and our country. that is why we can't wait any longer. we can't wait for a path to equal citizenship. this is where i differ with everybody on the republican side. make no mistake, not a single republican candidate announced or potential is clearly supporting a path to citizenship. not one. when they talk about legal status, that is code for second-class status. we should never forget who this debate is about. you are going to meet some of them in a minute. people who work hard, who love this country, who pay taxes to it and want nothing more than to build a good future for themselves and their children. we are talking about the young people at this table. they are dreamers in much more

than name. i don't understand how anyone can look at these young people and think we should break up more families, or turn away more hard workers with talent to help us build the kind of country we want to see. so i will fight for comprehensive immigration reform and a path to citizenship for you and for your family across our country. i will fight to stop partisan attacks on the executive action that would put dreamers, including those with us today, at risk of deportation. and if congress continues to refuse to act, i would do everything possible under the law to go even further. there are more people, like many parents have dreamers, and others, with deep ties and

contributions to our communities, who deserve a chance to stay, and i will fight for them. the law currently allows for sympathetic cases to be reviewed. but right now most of these cases have no way to get a real hearing. therefore we should put in place a simple, straightforward, accessible way for parents of dreamers and others with a history of service and contribution to their communities, to make their case and to be eligible for the same deferred action as their children. that is just the beginning. there is much more to do to expand and enhance protections for families and communities to reform immigration and enforcement, so they are more humane, targeted, and effective. to keep building the pressure

and support for comprehensive reform. on a personal basis, the first time i ever met anyone in our country working was when i was about 12 years old, as i recall. through my church, i was recruited, along with some other girls in sunday school, to serve as babysitters on saturday for the small children so the older children could join their parents in the fields. when i was growing up, in the chicago area it was farm fields as far as the eye could see. the migrants, immigrant laborers would come up, up through the midwest, chicago, michigan. we were asked to try to help out. i remember going to the camps where the families lived.

taking care of the little kids while kids my age were doing really hard work. what stuck in my mind was how at the end of the day there was a long road from the camp that went out to a dirt road in the middle of the field. and the bus that had the workers that came back around 4:00 in the afternoon, stopped and let off the parents and the older brothers and sisters. all of these kids started running down the path to see their moms and dads and their big brothers and sisters. they were scooped up by these really tired people. i just watched this and thought, they are just like me and my brothers. when my dad comes home from work. we go out to see him. after he has come back from his day of doing what he had to do

to support us. i've never gotten that experience out of my mind. so, for me, this is about what kind of people we are and what kind of country we have. i am convinced it is in our economic interest. it is in the interest of our values. it is in the interest of our long-term security as a nation. so you know where i stand. there can be no question about it. i will do everything i can, as president, and in this campaign, to make this case. i know there are people who disagree with me. i want them to have a conversation with me. the facts are really clear. we know how much people who are working hard contribute to the economy.

both in what they buy and do -- both in what they buy and what they pay in taxes. in new york, which i know about, our undocumented workers pay more in taxes than some of the biggest corporations in new york. so i'm ready to have this discussion with anybody, anywhere, any time. let me turn to the people who are living this story. i want you to meet them and hear from them. i'm going to start with you, if you will introduce yourself, and talk about your own life and what brings you to the table today. >> thank you, secretary. my name is astrid silva, i'm a student at the nevada state college pursuing my degree in history. i arrived in united states when i was four years old. i came here with my mom and dad. i had a younger brother here. he is a citizen.

our family was scammed when i was young. my father was given a deportation order. mrs. clinton: because you hired a lawyer? >> he took advantage of the fact there was a lot of different immigration programs in the 1990's. people did not understand the differences. because of that, my father was given deportation orders. that was not acted on until 2011. we did not know he had that order. right now, because of discretion, my dad will qualify for this program once the lawsuit is moved out of the way. and my mom will be able to apply so we are not afraid she will be deported. mrs. clinton: talk to me about what you have done in school. how you see your future.

the contributions you have made as a young person. what you would like to do further. >> growing up, i was dedicated to school. our parents put a big emphasis on me succeeding. because of all the sacrifices they had made. they have not seen their family and 25 years. when i went to elementary, middle school, i was dedicated. in seventh grade, i was gladiator of the year because i was the student that showed the most citizenship, ironically. [laughter] programs like that, i could not take advantage of them because when i turned the age of going to college, i did not have a way out. i was afraid for many years until finally a counselor in college knew what was happening and helped guide me and i became involved in politics. knowing that i did not have to be afraid because there was

something, and i met other people in the same situation which had never happened before. mrs. clinton: erica-- [applause] part of our jobs as mom's to embarrass our children at any possible moment. also when we are proud of them. i'm happy you are there. erica, how did you end up here today? erica: i am here to share my story. i came here when i was two years old. my parents and i made the journey here after we lost my sister. they wanted to give me a better future. i have a 17-year-old brother. he is a citizen. my parents would qualify if the lawsuit was lifted. i'm currently going to cfs. i want to major in political science and psychology.

i'm here wondering, what are your plans to help my community and my family not to live in fear anymore? mrs. clinton: that is why it is so important we continue to try to change the laws comprehensively. as i have said numerous times, i support the president's action in the face of inaction. i was disappointed when i was a senator for eight years, we had a few chances to try to do more for dreamers, for comprehensive immigration reform, and we were not successful. when i was secretary of state, i was very pleased there was a bipartisan agreement in the senate for comprehensive immigration reform. it was such a good signal that democrats and republicans can work together, solve a difficult problem.

could put aside partisan differences. the senate passed it and the house would never take it up. i think it would have passed if they had taken it up. i think the leadership in the house decided that politically they did not want to do that because they had people who were strongly opposed to reform. we have to keep working on it. that is why your stories are important. because we can't look at it as though it is an abstraction. it is real people's lives and so many people who have made contributions, who have worked hard, started businesses, raised their children here. as you point out, you have a brother who is a u.s. citizen. we have a lot of these blended families and i want to make sure doca and all of the changes that have occurred continue and even expand.

i would like to try to do more on behalf of the parents of dreamers who are not necessarily included. the best way is to get reform in congress and try to resolve all of this. >> i'm 26 years old. i have been here since i was one year old. i graduated this summer with a degree in psychology and criminal justice. when i was 15 years old, my parents and i received orders for deportation. since then, we have lived in fear. thankfully, i have some relief because of deferred action. i can't say the same thing for my parents. unless the lawsuit is dropped, my parents' future is not secure.

