about the training exercising schedule to take place in western states this summer. plus, your facebook comments and tweets. host: good morning, it is tuesday, may 12, 2015. the house returns at noon today and the senate will be back at 10:00 a.m.. beginning a debate on the controversial trade authority bill set for later this afternoon. first, we will focus on the commencement address. that which first lady michelle obama gave at tuskegee university over the weekend. this morning we are opening a

refund to get your reaction. did you watch and what did you think about that speech? our phones are open. democrats can call in at (202) 748-8000. republicans at (202) 748-8001. independence at (202) 748-8002. you can catch up with us on twitter or e-mail us. a good tuesday morning to you. we begin talking about first lady's michelle obama's commencement address. she speaks of the emotional toll of being the first black, first lady. they wrote, mrs. obama delivered the address to much applause but in intertwining her personal

journey she if raised this question, how much has america progressed on race relations and can this generation prevent being defined -- here is a bit from the address in which she specifically talks about being the first black first lady. [video clip] >> back when my husband first started campaigning, folks at all sorts of questions for me. what kind of first lady would i be? what kinds of issues what i take on? when i be more like laura bush or hillary clinton or nancy reagan? those same questions would have been posed to any candidate's spouse. but as potentially the first african-american first lady, i was also the focus of another set of questions and speculation. conversation sometimes rooted in

the fears and misperceptions of others. was i too loud or too angry? too emasculating? [applause] or was i too soft? too much of a mom not enough of a career woman? there was the first time i was on a magazine cover. it was a cartoon drawing of meet with a huge afro and a machine gun. it was satire. if i am being honest, that knocked me back of it. it made me wonder just how are people seeing me? you might remember the on stage celebratory fist bump between me and my husband after a primary when it was referred to as a terrorist fist jab. over the years, folks have used plenty of interesting words to describe me. once that i exhibited "uppity

-ism" another that i was one of my husband's cronies of color. cable news referred to me as "obama's baby mama." host: here is one from "the daily caller." luxurious life takes toll on michelle obama because she is black. in today's "washington post," headline on that, life in a different hue. her candor deserves our attention. he writes that it is worth noting that she is the second presidential wife here at tuskegee. eleanor roosevelt was there. another first lady who denounce the angry and presumptuous. she articulated the experiences and plights of the poor as well as racial and ethnic minorities.

if that sometimes makes others uncomfortable, it damn well should. our phone lines are open this morning. good morning stephen. caller: how are you this morning? i think this all kind of goes back to one particular idea. this is a little bit of an and direct response for instance, i think that lady was right on the money by talking about this issue because there are a lot of people in our government. i think she is in an objective position, unlike her husband who would get criticized for anything, she is in more of a special position to be about to

do this from her own point of view. what bothers me is, people like glenn back -- i heard mr. back's comments yesterday talking about, look how many white people voted for you and it is a disgrace you are bringing this up and all of this nonsense. i voted for them twice. one of the reasons why i voted for them twice is because -- i will get a lot of criticism i'm sure but i think that this president, since he is part african-american and part white he has been able to understand where other people who are different are coming from. i am a bisexual myself and i am glad we have someone committed to civil rights. i think it should be said that

all of these issues are related together. it should be said in the middle eastern policies. that have been part of the obama administration. this administration, for the first time in my life, we had an administration committed to securing the rights of both the arabs and the jews and not being just so geared toward israel. i guarantee that a lot of these politicians today that are claiming they are so pro-israel do not know anything about the rich, cultural history of the jews. host: to stay on the subject of michelle obama's speech, blake writes this, her husband graduated from an ivy league university. i wish i could face discrimination like that. caller: what difference does that wake? our country is about the american dream.

we should criticize people for being successful? i am a democrat myself but i have to say that i don't always agree with the democratic ideal of talking about for me and for me with this victim stance that a lot of them take. but at the same time i do not agree with trickle-down economics. people who have a lot of power tend to keep it for themselves. caller: another comment on the facebook page, joyce moore writes that the speech was exceptionally honest and speaks volumes on behalf of african-american accomplished women. those of you who want to sit -- dismiss her experience because they make you uncomfortable me to sit with them a moment. walter is up next from ohio. caller: i'm thank you for taking my call.

but just want to say that michelle obama was right on target. it has been perpetuated through the republicans for the last several years. they're trying to embrace and there has been nothing but animosity, trying to block the president on every issue. it has been a target of racial slander for his eight years of service. i think you will never find a gentleman more qualified to be in that position, and his wife. to tell the american people. ted cruz, that is a joke. these people have more baggage. you sit up here and look at a

governor in wisconsin without a college education having the audacity to say he can govern this country. host: let's hear from a republican. bill is waiting on the line for republicans. caller: it is interesting that michelle obama did her speech at teske now -- tuskegee now since she has been first lady since 2009. for the past five years she has been spending taxpayer money going on expensive vacations. sometimes dragging her mother-in-law with her. she also gave a ridiculous speech at the opening of the whitney museum's new venue in new york city where she is claiming that museums are not welcoming to children of color. i'm sorry to say that she is a complete embarrassment to this country.

i don't think she is qualified to be talking on the subject of racial discrimination. when was the last time that she experienced anything related to racial discrimination. where is she experiencing it? at the designer stores where she gets her high-priced fashion? where is she coming face-to-face with discrimination? host: michelle obama talked a little bit about her experiences in that speech, here is a little more from the speech. if you want to watch the entire speech you can go to c-span.org and see it there. here is a bit more of her talking about discrimination today. [video clip] >> had said they will make assumptions about who they think you are based on their limited notion of the world. my husband and i know how frustrating that experience can be. we both felt the sting of those daily slice throughout our entire lives. the folks who cross the street

in fear of their safety. the clerks who kept a close eye on us in those department stores. the people at formal events who assumed we were the help. those who have questioned our intelligence, honesty and even our love of this country. i know that these little indignities are nothing compared to what folks across the country are dealing with every single day. those nagging worries that you will get stopped or pulled over for no reason. the fear that your job application will be overlooked because of the way your name sounds. the agony a sending your kids to schools that may no longer be separate, but are far from equal. the realization that no matter how far you ride in life or how far you work to be a good person, good parent, good citizen, for some it will never be enough. host: we are getting fewer

reactions to that address at teske university -- tuskegee university saturday. caller: i just wanted to say that i definitely agree with michelle obama's speech, she was more poignant. this is something that has been bothering me for quite some time. i looked at it for many years. it is not the first african-american family in the white house, they are the first two had to show their birth certificates. is this a new standard? i don't recall any other president in the history of this country having to do that. when other people make comments that there is discrimination is over and they don't want to address the issue, just look at

that by itself. that is something that angered me for many years. once we can address this, it is right there. that shows you how people feel. so, if anyone knows of a reasonable comment, i will be glad to accept that. host: a few tweets that have come in this morning already. she spoke to those who have or will soon experience the same. it shows that her status did not exclude her from rude treatment. edwin writes, her comments are an eye-opener on just how bad things are in our country and how disrespectful people really are today. back to the line for republicans were net is waiting in florida. caller: good morning. going back to the guy who called

just now about the birth certificate. he has to remember that president obama went to school in indonesia and came over here it is constant race, race, race. as if the whole country is burned up in race. i think everybody is just like myself. i don't care what other people do. it is about getting a job and going to work everyday and paying your bills. every time there is a black youth shot or a black person people burn and riot. eric holder injects himself into race. al sharpton every time with over $4 million in back taxes but he can walk to the white house.

host: michelle obama was talking about her experiences as first lady, do you think she is subject to a different set of expectations? caller: i think that president obama and michelle have had a great opportunity to uplift the blacks in this country, showing them look what we have done. get out there and go to school and get your education. they don't do that, they play the race card over and over. every time this happens they inject themselves into race. host: why do you think they do that? caller: why do i think they do it? host: what is the outcome they are looking for? caller: if you listen to them, if anybody sounds like a racist it is them. that is what i think. i cannot believe some of the stuff that comes out of their

mouth. they should be uplifting america , not trying to drag it down. when white folks voted for obama, they thought it would be over with. every time you don't agree with something we are racists. i am tired of it. most people only care about going to work and paying their bills. host: let's go to joyce in pennsylvania on the line for democrats. caller: good morning, i agree with michelle obama on what she is saying. we do have a lot of biases in this country. just like the gentleman said, we need to get over it. heard talking about them going on vacation.

the vacation has nothing to do with anything. i think that no matter what obama did, i don't think anybody , especially caucasian people. they would not have agreed. it is just because of certain people. host: going back to your first comment. you said we need to get over the bias in this country. how do you do that? caller: i am 57 years old. i was not raised -- i am an african-american person, some part of my family in the past may have been caucasian. i don't have a problem with any race in this country. i don't really know how we can solve that problem. i don't think it will ever be solved.

everyone has their own expectations. they got on the phone and talk about them going on vacation. what does that have to do with this? one day we will have to stop this racism talk. every white person is not a racist. host: we are hearing from our viewers this morning about that address again. if you want to watch the entire address it is about 30 minutes or so. it took place saturday at teske gi university -- tuskeegee university. caller: i just want to say and talk about michelle obama's speech. i thought it was old news and the speech was trite. unfortunately, 40 years ago i worked for an automotive finance company. i used to collect accounts in baltimore in the same. where we had the riots.

i get so discouraged that the real problems today has still not been addressed. there are a lot of things we need to do in the black community. they still don't address them. we just have the speeches and they talk about what we are going to do. 40 years later we are still addressing the same problems. the first thing is we need to change black leadership. we need black leaders who understand what to do, how to do it and how to get it done. tired of the speeches. let's get something done. the other thing is we need to put in conservative money managers who will frugally and effectively utilize the money. some of the other things we do is change our welfare loss and set up trade centers. we need to talk to set up trade

schools. we need to try to figure out how to change the work ethic and the values in these neighborhoods where they can improve and have a chance to improve, such as having better schools. i can tell you right now we have been taking the same direction for 40 years and throwing money at them and it doesn't work. the only other comment i have is, i live in south florida. the effect that legal immigration has had on black youths, the increase in unemployment because of unfettered, illegal immigration in this area has destroyed black employment. host: you may want to stick around for our next segment. you talked about baltimore. we will talk about the role of inner-city poverty.

