recent article on whether diversity in the 2016 republican field can help attract minority voters. we take your call and you can join the conversation at facebook and twitter. "washington journal" is next. host: good morning everyone welcome to "washington journal." it's monday june, 29th. after announcing major decisions on same sex marriage and healthcare last week, the court today is expected to come to some decisions on lethal injection, epa regulations and congressional redistricting. until then we'll begin here this morning with last week. politico called a momentous moment for president obama. what are your thought on that

morning? you can also go to twitter or join the conversation on facebook.com/c-span. you can also send an e-mail. politico's headline this morning on their website after a momentous week president obama presidency is reborn. he sang, wept and cheer. many say they finally saw the man who inspired them in 2008. obama's voice broke through a way that it hasn't maybe since the 24 keynote address that introduced him to america. a week that started with the media obsessing over one charged word he said ended with a country glued. how the country as a whole lot more racist but also a whole lot more hopeful than it likes to

admit. replaying on the news and iphones all through the night and the weekend. obama often talk about his presidency just trying to write his paragraph in history. this past week obama's 2008 campaign manager david plouffe said it's an exclamation mark. he captured the frustration for those who feel the country changed too much and too quickly. even inside the white house the rush of change is almost overwhelming. they say in politico. when baltimore rioted when american hostages were killed and another stumble against isil, the country demanded and he responded. this week americans wanted to hear what he had to say. we're going to getting your thoughts on this week's politico

headlines. president obama's momentous week. do you agree or disagree? tammy in north carolina, a democrat, you're up for first on president obama's last week. go ahead. caller: yes i believe that his presidency has been reborn. it's not been reborn he has always been working. he's always been working to towards jumping the people of the united states. i believe that whenever we look back on this president after he leaves office, he will be looked upon as the best president we've ever had in the last 12 years. my feelings with him, you can see in his eyes when he speaks and his actions when he is

addressing us that what he wants is the best. >> do you think this last week was important for his legacy? what stands out from his presidency? caller: his obamacare. his decision to go in and try to put together a plan for healthcare and to even though, this healthcare has been his -- his healthcare plan has been challenged over 57 times, he has still stood and remained. again, everything that has come against him, he has been a -- i

believe truly, in my heart, if president obama had he was green, the republicans would say, no. he's blue. host: tammy we talk this past week politico calls momentous one. president obama's legacy. this is what they write this morning. june is legacy month for president barack obama at the supreme court for second time refused to gut affordable care act and a deal with republicans revised his trade agenda, obama is two thirds of the way to three big wins that will help define his place in history. next up is the prospect of a knew clear -- nuclear deal with iran. that will represent a striking break with more than 30 years of

hostility. on that, the headline this morning in the papers, the deadline tomorrow june 30th will come and go. the talks will have to extend with iran. we'll tell you more about that coming up here on the "washington journal." we're getting your thoughts on last week and do you agree with politico? was a momentous one for this president. lewis in charleston, south carolina a democrat. go ahead. caller: thank you very much for answering me. elike to -- i like to say that the president had a wonderful week. i think even though it's last week we're commenting on, i think he's had a wonderful presidency. i really applaud for the things that he has tried to do for this country. i just wish that he would keep on. i wish friends on across the aisle will join him. we need jobs. we need everything. as of last week, i applaud the supreme court for its decisions

and really proud to be an american that i can see things like that happen. i'll take your answer. host: let me ask you about trade. some democrats are disappointed that the president got a win on trade. caller: i will say this, i am disappointed being i'm retired i'll 70 on the second of july. i am disappointed about what has happened with trade because i really don't trust any trade agreement since i saw what happened with nafta. it recalls me back to what ross perot said. if you sign that -- yes. host: nonetheless, were you happy that the president scored a victory there? caller: i'm happy he scored a victory, i think it's a victory that's not going to be good for the people. host: randy, a republican fort worth, texas. what do you think?

caller: i think the president had a terrible week. i hate to say it because if you look at the healthcare plan, it will go into effect in 2016. that's right about the time when we'll have this election time. it's going to put perry in a bad situation. i think the american people will wake up. according to the supreme court ruling 50 million americans voted against this same sex marriage. i grew up in the 1970's. everything is turned upside down. we have men marrying men women marrying women. we have police not getting the respect from the citizens. people just treating the police any kind of way. you got obama healthcare plan that nobody wants. also, my last comment is, is this trade deal here. pacific trade. this pacific trade is a

disaster. nobody knows what's in it. how can you vote for something that's not in it? host: what about republicans helping president obama to security victory on trade? then you have supreme court justice appointed by a republican president who sided for the president's healthcare law? caller: start3are robert first. he'll do what he did before with the first voting of the obama healthcare. he rewritten the rules and called a tax. we can see there's some corruption there. i think it's something robert has that they are blackmailing him. i want to make, the republicans that voting for this trade deal, we got the house speaker he gave president obama everything he wanted. we didn't put him in office to give president obama everything

he wanted. mitch mcconnell, the minority speaker -- host: the majority leader in the senate from kentucky. caller: he hasn't done anything for the conservatives. he put him in office to get rid of harry reid. he did the total opposite. come election time, the republicans will rise. host: we'll look at the headlines from npr. how key republicans helped obama biggest week of his second term. with a eulogy friday for the slain pastor. mother emanuel church in south carolina, president obama concluded the most shining week of his second term. they say that just hours earlier, the president spoke in the rose garden welcoming a landmark decision by the supreme court that legalized same sex marriage in all 50 state. on thursday by 6-3 vote, the court up held the tax subsidies

critical to obamacare. it says here, so many will be notable under any circumstances. what made it so remarkable was the role certain republicans played in moving major issues in obama's direction. from healthcare and trade to same sex marriage and the confederate flag. in south carolina, republican governor, nikki haley announced she will no longer support the preference of the flag. it says, it would be kennedy on the following day delivering the deciding vote and reading out loud the decision on same sex marriage. we're asking all of you about president obama's week last week. was a momentous one that politico says. we'll go to dave next in new jersey. hi dave? caller: good morning. donald trump for president.

anybody. okay. host: all right. we'll move on to jenny in lancaster, ohio. a republican. caller: hi how are you today? host: good morning. caller: i'm a republican. i don't think obama is all that. i think he did a beautiful job. i always get stuck saying that word, eulogy. i want to say this real quick, i do not think that the supreme court should be allowed to have the job for life. host: all right. echoing what some republican candidates are saying on that issue. this court did decide in favor of the subsidies for the 2010 healthcare law. here's what the chairman of the ways and means committee who has jurisdiction over healthcare, paul ryan from wisconsin had

to say about the future of so called obamacare. >> i don't think this law is fixable. it makes people buy what the government only let's you buy. it leads to monopoly of insurance companies. it gives the states to rights to craft markets for themselves. it's fundamentally flawed. i think the law will collapse in its own way. the denial of choice, the double digit increases in premiums we seem to see every year. it's something the country will not stand for. host: paul ryan from wisconsin saying he does not see a bright future for the twin -- 2010 healthcare law. we'll get your take on same sex marriage trade and president obama's eulogy in charleston. politico and cnn saying on friday when he gave the eulogy

in charleston, south carolina, it wrapped up a shining week for the president. we want all of you to give us your take on that. chicago tribune this morning victory lap. chicago's pride parade savor a historic court decision on marriage equality. jenny in lancaster ohio, jenny a republican. did we just talk to you sorry. we'll move on to rom in philadelphia independent. how you doing this morning. caller: i think the president always doing his job. people finally woke up and seen he was doing a great job. just imagine if he had republican working with him what could have been done. the man drawing the line in the sand. republicans won't back him up. he fighting more wars at home than he is overseas. anybody want to talk about the police when the police officers, the good police officers start turning in the bad police officers, we would have less

problem. host: sharyl in boulder colorado a democrat, hi sheryl. caller: i have a theory about john roberts upheld the affordable care act. i heard two years ago that he had a small child that was very sick. something serious like epilepsy. i think he's a family man but has been through the terrors of not having enough healthcare or worry that you might not. i think that he has really benefit over backwards to help president obama to provide healthcare for the rest of the people. i really appreciate the obamacare that i got on expanded medicaid in colorado. i go to kaiser and i get

wonderful care. i'm just really grateful for the wonderful week he had. host: this is something reaction on twitter. jim says, this this is the same potus who thought marriage was between men and women. that one and the -- president obama deserves much of the credit. edwin says, i don't know about reborn it does acknowledge his endeavors to move the country in the right direction. we're talking about president obama's week. was a momentous one has politico say. this is from u.s.a. today. obama just had a big week. he has 82 more to go. these are some of the issues that the president faces on climate change, the u.n. climate change conference in paris this year will seek to legally binding reductions in

carbon across the globe. by casting climate change as an economic and national security issue, he's elevated it to a unique position among his second term priority. iran nuclear deal, obama's effort for a peaceful resolution faces next test this week. a six world powers attempt to ink a final accord. looks like it will come and go. united states saying more time is needed. the islamic state obama made clear the measure fight against extremist in syria and iraq. he also have trade. president obama winning trade authority. but he still has to ink the deal on the transpacific participate with europe, criminal justice unusual coalition of democrats and libertarian republicans are working on proposals to reduce

mandatory sentences. you got immigration and tax control and all issue this president faces for the next 82 weeks. roy in utica michigan. is a democrat. we're talking about whether or not the president had a momentous week. go ahead with your thoughts. go ahead, roy. caller: good morning greta and c-span audience. we talking about the president obama having a great week. he has had a great presidency. if you look at -- he came in with two wars that he had to scale down. the nancy leadbetter act the auto bailout obamacare. now we have this transpacific agreement, which is going to pass. then same sex laws. the land trade deal and despite what republicans are saying,

president obama has been great with race relations. i can just hate to imagine another president being in office during times like these. i'm trying to say this president has been doing a great job throughout in spite of the obstruction by republican party. they just don't like this president although there are some good republicans who want to work with the president, but there's this faction that wants to destroy. a republican i might add had five years to come up with a healthcare plan. they don't care about the american people in regarding their health. they care about the pocketbooks. host: rich in pittsburgh also a democrat. weigh in on this. what do you think? caller: good morning. i believe this president has been reborn.

i voted for him twice. i think he's been a very successful president. to respond to the other republican caller statement, there are at the love people that do like the affordable care act and do like obamacare. my niece is a college student who earns about $12,000 a year, part time job and thanks to republican governor being voted out of office, corbett and democratic governor voted in, wolf, she has a wonderful plan with medicaid expansion. my other friend gets a wonderful plan for $12 a month. yes, we do like obamacare. i disagree with the president as far as the trade deal. as ronald reagan said if you want to look for someone you agree with 100% of the time, look in the mirror. ny history will show -- i think history will show that he's been a wonderful president. host: what do you think this

last week means? caller: this last week i think he can be himself now. i think he really is going to let loose. you will see at the love great things from the man. it's amazing when you're not facing reelection how you can be much freer. when he came into office in 2008 how he was less open about a lot of gay right issues. now, he's being himself. this is the way he feel about it. i'm so proud of the man. host: frank in niles michigan, independent. good morning. caller: i'm really shocked this morning of saying he's the best president that they've ever -- host: you breaking up a little bit. you're shocked that people think he's the best president. caller: can you hear me? host: yes go ahead. i apologize frank, maybe you can

call back on a better line. james from indiana a democrat. caller: i have to say just like the other two callers ago. this president not only has been one of the best presidents under circumstances as far as -- everything he's done with no help at all on a economy. when he first got into office he had nothing but obstruction from the republicans. if they only had passed just a half trillion dollars for the infrastructure, he would have created extra 17.5 million jobs. i would hope that in the next few weeks that he has left, 82 weeks, he can get something done with the infrastructure where

there's $300 billion or half trillion dollars. we would move this country in the right direction. host: reminder rest of our viewers. when it's your turn to talk, you got it turn that tv down. the week was remarkable. just success of his entire presidency has continued to outsmart opposition at every turn. carol said tough aspects of aca has yet to kick in jody said the scotus saved republicans what obamacare would have came up with with a voucher system. dave in new york, we're talking about last week. what do you think? caller: i can tell you something. it is. i could tell you something about president obama.