i stand with the 50,000 undocumented transgender immigrants in this country who can file within the one-year deadline for asylum. secretary clinton, would you lift the one-year deadline for asylum-seekers? mrs. clinton: there are several things about that question i would like to answer. i think people in the immigration system should be represented. we have made some progress on that, but not enough. i am in favor, particularly for young people, to have representation. i would like everyone to have it. if we can prioritize, i would like young people, people from vulnerable populations, who would not have the support they need. i do not think there is anything magic about the one-year. i think we need to look at how we make our entire system more

humane. i'm very worried about detention facilities for people who are vulnerable, and for children. i think we could do a better job if we paid attention to people who have a record of violent behavior and that we have a different approach towards people who are not in that category. i do not think we should put children and vulnerable people into the detention facility because they think they are at risk. their physical and mental health are at risk. these are issues we should go as far as we can to get the resources to provide support and representation and change some of our detention processes within the kind of discretion the president has exercised with his executive orders.

it is also clear as the president has said many times a lot of these issues can only be resolved once and for all if we have changes in the law. i want to protect people. i want more humane treatment. no matter how the law is written or enforced. and to put the resources behind that and continue to fight for reform. >> thank you, secretary clinton, for being here and welcome to nevada. i arrived to the united states when i was seven months old. nevada is the only place i call home. i graduated from unlv, education is one of our strong points as dreamers. because of it, i'm looking at pursuing a law degree. again, the system of immigration messes up my family.

i come from a mixed status family. my sister is a u.s. citizen who petitioned to changed my father's legal status. we tried to do the same for my mother. she faces the 3 to 10 year bar. it was either make the decision to have her separate our family or keep our family together. a strong message in the immigration community is keeping families together, and that is the path we took. she continues to be undocumented. she will qualify for dapa, but with the lawsuit, it is another obstacle in the way. mrs. clinton: could you explain to people what the 3 and 10 rule is? >> of course. for example, my mother and i, we

entered illegally. my father entered with a work permit. he entered legally. we faced a 3-10 year bar because of the way we entered. we took a different way compared to my father. because of it, we have to leave our country. we tried to do it the right way. we had to leave the country as a pardon for entering illegally. mrs. clinton: i think your example illustrates the difficulties of these rules that are applied to everybody under every circumstance, looking out

-- without looking at the underlying situation. you have a sister who is a citizen. a father who is a permanent resident. you came here at seven months, you have done well with your education, and you are a committed young person. and your mother, who kept the family going, would have to leave. in order to be able to petition for reentry and therefore be determined as legal. that is why i have promoted, ever since we have been having this debate, going back to when i was in the senate, a comprehensive program, similar to what the senate passed on a bipartisan basis, where the people who have been here and have contributed and worked hard, you would have to pay a fine. we would want you to learn english. which is not a problem before anybody around this table. and we would want you to get in line to get a path to citizenship. you would not be at risk of being deported and you would not have to leave the country in

order to be able to try to come back. i think there are, there is agreement among the people who supported the bipartisan bill in the senate. some of them are paying a political price for it. it is still the right thing. because we have gained so much from people, like your family, who have come here and work -- worked hard and made a contribution. thank you for explaining that. it shows how difficult it is in so many families to figure out what to do. juan, you have an interesting story. you are a one of those small businessmen. that is where the jobs are created. that is where the engine of economic recovery comes from. why don't you tell us what you

have been doing? juan: my name is juan salazar. i came here when i was seven. i grew up here. i'm undocumented. it hit me when i got out of high school. it was hard to find a job. my friends were getting jobs or their drivers license. i got left behind. thanks to daca, i was able to get a work permit. as an undocumented immigrant, i did not take no opportunity for granted. right away i went to go get my business license. to have my own pool cleaning company.

we started off with three pools. i got my business license. i went to get certified. so i could promote my name and everything. 2-3 years later, we have over 50 pools, and i am growing. i make sure i work hard. we did not have anything when my dad lost his job. we lost our house. we had to sell food to pay the phone bills. it was only one way up from there. we are working hard every day. i'm learning through the struggles we have been through taking it step-by-step. mrs. clinton: i'm very proud to hear your story. let's face it, you can clean pools all year round in nevada. we have a shorter season where i live. [laughter]

the fact you and your dad really were determined to recover from losing your home, his job, doing what you had to do to be as successful as possible, is the american story. that is what is so moving about what happened to you. juan: once i got my work permit, i could not say the same thing for my parents. they did not qualify. i'm happy for the ones who were able to. now they have a speed bump. they've got slowed down now. i just want to make sure my parents are protected. i would not wish that on anybody. to have family seperated.

here in nevada, 21% of the business are owned by immigrants. we are making, we are moving up and we are making a difference. provide for our families. we are very united. mrs. clinton: that is great. i think you have put an important statistic, which is nationally, so many of the new small businesses are started by immigrants. that is something we should be celebrating, not trying to prevent or breakup, because of status differences. also, the fact you are worried about your parents. i will try to do everything i can to avoid family breakup, avoid the kind of terrible experience too many families have gone through because they were split up. half of their family, or the breadwinner is picked up and gone one day.

it is not smart and it is not right. do you want to share your story? >> i'm 16 years old. i'm a junior. i arrived in this country at the age of 2. since then, i have been able to succeed in school. currently i'm looking toward my future. once i began to look at what i have, there is not a lot open. i can go to school, but afterward, what is there for me? i want to be a doctor. i want to go to yale. after yale, i can't really become a doctor. mrs. clinton: i should brag on you.

you have the highest grade point average in the whole class. right? [applause] one of your counselors told me it was 4.8. i did not know it went that high. you are exactly the kind of student that every family, every community should be proud of. the idea you want to be a doctor is something we should be encouraging and trying to clear the path so you can go on and do that. tell me about your family. what happened with the rest of your family? >> my parents arrived as undocumented. they were both depending on dapa. my dad wanted to open his own mechanic shop. with that, he would be able to expand his business.

however, he really can't. mrs. clinton: i think it is important to put faces behind the stories. several of you have mentioned how the lawsuit to try to prevent the implementation of president obama's executive order has stopped plans for new businesses, for going to school, what you are going to do when you graduate. creating more uncertainty. that is what you are describing with respect to your father. i think that certainty is really important. predictability. regularization, if you will. people need to know what is going to happen. it is unrealistic and, i think foolish to continue to talk as though we are going to deport 11 million or 12 million people. that is not going to happen.

