a challenge on self-employed workers holding multiple jobs. the national association from the self-employedyou can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. ♪ host: good morning, everyone. it is wednesday, july 8. up on capitol hill, house members will continue to debate ace ending bill for federal agencies, with lawmakers checking out the interior department and epa funding. over on the senate, they will be voting on the no child left time law. you can look for coverage on both of those debates, the house on c-span and the senate on c-span2. c-span is preparing the south carolina debate on moving the carolina flag on c-span3. we will begin this morning with

your thoughts on the president's foreign policy. what is your confidence level? democrats (202) 748-8000 republicans, (202) 748-8001, an independents, (202) 748-8002. join the conversation on twitter @cspanwj, or go to facebook.com/c-span. the phone lines are open. we will get your thoughts in a minute, but many foreign-policy headlines in the papers with running from iran to iraq, afghanistan. we begin with the fight against isis and iraq. here is the headline in the "washington times" this morning. take a look at what defense secretary ashton carter had to say up on capitol hill when he testified before the senate. ♪[video clip] sec. carter: we have an obligation to support those

fighters, and we will have to decide under what conditions in what way we will make that tactical decision when we introduce them, but i think the main thing is that we increase that number from what is now a very small number, and i'm not surprised that it is running on television, into a much larger number. i think we can do that, and the officer who runs this program believes that he will be able to do that, and we will keep you apprised of our progress, and i will tell you every day what i know, as i have done here today. host: defense secretary ash carter up on capitol hill yesterday. the "washington times says" says as of june 30, u.s. trainers in iraq have only received enough recruits to train 8800 iraqi soldiers and peshmerga forces come in addition to 2000

counterterrorism service personnel. an additional 4000 soldiers, including 600 counterterrorism forces, are currently in training. the 3550 u.s. troops in the region at six different locations have run out of fighters to train. mr. carter said only 60 potential fighters are in training right now. we will hear thoughts on the president's foreign policy. what is your confidence level? chris from san antonio texas, a republican. you are up first. caller: good morning. how are you doing today? host: doing well. what are your thoughts? caller: foreign policy is not working at this time. we need more confidence in america, and the confidence in american needs to be very strong. what i'm trying to say here is that -- host: chris why is there confidence in america? what do you mean? caller: there is not confidence in america because it has all

failed right now. we to become more, more listening and have listening ears to israel because israel is definitely going to lead us out of this hairy mess that we are in. host: all right chris. front page -- senators ridicule u.s. terror strategy. chair didn'tempsey testifying before the armed services committee. joe manchin of west virginia along with senator dems he and john mccain had a back and was over the situation -- along with chair dempsey and john mccain had a back and forth over the situation. [video clip] sen. manchin: why are we forcing

something upon people that do not want to accept it? gen. dempsey: i also share that concern of the middle east will never be the middle east again so everything i recommend to the secretary and to the intention of being flexible enough that we can build upon it if we do find that inclusive national unity government in iraq or not. sen. manchin: thank you. sen. mccain: i cannot help but mention the situation was stabilized after the surge, and we had won. and we predicted that if everybody was pulled outcome the situation would descend into chaos. it is a fact that things to general pretorius and the surge and the great sacrifice the iraq war was won. and to ignore that, mr. general dempsey, is intellectually

dishonest. host: the chairman of the armed services committee, john mccain, republican, having that it is with the joint chief and all density along with the senator from west virginia, joe manchin. we are getting your thoughts on the president's foreign policy. what is your confidence level you go from iran, iraq, afghanistan -- many foreign-policy headlines in the paper this morning. iran, many of you know, the deadline for those talks was yesterday. they have extended the now until friday. tommy in tennessee, independent. what do you think? caller: ms. greta good morning. i'm concerns that mr. obama's foreign policy, on a scale of 1 to 10, a 3. mr. obama has not addressed the main issue that has not been covered, and that is the 55 pounds of uranium that was stolen out of a research lab in mosul. i believe that if isis as this,

they will use it to create as many bombs as can be created from that amount. we are in a dangerous position right now, and we need our special forces over there to retrieve that uranium, get that uranium away from them because it is just -- it is very dangerous, and who knows what kind of technology they are going to use to create bombs with that uranium? host: tommy, let me ask you because you just heard the armed services chairman john mccain noting we won in iraq after the surge, after we went back in after the bush administration. do you think there should be some cert of similar surge -- sort of similar surge in iraq now to fight isis? caller: well, i think it is a waste of time. baghdad and damascus or not worth saving, in my opinion. the people there do not want to live in peace.

i say either let them kill themselves off or wipe them off the face of the earth. host: you just that, tommy, you feel threatened by isis and a potential weapon of they have stolen. caller: well, like i say, the situation over there has gotten to the point where i do not think any amount of reasonable force can be used to bring the situation under control. host: all right in philadelphia, an independent hi there. caller: the government needs to be about stopping terrorism on the ground before there is fighting. i think the government and president obama needs to look at the structural cause of terrorism, not merely defense. just look at the countries that are breeding terrorism. they are very poor, like syria afghanistan. poverty leads to instability and it creates an opportunity.

the president and the government need to combat terrorism at its root, which is global poverty. host: all right. there is also the situation of iran with the deadline being extended until friday. "usa today" -- a nuclear deal deadline until friday. take a look at the reactions from republicans up on capitol hill, the speaker of the house saying as i ran talks continue, my goal remains the same to stop a bad deal with iran. you have before affairs committee chairman ed royce saying iran talks inspection standard used to go anywhere, anytime, sometimes. kelly ayotte, the republican senator from new hampshire yesterday at the armed services committee, she tweets out -- at today's hearing, our to top military leaders agreed with me that we should not lift the arms embargo on iran. "usa today" from their views

this morning, they say the previous deadline of june 30 was set in the framework agreement in april. the parties agree to general outlines that would require iran to limit any nuclear activities for 10 years to 15 years. host: we are frankly more concerned about the quality of the deal than we are about the clock. host: and then the "wall street journal" this morning, they frame the extension this way -- u.s. suggests open-ended iran

talks, but with negotiations making little headway, the white house on tuesday laid the groundwork for a third outcome. continuing talks for the november 13 interim agreement that provided iran limited sanctions in exchange for rolling back part of its nuclear program. the outcome would allow mr. obama to avoid alternatives to diplomacy, such as military force. it gives the president political cover because the idea has support from influential republicans, including senator barbara corker of -- senator bob corker of tennessee. and it remains unclear what the extension until friday may signal. the suggestion is aimed at undercutting the iranians' own hardball negotiating tactics. some have long grumbled at the need to put an agreement in front of a recalcitrant congress before tomorrow is a self-inflicted handicap.

extending the talks to friday they reason, forces the iranians to have to decide whether it wants to hand u.s. a gift or not. that on iran in the papers. there is more but first, diane in georgia, a democrat. go ahead your confidence level in this president's foreign policy. caller: i have a lot of confidence in this president's foreign policy. my problem is the support that he needs from the other side because they are all humans, and we are working toward peace. we can continue war until kingdom come, and it will not help. we have to go about c-span, we have to hope peace can be accomplished abroad, and then we will have a better place. the questions that c-span asks

are very shallow, no depth to that. we need to be educated more about the situation so we can have more discussions without animosity, without hatred, without racism. we are all human beings, and that is all they are looking for now in this country and all over the world. there is always a problem from the beginning. man against man. it comes through centuries, and we are here in the same position. what is wrong with mankind? host: all right douglas in west virginia independent. hi, there. caller: good morning. i agree with the last caller. i am afraid it is like everything else going on with the corporations, and the defense department -- they got us in a lot of stuff. it seems like it is just, you

know, to make money -- and control. i did not like the comment the other day about what is going on in greece with obama wanting to -- regime change. you know, they are too liberal. host: ok. caller: you know, we are meddling in a lot of stuff. ukraine is very dangerous. i don't know, i would just like to see a little bit of working toward peace instead of harming everyone and training everyone to fight wars. host: would you say that is president obama's strategy, is to move away from war? caller: it looks like it in iraq, you know. it looks like he is trying to turn it over but, you know, all the military hardware in the money it seems like is when it comes back to. host: all right, douglas, you

mentioned greece, and that is a headline that dominates the paper this morning. europe sets final deadline, and that is for monday. the "washington post" headline on this -- they write this -- from the european union, they are saying to greece, you have five days to avoid going bankrupt. an emergency summit of european leaders broke up acrimoniously late tuesday night with officials saying the country is now just five days to avoid bankruptcy. the leaders of all 28 european union members will and meet sunday in what officials will say the final chance to save greece from economic oblivion, or the moment the country is ejected from the eurozone. that in the papers this morning. this piece in the opinion pages of the "wall street journal" this morning. it is written by richard sharma, the head of emerging markets at

morgan stanley. he says -- everybody is paying attention to greece, but most should be paying attention to what is going on in china as its stock lunges. four basic signs of a bubble -- prices disconnected from economic host: it goes on to write this -- if beijing cannot stop the markets tumble, there could be a shift in exactly how far economic growth might fall under the weight of too much debt. if that crumbles and the chinese economy spirals downward, it would make the drama surrounding grace feel like a sideshow. china has been the largest contributor to global growth this decade. greece's economy is about the size of that of english or vietnam. there is no -- of bangladesh or

vietnam. talking about foreign policy this morning and your confidence level. bill in massachusetts, a republican. good morning to you, bill, go ahead. caller: good morning. we have got a jv president. that is all i have got to say. host: ok. cecile in ohio, an independent. good morning to you. go ahead. caller: i just think they have to keep the area stable, protect the oil because, you know, they have been feuding and fighting over there for hundreds of years. host: what area are you talking about? iraq, afghanistan -- caller: the middle east altogether. saddam hussein has that operation going on, he ignited all those wells. they ain't going to let that happen again. host:f when you say "they," who are you talking about? caller: all the people that are

causing the problem. they have got to protect the oil, the tankers, the persian gulf, and that is basically -- the united states has to protect the region. host: ok, all right. andre in georgia, a democrat. what do you think about this president's foreign-policy? caller: i think he is doing the best he can without wanting to send all of our troops back to war. we keep hearing talk about the surge as if this was the greatest military accomplishment in the last 100 years. the surge meant that we did not send enough people in in the beginning, so that is how we had to wind up ending more troops in to get a job done. the surge -- we should have never went in in the first place, and it would have been no need for a surge. and then i think george well stated it best as he called it "

narcissistic foreign-policy disorder," where we think we can affect everything that goes on in the world. sometimes the united states has to just let -- i know we do not want to get them to come over here in regards to isis, but we have to make these regions take care of themselves. we cannot be the police of the world, and what the iraq war did to our military, i mean, it devastated our military. we have high suicide rates, we have high divorce rates, you know, we have soldiers going spending three tors, for divorce over there -- three tours four tours over there. if we elect a republican president, we are going to war. i would like the american people to get that in mind. host: afghanistan, the do you think the same way

in removing troops and getting the united states out of that country? caller: once again, we need to let the other regions handle their own affairs. i mean, you know, we help when we can, and we might want to help them with funding, you know, and that is a good thing you know, help them with hunting and helped to build schools, help with their infrastructure but to just go over there and want to bomb and kill, that is the wrong thing to do. host: take a look at this written in today's "washington post" -- david petraeus, who commanded the afghan coalition writes a piece where they say afghanistan after obama, and they say this am a there is no relative way to deal with the stress in the region without bases in eastern afghanistan theater the indian ocean is too far away and we have no good options for alternative land bases are the frequency of u.s. action against extremists in

this area may declined somewhat, indeed, it already has, but the need cannot be ruled out. if extremists new that we had comprised ourselves of such capabilities, they would be even more likely to seek sanctuary in this strategic region. these two need to keep a presence, keep troops in afghanistan. they write this -- afghanistan itself still makes help. the situation there is not hopeless, but it is serious. the east, always troubled and always threatened by the haqqani network, and kabul still suffers attacks, such as the recent assault on the parliament. those two writing in the "washington post" this morning that troops need to stay in afghanistan. related to that is the headline in the "new york times" this

morning -- two attacks in kabul target nato and afghan forces there. the taliban mounted to a tax on tuesday, killing one afghan soldier and wounding at least five other people. it is the second time in a week that struck at coalition soldiers and the capital. that situation in afghanistan as we continue to get your thoughts this morning on the president foreign-policy. darrell in missouri, a democrat, you are up next. caller: how are you this morning? host: good morning. caller: this is not a foreign-policy. we have been slaughtering those people for 40 years. afghanistan, iraq, libya, syria all based on lies. now we want to go into iran, who have not done anything to anybody, just because they are thinking about doing what israel has been doing illegally for 40