the role that played in baltimore with robert woodson. he is the founder and president of that group and you may be interested in sticking around for that in 20 minutes or so. until then we want to hear from our viewers about michelle obama's speech at teske gi university. -- tuskegee university. there she is with the president of the university, ryan johnson during that speech in the graduation exercises saturday. patricia, you are up next. caller: i am overwhelmed because i hear the colors calling and i thought this call was about her speech and experience. she can only speak from her personal experience as an

african-american woman and the first black first lady. it is disheartening to hear some of the comments. to me it really doesn't help because it helps perpetuate a certain image. you have people who will never ever pick up a newspaper or even a book to read. they listen to things like fox news or read blogs like conservative treehouse. just let them be them. host: did you watch the whole speech? caller: i did not watch the whole speech i did not have to watch the whole speech based on things i am hearing. she was simply explaining her experience, like her first time in the white house and the first article that comes out is a cartoon -- maybe it was satire, it was disappointing. 2015 and we are still having this discussion. it should not be about race. we need a leader that will do things. it should not matter what color

they are. we seem to get past the colored thing. they had their piece about michelle obama. they write in part that the headline the first lady really believes african-americans have been frustrated and invisible for decades. what does that mean in the age of african-american ubiquity and high visibility entertainment and sports or the careers of billionaires such as michael jordan, jay-z, beyonce or opera winfrey. if miss obama is apparently referencing baltimore, what to make of the fact that three black police officers were co-charged in the murder of a black suspect and these officers who work for a black police chief who serves a black mayor who were ports -- who reports to

a largely black city council, all of foam who are overseen by a black state attorney who is audited by a black attorney terry and -- black attorney. invisible? i feel we are seeing the tip of the obama racial iceberg and in the next months will see far more olivers asian and alleged reverences against the supposedly culpable so-called majority culture. that is posted online if you want to read more about it. cameron is in louisville kentucky. caller: good morning. how are you doing? i just wanted to say that mrs. obama, her speech she was just speaking from a person of color's perspective. if you are not a person of color, you will probably not

understand where she is coming from or what she is talking about. as far as ending racism in this country that is probably not going to happen. host: you you -- she used the word invisible, do you think minorities still feel invisible today? caller: that is a good question. i really can't say. if they feel invisible or not. i know they are queuing up a bunch of us. what are we going to do about that? why is it just black men being killed in the streets? i heard one caller say something about blacks and whites being killed. i haven't heard of any white people being shot by police. what are you going to do about that? host: a few more tweaks this morning.

pam writes that first lady michelle obama has been a gracious mold -- role model and has been uplifting. this tweet the truth is ugly too often, that's why most people won't look at it. pat is waiting, you are on "the washington journal." caller: i think that the speech with michelle obama was very disturbing. i thought we had come a long way on race relations 60 years ago and here she is putting it back in the forefront. i was very appalled by it. that the first lady would say something like that and get this all stirred up again. she is taking over jackson's place. he is older and retired now so she is taking over his place. where i live in orlando

relations are not bad at all. i work at a grocery store and i see the blacks all the time and i say high to them and all of them are really nice. host: what part of her speech did you find devices -- divisive? caller: it wasn't her first speech about her, but the invisible part. when you go out do you feel invisible? the last part where she was saying how the people felt how the blacks felt. i can't remember all of what she said. that they were discriminated against and everything. that's what i don't like. host: in that speech, michelle obama talked about ferguson and referenced baltimore as well. here is a bit more from that address and tuskegee university.

[video clip] >> it can feel isolating. and make you feel like your life doesn't matter. like the invisible man that rob allison wrote about all those years ago. as we have seen, those feelings are real. they are rooted and decades of structural challenges that have made too many hoax feel frustrated -- folks feel frustrated and invisible. they are playing out in communities like baltimore and ferguson and other communities across this country. graduates, today i want to be very clear that those feelings are not an excuse to throw up our hands and give up. not an excuse to lose hope. to succumb to feelings of despair and anger only means that in the end, we lose. here is the thing.

our history provides us with a better story. a better blueprint for how we can win. it teaches us, that when we pull ourselves out of the lowest emotional depths, and we channel or frustrations into studying and organizing and banding together, we can build ourselves and our communities up. we can take on our deep-rooted problems up and together we can overcome anything that stands in our way. host: a few comments from current and former members of congress via twitter. terry is a democratic congresswoman from alabama. the first lady did a wonderful job at the dusky university graduation. -- tuskegee university graduation.

another user rights michelle obama tries giving unifying speech about race relations; epic fail. links to his website with a speech -- piece about that speech. caller: thank you very much. she makes the point saying people like us. don't democrats and african american friends realize she is just trying to get your vote. that is what democrats do. how many people, black or white live off taxpayers completely and will for the rest of their lives and send their kids to private schools because they are too good for regular ones. they are the people she is talking about. host: who do you think she is trying to get the vote for, her husband not running for office again? caller: exactly, but the

democrats are. host: you think it is a look ahead to 2016? caller: of course it is. that's what they do and the democrats don't realize that is why they are in poverty, the democrats want them there to keep getting their vote. i don't know what color the servants are at the white house that cooks their meals and cleans their mess and does their laundry and drives the private airplanes. what color is her help? host: that is karen in norman oklahoma. barbara, you are on "the washington journal." caller: when i hear callers like that spew out that kind of venom, it frustrates me. i am frustrated when i hear white people -- somewhat people, because all of them are like that -- are not like that, trying to explain racism to us.

until you have walked a mile in our shoes, you cannot begin to understand what racism is. we have suffered all manner of atrocities since we were born into this country. from slavery to now. until you can understand how we have been discriminated and every area and every field of endeavor, you cannot begin to understand what racism is. i hear so many say, i am not a racist. i want you to know, a time you open your mouth and make a statement, we know that you are racist. you don't even begin to know that you are. someone asked earlier, how do we get rid of racism? we can get rid of racism by showing love to one another. by stopping the hate. when i was a little girl, there was on young artist to came out with the song. the words of the song were

something like, heaven please send to all mankind understanding and peace of mind if it is not asking too much, please send love. show the world how to get along and peace will enter and hate will be gone. if it is not asking too much please send love to this country. i lay awake at night counting a world of trouble and my answer is always the same. unless man put on an and to his terrible sins, hate will put this world in a flame. if we don't return back to god as a nation of people, we don't have to wait for isil to destroy us, we are slowly destroying ourselves. god is the answer. i love everybody. all of you. i pray that the date will calm

when we can get of one accord and move this country forward. host: barbara in jacksonville florida. a few more tweaks that have come in. as jon stewart said, if you are tired of hearing about the black experience, imagine how exhausting it is living it. another rights, how is responding to the racial slurs that have been hurled at you "playing the race card," we have about 10 minutes left in this segment of the washington journal. some other news going around the country. here is a story from "the washington post." former journalist who gave classified information was sentenced yesterday to 3.5 years in prison. jeffrey sterling. his attorney says he plans to appeal the conviction.

prosecutors have been asking for severe sentence. arguing that he shut down one of the mechanisms to shut down a ron's nuclear -- the shutdown iran's nuclear program. "the new york times" notes that congress gave congressional approval to start drilling for oil off of the arctic coast. the interior department's decision angered environmentalists who four years demanded that the administration reject offshore drilling proposals. they fear a drilling accident could have far more devastating consequences than the deadly gulf of mexico spill in 2010. there will be news today as well and we will be carrying some of that on the c-span network.

president obama is set to give a speech on overcoming poverty. happening at georgetown university. you can catch that on c-span three at 11:25 a.m.. you should note for programming purposes that tom wheeler will be before the senate appropriations subcommittee at 10:30 this morning. you can catch that on c-span. he will be testifying on the 2016 budget request and other issues that are being addressed by the agency. a few minutes left, we want to get to as many of your calls as we can. michelle obama's comments on racism at tuskegee university. can on the line for republicans. caller: how are you? michelle obama spoke wonderfully. it is tough to call on the

republican line and here the type of comments that i am hearing. the racial issues that michelle obama experienced, that our president experienced certainly continued and will continue through his presidency. what i don't like hearing is people calling and saying racism is over. or, we need to stop talking about black and white. the fact is, we haven't started talking about black and white. that is when we will truly get to some answers. if people truly want to understand the race issue, there are some books out there. the new jim crow. you have "stuck between obama and a hard place." those help like people

understand the true suffering occurring in this nation and in baltimore. i live close to baltimore. whites needed to be there standing beside blacks. host: you say we have not begun talking about racism in this country. you think we are talking past each other? or do you think we need to change the subject and focus on a different kind of conversation? caller: i think we to focus on -- we need to first be completely open with each other. racism i believe, is inherent. in a sense. whites tend to hang with whites. blacks tend to hang with blacks. when we begin to have those kinds of conversations and what will break those boundaries and

what help people break those boundaries, and when we stop seeing welfare on television as just black people shown when white people are the majority of people on welfare. host: are you talking about conversations within lack communities and white communities? or having those conversations intersect? caller: i think they need to be held together. they need to be open forums and people need to -- the other day i got an elevator with a lack percent and i put my hand on my wallet. i had to fix my mind and say i should not do that. those are the conversations that need to happen. host: bill is up next in georgia, the line for independents. caller: you had mentioned earlier, what will it take to

cure the racial problems? a simple solution would be racial wounds cannot be cured by constantly picking at that would. it sounded to me like michelle's speech could very well have been written by al sharpton. it seems like it emphasized the difference between blacks and whites. not trying to reach a middle ground. host: the last caller was talking about more conversation and more open and honest conversation. are you sing different kinds of conversations or less conversations? caller: i think less conversations at the level that the current conversations are taking place. it just seems like the administration with their war on women, war against poverty and everything else, has stirred the

fires as for as war on race relations. the rhetoric needs to be called down. host: that is bill in stone mountain. we will try to get as many calls as we can in our last couple minutes. caller: i voted democrat for the obama's, while president obama and his wife i'm glad to see they are in there. i think they did a good job, but even being president does not give you enough power to overcome the 1% in this country. they have on young agenda to keep -- they have an agenda to keep people down. hollywood and your other rich black people in this country should be doing more with their money to hire minorities and

start businesses. you see on tv where they have this many millions of dollars that they made last year and that many millions of dollars. i challenged them to come out and start is this is to help these people. their own people. it could be white and black. it doesn't have to be just lack people, but start is this is in this country, instead of -- compete with the big shots that are sending all of the jobs overseas. host: paul is up next from florida on the line for republicans. caller: i have two lines of thought. i will say them quickly. the first is that it is not racism that is the problem, it is behaviorism. a lot of the problem comes from

black people themselves and hispanics because they resist mainstream culture. it is there behaviorism. asians seem to have less problems because they join the mainstream culture. i think lacs could have less of a problem. -- blacks could have less of a problem. michelle obama's speech is a ploy. they have been using it since they were in office. it is this far left ideology. i am a white guy. i would feel comfortable around condoleezza rice. i don't feel comfortable around obama or al sharpton because of their left ideology. host: one more piece in today's papers, specifically on michelle obama is by dewayne. he writes her message was about the double duty that blacks have

in our country and some of the bumps she encountered during the presidential campaign, making the point that she too faces challenges of that double duty. her overriding message was to rise above the noise and push for the never failing miracle of progress. that is in usa today. that will do it for our first segment this morning. up next, our guest is from the center for neighborhood enterprise. we will be talking about the best way of relieving inner-city poverty and its effect on poor neighborhoods. later, dan from the washington post joins us. we will be talking about that military exercise set to take place over the summer. president obama hosted entrepreneurs at the white house and wants to gather them from around the country in the world.

