and jason discusses some of the issues facing the u.s. and cuba now that relations have resumed. host: president obama finished his trip to kenya abdicating his country choose a path to progress and be more inclusive of women and girls. the senate meets at 2:00 this afternoon to resume work on the highway transportation bill. the bill had passed with fund, road and bridge projects for three years and if legislation does not pass the fund will run out by the end of the month. we'll discuss more about the bill and the political back and forth but in light of today's meeting on transportation, we want to hear from you about the best way to improve public

transportation. you may have thoughts on funding, you may have thoughts on specific road projects or mass transit, or other things that would better the way we get around. your thoughts on the best way to improve public transcription, for democrats 202-748-8000 republicans 202-748-8001 and for independents call 202-748-8002 or tweet @c-spanwj or send us email @journal @c-span.org. transcription goes to funding and the hill newspaper here in washington, d.c. has a look at looking to the i.r.s. to fund projects. bernie writes to push taxes out of outstanding mortgages in states comes at a time when republicans are looking to seek the i.r.s. budget, a dynamic

that's not lost on the agency's top officials. the i.r.s. commissioner told reporters thursday the agency would implement whatever law congress throws its way just as it did with the affordable care act but suggested implementing tax changes from the highway bill wouldn't come out without some pain and after the agency absorbed more than $1 billion in budget cuts the last five years, quote, the problem with declining resource is the only place money can come from is taxpayer services, information technology and security, noting the i.r.s.'s top priority is making sure the annual filing season runs smoothly and we'll have to make tough choices and the republicans argued the i.r.s. is wasteful with the funding and it goes to say i think they make poor use of the revenue they have and they collect more revenue legitimately from taxpayers who legally owe it. the story deals with the i.r.s. and transportation funding. the senate meeting at 2:00 today to discuss transportation funding, especially the funding

of the highway transportation fund. if you want to give your thoughts on the best way to improve public transportation, whether it be on actual road projects or funding issues or whatever you want to bring to the table, 202-474-8000 for democrats and 202-748-8001 for republicans and independents, 202-748-8002. joining us on the phone jody schneider, a team leader for the publication. good morning. guest: good morning. host: tell us what the senate plans to do. what's at stake here about the senate's deliberation on the highway bill? guest: today they'll be voting on two different amendments. advancing two different amendments. one would basically be a repeal of obamacare and the other one

would be to add an extension of the export-import bank which expired the end of june. these are not amendments, obviously, that have a lot to do with the transportation bill itself but they are amendments to the bill. and then they will go back to the actual highway bill, which as you have explained expires the authorization for highway funding expires after this friday so there's a lot of pressure to move forward this week. host: what's the price tag on this bill? guest: and the real issue here in congress now is that the bills -- there are two very different bills in each chamber. the senate's plan is a three-year plan so it's an ambitious plan that looks at funding highways over that period. the house plan is a much less ambitious plan. it's only $8.1 billion and it goes through just december 18 of this year and will be the real issue. the senate is going to send over to the house if they pass

their bill, a much bigger plan. the house has already said they don't want that plan and with the pressure to do something by friday one would think they would have to end up with a much more short-term proposal if they are going to be able to do that before that real deadline after friday. host: do the approach on these plans both depend on the gas tax for funding? guest: no, the gas tax has been a nonstarter so each chamber had to find money through different means. the house mostly tightens tax compliance rules as you noted in your opening statement. that's the way they're getting the money. the senate does a number of things to try to get money. some of them have opposition. one of them that has been very hotly opposed by the banking industry and by banking chairman dick shelby of alabama would basically reduce dividends to member banks from the federal reserve. it would basically cut the 6%

dividend pay by the fed member banks. so there's a lot of opposition to that. so that's one of the reason the house says, house members and house leaders said the senate bill is a nonstarter in their chamber even as it comes down to the wire here. host: when you say come down to the wire talk about that july deadline. what happens if there's no agreement on funding after july 31? guest: there's some real effects. the transportation secretary on friday, anthony fox, told reporters if the funding expires it could trigger as many as 4,000 layoffs at the transportation department, including employees of the federal highway administration, the national highway transportation traffic safety administration and basically he said that how the u.s. will have to allocate the funding as the balance runs low would be -- to the states, would be based on an allocation formula

until it runs out of money, as the transportation secretary told reporters it's definitely not a small impact. so there's very real world impacts if this doesn't get done and the two chambers are pretty far apart right now. host: so bringing it down to the ground level so to speak, current road projects would have to be put on halt and would be affected and future road projects definitely would be affected? guest: future projects definitely would be affected and the money is not there and the uncertainty is making it hard for transportation planners to do what they need to do in terms of plan projects. in terms of existing projects, it depends, the states -- some of these projects will dry up right away, some will go on a little longer but various states have already started sounding the alarm bell that they could have to stop important projects in their states. so this is something that would play out, obviously, if the funding were to expire. congress is very well aware of

this, and as we've seen in previous debates like this, often ends up with what we call a short-term patch to kind of buy some time. but as we've said right now the chamber doesn't have the same plan. so whatever short-term patch they'd agree on would probably come later in the week. host: what's the likelihood july 31 will come without a plan in place? guest: i think it's relatively low. i think it will come down to, as i said, later in the week. but both the house and senate are feeling pressure obviously, to do something and this will be a big subject in congress this week and the fact that the senate is coming in on a sunday, which is unusual for them, shows they feel they need to move along on this. the house is scheduled to start its recess on friday, its summer recess, so again they know it's time as well. host: jodi schneider with bloomberg news talking about the senate meeting today and discussions about the transportation.