years. while we talk about why israel has nuclear weapons, and they are not made to sign anything? nobody can go over there and inspect anything they have got. why is this? host: ok, darrell. chris in new london, connecticut. a democrat. caller: good morning, greta. i had a comment on john mccain's news piece, he said iraq was stabilize after the surge, and absolutely it was stabilized . the problem is we had 170,000 men and women over there. that is not a long-term strategy, and everybody knows the american people are not on board with that. john mccain and lindsey graham joe lieberman, guys like that were all or it, but it is not sustainable. regionally dollars in american -- $3 trillion in american blood and treasure that made it stable. that cannot go on forever. host: chris, what can you make

about this president's strategy then? caller: frankly, greta, i do not support him being back over there now. the iraqis take off these uniforms and turn and run. i would be happier with obama if he just said no, i am not going in, period. host: that is chris, a democrat and and, connecticut. ralph is next, pennsylvania. good morning. go ahead. caller: they lied to us so much. the congress the senate, obama -- he has done nothing but lie. how can people -- people are mad. host: what lies? give us an example. caller: oh, every lie. like the nuclear deal with iran. everything. people got -- we still did not

find out about bosnia yet, and things just keep going on and on. i do not see how they do not see what is going on. host: ok, all right faye in florida, an independent. good morning, you are on the air. caller: i have a very low esteem for the president of the united st states. i am almost 80 years old, and i can remember when i was very young team the photograph of adolf hitler right before he can to power, and i know that president roosevelt put off going into a fracas with the united states, rather that he put off going into the fray with adult hitler. -- with adolf hitler. but until they started bombing

england, and when they started dropping bombs on england, he said ok, we will be next. now, if we would have made the move at the very beginning on hitler, we would not have had the problems and lost the american lives that we lost in the second world war. it was a bloodbath. it was a true bloodbath. we are making a deal with the devil himself when we are making a deal with iran because they have every intent -- and they have already said that -- they are going to knock off every american and every jew that they can get. so it is up to the american people if they want to call this , the ayatollah's bluff on this

because that is all that these people understand is force. host: all right, that is faye, 80 years old, in lakeland, florida. what is your confidence level on president obama's foreign-policy? the other news in the paper, take a look at south carolina, the state newspaper, the headline -- the pressure built in the flag debate's final days. the senate has approved taking down the confederate flag from the capitol grounds. now goes to the house floor. we will have coverage about this morning, to know what am eastern time on c-span3. -- 10:00 a.m. eastern time of the sensortime on c-span3. another republican says he will throw his hat in the ring. the former virginia governor jim gilmore says he will run for president. "i do not think we are

addressing the threat to the country," gilmore said. he added "i will bring experience the others don't have." he was governor during the 9/11 attack on the pentagon. he also headed a commission panel that advice president bill clinton, and george w. bush on domestic capability involving weapons of mass destruction. the governor said he will make is announcement -- official announcement -- in august. also the "star-ledger" has the story about chris christie. he will be mingling with the uber rich is the headline. why is he going to billionaires' summer camp, and who is paying? as staff is not saying. he is off for the next of the -- his staff is not saying. he is off for the next week to attend the colloquial inly known billionaires' summer camp.

it is run by her balance, junior boutique investment bank. they spoke as and for kristi's presidential campaign said the new jersey governor would not be attending the conference as a presidential candidate but declined to say what his role would be, nor was it clear the governor would be addressing the conference are simply attending it. so that in the "star-ledger." then as many of you know, hillary clinton sat down in her first tv interview since announcing her democratic nomination. sat down with cnn's breanna keller to talk about the campaign. here's what she had to say about the -- bernie sanders and large crowds attending his events across the country. [video clip] ms. clinton: first of all, i always thought this would be a competitive race, so i have been happy to get out and run my campaign as i see fit and let other candidates do exactly the same.

i feel very good about where we are. in iowa, we are signing up thousands of volunteers, people committed to the caucus we have a committed supporter in every one of the 1600 precincts. one of the things that i learned last time is it is organize organize, organize, and you have got to get people committed, and then they will follow through, and then you bring more people. so i feel very good about where my campaign is. it will be three months in a few days that we have been at this. i think i have learned a lot from listening to people in iowa. it has actually affected what i say and what i talk about on the campaign trail, so i could not be happier about my campaign. host: hillary clinton sitting down with cnn for nearly 20 minutes, answering a handful of questions about her presidential campaign. one headline from this past weekend, the fourth of july weekend, was the parade that hillary clinton marched in in

new hampshire, and some took note of the rope line that was used by clinton aides to corral the media trying to capture the former first lady, former secretary of state, marching in the streets in new hampshire. if you go to drudge report is running, take a look at the banner across their website. they note that the rope line, the corralling, has been used by the clinton's since 1992. you can find on c-span's website. we have the campaign events, the parade bill clinton marching with his daughter and his wife, and you can see as the video goes on, the same rope line being used back then to keep a distance between the candidates and the media, just like you saw in new hampshire over the weekend. speaking of 2016, there is the "washington times," joe biden likely to join 2016 white house

race next month according to top fundraisers. then political reporting this morning on the ohio governor john kasich, who is expected to jump into the race on july 21. he was on capitol hill fending off doubts about his 2016 race. he met with several hours with meetings with lawmakers and top staffers, hoping to win their support and make a case about why there should be another contender in the republican field, almost a too large to keep track of. and hillary clinton will go up to capitol hill. "the hill" is reporting that she has a packed schedule for capital visit. she will be there on july 14 is what "the hill" newspaper is reporting, to meet with lawmakers including the congressional black caucus up on capitol hill. some news there for you. i also want to note in a special election, the race -- darren lahood yesterday won the

republican primary in the race to be former republican aaron schock in illinois beating back michael flynn. son of former and transportation secretary ray lahood will be the favorite in the september 10 general election for the illinois seat. back to your calls here this morning. confidence in president obama's foreign policy. we will hear from philip nexen georgia, a republican. hi there philip. caller: good morning. how are you today? host: doing well. go ahead. caller: i have about 20% confidence in the president's foreign policy caret it is all based on domestic politics and his ability to stem it. it is all halfhearted and non-committed, and it is done that will purpose of the nothing really happens that cannot be done away with in the media. you see that with isis right now

if you look at the olive six the hind it. and how it is being played out with really no ground forces. isis is a full-blown army with the women in logistics and every thing else, and it will take another army to defeat them. air power has never won a war in history, ever, it never has, and you cannot be a full-blown army either. you have to send in guys with b they and at's and the tools of their trade to be that army, and you hear the same politics that you heard back in vietnam. ooh, it are strikes did this and that, you have an account of this many people dead, but without people on the ground actually counting them and doing the assessments, you really do not know. that is estimate. they never really tell you that part. host: philip, speaking of vietnam, this is the "new york times" this morning -- obama

holds a top official from vietnam at the oval office. president obama said tuesday that the united's and vietnam have moved beyond their "difficult history," and would move ahead on trade and security cooperation that would benefit both countries are it was another opportunity for mr. obama, who announced last week that he was ready to restart diplomatic relations with another cold war rival cuba, to showcase his determination to deal with adversaries through diplomacy rather than estrangement. what are your thoughts this morning a president obama's foreign policy, his strategy of diplomacy? brad in new york, a democrat. hi brad, good morning, go ahead. caller: good morning, greta. first of all thank c-span for showing these extra ordinary hearings of the south carolina legislature regarding the flag.

i have never seen anything like this in 30 years on c-span. ladies and gentlemen, if you have any doubts that the south is alive, if you think you are being unfair consider that there are still people fighting the civil war and south carolina , i urge you to get on c-span.org and bring up those legislative hearings -- host: brad, i have to stick to the topic. i appreciate that you are watching that, and as our viewers know, they can watch today's house florida's late floor debate in south carolina today at 10:00 a.m. eastern time on c-span3. haley in richmond, virginia, democrat. good morning. caller: hi, good morning. i just want to say that i agree with the comments made earlier about the social causes of

terrorism. there has been a lot of focus on military efforts against isis, but i think it is important to remember that many of the world's most dangerous countries will you know, afghanistan iraq somalia, are also among the world poorest countries. our military presence is very important in the fight against terrorism, but i also believe we need to supplement our long-term campaign against isis with development efforts to help fight global poverty. host: ok, haley, how old are you? caller: i am 21. host: and you study this in college -- plan to study this? caller: i study english and economics. host: where do you go? caller: i go to bsu. host: we want to take more of your calls here. we have got about five minutes or so left. keep vehicles coming into her back to the interview that hillary clinton did with ian and

yesterday, i want to show you how she answered this question about whether or not she is trustworthy. [video clip] ms. clinton: i can only tell you that this has been a theme that has been used against me and my husband for many, many years. at the end of the day, i think voters sort it all out. i have great confidence. i trust the american voter, so i trust the american voter 100% because i think the american voter will weigh these kinds of accusations. i mean, you know, people write books filled with unsubstantiated attacks against us and even admit they have no evidence, but of course it is your job to cover it, so of course that is going to raise questions in people's minds. but during the course of this campaign, just as in my two prior campaigns and in my other years of service, i have a lot of confidence that people can sort it out. breanna: would you vote for someone you do not trust?

ms. i clinton: i think people do and should trust me. i cannot decide what the attacks on me will be, no matter how unfounded. and i am well aware of the fact that it is your job to raise those, and we will do our best to respond to them but i think what people talk to me about -- and that is all i can go on -- is the literally thousands of people that i have seen in the course of this campaign. they want to know what i'm going to do for the economy, what i'm going to do for education, what i am going to do for health care, and they trust me to have a plan and to be committed to carrying out that plan, and they should because i will. host: hillary clinton in an interview with cnn yesterday. front-page of the "washington times" this morning has a story about cash rates in the 2016 presidential races. clinton and bush are poised to lead the pack. it says among the candidates who

have provided specific fundraising totals through june 30, mrs. clinton leads the pack with $45 million. it goes on, the newspaper, to say that mr. cruz has raise $10 million for his presidential campaign and reported $37 million for his various super pacs. mr. bush's longtime ally and fundraiser al cardenas told the "washington times" that he expects to report totals higher than mrs. clinton and mr. cruz. wisconsin governor scott walker has yet to disclose totals but is excited to have strong showings in the fundraising games -- but is expected to have strong showings in the fundraising game. bob is in florida, democrat. what are your thoughts on this president's foreign policy? caller: i agree with the person in georgia. if -- let's say bernie and hillary, if they run together,

you can put any republican together, as like 14 or 16 because the republicans -- the whole point is to win. we do not need another republican in 2016. host: bob, tie this to form policy for me and the president's foreign policy. caller: well, bush sent this to a war, unnecessary war, and trillions of dollars and american soldiers dead. i mean, they are killing themselves right now -- committing suicides. it is true. we do not need that. we cannot police the whole world, for god's sake. if you are african-american, what do you grade the police department?

i know there are some good cop but some cops are just criminals with badges. i mean come on. we cannot police the world. host: all right, antonio, an independent. caller: yes ma'am. i would like to comment on the fact that i believe obama's foreign policy has been shaped by previous generations. what i mean by that -- let me go into a little bit -- a little deeper. there are different statutes that we are fighting. we do not know who the enemy is right now. we have the kurds, we have hezbollah, we have different factions in egypt such as the muslim brotherhood -- even going back to the assad regime with the release of a chemical attack, it was now brought out recently that assad may not have used those chemical attacks.

it may have been the resistance to assad being president. using chemical attacks on their own people to make assad look bad. so all obama is being smart by not using a careless, reckless, dangerous policy. host: ok, let's hear from iris in michigan, an independent. caller: hi, greta. hey, listen, i do not have too high an opinion of the president right now because all of the spokesman are from former administrations. they seem to come up with answers, and he just hesitates and vacillates on everything. i think he believes that he is going to be running out of material to send over to train other people -- nobody is providing a drivers license to prove who they are. we are just training people.