when you accept the fact that is not going to happen, right? i once calculated when i was in the senate how much money it would cost, how many buses would be required. it is beyond absurd. that is not going to happen. what we have to do is accept the fact we are a nation of immigrants. we always have been. it was franklin roosevelt who might have said we started off as a nation of revolutionaries and immigrants. that has continued throughout our history. we have to solve the issues that are around this situation we are faced with. the facts are really clear about the contributions, the economic consumer contributions, the

paying of taxes, and then the young people who work hard and are looking for a place in society. i know that you have had personal experiences. now is your chance to maybe say what you think should be done and how it should be done so that we have a debate that is about the realities, not about the talking points and the arguments. would you like to start? >> one of the most important things is family reunification. 11 million people could not be deported. millions have been deported. we have victoria here. she is also a trimmer. -- a dreamer. she has not seen her mother in four years. they had to go back to mexico for an emergency. her mother was unfortunately broke her leg on the journey back to the united states. victoria came here alone.

she has been with a guardian. to me, one question, what will happen to those families who have already been separated? i go to bed every night. i live in the fear my parents will be deported, but they are still here. i can talk to them. all of our stories have very complex issues. juan working. his family's status. we all have siblings. our parents would qualify for adjustment. my question is a little bit expanding on several of those issues. mrs. clinton: reunification should be one of our goals in comprehensive immigration reform. because we have attempted to deal with this challenge for

years now and in the absence of actually finally passing reform, a lot of families have been broken up. that is really so painful for people who live through it, and even those on the outside to even imagine what that must be like. that is why i want to do everything we can to defend the president's executive orders. i think they were within his authority, constitutionally, legally, they were based on precedent that i believe is adequate. and still try to go further, like the unification of families that have been split up. yes. >> 276,000 undocumented lgbt

immigrants in the united states. some of them are trans. as a lesbian woman, i would like to know how we can protect our trans brothers and sisters where they do not identify with their gender identity? mrs. clinton: i think we have to do more to provide safe environments for vulnerable populations. that certainly includes the lgbt community, children, and unaccompanied children. there are groups of people who we deserve a higher level of care, because of the situations they are finding themselves in. i also think we have to reform our detention system.

i'm not sure a lot of americans know a lot of the detention facilities for immigrants are run by private companies. they have a built in incentive to fill them up. there is actually a legal requirement that so many beds be filled. so people go out and round up people in order to get paid on a per bed basis. that makes no sense to me. that is not the way we should be running any detention facility. there is a lot we have to do to change what is currently happening and try to put us on a path toward a better, humane system for everybody. >> i think affordability is a major factor. many undocumented immigrants have been exploited. my parents worked for two dollars an hour. that was in 1990.

i also think many of our parents have had a low wage job, it is important to raise the minimum wage throughout the country. because i think people deserve to make a living wage. mrs. clinton: i agree with that completely, at the federal level. states and some cities are on their own raising the minimum wage. there needs to be a federal floor. i believe the democrats will introduce legislation to do that this week. i agree with you. >> secretary clinton, as you mentioned, you're going to keep the executive order if elected president, but as of now you

mentioned you are going to push congress. we look forward to a day where we become citizens of this country. all of us have knocked doors to get voters out and we tell them our stories, because it is important, they are not only voting for themselves, they are voting for us and the future of this country. if and when elected, do you plan to push congress as your first initiative, to push for immigration reform? mrs. clinton: it will be among my first initiatives. i can't predict what will be happening. that happened to president obama when he was elected and found out we were falling into an economic abyss. he deserves a lot of credit for stabilizing the situation and getting us back on the economic upswing. among the priorities i would be advocating for in the beginning would be comprehensive immigration reform.

one of the reasons for that, as secretary of state, i saw what happened to countries that established a second-class status for people. they do not feel they belong, or they have any allegiance to the country in which they live and work. they are never fully accepted. that is a recipe for divisiveness and disintegration. my view is that we are a nation of immigrants. we have assimilated tens and tens of millions of people over the course of our history. we have 11, 12 million people who are undocumented. the vast majority of whom have proven they want to be a citizen of this country and we should put them on that path.

those who say we can do reform but not a path to citizenship, would be undermining what has made america unique. the way we have assimilated people. the way people feel loyal, the contributions they make. this is not just the right thing to do for america, if you compare us to other countries that did not take that step, you can see what it has done to them. i don't want to go there. i support a path to citizenship in the constext of immigration reform. juan: i wanted to add a personal story. when i graduated high school, i could not find any work. my dad was not working as well. we found a landscaping job. doing labor for a company.

we were getting paid six dollars an hour. they would work us excessively. i was young. working really hard. it got to a point where i remember we had been working. we could not look at the boss in the eye. even if it was lunchtime, you had to work. a lot of stories like that. other stories with stuff like that. it is really hard. me and my dad worked really hard. when he would get home from work, and i would see him limping, that is what motivated me to do something for us.

he raised me to respect everyone and to be honest and supported me with school. just looking out for him. i'm really glad he is my business partner. mrs. clinton: i bet he would say the same thing about you. you make a good point. it is not only about minimum wage and decent working conditions for people like you. often times when i have conversations with people who are fearful about immigration

reform, their fears are rooted in the feeling they are losing jobs. they are going to people who are undocumented. part of that fear has a reality to it is because people pay you six dollars an hour, because you are undocumented. why would they pay somebody who is a citizen what the minimum wage should be? my argument is the quicker we legalize the people here, the better the job market will be for everybody. you will not have a group of people who are taken advantage of and you do not have others who feel as though they are losing jobs because this group is being taken advantage of and -- taken advantage of are paid less and treated worse. my argument to people who worry about comprehensive reform and the effect on their job is, it is the opposite. the sooner we can get to legalization, the better the job market will be for everybody. employers will not be able to

violate the laws. because they are not dealing with a workforce that is scared to say anything, or even scared to look at the boss when he shows up. this is about everybody. not just you and your dad. juan: one more question. i just wanted to say, i know here in nevada, education, we keep on lowering the education. a lot of kids aren't graduating. we need to reach out to these kids and show them that school is very important and so is higher education. maybe we need to figure out some other way. a lot of the reason is because of funding. they can't afford it. so they decide not to go to school.

mrs. clinton: that is a big part of what we have to do. whether it is community college or college or a job training program that will give them a good start. and you make a strong point. it is so expensive to continue your education that too many kids are feeling, and their parents are feeling, it is the -- it is beyond their reach. that is why i support president obama's proposal for free community college which at least gets you started and i would like to look to see how we get the debt under control and give people a chance to not be burdened by debt which makes it really hard for them to start a business or to continue their education so this is going to be

a big part of my education policy as i go forward with the campaign. you are 100% right. too many people feel it is out of their reach or they graduate with so much debt they feel like they are paralyzed. they do not know what to do and they cannot buy a house, they cannot get married, they cannot start a business because they owe so much in student debt. the average student in iowa graduates with 30 thousand dollars of debt. you have a lot of people who do not have that much assets and income so it is relative to what they can afford. i learned today that this school uses title i funds to pay for

the ap exam fee. when you look at high school education, making it possible for more students to have access to advanced placement courses really ups the level of education. it gives kids a leg up because they may have some credit before they ever get there but too many kids in the past and across our country do not take the test because -- i do not know what it does today. $80? $85. that is a lot of money if you're are making minimum wage or less. i hope the administrators are still here. i want to give them a big shout out for using title i funding. i am sure you will do some of that next year.