ms. schneider, thanks for your time. guest: thank you. host: again, with that in mind, your thoughts on the best way to improve public transportation. you heard our guest on the phone talking about funding issues talking about how it might affect the current road projects. there's mass transit to consider. you may have thoughts on that and if you want to share them with us, 202-748-8000 for democrats, for republicans 202-748-8001 and for independents 202-748-8002 and reach us on twitter and facebook as well. let's start with randy in clear water, florida, independent line. randy, good morning. what are your thoughts on improving public transportation? caller: yes, good morning. i was thinking that, you know, of course a long-term bill like four to six years, but, you know all the billions that have been wasted over all these

years, the government should be accountable to the people, and also i wanted to say, you know, that the president's trillion dollar stimulus in his first year, you know, i thought when he was in front of reporters and stuff and said that, well, i guess there weren't so many shovel-ready jobs and everybody laughed about it i thought that was horrible. host: ok, randy. we go to charles, white plains, maryland democrats line, your thoughts on improving public transportation. hi, charles. caller: good morning good morning, america and the people of america. i think the best way would be

to take it back on what many of the governors have done and that is to raise the highway tax. i live in the area which is adjacent to washington, d.c., and i got to tell you, the roads are terrible going in and out of washington, d.c. past the national harbor and to 395 and so forth. it's just horrendous. and it just seems to me that the republicans are always out to cook the books and do things politically rather than help the nation to build the infrastructure, to create jobs, to help to uplift the whole nation. it's terrible. it's a terrible thing when you have to deal with a party that all they know about is obstruction and twisting and doing things that are not

conducive to help the nation. host: brian is up next, terre haute, indiana independent line. hi, brian. caller: hi pedro. thanks for taking my call. host: you're on. go ahead. caller: in my opinion light rail would be the best way to improve the highway system. host: why do you think light rail will do? do you think it alleviates traffic, are there other benefits as well? caller: yeah, in my opinion it will alleviate traffic and create jobs in the construction also the various hubs i know that the detractors might say it takes money away from traditional forms of transportation but i think the population has grown so much that we have to have something to compensate if we don't start to kind of subsidize the traditional highway system, it's just going

to continue to get into increased disrepair. host: does indiana use some type of light rail? caller: i am fairly positive it does not. host: brian in indiana. again, some thoughts in improving public transportation and the best ways to do that in your opinion 202-748-8000 for democrats and 8001 for republicans and 8002 for independents. the state of oregon started a project this month on how to improve its highway system and it is implementing a cost to drivers saying that starting this month, oregon drivers have the obligation to pay by the mile for road usage instead of how much gas they purchase. orgo as the program is known launched july 1 with the goal of enrolling 5,000 participants to test three private partnerships set up by a trial run. the scheme is designed to shift road tax revenues from a

gasoline based structure to what reporters believe is a more fair purchase given the increasing number of hybrid vehicles, under the scheme drivers will pay 1.5 driven in the state and receive credit for the 30 cents a gallon paid at the pump as the state gas tax. oregon and other states know that the gas tax drivers pay at the pump isn't cutting it anymore according to the oregon department transportation director matt garrett. that's one of the ways states are using different ways to fund their transportation projects. you heard our guests talk about the issues at the federal level. your thoughts welcomed on the best way to improve public transportation. frank is in seattle, washington. frank on our democrats line. hello. caller: hi how are you doing? yeah, i don't know how the mayor of seattle and governor inslee of my state have missed the fact that we are --

seattle, it would be easy -- seattle, los angeles, chicago got together the individual city transportation structure, got together, put them in the room and find out what is the -- what's missing with the rest of the smaller cities in our country. my transportation personally is subsidized on a daily basis. i have a card that says i get on a bus and pay a little less fare and i'm thinking well, the majority of the people -- the average rider of public transportation is not -- has a lot more input than i think the politicians realize. i just think the best way would be to take, you know, the bigger cities' intelligence and give it to the smaller cities.

host: frank, thank you. the federal highway administration, when it comes to traffic volume, may 2015, they report that travel on all roads and streets change by .27%, that it was an increase from may 2015 as compared with may 2014. travel for the month is estimated to be 275.1 billion miles. for 26 there is expected a 3.4% increase and breaks out the estimated miles of travel by region in a map showing the south atlantic showing the most increases followed by the west and south gulf as it's known and the northeast actually north central area showing those increases as well. that's a breakdown of travel and how it's increased. we're asking you on how to improve public transportation. you've heard some thoughts this morning, light rail being one of them, funding being some

other issues. you can make your thoughts known on the lines on the screen. robert in newport news, virginia, democrats line. hi. caller: hi. i'd just like to say we should pass the president's job bill and i believe put in place the 10 most important things that we can do in america to improve the economy. i think that's the first and foremost thing we should do. and that should be the democrats and republicans. host: and the jobs bill is important why? caller: well, that was the first thing we brought into place when we brought obama into office, and we should make sure that that gets done because that puts many more people back to work and it creates something for this country to look forward to, a path. and that's where we don't have a path or direction that we need to follow. and we're just going around in circles right now. host: stan is from connecticut.