who are they going to use for target practice? he scares me. he really scares me, but i think he feels that the younger generation are growing up with more information available to them. it is accessible they do not have to run to libraries into a lot of research -- it is ready front of them. i think he feels that he had better work hard to get it done now. host: ok, all right, iris, we will leave it there for now. coming up, we will be talking with senator mark warner later on here on the "washington journal" about the so-called gig economy, the 1/3 of americans that string together to jobs or three jobs to make a living. we recently follow the senator to the reworked office sharing company here in washington, d.c. he was talking to millennials and others about the sector of our economy. here is what you have to say about the growing presence of it. sen. warner: that is kind of why

i started. when you think about airbnb, uber lyft -- these are all companies -- none of them existed five years ago. mckinsey has done a study that said upwards of 1/3 of the workforce in america is contingent, some are working full-time, have got a second job, a lot of folks have to work three jobs out of economic necessity for long time, but increasingly there are people, particularly amongst the millennials, who are saying i do not want a 9:00 to 5:00, i want to have the freedom. and this is like a wave that is coming. and i think what i want to try to do as a policy maker is not stop the ways but make sure the wave has still got upward economic mobility to it. back to one of the questions over here -- does not have to go from here to here with nothing

in between -- was that you? -- so it does not disrupt that movement. your basic point about small business versus where the job creation comes from is still valid. host: that is senator mark warner recently here in d.c. talking about the gig economy, the 1/3 of americans that have two jobs to three jobs to make a living. we will talk more about that coming up here with the senator. he will join us later this morning at 8:30 a.m. eastern time. before that, we will talk with representative louie gohmert, a republican from texas. we will get his reaction to the recent supreme or hearings as well as the debate over the confederate flag, immigration, and other key topics. first, the heritage foundation yesterday hosted a panel discussion about the ongoing iran nuclear negotiations that were set to conclude yesterday but will now continue at least until friday. take a look at this exchange. [video clip] >> but he goes to the issue of

whether no agreement is better than a bad agreement and i think president obama is right when he has repeatedly said that as he moved toward a bad agreement. [laughter] but the saudis have been most explicit. they have said they are going to have what iran is permitted whether or not there is an agreement. so if iran is constrained in a some realistic way, i think that would be good, but the saudis see this arrangement that is emerging for what it is. there may be a temporary pause in terms of the number of centrifuges being connected, but clearly iran is now a threshold state. we have abandoned the goal of denying it a nuclear weapon

capability which was our goal, which was the goal of the international community as registered in multiple un security council resolutions. we have abandoned that and said what we will now do is move from two months, three months breakup time to 12 months. that is a fatally flawed notion and the saudis see it for what it is. they see that as fatally flawed. host: yesterday's discussion at the heritage foundation but those ongoing iran nuclear to goshen's will stop if you are interested, you can go to our website, c-span.org, to watch more. joining us here on set is republican louie gohmert. guest: always happy to be here with you, greta, thank you. host: let's talk about the confederate flag, it passed in the state senate, and now it is going over to the house site today. our viewers have in following

this debate here on c-span. they can watch it again today this morning when they take it up. what is your view of removing the confederate flag? guest: i think it is totally up to the state. i understand what people say it is a symbol that is offensive to them. that is one of the things we look at when making decisions. does the offensiveness overcome any usefulness that it has? i don't think it is necessary to completely remove it off to sam's -- off of tombstones and things like that -- it is part of our history -- but i am not going to tell south carolina -- the federal government has no business doing that. but i tell you one thing i am convinced about after seeing what happened after the shooting, and that is that the people in south carolina particularly charleston, a place

i am just crazy about when they came together, race was not an issue. you had one nutcase that was just violent. i am telling you, i do not see how anybody can keep from being touched deeply by the way the family members reacted and loved as christians are supposed to. i do not know if i could be that way, but as a christian i am supposed to be, but wow, what a testimony. host: there has been recent news that texas is considering removing confederate monuments around the state. do you agree with that. ? guest: right. it depends. you have to do an assessment and the state officials in texas are saying -- let's take a look. some of them may not be active. as an old history major in college, a history student every day i think that is important. anything that is not accurate or that is offensive more than it

is useful to our heritage, then, yeah, it is not a problem to remove it. i have complete faith and focus on austan and around texas. they will make our decisions but i think it is a great idea to take a look at it. host: the council of conservative citizens, it has been called the white national group, citing statistics from their website, the head of that gave you campaign contributions, i understand, in 2012. do you plan to return them? some of your colleagues have done that. guest: actually i am not returning them to him, but what we are doing is sending them to the church in charleston. in fact, i doubled the amount of his contribution, they were only a couple, they were not very big, but i double that amount incident to a church interest in

where i know it can do some good. i am allowed to do that. i would not send it back to him. why not send it to the church where it can do some good? host: what do you make of this whole debate that is happening in our country, particularly in south carolina after that shooting at that church, and how it has shifted? the confederate flag was removed, there was a debate back in 2000 to remove it in south carolina, but now there is -- moving from one place on the capitol grounds to where it stands now -- but now there is this debate of let's take it down and put in a museum. guest: as i understand it, the discussion is let's take it out of the museums, let's take it out of everywhere. just like i think it is inappropriate to fail to discuss how outrageous and what an affront to civilization that hitler was. we can't not discuss part of our

heritage. there are parts of our heritage -- slavery, for example -- it is an abomination. it'd massive damage to our nation, and to the families and individuals who were enslaved, but you do not not talk about them because you cannot grow better until you look at all of your heritage, but as you look at our heritage, we had an awakening in the early 1700's, a spiritual christian revival, and that many say that is what led to churches coming out, and have been leading the charge for the revolution. and then a second great awakening that drove churches to push for an end to slavery. i know there were some on the french that supported it, but that was certainly not be christlike way to go. and you had an ordained

christian minister named martin luther king, junior that some say helped african americans -- no he did not. he helped everybody in america. i was a little white kid in east texas, and because of his work that he gave his life for, i was able to grow up treating brothers and sisters like brothers and sisters. so we've seen that play throughout our history, nothing is gained by ignoring the bad parts of history. and of course the discussion that many are having in the south and in texas, south carolina is too many, most of them did not have slaves. it was about the federal government not telling our state what we can and cannot do, about states' rights, but it is hard to separate the' rights -- the states' rights argument.

if you look at every name lincoln -- if you look at abraham lincoln and his revolution to the point of becoming president, i talked to an historian who passed away now, but professor lucas pierced from oklahoma -- i just love that guy, he was such a great historian, but he was telling me that lincoln believed that for a guy that looked like him and sounded like him to be elected president, god had to be in it and that he had a purpose, and that was to end slavery. originally, he believed, he was supposed to immediately start to end slavery, and he did not do that. of course states started seceding and he said ok, i will hold the union together, and once i hold it together, then i will end slavery. anyway, the professor said after his first son died, the first

one of their sons to dopass lincoln blamed himself, he felt like god was punishing him for not immediately moving to end slavery, and that drove him to push for the things he started moving on later in his presidency. but i do not know if god was punishing him for not immediately trying to end slavery, but it does convince into the difficulty that lincoln was encountering internally. host: talk about this a little bit. this is the "washington post" editorial -- how texas is whitewashing civil war history. guest: that is funny coming from the "washington post." they whitewash a lot of history. host: texas schools will play a bigger role in inspiring the constitution than slavery did in the civil war.

the lone star state's new social studies textbooks deliberately written to played on slavery's role in southern history, do not threaten only texans, they pose a danger to schoolchildren all over the country. guest: from our study of texas history, slavery was not a big deal in texas. it was not something that just overwhelmed texas. so for some states, slavery was what the civil war was all about, but in texas, it was more of a states' rights issue, and the "washington post," i am sure it is just their ignorance about the bible, and about our history, but it was not as much moses as it was teachings through the bible and how god divided -- we get to three branches. you had judges, you had the executive and the kingship, and

then you have those who made the laws. often that was rolled into one person, but they saw tahat as three separate, distinct goals of government, but if you come into the house chamber, there are side profiles of all the greatest lawgivers in the history of man as was thought at the time it was done. the only one with a full face is moses, and that is because at one time he was thought to be the greatest lawgiver of all time. he gave 10 good commandments. now i guess the supreme court with a maybe five or six of them are pretty good. i was listening to oral arguments. i was licensed to practice law before the supreme court, but i was listening to arguments about whether or not texas could keep the statue on our state capitol grounds for the 10

commandments, and they are arguing back and forth about the symbol and all this. and i looked up to my right on the marble wall, you have got moses inscribed on the wall looking down with the 10 commandments, and i thought what kind of world am i living in? you are talking about whether texas can keep a monument dedicated to it, and of course moses was such an important thing that they inscribed him in the wall. now, i did not know until i saw -- and c-span might have played a role in this -- but a documentary about the supreme court in the last few years that of course staffed got the money appropriated for the separate billing for the supreme court. when they first opened in 1935 the judges were appalled. they were taken through and said judges should not have a palace. this is a palace. as some of the judges for a long time did not move in because it was a palace was up i do not

know if you are aware, but they are fine with the palace now. host: c-span did do a document about the supreme court, so viewers can go to our website. that is one debate, the civil war and the confederate flag. we will also have you weigh in on supremerecently in the immigration debate as well. let's go to mike and pennsylvania, an independent. caller: i was wondering if the representative would explain to the fearful people in texas that the federal government is not going to be invading texas. thank you. guest: well, i guess he is talking about operation -- some people have ascribed things to me that i did not say, and that is not unusual. i am still called a birther, and i have never been a birther. i signed onto a bill in 2009 that, any future election,

whoever is running, should prove that they are qualified as an american citizen. i thought that was a good idea and i still think it is, so we do not have those disputes. but i am called a birther. i am accused of saying that we are afraid that the federal government is going to invade and take over texas. what i find incredibly offenses -- incredibly offensive is that in this jane hellmann exercise i have never seen this before. a map was provided that show the states, including texas, texas was red, considered hostile. utah, another very conservative state, was considered hostile. a conservative area in southern california was considered hostile. i have participated in military games, helped plan them. i was in the army for four years.

in fort benning. i have never seen real games used like that, and especially not in the united states. it is an affront, and offense. back in the late 1970's, when we were thinking of going into iran war did not use the name iran. we made up names. i find this extremely offensive that this administration this commander in chief would say that texas is hostile and we have to take it act over. it is not as much a concern decades ago as naming texas and utah as a place we have to recapture. host: jim, good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. assuming they take down the confederate flag, what would

everybody's reaction if all the indian tribes around the country insisted that we take down the american flag? dozens of people really have a grievance. guest: did he say mexicans arguing about taking the flag down? host: no, native americans. guest: it is an interesting point. i do not see that happening except that in some places around the country, that battle has been fought verbally. we have to take down the american flag -- some people think it is an affront. people have already alleged that the american flag needs to stand as long as this is the united states of america. the american flag needs to stand and wave proudly for many giving their lives to make that happen. native americans -- that is another issue we ought to be looking more into. i am on the

committee with jurisdiction, and we see better ways that native americans are treated. guest:host: the natural resources committee? guest: right. host: dan in texas, an independent. hi, dan. caller: good morning. guest: good morning. caller: i am a vietnam vet. guest: thank you for your service. caller: thank you, sir. does he believe that we are trying to do away with our so-called history that has made this country as great as it is today? this stuff that the supreme court is doing, i think they are going against our forefathers' rights, that they fought for this country and made this country so great. they are getting away from god's law and they are trying to make their own law replace god's law.

what does he think on this issue back of -- on this issue? guest: the supreme court -- not all of them, but some of them -- have been violating their both of office. they are not as concerned about the constitution as they are in looking good on the editorial page of "the washington post" and "the new york times." they have done a massive amount of damage. if you look at the decision on obamacare the last two weeks, i thought justice scalia said "words no longer have meeting -- no longer have meaning --" the court is making stuff up, rewriting legislation. it was an outreach -- it was an outrage that what they did. it is tough to take what justice

roberts said when he was part of her ridiculous majority. when it comes to the decision on marriage -- look, i know a lot of people do not leave the bible like i do. if you think moses was crazy when he said a man shall leave his mother and father, and when they leave their home the two will become one flesh, and that his marriage, or you think that jesus was crazy, or a madman, as some said, when he repeated the law on marriage, and what he added, "what god has joined together, let no man separate." if you took four couples men and wife, and you put them on an island that had everything they needed to survive, and then you take four couples of men -- maybe we could have a government survey, spend billions of dollars and study this -- put four couples of men on another island, with they -- with what

they need to survive -- and put four women on another island with what they need to survive -- and come back in 400 years and see which civilization has survived and which has ended. nature dictates what should be a marriage building block. people have loved people of the same sex and been prohibited from seeing them in the hospital. those kinds of things we should fix. if you love somebody and they love you you ought to be able to see them in the hospital, leave them property. there are a lot of things that we can fix without destroying the building block. but in the case of marriage -- two of our justices, taken and ginsburg -- kagan and ginsburg -- presided.