president obama is not just a democrat. president obama is for the u.s. when we had a downturn in the economy after the republicans was in office, the country was failing. everything was failing. housing market, aig and president obama came in -- the job that president obama did for this you want, in my lifetime i seen no other president does this. obama don't believe putting our troops in foreign country. we have to acknowledge. when i see so much friends in wars to see the obama did in obamacare. obamacare is good, i heard the governor of the state of kentucky said that it's the best thing that ever happened to the u.s. obamacare. what it does, it cut out a lot

of fraud in medicaid and medicare. i could tell you one thing if obama would have with a term he would win in a landslide victory. you first believe you should talk before you go to war. that's why you actually tax a company that have jobs overseas. we're manufacturing again. when you look at kentucky and ohio. detroit all of these factories opening up and i see made in america again make me proud. i could tell you one thing obama will go up in history as one one up in history as one of the

second greatest president. host: dave we'll leave it there. we're asking you to weigh in on president obama's last week politico calling a momentous one in his presidency reborn. do you agree, disagree? got about 20 minute or so more if we can on this conversation. i want to talk about same sex marriage some saying that has been a victory for the president as well with the court ruling in favor of legalizing same sex marriage. it's on the front pages this morning. the "new york times" rivalry and soul searching on gay pride day. churches are grappling with this new era. in the opinion section of u.s.a. today this morning, the editorial board for u.s.a. today says gay marriage ruling reflects new dimension of freedom. the opposing views this morning written by tony perkins, in d .c., he writes this that this ruling is without foundation or

constitution in history. this ruling nullifies the votes of more than 50 million americans who voted to preserve marriage. children need a mom and a dad. we must now prepare for the collision course, the supreme court has set for americans most cherished freedom. the first step is for congress to pass measures that prevent the government from discriminating against anyone who believes in natural marriage. the bottom line without the freedom to believe and live according to those beliefs, there can be no true freedom. does the court really believe that the americans will relinquish their freedom? the washington times this morning with their headlines saying the gop presidential hopefuls are grappling with the court ruling. recent washington post found that 61% of voters is the gay marriage and each state should recognize such union. there's a deep partisan divide

with 63% of republicans saying they oppose gay marriage. governor scott walker of wisconsin called for an amendment to the constitution to reaffirm the ability of the state to continue to define marriage. bobby jindal said his state will go ahead the recognize legalization of same sex marriage. here is mike huckabee the former governor of arkansas on abc this week his reaction to the supreme court's decision. >> i don't think a lot of pastors and christian schools will have a choice. they will either follow god their consideration and what they truly believe, or follow civil law. they will go the path of dr. martin luther king who in his brilliant essay reminded us based on what st. augustine said, that unjust law is no law at all. i do think we're going to see a lot of pastor who will have to

make this tough decision. you're going to see it on the part of christian business observers. you'll see it on the part of christian university presidents, christian school administrators. >> what about county clerks? do they issue same sex marriage licenses? >> if they have an objection, they should be excused. host: rand paul also running for president. writes in "time magazine." governments should get out of marriage. i believe that all american have the right to contract. the constitution is silent on the question of marriage because marriage has been a local issue. our founding fathers went to the local courthouse to be married not to washington d.c. those who disagree argue that

the court should not overturn the will of legislative majority. the 14th amendment protects rights from legislative majority. do consenting adults have the right to contract with other adults? the supreme court argue yes. they argue no when it comes to economic libertyings like contracts regarding wages. rand paul writing in "time magazine." also front page of the houston chronical this morning. the texas attorney general says, clerks can turn away gays. county clerks their religious beliefs could enable them to disregard the u.s. supreme court's historic ruling legalizing same sex marriage. here's the star ledger this morning.

what governor christy's run means for new jersey. he will declare his campaign for the 2016 republican nomination on tuesday. for all intensive purposes he has been running for his entire second term. the governor for years, the dominant force have less influence with his 30% approval rating from new jersey voters. ahead of tomorrow's announcement, here is what chris christie put out. >> my many set the rules and tone. no suffering in silence. she said, yes i need to get it off my chest now. there will be no death bed confessions in this family. you're going to hear it now. in 2004, my mom got diagnosed with cancer. all of you lost a family member

to cancer, you understand what the scene is like. she grabbed my hand and said christopher, there's nothing left unsaid between us. it was an incredibly powerful moment. that moment was created by her. her whole life. i knew she loved me. she knew i loved her. when people wonder why i do the things i do, that moment affirms for me forever that i'm going to be this way. i know if my mom were still alive, she would say, i taught you in a trusting relationship, you don't hold anything back. if you're going to run for president of the united states and you will ask these people for their vote, that is the single most trusting thing they can do as a citizen is to give you their support. you better tell them exactly what you're thinking and exactly what you're feeling. when you ask about my moral

compass, that's it. that's it. host: new jersey governor chris christie expected to throw his hat in the ring tomorrow. we will have coverage so go to c-span.com for more details for road to the white house. we're getting your thoughts on president obama's last week, legislative victory it is him. supreme court ruling in his favor on the healthcare law on same sex marriage. we won trade promotion authority from congress and wrapped up the week in charleston south carolina with a eulogy . sheila in texas a democrat. caller: good morning. i was calling because i just want republicans to really think that remember that the bible too muchs us that god put people in

political positions. he does this because he knows what's ahead and we do not. he had to get someone like obama to deal with the country on financial collapse. people were losing home losing jobs. i lost my job in it. we were in two wars that were unnecessary. he had to get a person that's intelligent, that's level-headed and what knows how to make decisions. when god is in the plan when he puts out something god is going to make sure that that plan is followed. as far as last week, it was a very successful weak for barack because the man is an intelligent man. god is guiding him through all this mess. host: anthony in las vegas a republican. share with us your thoughts.

caller: look. i can't believe what i'm hearing this morning. the gushing over president obama, the man who said he wanted to fundamentally transform america. which means he doesn't like america. we're trillions of dollars this death. he's gutted the military. islamist are killing and slaughter christians and muslims all over the world. he created a war on police, race relations are the worse they've been in 60 years. this is ridiculous. he's a disgrace and a punk. host: jonathan in louisville, kentucky an independent. you're up. caller: good morning. i think he had a pretty good week. i'm a divorce attorney. i look on this gay marriage as more business because they will go to court just like the rest of us. i want to speak to something that's never been brought up.

we're going to have trouble because of this gay marriage rights. not in this country but the islamist. these people -- i have three cousin who are overseas. one is in lebanon and two of them in egypt. i talk to them on the phone this weekend. they're already talking sending people to ireland because ireland okayed gay marriage. they're talking about -- as one of the reasons why we should be attacking and destroyed because of gay marriage. they hate christians. they hate because we drink. they hate us because we're christians and jews, they hate us because women have rights. they hate us for a lot of reasons. high on the list is homosexual

marriage. host: jonathan, the issue of terrorism was brought up this sunday talk shows because as we head into the fourth of july celebration this country, this is some worry among experts that there could be terrorist attacks being planned. here's what mike mccall had to say. the republicans in texas need chairs of homeland security committee in the house. >> there's a great deal of chatter and high volume joining intelligence was issued to state and locals. i think the concern is, the confluence of all of these events the isis folks have been call for jihad during ramadan. now we have fourth of july coming up which is one of the holidays we celebrate that they like to target these sort of things. giving the confluence of events, we're being on the cautious side

here to warn the public to remain vigilant. >> let me ask you do you expect home-grown terror attacks over this next holiday weekend? >> we stopped 50 of these terror plots in the last 12 months. it's going up exponentially. i'm extremely concerned about the way the isis recruiters with use the internet at lightning speed to recruit followers in the united states with thousands of followers in the united states and activate them to do whatever they want to do. whether it's military, law enforcement or possibly a fourth of july parade. host: mike mccall a republican in texas outlining concerns he has with possible terrorist attacks over the fourth of july. lawmakers are back if their districts, back in their states this week.

not in washington but we're talking about last week and whether or not it was a momentous one for the president. politico said this morning on their website. it's a presidency reborn i want to share some other headlines and foreign policy. "washington journal" front page. greece closes banks as the crisis grows. a six day holiday is ordered to stave off flights of funds and mononucleosis -- aid is cut off. then also the "washington journal" front page story this morning about syria. president asad chemical threat is mounting in that country. what events or events might trigger their youth. last year, -- the removal of

what president obama called the regimes most deadly chemical weapon. it would have come in retaliation for august sarin gas attack. that on the front page of the "washington journal" this morning. then also this in the papers this morning for -- for puerto rico said it can't pay its $70 million debt. and could have an impact on the markets already dealing with a turmoil of the renewed debt crisis in greece. we told you the nuclear talks with iran will miss that deadline talks.

then also another headline on that in the "new york times," sticking points as and nuclear talks near the deadline and the "new york times" going through where things remain international inspections everywhere, iran government refusing to allow inspections everywhere and the lifting of sanctions also a sticking point with ayatollah that iran would complete the objections that sanctions were suspended by the united states. europe and the united nations. he also suggested there was a way to phase out the sanctions. remaining sticking points there on this iran nuclear deal. here's u.s.a. today with the front page this morning. spacex rocket fails on launch. it's a story that many of you probably saw the craft was carrying food and supplies for the space station. while spacex surfed the atlantic

ocean on sunday, to press ahead with international space station despite the loss of third officials in eight months. it's expected to fly astronauts within a few years. while disappointing while underscoring the wisdom of two companies to launch cruise. couple of more calls here. few more if we can get to them on president obama's week. sarah in roswell georgia a democrat. caller: i was amazed. i was thunder struck. he had an amazing week. host: we're listening to you sarah. we can hear you. caller: it came out of nowhere. i don't agree with the -- i

didn't agree with t.a.r.p. i do agree with affordable healthcare. people in southern states like georgia who get rid of these governor who didn't go for medicaid expansion. why do you keep voting somebody in who is denying you healthcare and you paying for theirs. host: ray in massachusetts an independent. high ray. caller: i think the president has been doing a good job. i just saw little while ago the attorney general from texas is telling the clerks not to give out licenses for the marriages. i think the attorney general from the united states should arrest them and throw them in jail and any clerk that doesn't do it, throw them in jail.

i'm not talking about protective custody, throw them in population and see how fast they change their mind. host: leon in bloomington a republican. what do you make of the president's week? caller: i'm kind of disturbed. i think was crowded with the shootings at a.m.e. it caused an ill-feeling to me. i like to talk about the scotus ruling. like to make an opinion here. there's only one author of love. it certainly wasn't justice kennedy made legal. jesus offered love. anything good from the u.s. constitution and when the lgbt folks finally get around to figuring that out, they will be smothered and anarchy from top down. host: leon's opinion in illinois on a republicans.

