have limited support or not really favor that? >> we support that measure specifically to get veterans the health care they need immediately so they are no longer waiting. we see it as a pressure release valve. get them the help they need now because -- but that is not a prom either because in some communities, they are not in a position to see anybody in a timely matter, noxious veterans. host: let's hear from another veteran. hollywood, florida. veteran ofm a actually 14 years. my statement and comment, or

question, would be, the backflow to the backg, due laws we are seeing right now, currently, doesn't that affect how veterans get their health care? if you are waiting to be seen on a backlog come if you are waiting to 100%, independent care, in the backlog that has been going on for years, because i have been waiting since 2001. . . .

ptsd so ronald brings up an excellent point skwloornling. >> more importantly, we're dealing with a backlog at the veteran benefits administration. the care they need bayed upon their services that was major news before the scandals boc out

about whistleblowers. veterans will come to the american legion, veteran service officers that we will help them file their claims and we will turn them in and monitor them for them. >> doesn't mean that we can push them through the system any faster but it does mean that we will make sure that they are correct when they go in so they don't get rejected. >> next up, tennessee, paul on the republican line ca line caller: good morning, c-span. thank you for your opportunity to give me to speak. i hope you will give me just a minute, just a minute to say what i want to for this man. first, i want to thank all of the military for what they do,

the democratic party is the evillest bunch of people that could be on earth. i have friends that are veterans that have been in war and they treat them like dogs. they treat them like dogs. we have a marine in mexico. this president won't even make a phone call to help the man when he made a wrong turn. he shut down the home memory when he couldn't get his way in congress. this man right here, this obama does not like the american veterans. he's put a pink slip on them. >> president american legion has regular meetings with president obama and his staff and our national commander has been in his office twice to discuss issues just like these. as a matter of fact, we were instrumental when the -- when

the federal budget was not passed and the monuments closed and we stood and held press rallies in fronts of those monuments demanding congress get back to work. >> louci, the issue is parties remain at odds about funding for the va as both the house andnate working separate legislation who come to discuss it. here is what he had to say. >> we are working diligently to get to an agreement on the va. we believe that those vet transwho have been waiting in lives, those who live more than 40 miles from a va facility ought to have access to care, and have access to carenow. secondly, i think we need to

understand we need to talk about how sick this patient is. we have a systemic for sale of an entire department of our government. i think understanding just how sick this patient is critically important before we start doing what washington usually does, and that's just throw money at the problem, throw money at the problem. i remain hopeful. >> talk about this paint, the va and the issues that have risen with the va. the va believes they need oversight and resources. we can only address issues we are well aware. the scandal recently disclosed that va wasn't even wear this is

june in heartley delaware on our democrats line. >> good morning to you? >> good morning. >> thank you, c-span for providing valuable service for the american citizens. there has been an ongoing problem with the vet service throughout administrations. my frustration and i am pretty certain the frustratation of a lot of taxpayers is that with every issue there seems to be a republican agenda to block any solutions to any problems for the american people under the obama administration. voters need to look at this. the republicans are not providing any solutions to any problems. they are the problem. the issue is people need help.

they need help. we have the best medical system in the world, and solutions can be made if they don't politicize it all the time. >> when these two bills come together, do you think these will be real solutions to some of the issues that have been brought in the guest: i think it will be a solution to getting vet transthe he healthcare they need. june with brings up a point that i think a lot of americans are struggling with, the partisanship that seems to be surrounding this most recent issue. by and large as we discussed earlier in the program, the veterans committees on the house and senate side had a historically been a bi-partisan working committee. we are very proud of that. if we look at the house, the house has been very bi-partisan and worked not only with veteran stake holders but with each other to make sure they produce legislation good for veterans

and not their party. >> screen the conversation on twitter twitter@c-span. one from free mind who asks the question of louci, any comments on the new means testing with the va, ssa, and irs now tremendousingability the to pay? >> one of the issues being discussed within the conference committee right now is accountabili accountability, not only of the department of veteran affairs but of senior officials and the ability of the leader of the department of veteran affairs to be able to move, fire, or suspend san senior officials. we support that whole-heartedly. we can't understand how the any leader may not manage his or her department as they see fit. . >> jesse is a veteran, an independent caller. jesse, good morning. >> good morning. how are ya'll doing? >> fine.