tan, -- stan, thanks for calling. go ahead. caller: i have a good idea, instead of raising the gas tax, how about the road tax we got now for the infrastructure there instead of giving it away to food stamps and every other thing, use the gas tax we got now for the roads and bridges and stuff instead of using it for something else. host: so your state is the gas tax used for other purposes than roads and infrastructure? caller: yes, i think it is. any extra money they get they always use it for something else but what it's supposed to be for. host: what's the condition of roads like there in connecticut? caller: in my area it's pretty good. host: what's your area like, is it more urban or rural, tell us about it. caller: rural. host: joshua is up next from hinesville, georgia, democrats line.

caller: hi, thank you for taking my call. what i wanted to say was this is just a painful thing we have to do. everyone has to understand, we need to -- we need to improve our infrastructure as far as transportation goes, not only will it improve the public but business as well. and this was last done back in the 1950's with eisenhower and there's no reason why it should not be done today. i mean it won't take an increase in taxes but as of right now we have bridges falling apart on top of people that they build tensions for the bridges so they don't hit people. we need to fix the bigger pill and fix the problem. host: where do we start? caller: across the board national tax raise not much

but a tiny bit to start paying for serious infrastructure reform. besides that, then we need to hire obviously, a lot of people, which i know it's not such an issue now but marking back to obama's 2008 campaign that would help with low job rates now that's no longer such an issue. and then just start working our way from there. host: give us a sense of what transportation is like there where you live in georgia. caller: honestly, i'm a member of the military so i've been around quite a bit and the roads in georgia are absolutely horrible. i mean there's no other way to describe it, they're bumpy it's just bad for transportation in general. georgia in particular needs to increase their funding for highway maintenance. host: you've been around you said a bit where are the best roads you've encountered?

caller: honestly, i'm originally from wisconsin and growing up i remember their roads being better than everyone else that i've been to. however, they're constantly under maintenance or repair, at least in the green bay area where i'm from. it would be nice to just tear that overall and get it knocked out instead of handling it piecemeal like i'm used to seeing. host: joshua from georgia, let's hear from earl from canton, georgia, democrats line. caller: how are you doing? host: i'm well thank you. caller: the reason i'm calling is because here in georgia they have a problem with the rail. people don't want to ride -- don't know who they're riding with and right now are in the process of building 50 miles of overpasses and lanes, toll lanes, for what we call lexus

lanes for people that have money to get home faster, i'm assuming, but it's about it. it's just like everything else. i'm glad i'm retired because i don't have to drive to atlanta or even ride to atlanta anymore unless i choose to. host: for those lexus lanes you described them what's the cost like to ride them? caller: i don't know, they're not really complete. i think they're supposed to be complete by the end of this year. there have been bridges over the existing highways, 85 and i-75. and i-75 and i-575. host: if somebody wants to ride them they pay and go faster, that's the idea? caller: they made a toll lane out on 85 and just used the shoulder of the road which made traffic even worse. so that's what i see in the news. i'm retired so i don't go anywhere much other than watch the news now. host: let's hear from ron in wilton, iowa, on this idea of

the best way to improve public transportation. thanks for calling. caller: i live in a rural state. iowa. no cities, lots of small towns and a huge farming population. even though agribusiness is only 25% of the economy. here in this -- and the reason i'm calling is i know what they want to do is raise the tax on fuel. and what i've seen in this state is the governor raised the taxes on fuel but the farmers pay nothing on the roads. they pay no tax on what they consume. now, this is just one example i know it doesn't apply to the entire united states. but i think what's going to happen is, and what the people

in washington, d.c. want is to raise the gas tax. that's totally unfair because in states like iowa, i've seen our gas tax raised. and instead of actually working on roads, repairing the roads, it goes to build new infrastructure that's not needed. and i think if the gas tax, the national gas tax is raised that's what will happen. host: ron in iowa telling us about the best thoughts to improve public transportation. you can share his thoughts on the line that were just on the screen. speaking of iowa, "the des moines register" this morning talks about who is spending political money in iowa, their lead story, by brianne fanensteel and writes if dollars were votes, hillary clinton and carson would be winning the iowa caucuses. the two candidates have so far gathered the most money from iowa donors according to the federal election commission.

former secretary of state clinton tops the list pulling in 168 donations totaling $51,891 by the close of the fundraising period on june 30, just behind her is ben carson, a retired neurosurgeon who raised $43,633 from 172 iowa contributions. that's "the des moines register" this morning. also taking a look at presidential politics. donald trump in des moines with the gathering there talking about the governor scott walker saying on saturday trump went for the hat trick briefly insulting the governor because one of the fundraisers called the billionaire real estate a dumb-dumb. fine all i can attack. the they are doing bad, the vood a disaster because they don't have money to build them and borrowing money like crazy and there is a deficit of $2.2 billion. the schools are a disaster, the hospitals are a disaster and