here is a bit from that event. [video clip] >> more than half of the world's population is under the age of 30. in some cases it is the majority. when so many young people don't see a future for themselves, if they don't see a path to success, it holds the entire nation back. it is a recipe for instability and conflict and violence. around the world we have seen how violent extremists are exploiting and tapping into these frustrations who feel they have no opportunity to improve their lives. what they offer are dead ends. these young people don't feel there is a positive path for themselves. they are vulnerable. poverty alone does not cause terrorism or sectarian violence.

investments in youth entrepreneurship and education are some of the best antidotes that we have. all of this matters to us. to our shared prosperity and security. that is why, from the very beginning, i have elevated our support for entrepreneurship. to make it easier for young people to start a new business or social venture. i hosted the first global entrepreneurship summit in 2010. over the past five years we have helped to train and empower thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs. we have helped new businesses expand a new markets, mobilize new investments, connect to emerging innovators with networks and expand access to capital. host: if you want to watch the entire event go to our website. we're joined now on "the

washington journal" by bob woodson. he joins us for a discussion about inner-city poverty and how best to address that issue. first, explain what the center for neighborhood enterprise is and your philosophy. guest: it is a national nonprofit i founded 35 years ago in washington dc for the exclusive purpose of helping low income communities overcome poverty from the inside out. and from the bottom up. we believe that the solutions to poverty can be found among those suffering the problem. as a formal civil rights activist, i realized that a lot of people who suffered and sacrificed most did not benefit from the change. from the very beginning we should make a distinction

between the needs and desires of low income blacks and upper income blacks. there have always been issues about low income lakhs benefiting from the movement -- blacks benefiting from the movement. so low income communities, we go to the 30% of the households raising children not dropping out of school and jail and we try to find out what is going on. we build on solutions that come and the strengths of people in those communities to address their own problems. host: how big is your organization and where do you get your funding? guest: a few federal dollars. most of my money comes from private sources. we also have a contract with the milwaukee school system that enables us to employee grassroots leaders in those schools for the purpose of

reducing violence. we are a $5 million organization headquartered in washington dc. we have trained and serviced grassroots leaders in 38 states. host: if you want to call in during this segment, a special line -- just two lines. area residents (202) 748-8000 all others (202) 748-8001. let's get to your reaction from baltimore. if you can talk about the role that poverty played in the mix that became the unrest we saw in baltimore. guest: the kind of unrest you heard from low income people, they are frustrated. they don't have jobs and are in failing schools.

their communities are in disarray. it is the same frustration we heard in 1965 in washington d c. when low income blacks complained of the same complaints i am hearing now which means there is something to the mistakes that we have made that have carried over. the question is, why in the space of 50 years blacks are now running the same institutions in our cities and yet low income blacks are saying that they are not benefiting from the civil rights gains, the progress in race, they are not benefiting from blacks running those institutions. obviously it means there are some unmet needs. by focusing on race, it pulls the covers off of that.

it makes us ask ourselves, if race were the problem in the 60's. and we now have black elected officials running the school systems, city hall, city council, social welfare institutions, blacks in baltimore and other cities, if blacks are running those institutions and the promise of the civil rights movement was if we were running those institutions we would be better than whites, why are blacks failing at systems run by their own people if the issue is race? host: you have listened to president obama's responses since baltimore. giving a speech today at georgetown university on c-span3. what are you expecting to hear from the president on this topic of overcoming poverty? guest: i'm glad he is finally speaking out on it.

it has been six years since he said anything. he probably spoke less about poverty than any previous president. what he seems to be promoting is the same strategies that have failed over the past 50 years. you cannot generalize about poverty. not everybody is poor for the same reason. you cannot apply a single remedy. if people were poor because they are broke. they lost a job or the industries moved out, they use assistance the way they should. as an ambulance service not transportation. then people who are physically disabled. then the third category for people who way the disincentives for being independent. the woman in milwaukee who saved $5,000 from the welfare benefits or she could center dot or to college. -- send her daughter to college. she was accused of being a felon. and the people who are accused

of character deficiencies, they are on drugs, they are not taking responsibility. with people like that you cannot just give them money or resources. there must be some intervention that helps to restore and transform. the latter category is where the center for negro enterprises concentrates its efforts on helping people at category four to become transformed and redeemed and then opportunities can benefit. host: we should note that cneonline.org. robert woodson is with us for the next 35 minutes or so taking your questions and comments. we will start with frank in baltimore maryland, calling to chat with you. caller: good morning. i would like to know what is the function of this organization?

guest: what we do is we go into the inner-city, for instance in low income communities, and we seek out leaders. in milwaukee or wisconsin, we have 75 young adults who work full-time in public schools as moral ministers and character coaches and as a consequence of hiring local people in those schools, we were able to reduce violence by 25% in the first three months. there was a group of 300 and baltimore, maryland. i was excited to see the these gentlemen taking the streets. so the center for community enterprise goes into communities in baltimore and works with the group of 300.

stanfield is it an example of the community leader that the center has invested in four years, working in high schools and other communities. we have low income leaders in the communities to solve the problems that exist, as opposed to the millions that we spend on outside professionals who parachute into those community programs to aid the poor. host: ross, you are on with robert woodson. caller: thank you for accepting my call. it is a great topic that you have. earlier, one of your callers used the phrase, that tired trite, meaningless phrase playing the race card. there is no race card. slavery was a moral wrong, but

also it proved to be a legal wrong. when you are correcting a legal wrong, people are given damages in order to make them whole. we were not made whole. damages were not provided to correct that legal wrong. so it is good, sir, that your organization is trying to do something with the inner-city. but without resources and without the citizens having been made whole from this historic evil wrong, you are really just kind of making really small baby steps that are not going to prove to fruition. guest: i think it is amazing

that people talk about the legacy of slavery. do you realize there were people who were born slaves and died millionaires. when black americans were faced with segregation and could not go to hotels, we established our own hotels. in atlanta. the saint teresa in new york. the st. charles in chicago. when 1000 blacks were fired from the docks of baltimore, maryland in 1863, what we did is borrow money and invest ourselves. we established our own railroad that operated from baltimore to maine. black america has a rich history of self-sufficiency and independents. we have had millionaires created. just to say that the legacy of slavery condemns us to a life of despair and failure is

incorrect. that is the kind of self-destructive attitude we must stop. people have good memories but poor judgment. conditions are not the same as they were years ago. we have the highest lack median income ever -- black median income ever coexisting with the lowest poverty in the same city. why aren't all blacks suffering equally? host: not exactly a topic of reparations, but in terms of government investment, johns hopkins university professor lester spence was on our program last week and he talked about the need for new [video clip] >> there has been a suite of government policies that have extorted wealth from black people and moved it.

whether you are talking about housing policies that consistency that consistently label black labor -- black neighborhoods as not worthy of investment. you're talking about policies that routinely cause black people to get less anchor their walk as far as taxes and education, the only way to deal with that is policy that puts money behind innovative situation -- innovative solutions. think about baltimore or detroit, where i am from. those areas were created by the g.i. bill, millions of dollars of spending. it was also created by the national highway defense act. millions of dollars in spending. i don't see how we all of a sudden switch and say government does not work when it comes to

dealing with liberal and radical needs. guest: he is partially right. i think innovation is what we need. what he does not understand is 70% of the $20 trillion we have spent on poverty in america goes not to the poor but it goes to those that serve more people. a professional class of providers. we have created a commodity out of poor people so that the 70% of the people who are -- who worked to serve poor people need for people for their own existence. we have some perverse incentives for maintaining poverty in america. it is unfortunate but two out of 10 whites with college educations work for government. six out of 10 blacks. it is an unfortunate situation where a lot of professionally

trained blacks are in the position of being caretakers of the low income counterparts. that structural disincentives for us to reduce poverty. we must confront this enemy from within and do as the general and said. we must engage in innovation. innovation means we need a different structure. we need to look at the low income communities and best invest in entrepreneurs and people who are indigenous to those communities that demonstrate that they can rebuild without gentrification. my friend and colleague pastor russell stories in the first baptist church in somerset new jersey is an example of how local redevelopment of a community can occur with low income and moderate income black people remaining there and not undergoing the kind of

gentrification we are seeing in washington and other cities, even when those cities have black officials. host: we have a special line for cities and urban residents. (202) 748-8000. all others, (202) 748-8001. nadine is waiting areas good morning. caller: i wanted to congratulate your guest. what a breath of fresh air he is. i want to ask him, the you feel like some of these trade agreements with nafta and also -- although i think we need unions, they were asking for more and more. i think the big companies took advantage of nafta and moved out for lower wages for their workers. i think it is hurt the urban center. what is your opinion? guest: there is a prayer, god