>> my thing is, back in 2001, i mean i started my va. i was put out of the military in 1982 for medical discharge and nobody ever addressed that, that i was supposed to file a claim back then. so, therefore, when i did file a claim in 2001, because i kept on working because i had to work, and i had bad knees. >> worsened. i have to have double knee replacements in five years. i have 54 years old. nobody ever told me that i was supposed to put a claim in. and that -- and then when i did this in 2001 because i couldn't go back because of the statute of limit assess won't allow you to go back so far, so it took me forever to get some va. and another issue i have besides what's going on right now, in columbia, south carolina, is that back in 2012, filed for

unemploymentability. i am at 80% now. i also was told by the c & p doctor i spoke with -- i won't mention no names. he told me you might as well also file for social security disability. so, i did this. i was turned down because that's the protocol. everybody seems to be turned down the first time. i hate that, but that's just the way it is. i won my case. but in the meantime, i would filed for unemploymentability and because of what the social security doctor said i could go to work and stuff, i ended up going. i ended up being denied and they took that information at the veterans affairs office in columbia and went against me and denied my 100% unemploymentability, denied it. but they wanted more information, but they didn't wait for the information to come in. >> so jesse, are you getting benefits or not? >> i get 80% now and i am back to filing unemployment. but it took me eight and a half months to get a j and p exam to get this started again.

>> anything in the legislation that's going to speed up that process? >> there is. jesse brings up an excellent point, the outreach from not only the department of defense but also the department of veteran affairs that let's these veterans know that they have a responsibility to act once they are discharged from the military, especially under medical conditions. >> we talk a little bit about this earlier, about the american legion's role in terms of the medical process, a daily news story, the veterans are turning away from the va and towards the american legion for medical help. they write about a woman, rebecca king in el paso say with her issues on domestic abuse, they say she is now among nearly 1800 people who have turned to the american legion which has hold meetings in phoenix, fayetville, north carolina and el paso. she can gain access to health and benefits, schedule doctors' appointments, enroll. it eliminates false recordkeeping and long wait times and are being established

in towns where the va audits show wait times were longer. assuming the legislation passes and some things begin to move forward, what's the role of the american legion going forward? how does this change your procedures in terms of these town hall things and being able to move people into the va system. >> the american legion has had veteran service officers. we are accredited veteran service officers all over the country. those are the folks we have deployed to these town halls so that we can help people just like this get the claims service that they need. people feel much more comfortable when they feel like someone that they know understands the process, is able to track and monitor that for them. >> we encourage our veterans to call. we have set aside a separate ca line. we heard from jesse a few minutes ago. newark, new jersey is next. janelli is on the independent line. >> hello. >> good morning. >> good morning. i am starting off, my father, 33

years government, fought world war ii, fought korea and then worked for government. my brother, 12 years government. m me, i make phone calls to d.c. most of the time as an activist, moderate activist, both sides of the table. so veterans, i cannot understand and it boggles my mind. the bill passed in ' 93 to 3 in the senate. >> right. >> and congress saying what the money can be used for. bernie sanders and john -- not boehner. john -- bernie sanders and john mccain came together and explained what it would be used for. it can be used for doctors, more

doctors, more nurses, and more households, very much makes common sense. we spend $40,000,000,000 a month given to wall street. they don't need more cushion but we give them $40 amount not to make them sustain themselves. they have not gone away. we give them $40,000,000,000 a month. >> let's get back to the figures for the bills in the house and senate. 25 billion over three years for the senate legislation, 10 billion proposed over for the house version. where do you think about it will fall? and is that enough to resolve some of the issues the va is having? >> i am glad james brought that question up. it talks a little bit about the responsibility of the vet a to do their job in the ad miles per hourstration when it comes to predicting how much money they will need. what we are trying to address now is an emergency situation