up next we'll talk about the 2010 healthcare law and what happens next with the affordable care act and later the gop 2016 field is a diverse one. could it save minority voters. we'll talk about that coming up next as we continue here on the "washington journal." >> this number book tv will cover book festivals from around the country. in the middle of july, we're live at the harlem book fair the african-american literary event

with all interviews and panel discussions. at the beginning of september, we're live from the nation's capital for the national book festival celebrating its 15th year. >> like many of us first families take vacation time. and like presidents and first ladies a good read can be perfect companion for your summer journeys. what better book than one that peers inside of the personal life of every first lady of american history. first ladies, presidential story of 45 iconic american women. fascinating women who survived the scrutiny of the white house. a great summertime read. available from public affairs as a hardcover or ebook. through your favorite bookstore on online book seller. >> "washington journal" continues.

host: we have back at our table this morning, mary agnes carey senior health correspondent with kaiser health. always appreciate your insight on healthcare. thank you for being here. we're going to talk, the court ruled 6-3 on affordable care act in favor of subbeds. does that change the law going forward? guest: it does if these cost sharing subsidies, rather than the subsidies for the premium were stricken down, there would have been a big problem. 6.5 people who receive the tax credit and if there no longer allowed, in the exchanges by the federal government, there was concern about something called a death spiral. the idea if you can't afford the coverage, only the sickest people stay in and the healthiest people go out. that's no longer a concern. host: there are 36 federally exchanges that would have been

in jeopardy. guest: you have partnership states. roughly around three dozen. host: you had states that created their own. established by the states. will these states that have established their own want to create a federal one instead? guest: this is bump the new point -- one of the new point of discussion if the subsidies to purchase insurance will a state struggle with running its own exchange. on friday, the health and human services secretary had a brief. i asked her that question, did she think you got around 13 or 14 states that now run their exchanges, will they pivot to the federal government. she said she hadn't heard that. but the hhs remains willing to work with states whether they want to do their own exchange. host: what does it mean policy wise, bureaucracy wise for them to switch now to a federal

exchange? guest: for example, would a state, some states have decided that they want to defer the enrollment functions to the federal government. the actual computer function of enrolling someone but the state decided they want to do be they want to pick those insures. it depends on what the state wants to do. in three dozen states the federal government is handling the entire thing. host: what about medicaid expansion? some states have been eyeing whether or not, no they're not going to expand medicaid. guest: secretary burwell said she remains committed to working with states to get them to expand medicaid under the affordable care act. if income comes up to about $60,000, it's 138% of the poverty level. the felleae fell -- federal government

would puck up 100% of the cost. so the thing we have to think about is in many states, almost every state in the union, you get sick you go to a hospital. they take medicare money. they have to abide something called atolla. many hospital have pushed their state legislatures, even the conservative ones to expand medicaid because when these folks come in, there's no health insurance. it's uncompensated care that we pay for. you have about 29 states that have expanded medicaid 21 have not. secretary burwell said she's committed to working with them providing flexibility. she pointed at the state of indiana where they cut a deal with the republican governor mike pence. they want to do more of that. host: we're talking about the healthcare law now that the subsidies have been upheld by the supreme court. what's next for the affordable care act? this is how we're going to divide the line this morning. if you have insurance through the affordable care act dial

in. mary agnes carey here to field your questions on healthcare. let's talk about the reaction to the supreme court's decision. what does it mean for insurance providers, hospitals, how do we they react. guest: they're pretty relieved. the premises subsidies went away, that would mean they have a lot more uninsured. they will not have that now. we are quite happy about this. some of them did pretty well in the stock market. host: up 70%. republicans, their reaction. what do they do next? what can they do?

guest: i think many of them, had a huge sigh of relief that they didn't have to step in to try a take action to help more than six million people who use those subsidies. that have been the big debate. we've seen caucuses on the house side and senate side. some members of congress wanted to extend them through the 2016 election. but now in many ways republicans can go back to the position they've had since the law was created. it's a bad law and bad for consumer and keep trying to work to repeal it. we've seen this in the house. last week we had a couple of votes to repeal the medical device tax to get rid of the advisory board that will tell congress how to get rid of medicare payments. they face some votes in the

senate. it's really now shifting to the presidential campaign for 2016. we're hearing some of the candidates for the republican party, ted cruz, for example, get out there talk we still need to repeal it. host: the effort can come through the reconciliation process on capitol hill. that's what the majority leader promised. what does that mean and what could happen? what's the outcome? guest: this is how it was passed. it's a different set of rules in the senate where you only need 51 votes to pass something. it gets around that 60 vote threshold to beat the filibuster. it has to deal with the revenue impact of the law. you could pursue reconciliation but the problem is for republicans, is the president is not likely to sign that bill. they not likely to have a veto proof majority. that seems to be the biggest problem down the reconciliation vote. host: we're talking about the

affordable care act what's next. mary agnes carey senior health correspondent with kaiser health news they put together this story, affordable care act, here are the five hurdles to come. medicaid expansion, which we touched on anemic enrollment market stability, and political resistance. we'll talk about some of those. first tom uninsured go ahead with your question or comment. caller: i'm uninsured, i will stay this way. i call it the unaffordable healthcare act. i can't afford it. host: you will pay the fine. how much be? caller: a lot cheaper than what they charge you for the insurance. guest: are you eligible for subsidy to help you purchase insurance? how much would that reduce your payment? caller: it was so complicated to go and try to figure all of this stuff out, it comes out to

like $550 a month for me. i just can't afford that. i don't want your subsidy i don't want your refund when i do my taxes. i'm just going to pay the fine. i'm 55 years old. i had to go to the hospital to get blood pressure medication. my blood pressure is too high. i've been out of pocket but they cut me a break when they found out i was uninsured. guest: it's a valid point. there are at the love people in america they don't like this law. they don't feel the government should have an image mandate. which is an requirement have to pay this fine. which is growing to $695 to individuals. it's really increasing. people are doing the math. this caller think it's in his best insurance to pay the fine.

host: chat in wisconsin. he has private insurance. caller: good morning. the insurance companies their subsidies or taking on the uninsured is going to be going away soon. they already taken out $750 billion out of medicare advantage to help pay -- i repeat this is important to say -- the taxpayer subsidy. not just subsidies as liberals like to say a subsidy. on paper the increases of the insurance companies are going to be 30 to 45 percent. the subsidies will have to also increase 25 to 45%. who the devil is going to pay this? we're going to be greece before you know it. guest: this is really

interesting point. i think what the caller is talking about is some of the premium increases that we've heard about recently. the department of health and human services last month published a list of insurers that asked a rate increase of 10% or higher. in healthcare an insurer ask that increase, they got to explain why they're doing it. some of the explanations were that people came in sicker than they expected. the first year of enrollment 2014 you expected a lot of sick people to sign up for insurance right away. how many services these folks use, that's part of it. the insurers are talking about higher drug prices, that's a concern. there are some provisions in the health law that help those insurers pay for some of their higher costs. some of those will phase out in 2016. that's an impact in the premium increases. there's a couple of other things that you need to know. these are preliminary increases. they may not be the final increase. in many states, health insurance

commissioners have the ability to go back at that insurer and try to push that price downward in many cases they've been successful. even if a state insurance commissioner doesn't have that authority, the mir fact that these rates have been published to explain why they want to raise their rates. other thing about this is extremely complicated. a lot of variables. there are the rates increases that you're not hearing about that are below 10%. you can have great differences between premiums with states between states. it can be all over the place. in maryland you had insurers that wanted a rate increase to 30%. it really is a complicated patch work. if the prices do increase for the benchmark plan, the second lowest cost silver plan, there's gold platinum, silver an bronze plans that are offered. they can pick what they want. that premium subsidy is tied to

the second lowest cost silver plan. that's where the increase and how much the subsidies are provided that the taxpayers paying for. host: if there's a correlation there, if premiums go up, taxpayers will have to foot the bill for more subsidies? guest: yes. you have to look at the amount of competition because the subsidies are tied to the second lowest cost silver plan, and many people enroll in those silver plans there's a lot of competition in that market. host: sharon in connecticut you get your insurance through the affordable care act. tell us how it works? caller: i do. i wanted to say before i got insurance before the affordable care act i'm a freelancer. i know all about not having insurance and being over paying a lot of money for no insurance. before the aca, i was paying between different policies $800 to $1100 a month. i would have something like

$3000 to $5000 deductibles before any payout. i'm a healthy person. i never met that. i was paying out of this money out for nothing. yet had no incentive to get preventive care. if went to a doctor, i i would be eligible to pay a copay, i would have to pay $250 to go to the doctor. i was really saving a lot of money on healthcare. in the aca came out, i learned everything about it. i think one of the problems with a lot of people because i do freelance, i work for a lot of companies. i work with a lot of employees. i find that they don't really know about the aca because they're not part of it. even though the aca has affected

their coverage, they get no preexisting can be applied to them either they don't understand what they've gotten from it and they don't understand how it works. there's mostly kind of spout what they heard on the news or whatever. i think when the polls are made on the aca lot of times people aren't factoring in all the people who aren't involved in it. back to my experience, i love it. i'm going to the doctor now for $50 copay. i have a reasonable amount to pay per month and i know that in every different region of the united states reasonable is different for me it might be higher than some of the other callers. i'm very happy to pay for insurance that actually improve my health. host: mary agnes carey. guest: there are millions of americans that feel the same way that sharon does. they like their coverage before the affordable care act, they couldn't get coverage maybe

because they had had preexisting medical condition. they couldn't get coverage from the insurers. they were struggling to try to take care of themselves and their families. there are millions of people in that same boat. it's interesting to hear you talk about affordability. i know that my colleagues and i wrote about this in a piece. this is still an issue for the affordable care act because the out of pocket maximums that are allowed are fairly significant. it's around $63,050. there has been some concern even with the coverage it was certainly better than what you can get on the individual market before where prices were high and varied wildly. there's still an issue for the affordable care act. host: in georgia, getting insurance through your employer. what are your thoughts on the affordable care act.

you're on the air. caller: okay. i like to know if this is how we're lowering medicare cost. my wife was in the hospital nine days in january. the hospital bill is $147,531. of that amount blue cross and medicare paid $32,747 or 22% of in $32,000 medicare picked up 96%, blue cross picked up $1000.62. i kept my bluecross blueshield when i retired to the government employee plan. it runs between 17 and $18,000 a year which i pick up $463 a

month. then you add in another $1200 for me and my wife each for medicare we're looking at $20,000 a month. how would that hospital possibly settle of $32,000 or a little of $147,000. is it reported as a loss when they file taxes? guest: great comment, lots of complications there. as you note you're in medicare. in medicare they're negotiating prices with that hospital to pay for your medical care. you got care from your employee health insurance. why do they divide? when we all read our explanations of benefits, you look at, they charge this much, why do they pay this much. it is an negotiated rate. that is important part of the business between medicare and

providers. they're trying to bring business to them. the other thing about this, you talk about reducing healthcare costs, in the affordable care act, there's a lot of provisions in medicare that try to drive efficiency. to pay for the quality of the care provided versus the quantity, the amount of it. they want to reduce preventive hospital readmissions. the idea someone will be discharged and come back quickly. if they've been taken care of initially, they wouldn't be readmitted into the hospital. i understand your frustration in looking at that. many of these top line charges are never the charges that are paid. whether or not that hospital deducts that as a loose. i don't know. i'm not quite sure how they handle that. that's there great divide between what's charged and what we pay. it's always very interesting to me how did we get there and how did this contract between my

insurer and provide do that. the overall message is that in medicare, the health law is trying to drive spending to make it more affordable and medicare per capita, the expenditures for medicare have grown at the slowest rate since they started collecting these statistics. it seems whether it is solely the health law the health law seems to be a part of this along with other factors that are trying to keep healthcare, the growth in healthcare cost low. the key question there these things are cyclical. host: here's some reaction on twitter this morning. jody says, why is not every subsidized scrutinized like the aca subsidy.