save me from things i don't know. i have to differ on that one. host: nadine, you should stay around for our last 45 minutes of the show. we will be talking about that trade deal that is on the table. the trade authority is getting voted on, at least the early measure for fast track trade authority. the senate will be talking about it. mother jones described you as paul ryan's anti-poverty guru. talk about your relationship. guest: congressman paul ryan is a breath of fresh air. the last month of the campaign he approached me about assembling leaders in ohio and i did. i think he was moved by what he saw. after the campaign was over, he asked me what i take him on a listening tour. for two years we went without any press or media and we went

every month for an entire day all over the country. i took him into areas, some of the highest crime neighborhoods where he saw grassroots leaders transforming these communities from the inside out. we did a video and that series is being featured on opportunity lives.com and also on my website . it is called the comeback. paul ryan, as the consequence of this experience, has worked with us to design policies that would support these indigenous organizations. that is why what he wants to do is really reformulate federal spending, rather than having all of these categories of expenditures let's try to bundle them and send them into the states so that our grassroots leaders and others who are tried to help people out of poverty can be assisted,

instead of putting up one-stop shopping. paul ryan has been a champion. we are joined by deion sanders who works with one of my leaders in dallas texas. deion is in our video series. host: that video is available at your website? guest: yes. i think it has inspired tiresome and ryan. we hope that -- congressman ryan. we hope that he will begin to reach out to his colleagues, which i think he is planning to do, so that they can become acquainted with solutions to poverty from the perspective of self-help. host: lima is up. you're on with bob woodson of the center for neighborhood enterprise. caller: i want to thank you for

taking my call. very happy to see that mr. woodson is talking about poverty of black people as a black person. i think the problem is that we need to be well educated. we need to try to put ourselves into decision-making positions. we need to start businesses. we need to make sure that in our local community, working with organizations such as the naacp that jobs, especially police officers jobs and everything else, is leaning toward the proportion of the ethnicity of that city. in the dallas morning news they showed that even though the police are the white population, that the police make up 90% of holding the jobs. the white police officers are. it is taking money out of the

family's of african-american males and women who could hold those good jobs to support their families. i think that is important. guest: the whole issue of jobs. what i'm saying to black america , we must stop victimization. we must stop complaining about what white folks have done to us in the past. we must go into ourselves as dr. king said, and find indelible ink. our own emancipation proclamation. a man i worked with has a group called boot camp. hundreds of black men are getting up at 5:00 in the morning, coming in and learning how to become responsible fathers. kurt moore spent 13 years in federal prison and changed his life around. kurt came out needing work so he started washing cars in people plus driveways. he now has 15 employees. he has contracts with car dealerships.

he is a facility now to do detailing. when you bring people together where you are motivated by solutions and not complaining about what others have done, it is amazing how much entrepreneurial energy exists within these high crime neighborhoods. young men who have been to prison -- curtis watkins in washington dc works with about 50 or 60 men who up into prison and transform their lives. if they can drive -- it means they can drive taxicabs in high crime areas. my point is, we should be using all of our energy to try and promote innovative approaches to poverty, rather than just trying to find excuses. there's nothing more lethal than a good excuse for failure. institutional racism, whatever

that means. we need to stop it and we need to begin to concentrate on what we can do to elevate and lift ourselves, regardless of the resistance that other people may impose on us. host: mount vernon, new york is up next. carolyn, you are on. caller: good morning. the problem in the good old usa is white supremacy and the institutional racism that mr. woodson does not want to talk about. the day before the young man's spine was broken there was no racism -- excuse me, i'm nervous. there was no riots going on in

baltimore. this has been going on all over the u.s. please have dr. joy todegrew on. she will give you history. guest: i was born during the depression. up until 1965, 85% of all black households had a man and woman raising children. elderly people could walk in their own neighborhoods without fear of being attacked by young people. that has all changed. black on black crime, we have a 9/11 in the black community every six months. over 3000 blacks are killed by other blacks. the group in baltimore in counseling with -- they put a number on the board. 14 versus 189. 14 was the number

of blacks shot by the police. 189 with a number of blacks in baltimore killed by other blacks. when we talk about does black life matter, why does it only matter when a white police officer shoots or kills a black? by concentrating exclusively on blacks, it means that we ignore evil if it wears a black face. geraldo rivera and fox did a two our special on the sexual abuse of women in prison. every one of the victims was a black woman. everyone of the perpetrators was a black guard. it did not generate any discussion in the public, nor were there any proposals made to correct this evil because we continue to look at life through the prism of race, which means

it evil wears a black face, it gets a pass. it evil gets -- of evil wears a white face, we can picket and demonstrate. this is what is destroying this country. host: john on twitter wants to know, is your organization centered only on african-american communities? what were have you done in latino urban communities? guest: the 2500 groups that span black, hispanic, asian, a very large contingency of hispanic groups. we deal with appellation whites -- appellation whites. one of our leaders in gallup new mexico. the center is concentrated on low income people. the concentration is not promoting solutions among them. we do not look at them as a class of victims. host: cna don't mind -- cne

online.org. ronnie is waiting. good morning. caller: i don't know where to start. what i am about to say -- what i'm saying is, when slavery was in egypt, when god freed the people he put them in a land they own so you can teach them the right ways. when we were segregated, that is the reason we were growing at businesses as we were in our own little community. you could open the door like you say and you could do certain things and we had doctors, our lawyers, our different businessman. you cannot go back in the community with people that enslave you and think you will be treated fairly. it is not going to work. they think they are superior

over you. that would never work. the government has been manipulating the system for years and years. host: what are you advocating for? caller: i am advocating for -- if we start speaking the truth about what really happens to a mind when you put them under this kind of pressure and situations for years and years and think you will have a change , we will not be changing until we start speaking. you have this guy talking about we have to forget about racial -- institutional racism. that is a part of the problem. guest: you always have to begin with a solution in mind. i tell people, what is your solution? if all whites tomorrow were to move to canada and europe, how would it back -- how would it affect the out of wedlock birth

the spread of aids, black on black crime? how would it affect those issues? host: let's go to justine in maryland. good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. i am a 26-year-old white girl that moved into baltimore. i loved the culture. i think it is interesting. i appreciate your words, mr. woodson. a different take on things. i took part in some of the protests because i feel like it is more of -- i think it is a better understanding of things as a city if we try to understand differences between blacks and whites. the minority and the majority. embracing differences and seeing we could find a way to bring more programs into schools that help people set up basic values of what makes a better life and

not necessarily how you are supposed to act or look too impressed certain people or how you build a resume, but more of what makes you a good parent. what makes you a good social advocate or community leader. things like that. guest: the whole point of the work that we do, the crisis we face is cultural. what our grassroots groups provide leadership in these communities -- they take young people who are disaffected. the kind of young people that were throwing rakes in the riots. -- throwing bricks in the riots. they confront them with moral authority. many of the young adults with overcome the problems of single parenthood, even the prison system, they serve as moral mentors to those kids. we need to spend more of our money and time investing

directly into the communities suffering the problems and the group of 300 that operates in baltimore, the programs you are seeing on our website around the country, the real leadership is indigenous to the community. they are in the same cultural and geographic zip codes. the majority of the money that is employed to address property -- address poverty are invested in people who are outside that zip code. service providers. they asked not which problems are solvable, but they asked which problems are fundable. their irritable not to customers, they're answerable to those who provide the money. the conflict is over who controls the means of providing money to the poor. i have seen examples where poor people have come together and

design effective solutions to drug addiction, to violence and crime, only to have these innovations ignored. host: a couple of our viewers on twitter want to ask what you thought of michelle obama's speech at tuskegee university. what did you hear michelle obama say? guest: i heard portions of it in the green room. i was troubled because she sort of implied that racial discrimination and racism is still an invisible hand that cripples all of us. i think this notion of institutional racism, to me, is a backhand of white supremacy. somehow, that whites can control what blacks do indirectly, i find troubling.

to have that implied in her speech, i found troubling. host: terry is waiting to talk to you. you are on with robert woodson. caller: i'm a 60-year-old white woman that does -- i work with minority businesses. i can go in and get credit in 10 minutes. thousands of dollars of credit. i was working with a 55-year-old electricians business who several years ago went in to buy a truck. the lender on the other side made 16 to 17 calls in a day allegedly trying to get him credit to buy his truck. what happened was, all of those requests destroyed his credit. it took him two years to recover from that. when he goes out and thinks about getting credit to build

his business, he is shy. he is credit shy. he won't risk. it is because of that racist response. guest: let me say, i'm glad you raised that. i'm not suggesting that racism is not still present in society. it is here. we must confront it. it is not the most important problem that we face. i will give you an example. in detroit, at church -- a church, of pastor said there are 50 vacant houses in my neighborhood. he took money from the church and invested in purchases of these houses. using men in the neighborhood to do renovations. he found insurance companies redlined. he could not get insurance for the replacement value area rather than filing a suit, i went to the president of the company and said come down and

see what the pastor is doing to prepare people to be trained as homeowners and see what he is doing. when the insurance company came down and saw how human capital was being developed by people being prepared, they sent in their risk team and they made four recommendations and once these risks were addressed, the insurance company issued the policies which enabled us to go to the local banks and get the mortgage. that point is, sometimes we have got to help people to make character judgments, not by condemning them but by inviting them so they can see firsthand the positive steps we are taking to mitigate whatever fears they may have. how can those fears be mitigated the actions being taken by the community? that is all i am saying. host: a few minutes left with robert woodson.

scott in new york. good morning. caller: good morning. i am scott the human. i believe we are the one race. the human race. we need to get over different colors. god made us different because we are supposed to accept each other here so we can go to heaven. i have been 2.5 years ago i was doing a stay at the new orleans mission, downtown new orleans. i have been well-traveled. i've been out to california. we are all humans. we need to get together and get this country back. one answer to some of these problems, we need to declare a truce on the war on drugs which is not color related. there is a lot of white people that get killed by white police officers.