"any justice, judge, magistrate of the united states shall disqualify -- not maybe, shall disqualify -- impartiality might reasonably be questioned." we have two judges who acted illegally, violated the constitution. that is an illegitimate improper decision. when the highest court in the land has two judges that are that condescending and that willing to violate the law in order to impose their unelected will on the american people then got help us, we are in a lot of trouble. host: your reaction to the front page of "the washington times" this morning. "same-sex marriage ruling gives gun groups silver lining."

"could translate to lose interest rich for concealed carry licenses." guest: i know that is trying to put a silver lining all that abominable decision, but what the writers at "the washington times" do not realize is how the supreme court has no problem whatsoever being completely contradictory. if they were a consistent court and used the same logic and followed that, that would be a good point. the trouble with the supreme court, they will not even follow their own president. that's their own precedent. look at the oklahoma case. marriage is an issue for the states. we have -- the federal government has no role whatsoever with it. that should have been enough from keeping them from getting involved in the same-sex

marriage case, but it did not because they are completely hypocritical. in that same sort of case, they also ruled on a california case where people voted on and got a pass -- it was a referendum -- and they said those people did not have standing. same situation as the members of congress yet they said they did not have standard. or look at the decision on obamacare originally. on page 15, justice roberts writing for the majority said this is not a tax, it is unhealthy -- it is a penalty. if it were a tax, we would not have standing or jurisdiction. congress called it a penalty clearly it is a penalty, not attacks. then he goes for 40 pages and says this is really a tax and not a penalty, and therefore it is constitutional. they did not mind being massive hypocrites in the same decision

a few dozen pages apart. "washington times" makes a good point, that if this is a consistent court, they have gotten so far away from the constitution and our unanchored from anything. host: ron, on our line for democrats. caller: good morning, greta. you're looking good again this morning. guest: she looks like she got a tan, doesn't she? [laughter was back in caller: -- laughter] caller: congressman, i do not remember us allowing the nazis to put up any kind of flags or remembrance or stones for all the good battles and everything they did. a couple more comments.

if you would have taken in those 55 or 60, you know, health-care take that out of there instead of repealing it, replaced it 55 times out of 55 times you might have come up with one good plan that the president could have okayed. and then you want the good supreme court to come in and take care of your problem. they are doing a good job, and i am a christian. i have read the bible, and i would never stone my children for not following my rules. read the bible. guest: thank you, and i do read the bible every day. i am glad that he reads it from time to time. that is what jesus brought us. but if you will read what he said in matthew 5, it was a crime to -- if you say that to

somebody it makes it very clear, the government encourages you to do good, but if you do evil, be afraid because god does not give the government the sword in vain. if you commit a crime there can be capital punishment. i do not want anybody to misunderstand -- and apparently the caller did -- my mentioning of the nazis. whether you agree or disagree with something that has happened in the past, you do not just take it out of the history books like joseph stalin did and eliminated altogether. there was a time, even as abominable as the not see -- as the nazi flag was.

this is america, and there is freedom here, or there used to be. i was not comparing the confederacy to nazi germany. i was pointing out that you do not eliminate parts of your history that you do not like altogether. anyway we did have a time in this country, most of our history, when people were quoting -- usually attributable to voltaire -- i disagree with what you say but i will defend your right to say it. now we have disregarded that. that was often decided -- that was often cited during the revolution. now you will go after my family because we disagree yak of this is a mean-spirited time in america, and we would all do better like our caller does from time to time and read the bible. host: patty, on our line for

republicans, you are on the air. caller: representative gomer, i just want to say that representative gohmert, i appreciate you standing up for what is right, for standing up for biblical principle. people are willing to be christians and willing to stand up and even willing to say the name of jesus -- i so appreciate you doing that. i myself and i am a follower of christ. in a lot of people say christian and they misunderstand and they are very liberal about it. i would like to say, thank you so much. i want to pray for you, your family, and the few republicans that call themselves christians. when i do find one, i want to let you know how much i really appreciate it. host: ok, patty.

congressman? guest: i wish we were in the same room so i could hug your neck. and if you will pray for me, i do not need prayers for courage -- sometimes i have too much -- but i need prayers for wisdom and discernment. host: what do you think of the pope saying that the world needs to act on climate change, and that god will judge how we leave the earth. guest: he is the pope. the trouble is he has been persuaded that climate change is something that is dramatically affecting the planet right now. he has bought into all this. i have nothing but the utmost respect -- i thank god for the catholic church, for the stances of prior popes and this pope --

but we have had popes that have made enormous mistakes, that were influenced by the world around them. but if you will just really objectively look at the data and see that the world is really not warming, and that is why supporters of global warming had to change the name to "climate change," because it was going back and forth. climate change -- i do not see it so much as a problem. where i live in east texas, we have climate change. i totally believe that. i know that to be a fact. we have it four times a year. host: you said the pope has been persuaded by people. by whom? guest: by the massive onslaught of media trying to convince the world that climate change is our leading problem. the president has said it repeatedly, and i think it is

wonderful that the pope listens to the words of the u.s. president -- that is a good thing -- but so many places do not even allow an opposing viewpoint. conferences do not allow an opposing viewpoint. since when -- well, that is a record of -- that is a rhetorical question. they did not allow galileo to make an opposing viewpoint, too. a lot of accurate opposing viewpoints that were not allowed at the time that were later allowed to come in, and people wondered how in the world did that whole group of educated people come to the wrong conclusion? climate change happens. it will always happen. i remember reading a headline on one of the big national magazines, that we were at the beginning of the new icd back in the 1970's. -- of the new ice age back in the 1970's.

they were wrong then, and i think there will be another cycle to come. host: canton, north carolina, terry, you are on the air with the congressman. caller: good morning. i want to say something about the flag. i believe in heritage, not hate, but i do not believe it should be on top of the statehouse. here in -- here and in chicago -- chicago is the distribution hub for billions and billions and tons -- of tons of heroin, methamphetamines and marijuana. they want to ban guns in chicago for everybody killing each other, but hillary clinton barack obama, and the democrats have blood on their hands. those children died because of gang members and people killing each other over drugs. host: we will talk about drug

policy in this country. guest: i appreciate his point about order. i did not -- about border. the border is an issue. we had these numbers in from fiscal year 2014 -- ice released in 2000 convicted criminals in 2014. they have been convicted of 79,059 crimes, 186 kidnappings sexual assaults, and 14,014 impaired driving offenses. ice has released another 246 criminal aliens since 2014. this is a massive problem. we have got to force the southern border to be protected. when it comes to gangs, as a felony judge, let me tell you, i had a gang member convicted of

murder. he was the head of his gang. against his lawyers' wishes, he testified on the sentencing phase. he said, look, everybody is always trashing gangs. he said i have no father, i barely ever see my mother. my gang is my family, and i am sick of people trashing it. it got me to thinking, really, we talk about guns and drugs. isn't the bigger problem the fact that a gang leader like that that ended up murdering someone -- isn't it a real tragedy that we have broken up the family the way we had? the great society meant well, but when you start paying people for every child they have out of wedlock, then you will go as we have. single moms, heading over 40 50%. that was his case. his mom was not able to spend time with him.

you look at the formulation of gangs and the impact they have had. you look at people going over to ice. some of them come from good homes, but some of them are looking for a family because we have destroyed so much of the family here in america. that gets more to the root of the issue. host: lots more to talk about on that. guest: greta, i love being with you. thank you so much. you are always so fair. i am sure i have said a lot of things that you do not agree with, but you are always fair and i appreciate that. host: we appreciate you coming on to talk with our viewers. coming up, we will look at the so-called gave economy, with senator markey warner. americans stringing together two to three jobs -- senator mark warner, americans stringing together 223 jobs. how the government helps and sometimes hurts those efforts.

we will be right back. announcer: this week on "first ladies," we learn about lucretia garfield a believer in women's rights, when her husband, james garfield was assassinated. she returned to ohio and insured his legacy by making their home into an early version of a

presidential library. chester arthur becomes president, and his sister fills the role of first lady and establishes white house social etiquette used by future first ladies for decades. lucretia garfield and mary arthur mcelroy. "first ladies: influence and image." examining the first ladies and their influence on the presidency, from martha washington to michelle obama. american history tv on c-span3. announcer: washington journal continues. host: we are back with senator mark warner, democrat from virginia. you are here to talk about the gig economy. how big is it? guest: the gig economy -- not everybody agrees with the term. where there it is called the on demand economy, sharing economy.

think of the idea of someone who is a uber driver for some of the time, ambien be. it is two or three revenue streams coming together to form a type of employment. some of this is coming about after the recession because people lost their 9-to-5 jobs and had to cobble together a variety of resources. smillennials have bumped my age group off the stage and are now 3 million strong. they are doing this by choice. they do not want to work nine to five, cobbling together these new type of employment sources. it is the fastest-growing part of the whole economy. there are good things about it but there are also some big policy questions because a lot of these folks may be doing very well, but there is absolutely no social safety net. there is no unemployment workmen's comp., disability.

they went from doing well to being back on public's assistance. host: how big is this fastest-growing sector of our economy? guest: there is not really good data, but most folks estimate that it is up to a third of the economy. some of that are people working full-time and having a second job. some of them are traditional independent contractors, some folks who may be scientists, may be an actor, journalist, independent contractors. this is clearly a phenomenon, when you think of a uber, north of 2000 drivers. this is really something that has been driven by, frankly your smart phone and gps technology, which has allowed you to disaggregate between a traditional employer or employee and basically monetized something you are not able to

monetize in the past -- your spare time, a spare room you have in your house or apartment. it is a big factor in terms of lifestyle choices, particularly for millennials. host: we followed you recently to we work and office sharing company here in washington, d.c. you talked to millennials, but there were also baby boomers taking your questions and asking you questions. but your concern is that because there is not a safety net, taxpayers would be on the hook, right? host: my concern is how do we make -- guest: how do we make sure that we do not stifle innovation? right now washington things about this in three categories. you are either employed, unemployed, or you are an independent contractor. each of those carry different sense of legal requirements. i do not want to try to fit this

new economy into these old classifications, but i do realize that the -- that if there is no unemployment, no workmen's comp., no disability, someone who might have a bump in their life -- as we all do -- could end up being back on taxpayer time because there is no ability to catch you on the way. health care, in light of the supreme court decision, folks can still access health care. i am not saying that i have the absolute solution at this point but we do need to think about options. maybe there could be unemployment exchange model. think about a carpenter who in the 1950's or 1960's might have worked for 10 different contractors. the contractor and the carpenter would contribute into a social welfare fund based upon the number of hours that you work. that would be administered not by the government, but by a

third party. it would pay out if the person became unemployed. maybe that model. there might be a consumer driven model. you get out of that car, put a little bit of a clique there that goes into a social insurance fund. i am not sure what the right answer is, but i know the fastest-growing area of our economy, we need to be thinking about this so there is not the circumstance where we suddenly have not millions but perhaps tens of millions of people in this part of the economy, and then if we have an economic downturn and we are having to turn basically back to social welfare programs as our only option. host: has in this sector of our economy always existed? why is it something new, now being called a gated economy or -- a gig economy or a shared economy? guest: i'm sure there are those that are rolling their eyes and saying this is nothing new, that folks have been getting by having to cobble together two to three jobs in the past. what is different is folks getting these types of employment.