guest: we got to go back to the debate over the healthcare law in 2010. you heard this constantly. the figure was $2000 a family that premiums were higher because you're paying for unsubsidized care. that's because we talk about hospital have to treat these people. they have to stabilize them and those costs are distributed throughout the system. that is something researchers will continue to look and continue to monitor in getting more people insured what does that do to the premiums for everyone else. there's positive and negative side. host: we'll go to doris next in orlando, florida. private insurance for you. good morning. are you there? doris from orlando florida. got to move on here to jody in kingsville texas. uninsured. good morning. caller: hi. i'm confused as to what my options are. i don't file an income tax

return. my only income is child support benefit. i care for my elderly parents so i have no options as far as employers. i'm just wondering, i'm 55 years old. there's nothing in texas -- they told me that the aca wasn't a alive and well in 2:00. 2 :00 -- texas. there's i'm kind of sitting here wondering what are my options? guest: what's your income? caller: child support benefits range only $20,000 a year. that's my only source of income. i care for my elderly parents. i live in her home. utilities are paid for by the estate, etcetera. i have no options for insurance as far as my employer. guest: have you gone to healthcare.gov? caller: they told me local

insurance group don't give subsidies. is that true? guest: you're in texas. texas did not set up its own state exchange. caller: exactly. guest: on healthcare.gov you should be able to type in your income. caller: i did. i take it to a local insurance group and i can apply it. they shouldn't deny it even in texas right? guest: you can do this electronically. you should be able to see your benefit choices what they -- caller: they said, you're on the poverty level with your source of income. you should qualify for free medical. they don't have that in texas. guest: this is where i'm confused. at $20,000, you're above that medicaid threshold for eligibility. you should be able to get a subsidy that not only would cover your premium but also your cost sharing.

if you go back to h ealthcare.gov, they have things called -- host: let mary agnes carey finish. guest: if you typed in your zip code they have local assistance throughout the country where you should be able to sit down with a person face to face and say here's my income, here's my situation, here's what i was told previously where do i go now. someone should be able to sit down and walk you through that. that is trying to find on healthcare.gov. there are national organizations like enroll america that's another place you can go to. caller: one more question. i will do it all over again. my question was, i don't file income tax yearly. the guy who was uninsured and chose to stay uninsured will take the penalty. what will be the penalty on my

part if i was never insured. i don't file income tax. my only source of income is through this attorney general's office is child support, it's been taxed. i don't file an income tax return. host: okay jody, i will have you turn up your television and listen to the answer from mary agnes carey. guest: what i'm going to ask first is for you to sit down. i think you have a very unique circumstance. i would like rather than to tell you something that may or may not be incorrect the penalty starting in 2016 is $695 or 2.5% of your income. there are many exemptions that will stop you from paying the penalty. i want to get inperson assistance to have someone to sit down and walk you through this. you've gotten some information that may not be correct. i think you need to get a navigator or the affordable care act to help you work your way through it.

host: ian is next in maryland. you get your insurance through the affordable care act. how are you? caller: i have the affordable care act. it helps me in a big way. it took me a long time to get set up here in maryland. it was really difficult. i heard they had a lot of problems. i got with a navigator. after being hours on the phone, he got me through it in about 20 minutes. they couldn't believe i had a blood clot. it covered everything. i think it's great because i'm in between jobs.

otherwise i was afraiding to the doctor because of bills. if i had gone, i don't know how i would have paid them. it would have been bankruptcy, total loss. i think it's great that the affordable care act is for everybody. why do people complain about it. it's for the people. why do people are mad when they get something for their money. host: that's ian. we'll hear from ray in maryland. you get your insurance through your employer, good morning. caller: can you hear me? host: yes go ahead. caller: i get coverage from my employer. i'm grateful and fortunate. prior to the aca i had very little out of pocket expenses. now i'm seeing a high increase in out of pocket expenses in the form of deductibles and copays. i'm a middle class guy.

it seems like a classic example where if you don't make a lot of money, it works for you, if you wealthy, you don't have to worry but it seems like this is another situation where the burden is shifted on middle class. host: let's take that point. does the burden shift for the whole system on to the middle class? guest: we have to look at this specialized situation. what i'm wondering, what kind of insurance his health employer had before and some people did some individuals and some businesses did pretty well on small group market if they had or the individual market -- if they didn't have a lot of major illnesses in the group. if the people were young and well insured. also remember before the affordable care act, some of the policies didn't have to cover as much as they do now. some people don't want maternity

care if it's a man. not going to have a baby. doesn't want pediatric care. some of these elements that are in the affordable care act were not covered before in policies and those have increased the costs as well as the insurer no longer can charge as much for other factors as they could before. that could affect the premiums. you have to be clear on the health law. there are winners and losers. there's no way around that. many people are very happy. this particular caller is concerned. his premiums have gone up. he's paying more out of pocket. host: we'll go to the uninsured, kevin in bedford, new hampshire. high kevin. caller: some of the callers touched on a couple of things. i will leave some things out with my explanation for people to go ahead and research. but the bottom line is when income tax were implemented the 16th amendment was never

ratified. when my wife was a medical biller, and all of the doctors who weren't getting paid for medicare were writing it off in their taxes. now we have the i.r.s. in charge of this healthcare situation. what do you think it is really about? healthcare? give me a break. guest: it's not only the internal revenue service, it's the treasury department where the i.r.s. is. you have actually three large agencies and agencies underneath those that are implementing the healthcare law. host: anymore rule making from this healthcare law to come in hhs or the i.r.s.? guest: there's lots of stuff coming. we've seen some regulations on wellness programs. there's going to be some interest in that as it goes on. this area called the section

1332 waivers. we'll see at some point, regulations from treasury and hhs on that. this is a continuous process for rule-making and rates that can be charged and all sorts of things. host: that 1332 provision is this open for another legal challenge allowing states to opt in or opt out? guest: there are certain parameters. for example a state can say we want to ignore the individual mandate, these things talking about that have to be covered, they have to provide if the state went down that road, it has to provide coverage that is better than what's under the affordable care act and they have to cover as many people. let's say a state under a 1332 waiver wanted to dump the mandate. you can do that. the states are looking at it. the thought if the subsidies

were struck down would the states be looking at 1332 is an option to get around the affordable care act. it's still a concern. it's sort of in the beginning stages. host: these states that are looking at if -- at it are led by republican governors? guest: i don't think in every state that is correct. states like flexibility. many programs states like as much flexibility as they can have. host: we'll go to new york, david you get your insurance through the healthcare law? caller: yes. i have the affordable care act insurance. it's medicaid. it's not an insurance through a private company or anything. i don't pay anything. the services are okay. they cover certain things but if i made another $250, i would

have been thrown into where i have to pay for my insurance. i couldn't afford it even with the subsidies. at 16 or $17,000 a year still have to pay $300 a month just for insurance. which is about the same price if i lost my job and i had to pick up cobra. it wouldn't much different. it would have been unaffordable. guest: even with the cost sharing could -- subsidies. would pay that much out of pocket? caller: yes, even with the subsidies and the help i would have gotten my out of pocket would have been over $300. for insurance for a guy like me, i'm kind of healthy. i don't have any medical issues. to pay $300 a month for insurance, i couldn't do it.

it was too expensive. my navigator, thank god was able to get me on medicaid and medicaid is covering it. the whole thing is, even if i inherit something for my family medicaid could come in and take my inheritance and pay off whatever i used on my medicaid. nothing is really complementary. my health not complementary. my health is what i do on my own time the government isn't regulating yet. if i want to come home and eat a pound of sugar i can do that. host: please don't do that. we take your point, david. this gets to the issue of affordability. guest: he's saying works with a navigator. even with the premium and out of pocket this is one of the hurdles for the affordable care act. host: who decide who can't swing it. do you get to say as a consumer

i can't pay $300 a month. somebody looks at your income, you're right, that's a certain percentage of your income, you're right you don't have to do the exchange. you can go on medicaid. guest: it's probably a mutual decision. the navigators looking through the income numbers and the options. i don't know if he had a job offer on the table. again, this would be a criticism of the law. to stay in medicaid coverage and not get employment and therefore switch to subsidies or employment insurance. this is one of those ongoing debate about social programs. i think in this case, it sounds like he's responsible and he sits down and tried to do the right thing. host: byron in new hampshire. you have private insurance? caller: yes. i'm a federal retiree.

i've stayed on my federal health insurance. i only have the medicare aid, which i don't pay anything for. i did not pick up a b or a subsidy. that aside my question is this, i'm also a veteran. my question is this if the federal government can't manage healthcare through the v.a. for 50 million veterans, how are they going to manage healthcare for the whole country? not only that, i'm neighboring state massachusetts it the first healthcare plan offered by a state. it was very viable and it ran very well. i think they had a 98% enrollment in massachusetts. now the aca has destroyed that healthcare plan. they have probably $50 million or $60 million of debt because of the aca.

guest: can't speak to the massachusetts situation. i don't know the parameters of that. i think the point that you raise about veterans medical care, we've seen that headlines. problems in the v.a. system. what does this mean for other federal agencies in the healthcare space as well as medicare and medicaid with the affordable care act. i think it's just one of those things that people keep examining and questioning and all the parameters we're talking about now. state flexibility affordability, how many states will get medicaid, whether they do or don't. there's a lot of moving pieces. whether it is the concern over the v.a. system or the debate on capitol hill around the country or the affordable care act these are questions we'll keep debating. host: kelly you're uninsured. what is that? caller: well i'm a 57-year-old

female teaching school. i teach part time in the university city of georgia. because of the regulations i haven't been insured for five years. for the last five years managed my healthcare the best way that i could. i did take care of myself. i got preventive care and some of that was free in georgia. you can get that for single females over 40. now i recently married my husband is retired. there was an wasn't an option. when i applied to h ealthcare.gov, i got different information from the different companies that i called kaiser

permanente. some of the larger companies, i forgot who i called. i looked into calling them. i got different pricing structures and different subsidy prices. it all came down to the fact that with me teaching two classes in the fall and spring and one class in the summer my income by itself isn't enough to justify spending half my income to get insurance which really would not for me, personally buying me anything. after talking with my accountant, i decided for the rest of year i'll buy a policy that will cover me in the event

of i have an accident or i become ill to protect my husband's assets. one of the things i wanted to bring up that's really important, because i'm now married, it's not just my income considered. in order to be eligible for subsidy, you must file jointly for the i.r.s. i talked over with my husband. he agreed, we'll file together and we found out it would benefit us tax wise. it sort of penalizes me because now i'm subject to his retirement income on top of what little money i make. last year i made $30,000 i may even make less this year. i was eligible for a subsidy. it still didn't make insurance affordable for me. host: mary agnes carey. guest: i think this is wonderful example of how

complicated this law can be for people. for example she's trying to figure out on her part time income what's the subsidy what's worth it. she gets married, she realizes it's the combined household income that's there. how does that factor in. is it worth her while. it's very difficult for some people to walk their way through this. one of the stories i was reporting about the aca enrollment, i remember sitting in a office where they were assisting people. there was a couple, they were married. they both worked, not high paying jobs. had a couple of kids they were really dismayed that the subsidies wouldn't help them as much as they thought and how much they still had to pay. they didn't is it before. they were just hoping that nothing would happen to them or kids. that's a personal calculation that you've got to make the peace of mind health insurance. is it worth it to you.