was totally in favor of common core. that's the thoughts from donald trump in iowa yesterday. and also a story taking a look at the clinton campaign about the way it has volunteers scattered throughout the state talking about their experiences in that state in 2008 especially not winning the iowa caucuses saying the clinton campaign says it has opened 10 field offices and recruited more than 7,000 volunteers in iowa rather than having paid organizers responsible for all the recruiting, the obama campaign, it says, used volunteers to bring in other volunteers, usually people in their circles, he called it a paradigm shift. in 2012 the concept was turbocharge with digital technology, most notably a platform called vote-builder which logged every phone call and door knock. now the clinton campaign has the host committed volunteers and turned them to engagement directors who are responsible for bringing in new volunteers and quote, captains, who

oversee specific tasks like canvasing. sammy in perry, georgia, the best way to improve public transportation. you're on. go ahead. caller: good morning pedro. i haven't talked to you in a long time. they cut my -- cut you all out of my cable and went to computer and they finally cut that off and now i listen to you on sirius radio. host: thanks for listening. go ahead, please. caller: i think they ought to cut out some of this excessive government spending, this government welfare. they cut some of that welfare out, that would create more jobs, use that money to create more jobs and then put them lazy people on welfare to work. i think that would help. what's your opinion? host: we'll let other people weigh in what you say or at least give their thoughts on what you're talking about,

you're free to do so on the lines. you may agree with sammy or disagree with sammy. let's go to carol in michigan, the democrats line. carol, go ahead. caller: hey, how are you this morning? host: i'm fine, thank you. caller: good. what i'm wondering is why aren't the politicians telling people that the banks are going to pay 40% of the transportation bill? and originally dwight david eisenhower put the transportation bill under the defense department because in case we get invaded we can move our military and our tanks and things all through the country to defend ourselves. instead they took it out, created the transportation whatever-whatever and put medical research into the defense bill. i think the medical research should be taken out, given back to the hospitals, the universities and everything and we should take the transportation bill and put it back in the defense bill just in case someone decides to come over the border after us.

host: randy up next. randy in kansas, republican line. hi. caller: hi there. thank you for having me on your show again. you guys always put on a great show. host: thank you. go ahead. caller: ok. i'd like to give an example, here in the state of kansas we have a toll road on our interstate system. and the reason that was is to keep the road pavement very good and nice to travel on. well, back in the day, they had problems with the funding of that road because the tax would be used for other things. so legislature got smart and they said any tolls that are collected, they will be used only for the toll road. so my point is i don't mind voting for a tax increase if i know exactly where that money is going to go. so often when a tax increase is placed on us in this country, it just gets bumped into the

general fund. so you never know where it ends up going, and then they say oh, gee, we don't have enough money for our roads so we need to raise the tax again. just tell us exactly where are the taxes going to go and then i think -- and make the legislation so that is where the tax goes. and i think a lot of support will be behind it. host: what are road tennessees like where you live in kansas? caller: they are fantastic and the reason because of that is because the taxes do go for the roads. it's very easy to travel in our state. and also, you know, federal funding helped out quite a bit in making some of the highways wider. but yeah, they're very good. and since i live in the kansas city area, i also hear about missouri news and missouri does have a continuing problem because their taxes get dumped in the general fund and they

keep appealing to the people of that state to raise the tax for roads, and the people have realized that it goes in the general fund and they keep voting it down, and the missouri department of highways you know, says they can't understand why it keeps getting voted down because there are these projects that can't be finished. well look at how you're spending the money is what you got to do and the people in missouri will vote for it. host: randy in kansas sharing his thoughts on improving transportation. a couple tweets will henry says the best way to improve public transportation is to abolish the u.s. department of transportation and most of its reports. another one says pass a general law for cities to strangle uber and lift. those are the sharing ride services available chiefly on the internet. val in minnesota. good morning. go ahead. caller: hi. host: hi. caller: i think the best way to improve public transportation

is more public involvement, more citizen involvement. and citizen committees that have power not just citizens who, you know, sit on a committee just so they can say they're on a committee. host: does minnesota take that approach? caller: there are advisory committees but they don't have any power. so a lot of times there are public meetings and public gatherings that the transportation department puts on throughout the communities. sometimes they listen to it. most times they don't. when people want change, the citizens have to get together and hold meetings at libraries and schools and really let their feelings be known. and then they listen a little bit, yeah. host: if you had the ability to submit -- sit on a committee that actually had power, what

would you advise or push for? caller: i am disabled, and i think it's like they forgot about us older people and disabled people. i would paratransit and have traveled around the country and to use paratransit when i visit relatives and stuff. and it's not so great here in minnesota and even horrible in some other places. and, you know, they provide transportation for us but there are so many many rules. if you're late three times, they suspend you for 30 days or more. and that's really bad because if you're someone that's depending on paratransit to get around, then how are you going to get around if you don't have

a car, if you don't know anyone who has transportation and some communities their transit is limited after 5:00, you can't use it, on weekends you can't use it. i mean there's a lot of problems with paratransit and i know, like you said, the challenges here in the twin cities and i know of some experiences when i visit other cities. i would have disabled and seniors have more power and involvement in power. host: that's val in minnesota. charles is in jacksonville, florida. hi, charles, good morning. caller: there's so many things i'd like to bring up but one of the things i'd like to bring up is the destruction of the rail system. when they built the highways and the aircraft took over transporting people, these are the things that destroyed the rail system which connected with many towns in florida.