it is not a big deal because white on white is not the news. host: scott the human in new york. do you want to talk but the drug war? guest: i don't but i would like to speak to the issue of how we can come together. i really think -- when i say the issue we face is cultural, i think that when kids riot, there is an absence of meaning in people's lies. ves. if low income young people can find significance and meaning in their lives in the midst of these rug infested neighborhoods -- these drug infested, crime-ridden neighborhoods maybe they would have something to export to the gilded ghettos of palo alto california. affluent kids are jumping in front of crane -- in front of

trains including suicide because they have a feeling of absence of significance in their lives. i think if young adults in the intercity -- the inner-city can find meaning in their lives perhaps they have something to export to those who are tracked in gilded ghettos of america who are dying because their life does not have significant. i think that is the kind of coalition i would like to see. we should look at low income neighborhoods as a source of exporting moral excellence. host: is that coalition being built on capitol hill? you talked about paul ryan asked somebody who understands. who else understands of capitol hill? guest: i am not sure because i've not seen much leadership the on paul ryan and a few other people. i think paul ryan is the person who can inspire not just of the republicans but democrats as well.

my goal is for both republicans and democrats to compete with one another over which side can add the greatest value to low income leaders that are indigenous to the community. i hope our comeback series will inspire a wholesome competition where each side will compete over how best they are going to empower low income people, as opposed to how they can engage in the kind of combat we are seeing. host: have you gotten by in from democrats on that effort? guest: paul ryan reached out to the president when he announced his brothers keepers and offered to meet and exchange. we have also reached out to this administration and -- in our willingness to share solutions we have. we have not seen too much

response. we have reached out. we are waiting to see if they are willing or have interest in working with us. we want to work with anybody who is promoting solutions. host: is there a presidential candidate right now that is promoting the right kind of solution? guest: no. i have not seen a candidate on either side who is promoting these kinds of solutions. we hope to make them available so that anyone can embrace them. we are looking for supporters. we are looking for people to advocate. host: one or two more calls that have been waiting. mike is waiting in springfield, virginia. caller: thank you. sometimes -- our cigarettes.

my son -- [indiscernible] instead of me planning for the future of my son, will sit in the bedroom -- you blame race for it. host: mark is in haymarket, virginia. your with robert woodson. caller: i am a black republican. i have a story much longed -- much like dr. ben carson, as far as being from the inner-city. jacksonville florida.

an area where today you have a murder rate in the hundreds. to your comments earlier, there are black officials in that area and there is a lack of investment from within the community. my point is, i believe that similar to my own example -- i've been working since age 13. earlier, i got into a bit of trouble. through mentorship and being educated by others who were successful within my community it kind of encouraged me to find a level of innovation. guest: i think you're right. i encourage all listeners when you're getting together to talk about these issues, we do not permit anyone at our meetings to introduce a problem or which you do not have a solution. i would recommend it.

let me end with a quote from samuel adams that i think summarizes it. "the dissolution of its bulls and manners will overthrow america while the people are virtuous cannot be subdued. when they lose their virtue, they are ready to surrender liberties to the first internal or external beta. -- external invader. this will be their security. what we are trying to do is to say to low income people, your condition how you were born does not define how you will be forever. if you were to instill in yourselves the desire to be self-sufficient and independent and pick yourself up, i think you will prosper. that is the message we've got to send to people. host: you can set -- you can check out more of the message online. robert woodson is the center --

the founder of the center for neighborhood -- we will be joined by dan lamothe . we will be talking about that jade helm 15 military exercise taking place this summer. the senate votes later today on trade. ♪ >> this weekend, the c-span city tours partnered with comcast to learn about the literary life of fort lauderdale, california. >> when they set up their villages along the way, along the trail, sometimes only been tuesday, the buses would stop -- sometimes only lien twos, the buses would stop. when the came to the tourist attractions ever getting food, a

weekly allotment. they were also getting -- people use them when they lived in the tourist attraction. they sometimes would get fabric. it behooved the tourist attraction people to supply them with fabric so they were sitting there making things for craft market. this is a little boy's shirt. from the 1920's. this was an experimental time for patchwork. you can see on the bottom, this is not a design that made it down today. this is an experimental design. designs were bigger in the 20's -- in the 1920's. >> the thing about the devils triangle, all kinds of things that have happened. a regular navigation training mission. they would take off from the

base. flight 19 to go east toward the bahamas. they were drop bombs and they would continue on another 70 miles or so and it was supposed to make a turn north and go 100 miles and make a turn west toward fort lauderdale. they never came back. later after they were sure they were out of fuel percent out big rescue planes looking for them. one of them disappeared. the next day some of the start of the five-day search with hundreds of planes and ships and never found anything. >> watch all of our events saturday at 5:30 p.m. eastern on c-span 2's booktv. >> washington journal continues. host: dan lamothe is a national

security writer for the washington post and he joins us now to talk about jade helm 15 and some of the concern it sparked in certain corners of the internet. what is j helm? guest: jade helm is a new exercise beginning in june. it includes about 1200 special operations troops. it will span a good portion of the southwest. texas, utah, southern california. what the military says they are looking to do is work on how they interact around the public. some of it is covert. they will be in civilian attire trying to blend in. they have done other exercises that are similar. this one sticks out because the scope and size is larger. host: why is the size larger? why is it different from other ones in the past? guest: you will see 100 or 200

troops. what they say is they are looking to prepare for long-range inserts where you will take a helicopter for the sake of argument, utah and landed in texas. they are trying to prepare for future operations that may or may not come up overseas. i think we can take them at face value on a lot of that. host: is there specific places they are expecting to fight overseas that they are trying to re-create in some of these states where the exercises are taking place? guest: they would never tell you which operations they are preparing for. i think we can safely say they read the news and are tracking the events like everyone else. they are looking at where they may operate in the future. when we talk about where the military is likely to deploy, they are always tried to be aware of where they may be needed in the middle east, africa.

they are doing more they're all the time. any of the above could be possible. host: why is this particular exercise raising concerns among people who are worried about what the military is doing? guest: i think it comes down to the way this news came out in march. there were briefings that were posted on the internet with a lack of. context. it was capped at this -- as this tv is exercise. -- this devious exercise. setting a stage for future martial law. epic a lot of us -- i think a lot of us have a hard time seeing that. there are things where you could look at it and say, they did not really tell the truth about this or that, the way a war is going but this exercise seems routine. host: explain the cause of a lot

of this to serve. every creation of the map. labels of different states in red labeled as hostile. blue permissive and uncertain in brown. explain this map. guest: they are setting the stage for what they plan to do. one of the things that caught some concern, they did label texas utah and a part of california as potentially hostile. that is a personal. that is proper -- that is a rehearsal, that is make-believe in a lot of ways. i set the stage for what they might have to do in a fictional country -- they set the stage for what they might have to do anything shall country and are playing around that in this exercise. a couple years back i covered an exercise and it was sort of the same scheme. they had an assault that went ashore from the atlantic ocean. they called it the treasure

coast scenario. -- the treasure cove scenario. parts of the southeast were labeled as potentially unsafe areas. they are trying to work around we need to pick a place, prepare for it, assault it and take it over. it is all a dress reversal. it is not to be taken seriously. host: talk about the reaction from elected officials to jade helm 15. the governor of texas, submitted a letter to the texas state guard putting them on alert to watch the training exercise. a bit we can read from the letter. it is important that texans know that their safety, prior property rights in civil liberties will not be infringed by monitoring the operation on a continual basis, the state guard will facilitate communications

between my office and the commanders of the operation jade helm to ensure adequate measures are in place for texans. guest: i read that letter and i think a lot of people tracking the military read that letter and said he is trying to play a middle ground here between taking the concern seriously, as far-fetched as it may be, and doing nothing. he looked and said, if we are going to have hundreds or whatever troops in my state, i think it is important to note they are doing. i would like to have communication with local authorities. that is fair, i think. where the concerns were raised and where he has received mockery is by using the texas guard as opposed to local police or something else like that, which is common. it had the appearance of, i'm going to use watch -- i'm going

to use my troops to watch yours. i don't know if that is the message to send. host: what is the conspiracy for those who think there is a conspiracy going on? guest: there is a range. one of the most common is the american military is going to take over portions of the southwest this year. in particular, texas has been labeled as an area that is hostile and texas is an area that they're going to come in, take our guns. all the sorts of things you would expect in a federal government take over. there is no real sense that that would happen. you look at the number of troops. 1200 troops spread out over the span of six or seven states, that does not really give you any kind of manpower to do that sort of thing. host: phone lines are open for those who want to talk about jade helm 15. democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001.

independents, (202) 748-8002. a special line for texas residents, (202) 748-8003. dan, you are a first. caller: i'm a vietnam veteran. i served in our military and security specialist. in smithfield, when they had this town meeting with people, they said the commander used the excuse they are using this for terrain. italy problem is, -- the only problem is, we have bases all over the united states and most of the time we do these exercises, they fly us to these areas we need to practice in. they are lying to the people that they need to use the terrain for these training exercises. we were always flown to where we needed to be trained for

whatever area we were going to. this is not true what they are saying to the public. host: the concern is about the military using public land and private land as part of this exercise as opposed to keeping this through the military facilities around the country? caller: i don't really understand what the reason is for these exercises. that's why people think it is going to be a takeover. obama does not like texas. the states standing up to washington on our borders. this is grounds for the federal government to come in and try to do something against the people. guest: i would say that is part of the miss education here. -- part of the miseducation here. special operations command, i think they got caught by a surprise with the way this news

came out. they were reaching out to local officials in texas in particular , trying to say, here is what we are planning to do. i think the news got out in front of them and they have been trying to make people feel better after the fact. i would say part of what he says is fair. the military typically trains on basis. they have bases that span hundreds of acres in some cases including in texas. tens of thousands of troops at fort hood alone. with that said, it is not fair or accurate to say the military never trained in public areas. one exercise that comes to mind is robin sage. a culminating exercise that green berets, at the end of their training, go through. that spans multiple counties in north carolina. they do the same sort of thing on a smaller scale. they set a scenario, they work to the scenario, they are wearing civilian attire. they typically have some sort of

armband that identifies them. that is going well for years. there was one example i think in 2002 with that exercise where there was a miscommunication and you had a law enforcement official who thought two soldiers were basically out to get him based on the way they were acting and the lack of communication. he was not aware of the exercise. in that case, the deputy opened fire on the american troops and shot two of them. since then, they're not been any of these. they're trying to work through how do we blend in. that is what special operations troops do. host: secretary carter had to respond at eight press briefing last thursday. here's the response about the jade health question from defense secretary carter. [video clip] >> we are very responsive to any local officials who want to know about our training.