there's a lot of elements here. it's not always cut and dry. the caller really laid it out perfectly. host: bill in illinois, gets private insurance. caller: good morning c-span. i'm going to give you two examples. i have a cousin who's on medicare. then i have another cousin who is on aca. they both have the same illnesses and on aca this person seems to get better treatment and also he doesn't have to pay anything but my cousin who's on medicare she's obligated -- medicare is only picking up 83%. i want senior citizens to know that the people on aca get 100%. people on medicare you will be obligated to pay a percentage if

you get a catastrophic injury. i don't think a lot of senior citizens understand this. my comment is, i think that people on aca should have to pay a one percent charge every time they go in. just so they understand that nothing in life is free. it shouldn't be free. that's my comment. host: mary agnes carey. guest: not everyone who gets coverage through the affordable care act has the same deal that your cousin has. that's one thing i like to say. we just talked about previous caller talked about if she were to enroll, how much it would cost her. you do have a lot of people on the affordable care act that do pay a fair amount out of pocket for their care. secondly your cousin has medicare -- i guess i was curious if they were on the traditional medicare program or the medicare advantage program and the reason i bring that up there are some medicare

advantage plans, these are the priority health insurance plans in medicare that cover individuals. sometimes they can give people a better deal on their premiums and their out of pocket cost. but their financial expenditures maybe less than traditional medicare. those are variables i would think. host: we'll go to jason next in d.c. uninsured. tell us why. caller: i will not go along with this government plan. you shop around with all of the product and service. the simplest thing the government could have done is made transparency in pricing. nobody will ever go to a restaurant and order food off the menu and if they didn't know the prices. they don't want to publish their

prices. he can provide all of the services that people have at 20 cents on the dollar like the previous caller talked about. this entire system is built upon nonallowing people to know what prices are. if you had the entire system publish prices and have to stay with the prices, just like when you go into a restaurant, it would be so much better. the second part about this, why are we insuring things that you don't need to insure for? a normal check up should not be part of health insurance. insurance is paying for what you can't afford? host: we'll take your point. guest: he's right on the money about transparency. you job for a refrigerator, you go to consumer reports same thing, you can see prices. you can see ratings. we don't have that in

healthcare. it's starting to change in some healthcare systems are more transparent. there's more information about what's happening, providers and so on. i think that jason just hit it right on the nail. why can't you find out -- you want to get an mri. how much is it here and there. try to get that over the phone. try to get it online. it's very hard to do. almost impossible. it's a critical discussion in the healthcare system because federal officials are pushing for more transparency. i think consumers would definitely like it. it's one of those ongoing conversations. host: what are the hospitals and insurance companies saying? what's the reason? guest: part of it is, -- that's a great question. the answer is varied in a lot of ways. of course there's negotiated deals. those are considered

proprietary. of course, in hospitals we talk about compensated care. many hospitals have burn units and neo natal units. i think the transparency discussion is fascinating. it has to keep occurring. i think it will be interesting where are we five years from now and ten years from now. it's not only the consumers like jason that are pushing for this i think every player in the healthcare system, the employers that buy health insurance they're pushing for it too. host: is there an opening in the market for a chain of hospitals that says this is how we're going to do business. we're going to do it differently than everybody else. that is something that appeals to a person like jason? guest: we don't have the price transparency yet. there are some insurers, there are some healthcare systems that are publishing different information about different physicians and ratings.

secretary held up some of that the other day, we're getting there. but the demand for it have to start with jason talk about it from a consumer level as we pay for more healthcare. what are we getting. er our money. host: we go to nathaniel in mississippi. you get your insurance via the affordable care act? caller: i'm on medicare now. i want to say, i was thankful for the affordable care act because i was national guard at one time i had tricare. i worked at a company. when i became disabled i couldn't keep my tricare because they discharged me from the military medically. i also couldn't go to v.a. because i was national guard. for about six months, i didn't have insurance at all until the affordable care act kicked in to

allow me for preexisting season to purchase insurance. but at the same time, tricare was too expensive. i couldn't afford $750 a month just for me. i went out insurance for roughly about two years. i'm thankful that it kicked in, because a lot of people don't realize, sometimes when you laws your job medically, with that part about the preexisting condition, nobody had to pick you up after you lost your insurance. everything is not perfect. we have to remember, they made -- government said you have to have car insurance. nobody fault car insurance. host: okay, mary agnes carey? guest: first of all i'm glad nothing major happened to you when you didn't have health

insurance. your point about auto insurance. one thing that's often at the state level versus the affordable care act. it's one of those things that some people are comfortable not having health insurance. one of our earlier callers said he had issues and he's paying out of pocket. having that insurance it does protect you, protect your assets if something happen like the earlier caller who had a blood clot. he was very thankful to have health insurance. host: with car insurance, you can go directly to a company and purchase it. you don't go through your employer to get your insurance. guest: we have to remember, we talked about the insurance rates in choosing, if you have a lot of options on the exchange you can switch your health insurance. for a lot of us through an employer, maybe you have two choices or one choice. you don't have that ability to move. host: don also gets his insurance through the affordable care act in burke, virginia.

you're on the air. caller: good morning. i'm calling from burke virginia. i'm on disability. i'm on medicare and i can't afford $250 a month for health insurance either. guest: you're on medicare. is that your part d premium? it shouldn't be that high. caller: it's a and b. guest: that's your part a you're paying a premium for part a health insurance, your part b premium. are you sure -- are you on medicare advantage? are you on a private health insurance plan? caller: it might be. i don't know. guest: the part b premium is lower than that. maybe you're on medicare advantage plan. caller: more than likely.

guest: have you shopped around, did you look at your options and see what else might be available to you? did you do that? caller: yes. i can go to the county and i can get the state to pay my disability medicare also. guest: here's what i would like orecommend to you when open enrollment starts, i believe it's the middle of november for medicare, if you could go to a local senior center and go to healthcare.gov, you can do this on medicare.gov on the website. lot of us like to sit down and tock to somebody in person. what can you afford and if there are any -- there are some programs in medicare that can help you with premiums if there are anything along those lines that can help you make the

coverage more affordable for you. host: mary agnes carey before we let you go, just talk about what's next and what are you watching after the supreme court ruled on thursday 6-3 in favor of the law? guest: i continue to watch the implementation of the health law. this is less a washington story and more of a national story. how are the rates play out. do more states take medicaid expansion. i follow capitol hill. i'll still be looking at what's the republican strategy. there are some republicans who say, this is an issue for the 2016 election, let's put our effort there and push it there. do you still have members of congress, who will want to pass these incremental laws. those are two the many pieces i'll be watching. host: another hurdle is this i theme i can en-- anemic enrollment.

what is the administration going to do to try to up the number? guest: they know they have to continue their outreach. there's something like 18 million people who haven't been enrolled and could be enrolled. we had a caller talk earlier how people she's talking that don't know anything about the health law. this messaging, this information has to get out there. people have to understand that the secretary talked about that the other day people use the word obamacare. the president said i cocare. what does it mean for you. to get these navigators on the ground to help them understand. it's still an information campaign. you got to get the young people enrolled because they tend to be healthier. you more latinos enrolled. that's been a problem for the administration in trying to enroll. it's kind of that continued full-court press to get people on. host: all right you can go and

find mary agnes carey's reporting at kaiser health news. thank you for talking to our viewers. coming up next, we'll turn our attention to the 2016 field and the republicans is a diverse one. can they sway minority voters. we'll talk about that with vanessa williams coming up next. right after this short break. >> tonight on the communicators we visited microsoft's washington d.c. office to hear about that i lobbying goals and

current research project. we'll talk about vice president of government affairs fred humphries, corporate vice president research judge -- >> i'm hopeful at some point congress had take on high skilled immigration. it's very important. i don't know the exact number, we have some of the innovatives that are here, the researchers that are here, we have people from all over the world that make contributions. it's for other companies as well. they're still in need. when you look at from a job perspective. >> the application of project premonition is actually to collect mosquitoes that has bitten people and to determine what kind of viruses might be around, what kind of diseases

might be around through taking the blood samples of the mosquitoes and figuring out the genetic code of some of the constituents of their blood. >> premise of this research project was around what wheal be able to do with data that's freely available in the environment today. one of the things we've noticed, there's a lot of aircraft flaying around in the united states that cob considered sensors. they have data on them providing information. it's relatively freely available. it's provided by the f.a.a. there's companies who use that information to provide information to the community about what airplanes are tong. we decided to take that information and see if we can use that to help us predict more accurate forecast. what the wind is doing in terms

of speed and direction at various altitudes above the surface of the earth. >> a visit to microsoft's washington d.c. office tonight at 8:00 eastern on the communicators on c-span 2. >> "washington journal" continues. host: we want to welcome to our table vanessa williams staff reiter to the washington post. can diverse faces in gop field sway minority voter. let's begin with the diversity of the field. what do we have? guest: good morning, thanks for having me. it is probably one of the most diverse fields in recent memory or ever. we have two hispanics of cuban dissent. we have an african-american. this is the gop field we're talking about. we have an indian american as of last week and a woman. it is an incredibly diverse

field for the gop or for either party. host: how has the gop historically done with minority voters? guest: in the last two election cycles, presidential election cycle, not well at all. even before president obama barack obama appeared on the ballot the gop didn't do as well with black voters as the democratic party. a little better at times depending on the candidate with latino voters. in 2008 and 2012 we saw a huge shift of at least latino voters towards the democratic party with president obama's candidacy. african-americans in 2008 i believe were 96% of african-american who voted for president obama. in 2012, it was 93%.

the difference was how his presence on the ballot drove up turn out. the numbers were large. that's what helped as much as percentage. it's just that pure volume of voters of color who came out to support his candidacy. the question going forward is will they continue to come out in high numbers and can the gop peel some of those voters away if the democratic party. host: let's talk historically before we look forward. what is the appeal for minority voters to the democratic party? versus the republican party? guest: well, according to political scientists and just voting patterns, it was starting around a new deal in which you saw a movement away from the republican party. i should back up and say, historically, african-american supported republicans.

that was because of president lincoln and the republican party being the party that advocated abolition of slavery. starting around new deal, we begin to see a shift and even more movement in the 1960's some of that had to do with which party seem to be more supportive of civil rights legislation also in the 1960's, sort of the rise of the conservatives versus the traditional moderates that had been in the party and just sense then you seen this movement away from the republican party towards the democratic party. now i believe in the last pew survey, i have more than 80% african-americans identifying at democrats and only 11% are leaning towards republicans.

host: could these new faces that we're seeing in the republican field for president in 2016, could that alone sway minority voters? what do they need to say not just the way they look? guest: indeed, even within the democratic party from time to time it's been shown that voters of color don't just vote for a person who they share an identity with. it has a lot to do with what the candidate is saying, where the candidate stands. it just so happens that barack obama not only was the african-american but he was progressive. those combined made him sort a lock for that vote because black voters are the most loyal constituency of the democratic party. with regard to republican candidates many of themespouse

some of the same positions as white republican and positions and policies at odds what minority constituencies want. lot of them are against the affordable care act it's popular with black voter and latinos. immigration reform some the rhetoric from the republican party as well as their opposition by the administration to form the immigration policies. that is not popular with latino voters. just a general sense that some of the progressive policies that people favor get income equality, raising the minimum wage paid leave the gender equality that some of the rhetoric and some of the vetoes that the -- sorry, some of the rhetoric and some of the republicans take on these issues is at odds with where those

various constituency groups are. no it's not just about race or ethnicity or even gender. it's sort of like do we agree on the policies and programs that they feel are important to their community. host: vanessa williams is our guest with the washington post. we're talking about diversity and the 2016 republican field, presidential field. you can start with your questions or comments. we'll talk specifically some.some these republican candidates, dr. rand paul. he's been talking to some historically black colleges in this country. he's been talking about reforms criminal justice system.