i remember back when the postal system used to use the rail system. it was very good to get to the smaller towns. as they built the highways, the superhighways and things this knocked out, the aircraft took over and knocked out a lot of the rail system and when the president tried to run a rail system from florida down to tampa from tampa to miami, that was knocked out by the government. the postal system wanted to try to run from new york to orlando. that was docked out by the system, the highway system. and the trucks now deliver so they knock holes in every darn thing going on and we've got some of the worst roads in the country right here in florida. thank you. host: charles in jacksonville, florida.

cnn and others reported yesterday the president traveling in kenya, an event that took place yesterday, cnn reported election churred the kenyan president about the country's gay right record. sexual activity between men is illegal and punishable with maximum imprisonment of 14 years and the kenyan leaders told him not to discuss gay rights to the country but the president acquit legalize the discrimination of gays to legalized races in america. here's some of the president's comments yesterday. president obama: similarly with respect to the rights of gays and lesbians, i have been consistent all across africa on this. i believe in the principle of treating people equally under the law. and that they are deserving of equal protection under the law and that the state should not discriminate against people based on their sexual

orientation. and i say that recognizing there may be people who have different religious or cultural beliefs. but the issue is how does the state operate relative to people? if you look at the history of countries around the world when you start treating people differently, not because of any harm they're doing anybody but because they're different that's the path whereby freedoms begin to erode. and bad things happen. and when a government gets in the habit of treating people differently those habits can spread. host: that's the president from

yesterday here from gail, atlanta, georgia. republican line. caller: hi i'm originally from new york and now in atlanta georgia. but i mean, the roads here in atlanta are so horrendous, they're so terrible. sometimes i think my goodness, i could be back in new york on the west side highway or east river drive but it's just not -- they are just trouble. host: terrible because the specific potholes or things like that, what makes them terrible? caller: the traffic is so horrendous the traffic is just beyond belief. host: how long does it take to get around on an average day when you drive around, how long does it take? caller: you know, i'm a school teacher so -- and i'm not in the classroom right now, i'm actually doing private tutoring but it takes a very long time to drive from one place to

another. host: do you have a rail system that people use? caller: they do. there's something here called the marta but i don't usually travel on the marta because i have my car. but i'm telling you, we drive in traffic and it's just ridiculous how bad the traffic is here. host: merit island, florida. here is dan. hi, dan. caller: hello. here in central florida, our biggest problem is that roads and rail are basically run by completely different organizations. the toll roads in the central florida area are under the ownership of a relatively independent commission that collects enormous amounts of money and simply uses it to build more and more roads. and after a lot of public dispute, they finally built one

light rail, quote, sun rail, and it's been extremely successful a single set of rails can carry more people than probably 20 lanes of expressways, but instead of, you know, a network of light rail going in all directions linking the communities in central florida and linking orlando with the ports in river rock county and with communities to the east and west we just have one line so far, but it's astounding how many people it carries. i have a friend who is from china and goes there frequently, and always talks about how the high speed rail network there has revolutionized the way the country is linked together. it's a very low cost in

environmental damage. the biggest problem is we're looking at transportation as two competing industries, roads and rails and not integrated as a whole and in a dense area like central florida, there's no way we'll be able to support public transportation unless we move away from highways. host: that's dan in florida giving his experiences on public transportation, asking your thoughts out there on the best way to improve public transportation. a story in the "washington post" today takes a look at the current back and forth going on between the house selected committee on benghazi and testimony that is going to take place by hillary clinton. it says, as of friday, clinton's attorney, david kendall, was still negotiating teerms for his client's appearance and in terms of fairness in order to make preparation possible, the scope of the questioning should be consistent with the scope set forth by the resolution established by the select committee on the events surrounding the 2012 terrorist attack on benghazi. the attorney wrote and said

friday according to an excerpt of the letter, clinton long offered to testify in public but trey gowdy initially said he'd prefer a private interview but he was trying to keep the session from becoming a circus, clinton's team objected a close session could allow republicans to leak unflattering details. the committee also saturday appeared to reject the kendall terms, the lawyer terms, which include the scope of the questioning be limited and the hearing date, once set, would not be changed. that's "the washington post." if you go to the website of the select committee, there's a statement about this current story that's going on. this is dated as of yesterday saying as of last night, mr. kendall was still negotiating conditions on the appearance, and kind of said what i just quoted. it goes on to say previously, mr. kendall agreed while insisting she'd appear a single time before the committee, that secretary clinton would answer all questions the committee had about libya, benghazi and her unusual email arrangement with

herself and her arrangement falls within the scope of the select committee jurisdiction which is charged by the house to look at the executive branch efforts to comply with congressional oversight as well as the administration response in the aftermath of the tragic events in benghazi. you can read that select statement on the website. that complete will hold a hearing this coming friday and you can see that live on c-span 3. john finer the state department chief of staff is set to testify at that hearing. again, the select committee on benghazi wednesday, watch it live at 10:00 on c-span 3. let's hear from richard in mississippi, on our independent line. hi. caller: good morning, pedro. thank you for taking my call and thank you for c-span. pedro, we have enough taxes taken out for roads. the thing is that the money is not spent for roads, they take so many billions of dollars and put it in to rail which just is a fraction of the people use, and transit.