or currently. you have them tomorrow? >> that is monday and statistics and english next wednesday. mrs. clinton: wow. >> once daca was established, it opened many doors. oftentimes the journey ends there and i was wondering if or what was your position or what will you offer in order for us to continue our education. mrs. clinton: it is very shortsighted of us not to legalize students who graduate from college and can use their skills to make a good life for

themselves but also to give back. we have thousands of foreign students come to our country every year. they get a great education in our colleges and universities and a lot of them stay. i want you to be a doctor if that is what you want to be. you have come up through our system, you have worked hard you have done exceptionally well. i think this is the particular fix in addition to the other fixes we have been talking about. i read an article recently about a group of young, undocumented men who were really interested in technology and they entered a contest against kids from the best schools and companies and they won. so you have four kids who beat the best of the best and they could not do anything because they were undocumented. i'm sitting there thinking, what is wrong with this picture?

we are in a global competition and i intend for us to win it and i'm not about to let anyone who can make a contribution to our economy and society get thrown away. from my perspective we need to fix that, we need to remove the fear, and we need to make sure that we give every child a chance to do the best that he or she can. if that means going to yale and becoming a doctor -- [inaudible] [applause] as you can tell, i could be here all day. we have six exceptional young people, we have some proud parents and grandparents and teachers here. but let me end where i started. thanking rancho for having me here, thanking each of you for being willing and brave enough to sit here and talk about your own lives.

i want to reiterate my strong support for the president's executive action because he had to act in the face of inaction that was not on the merits but politically motivated. for partisan reasons which i think is not the way we should be solving our problems in our country. in our congress or anywhere else. i am so pleased that the congresswoman is here because i know she is a champion for a lot of the issues that we are talking about. i want to get back to good old-fashioned problem-solving and this is one of the problems we have to solve together so i pledge to you i will do everything i possibly can to make this an issue in the campaign but more importantly, when i am president, to put it on the top of my priority list. you stay here.

we will do a picture, and maybe we will get the principal and others to come up and join us. let's get the administrators who invited us all here to come and stand. if you will stand with us we will get a picture with everybody. congresswoman, why don't you join us? write me a memo on what i need to do differently. [laughter] you want to come around? we all stand up. that is good. excellent. ok, come closer. and juan, give me that. that's great. ok, look at barb and we will

look at all the proud parents with their cameras. so look over here. ok, got some cameras over here. it's like when you are on the red carpet. look here. ok. thank you. you want to come around? i am so happy i could. thank you so much. >> i am grateful. mrs. clinton: is your name barbara? >> barb.

i love that. great. thank you. [inaudible] [indiscernible]

mrs. clinton: you have to watch the campaign starting with what i did today. thank you.

[indiscernible]

>> coming up on c-span, a discussion of the 2016 president of campaign. many look at congress's budget priorities. then the google vice president on the future of the web. >> defense secretary ashton carter and outgoing joint chiefs chairman art dempsey testified about the defense budget on wednesday morning. you can see them testify live at 10:30 a.m. eastern here on c-span. musician elton john, and pastor rick moran of the saddleback church are among witnesses on wednesday on a senate hearing on global health programs. by the covers at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span three.

tonight, on c-span's "q&a", kate andersen brower on the white house through the eyes of the people who work there. >> they are not members of the family have worked at the white house and i interviewed the only current part-time butler what was able to interview. ewers every week at the white house. nine members of his cap family -- of his family have worked there. he told me, my uncle ran the white house. they brought him him when he was 17 years old in 1959, during the eisenhower administration, and he is still working there. he says he used to work in the kitchen and he was so skinny they were giving them ice cream to eat.

is incredible that he remembers what the eisenhower's would like. there is a dying breed of person who remembers that. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern and pacific on c-span. next, a discussion on the 2016 presidential campaign, including the expanding republican field in the current democratic candidates. from washington journal, this is about one hour. es. host: it is only tuesday but has already been a busy week when it comes to campaign 2016 and the road to the white house. we're joined by shane goldmacher and linda feldman who covers the white house. of the three republican candidates who joined the race this week or will join when my cut of the makes his announcement, -- when my cut of

the -- mike huckabee makes his announcement -- who will have the biggest impact? 8 they all bring something to the table. the battle with hillary clinton is joined in that fashion and she can strike at hillary in a way the other republican candidates cannot. carson is the only other african-american and mike huckabee is an old face. the question is whether he can capture that evangelical vote and do really well. host: who of the three fiorina carsons and huckabee are the other candidates most afraid of?

caller: i think there isn't a question that huckabee poses the biggest threat. he is the only of the three who has won states. he won and the south and iowa. he followed bill clinton into office. he can win the evangelical voters which are really important in iowa and south carolina. four people who are fresher faces going after the same voters, ted cruz and mike huckabee are very much a threat to take a wait the first early states -- take away the first early states. host: mike huckabee announcing today. we will show that announcement life on c-span at 11:00 a.m. he will make that announcement from hope, arkansas and rollout into a weeklong iowa and south carolina trip.

all of the candidates making their appearances in the early primary states. talk about ben carson. who does he take the most votes away from? caller:guest: he is very popular with young voters. at cpac he was one of the more popular candidates. this is a big deal for the republicans, attracting younger voters. he is important for them. he is somebody who burst onto the scene two years ago at the prayer breakfast and really caught everybody by surprise when he went after obama sitting a few feet away from him. he showed a willingness to go after the president had on. -- head on. even though the president isn't on the ballot, his former secretary of state will be. he knows how to get attention.