for this year. so the senate has a proposal that talks about an upcoming two or three years and the american legion believes that the appropriations process is in place just to do that. so an meanency appropriations should address an immediate backlog of need that exists today. >> that's what that $10,000,000,000 is designed to do. the additional money should get absorbed into the appropriations proce process, go into a budget request, go through the proper channels. >> right. >> so congress can authorize it and make it a permanent project and permanent program of the department of veteran ay. >> the money outside of the normal preparation process, 15 or beyond? >> yeah. >> in terms because we have heard of this on other segments talking about vets and vet' vet healthcare in particular. there are people who love their care, veterans who will call and love their care. there are spots where the care, they will complain greatly about it. >> right. >> is there a common factor in what separates a really good va

health center from one that's just not living up to what it's supposed to do? >> absolutely. transparency leadershi oversig oversight. more transparency, bedder leadership and greater oversight are those centers where our veterans are telling us, they are getting extraordinary care. the centers that have the corporate culture chronyism, of hiding the facts, of just trying to look good on paper seem to be providing the worst levels of care. >> shelby, north carolina, good morning. this is gerald. you are on the air with lou celli, the legislative director for the american legion. caller: thank you for taking me call. host: you bet line caller: my daughter has a very simple, helpful absolutely she would sharply volunteer for no pay if the va would make sure that she doesn't have to pay her

malpractice, also make sure that whatever the recommendation is that it be actually doable. the president even with my condition, i cannot get into a va facility. i have been in va facilities over the years. some are good. some are terrible. at the present time in new york and mur feesboro, tennessee, there is no doctor to be seen the reason so who sees me, i can't see a cardiologist because the cardiologist isn't already there. i go to a private cardiologist at a considerable expense. if someone would take a few minutes and go to a va. you would find there are no two alike. getting in the first part is the hardest part if you can see a real doctor, at a time chances are the veterans administration will be more than helpful.

>> you are a world war two veteran how would you say that the va service, the healthcare service has improved or gotten worse over your years as at veteran? >> when i first got out of the service, i was diagnosed with tb. i went to sunmount. they were wonderful, couldn't do enough. tb at that time was a death sentence. so i have formed feelings for those people at the sun mound facility. if asked a question, some nigerian would hand you a piece of paper. i am a fphi beta capa. i never got an answer. when i preferred to york in tennessee, i have been very happy with the people there. they just don't have enough people of the right skills we need doctors that are not tasked with treating people and being

the moved by some trial lawyer. >> we appreciate your service and call. to address his issue of the specialists not being there, doctors not being there at the facility he wants to use for gerald and the veterans on the line, thank you for your service. we wouldn't be where we are today had we not had the dedicated service from the veterans of this nation. and to speak directly to his suggestion we are expecting bob mcdonald to look at some out-of-the box findings, rotations throughout the night if need be. also, ideas such as gerald suggested, maybe having doctors who are willing to volunteer but make sure their liability is covered where it's not costing them financially to volunteer their services. these are the things we are completeing the new va secretary to look at. >> in his confirmation hearing,

a quick look at what he had to say. >> in the midst of all of these problems, in the midst of a dysfunctional u.s. congress, in the midst of bitter partisanship,f. >> thank you chairman sanders, i think it's a good question and it's a question my family and i have talked a lot about. i desperately want this job because i think i can make a difference. i think my entire career, whether it was starting at westpoint, being in the secondary born division, being at the proctor & gamble company, one est most admired companies in the world for 33 years has prepared me for this task. as i said in my prepared remarks, i think there is no higher calling, and this is an opportunity for me to make a difference in the lives of veterans who i care deeply about. if not me, who? >> it's coming back to you taking over an organization

that's pretty dog-gone big. what would he have to do first? >> some of the work he did while he was at proctor & gamble was develop new markets. >> that requires understanding metrics, being able to evaluate what works and what doesn't. those are the skills we are going to be looking for, for him to deploy when he gets to the department of veteran affairs. s we are looking forward to working closely with secretary mcdonald, looking forward to have him boots on the ground, hit the ground running. >> to be clear, he has not been cleared by the whole senate. the vet transcommittee cleared him last week. do you know if he is going to vote on him in the coming week? what's your sense of that? >> we believe that they will call probably before they go on and reses but we don't control that. >> susan is next, in hinkston, illinois. hello. >> i want to say when i hear john boehner say he is working diligently in trying to tell the public, i think it's a joke. we are not that stupid.