does that appeal? guest: well, what you hear people say the people we interview after these talks they are glad these speaking out. they think it's important but again, i think more than anything else, a lot of voters of color don't know who he is. don't look at some of his positions on other issues and feel like that's not enough. again, other people give him props and i should also point out it's not unheard of for african-americans or latino voters to support republican candidates. it has happened. look what happened in 2014 with the senator in i believe mississippi, cochran. who because of his record with providing funding for historically black colleges and universities and some other

earmarks african-american voters crossed over to vote for him to keep him in office when he faced a challenge from a more conservative candidate. i live for years in philadelphia and worked there african-american voters always supported the late senator arlen specter. they thought his politics and policies were not harmful. were helpful. it's not just about sharing an identity but basically sharing a philosophy about how government should operate and help people. host: given that. to new jersey governor chris christie and his ability to attract the latino vote when he ran for election in new jersey. some look at his numbers of being able to get over 50% of the latino vote in that state.

as him representing a serious contender for general election in 2016. by the way he will announce tomorrow that he's throwing his hat in the ring. guest: again, in local races and state races republican candidates have done well depending on who the candidate was. i believe in 2014 for the gubernatorial race in ohio governor kasich did very well with black voters. he got 26% of the vote because again, they know him. they trust him they believe in his policies. i think if anything, these political leaders, republican political leaders have done well the issue is, their name recognition or the fact that people nationally don't know who they are. it takes a lot of time and money to build that kind of reputation. even though they did well in their state, it's no guarantee

that they will do well nationally. most people were like, who's that. by the time they figure that out, it's a little too late. host: john say -- john kasich the governor of ohio will jump into the crowded republican field on july 21st at the ohio state university. he w be throwing his hat in the ring. you were talking about his appeal to african-american voters in his state of ohio. we'll see. there's also this story that ran in the "new york times" last week, not just about the diversity of the republican field but take a look at the headline they had. bernie sanders an unknown among black voters. guest: someone like bernie sanders who is very popular in that area. people across the country haven't heard of him. don't know his reputation.

it takes a lot of time and money to build that kind of national profile that someone like hillary clinton has been working on for years and years. host: we'll talk more about that and whether or not she is gaining popularity with minority voters as well. diversity and the presidential 2016 field. that's our topic here this morning. john in atlanta georgia democrat you're up first. caller: hi, how you doing this morning. guest: good morning. caller: ms. williams, a question i want to ask you. i wanted to know whether or not that we're becoming more the minority groups, are becoming more and more of the majority this country? the reason why i ask that

question we're a lot more diverse than we were years ago in this country. they got the immigration -- the senate passed the immigration law but it -- it wasn't put on the floor of the house. i'm just wondering, politically are the republicans afraid of okaying that immigration bill in the house and could it be because of the fact that we're becoming more and more the majority as opposed to -- host: we got your point john. go ahead. guest: i don't know if they're afraid. the party is certainly aware of

the changing demographics. that is why after 2012, they actually did a lot of soul searching. they did some studying and talking about how they could do more to the appeal to voters of color because the caller is correct. in some decades out the country could very well be majority-minority. however, i don't know if their actions are out of fear. i think that some people genuinely believe that there should be tighter rules and regulations about who gets in and who gets to stay. i think for some people believe that. they feel like this is our country and we should control the borders. i don't know if it's so much out of fear. i think in some ways, it's just what they believe in. there are some angst out there about the changes that are going on in the country.

host: the viewer was talking about voter turnout and the demographics of voters. take a look at 2012. 133 million total voters, 98 million of those white nonhispanic. 18 million black, 11 million hispanic and 4 million asian. s that how it broke down in 2012. those that showed up and voted at the polls. that caller is making the point that minorities hispanics african-americans becoming the majority in this country. what areas of connection do republicans and people of color have in common? what are their differences? policy wise? what connections do republicans make african-american voters? guest: i do think some african-american voters are a small percentage that do vote

republican. i ran into system people at the faith and freedom conference. they do believe in small government. some of the social issues they're not in favor of abortion. there are some concerns about gay marriage. i think the difference has to do with a sense of government sort of having no role in helping to protect people's rights. i think there are concerns about that. there's this sense that government does have a role in helping to improve the lives of the citizens. in general, people think, i agree with some of that, we don't want to go too extreme. we don't want to leave people without any protections or without any assistance if

they're in need. it is a responsibility of society to sort of help each other out versus what it appears to be rugged individualism of the republican philosophy. you take care of yourself and pull yourself by the boot straps. yes, we agree. in a lot of communities of color, there's a history of having to look to government to help people live their lives fully and freely. host: dave is a republican. what do you think? caller: vanessa. i'm a black american. i am living in fayetteville. i was born in north new jersey like the roughest area. i want to understand, why blacks do not vote some republicans because ultimately the policies that they set forth ultimately

benefits us as black americans. when you look about school choice and charter schools, things like that. hopefully benefit us and pull more black people out of poverty versus keeping them in poverty. ultimately when they're setting that policy to keep taxes lower and ultimately build and more free enterprise, that's the only way we'll succeed. lastly, with george bush we won a huge percentage of the hispanic vote when he ran for presidency. barack obama he was very fortunate to mobilize the base and get a lot of people to turn out for the vote. i don't believe that in 2016 election, the same amount of people will turn out for the vote. we hopefully they do turn out. the thing is, i think that we need to look at chris christie. chris christie he won a big

percentage of african-american vote. he won a bigger percentage of the hispanic vote. he won a huge percentage of the woman vote in a traditionally all blue state. he's a republican. i think he can definitely turn this around for the republican party. host: okay david. guest: he makes excellent points. i would say that political figures like chris christie, kasich, do well in their states because people know them. people trust them. people like their policies and it's hard to sometimes translate that to a national campaign. also that might work in new jersey but nationally, there's a wing of the republican party that wants their candidates to be more conservative. he can't very well run as a moderate or a republican and keep the base of the party, the

conservative pase that wants them to be tough on abortion and gay marriage. those are the kind of issues that pop up on a national level that don't always make for moderate candidates who do well in their state to do well in a national campaign. it's just a different animal. the caller was correct that school choice and education is another area in which the republican party connects or can connect with black voters. i think part of the problem is, what i just described, just this constituency, the base of the republican party is a very different. it's mostly white. it's older. it's a lot more conservative than a lot of voters of color. it's hard for these candidates to sort of walk that line. they tend to go way right in the primaries in order to win their primary. then they try to pivot to the center in the general election

that could make for a muddled message. it could make for by that time voters of color have sort of decided we're not going to go with this guy. we're going to go over here. there's so many variables that come into play. host: all right. lisa is next in wheelsburg, ohio. independent caller. good morning you're on the air. caller: ms. williams, i was wanting to ask a question. i'm independent but leaning libertarian. you stated 80% of african-americans vote democrat. when you look at the places like detroit, baltimore, chicago where most of the government is all democrat, where has that got them? there's no jobs, unemployment and government assistance is up, crime rates is up. i'm just wondering how the african-americans go the democratic government's working out for them.

there was over a billion dollars in stimulus money. nothing came out of that. it's the democrats they have to blame for that. guest: that's a common complaint or observation that why do black voters pick the democratic party. often it fails them. i would just argue that it's complicated. voters don't hear what they think they should hear or they don't feel like they'll be supported by republican candidates. they don't vote for them. that's not always the case. sometimes they do. i think the recently elected governor in maryland i think he did do better among black voters than people expected. i also think sometimes people feel like regardless it doesn't matter which party, some of the issues are so long standing,

that they're just very difficult to solve. particularly in the four years or eight years that a lot of political leaders have. it would require in some cases more private investment that the government isn't in charge of. that businesses aren't in communities and helping to generate tax dollars and jobs is something that i'm not sure government can do anything about. that's a very good question and it's an ongoing debate. host: montana independent caller. caller: my question is on income inequality. one of the big causes of that is immigration. why could i hire you for 20 bucks an hour when i can hire an immigrant for 7. if they raise the minimum wage

which i would like to see, how many people are going to lose their tax credits with this healthcare law? host: couple of policy question there is. let's talk about this debate over wages and jobs and incomes and minimum wages. think that has on this race in 2016 if republican candidates were to say, let's say i'm for increasing the minimum wage. the economic message i guess. guest: well, again, i think we'd have to wait to see if that's one the issues that bubbled up and in a way that captures people attention. generally the republican party resisted the argument for raising the minimum wage or at least government doing it because they say it will be harmful to businesses.

is it likely? probably not. it just depends on where the candidate feels it's important. they probably would talk more about creating opportunity which is a vague thing. they say create opportunities for businesses to grow and hire more people. whatever that means. sometimes those specific policy questions like that, it depends on what bubbles up as the issue. host: what about the tenure of president obama and the impact that would have on voter turnout with minority voters. minority voters looking at the presidency saying black unemployment is still very high immigration reform didn't go through.ddé7 could there be a low energy for

this next round of election in 2016? guest: there could be. that's one thing that we'll to wait to see how that turns out. some people who study turnout note that turnout among black voters has been rising steadily since the 1990's. there's that sense once people register and get in the habit of voting, they will continue to vote. will they vote at the same levels that they did when obama was on the ballot? we're not sure. that's what people will be watching. some don't feel it will be a huge dropoff. it also would depend on the message of the nominees of each party. whether people feel like they have a reason to really get up and go out there to either make sure their person win or make sure somebody else doesn't win. it's early. a lot of it depends on how the

candidates what they do to sort of gin up turnout. also if president obama will be stomping and encouraging people to vote and despite some of the issues, he can point to some of the things that he has accomplished. everybody is writing over the weekend what a great week he had last week with the supreme court decisions and with the message he delivered in the eulogy in charleston. it's hard to tell. it's something that everybody is really interested in seeing what happens. host: we'll try to get in a few more phone calls here. arty is in new orleans. a democrat. hi. you are on the air. we'll move on to mould in

sterling -- muhammad in sterling, virginia. caller: my comment is about some minority voters who at some point in time, lot of time they vote against themselves. if you imagine in 2012 when the -- [inaudible] he was stating that -- [inaudible] host: muhammad saying minority voters is voting against themselves. he's saying why is that? sort of similar to the caller you had before. why african-americans, why latino voters, why the loyalty

to the democratic party? guest: again, there's a long identification infinity with the party. the party historically has been identified among these voters representing their interest, standing up for them. whether or not that bears out it depends. in some cases yes, and some no. clearly aren't hearing what they need to hear or want to hear from the other side. i talked to a woman in atlanta, a black republican she thinks that the party can and should do a better job of talking to engaging black voters. too often they feel like they'll say, we're not going to win the vote anyway, why bother. they don't even try. if they just sort of engage voters and talk to them about the issues, some of the issues that the callers are bringing up, it might make a difference.