and them people don't hardly pay any road taxes whatsoever or buy any gasoline if they'd just use the money where it's supposed to. i lived in california for years and they spent billions on bicycle paths and things like that. and it benefits such few people when the majority of the people pays taxes on the further roads and highways and bridges but so much of the money goes to these other deals that just siphons so much money off and doesn't leave much. host: do you have good roads and bridges in mississippi where you live? caller: the main highways, the interstates are pretty fair, they're pretty good. most of your county roads and stuff which i imagine is probably up to the counties and stuff but the offroads are terrible but the interstate is a fairly good road. host: one more call. this is jim in nashville, tennessee. hi, jim. caller: good morning, pedro. i think we need to go back to

the high speed rail from my case i'm in nashville and take it to atlanta, instead of having people drive down from the south there. i think it would eliminate some traffic coming back and forth to the interstates and delay trying to get through atlanta. build another airport to get atlanta back up where it needs to be. i think instead of spending that money on the roads, spent it on the airport and you have the rail coming in transporting people in, in the hub and spoke system would be a whole lot cheaper. host: jim in nashville, tennessee, offering thoughts on the best way to improve public transportation. coming up on our program we're going to start with our first guest taking a look at the state of affairs when it comes to veterans. lawmakers on capitol hill recently learned of a $2.5

billion shortfall at the veterans administration. that shortfall could cause some hospitals to close and get reaction as well as talk other issues with ryan gallucci, veterans of foreign wars. later in the program it's the 20th anniversary for americans with disabilities act which offers protections for those with disabilities. and in the program we'll hear from helena burger of the american association of people with disabilities about the act, its passage, and what's happened in 25 years. on our newsmakers program you can see after this program at 10:00, you'll hear from the house appropriations committee chairman harold rogers. and during the interview, he talked about the topic of earmarks. guest: you sometimes wish you had earmarks back? [video] host: you consider that a factor in getting rid of earmarks in the process seemed a lot easier and ever since has been harder to pass appropriations bill? guest: no doubt it is an aid in

passing the bills. but more importantly i think the congress, by the constitution controls the purse strings of the government supposedly, but that presumes you can pass appropriations bills in order to exercise that power of the purse. we've not been able to do that. so the bureaucracies in the executive branch had free will to spend. congress has punted the ball down to the executive branch and the bureaucracies decide what they spent or don't spend. that's not the way it's supposed to be. the congress is supposed to be the watchdog over the executive branch to ferret out ways for fraud, abuse, whatever. and that's my concept of what we should be doing. part of that is with earmarks. nobody knows better than me the needs in my part of the country because i spend my time there.

i live there. and my staff is there. and we work on case work all the time. so i know what needs to be done there better than any bureaucracy downtown 600 miles from me. so i think earmarks in very good moderation are sensible and are a good thing to have. . >> 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 and every morning, "washington journal" is live with elected officials, policymakers and journalists and your comments by phone facebook and twitter. c-span, created by america's cable companies and brought to you as a public service by your local cable or satellite provider. >> "washington journal" continues. host: our first guest of the

morning is ryan galucci, veterans of foreign wars, the national service deputy director. guest: good morning. host: tell us about your organization and who you represent? guest: the veterans of foreign wars is one of the oldest veterans service organizations in the country dating back to 1899 and we represent 1.9 million veterans and their family members through our auxiliary organizations. and what makes the v.f.w. special is to be eligible to join the v.f.w. you have to have deployed overseas. so we like to say we represent the men and women who have served in our military who have -- who served at war, veterans of foreign wars. host: for people you represent what would they say generally about the state of affairs at veterans' affairs in washington, d.c.? guest: at the department of veterans affairs, this is a difficult question. we saw the health care controversy over the last year where veterans were on waiting lists and seemingly denied care for -- seemingly denied care

they deserve. our members were rightfully upset over this and what we've done the past year is taken a number of steps to evaluate how our members feel about the v.a. health care system to report on the issues within the v.a. health care system and then work with congress and v.a. to try to resolve these. host: would they say service is improved when it comes to hospital visits and the like? guest: one of the approaches the v.f.w. has taken the past year is we wanted a more data-driven approach and wanted to really engage how our members feel about the v.a. health care system and conducted a number of surveys of our veterans and thankfully over the past year it seemingly improved. last year about this time the attitude towards the department of veterans' affairs was outrageous and a lot of veterans were upset with the situation. over the year what we've seen are veterans are utilizing v.a. care and we conducted a survey at our recent convention, the preliminary results that came in online and on-site at the

convention demonstrate more than 80% of veterans. while they acknowledge the v.a. is not perfect 80% would recommend v.a. care to their fellow veterans. host: because one of the reasons we bring you on is because even as of last week there was acknowledgement by the v.a. a potential shortfall of $2.5 billion could happen because some hospitals close on its face what does it say to you particularly for the people you represent? guest: what this says to the v.f.w. is what we suspected a number of years is v.a. had been managing to a budget and not to the needs of the veterans community. what happened last year when it came to light how many veterans were on waiting lists was that v.a. didn't have the budget to deliver -- the budget or infrastructure to deliver the care veterans had, that veterans were entitled to. host: secretary robert mcdonald appeared before committee taking and talking about this issue of the shortfall, the $2.5 billion shortfall and before we hear from him we want to hear from you from the topic