i don't understand why veterans shouldn't have any problems at all after, you know, 100 years of war and using our military i can't believe. it seems to me like they have always kind of been treated bad. i have all of the compassion in the world for israel and what's going on over there but when i hear that they need money from us for their iron dome, i can't stand it. every penny should be going to our veterans first and for 100 years or whatever, it seems to me like the veterans have never been treated very good and they should have been -- the american legion, unions and the people in the and the workers should be number 1 on the list and it's so obvious they haven't been for, you know, years, years and years and i don't understand it if you are a young person and you swath the republicans and see what's happening, they try to fool everyone with working diligently, they care about veterans, actually, it is like

they are stuck in the 1820s, thinking everybody is really, you know, kind of dense and don't understand. i think the american public know a lot more than the republicans think they know and they just are trying to brainwash people. i feel sorry for the man from tennessee who thinks obama is evil because it just proves that, you know, i was a republican, too, but it's too embarrassing now. and every republican i know, they just seem so brainwashed. >> susan, we remind you to call in on the line that best reflects your view but to the point in terms of forgetting about the veterans, when wars happen, how much thought is given ahead of time to what our needs will be for veterans? >> that's a fantastic question. you know, there have been studies that have come out and there have been recommendations that say, look. if we are going to go in to some kind of armed conflict where we are going to deploy u.s. troops, there should be a fund set up meal that starts growing interest to support veterans

when they come back. congress has not really seen fit to do that just yet. >> might not be a bad idea. >> todd is in covington, georgia. on our democrats line. hello ry caller: the main think is going on is progressives are busy with these illegal people in cities, getting them in their cities. if you want to get in the va, come across the border, tell them you are a hamas guy. we just invest $50 million in hamas. tell him you are hamas, you got beat up by a jew and chased by a co2 and they will send nancy pelosi to take to you nancy's house to get you fixed up. >> we have some comments by e-mail, victory e-mailed us, he asked: congress should issue choice cards until they can fix the va. many veterans are dying, waiting for care from the va. do you agree?

and i am not sure exactly what he means by choi"choice cards". >> in the legislation, there is a catch phrase that's been tossed around that stems from when senator mccain was running o for office, he believed veterans should have choice cards to avoid va care and to go into the civilian economy and get the care they need. while we support the vet transby being able to see doctors that are availability whether they are at the va or not. the choice card is complicated because we don't want to privatize va. it's a cost issue. it's a quality of care issue. it's an understanding of veterans needs issue. so we don't endorse the overall concept of a choice card being given forever but we endorse veterans getting the care they needed to. >> more of an interim solution? >> exactly. >> to follow up to another comment by e-mail.

this one is from otis who says, as a veteran, i recognize there are many veterans who truly need the support of va facility but there are a lot who are just milking the system, too. i would like to see the veterans properly screened to make sure they are not just adding unnecessary burden to the system. is that an issue with the system? >> that's a complicated question because now we are talking about integrity and we are also talking about the backlog. with the difficulty and the barriers that are currently set up to get veterans the care they need, there are probably more veterans needing care not getting it than veterans who don't need care that are getting it. >> michael who is in willsboro, pennsylvania, who is a veteran on our independent line. hello there. caller: good morning, c-span. i would like to say i am a vet nan veteran and i go to a meeting once a month. we used to go twice a month, but the va cut it down.

one. mainly problems i see every time we go to a meeting, they have a new psychiatrist, associationologist who handles the group. a lot of the guys aren't going to open up to something the first time. you've got to have somebody that's there for at least five or six months. >> uh-huh. >> i have been going for three years. you don't get rapport to somebody if you have to explain yourself every month. basically that's what i have to say. >> when you are going to these counseling sessions, michael, you sometimes encounter somebody who is brand new at that position, you are dealing with, i assume, your personal information and how your feelings or he emotions? ets. >> that's correct. i am a not going to tell somebody every month, why i am