host: about the discussion of the diversity of the 2016 presidential field there's a big difference between rural voters and urban voters. james in kentucky a republican, hi james. caller: good morning. ms. williams. i'm sitting to all of these callers and stuff. about two calls back, i agree with that woman. i know you voted for probably obama. i didn't vote for him because he's done a good job for the country. what i can't understand is how blacks can vote for him or vote democrat when they refuse to secure the border. there's more drug flowing into your neighborhoods all the time. the obamacare is atrocious across the board. now hillary is running. i know you guys will be pulled

by her. you all will sit there and -- vote for her like she cares about the african-american community. host: vanessa williams is a reporter from the washington post. we don't know where she lives. if you want to talk about the appeals for hillary clinton from african-american voters what are you hearing, what are you seeing? is it there? some headlines suggests that she still needs to make an argument. guest: she does. some the polls have been done showed her running well with african-american voters. some of that have to do with her name as we all remember her husband was hugely popular with african-american voters. as a matter of fact in a gallup poll earlier this year, her biggest supporters were women of color. i think it was like a 20 point

gap between favoritability for her between women of color and white women. indied early on it looks like everybody is sure, we're with hillary clinton. i think as the campaign plays itself out we'll see how that happens. to that caller's question again, i think as we discussed couple of minutes ago, there is a sense that people aren't hearing what they want to hear from the other side. republican candidates don't really appeal to the minority communities to vote for them. in the primary, rubio and jeb bush are reaching out and going to speak to latino voters. you hear very little about republican candidates in the primary season coming to talk to black voters. essentially there are very few black people in the republican party.

they spend their time instead talking to the base. which is white conservatives and evangelicals. it sort of makes sense. it's this -- host: vicious cycle. guest: we have to appeal to this group to win the primary. we don't talk to that group. because we don't talk to that group they don't listen to us. host: vanessa williams referencing this poll that was done in march of 2015. take a look at the female vote in 2015. how it's playing out. nonhispanic women overwhelming supporting hillary clinton. 50% of them white men 37%. nonwhite women vote at 71%, nonwhite men vote at 59%. richard in missouri, democratic

caller. hi richard. caller: some republican states, they changed the rules and voted to shorter hours for voting. they done everything they can to keep the minority people from having a vote. in my state, they didn't put that deal in for the people to black people here in missouri. i don't know why blacks would vote for republican. host: voter i.d. laws you're talking about across the country? caller: yes. voter i.d. laws and shorter hours and less polling places and they done everything they can to discourage the minority voters. guest: again, i think the caller is right. a lot of minority voters are

unhappy, upset about some of those rules. i think heaven we start -- when people or some people of color think about the republican party, they think about what they say about immigration, what they say about affordable care act, what they say about voter i.d. laws. why they trying to pass all of those laws to keep us from voting. that's why we said at the top it's not so much what the candidate looks like but what the candidate stands for. maybe some these candidates haven't weighed in on all of those issues. because of their affiliation with the party people tend to think republican, they believe this and this that and we can't vote for them. it's messaging. as i said some of the black republicans i talked to think the party needs to do a better job of addressing the concerns of minority community of tempering some of the rhetoric that seems unfriendly or

intolerant. i believe in are the article i wrote michael steele quoted saying, it's not about black people didn't walk away from the party because of lack of candidates because of what they felt the party represented. he thinks that the party still hasn't made amends for appearing to be anti-civil rights. these callers are saying what people say they're party needs to do, which is to do a better job of letting minority voters know we do care about you. you can't do more than just say it. host: let's get one last call for you. joyce in madison mississippi a democrat. caller: i want to make the comment that i agree with the last caller. the republicans overall, i'm a voter. they generally give a message of

anti-civil rights their speaking in their rhetoric. it's just like when obama became president, a republican stood up in the chamber and called him liar. what a disrespect to a person who had won in american election. that will stick so long, it's a general disrespect for an african-american in america. that's what the message they give off. host: to joyce's point we hear from viewers who call in feeling like that majority leader mitch mcconnell statement when president obama first elected he'll do anything to get him unelected. there is this disrespect for president obama because of the color of his skin. does that continue to have an impact on this next election

cycle? guest: i think -- some of that is politics, clearly. they would probably give any democrat a hard time. some of it has a racial ting to it. i think if you look at what happened after the shooting in charlotte where some republican candidates didn't want to acknowledge that it was racially motivated. they said well, maybe it's about religion, maybe the guy just crazy. they didn't want to say, yes, we have a race problem. we have a racism problem. republican party tends to argue that the laws have changed everybody has equal rights. you should use your talent and strength and pull yourself up and stop expecting special

things. that's a message that doesn't resonate with communities that still feel discrimination and inequality. the last callers right. there is this great sense that this party just doesn't care about us. individually, if you would talk to these candidates, if they were highly offended if someone thought they were racially intolerant. it doesn't represent me. it doesn't care about me and that's why voters of color, i think, tend to stick with the democratic party despite what some of these callers accurately point out. still a lot of issue and concerns and problems in communities of color. host: vanessa williams staff writer for the washington post with their national debt. you can follow her reporting at washington post.com. you can also go to twitter.

thank you very much for the conversation. guest: thank you so much. host: coming up next, we're going to open up the phone linings. you can weigh in on any public policy issue. there are the phone line on your screen. republicans, democrats and independents. we'll get to those thoughts here coming up after this break. >> c-span gives us the best access to congress. live coverage of the u.s. house, congressional hearings and news conferences. bringing you events that shape public policy and every morning "washington journal" is live with''zq lected officials, policy makers and journalists and your comments by phone facebook and

twitter. c-span created by america's cable company and brought to you as a public service by your local cable or satellite provider. this summer book tv will cover book festivals from around the country and top nonfiction authors and books. in the middle of july, we're live at the harlem book fair, the flag ship african-american lit tear -- literary events. at the beginning of september we're live from the nation's capitol celebrating its 15th year. "washington journal" continues. host: we are back. open phones for the rest of today's "washington journal." you can call in now weigh in on anything in the public policy debate. get your thoughts on that. your take on what's happening here in washington or around the country. something that is happening here not too far from where we

sit is the supreme court decision day. they are going to be letting us know about three remaining cases today at 10:00 a.m. eastern time. they'll be coming in. three rulings that remain. one of them is the issue of power plant case, utility air regulatory group versus the epa is whether regulators disregard a cost when they decided to regular a power plant of emissions of mercury and other air toxins. the regulations will cost about $9.6 billion annually. the agency said it was appropriate to consider only public health risk and not industry cost. also another case the court will consider whether there are sedatives in death row cases presents unconstitutional risk of severe pain and execution of condemned criminal the.

there's also arizona state legislature versus the arizona independent redistricting commission. justices will determine if a state may transfer redistricting authority from the legislature to a nonpartisan independent commission arizona voters in 2000 passed a ballot initiative that shifted responsibility from drawing congressional direct of lawmakers to republican and independents. those are the cases pending before the supreme court as they wrap up this legislative session. if we don't hear about those three cases, they could, i guess, have another decision day tomorrow. the last day of june. open phones, jimmy in florida an independent. what's on your mind? caller: i got a couple of comments. good morning. first of all, i'm not affiliated with any party.

i'm affiliated as a christian first. of the two evils of government, who would i have to choose. i choose mostly democrat for the reason, they seem to represent the social part of today as jesus did back in those times. he come to sit down and feed with the billionaires and corporate america. actually he came to sit down and feed the poor, the elderly, the children. therefore, as a christian when i put my conscious to vote, regardless of party affiliation i'm voting of the two evils. where would i vote. democrats seem to represent that careness and kindness of christians of my vows. host: let me does you though about the same sex marriage debate, -- caller: i'm totally against that. then again, who am i to judge

because sinners -- homosexuality is a sin. murder is a sin. stealing is a sin. therefore are we going to sit here and be hypocrite and judge only gays? what about the republicans and what about greed. sin is all equal. host: betty in elton, illinois hi betty. a democrat. caller: good morning. i think that neither party, the democrats nor the republicans, value the african-american vote. everything that this government has done this congress has done for more than 30 years has been to harm african-americans. we still have the highest unemployment when they talk about unemployment rate. they don't even include them in the equation as to how high the unemployment really is in the black community.

as far as immigration go, that's a killer for black folks. both those skilled workers are the same people that they are bringing in other people to do the work they claim that these people don't do. you know it's not true. as far as the election go, we don't need to put in another hillary clinton or bush. these people are not for minority people. i like to see african-americans work hard and hopefully we can bring in a third party. as far as the same sex marriage goes, i don't think supreme court should have taken the case. i really think that the supreme court has lost its way. we really should look at abolishing this court. there are nine opinions. it's based in politics. host: charles is a republican in arkansas. hi charms. caller: good morning. people are wondering why people vote for different people.

it's all about one thing. hold on. my dog just decided to vote. people vote for people that are going to give them something. that's just simple. the democrats are better at giving things away than the republicans. it won't be a short time that you will not see like even like cooper california, you will not see a black mayor or a black city council because the spanish will vote for color also. whites vote for color. blacks vote for color. not all of them. i want to tell you that all of these good black people nobody in the black entity reads these

people. host: okay, vanessa in columbus, georgia, independent. what's on your mind? crawler -- caller: the reason i don't vote republican because they are all racist. like the one that just spoke before me, he's a turnoff completely to me. i feel like they have disrespected this black president. they have disrespected african-americans. they don't care about us and it will be a cold day in hell, listen to me, it will be a cold day in hell before i would ever in my vote republican. they can be down on their knees dying, i would let them die because i hate them. i can't stand them. host: hold on, because of the disrespect to president obama is that -- caller: i hate them because they think they were superior to

us. they think that they are better than we are. i don't need anything from the government. i have a good paying job where i make $75,000 a year. these poor white folks down here in the rural area, what they do is they are the ones that rely on the government for handouts because they are just poor white trash. good-bye. host: that was vanessa. her opinion. "washington journal" some stories for you to talk about this morning as well. greece closes banks as crisis grows. shut down banking system ordering leaders to stay close for six days starting today as central bank move who impose controls to prevent money from floating out the country. pushes the common currency itself into unchartered waters.

syria, president assad there his threat of chemical attack is mounting. last year syrian president led the attack the removal the most deadly chemical weapon. that on the front page of the "washington journal." you have the iran nuclear talks. the deadline is tomorrow. it will come and go according to papers this morning. newtown, -- new york times said sticking points remain. once consider the absolute deadline, officials from several nations some of the difficult questions from inspections to how fast iran could expand its nuclear infrastructure in the years and accord are still just as vexing as they were when the

18-month odyssey began. found in the new york time this morning. hi sheila in new york. caller: as for that guy why do black vote against their best interest. why do poor whites and middle class whites vote against their best interests. the republicans are not for you. they are absolutely for big business. they are absolutely for business business and another thing, i would like to see a third party. it doesn't matter who gets in. as long as we are not voting for the content of a man's character. the character is that they will say anything, do anything to get elected and then when he get elected, that's not what we see. i'm disgusted with it. with a third party you're taking your vote from a candidate that may help you to vote for the third party.

i'm frustrated as a voter. i have voted every election. when i first started when i was younger in the 1960's and 1970's, there was republican men that i would have men i would have voted men. rockefeller, ford, i voted for ford. he was a good guy. today, i would not vote for a republican because their rhetoric is racist. thank you. host: joyce in camdenton, missouri a republican. hi joyce. caller: i'm very disheartened listening to peopleed the lady from georgia said she hate white people. everybody saying we're racist. we're not. i'm a white republican. i don't hate people because of color. i don't like people or their politics sometimes.

it's not because of their color. it's because of their character and their actions. it is so sad to think that we now who have many blended families i'm not against anybody of color. if you want to go job get an education. don't stand on the street corner in ferguson and tear the place down because you have no education and no will to become anything. host: aren't you making a blanket statement now just like that caller was about white folks? caller: i am. i saw these people standing on the street corner and most of them were black. that's unfortunate. that is the situation. host: joe in florida a democrat hi joe. caller: high greta. i just want to say that

hopefully [inaudible] it's time for a female to run this country. host: why not sanders as president? caller: sanders can become president in the future. they can join force. we need both because the republicans they cheat. we don't cheat at all.