he is very articulate and revered as a world-renowned neurosurgeon. all of these questions about whether his lack of political experience will hurt him, but i think, one question is whether people are looking for a fresh face. he is certainly one of them. host: those two announcements coming this week already. mike huckabee expected to announce. you have been writing a lot about jed bush. one of the things you wrote about is he was out early and flex his financial muscles. he was trying to raise money to scare others out of the race. has anybody been scared out of the race? guest: it doesn't look like it. a couple weeks ago there were 19 people giving speeches about running for president. he is raising a lot of money. he will top $100 million in his first few months, but more are

getting in the race and more are considering it. one who is considering and is not scared by jed bush is the governor of ohio. if jed bush was scaring people, he would not be getting into the race or considering it. he knows how much bush money can scare you out of the presidential race because he was scared out of the race by george w but he is looking at running this year. guest: i would argue that mitt romney was scared out of the race by jed bush. two establishment titans owing against each other and romney looked at the reality and decided he could not make it work. host: we are talking about the 20 sixteen rd to the white house. the lines are open -- 2016 road to the white house. democrats call (202) 748-8000

republicans (202) 748-8001 and independents (202) 748-8002. we're the next 45 or 50 minutes to talk about this topic. as we said yesterday, ben carson made it official. he talked about his announcement sunday night but at his event in detroit he made his presidential campaign official. here is a bit of ben carson's speech from the event. [video clip] >> that is what we have to start doing. opening our mouths for the values and principles of america. [applause] i have to tell you something. i am not politically correct. [cheers] [applause]

i am probably never going to be politically correct, because i am not a politician. i don't want to be a politician. politicians do what is politically expedient. i want to do what is right. host: i am not a politician. will we be hearing this refrain a lot? guest: absolutely. there are so many real politicians running including hillary clinton who is as political as they get. they are all political. all of these non-politicians who run for president are instantly politicians. you have to look at it from a meta-perspective. here is ben carson's saying i am not politically correct. that is a political message. he is saying i will hear things

-- say things you do not normally hear from someone like me. the reality is, it is extremely difficult for them to win. carly fiorina is another non-politician in the race. she was working on the mccain campaign as a surrogate spokeswoman and said something she shouldn't, she would veer off message and was taken off tv. it is great to be a nonpolitician, the public likes that, but the reality is that they make mistakes. if you have never run for anything, she actually ran for senate in california and does have that experience. but has never held elective office. it is extremely difficult to pull that off. the last time we elected a nonpolitician was dwight allen -- dwight eisenhower. he was the supreme allied commander for world war ii. that gives him a pass. host: "the washington post,"

writes enter the nonpoliticians. a grand tradition of thinking they can do politics better. it is easy to disparage public servants, much harder to reshape the forces pushing them away from solutions and harder still to fashion compromise without abandoning principle. ms. furia and mr. carson's are politicians on the national stage. shane, your thoughts on the un-politician versus the politicians already in republican primaries. some members of the united states senate and former governors as well. guest: one of the questions you asked earlier is who takes votes from whom? it is really interesting that ben carson and carly fiorina got into the race on the same day. there was kind of an gentleman's agreement not to step on each other's announcements. they were spaced out one week apart between rand paul and marco rubio -- these two got in

on the same day. one of the reasons is they are competing with each other. everybody else in this field has held elected office. if they are not part of washington they are part of the establishment in some fashion. even if your ted cruz and are antiestablishment or rand paul wanting to defeat the washington machine, you are part of it. these to him are competing for that vote. there is a long tradition of people gettingng into races and a longer tradition of them losing. host: shane goldmacher of "the washington caller: thanks for taking my call. caller:i think campaign finances distorted the politics to where unless you are a corporation

you're not going to get any representation. bernie sanders is probably the only credible candidate, and i don't think he is going to get elected because of money. if they didn't have money pushing against it, they could get immigration reform and make it work. you can make it if l.a. to hire an undocumented worker. you can send the criminals back to mexico and legalize the people that are here and paying taxes. it you wouldn't have the problems in the hospitals that you've got by the border states. it's a mess down there. host: there are several topics. start with bernie sanders. guest: his entry into the race makes the democratic nomination battle more interesting.

hillary clinton is way ahead and the chances are high she gets the nomination. his voice will be elevated in the debate about the democratic party. it the progressive wing of the party was wanting elizabeth warren to get in. and away, he is a surrogate for elizabeth warren. he has been an independent for decade and has succeeded politically in that way. he is a very rare bird in washington. he and hillary differ on health care, he once single-payer. she wants to make obamacare better. on trade, huge split in the party. hillary clinton as secretary of state was instrumental in the asia-pacific trade deal that the president wants and some

democrats are against it. the unions don't like it and bernie sanders is dead set against it. i also want to respond to the collar on the question of money. it's true that he is not going to raise the money hillary will, i don't think that ceiling reason he can't get the nomination. the reality is that when of the party is not big enough. host: the wall street journal and pollsters all of the country are making the general election comparison between hillary clinton and potential republican candidates. it's not like they are matching bernie sanders up with any of these potential republicans. this is the latest poll. hillary clinton against jeb bush, she leads him 49-43.

the closest is rand paul. fossum is pulling numbers? -- pulling numbers? guest: it doesn't mean she is going to stay there. an interesting argument rand paul makes is he says he is the guy that gets closest to her. he is trying to run as mr. electable. it's one of those interesting dynamics. he has been talking about expanding the republican party reaching out to young people minorities. in that poll, some of the other figures were about who could you potentially support. there is a lot of potential for marco rubio. very few say that about chris christie and jeb bush. marco rubio is second place.

look down the road to the next announcement. host: where is mitch daniels? who is next? guest: that's a good question. i don't know. do we have any actual dates? mitch daniels is not going to run it. i think he is the president of purdue university. guest: they have not picked dates. host:guest: i would not say this is a joke, these people are all running. they are raising as much money as they can before they officially announce and trigger legal requirements. they are effectively candidates. host: do you think chris christie is going to be a candidate? guest: i think it was really bad

for him. i don't know. these indictments this week, his people are spinning furiously that this was good news for him. it doesn't look like he was any -- in any legal jeopardy, but when your legal aides are indicted, the story has long legs. i don't see how he can mount anything close to a successful campaign. if he thinks otherwise. guest: they are talking about decamping to new hampshire and do town halls. chris christie has got a similar name. tell the truth town halls, this is what he is trying to do in new hampshire. he is from the northeast.

he has human skills. he can deal with people. that everybody has that. host: we have lots of talk about this morning. michael is up next on the line for democrats. good morning. caller: -- host: let's go to sand in kentucky. caller: good morning. i would like to hear the panel put their thoughts forward as far as why is there a difference in the media scrutiny requiring democratic versus republican candidates? hillary clinton was secretary of state and all of these deals done, bill clinton's speeches. i don't see them going after hillary clinton much like they will go after governor christie from new jersey.