there, how i feel, how my month has been. i liked it a lot better when we had two weeks because you bond with the the people in the group because they are the ones who understand you. >> in terms of personnel, is this an issue? >> michael's concern is exactly the reason that the american legion advocated for two years of opening up this conferenced bill for veterans to be able to go outside of the va originally, we were looking at six months but one of the things we were concerned about was the could not newty of care michael is looki looking for. we didn't want to send patients who are looking for some he emotional support from their physician and six months later rip them away. that was one of the years the two-year time leip was discussed. >> lou celli is a 22 year veteran of the u.s. army. where did you service? >> in german, in the united states. i retired as a master sergeant. a did a number of different

jobs. i am proud of my service and proud of every moment i served. >> how long have you been with the american legion? >> two years now. i retired in 2002. i ran a small business and helped veterans start and grow their own businesses through a non-profit for about 10 years and i came to the american leakageon about two years ago. >> one more call from louis, colorado, joe on the republican line. >> yes. >> jo, go ahead. >> yes. you know, i think we need to forget about republicans and democrats when it comes to our vet transwe have a company called mentors of america, l.l.c. i have been trying to get veterans vbeed, be employers, not employees because people don't understand that thighs boys are leaders and future leaders, but i find we need to call it what it is. they are discriminated against

because people don't understand what they went to. i have tried to get colorado certified with vee and catherine williams never calls us back. we are discriminating dpenls our veterans. >> joe, the shorthand? >> disabled business enterprise that's something the american legion has looked at. we want to make sure our veterans have the most advanceages available to them when they come back from that periods of service and spend, maybe like mean, 10, 15, 20, 25 years in the military, they don't have a rolodex. they are not integrated into the community as well as they could be. there are programs out there designed to give them a level playing field a disabled

antrolith prize, the veterans we have worked with have not been that interested in because it looks as a veteran as being disabled, in some cases, it gives the wrong impression. we want to empower veterans through specialty programs that will give them a level playing field and make up for some of the time they were gone. >> lou celli joining us to talk about va healthcare bills. thanks for being with us? >> thank you so much for having me. >> more of your calls and comments ahead as we look ahead to the august recess. i want to know what your priorities are for congress as they get set to take a break, take their talk recess. your to do list for congress, numbers on the screen: more from c-span radio and the sunday talks talk shows as well:

>>. >> topics include russia an ukraine, theitsisi-palestinian conflict and immigration reform. hear rebroadcasts of all of the programs on c-span radio with nbc's meet the press, gets clothe benjamin netanyahu who is appearing on many of today's shows. also, new york democratic senator chuck shoeme and former vice presidential nominee, paul rind. at 1:00 pm eastern, this week with texas republican senator john cornyn, texas democratic congressman henry quear. and robert reich at 2:00 p.m., fox news sunday with steve scalise, the house majority whip elect, another appearance by benjamin netanyahu and ron prother, the ambassador to the u.n. hannan al shari, and cnn's state of the union follows at 3:00 p.m. with benjamin netanyahu.

also, deposuty national you and house majority leader nancy pelosi as well as lindsay gra m graham. at 4:00 p.m. eastern, face the nation with house intelligence committee chair mike rogers and former secretary of state madelimad albright. the ukrainian foreign minister. on c-span radio brought to you as a public service by the networks and c-span. the rebroadcast of the shows begin at noon, eastern, with nbc's "meet the press," 1:00 o'clock, abc's "this week" 2, "fox news sunday" at 3:00 p.m., the cnn state of the union and 4:00 p.m., face the nation, cbs. listen on 90.1 f.m. 4 in the washington, d.c. area. across the country on xm satellite find us on channel 120 or download the free app for you're smartphone or listen online at cspan.org.

. >> on the communicators, monday night, two members of congress talk about their technology legislation. >> we crafted an amendment that said really this, under 702 of the act, you can collect data and we now know from the snowden disclosures that it's a lot of data. >> may also include the information of americans even though that can't be the purpose of the collection of the data. what the amendment simply says was that if you want to search that lawfully acquired database for americans, you should get a warrant. not that you can't get the information. get a warrant. >> the basic premise of the dotcom abili dotcom act is to make sure when the nation releases control of over sight over the domain name system that we know what we are getting ourselves into. >> democratic representative from calf, zoe lofkin and john