because you were completely on your own hours, because you have no set schedule, because you choose to work when you want your there is not the kind of direct supervision where you show up at a certain location and do a certain set of things. it really is a different kind of frame. it is how you monetize some of your spare time and monetize some asset you have, oftentimes with you directly dealing with whoever is paying you, with actually no intermediary at all. i do think from talking to a lot of these companies, and finding frankly, no politicians talking to them at this point, which i find surprising. 20 people running for president so far, and no one is talking about the fastest-growing sector of our economy. many of them want to do the right thing, but trying to figure that out in a way that continues to allow innovation and freedom of choice, but also getting this right is something that we at least need to start

the conversation. host: you have talked to the airbnb ceo and other ceo's. how is government hurting them? guest: you do see things oftentimes where -- let's take airbnb for a moment. there is competition with the traditional hotel business. there are stoning issues. when you think about a task rabbit when the ceo of task rabbit, she and her husband were having a party, and they needed dog food, somebody in the neighborhood would go get the dog food for me if they could figure this out. 70% of folks that are now doing this now, many who have college educations, are doing this but have a little spare

time, and they can monetize their time. what i find from a lot of these millennials -- the good news about them is they want to work for and buy from companies who have social responsibility. many of these entities want to do the right thing. maybe we need a hybrid classification that does not fit into the traditional models. maybe we need to try a variety of states different models. host: we are talking with senator mark warner about the so-called gig economy one third of americans stringing jobs together to make a living. we want to get your questions and comments. we want to start with mark, -- with marge, a democrat from virginia. guest:caller: i want to ask the senator about the pipeline they are building through virginia. it is totally unnecessary, and the money could be used for

other things so easily. we could develop wind energy and solar energy, and these pipelines are going to be obsolete in no time at all. and then it will destroy this beautiful county that i live in. guest: marge, i am very familiar with the challenge in your county. one of the things that i have said is that i want to make sure that all the citizens in your county and other counties get their say and are called upon to have a second hearing, because it seems the first hearing was a little bit skewed toward the advocates in favor. i do believe we have seen this enormous growth, particularly in natural gas, around america that has allowed america to become more energy independent and allowed america, because using natural gas lowers our carbon footprint to be one of the few nations of the world to have

actually hit the kyoto climate accords. i think there is a use for natural gas. there are challenges around how it ships, where it is piped. one of the things that i want to make sure is that this proceeding is going to go forward. i am watching this proceeding but i want to make sure that any of the proposed pipelines, if they are going to be put in place, that they are done in the most environmentally conscious way possible. they have voluntarily moved the pipeline a couple of times. i also want them to use the existing right of ways. host: manchester, connecticut. benjamin, a republican. caller: good morning. i have a question for you, senator. is eta overreach -- did eta overreach in last night cause congressional hearings?

guest: i am sure what you're talking about. caller: are the epa regulations hurting transportation renewable energy, and states rights? guest: again, there is a lot of controversy about a variety of epa regulations. there is controversy about the waters of usa regulations that have been put out. obviously, there is a lot of controversy, and something i am watching closely, about the carbon regulations that will still be reviewed and will come out some time in the fall. we need to deal with the real challenges around carbon. we need to deal with climate change. i accept the fact that 98% plus of the scientists agree that this is an enormous challenge. the pope weighing in recently as a moral voice to this issue speaking specifically about the regulations in virginia. i want to make sure the

regulations acknowledge that a state like virginia, the has nuclear power -- you could argue pro or con nuclear and i believe nuclear power on to be part of our mix -- nuclear does not create any kind of carbon footprint. a lot of states look at their regulations on an individual basis. those are the two i know that a lot of folks are talking about at this point. host: back to the so-called gig economy. you said 25 people are running for president and no one is talking about this fastest-growing part of our economy, but what about the lawmakers on capitol hill? does it necessarily have to be a government solution to the problems that you are seeing? guest: i do not think this will cry out for a bill tomorrow in congress. but if we do not come out with some policy framework, what could end up happening is literally thousands of cases of litigation all over the country.

that is not going to be good for the companies engaged in this sector not for the individuals working in this growing sector. there are traditional firms. i talked to the ceo of kelly services. there used to be a temp firm -- when i was a kid, there was the notion of somebody who was a technical role. now kelly is replacing people as top level scientists in fortune 500 companies. they are looking at this issue very closely. how do they make sure they look at providing edifice for the folks who work for them? so i think there will be at some point actually a crying out from these companies to say give us a set of rules, give us a framework or at least a series of options. if not, you could end up with a series of court cases being litigated on the local level all

across the country. there was a case recently in california about overtime pay for a uber driver. that has no precedence value beyond the individual case, but doing this on a one-off litigation basis does not make sense if we believe this is a sector of the economy, one that is going to grow, too that many people like the freedom advisability it has -- how do you do it in a way that also makes sure the taxpayer does not end holding the bag -- end up holding the bag if it does not work? if there could be some kind of collaborative contribution to create unemployment or workmen's comp. or disability or any easier platform, that would allow the sector to grow. host: in that uber court case, the court was deciding whether or not the uber driver was an

employee or independent contractor. what is the difference when it comes to the tax code, and why does it matter? guest: if you are an employee, a whole set of rules come into play over what type of funds are withheld, being out a number of hours. clearly there are some firms around the country, particularly in the janitorial services, who are in an effort to get away from paying benefits. they have simply classified all their employees as independent contractors. they still have to show up at a certain time and wear a uniform. i have no sympathy for those colonies because they are simply trying to skirt the law in terms of the benefits they have to pay. but if you are individual drives for lyft twice a month and rents out your apartment for once a month and maybe you do some crash that you sell a couple times a month, are you really an employee for each of those three firms? i am not sure that the

definition works. host: that is our topic, folks doing two to three different types of jobs to have a stream of revenue coming in. tim, an independent in colorado what do you think? caller: senator warner, i have some interesting research that you have gotten into. the gig economy seems to be a response to our changing economy. it is kind of a two-part question. i have watched democrats and republicans agree on two things that are kind of rare -- trade agreements, and they agree on nsa. when i see republicans and democrats agree on anything, i am always astounded here it there is something there. my question is specifically, do you think there is something in the trade agreements that could

be done differently, whereby maybe companies have to produce x amount of the goods they are producing -- cars, whatever it is -- in the united states, and then they can go off sure and do the other 50%? something to help maintain what would be traditional employment because the gig employment looks like the alternative, scraping the bottom of the barrel to keep afloat. guest: i think we take kind of in reverse order. i think there are some folks in the gig economy, certain friends my age who in the recession lost their jobs, many of them in the finance world who are now in the gig economy, not by choice but because that is how they had to put a living together. i also know there are a lot of folks that i meet with who are millennials who, frankly, do not

want to work a traditional 9-to-5 job, and have a completely different mindset that owning a house, owning a car as the key to the american dream -- maybe they will share a car, collect a series of experiences, and they love the idea of trying to be micro entrepreneurs. the notion that they are cobbling together a couple of different things that gives them a set of freedoms that frankly my generation and my folks' generation did not have. they are doing this by choice. i do not think this is scraping the bottom of the barrel. many are college grad and graduate school grads doing this right choice. on trade, i firmly support the trade deal. our economy is a mature economy. 95% of all the future customers from american businesses are going to be a broad. i want to make sure that we can sell them our stuff and our services. but i want to make sure, particularly when we look at asia, that it is americans

setting the rules and not china setting the rules. china goes to the lowest common denominator, and i will look for making sure that the countries will be part of any agreement that they have strong labor standards, strong human rights standards. it will have to be a much better agreement than the so-called nafta agreements were in the 1990's. this notion of domestic content is part of what a trade agreement ought to be looking at. at the end of the day where america is going to be adding the most value, we will have the most value around high skilled jobs, around jobs that are created from intellectual product, around advanced manufacturing. some of the assembly jobs, kind of on the lower end of the scale, probably will be done elsewhere. if we can do the basic research and kind of advanced manufacturing components and we see other industrial nations do this -- germany has maintained a

strong advanced manufacturing sector -- if we can do that and sell those materials people all over the world want to buy our goods -- that will be net good for american jobs. host: we go to william in virginia, a democrat. caller: good morning. first off, i would like to thank you for your service to the commonwealth. i met you back in the 1990's in an elementary classroom in lynchburg, virginia. you were first campaigning and later on through the virginia campaign association. thank you for your service. listening to you talk about these strains of income -- i was a teacher but i work three or four jobs until i was 50 years old. i worked for one company for 15 years straight, and i never could get the 900 hours required for me to become part of the retirement system with those

types of incentives. i was just wondering, the importance of social security for people who retire -- i never worried about rolling it over or having to contact anyone or anything herein i would just like to know, do you think that keeping that strong for these streams of income, or do you have a possible plan for separating something where people could contribute, where you know it is going to be there when you get all like i have done? host: thanks -- guest: thanks for the question. first of all, we have to maintain the integrity of social security. it is critically important. it is critically important for folks who are qualifying. i just hit 60 this year, so i am just a few years away myself. we need to be honest about social security. when i was a kid, there were 16 people working for everyone person on retirement, social

security or medicare. now there are three. thankfulness we are living a lot longer. anyone who denies that the social security is still working cannot read a balance sheet. i do believe we need to make sure they promise of social security for people in their 20's and 30's -- none of millennials believe they will have social security. we have to make changes so that we do not have the 20% plus cuts in social security. whether it is raising the cap on the amount of income taxed -- i have supported with the president supported, so-called chain cpi, which is a different measurement of consumer price index. there are a variety of knobs you can turn. the sooner we start the process in place to shore up social security so it will be here 50 years from now, the better in terms of making sure that we keep that commitment and promise

to our young people. at the same time, think about the changes to retirement. my dad did not make a lot of money but he was guaranteed attention with good benefits. he had health care. think about my generation. we moved from a defined that if it lands to a defined contribution plan. we have some level of back-in guarantee, but it is much smaller. this next-generation generation outside social security has very little. when you think about social safety net, we ought to be not only thinking about unemployment , workmen's comp., disability. we have to look at what pension plans would look like so that some of these millennials who are cobbling together and living high in this so-called gig economy, that they can put some resources away for retirement. depending on social security alone is not a good term -- a

good long-term fiscal plan. host: a tweet -- guest: first of all, not everyone working in the so-called gig economy are working in low-end jobs. some of the contractor will jobs are quite high paying. airbnb statistics are showing that. data has shown at least on the top end that there is still some question that many cities, uber drivers are making more than cabdrivers. so i think there is a debate about the level and the pay for some of these jobs out there bank. i do not think you can categorize them one way or the other. i do think -- this is another issue i have been working on -- that we need to think about how

to make capitalism work in the 21st century. i was in the wireless business, cofounding nextel. i was blessed to do very well but i really worry about an economy today where someone can be conforti, 50 hours of -- can be working 40, 50 hours a week and still be working on -- and still be relying on the government to get by. i worry that the focus on short-term capitalism is going to destroy capitalism and that the traditional kind of macro economic model that says we have got an abundance of labor and a shortage of capital and everything in our tax code promotes capital over labor, that that may be switched around in america. you look around, and we have lots of capital stock -- sloshing around in the system. how you can reset some of the tax code to actually in sent

investments and pay in quality label and upscaling of labor, that is something we have to wrestle with. long-term if we get this right we could have higher disposable income for people, a more trained workforce, and the government will have less obligation to pay out benefits. host: here is another tweet. guest: there is actually a woman who has put together something called a freeholders union in new york that has really been very successful. she is looking at different models, cobbling together folks. a freelancer's economy -- first of all we have to come up with a common term. she is saying how can people come together and pool some of their resources and try to make

sure that some level of benefits are provided. that would be another model that needs to be looked at. i have sat down with the labor movement and said, what are your ideas? they have looked a lot at this notion where if somebody may be coming together a series of revenues from different sources and if they are different type of the employment -- at one point you are working on an i.t. project, at another point you are letting out your apartment -- you may have four different employers, but if everyone contributed a little bit into the social welfare fund, that might be a way to get it right. i think we are going to need to look at a series of models, and try a series of experiments, to get this right. but i think the idea of not having policymakers talk about this is a huge mistake. host: and there is no

legislation pending? guest: there is no legislation pending. we do not want to have washington rushed to a solution before we have even thought through the problem. for some folks my age they scratch their head when i talk about this. you talk to anyone in the 20's about the gig or on-demand economy, they absolutely understand it because they are living in or they have friends who are living it. host: harvey from virginia. caller: mark, this is harvey sellers. i met you in the 1960's when you first ran for office. it is a pleasure speaking with you. this gig economy you are speaking of -- is this sort of what you term a false economy? is this an economy that is paying their fair share of taxes? are they actually contributing to the well-being of the country? you have mentioned the second question about kelly service

which i worked for for 15 years. the product that they make is a plastic bag, which is made from plastics, which is a byproduct of the petroleum industry. just a way of disposing or creating one to dispose of a byproduct in the petroleum industry, of which i am not in favor because i think the burning of fossil fuels are very detrimental. host: harvey, i will have the senator respond. guest: i think many of these firms are. but the first step in terms of paying their fair share is basically filing a 1099 form which allows you to take out fica and medicare payments. i think -- some of these firms are saying they are not employers at all they are just

connectors between an individual and somebody paying directly. i am not sure i fully buy that argument. i have found in my conversations with a lot of these company's, they want to do the right thing. let's look at airbnb. they have started to add a million dollars of liability on the apartments of those people who use their apartments or rent them out. we want to urge that along. we want to make sure that we do not create what is called the gray economy. there has been in a long time the gray economy, where people are paid under the table and nothing is reported. those are companies and individuals that frankly -- individuals are not paying their share in terms of taxes. the companies are not paying their fair share. we do not want to create a great economy here. i believe in america everybody needs to chip in their fair share to keep the system going. what i am saying is in this new kind of gig economy we have got

right now, even if you have options on health care, even if you are getting medicare and fica taken out, what is not being dealt with is unemployment, workmen's comp., a series of others. how do agree create -- how do we create those and still allow innovation, and make sure that those working in that economy have some level of safety net? host: senator mark warner is also on the rules administration. i want to ask you before you go about the iran nuclear deal. the deadline is being extended now to friday. what are your overall thoughts about these negotiations, and congress getting to look at this deal? guest: i think it is important that congress looks at this. i supported legislation that says that congress gets a review period. i have not gotten caught up in all the swirl and the hyperbole going on.