we have tried to be very transparent. give all information about what we are doing about the need for it. i want to express appreciation that we have to communities across the country who host our troops. is very important. host: we're talking about jade helm 15 with dan lamont of the -- dan lamothe of the washington post. he is here to answer questions and take your comments. brenda is up next. good morning. caller: good morning to you. when i first heard this i thought, what a big joke. i could not believe people that are united states citizens would actually take that serious. all you have to do is as a republican, try to scare everyone.

if it is not obama, he ebola is coming, sharia law. he is a united states citizen just like the rest of us. i thought that was so unbelievable. at first i thought it was a joke. how easy people can be brought into things and start believing something else. the first time something happens in the united states, that is the first people they will call, the military. then they would trust them. host: b is waiting in texas. morning. -- good morning. caller: good morning. hello? host: you can ask your question. i think we lost bea. sheila is waiting in ohio. line for republicans. caller: i don't know if they

know the law. it says that you cannot have any army, navy marines, air force doing the things jade -- host: jade helm. caller: jade helm is doing. host: are any laws being broken by the military? guest: no. in no serious way. there is this sense, this message that is been pushed out that they will be operating on large scales, coming through our streets in large numbers of troops.

the reality is, even in the states you're going to be hard-pressed to find them. small numbers distributed over wide areas. in a lot of cases, they will be operating private ranches were there been given permission. these are areas where the land spans miles with one owner. if that private owner wants to give access to his ranch, his farm whatever, that is there -- that is fair game. host: roger is waiting. line for independents. caller: good morning. about this jade helm thing the government tells us your the secretary of state of their speaking. the thing most texans have a problem with how many times has

a lie to us about other things? you can keep your doctor. he has lied to us about a number of things. the majority of the senate up there -- he was up there lying about mitt romney. they lie about everything. host: the trust issue that is,. has come up. guest: you look at things like the surveillance. the nsa stuff. some of things be american government was doing that did involve american citizens that were not known. they are going to do what they think is best for security but at the same time, there is a lack of credibility on some of these issues that has been underscored by this. they can point to those things.

critics can say, you did not tell the truth on this, why should we believe you on that? host: you think this exercise has blurred into the political realm? guest: it has been fascinating to watch republicans have reacted. in this case this takes a couple things that do not usually square off against each other in political debate. a military exercise, typically conservatives are for the military. in this case, the military has been supposedly aligned with the federal government and the president that typically does not see eye to eye with these critics. it is interesting to wrap your head around the mental gymnastics it takes to believe american troops would be somehow carrying out an american exercise against american people. host: louie gohmert put out a press release about jade helm.

in part of it he said, once i observed a map, i was appalled that the hostile areas amazingly have a republican majority. when the federal government begins, even in practice, games and exercises to consider any u.s. city or state in hostile control, the message becomes suspicious area he says that met we showed a retreat in of the exercise needs to change. the tone of the exercise needs to be completely revamped so the federal government is not intentionally practicing war against its own states. guest: one thing that was interesting when i looked at the map, i mentioned the treasure coast scenario, that was a situation where one state was labeled amber and garnet. those are areas that have other names in real life. in this case, they did not do that. i'm sure they wished they could

put that one back in the box. with that said, one of the reasons they supposedly picked these states is that texas does have a long reputation of being understanding of the military. for being promilitary. to see the road -- to see the reaction, it is very much the opposite. host: roger, on the line for independents. caller: i have a question. there is a pentagon directive number 3025. 18. google says it is an attempt to give obama authority to violate the policy act using our own troops against us on american soil. i called my congressman and we went over this and it does not really say what google says,

however, it says we can do this and they can do that. what is the title of we and what is the title of they? who has the authority to do that? host: do you know the document? guest: i don't know the document he is referring to specifically. what i would say is, there is hundreds of years of history here in which -- with a couple isolated incidents. i think the interment camps of world war ii stand as an example of where the american people or at least a portion of american people were not treated the way the otherwise would have been. there is no real history to say -- one of the rumors is there are trains that have shackles that we are going to take people away.

that is new world order stuff. i don't see that happening. host: the headline from the new york times on this, military exercises stir conspiracy dearest. -- stir conspiracy theorists. guest: a number of websites that pedal in this. they will take a grain of truth and they can spin it any way they want. a lot of these places, some of these same individuals are people that say 9/11 was an inside job for example. you look at that and if you go back over the history of some of these websites and individuals a lot of it seems to be out in left field. host: let's go to pine gloss arkansas. tim is waiting on the line for democrats. caller: good morning.

i think that this is all just crazy to me. the army is trying to take over texas? i think that covers the hastings of florida -- congressman hastings of florida, when he said texas is a crazy state, i believe him. i cannot see how your congressman could really think -- most of the people of texas who voted these guys in really think that obama is trying to take over texas. that's all i have to say. have a good day. host: bill on twitter asks, what the heck is great avid and -- greg abbott and ted cruz

doing playing serious with conspiracy wing nuts? guest: they were asked about this. a lot of these concerns come from their own states. i understand that they would have to address these issues. senator cruz, the way he has framed things, is hard to believe the federal government -- i can understand what people would be concerned now. to a degree, i guess that is fair when you consider some of the other things i've mentioned. at the same time, i think it is important to note that you also have conservatives like former governor rick perry who basically look at this and shook his head. does the vision even within groups that typically are unified against the president -- it does not hold true. host: robert is in florida, the line for republicans. caller: good morning.

i think there is a good cause for paranoia here. our government cringes at the thought of putting boots on the ground in any foreign place. these boots on our domestic soil are not supposed to raise questions? i think not. our current government has zero faith and zero respect with our police agencies. our government detests the southern viewpoint that our borders merit to be protected and sealed. given this, plus the fact that our government is buying more ammo for a government that will not even consider boots on the ground and only drones, though government is buying more ammo than at any time before.

given these facts i think there is very good cause for people to say something smells fishy. guest: i guess i would say, when you look at -- it is fair to say we have an a version -- we have an aversion to putting boots on the ground in a foreign country or at least calling the boots on the ground. i do not know if that is fair based on the two jewish and in iraq. -- that is fair based on the situation in iraq. robin sage, marine special operations troops. another example where you have dresser herschel's desk dress rehearsals for what could be military operations overseas. how can you expect that at some point the military would be ready for an operation overseas that could come up whether or

not the federal government likes it or not if we are not actually preparing and practicing for contingencies? host: are there other operations that have caused this level of concern in this country? guest: i am not aware of anything quite this serious. with that said, there was a 1999 operation in which there was some urban preparations the military did in san francisco and around that area. that brought a lot of frustration and anger. the interesting thing is in that case it was largely a liberal criticism. in this case it is the opposite. host: we have a special line for texan residents. what are the dates for jade helm? guest: 10 weeks beginning in

june. whether or not it is all those locations at all those host: we have a special line for texas residents. we have just about 15 minutes left with dan from "the washington post." guest: i've been covering the military for about seven years. i have been embedded in afghanistan three times. i was with a foreign policy magazine. host: he is with us for about 15 minutes. caller: i want to preface my statement with i agree about due diligence and keep an eye on what's going on. with the amount of news that

gets put out between the internet, the kind of crazy conspiracy stuff that goes on i guess i just think a lot of times issues like this are given it too much creed him's -- credence is given to the fringe viewpoints and that becomes the norm or what we are looking at as opposed to when journalists and people who are supposed to be finding out what's really going on and letting the public know, that is what free speech and free press is supposed to be about. when you allow a free press or journalists to propagate stories

and to fan flames of this sort, this is exactly what you end up with. when elected officials get involved in this stuff i think we should look back at the constitution and say some of these people that are saying some of the things that they are saying is elected officials should also be put on notice that it's against the constitution. guest: i think he hits on an issue -- interesting debate. how much plate to give it? how seriously to take it? how much of it to we perpetuate this conversation about jade helm being something other than what it is. ? host: this is a letter from the

governor of texas. does this take it to the next level? guest: it definitely did. i had a couple of veterans that tipped me to this. they said you should check this out. this is on websites that we spend times on and we are concerned. i will look into it. i did homework on this and looked at it. they are really making a leap here without a lot of logic. we laughed about it afterwards and they said yes, i get it. especially when you point out the context of the history of other exercises. once the governor weighed in and said i want my own state guard monitoring this, it has the look

of -- he is the commander in chief of those troops. he can activate those troops. to say that they would stand toe to toe the american military is just way out there. if you activate your own force like that, and even a small number, it had the look of ok, we're going to take this seriously and we will be ready in case something evil happens. host: what has been the response been from other lawmakers to statements from louie gohmert or greg abbott? guest: utah as well. there are officials in utah who

say we see nothing wrong with this and we will do whatever we can to help. we need diversity and reaction. host: we have a few minutes left. tom is in new jersey on the line for independents. caller: thank you for c-span. could i ask about the cool incidence of drills with real-world events? president reagan's assassination attempt, at the time that occurred, there was a presidential succession drill occurring? are you familiar with this? guest: i am not. caller: on 9/11 there were a number of drills occurring. some interfered with the air defenses on that day. are you familiar with them? host: where do you go to read up on these issues? caller: "synthetic terror and

close has a great list of the drills. --" has a great list of the drills. they have a good reason to be concerned. the national defense authorization act says the military can arrest people and keep them in custody until the end of hostility and not give them a lawyer. this is the law of our country. this is not traditional governance. host: freddie is in indianapolis on the line for democrats. caller: thank you and good morning. i think this is about is crazy as anything i have ever witnessed in my 65 years of living.

it seems to me that those people are concerned with these drills and they are old white men. they dislike obama. obama is trying to free those captured prisoners in guantanamo and you have an american conservative angry about that. host: is there any chance that this operation gets canceled? if there is more pressure? guest: there is no indication that they would change their plans. i think it becomes interesting how you go about keeping the public safe with an exercise like this. you have aircraft involved. i mentioned the shooting back in

2002. that is something that they are very aware of and don't want a repeat of. that is why they share information about these things ahead of time to make sure that when somebody hears gunfire that there is not a freak out cousins that. host: another public on twitter. we've got time for just another couple of calls. chuck, good morning. caller: i want to express my opinion. this jade helm thing, i agree with the last caller. i think this is completely ridiculous. one of the things i have been hearing, they keep saying obama lied to them about keeping your health insurance.