shimkus monday night at 8:00 p.m., on "the communicators" on c-span2. >> washington journal continues. >> there is a week left for congress to get work done until their month-long august recess. we are going to see how things stand with neil. nezluski. thank you for being with us on this sunday morning ahead of the august recess. >> thank you. it's good to be here. >> we put together a quick to do list. here is our to do list for congress over the next week and before the november elections actually. so the authorizing of the highway trust fund, funding of veterans affairs waiting lists, emergency funding for the

boarder. they need to pass a continuing resolution sometime before they leave before the august -- before the elections. reauthorization of the x mbank and extending the 9-11 insurance program. so let's start at the top do you think they will get it done before the august recess or before the november leases? >> trust fund, waiting on the senate. so that gets done before august. >> we had a guest on he, lou celli, the legislator affairs director talking about the va bill which seemed sort of contentious there at the end of the last week. what's the likelihood of a veterans healthcare bill passing before the august recess? >>? it's likely, i think one side or the other might come up with some sort of legislation, but frankly have no idea if it will be anything that could pass both chambers. >> the other issue out there that has differing viewpoints,

actually, different dollar figures, a couple of weeks ago, the administration unveiled $37,000,000,000 of emergency funding for border security and other issues dealing with the influx of my grant children at the southern border of the democrats responded with a $2.7 billion proposal. the republican house, initially a $1.5 billion now it may be a billion. any chance that any funding for border spending will get done? >> i hate to make this prediction but i think we have to come back. i think we will see congress once a deal gets worked out in the middle of the month come back from august recess for that. >> okay. about getting spebdzing bills done. we will look at the list of spending bills. seven of them have been done in the house, passed in the house >> none in the senate. this is looking like some sort of big continuing resolution before they leave in october. correct is there. >> right.

>> this erb of the export import bank, that's another one that needs to be reauthorized at some point? correct? >> that's right. >> could end up lumped in with that continuing resolution. >> our guest is neil and we are asking you what are your to do list before they leave for the august recess and november elections. here are the numbers to call, for democrats: the house has four days worth of work, feel lesniewski. what's the house going to get done this week? >> the big question on the house side is really whether or not this border supplemental, as you

said earlier, is probably on the order of less than a billion dollars is going to be something that moves through the house chamber. there is believed to be possible consideration of that measure although we haven't really seen final language on it. >> will be the big item that needs to get done or is most likely the thing the house will be working on that will get the most attention in the coming week. >> why did that dollar figure get reduced so drastically? you had 3.7 proposed from the administration. 2 and a half billion or so from the senate democrats. and then the house initially was reported at a billion and a half and now a billion. what's dropping that dollar figure? what else are house republicans looking to get through when they pass this immigration, this border funding rather? >> one of the biggest questions that everyone had would be original requests from the white

house was the spend out rate, that was for a longer period of time than even on the senate side. the senate democrats seemed to be comfortable with. the senate democratic plan, the $252,627 bill i don't want dollars, that money was designed to basically be able to keep things going in terms of housing and process of these other companies' my grant children through the end of the calendar year the house plan, as it seems to be emerging is more focused on security related issues. the biggest thing to see when a plan comes out is how the money is distributed between the home land security department, health and human services and the

justice department and sort of the blend of the money is in some ways even more important than the dollarament another issue before we let you go on the highway trust fund, we understand that the dead leip is coming up where the trust fund will run out of money it's been said. a lot of vay casing in august. where do things stand with the highway bill? >> >> the senate is going to go through a series of votes on various proposals. to replenish or reauthorize to keep the construction workers and the projects going. ultimately, it looks like the senate is going to accept a house-backed plan that's passed the house, president obama.

there will be jockeying back and forth in the senate and a series of votes but the time agreement has already been locked in, that a time when majority a leader harry reid and mitch mcconnell agree on. those votes will happen in the house plan which was championed by dave camp and pass ted the house overwhelmingly. >> plan is ultimately going to make it to the president's desk. the highway trust fund is one thing frankly people don't need to worry about too much. >> one, unlike the issue with the border supplemental and with the va is on track to get done. >> will the senate approve the va secretary, robert mcdonald this week. yes. >> that's another item that's on the must do list for the senate this week and they already have