my sense is i am going to listen to what the president said and say let's look at the deal. if there is a deal. the challenge is going to be if it is a good deal, great. if it is bad, i will vote against it. the question is, if it is a deal in the zone what is the breakout time? what is the level of relief? how do we make sure that we have verification of what iran is doing or not doing. i do not trust the iranians at all. one of the challenges is making sure that we maintain the rest of the world, kind of united against the iranian regime. one of the things that president on to get credit for is we have kept china and russia, countries that are not necessarily favorable to us, uniting and maintaining the sanctions regime. we are not going to snap back into the sanctions regime -- it

is going to be very difficult. if the ayatollah's comments are in the agreement, i do not think there will be any deal because this notion that there is not going to be the kind of complete review of everything in the iranian nuclear process, it just would not be acceptable. host: we know you have to run senator, so thank you for taking your time to be with our viewers. we will continue this conversation about the self-employed in this country. we will be talking with it easily struck -- with katie vlieststra. that conversation continues after the short break. announcer: c-span gives you the best access to congress. live coverage of the u.s. house

congressional hearings and news conferences, bringing you events that shape public policy. every morning, "washington journal" is live with elected officials, policymakers, and journalists, and your comments by phone, facebook, and twitter. c-span -- brought to you as a public service by your local cable or satellite provider. this summer, booktv will cover book festivals from around the country and top-notch fiction authors and books. next weekend, we are live at the harlem book fair, the nation's flagship african-american literary event. at the beginning of september we are live at the nation's capital for the national book festival. celebrating its 15th year. c-span's booktv. "washington journal" continues. host: we are back continuing our conversation about those

employed, self-employed in this country, the so-called gig economy. helping us to continue conversation is katie vlietstra joining us from new york this morning. katie, we have heard from the senator talking about this. he is focused on this, having these listening sessions, focusing on it, on the work he does on capitol hill. do you think that this growing part of our economy needs attention from capitol hill? guest: absolutely. one of the things senator warner has done really talking about this emerging economy. he was joking there are several names that we call it, the gig economy, the freelance economy the unmanned economy. what is important is about the

conversation about these individuals, that they are doing what they want to do with her time, making money -- how are they being incorporated into our current system? one of the issues that has to be addressed isone of the things we have been looking at is this freelance economy is the opportunity for some real tax reform. because of this huge population of people that have started -- on esty, jackrabbit, uber -- they are gravitating to this kind of environment. we have to look at our tax code our labor laws. it is a very complex issue. i applaud senator warner for taking the time to learn about this economy and put forth solutions and not rush to judgment. greta wodele brawner: let's talk about the self-employed in general in the tax code. how does it work for them? katie vlietstra: it's very complicated.

it's very time-consuming for an individual who is taking steps to be self-employed. senator warner mentioned tax filing. when you are self-employed, you are filing your taxes four times a year. most americans are grudgingly rushing to the april 15 deadline. the self-employed are filing every quarter. they are paying their taxes. they are paying state taxes, local, unemployment. it is just onerous having to do that. one of the challenges is that your business can fluctuate from year to year. you are basing your quarterly tax payments on last year's business. if you are having a rough year that is more money out of your pocket. it is not realistic as to what you are making that year. we would love to see some -- we advocate strongly for some significant tax reforms to make it easier for those individuals that are self-employed that are running a business, that don't

have the 100 hours a year to file their taxes. that could be used to business plan, marketing, to grow their business. greta wodele brawner: what do they have to file and how is it different from the w-2? katie vlietstra: as a 1099 -- every quarter you're actually making a payment to the treasury on estimated income. what you are looking at is what you paid last year. kind of your five-year payment and then you are estimating how much you are going to make in the year. the reason we recommend the self-employed to do this is it allows them to make a tax payment of recorder as opposed to at the april 15 deadline -- every quarter as opposed to the april 15 deadline. you have to be preemptive and proactive in paying those taxes. greta wodele brawner: who are

the self-employed and what are they doing? how much are they making? katie vlietstra: very diverse group of individuals. we are talking from your dentist all the way down to your pharmacist. it runs the gamut. 23 million people in the united states. heavy professional services. interestingly enough, a lot of accountants, i.t. personnel. you have an emerging market with the uber drivers and individuals were selling on atetsy. the sweet spot is $60,000 a year. that is allowing them to purchase homes across america, send their kids to college. you find rewards and owning their own business. they are contributing $1 billion to the economy dearly. we areyearly.

we are seeing that grow. greta wodele brawner: we're talking about the so-called gig economy. we have divided the lines. democrats, (202) 748-8000 republicans (202) 748-8001 independents, (202) 748-8002 and a fourth line for the self-employed, (202) 748-8003. katie vlietstra is president of the national association for the self-employed. we will hear from bob in long beach. an independent. good morning. caller: on this economy, there is only one way to fix our economy. all these imports coming into the united states. we should tax them. high enough to when they are put on the shelf, it will be the

same price as made in the usa. then you will see the economy pickup and our jobs come back from overseas. greta wodele brawner: richard in austin, texas. democrat. caller: the fact is there's more americans here that would like to go to work tomorrow but the republican congress keeps keeping them out of work. you your them hollering about gambling. that's what you're talking about. people out there gambling on making a bigger percentage of the pie here in the united states wanting a tax cut for that. if they want to gamble, they don't want to hold down an hourly job, let them pay the price. greta wodele brawner: ok. your reaction to that? are these people gambling? katie vlietstra: i don't think they are gambling. they're looking for

opportunities that are different from past generations. there is a little bit of a rub between the traditional job market where you are working nine to five with full benefits and this new emerging economy where people are deciding if they want to work 40 hours a week or 20 hours a week or 60 hours a week. i think a lot of this is trying to figure out who these people are. why are they doing this? there is a great buzz feed article about how there are six friends in san francisco all living together and they are all jackrabbit contractors. they spend their days doing tasks for people. they enjoy it. one of the things that came across in this article is that this is not a long-term job for them, but they are experiencing having fun after college, living in one of the greatest cities in america, and finding value in

learning new tasks. i think as we are talking about this gig economy it is very different to get our heads around it. i have a friend who's dad se dad retired after 40 years of the same company, enjoyed his professional life, and decided to become an over uber driver. he found his way into this freelance economy. these are the stories we're going to continue to hear. it allows people to do things differently. i think one of the challenges with this more international economy and how are we being competitive -- we are talking about manufacturing and i.t.. this is one of the unique things coming out of the united states and i think should be supported. this idea that we can do anything outside of the very traditional jobs that

generations previous and i think generations future are always going to enjoy. greta wodele brawner: greg is next in california. a democrat. caller: yes. good morning greta and katie. greta wodele brawner: good morning greg. katie vlietstra: good morning greg. caller: katie you said there was like 23 million in this gig economy. are you referring to the 23-40 million illegal immigrants. if that is the case, my question is is there a pamphlet you are putting out to instruct american citizens how to get into this undocumented economy so they can avoid taxes like the illegals? i know there are sanctuary cities that will provide help for the illegals. is there any sanctuary city where americans can perform this new type of economy?

greta wodele brawner: greg, you are breaking up there. katie vlietstra: so the 23 million are self-employed americans. this is your dentist, your tax accountant, the person who is filling your prescription drugs. to my knowledge, and to the research that has been done, i can't speak to the number of individuals who may be here undocumented at our participating in the self-employment or gig economy. they are two different things. we consider those who are uber drivers as self-employed emerging entrepreneurs. the 23 million americans out here working hard, contributing, paying their taxes is who i refer to when i use the number 23 million. greta wodele brawner: what is the biggest challenge government presents to starting a business in this country?

katie vlietstra: that's a great question. one of the things we have been working on is eliminating those roadblocks that the self-employed have when they are starting their business. some of that is really easy. how do you get your business license? i was talking to a self-employed friend in d.c.. he is a communications specialist. it was for different permits six hours in the sdc at the regulatory affairs bureau trying to get his business license. we look at opportunities states have to make it easier to make be self-employed. everyone who starts a business wants to do it right. when you're talking on a local or state level and of course federal compliance, it can be confusing and contradictory sometimes. we really think the regulation as it relates to how you get a business license and set yourself up and incorporate yourself -- huge conversations

-- are you an llc are you a sole proprietorship. i have friends who just decided to become consultants and they set themselves up completely differently for different reasons. it is very cumbersome for an individual to figure out what is right for them. the naic is here to help. i think organizations like rotary provide a really good opportunity. your local u.s. chamber of commerce. those are great places for those looking to become self-employed to really learn how to avoid those pitfalls that we see people fall into when they are setting up their own business. greta wodele brawner: tie this back to the so-called gig economy. those people considered independent contractors do they have to jump through the same hopes that someone who is starting a consulting business would have to do? katie vlietstra: this is one of

the things we have been focusing on, is how are those individuals being educated through the platform they are using and then setting themselves up to ensure that they are meeting all their legal obligations? if it's insurance or if it's tax. depending on how you are set up, are you a 1099 employee. what does that mean? what can you do as it relates to insurance. i know the comment about airbnb providing extra insurance. i know the uber situation to ensure you have the proper level of insurance. those individuals that you are transacting with as well. this is where tax reform can really come into play is how are these people being set up. there are big issues about 1099. a lot of the transactions are now credit card related. i don't know if you remember, but when. frank came into effect

it was called the 1099 k. that is how the treasury thought that they would be able to collect more of the taxes. by credit card reporting, you're submitting to the treasury how much money a company took in via credit card swipe. now that we have all these emerging markets that are using credit card platforms, it is really on the onus of the individual interacting with them to self-report. there is a lot that has to be done here. i think as it relates to liability insurance and ensuring you are meeting your tax requirements, we are trying to educate those who are participating in the freelance economy to ensure they are meeting all of their requirements. greta wodele brawner: here is a tweet from one of our viewers saying, paying quarterly is inconvenient. talking about self-employed in this company. there should be no penalty to pay at the end of the year. in california. you are self-employed. go ahead. caller: your last guest

sounded like he was trying to get self-employed people to pay an additional tax or fee or whatnot for your retirement. i'm wondering, does she agree with that? they are trying to get us to pay more? because they are not able to tap into our income is much as they want, now they want us to pay more? greta wodele brawner: let me ask you as a self-employed person, talk about how much you have to pay for medicare and social security. caller: i have to pay 15.3% of my income because i don't have an employer. employees pay 7.65% and the employer pays the other part. i pay the whole amount and i don't have a problem with that. but now they want me to pay more? greta wodele brawner: i'm not sure which part of what she was referring to with senator mark moran. he was not proposing things, he was saying there were ideas like for an hourly bank.

the self-employed are paying both sides of medicare and social security. katie vlietstra: she is absolutely correct. they pay all of their taxes. where is if you are in a traditional work environment with an employer, you are splitting it. the self-employed get the whole bill for that. and they don't mind paying that. we don't think it's necessarily fair, but part of being self-employed -- and i think the pride that comes with that. you have 23 million americans who are working their butts off everything will day to make a living and they are paying 15.3% in taxes. i was able to hear what senator warner was talking about and i do disagree with him. i think part of the issue with retirement -- he was talking about if someone is in the gig economy for their entire work life, what are the opportunities for them to save -- but i feel

like retirement savings has changed in this country. there are so many opportunities for an individual to make a decision. it is not just the 401k, it is not the pension. you have your orira. the self-employed need to determine how they are saving. we advocate strongly for the self-employed to immediately start saving their money as they are making it. but i'm not sure that is where the federal government should be playing in mandating retirement savings. greta wodele brawner: president obama has a proposal that has not been fleshed out. every american is auto enrolled into a retirement fund and you determine as the individual how much you are contributed. that is been something he is proposed the last couple years in his presidential budget, but we have not seen the plan fleshed out. we are withholding our judgment until we see what they are talking about. right now, there are plenty of opportunities for the self-employed to save for that retirement and ensure that they have economic security for their

lives. greta wodele brawner: how much can the self-employed give to an ira versus those who have a traditional job? katie vlietstra: your annual limit, which i believe this year was 2600 dollars, and then from a 401(k) match perspective it varies widely depending on how much your employer is matching. i would say that a 401(k), you are probably long-term able to save money, because again, you have that employer contributing to your plan. but i think there is opportunity with an ira for the self-employed to make just as much savings. i'm going to correct myself. i believe the annual limit for a traditional ira is $5,000. greta wodele brawner: got it. a republican in virginia. caller: high.