he didn't have anything to do with insurance companies canceling it. they would have kept their doctor in their insurance. host: we want to stick to jade helm for the last couple of minutes. chris is in oregon on the line for independents. caller: i am currently serving in the armed forces. i'm familiar with a lot of the disaster response groups that we have. i was hoping you can elaborate for the viewers who don't know what to be expected from this as far as checkpoints. you mentioned aircraft. what can the civilian population expect? guest: noise would be the first easy answer. you're going to hear aircraft overhead.

you are to hear blank gunfire. the presence is going to be relatively minimal. when you talk about 1200 people spread out over seven states, they are looking to do long-range movements, flying from utah to texas. that is several hundred miles. those are things you might see in real life, in real operations. we are still trying to get details on what this is going to resemble and i think those are coming in time. this operation is still seven months away. i think we can look back on what has occurred in other places. there been role players, people who have been hired to play being the other side. those sorts of things have

happened. i think they are likely to happen here as well. host: jason is next on the line for democrats. good morning. caller: thanks for having me. my comment regarding jade 15, we already own it texas and everything else. there is no reason to retake it. if this was a military takeover there is more than enough military equipment in texas to take over their national guard. the conspiracies that keep coming out are rooted in the dislike of this man in the white house. he is not a white man. he can't be trusted, that is the just i get from everyone i talk to. it is bigotry. host: jason and ohio. caller:your expectation?

guest: i am very interested in how it goes. it's of interest for us to see pieces of it. it would be nice to embed us if we can. let us see it. whether or not that happens it's a special operation. those have a higher level of classification to them. we will have to wait and see. host: have you ever heard of a reporter getting embedded in a domestic drill operation? guest: there is an example it comes to mind. there was a report done several years back in a north carolina magazine in which they reviewed aspects of that in interviewed

people involved, including the civilians who participated. host: he is a national security writer with the "washington post." we appreciate your time this morning. up next, the senate is getting ready to vote on a trade bill the beginning of several votes to take place on trade. we will open up the trade lot -- phone lines. they are on the screen now and you can start calling in. we will be right back. >> remarkable partnerships and iconic women. their stories in "first ladies,: the" the book.

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>> the new congressional directory is a handy guide to the 114th congress. there are color photos and biographical and contact information. there are district maps and a foldout map of capitol hill. there is a look at the committees. you can order through the c-span online store at www.c-span.org. >> "washington journal" continues. host: we are back in our last 45 minutes. we will go to the phones to get your thoughts on this trade legislation. this is a headline from "boston globe."

that vote is the key. they hope this will lead to the passage of the transpacific partnership. president obama has pitched this as a counterbalance to china's growth in the region and a fresh opportunity to establish forcible labor and an electoral property standards. we are open to hear from you. first, for more on that vote that is taking place today, we turn to vicki needham. she has been following the whip count. good morning. thank you for joining us. explain what is on tap. guest: this afternoon, the

tenant will take its first procedural vote. that would be to open debate on the bill, just to get things started. it looks like a suspenseful vote. we're not sure how it's going to go. it looked recently like it would sail through, but now democrats are putting up some hurdles to be done. there are insurance is that things will be done as well. host: caller: how much lobbying is being done behind the scenes with the white house? guest: it seems like a 24/7 effort. they have had all the cabinet members involved. the president had been ringing -- bringing in a senator's to

the white house to talk to them and convince them this is a top priority and it will help the economy and the middle class. he has been making the phone calls and doing the rounds. we are starting to hit a fever pitch here. host: those who are against the bill have voiced their concerns frequently over the past several months leading up to this. one concern is about the trade deal being done in secret, that congress is not allowed to see it or read it. can you explain that concern? guest: there has been concern that front. in march, the administration did announce some transparency changes that makes it easier for lawmakers to read the text of the partnership. this would be the first trade deal fast tracking it to go

through. they have opened it up a lot more. a lot of lawmakers still want to see more improvements. it is being capped in the basement of the capital. -- cap -- kept in the basement of the capital. host: before we let you go, can you give us the latest whip count and the strange belt fellows -- bedfellows being created? guest: i hate to say this, it's anybody's guess right now. there are eight democrats out in support, seven on the finance committee. a lot of republicans who were opposed say they would vote to move this procedural vote

forward. we are not quite sure what's going to happen this afternoon. the ranking member and co-author of this bill, he wants to make sure that all four of these trade bills that are on deck will all be done and become law at some point. some democrats want all four wrapped into one package. he wants to make sure that none get left behind. they spent a lot of time hammering out all of these bills and they want to make sure that top priorities are agreed to. host: vicki needham has been tracking this vote. we appreciate your time this morning. we'll are taking your thoughts -- we are taking your thoughts and what you want your senator or congressman to say as these bills move through conference.

brett is up first in pennsylvania. good morning. caller: good morning and thank you for taking my call. i think this like all trade agreements in the past, if we feel like it's going to make a big difference in our lives we are grasping at straws. we are not saying that based on my own life. i have worked very hard as a tradesperson to barely make the minimum accomplishments, raising my kids and keeping them in good health. to think that this is going to be some life changing thing it, it may make the best of a bad

situation because we are living in a global world and this is happening around the globe. we've got to participate. to think this is going to make a big difference, no. working people will still scratch out a living and hope and pray that the lives of their children might get better. that is my feeling. host: a lot of comparisons are being made to nafta. were you around for nafta? did impact you? caller: yes sure, it has impacted us. as far as it displacing the people of mexico. it drives people off their land.

they want to raise their own families and it forces those hard-working people to come here in search of food. host: we are getting your comments this morning in our last segment. for more on this trade debate, we go to our news desk and greta. >> when people watch this vote go down around 2:30 p.m., people will watch which democrats say yes to move forward on debate. you heard from vicki needham that there are eight democrats on board. they need 10 to join all 50 republicans to get this to move forward. they've got the eight republicans. that includes michael bennet of

colorado. senator wyden is telling his colleagues that he is not sure if he is going to vote yes. if he votes no on moving forward, more democrats will be with them. the president and the republicans would not have the votes to move forward. there are some republicans who have said no. richard burr, lindsey graham, jeff sessions. there are six republicans that are undecided.

tune in to c-span2. host: among those who are looking to move this debate forward is the senate the geordie later, mitch mcconnell. he took to the senate floor yesterday to talk about this trade bill. >> it's incredibly important that we passed this bill. without it, foreign countries will be able to discriminate against american products and american produce while we have some of the lowest duties in the world. we need fair trade legislation that expands oversight over the administration. we to set rules and standards for trade negotiators. that is the bipartisan act in a nutshell. some talk about preventing the senate from even debating the bill.

i think that would be a make mistake -- big mistake. this is already a strong bill. we will have an amendment process on the floor that will allow the members the opportunity to advance their priorities. voting to proceed with the bill is saying this is worthy of debate. certainly, this bill is worthy of debate. it is supported by the president of the united states. host: we want to hear your thoughts on this bill and the debate taking place. kansas city missouri is up. caller: good morning. first of all, our trade deficit used to go up whenever we would have one of these trade agreements. now it's just that outrageous levels.

our partners seem to ignore provisions in these agreements. this is been going on since we started these in the 90's. i don't understand why we can't just block trade from those countries who are bad trade partners and the quality of life is lower than our own until they fix these problems that affect us. we could increase the duties for goods made or grown in those countries. host: before you go, if this bill passes, what impact will there be to use specifically in kansas city, missouri. caller: everything that i buy

it seems to be grown or made in another country. we can't get jobs here. nobody can get a job. if we do, the wages the we get are so low. we just can't compete. we've got global inflation. there is slave labor in foreign countries. we simply cannot compete with slave labor. host: andre is next up in ohio. good morning. caller: good morning. my situation is it seems like

the majority of states that create the majority of agriculture don't want to risk their ability to export to other countries. a lot of the people from the factories industry, it seems like they are not sure if we are going to have american workers protected across other countries. i am a business student and a political science minor. with this deal being so secret we are not getting any ability to say we support this 100%. if our president wants us to be for this, he should really back the people who put him in office, which is the unions.

he should be 4s making sure that our wages stay competitive and we can have wage growth and better benefits like maternity leave foremothers. investment in inner-city communities across the country we can make these investments. host: that is entree. on twitter, he writes. matt smith writes. mike is in maryland. do you agree with that? caller: are you on? host: turn the tv down so you can talk. caller: i turned it down before

i made the call. i will say this. the president should have the power to make trade agreements. we are so deep in the hole right now, we are in a recession with huge national debt. 50% of the jobs are low-paying eight dollars to $10 per hour. people work two jobs. it's too late or too little. we need an economic policy like roosevelt had in the new deal or the marshall plan. that's all i've got to say. host: for more on this issue and the debate, we go to greta. >> we just heard a caller talk about senators for this being

from agriculture heavy states and senators against it are states where there is heavy manufacturing. one of those states is ohio. the editorial board weighed in on this, democrats like harry reid and rob portman the republican from ohio who is up for reelection in 2016. if the trade vote as a test of whether the center of both parties can hold against protectionists on the right and left, democrats must decide if they want to embrace the desire to make the republican senate look as dysfunctional. "the wall street journal" wrote that. "the new york times" also weighed in.

a test vote, they say this. congress is considering a trade bill that is hitting the president and his some republicans. they have major differences, a compromise is still possible and would be good for the economy. they do go on to say that most americans support increased trade and business with other countries. others think it destroys jobs. at nike, the president said this would be good for american workers. he still needs to convince lawmakers in congress. that is from the editorial pages today. they agree that the senate should move forward on trade and move forward on this debate. that will take place this afternoon. look for coverage on c-span2.

host: we are asking our viewers to weigh in for the next 25 minutes. we go to amherst, virginia. good morning. caller: good morning. these trade agreements, they are impoverishing of this country. the people ought to be contacting the representatives and voicing their opinions just as i am. this has done nothing. the more agreements are made, the more impoverished this nation becomes. most of the products we get in this country through these trade agreements are inferior merchandise.