a similar agreement to the highway bill in place so that when reid and mcdonald decide the moment is right to call that vote, that vote should happen and he should sail through. the house will take this up week that resolution stoauthorize a lawsuit against the president. >> yes that is the other thing that is sort of aside from the pressing deadline material, obviously, that the house is going to be dealing with. if you want to see the most partisan voting of the week, i am sure it will be going on when it comes on that resolution to authorize the lawsuit. democrats on both sides of the hill swells out in the campaign apparatus are already sort of running on that and provoking on

that issue. i wouldn't be surprised if i know this that chuck schumer is on one of the network sunday morning programs. a preview came from senate schumer. >> neal lesniewski, follow him on twitter and read more at roll call.com? >> thank you. >> let's find out what your priorities are ahead of the august recess, ahead of the elections, not many legislative days left. let's go to collierville, tennessee and diane, hello caller: i would like to say three quick things. congress needs to get to work on jobs. congress needs to put this bad lawsuit against the president away. if anybody needs to be schooled t should be congress. we should be paid our money

back. number 3, with this border stuff, all we have to do is have more people on the border. take that money they are thinking about giving to these people for healthcare and fut it on our healthcare. we got people dying. we got people who need food, people need help with their student loans. we need jobs. congress hasn't did anything. they are always going on recess. tell me where here in america that a working person, hard-working person could go out three or four times a year and get paid. >> your to do list for congress. jacksonville florida is next. independent like. john, hello. >> hello. >> go ahead, john. >> i have a little bit of interest in the whole situation as far as the va goes.

i spent quite a bit of time in vietnam. the breakdown diabetes and i have recently become a problem with my lung that they say is age-annoyed. again, one of my main concerns is, is the va physician that they have here in jacksonville. he they recently built a new clinic on ground that they said did not belong to the government. it belonged to the hospital. the nor'easter hospital for the va is over 70 miles away from here. >> they have tried to put in more things here to where we would not have to do all of this traveling but they haven't succeeded in doing so because of the fact of the load that is put in here from all of the people from florida and georgia both.

and subsequently, if you want to get an mri, go 4 to go wait 30 to 60 days before you can get in to it. >> by the way, see our segment from earlier on the va with the american legion, legislative director, lou celli. gary is next in toneka, mississippi. what is on your to do list for congress, gary? caller: it seems like they have put the cart before the horse by at a time -- because of the hired mcdonald as secretary and fixing to confirm him this coming week. >> uh-huh. >> but they should have passed a law, legislation to give him the powers to fire the people that aren't doing their work before they hired him. now, everybody knows that if they get the legislation passed and the president signs it, it's going to take 90 days to implement that legislation or law, you know, so i mean, they need to get -- they need to look

to god for discernment and pray that they can come up with a compromise get this va fixed. >> let's hear from south carolina. johnson in south carolina. leip line caller: good morning. line host: good morning caller: please give me a moment to make my statement. the va is set up for fraud for every gi that volunteers to pay into the va. and make it mandatory because it's a thing about agreed that all contractors that makes

anything for the military is 100% made in the united states also, we instituted a draft. any time we talk about sending troops to a foreign country, we put the draft back in. also, to send a gi over there match that funneled and put it into settle all of that. make the contractors pay for it. >> again, there are competing va proposals out there. the house has passed its. the senate passed its version, the senate version $25,000,000,000 and the house 2 years, 2 billion drear proposal. the two committees are likely to meet sometime early next week, probably monday.

we haven't got a confirmed word on that caleb, what's on your to do list for congress. >> my on to do list as a student is to first make sure they pass the va bill for healthcare and then they need to pass a bill that talks about the border and protects us because we don't want illegal children and illegal migrants come into our country. them, also, they need to pass some type of laws that makes students -- i mean, that makes jobs and make sure that where students get out of college here so that they can have a job ready for them and, also, for veterans who come home. i think it's crazy that they have to come home and get a job when they just fought for our

freedom. in this economy, this is what you have to do. this is my to do list, what congress needs to do now and stop trying to impeach or sue the president. i got an e-mail yesterday about them trying to impeach the president. i think it's nonsense and we need to just get along. we might not agree but we just need to show respect to each and every person. and stop blaming barack obama for all all of the president's fault. >> the president proposed $37,000,000,000 of spending democrats came up with a plan and the house plan now reportedly as we heard from niel, at a bill i don't believe or under. part of their plan would include deploying the national guard on the border, amending the 2008 law allowing for speedier