of veterans' affairs especially when it comes to funding issues, hospital and service issues and anything you want to ask of our guests, ryan galucci. 202-748-8000 for democrats and 702-248-8001 for republicans and for independents, 202-748-8002 and for veterans, 202-748-8003. we'll take those calls in a moment and show you a portion, a lengthy portion of secretary robert mcdonald before the committee talking about shortfalls at the v.a. [video clip] >> a year ago today at my senate confirmation hearing i was charged to assure the v.a. provides veterans with the highest quality service that they've earned. i welcome that opportunity. for the last year, i've been working with a great and growing team of excellent people to fulfill that sacred duty. over the last year since my swearing in, nine of the 17 top

leaders in v.a. are all new. we have to get the right people on the bus and we have to get them in the right seats on the bus. because of their hard work, v.a. has increased veterans access to care and completed seven million more appointments this year than last year. 2.5 million within v.a. and 4.5 million in the community. seven million total more than last year and 4.5 million in the community 2.5 million inside v.a. we've increased v.a. care in the community authorizations, including choice, by 44% since we started accelerating access to care a year ago. that's 900,000 more authorizations than the previous year. while choice has been just a small proportion of that 4.5 million, it's on the rise and utilization has doubled in the last month.

today because of growth and access, the department is struggling to meet veterans needs through the end of the fiscal year. we need your help. you've already appropriated funds to meet these needs but you haven't given me the flexibility or the authority to use them without flexibility, we'll have no option at the end of july but to defer all remaining nonchoice care in the community authorizations until october. provide staff furlough notices and notify vendors we cannot pay them as we begin an orderly shutdown of hospitals and clinics across the country. these are unfortunate conclusions toa -- to an otherwise productive year of process. host: ryan galucci, how do you think of his response of how he's handling the situation? guest: he has one of the most difficult jobs in the country, he came in at the department of

veterans' affairs at a time of turmoil and what he had to ask of congress the other day was a difficult message to deliver. it's something that the veterans community, quite frankly, is a little bit scared of, the threat that v.a. hospitals may close, that employees would be furloughed and that nonv.a. care appointments which as the secretary just said, have been critical to delivering the care the veterans need would be deferred until october for all other nonv.a. care programs except for the veterans choice program. so it's something that the v.f.w. is very concerned about and something we've been very vocal about in making sure v.a. has the resources it needs to deliver care. host: it sounded as if he had his hands tied especially about the use of these funds. is that an appropriate response do you think? secretary mcdonald comes in with the ability to move funds around as his board sees fit. in many ways congress is with his board of directors and dictate what his budget can be

used for. and they've identified a need over v.a. and would prefer to use some of their funding to satisfy that demand. and what we said related to this hearing is that secretary mcdonald needs this leverage. the way v.a. health care is funded is they give him the resources across the board to do a job but veterans demand different benefits in different ways. we feel it's appropriate to fund this and not shut down our facilities. host: i don't know if you've talked to legislators but what's been the response of offering the funding to meet the shortfall? guest: legislators were obviously upset by the news v.a. would have this shortfall. host: caught offguard a little bit? guest: during the hearing chairman miller was upset and

they pressed secretary mcdonald on exactly when did v.a. know about this potential shortfall and why didn't they come to congress sooner? and what secretary mcdonald said in response to that was look, we had a -- we're using outdated i.t. systems so information technology systems to evaluate how we use our budget. they knew -- they thought at about march this may be a possibility, but they weren't able to confirm it until very recently and then went to congress with their concerns, went to congress with their requests for supplemental funding. host: ryan galucci to talk about issues related to veterans. let's hear from you, john is first up, northport florida, republican line. you're on with our guest. good morning. go ahead. caller: good morning. thank for you taking my call. my question is where do you see ourselves in the next five years from now? and if things are supposed to -- if you're saying things are getting better and if hospitals keep closing things are not getting better. i feel that we need leadership,

we need honesty, honesty in the people in washington to correct the problems. and that's how i feel things should be done because i know veterans, i know people that are in the service, why are we going overseas to protect the united states and then we come back and can't even take care of our military? it seems like we need somebody in there to change things and to have people in leadership to get things done correctly and we're tired -- the people of the united states are getting tired of hearing the same thing over and over again what direction is the united states going? we need a military to protect the people of the united states and they need to be taken care of when they come back from overseas or in the united states itself. and my question is where do you see ourselves in the next five years and thank you for taking my call. guest: well, john, thank you. first of all, you brought up some excellent points about the cost of war. this is something that the

v.f.w. has long said if we're going to send our men and women to serve overseas, we need to take care of them when they come home. now, your question of where are we going in five years, this is something the v.f.w. is taking a very close look at. what we saw with the v.a. health care crisis last year was absolutely unacceptable. and just this past week at the v.f.w. national convention, the v.f.w. membership passed a resolution about sustainable v.a. care for veterans. what this means is we saw the veterans choice program pass -- excuse me, we saw the veterans choice program instituted last november offering increased community care options to veterans. there are also other non-v.a. care purchasing authorities the department of veterans' affairs has to deliver care outside of the v.a. health care system and what the v.f.w. has asked for is we need to consolidate these purchasing authorities and make sure we're delivering care to veterans when they need it and that was one of the major

problems with the v.a. health care crisis, is that veterans felt that they had no options. they were told to either sit on a waiting list or pay for care out of their own pocket. to to be -- to the vfw that was unacceptable. the way we have got about this is we have asked our members what they think is the future of v.a. care. as a matter of fact, the survey that the vfw has going right now asks that very same question in an open ended manner. the survey is actually available on our website at bfw. vfw.com/vawatch. then your preferences for receiving care. what drives your health care decisions? is it your relationship to your doctor? is at the cost of care? your family care needs? a number of options.