at one time when we were manufacturing in this country we had a quality stuff. i think the american people deserve more from our government than what we are getting. host: what do you do? caller: what do i do? i have an organization. it's a worldly and spiritual organization. host: what happens in virginia if this bill passes and the partnership passes? what do you think happens to amherst, virginia? caller: not as much as it affects other larger municipalities that have businesses.

we have a glad manufacturing company. they have exported things and they could not produce to their satisfaction. they would bring it back here. that is their sandwich bags. more importantly this transpacific partnership, when richard nixon opened up trade with china, they had agreements there. i don't think richard nixon if he was alive today would be satisfied with what is going on. the other situation is the people in this country and these people who have been calling in

voicing their opinions, most of them are opposed to this. that is all i have heard this morning. host: that is harvey in virginia. let's hear from more viewers. can is in ohio. caller: how are you this morning? there are two points i would like to touch on. i don't feel as though all the details of the trade agreement are known to the public. it's hard for us to call in with comments that deal with the details. there is a lot discussion to push back and forth and cause separation between the two parties in washington. i think this is been going on for quite some time. by dividing the people, corporations when. corporations are winning in this deal. when you think about this and

you think about globalization which is been happening for quite some time, we have been lowering the salaries or holding down salaries and income for u.s. citizens. rather than thinking of this in a different way, we should put tariffs on products made in china or other countries that have significantly lower salaries. if you're going to pay your people $.15 an hour, we are going to compensate your product . that way we are raising the standard of revving across the world rather than wearing about ourselves. host: that was an issue raised by sander levin who was on our newsmakers program sunday. he was opposed to the deal because congress does not have enough of a role in the process. this is a bit from that interview.

>> we want to make sure we have the right fast-track and we don't have that. that's why i am opposed to it. i don't want us to lose our leverage. congress should not be in the backseat and vote yes or no. we have to be in the front seat being a major partner in making sure that this is done right. host: if you want to watch that entire interview, you can go to our website www.c-span.org. next up is the line for republicans. good morning. go ahead. caller: i just have two different ideas on this trade pact. it's just going to be, food prices are going to go through the roof.

everything is going to go up. it's an environmental disaster. there will be nothing but flatland farms from coast-to-coast. they are going to take down trees and areas that are wild. it's so bad between the environment, the food prices, and the impact it will have on workers. i hope everybody contacts there senators and congressmen and tells them that this thing is no good and to vote it down. host: or more, we go back to our news desk and greta bronner. >> we want to give you some flavor about the debate. mitch mcconnell tweeted this out, trade is essential for a stronger american economy.

now is the time to pass. he put some numbers in here. exports were a record high. 300-5000 medium-sized businesses across all 50 states export goods. $2.4 trillion is the value in 2014. harry reid has said he will move to block any effort to bring up trade promotion authority. we won't have two -- time to reform the nsa before it expires. he wants the senate to vote first on this surveillance program. this is part of the patriot act

which will expire on june 1. he wants to vote on the highway trust fund bill. whether or not he has the democrats with him, we will have to wait and see. the senate votes at 2:30 p.m. sherrod brown tweets this out. this would ask the u.s. to compete with exports where workers make pennies an hour. international trade supports 3 million jobs in texas. no more corporate handouts and no more rushing a trade agreement that could hurt the american worker and our environment.

the unions are planning a rally on capitol hill to vote against this. if the senate fails, all eyes will be on mitch mcconnell to see what if any concessions he may make to democrats. trade wars, obama versus warren continues. so much for the senate being an easy lift. it could be a more narrow victory in the house. the vast majority of the 245 house republicans are expected to support the president. 25 to 30 possible democratic votes may be out there.

there are just 17 house democrats so far supporting. in the house, they're are going to focus on the patriot act renewing that with a vote. that is one piece of legislation they will be taking up in the house this week. they will be voting on some other issues. our coverage of the house you can tune into c-span2 to watch this vote on trade. host: member and reporter tweets have been --, we have been looking at fewer tweets. talking about republicans pushing for that fast-track bill that has the test vote today. manufacturing is not coming back

to the united states. we want to hear from our viewers for our last 15 minutes. you're up next. are you with us? caller: yes, sir. i want to agree with the evangelist from earlier. he said what i wanted to say about the economy. i am 66 years old. i have seen the united states flourishing with jobs everywhere. people were making a living. when bill clinton was in there jobs were plentiful. we did not have this trade agreement mess. i am not taking up for the clintons.

it's gotten out of hand in washington. it seems like people like rob portman, he hasn't done nothing. columbus used to be a booming place and now when you go out to the poor section, are officials sit back and don't do nothing. it's a said situation. host: you mentioned the clintons, what were your thoughts about nafta which went into effect in 1994 when bill clinton was in office? caller: with all of this trade

agreement stuff that's going around, let us take care of our own people. one general and said the jobs would not come back, if we could doing all this agreement stuff with other countries, bringing contaminated stuff to the united states, the jobs will come back. host: kenneth is up on the line for republicans. caller: good morning. i would like to ask the question why do we send our jobs to china who trashes the air and the soil and the water? if the left was worried about climate change, wit and they bring those jobs here? -- wouldn't the left bring those jobs here? host: is your concern the environmental issue?

caller: that is one of my concerns. china has no epa. they are polluting the whole world to make products for us. let's bring those products here where they can be overseen by the epa and cut down on the climate change. host: randy is up next in pennsylvania. good morning. caller: a free trade agreement to me is a laugh. how could we possibly compete with the country whose gdp is 7.4% of ours?

third world countries. how are we supposed to compete with third world countries? i don't mind fair trade agreements, but not free trade agreements. thank you. host: cortez, colorado, the line for independents. good morning. caller: all of the so-called politicians are in the pockets of the corporations. i think we ought to get rid of this tpp because all it is doing is putting more money in the corporations'pockets. they don't care about the working men. it's ridiculous. all of the politicians are going right along with them because they get money to get reelected so they can continue down grading american life.

it's crazy. i can understand why people keep voting these people in. why don't we get rid of them and put some people in there who are for the working class? the 1% is ridiculous. it's crazy. i think they ought to get rid of all the senators and congressmen that vote for this. host: for more, we go back to our news desk and greta bronner. >> the senate democrats will have to decide if they are going to be on the side of the president on this trade debate and vote to move forward with debate. this is a fast-track authority that allows a faster process for any trade deals that will come

up in the future and allow the congress to vote yes or no. they cannot amend it or change it. when this vote comes up, democrats will have to decide if they will move forward or not. a lot has been made in the back and forth between elizabeth warren and president obama. yesterday, she said that if the president really wants to move forward, he should be more transparent about what is in these trade deals. senators can find out what is in the text of these trade deals. it is a secret room in the basement of the capital. senators and house members must go to a private room to review it. they can't take the document.

the document affects 40% of the world's economy. the secrecy prompts the question, what are they hiding? they are barred from speaking to journalists about certain specifics. when that vote takes place this afternoon, many of you will be watching which democrats will side with the president or not. they need 10 to join 50 republicans to move forward. tune into c-span2. the house is taking up legislation to renew parts of the patriot act expire june 1. they will take a look at that iran legislation that allows congress to review any deal the white house strikes with iran on their nuclear power.

that passed the senate last week. the house will be taking that up. you can watch our coverage on c-span. host: for the remainder of our time, we want to hear from you on this trade vote. what would your message be to your member of congress? andrews, north carolina, good morning. caller: i wonder if people know that in this so-called trade agreement, anybody who comes to this country to work can become an american citizen? there is no way to undo the agreement unless all the countries signed up with it will agree to undo the agreement. it's a bad deal for america. we are quickly becoming a third world country. host: steve wright said to our

twitter page. germantown tennessee, the line for republicans. good morning. caller: good morning. i am a lifelong conservative, i agree with the democrats on this. i spent 20 years in the export and import is this. i can remember global distribution. we are an early indicator of the economy in some ways. it gives us a hint of what is coming with the economy. one of the things i have seen over the year is 15 years ago

we had a very robust manufacturing base in memphis and st. louis and chicago and the other cities i did business in. when i have noticed is i get the call from a cfo to come see me. they want to talk about shipping machinery overseas and looking at converting this plant to a distribution center. i feel like i was in front of the parade. i felt an obligation to make the american country do it as efficiently as they could. lower paying jobs, the manufacturing jobs are gone and the equipment is gone. when we talk about bringing the jobs back, there is a learning curve, there is a real gap with trade and skills to be able to do that.

a lot of the outsourcing, ira member going to china in 2003. what people did not realize is some of the best architecture on the planet is being erected all over china. these are major airports and major ports. now china is outsourcing production to vietnam. i could go on all day about it. host: you are agreed with democrats on this. who you think are speaking out best on this issue? caller: i think more and -- warr en, when you want to bring jobs back to that part of the world it's going to take a lot. a lot of the shift in manufacturing has moved closer to the ports because we have

issues of cost. it costs money to move finished goods from inland points to the ports to export them overseas. there is a quandary when you're up in the northeast and north-central united states. how do you get containers in? are there enough? on the other hand, it's interesting about the comments about the environment. nobody wants silent spring. let's take into account the fact that while the epa could do us a favor and take a look at how polluted china is an bring the jobs back, the at this to shift those jobs offshore was because the epa and osha got out of hand. everybody wants to work safe. we don't want a situation where

it's to such an extent and unmediated. every deal we make is detrimental to us. host: that is germantown tennessee. we want to get to a few more calls before the end of the show. we have a bit of news coming this morning. chicago is selected for president obama's presidential library. the president announced this selection the a a video released. foundation overseeing the creation of the library announced that it took a site on the south side of chicago. we've got time for just one or two more calls.

daniel is in indiana. good morning. caller: all of these other trade deals, the trade representatives name was tron, we could not ship but a certain amount to them. we've got mitch mcconnell whose father-in-law is a chinese shipowner. naturally, he would want it. guess who would be doing a lot of shipping products? when rob portman was trade representative, look how many jobs he got to china. host: our last call on today's

show, we have just another couple of programming notes. tom wheeler is set to appear before the senate appropriations subcommittee. you can watch that live on c-span. the president is going to be giving a speech about overcoming poverty. that will be live on c-span3 at 11:25 a.m. we we back here tomorrow morning. have a great tuesday. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accu