. two quick points about 1099. i own a business. on our end of the business, in order to be considered a separate entity, you have to have insurance, a license billing every week. to wrap that into the uber thing, i'm not sure how that person can be treated as a subcontractor when they are using uber assets. in other words just from a layperson, i would think that person is like a taxicab driver. he really is an employee of the company. a lot of people are getting in trouble. i think it was fedex that had a fine placed on them because they were treating their drivers as

subs and giving them 1099s. it really is a slippery slope. that you are on as a 1099 employee. i understand everybody is trying to go that way, but i am not sure -- at some point the people that are doing this are trying to work for themselves are going to get themselves in trouble with the federal government and they are not even going to realize it. katie vlietstra: you are hitting something that is very timely. i was hoping we would be able to talk about it. the department of labor is expected within the next couple of days to release an administrative interpretation as it relates to independent contractors and how that relationship is defined between the employer and employee. i anticipate that it is going to favor a traditional employee relationship and so those companies that are set up for

independent contractors are going to have to review that and decide from a business model perspective, are they meeting the threshold. for about 10 years, we have been working on this issue. congressman paulson from minnesota has introduced legislation to ensure that that relationship as it is defined between the employer and independent contractor is a little bit more clear. that it is clear from the end and a contractor perspective what they are responsible for as it relates to their tax filings and for the employer, it is ensuring that they are not using the end a role that really is -- should have been an employee. it is a very gray area. there is a lot happening. the state of california right before the fourth of july ruled that over drivers are employees. -- drivers are employees. uuber drivers are employees. it is going to cause some

consternation with the business community. i think it is a real opportunity for us to look at how the workforce is materializing in the 21st century. greta wodele brawner: explain why you think this ruling would favor the traditional workforce. katie vlietstra: in may 2014, they released new guidelines related to how an employer can identify and and and contractor. they gave six parameters for the employers to work through to determine should this person be an employee or an independent contractor. with this follow-up as it relates -- it is called administrative interpretation. it is not rulemaking. there is some assumption within the world of d.c. that it is going to even be more strict with how you interpret the relation between an employee and independent contractor. i think this is an opportunity for the business community to

have some real tough conversations. and i think, how do we ensure that, for future generations we have a free capitalist system that doesn't take advantage of individuals, that ensures that the tax requirements are being met that everyone can be successful across the board. katie vlietstra: we will hear from katie, who is self-employed. caller: hi. i was just wondering if there is some way that self-employed people can have disability insurance without having to buy it on their own? we do pay taxes, both my husband and i are self-employed. we pay taxes, but if my husband falls off a ladder and breaks his leg, we have to go through insurance that we pay on our own. it usually doesn't kick in until after 30-60-90 days.

is there some way self-employed people can be covered under the national health insurance? because we do pay taxes. katie vlietstra: that is a great question. i hope you never have to deal with the situation where you or your husband is injured on the job. there are some states that have actually implemented a group disability plan. it is not nationwide. this is an interesting spin off of the aca. now that we have health care across the board, are there other programs that would benefit from a more collective purchase? because i know disability insurance is incredibly expensive or the self-employed. and of course you are always trying to look at the bottom line and you are never planning for anything to go wrong, but if something does, it is really important that you have that coverage. i don't believe virginia is one of the states that has a group state plan for the self-employed

to buy into, but it is something you should talk to your local representative about. and your congressional representative as an idea that they should be looking into to really help you as a self-employed and of course all of the rest of the virginians who are probably equally concerned about the issue of disability. greta wodele brawner: going back to the gig economy or those americans who have 2-3 jobs, this is a tweet from roger green who says the fdasba should expand its mission. katie vlietstra: i think it would be a great opportunity for the sba. the small business definition is so broad. it is 1-499 it tends to be very focused on credit and loans.

employees. it tends to be very focused on credit and loans. self-employed people are actually constituents of the sba and that is something that the administrator, who is fantastic and very savvy in seeing the future, i'm sure that she is six exploring. greta wodele brawner: a tweet the gig economy is a response to the limitation of pensions, guaranteed employee benefits and disloyal employers. katie? katie vlietstra: i don't think that's entirely true. there is a change in our workforce. i can't even say if it is a good or bad change, it is just a change we are experiencing. i do think that there are people who are always going to be in the traditional workforce. even the self-employed, who are going to run a business out of their home or have an office

space and work nine to 540 hours a week. i think we have always experienced the freelance economy. even those who babysit full-time and those are similar things. we are just evolving as technology is becoming a more accessible platform. as the world is changing. i think the united states, as we are looking at the declines in key business sectors this is filling a void. i think there is great opportunity here. there are things we need to address -- tax reform retirement savings, even education is becoming an issue. access to advanced degrees or even a two-year aa degree are becoming more challenging and cost privative for many americans. greta wodele brawner: our topic is the self-employed and americans in the gig economy. we're taking your questions.

our guest is katie vlietstra she is vice president for government relations and public affairs at the national association for the self-employed. we have a fourth line for the self-employed, (202) 748-8003. we want to hear from you. democrats, (202) 748-8000 republicans, (202) 748-8001 independence, (202) 748-8002. dave, you are on the air. caller: i have family. a lot of them are independent due to losing their jobs in manufacturing or whatever. if we continually go down this path of bad trade bills that we will eventually -- the biggest employers will be self-employed. but the problem with that is that the self-employed biggest

consumers are coming from these factories. they are coming from these manufacturing jobs. eventually the self-employed are going to be the ones who will be taxed higher to take care of those that were working in the factory jobs. as far as taxes go, i have a cousin in dallas who has done very well for himself to be quite honest with you, and he will tell you -- we have to be able to do this and this and have the freedom to do this. but even he will tell you he doesn't have to pay health insurance because he has enough money to take care of that. but the thing is we collectively have to come together and make sure that we save the manufacturing jobs so the self-employed can do what they want to do and follow their dreams. he does not everybody -- because not everybody has that capability to do with their doing. greta wodele brawner: all right. i think we got your point.

katie vlietstra: i love the sentiment. this is really about coming together and figuring out how we can ensure that every american has a job, that they feel economic security that we hope lasts for generations. this is where the conversations have to start. we have to be proactive in this space. how are we setting ourselves up to ensure that the united states is thriving economically, that people that want jobs have jobs? the point that dave was making is that not everyone is going to go to college and get a ba or abs. there are lots of opportunities in trades that we need to be exploring and we all could be doing more to encourage economic development if it is manufacturing, farming -- there is so much we can be doing. i appreciate dave's sentiment that we are all in this together. we are going to succeed together and we need to do more. greta wodele brawner: glenn is

self-employed and a republican. good morning. caller: good morning. greta wodele brawner: go ahead. caller: i'm self-employed. i am 56. i have been self-employed virtually my whole life. i was in construction for like seven years. i have been in software about 25 years working remotely from my home. i don't believe there are very many percentage of self-employed individuals that vote democrat because the government is really not your friend and that is a wide broad sort of statement. i think the irs, for self-employed individual's that don't have bank accounts we are not on w-2, so the irs can't immediately take our income and control us. we are like the wild west to them. we are the inversion of the government worker who retires at 62 -- excuse me, at 58 -- on an average of $62,000 a year.

i don't have any requirement -- retirement. there is not enough emphasis put on celfin self-employment and people who make their own way. steve jobs, bill gates, thomas edison. all of which didn't have a college degree. look at how they have contributed to the economy. i admire your guest and everything that she is doing and i hope we will survive in the 21st century. tanks. -- thanks. katie vlietstra: this is actually a challenge on capitol hill across the states. for lawmakers to understand the impact that the 23 million self-employed contribute. is always -- you are always talking about big business, emerging economies as far as high-growth economies. but here you have continual growth in self-employment. these are people who really like what they do. they're just doing it in a

different way. this is our big issue. these people are amazing. they are out there working hard. you should be paying attention to them. you should be making it easier for people to become self-employed about that is the choice they want to make. i applaud anyone who has spent a career self-employed, because it is challenging. you have the tax challenge of quarterly filing. you have the 50.3% tax that you pay. you did not have affordable health care. as we look forward, we are trying to collaborate with other organizations to say how can we ensure that the self-employed continue to thrive in this economy. greta wodele brawner: do those folks who are driving uber and renting out their apartment on a airbnb, do they have to file

quarterly? katie vlietstra: airbnb is a little bit of a difficult situation. -- different situation. quarterly tax filing, paying their 15.3 taxes. when we talk about where the opportunities are to ensure that this emerging economy understands their responsibility back to their business, it is important that that education continues. i think there's a lot of great work out there. i want to plug the american university school of his list. caroline bruckner is really leading the charge on the tax code. academic conversation about how we include thisese people in the economy. so they are not this gray space in the economy, so they feel like they are part of the economy. so there's more pride to the

individual that is self-employed. so they are contributive, making a difference. what they are doing is providing a salary to be successful for years to come. greta wodele brawner: michael is a self-employed democrat. good morning. caller: good morning. before asked my question, to answer something she mentioned about great changes in the economy and also the last colors aller, it might have started in 1975 by the recession caused by the yom kippur war which of course started the energy crisis and also the gradual closure and the automation of factories by 1980. i was only 11 in 1975, but are a lot of this on the cbs evening news. one breadwinner up till pearl

harbor could still bring a thousand children into the economic middle class with a factory job or being a self-employed farmer. here's my question. how do i put it. i'm so glad you mentioned, all of those legal and business problems that a self-employed person will run into, taxes, business insurance, personal insurance, i would add living will, durable power of attorney, and living revocable trust. but, for those of us who are handicapped and to who earn very little and must live with family members, i earn about $1500 a year annually and i live with family members. those of us with high functioning autism, possibly

those like me with mental illness as well, we can't trust -- we are naive about credit card companies and we can't trust them because of their hidden fees and penalties. but that leaves us out of so much in the economy and makes us nonpersons. suzy orman mentioned some legislation on our behalf. would you give advice for those who are home based businesses which nobody has mentioned yet although they have implied home-based businesses, would you give us advice about taxes, personal insurance, medicare and medicaid medical, all of that stuff. and i will hang up and listen. thanks big time. katie vlietstra: thank you for your question. this has been happening for generations, as you are sharing your own disability situation

is coming out of iraq afghanistan war. so many of our veterans are returning with either physical or mental illness. there has been a huge effort about those individuals who actually are unable to work in a traditional workplace, either because they are handicapped or if it is ptsd or an auditory illness. how can we ensure that we don't have these people who are just being locked in the system. i know that the sba and the veterans affairs department has done great work on this, but to your point about being a home-based business, the majority of the 23 million self employed are actually home-based. this is where, do you have the right insurance, if you're living with a family member, do you have renters insurance that covers the equipment that you require to do your job from home?