deportation. it would also require that the homeland security department craft and implement a plan to gain operational control of the southwest border. it would deal with issues in terms of security issues in central america and mexico as well. create patriation centers it would fast track processing within sevens days employ border security immigration judges and establish a commission to show if the initiative did are working. that's from the house plan anyway. our caller mentioned impeachment. the house is not taking up any sort of impeachment measure. they are taking up a measure that would authrides the house, the speaker to bring a lawsuit against the president for executive actions. >> that's likely on the house. it's called hres 676 auth-ruling

the speaker to initiate in civil access mthsz on behalf of the house of representatives. dory on our republican lifeline, go ahead. leip line caller: good morning. i have a number. i will name them quickly. maybe you can address them. in the 1978, i personally told tom foley that i thought that the lid should be taken off of the maximum amount for social security taxes that people pay. the rich was not paying any. >> that's number 1. no. 2, i mentioned to him that the foreign -- the companies leaving here and going to foreign countries should be taxed in some way. number 3, the bill to the mexican government for these children with a copy of the numbers of people that are getting by here the presidents

comments when he came back from having talked to them did not address mexico's responsibility. maybe we need to help them with their border so that we can get our border in shape. thank you. >> world in new york, jim on the independent line. jim, hello. go ahead. >> you are on the air. jim, hello. go ahead. >> yes. hello. this is jim in wyoming. >> my fault. it's wyoming. i read the initials wrong. go ahead, jim. go ahead. we should wake up. i am a 100% disabled vietnam vet whose records have been deleted and people that helped the va in sheridan wyoming. people whom dined i have sigh t

atcus both knees blown out with scheduled surgery almost two years ago. >> so the top of your to do list is this veterans bill then? >> that's it. but to understand exactly what's going on, see, the people helping and who has allowed the va and all of these other problems occur senator john baraso would not help at all. i've got documents from senator mike enzy who told me to call another senator. i sent him documents of mris, i mean like 10 pages and stuff. >>host: : we appreciate your input for your to do list. wes, hello from sparttanburg. >> awesome. i am glad i got in. congress. this whole thing is a kabuchi theatre t doesn't matter. what i would like c-span to do

is bring a republican depressedman and democratic every recess and have them debate the questions of the day. i think that would do wonders. >> i suspect we will have a best of your knowledge during the recess. thank you. let's go to dick in oceanside, california. hello. caller: thank you. i really enjoy c-span. i would recommend that a very simple idea. all of the congressman when they go back to their home states, that they take a vacation, they take a vacation with their wife and their kids. take two weeks off and take a vacation with the person that they most disagree with. and if that doesn't work, take another two weeks. if they don't -- if they don't agree with their own families and kids and wives, they are not going to live in congress much this is the best way to get them to work together. thank you very much for c-stan.

>> house and senate will be back for one more week of legislative week of work this week and then they are off for august and back for 12 or 13 days ahead of the elections in november. quick look at the mid-terms for mid-term congress -- contests, obama hits rewound on sound track of hope and change. some analysis from the washington post. one more call here, billy in crockett, texas always. billie, what is on your to do list for congress before the august recess or before the elections? caller: thank you for taking my call. first of all, the first thing i would like to see congress is do is slow down another thing, politics are local.

it's deplorable what they are doing to people in prison, african-american young men. they don't have air conditioners down there. nineteen have died since the early 2000s because of heat related issues people are being victimized. >> thank you for your call. thanks for all of your calls this morning. >> find more onlinats facebook.com/c-span. we look forwards to your comments as well on tomorrow morning's washington journal, we will begin the program with a look at the conflicts between israel and the palestinians. shad hamid, and page win field cunningham and affordable care act. ...

thanks for being with us today. we hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend.

agency are right at the middle of the crisis at the border. be resting youll issues for the associated press. as we are taping, congress is an conference, considering legislation. as the tea leaves are being read, there will be a stalemate between the house and senate and the break begins. where does that put the president shrub border plans operationally if there is no money? >> certainly we have concerns about that. in border protection along we surged resources.