why is that? why is there such a difference in how the media will go after the facts and the truth about these candidates? bernie sanders is a european socialist and nobody is talking about that. they don't really delve into what he supports and what he advocates. why is that? guest: i was going to say on the hillary discussion, she had a brutal month of media press. this book is coming out. it hits shelves today. nbc news followed bill clinton to africa this week and spoke with him about the fundraising and the speeches. they got him to say he has to pay the bills. host: usa today, the lead

editorial. guest: it is true that there is more action on the republican side, so there is more coverage of their field. there is nobody running for president getting more scrutiny right now than hillary clinton. guest: i agree. when you look at the headlines it's been the clintons on defense. host: it's not where they expect to start in may of the year before the election. erica is an michigan. caller: good morning. i have a comment about ben carson. the reason i would support him is the fact that him being an outsider and something that the president of united states set about how we deal with cuba.

we've been doing the same thing for 50 years and it doesn't work. let's make a change. we have had politicians running this country for the past 50 some years. the debt is increased. let's make a change. let's put a non-politician in who is going to fix the problem and be done with it. host: what are your thoughts on carly fiorina? caller: i can see them teaming up. if she can make it to michigan i would support her. that's the way i would look at it. we are getting sick of these same old same old and nothing changes. i have seen detroit deteriorate to nothing and now all the rich

people are coming in to build up the inner part of the city, but the average person can't get a job. it's being outsourced out of michigan. host: on the call for non-politicians to unite. guest: this is a common refrain in every cycle. people have this negative reaction to professional politicians. the reality is you are better at something when you have experience doing it. the reality is to be elected president, you have to be a politician. ben carson is now a politician. he does not have the experience fielding questions and being caught off guard on things and the range of issues that you have to address. it's a real crucible.

it's no bigger crucible than running for president. it sounds good to say we when outsider, the reality is it's nearly impossible. host: here is carly fiorina's announcement from yesterday. >> our founders never intended for us to have a professional political class. they believe that citizens and leaders needed to step forward. we know the only way to reimagine our government is to reimagine who is leading it. i'm carly fiorina and i am running for president. if you're tired of the soundbites, the vitriol, the ego, the corruption, if you believe that it's time to declare the end of identity politics and you believe it's time to declare the end of lowered expectations, if you believe it's time for citizens to stand up to the political class and say enough, then join

us. it's time for us to empower our citizens and give them a voice in government and come together to fix what has been broken about our politics and our government for too long. we can do this. together. host: your thoughts? guest: there is no question that she is bringing something to the field, her gender, business experience in she was the first woman to run a fortune 20 custom -- camping. it did not and will. she is a voice. one of the challenges is going to be how to manage this field when it comes to the debates. they are low in polling. how my other people meet that threshold?

that is a tough thing for the republicans to have to say. you are talking about 16 people on that stage. host: an african-american in the field, a female and two hispanics. are you surprised the diversity of the republican field? guest: the party is not all white men, there is diversity in the party. not as much as the democratic party, but it's important to have this diversity in the field. you can also add bobby jindal to the mix. i don't know when he is going to get in, but he is indian-american. another point, i think in some circumstances, people like that run knowing in their heart of hearts that they are not going to win, but it positions them to

be selected for the ticket and raises their national profile. it raises their speaking fees and gives them new life. they are retired from their original careers. host: carol, good morning. caller: good morning. regarding bernie sanders i am 82. i left wisconsin 40 years ago. i went from the frying pan into the fire because i moved to florida. they have a rotten governor, too. for the first time i contributed to the campaign it, bernie sanders. i do not care what you call him but he offers hope to people below the poverty line. he sees what needs to be done getting rid of citizens united for one. money has to be taken out of

politics. he is running on campaign money he gets from people like me. i wish i had more to give. i think he can straighten out our country. thank you. host: do you think he can win? could he defeat hillary clinton? guest: if enough of the people that have been living in poverty can't get jobs get out and vote and contribute something to him yes, i think he can win. he is a politician it, but he sees what needs to be done for this country. guest: there is an interesting tagline at the bottom of his website. he wants to tell people give me money and i will talk about your issues. i will talk about income inequality. they are courting the wealthiest

class to run for president. his challenge, are there enough of them? it's not the base of the democratic party. that is what he brings to the debate. the role of money in politics is growing cycle over cycle. with citizens united, it's not necessarily written large all the money, it's the super pac's that you are not directly soliciting. can you find a billionaire who will underwrite your campaign. host: bernie sanders is willing to take questions from the media. after his announcement, he has taken more press questions than hillary clinton. can you talk about the relationship of bernie sanders with the press? guest: the press loves bernie

sanders. not because of his positions but because he is willing to engage. hillary clinton has felt that the presses out to get her. she is leery of the press. she wants to do a reset of her relationship with the press. host: has that happened? guest: hard to say. guest: a reset comes from the top. that is hillary clinton, does she want that? it's not clear. most of the questions she has taken were shouted at her. the number of questions you are taking. then carson is doing interviews. bernie sanders can't get off the phone.

hillary clinton won't take any questions at all. jeb bush has been fairly available. scott walker less so. guest: where they are placing in the polls, there isn't inverse proportion. i think rubio is fairly accessible. he is doing well in the polls. host: let's go to laura in pennsylvania. caller: good morning. i want to say rush limbaugh made a very good point about the first black president. i think republicans need to make a big deal about being the first female or the first hispanic which is the largest minority out there. i think marco rubio could go

bilingual. he could say all the conservative things that businesses want to hear. i wanted to bring up rush limbaugh talks about climate change. he is a denier. the biggest issue according to barack obama is climate change. can we not have a debate on a big college campus about our humans responsible? neil degrasse tyson has evidence that the united states percent -- is responsible for 17% and china is responsible for more. why do we have china making changes? we need a debate. host: i will let you take the first part of her question about marco rubio and republicans

appealing to hispanic voters. guest: i think it's going to be a big part of the campaign. there is a subterranean fight between democratic groups that are trying to organize the latino the -- vote. there is an issue funded by the koch brothers. they are kind to organize them and turn them on to conservative principles. hillary clinton is headed out to nevada. she is talking about the pathway to citizenship. the democratic party has lived -- moved to the left. driver's licenses could corrupt. she is going to come out early and embrace a potential pathway for citizenship. this is a dividing line. this helps them win their support. guest: let's talk issues.