if you own your home, your homeowners insurance, are you setting that up correctly. and then depending on what state you live in and county and city, there are other requirements for business license that you may need to operate your business out of your home. it is very complicated. the sba has these great business centered of elements across north america. i am confident that if you were to reach out to them, there is probably one in your community hopefully not far away. they do great consultations over the phone. especially speaking to your disability and how can you ensure that your're receiving all of the aid that is possible to you. opportunities to network, to grow your business. i applaud you for continuing on this path. i know that there are challenges. hopefully maybe one of my suggestions will help you ensure that you can continue to be self-reliant and ensure your

economic freedom is there for years to come. greta wodele brawner: we talking about the gig economy. steve in south carolina, self-employed. though ahead. -- go ahead. caller: good morning. i think the point that is missing here is that the gig economy is not a choice. it is a forced economy. the reason i say that is we have been sold out. there is no manufacturing left in this country. i mean, look at it. you have the big tech companies. ibm has been selling out for years, intel internally lay offz fors for years. clothing, steel. we buy everything from china. greta wodele brawner: t's. we got your point. is this a ok steve. we got your point.

is this a forced economy? katie vlietstra: i don't think so. there are definitely companies that we all know that are downsizing or going overseas and so opportunities for that person to continue in that field and maybe even with that company require them to come in independent contractor or freelancer. but i believe very strongly especially if you're talking about the gig economy -- it is separate from the self-employed. people are making a choice to do that. they are making a choice and seeing this as an opportunity for them. if it is a full-time job or a part-time job, i have a colleague who used to work for the naac, who used airbnb. he had a great attic apartment. decided it was a good way to bring in extra revenue to their household.

i think in their first year, they made about $15,000 just renting out one room in their house. it was really one off. people who needed a place to stay in south carolina and then moved on with their day. it is very diverse and complicated. i think the issues of overseas jobs is really outside of my expertise. greta wodele brawner: it looks like the markets are responding to this gig economy and the people who want to be in it. you see commercials for helping somebody who is a freelance photographer let's say, organize an app or software that allows them to organize their accounting or figure how many -- how much they are going to go in taxes. -- owe in taxes. katie vlietstra: there is always a spinning off of the gig economy. once you realize there are 15,000 uber drivers -- i am

sitting at my desk working on things that are very cool or useful for them to use. it is kind of interesting how it is spiraling off of one another. i think this is an evolving marketplace. i don't want to tout senator warner or overly praise him but i think this is where those conversations are really important that we are talking about it and figuring out how to make it work for those americans that are making the choice to move into this gig economy. and how do we continue to support the overall self-employed individuals in america? greta wodele brawner: here's a tweet. how can kids carrying college loans say to start a business? katie vlietstra: some of the things we need to talk about are the cost of education as it relates to the debt erred burden that is placed on an individual.

we see so many entrepreneurs who are younger walking out of college with a great is this idea. they are burdened by significant college debt. i think it is a challenge. i think part of this conversation is the cost of education, the degree that you are receiving. there are a lot of opportunities for funding for your business. it is a business loan, so you are always looking at your credit score and ability to take on that loan. the sba has great programs for you to explore and also community banks are a great place to go to work at your business plan, to secure a line of credit. the majority of the self-employed start their business either from personal loans from friends or family or, unfortunately, credit card debt. they are taking out lines of credit that they can secure because business loans can sometimes be a little more challenging for the self-employed to secure. greta wodele brawner: i just

want to add about sternudent loans, in the washington journal this mll street journal -- monthly payment of a small share of their income. dan, who is self-employed. you are on the air. good morning. caller: we have taken a lesser mansion of a house and used a cheaper car that is just as good at transportation in order to pay our $300,000 worth of student loans off. you can adjust. and still i am totally self-employed all my life through high school, through college, through seminary. i just want to ask this question of your guest, who seems very knowledgeable.

give me some three specific things for a self-employed person like me, or any self-employed person i am a writer, a singer, and entertainer. i have a book published. i have like nine different income waves. and my wife is a college professor. greta wodele brawner: and you have always been part of the gig economy. caller: always. my grandmother, starting in the early 1900s, had a boarding house. i was raised in that boarding house and i saw her and she was so happy and wonderful with her self-employment. i thought, that's for me. and i went into music. i have had a thousand employers. now, what are three or four specifics for a person to keep their self free in their self-employment. can i make a quick comment about senator warren? i lived many years in for gin

you. i am from alabama originally. he has evolved in 15 or 20 years as a politician into somebody that is almost -- almost sounds like he was in the bureau in russia in the 20's. he seems like he is anti-open self-employment. greta wodele brawner: i'm going to have katie vlietstra jump in and give you some suggestions there. katie vlietstra: you are asking about suggestions for ensuring a long life of self-employment. i think number one you have a very different path and it sounds like your grandmother did. i don't know either of you have ever actually been able to sit down with all your multiple jobs and develop a business plan. some of this is really about laying the foundation for success. people fall into self-employment. some people are very intentional about it. i was recommend a plan.

mapping out what you want to do and how you want to do it. and then previously i mentioned really find people in your community that have been successful in self-employment and sit down with them and talk through what they were able to accomplish, what is a realistic income level that you can anticipate and plan for that. you also have to have a nice little cushion. a nest egg. you will have good years and bad years and you should always be planning ahead. it is incredibly challenging for the self-employed because there is luck to all offluctuality in their income levels. it is not always going to be how much money you are making. is it the ability to travel across the country is it that you are going to take summers off to spend time with family. it is really about the business

plan, saving for the future, and defining what success is for you and ensuring that you are checking in every six months. to make sure you are meeting all those goals. i think the last one is that you should have a really good tax accountant. someone who can ensure that you are saving and meeting your tax liability and that you have all the proper insurance. and that you are really ensuring that success long-term for your business. greta wodele brawner: mary on twitter says, you are right running your own business as a labor of love. those 18 hour days are a thrill. eric, self-employed, and independent. caller: hello. my main point is after they lowered the corporate tax rates, big corporations can end up spending -- having a lower marginal tax rate than i do as a self-employed person. and when you are looking at, since they lowered those

corporate tax rates, the gdp of america declined. the growth rate of the gdp of america declined, but the dow jones took off. so the big corporations are making gangbusters in the stocks. but america is suffering and we are talking about lowering tax rates even more. which confuses me. greta wodele brawner: let's take that up. katie vlietstra: we adamantly oppose any tax reform conversation that does not include substantial individual tax reform and we are talking about lowering the individual tax rate. it would be very shortsighted of any professional action -- congressional action that would try to push forward a decrease in corporate tax rates without addressing individual tax rates. it is something we are passionate about. i get blue in the face talking about how important it is that we address individual tax reform because about 80% of the

self-employed are individual tax filers. it is just essential to our economic success that any efforts of tax reform, which we hope are going to happen. dave camp spent almost four years working on comprehensive tax reform, introducing the bill listening to all groups and understanding the balance between further corporate tax reform and essential individual tax reform. i hope the house is looking to that again. greta wodele brawner: here's another tweet from a viewer saying that is why he has never started his own business. the amount of regulations and taxes. john, a democrat. caller: good morning c-span. thank you for taking my call. i am a retired facilities

engineer. and i am looking to get to become a freelance consulting engineer. from listening to everything you said this morning, i understand the resources available to help someone get into the business would be the small business administration, may be a great resource to dig guide you. but also in new york city there is a freelance union. do you have any opinions or comments on what freelance unions would offer to me? greta wodele brawner: ok. katie vlietstra? katie vlietstra: i think definitely looking at new york city is really key. i think the freelance union that senator warner preference was pretty specific to the on demand economy. but there are some great organizations. i think your small business

develop and center here in new york city would be a great resource for you to reach out to to figure out the things you need to become a consulting engineer. i am the biggest advocate for, you can never have enough information. doing all of your research, figuring out the organizations where you live that are tuned into what is happening as it relates to self-employed in your community. greta wodele brawner: we will go to massachusetts. troy, a republican. good morning. caller: hello. your comments are getting better all the time. however, the previous guest -- would you please once again iterate how much taxes or benefits social security medicaid, and so forth, are paid

in total by a self-employed person to the federal government compared to the same things that are paid collectively between employer and employee with a company? greta wodele brawner: ok. katie vlietstra: i am always happy to reiterate this stat over and over again. self-employed individuals pay 15.3% in taxes annually. inclusive of all withdrawals that we as some of us who rw to employees -- as a w-2 employee you pay about seven7.1% and your employer picks up the other half. so is a self-employed person double taxed? greta wodele brawner: in st. paul, minnesota, and independent. welcome to the conversation. caller: by comment is about --

my comment is about dealing with general revenue and mileage. i was audited and charged a huge amount of money because i said, this is how far i drove. and they put it out with a standard deduction were they told how much we can do duct per mileage. but then if they don't believe it you just get charged a huge fee. and there is nothing you can do about it. supposedly you can get an advocate and then it turns out the advocate is just working for the irs and they are really not helpful to you at all. greta wodele brawner: so for those of us that don't understand how this works for the self-employed, katie vlietstra, what does he mean deducting mileage? katie vlietstra: so there are quite a few inductions you can

take as it relates to operate your business. one of them is mileage. if you are a consultant, if you are traveling to client, you can deduct the cost of the mileage from your tax filings. this is another place that we have been a strong advocate for how we ensure that the inductions that a self-employed individual can take. all in proper documented, you have gas receipts, you have to do a mileage log. but this issue of, are these really red flags for tax fraud or someone inaccurately filing their taxes or taking too high of a deduction. i definitely feel your pain. this is a big area that we think is important for the self-employed. let's make it easier to file taxes and if we are going to have a standard deduction, it really should not be a point to trigger an audit. one of the big things that we

worked on and were successful on is the home office deduction. previously, it was a very cumbersome process to take a home office deduction if you ran your business from your home. it was 15 pages of instructions, it was ridiculous. two years ago, the irs offered a standard deduction for those individuals. you fellill out the square footage, you can take up to $1500, and then you are done. we want to make sure the self-employed on have an issue with an audit trigger or having to pay a penalty for improperly filing those deductions. greta wodele brawner: let's try to get in to more phone calls. -- two more phone calls. caller: thanks for taking my call. i have been self-employed off and on over the years. i have worked for the government. i have lived around the world. i can say it is frustrating -- i have been on panels and

washington, d.c. at times. it is frustrating to watch what is going on now. it seems that the people in washington are on another planet. they all make great money. it can support their families. in the south, we are looking at no standardized wages. people are working two and three jobs. everyone i know. the big corporations are not hiring full-time good positions. they are hiring 2-3 people to take on a full-time position. they are getting desperate out here. greta wodele brawner: let's hear from stephanie in pennsylvania. also self-employed. then i will have you respond to both of those g. caller: you really don't make much money. they really benefit from social security and medicare in their older ages. and it comes pretty fast. because they get lots more out of what they put in.

please, always pay your social security and medicaid. a suggestion about an alternate retirement system is to go as far as possible out of town and buy some acreage and to start a little farm and go spend your weekends there. because the country is growing. by the time you retire, that will be worth a lot more money than you paid for it. greta wodele brawner: all right stephanie. katie vlietstra can you respond to the first caller about companies hiring three people to do a full-time workers job. katie vlietstra: depending on how the arrangement is set up, it is a little bit different when you are working at a plant. some of them are traditional employees working at a reduced schedule and some may be independent contractors. that relationship is -- really

needs to be clear-cut. i hear his frustrations about what is happening in washington. 90% of our members, when they are polled about washington, are just incredibly frustrated. we annually have to deal with the situation of, even the tax cuts for the tax programs set up to support the self-employed and small businesses are on a one-year continuation. it is not until december 31 that they are renewed. it is incredibly frustrating for a small business to have to deal with this kind of uncertainty in the marketplace. we hear it a lot and i do know many self-employed who have really thrown up their hands. they are not voting. they are very apathetic. it is incredibly frustrating because government should be there to help, not hinder. and to the last caller's

comment, i think real estate is always a good investment. and i agree it is important for the self-employed always pay their taxes because they're paying into programs that will be there for them when they retire. greta wodele brawner: we will have to leave the conversation there for now. katie vlietstra, vice president with the national association of the self-employed. thank you. katie vlietstra: thanks, greta. greta wodele brawner: and now we bring you to the house. live coverage of the house here on c-span. from the speaker. -- the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the speaker's rooms washington, d.c. july 8, 2015. i hereby appoint the honorable george holding to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed john a. boehner, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the order of the house of january 6 2015, the chair will now recognize members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning hour debate. each party limited to one hour and each member other than the