[inaudible] host: you might be interested the front page of the paper today show that bernie sanders is picking up even more in new hampshire and iowa and early states that hillary clinton still has a sizeable lead over him in those state. his popularity is increasing as he makes a run for the democratic ticket in 2016. the star ledger this morning on their front page has a story about their governor. he's going to th w his hat in the ring tomorrow. what does that mean for the state of new jersey. they say chris christie will declare his campaign for the 2016 republican presidential nomination tuesday. for all intensive purposes he's been running his entire second term as governor. the governor for years the dominant force in trenton has less influence with 30% approval rating from new jersey voters. by the way, we'll be covering that event tomorrow.

c-span.org for more details. front page of the washington post this morning has a story about jeb bush and his business teals over the years. as bush built his wealth, questions arose. legal cases involving some of gop hopeful associates put his reputation at refer. it's a lengthy piece in the washington post. inside the page, five of his business associates have been convicted of crime. one remain as an international fugitive on fraud charge. in each case bush said had no knowledge of any wrong doing. some of the people he met in businessmen in florida took advantage of him. bush said he has learned to be more careful about vetting his associates. telling his miami herald during his first failed runner at governor made him better at deciphering people motivate's.

kevin in iowa a democrat. caller: thanks for taking my call. i want to make three points quick. one point is obama is the president. i know the republicans don't like his foreign policy and i think beyond jordan, turkey and all of those countries should take care of isis over this instead of us. another thing too, i think the confederate flag should be taken down. also because they lost the war and stuff. like friend of mine had when germany lost the war you don't see the nazi flag in germany. they took that down. i guess the last thing too, i want to make, i'm a catholic.

you always hear about these businesses about don't want to make wedding cakes for a gay wedding. i guess the thing is in the bible too they say about they get married and you supposed to be a virgin. well then, i guess cothey -- do they talk about. host: we go to mark in new hampshire. hi mark. caller: good morning. my question is all this talk about race and everything, it sounds like divide and conquer in america. i don't get it. we're going to always vote in the same people that's always in government. they're not running for us. they don't care about us. all they care about is money and

the corporations. thank you. host: eric in rural beach, south carolina, democrat, we're on open phones. good morning to you. caller: how are you doing greta and good morning. i live in north myrtle beach, south carolina. i was down in charleston. i'm a veteran. he toking to through -- i had to go through some stuff wednesday night. i wasn't there for obama or anybody come in. i loved the solidarity, especially from our governor, nikki haley and from all the democratic and republican representatives to get the flag taken down. as a veteran and as a son of a person, my father died four years ago at the age of 85, he landed at normandy, serving under that flag. the only flag that should be

flown at any state capitol in my opinion, should be the stars and stripes. not the stars and bars. host: did you associate for nikki haley for governor? caller: no i did not. i've been down here for about 3.5 years. i moved from western north carolina. diversity and everything, i started a you have in hawaii. i lived around all kinds of different people. host: you didn't vote for her. you're a democrat. would you vote for her again if she were to run for reelection. what did you make of her speech that day? caller: i really liked -- what it was when she was going last year for reelection she was talking about the southern pride and the southern heritage and everything that fell under that flag.

it looks like she turned herself around. whether it be the popularity or the majority of people that are against that flag, i'm talking -- i'm a white person. i'm talking about this was a decisive thing that happened and it's almost like if you're jewish you look at the swastika. host: there was a report in the paper. the governor of south carolina the night after that tragedy, she couldn't look at her children and not tell them that there needed to be change. george in fayetteville north carolina, independent, good morning. welcome to the conversation. caller: thank you greta for taking my call and good morning to you. i'm a retired military veteran.

you guys have some of the footage of me september 30th 1987 at the white house. that's another issue. i'm calling regarding what is really happening in our nation and i watch it on both sides of the aisle. the evolution of democratic party started when i was a child. i used to see pitchers in the local new york city, black people being hung down in the south and various places. the emmitt till case whistling to a white lady and he got killed. this all took place under a democratic administration. in addition to that, when brown versus the board of education was ordered by the united states supreme court, it was the democratic administration of the

south that stood in the way and tried to stop the integration of the schools. i can still remember seeing george wallace saying segregation now segregation forever. host: all right george. in search valley -- seven valley pennsylvania. a democrat. caller: i'm 76 years old. i remember a lot of presidents when they were in power. for instance for roosevelt, he did a lot for backs. not only for blacks but for all american. i was a young girl at the time. i was born in 1939. in the early 1940's, he and his wife. if wasn't for carter we wouldn't have student loans. he made it affordable so all people can go to school especially black. i became a teacher under carter.

he had set up scholarships and things for people like me to go to school and to finish my education. clinton did a lot for the blacks johnson was the one who had his so far civil right bill. kennedy did a lot for the blacks. obama did a lot. you wondering why black people vote for democrats. that's the reason. i was under a lot of republicans presidents. they didn't talk about the black. they only talk about walls and what they will do for the white community. nothing about blacks. i never heard it when i was a little girl. i never heard it. what the democratics, when they get ready to run they always mention blacks. we were able to go to school and have books. we didn't have books under republicans. host: how old are you now?

caller: i'm 76. in maryland i was born in baltimore, maryland. when i was there we didn't have books. we used books from the white schools like white schools sent us their old books. we didn't have anything under the republicans. host: we'll leave it there. another topic for discussion. washington times front page islamic state using apps to hide their messaging. edward snowden's leak that came from him gave away the u.s. spy tactics. the islamic terrorist army encrypted applications to hide their military planning with fighter publicly thanking former nasa contractor edward snowden for tipping them. using these encrypting apps to coordinate and plan and execute their attacks. also on terrorism here at this headline in u.s.a. today

lawmakers warn of july 4th threat. mike mccall was on fox news sunday. here's what he had to say about the possible threat. >> it is concerning. there's a great deal of chatter a high volume. it was issued to state and local. the concern is, the con influence of all of these events . isis calling for jihad which is ramadan. we have the fourth of july coming up, which is one of these holidays we celebrate that they like to target this sort of thing. i think given the confluence of events we're being on the cautious side here to warn the public to remain vigilant. to enjoy the fourth of july parade. but remain vigilant.

mr. let me ask you do you expect home-grown terror attacks over this next holiday weekend? >> we stopped 50 of these terror plots in the last 12 months. its gone up exponentially. i'm extremely concerned about the way syrian isis recruiters can use the internet to recruit followers in the united states with thousands of followers in the united states and activate them to do whatever they want them to do whether it's military installations or law enforcement or possibly a fourth of july event parade. host: republican from texas mike mccall there who chairs homeland security in the house outlining a possible terror threat. lawmakers are out and back in their states for this fourth of july week. the supreme court is here in washington. the justices are here. we are waiting the decisions on

three remaining cases to come from the court this morning. we'll find out in about 10 minutes. they will give us a decision on all three remaining cases lethal injection congressional redistricting and epa regulation on mercury. those are the remaining cases of this term of the supreme court. we'll find out if today is the last decision day or they have to add one more that will be the last day of june tomorrow june 30th to round out their term. we're in open phones here this morning. you can weigh in on the supreme court or anything else in the news. same sex marriage is one of the cases that the justices decided on last week. 5-4 decision and they legalized same sex marriage and state have to recognize them and give out licenses. here's the washington time this morning. gay rights advocates are reading their agenda. gay right issue protections from

housing, healthcare, senior services. on other size, religious freedom must be shored up legally and churches should take immediate action to clarify their statement of fate and policy on weddings and facility traditional value advocates say. those are some of the discussions to come on this issue of same sex marriage. the headline in washington times, the gop presidential hopefuls grapple with the court ruling. they point out that the governor of wisconsin scott walker called for an amendment to the constitution to reaffirm the ability of the state to continue to define marriage. here is what the former arkansas governor mike huckabee had to say. >> i don't think a lot of pastors and christian schools are going to have a choice. they either will follow god, their conscious and what they truly believe is what the scripture teachers them or they will follow civil law. they go the path of dr. martin luther king who in his brilliant

essay reminded us, unjust law is no law at all. i do think we'll see a lot of pastor who will have to make this tough decision. you're going to see it on the part of christian business owners. you'll see it on the part of christian university presidents. >> what about county clerks. can they issue same sex marriage lay senses? >> if they have an objection they should be excused. host: former arkansas governor mike huckabee running for president in 2016. you can weigh in on that or any other issue here for remainder of today's "washington journal." here's what senator rand paul from kentucky had to say. he said government should get out of the marriage business all together. writing on "time magazine"'s website. there you can read more. the time picayune out of

louisiana, bobby jindal said louisiana will accept gay marriage. we don't have a choice but to comply. even though i think this decision was the wrong one. mary in hamilton, ohio, a republican good morning to you? caller: i am here can you hear me? host: we sure can. caller: the next time you have a guest from the obama administration on, one of his people on, i would like for you to ask them this individual this question. president obama has issued a lot of executive orders. i know one is in regard to giving illegal immigrants jobs. i think that is still pending. this is the question to a ask them. how come he hasn't issued any executive orders to help the poor black communities?

he could issue an executive order to build youth centers for those communities and playgrounds and grocery stores in those neighborhoods. a lot of them don't have grocery stores, playgrounds or youth centers. a lot of the young people, the black teenagers, that's why they do what they do because they have nothing else. they don't have jobs they don't have any place to go to have activities. the youth centers would provide that as well as a playground for the younger children. host: mary, in illinois. caller: i wanted to contrast obama's eulogy with chris

christie pre-nomination. host: before he announced tomorrow? caller: right. with obama communication. i don't mean to say this. he doesn't believe what he says, but he says, take my hand, walk with me together we'll be stronger. we'll be braver. we'll be wiser. even freer. when you look at his preannouncement, it's all about me and my truth. i think that appearance of superiority and not wanting to listen to others is what makes people think that republicans are racist. host: andy in madisonville,

kentucky a democrat. welcome. caller: thank you. i am a conservative democrat. i have been leaning towards to vote for ms. clinton. ms. clinton came out in support of the gays and lesbians when some time back when she was in the senate she was for traditional marriage between man and woman. host: during the 2008 campaign as well. caller: yes. now she's changed and to me, i feel like the democrat have left me. i'm a conservative democrat and a born again christian. obama, he doesn't represent my values. they talking about like the republicans being racist, . the republicans are not racist. they are for people helping each other. where everybody walk together and united we stand and divided

we fall. host: all right, same sex marriage issue by the way front page of the houston chronical the a.g. in that state said clerks can turn away gays. the texas attorney general told county clerks their religious beliefs can enable them to disregard the supreme court historic ruling. his argument which banked on a state so called religious freedom law caution that any employee who did so should brace them for a possible lawsuit or a fine. sherry an independent from canton, ohio. caller: we live in ohio. i want to let them know few things about governor kasich. educate the american public tell

them to look up the collapse on wall street. he has ties with wall. he gets on fox news and everything that comes how of his mouth is lies. we live in ohio. this state is in chaos. it's so corrupted the medical industry, every lane of thing is corrupted in this state. people that live in the other 49 states don't know. we need them to get educated about this governor kasich. the republicans are covering for him. host: as you probably learned from politico he plans to announce july 21st at ohio state university, go to c-span.org by the way for more of our road to the white house coverage. that does it for today's "washington journal," thank you all for watching and calling in. we'll be back here tomorrow morning 57:00 a.m. eastern time. have a good day.