climate change and the obama administration's actions on the issue. guest: i think this will be a big issue in the democratic debates. you've got bernie sanders who says it's one of the top three issues. hillary has been vague on it. she has not stated her position on the keystone pipeline. she could be vulnerable on the left. keystone is not the biggest issue out there regarding climate change. you get the president with his epa regulations on a greenhouse gases as part of his legacy and his policy on the environment. host: in terms of top issues, does that make it into the top tier? guest: i think it's more pocket

bush -- pocket book issues. the republican primary, i'm not sure it's the biggest issue. it could be very big in the general. guest:host: i don't know very many people who are stressed out about climate change. david is up next in ohio. good morning. caller: good morning to everyone. i want to comment on linda's remark that bernie sanders would bring a debate for the soul of the democratic party. who of the republicans is likely to find that soul of the republican party? either one if you would respond. guest: what is so great about this huge republican field is

you've got some diversity of views and you have a debate for the soul. you've got the establishment wing with people like john kasich and scott walker and jeb bush. you've got the people who are social conservatives, you've got to pertain ian's like rand paul. -- libertarians like rand paul. immigration is a big internal debate with the republicans. education, if john kasich gets in, that helps jeb bush. they both favor common core standards. jeb bush is dangling out there alone on this. that gives him cover and these are two serious governors of extremely important battleground states. if one of them can catch fire,

that would sail out about the future of the party. guest: i think there are two candidates in this race who are looking to make a bet that the republican party is fundamentally change in recent years. one is ted cruz who believes the party has moved to the right. he is going to embrace the tea party type republicans. they quote ronald reagan. this is his bet. he thinks the soul the party has moved his direction. the other is rand paul. he thinks the party has moved on foreign policy and they are less interventionist. rand paul is going to be alone on foreign policy. he is alone out there on stage. host: let's go to walter in cincinnati on the line for

democrats. good morning. caller: good morning. my question is could you tell me what state stands behind carly and ben? these people bring a lot of baggage to the political arena. carly has been fired from her job being -- penn has no experience. you have people like chris christie who is about to get indicted possibly an answer questions he is been avoiding for years. the credibility doesn't make any sense. host: what states could they pick up? caller: what states do they represent? guest: i do we look at it in terms of what state they would represent.

it's what voters do they represent. in such a huge field, the republicans will try to pick up different elements of the electorate. who is a carly fiorina voter? it might be a republican woman. her tendency is not just about being a woman. with ben carson it, he's got young support. he's got people who like his conservative message for low income people to not get trapped on public assistance. i look at it in terms of voters and not states. guest: ben carson is a famed neurosurgeon. he was separating conjoined twins. he is a best-selling author and a hero. he lived in baltimore for a long time and made a huge impact.

now he lives in south florida. he does not have a home base. facebook really some data about the speeches. the most interactions about ben carson were in southern states. that's not his base as a republican candidate, but they know him and he has the most to lose. they don't see him as a republican politician. host: this goes back to talking about candidates taking questions or not taking questions from the media. if the press wasn't working so hard to define the election cycle their way, candidates would be more open to taking questions. you can follow the conversation. we will look for some of your tweets.

tony is in rhode island. good morning. caller: good morning. i just turned 81. i am disgusted with this country. the rich people are running the country. half your politicians tie in. it they do it they want to do. when i was young a woman would be great as a politician. even they wind up going with democrats or republicans. i am almost at the point right don't want to go vote no more. host: is anybody right now that you do trust? guest: the only one i would vote for is that gentleman from new hampshire. host: bernie sanders? caller: he is the only one down

to earth. they won't run the country. congress still runs the country and they don't give a damn. host: bernie sanders was on one of the sunday shows this week. he responded to a question that he got about whether it is possible for a socialist to be elected president of the united states. >> if we know that in countries like scandinavia like denmark sweden, they are very democratic countries and the voter turnout is higher. health care is a right of all people, colleges free, retirement benefits are stronger. by large, government works for ordinary people and the middle class rather than in our

country, for the billionaires. >> i can hear the republican attack ads right now. he wants america to look more like scandinavia. >> what's wrong with that? what's wrong with a stronger middle class? what's wrong with a higher minimum wage and environment? we do a lot in a country that is good, but we can learn from other countries. host: in your piece about bernie sanders, you wrote that he fills the void left by elizabeth worn. how well does he fill that void? guest: they would love for her to get in. they realize that's not going to happen. i think bernie will get a lot of her support. you will see a lot of protest vote against hillary clinton and people voting for bernie sanders. there are other democrats the will probably get in the late --

race. the thing about bernie sanders is he will talk a lot about the billionaire class. americans are funny about wealth. they don't like this idea of candidates appearing to be bought and paid for by billionaires but if you turn this into a class warfare festival that can turn people off in some ways. everybody wants to do well and get ahead. ultimately, it might backfire if it becomes too much a part of the race. host: let's go to houston. good morning. caller: good morning. good morning. america needs overhaul and i think bernie sanders is it. he talks about social security

and making sure that america pays back into it. he talks about the patriot act. he talked about the racism that's going on. obama is not handling it correctly. he has talked about the military-industrial contest -- complex. eisenhower said it would be the root of all evil for america. he talked about the prison industrial complex, we need to talk about that. guest: he brings up a lot of issues. host: how do you think racial issues might impact the conversation on the republican and democratic primary campaigns? guest: bernie sanders is winning the c-span callers this morning.

we had the first african-american president, it can play a big role. they can play role if you have marco rubio or ted cruz. hillary clinton, one of the big debates was if she should run as a woman. the answer ultimately was no. and now the answer is definitely yes. neither ted cruz nor marco rubio are running as the first latino candidate. that can become an increasing part of their campaign. guest: another key element in this is the personal narrative of the candidates. you have somebody like cruise or

rubio who are the children of cubans immigrants. rubio speaks warmly about the struggles that their parents went through. people love that. americans are funny about who they elect. now we have another bush, another dynasty. this is where hillary struggles. we think we know her story. she is old news. she wants to refresh what people think and know about her. 70 who is new to the scene, i think they will get a lot of attention. the second piece of that i would raise is the character. people go in there got, do i trust this person?

that is a real challenge for people, especially if they have been around for a while. host: jerry is on airline for democrats. caller: good morning. i will make this fast. i have been anticipating bernie sanders for a long time. i am going to campaign like hell to make you president. i want to make a couple of quick points. bernie sanders has made it clear he is going to play to win.

who is going to waste their time just to not win it? guest: the thing that strikes me is his campaign is like the ron paul campaign. a politician at the tail end of their career. he would be the oldest president in american history. he may not be solely running to make a point. he wants to move the needle in his direction. ron paul wanted to move the needle in his direction. ron's son is running. he is running a different type of campaign. is there going to be an aheir to bernie sanders. bernie sanders and others, before we give hillary keys to

the kingdom, for eight years or four years let's have a debate with those policies should be. host: what is hillary clinton saying about bernie sanders question? guest: absolutely nothing. she has the advantage of not talking about the people running against her. she is not talking about martin o'malley. she is talking about hillary clinton and occasionally those republicans. host: connecticut is up next. good morning. caller: i think this country needs a leader. i think ben carson is a leader. now we have a guy who is a follower all of his lysed.

he is a socialist president. that is where we stand. we need a guy who is not a politician. politicians only worry about getting the money for the campaign and then who is going to vote for them. i think ben carson would be ideal for this country. host: that is richard in a bethlehem. guest: i do want to make a point about money in politics. money isn't everything. you can raise all the money in the world and if people aren't excited about you and don't want to vote for you, it goes nowhere. we have phil graham who ran for president in the 80's. he raised a town of money and it went nowhere. i think what we will find with unprecedented amounts of money sloshing around, what is enough

and then at a certain point what is throwing good money after bad? host: is there something at the end of that spectrum? the money showed up after the cut fire? guest: john mccain. he would say what he thought and the press -- he was very friendly to the press. people like that. he was a truth teller. it feels like they are being truth tellers and people love that. you hear and see someone that is appealing to you. guest: rick santorum won the

iowa caucus and then got a lot of money. and those later states, mitt romney was crushing rick santorum with television ads. host: david has been waiting on our line for independent voters. caller: good morning. i have a couple of comments. i think the democratic presidential field, with bernie sanders and hillary clinton they need more potential candidates and the republicans will have 14. i think that works against them. it worked against them in 2012 because there seems to be more ideological divisions. the tea party segment, when mitt

romney received the nomination, there were a lot of the far right republicans who decided not to go to the polls and vote. on the democratic side, you hear the talk about the coronation of hillary clinton. there does need to be -- if elizabeth warned would get into the race. she should push hillary clinton to take a stand on more things. host: is your mind open about 70 from either party? caller: absolutely. i used to be a republican. i was a republican up until 2012.

i switched party affiliations because i saw the republican party turning it too far to the right. i'm looking for somebody that is moderate and has good ideas. several colors have mentioned the career politicians, i wish more people would pay attention to the midterm elections. the republicans are trying to attract more women and young voters. when you look at the legislation in congress and the different republicans, they say they want to do this but the legislation they pass is contradictory to what they are saying. host: i want to let linda talk about the first part. he doesn't want a free-for-all or a coronation.

guest: last time, the primary process turned into a circular firing squad. you had mitt romney as the only seriously electable republican in that field. you had big money coming in. you had newt gingrich is super pac doing hit jobs on mitt romney. they were doing barack obama's job for him. i think the republican field is stronger than it was four years ago. there is no clear front-runner. it's not clear who i would say is destined to get the nomination. when they are on the debate stage, are they firing at each other or are they generating ads that are devastating and helpful to hillary clinton, or are they looking outward to hillary and just bashing on her.

guest: it will be hard for republicans to differentiate themselves by attacking hillary clinton. there is no question that at the end of the day, at some point they have to train their guns and their research and attacks on one another. it doesn't have to be ugly. there can be a benefit for them. they can drive the national conversation. only bernie sanders is nipping at her ankle. you could have a year before she breaks through in the news stories. host: well done. you can check out his work and linda feldman

>> coming up on c-span a look at congresses budget priorities. vint cerf on the future of the web. later a discussion on reducing crime in black communities. >> the new congressional directory is a handy guide to the 114th congress, with color photos of every senate and house member. also, the strict maps. a foldout map of capitol hill. a look at congressional committees, the president's cabinet and governors. order your copy today. it is $15.95. at c-span.org. >> next, a discussion on the budget priorities for 2016. the house passed a budget

agreement last week. the senate asked the agreement tuesday by a vote of 51 to 48. senators rand paul and ted cruz were the only gop members to vote against the budget. this is 40 minutes. "washington journal" continues. host: he joins us to analyze the budget resolution. the senate is expected to take a vote and take that up today. if you're not familiar with -- guest: we are a non-partisan organization that focuses on the federal budget. we were founded by worn redmon and paul saugus. -- paul satsongas.

host: is balancing the budget something you can get behind? guest: i think the goal is a good one. i think the next 10 years is a reasonable goal. i think the path they have laid out is not realistic. i think the goal is good. what happens now is if the implementation can take place. host: explain how republicans look to achieve that balance? guest: it's all in spending cuts. there are some very deep spending cuts. some of them are not going to happen. the biggest one is a repeal of the affordable care act. obviously, he would veto that.

that is probably not going to happen. some is savings senate domestic appropriations. that is steeper than is likely to pass. there are some other cuts and other entitlement programs. they are very deep. what the budget does show is it saves $5 trillion over 10 years. that is what you need to get back to balance. it does show how difficult it would be to get that level of savings. host: it sticks to the $1 trillion sequestration budget in 2016. it boosts the defense budget by adding money through the

overseas contingency operation fund. this was passed by the house last week. it's going to be taken up by the senate this week. is this budget resolution likely to get past? it doesn't have the force of law. explain why this is important. guest: that is an important point that you make. it's the first step in the process and the easiest one. it does not require the president's signature and it does not require congress to set how they achieve the goal. it's a broad framework. congress then takes the framework and tries to pass appropriations bills during the course of the year that keeps the government-funded. this sets out what the spending totals should be for the appropriations. the budget resolution is

important because it sets points of order. it sets the numbers by which points of order can be triggered. it can be subject to a point of order. there are certain procedural goals and enforcement mechanisms as well. host: it will influence the appropriations process for the yes to the air. -- rest of the year. guest: it contains reconciliation. that gives a bill fasttrack. in the senate, if you have a record -- reconciliation bill, it is not subject to filibuster. it applies to mandatory spending and revenues.

there is a provision in the budget that would allow it to be used for increasing the deficit. reconciliation bills are a favorite thing they get fast tracked. congress has said this process should be used only for repeal of the afford care act. that's disappointing. they would need reconciliation to pass some of the other issues and cuts they would like to do. using it for repeal of the aca is it going to happen anyway. it gives away an important enforcement tool. there are a couple of things about the budget resolution to

keep in mind. i would call them gimmicks. you mentioned it before, the oc oh. what they wanted to do was keep the defense cap and exceeded. they can do that by putting money in this contingency operation account, which is not subject to the cap. it supposed to be use for war spending, but they have used it for basic defense spending. it's a gimmick. the other thing is the budget resolutions assumes that the government will collect revenues this congress does not want the government to collect. there is a gap there.

host: we are talking about the republican budget. it was a big topic on capitol hill. our guest is with the concorde coalition. you can join in the conversation if you have a conversation or comment about the budget resolution. sac is calling in from texas. good morning. caller: i was going to ask when things are going under international and domestic spending