then we do ask some very open ended questions. what do you see as the future of the a care? this is something that cannot be put off. it is something that the vfw takes very seriously and something that we need to get right. host: john from clarion pennsylvania. our line for veterans. good morning. caller: i would like to thank mr. ryan for my opportunity to give an opinion. i appreciate it. my opinion is very simple. why not give everyone -- every veteran when they get out of service, medicare? whether they pay should be dependent on whether they are a combat wounded veteran, based on that veterans service. it would clear up an issue. but the v.a. handle claims and let the health care be taken care of by the community, a single-payer system where the government pays our premiums and

we go to any hospital in the country and get care. we have this ridiculous situation. i am beyond disgusted with the v.a.. the da said they would take care of me. -- va. guest: first, thank you for your service. as far as medicare for veterans, this is one of the interesting concepts floating around, is creating a paid option for veterans in the community. they can -- the concern is that the vfw has with this is that the medicare community is not ready to either treat the type of conditions that veterans may suffer from, or that the cost would be entirely too high. the third issue that you would really have, is that you would lose -- but you would really

just stressed this on the community when it is not ready. -- thrust this on the community. we have had a number of veterans reach out to us that when they were unable to get their care from the v.a. they were deemed eligible for the veterans choice program. when they try to get care from the community, that type of care did not exist in the community. we have seen this in nevada. a veteran was treated for middle health condition, he was told that he could not be seen within 30 days. i put him on the veterans choice less. he tried to get help in the community and could not be seen in a timely manner. to build on this, the vfw is actually out in pennsylvania this week for our national convention, and we had the opportunity to visit with the expert v.a. meant -- pittsburgh v.a. mental center. we had an opportunity to ask about how the program is going. one of the concerns they brought up about was that veterans who

are getting care in the community are having to wait at least 48 days for their appointments. the threshold is 30 days to receive care in the community but if you are not seen in the community until 48 days, what are your best options? the other problem here with a medicare type program for the veterans community, is that we have seen that some veterans -- not all veterans -- preferred to receive their care through the v.a.. because of the unique set of circumstances that surround their health care decision-making. this is one of the things we're looking at. we knowledge that care in the community is absolutely critical, you cannot deny veterans access to the doctor that they need to see. that is something that the vfw is pushing for. host: here is michael from maryland, republican line. caller: thank you. inc. you ryan. -- thank you ryan. in government when things don't

work, you want to do more of it for some reason. we've got this shortfall, we need more money. i understand there is a v.a. hospital being built out in colorado. it is way over budget. this happens all the time. we spent a hundred $60 million -- $160 billion dollars on veterans and not all that goes to care. it's about 5%. every veteran should get a gold credit card that can go anywhere. we should have some special regional centers, or whatever, for some of the specific ptsd or things like that. then we can have an insurance arm that would manage it. we can save a hundred billion dollars, give veterans better care. so -- sell the buildings and just get out of that business. we have enough private health care and clinics to satisfy need, and they would get better

and quicker care. that is my response. guest: thank you michael. you are out solely right. the situation that is happening in denver, it is unaccountable to the vfw. we are absolutely trying to make sure that this hospital is built in a timely manner and it seems that we just keep getting roadblocks with it. as far as intersection within the community, this is one of the things that the vfw is not sure about. again, we have seen through the choice programs and other non-v.a. choice programs, the care may not be readily available in the community. the other issue we are looking at, one of the reasons that we want to look at purchased care options, or non-v.a. care authorities, is that many veterans who speak to the vfw say that they prefer to receive their care from the department of veterans affairs. it is about a comfort level with

the department of veterans affairs health care system. more than 50% of our respondents from our latest survey said they would choose to receive their care from the department of veterans affairs. they would recommend it to their fellow veterans. the last point we would want to do at this point is shattered those hospitals and thrust those veterans into the community without viable options. one of the chief competencies that the department of veterans affairs has that veterans from iraq and afghanistan seek out his mental health. middle health treatment. a number of veterans has come to us and said that they have tried to seek care in the community even in their own dime, but they always end up coming back to the v.a. because community providers don't necessarily understand their experience. they are really not familiar with combat related mental health disorders. what the vfw is looking at is more of a hybrid system. we are not going to force any veterans to not use v.a. hair --

care, but we want to make sure they also have the option to the community. if you have a doctor you are going to who has treated your condition for a long time, how can we get them to say we are going to cover that. we understand that that is where you need to receive your care, and we are going to get you that . host: from miami, florida. on our veterans line. caller: i was wondering about the guy who called before, he was 20 years in korea. he is saying he used to go to a veterans hospital, and now because the hospital is it so far they put him in another hospital. i wonder if he is having the same care? it is too far for him, in the island of puerto rico. i worry about him.

i was living in new york, but i'm proud of him. he got cancer. i wonder if the medicine is going to get to him. clinicals will get to him? i'm very worried about him. after 20 years of the navy he was a teacher, he was always in service, and there was another one that went to world war ii. all the kids that you have in the clinics and hospitals in puerto rico, i wonder if you forget about the young people that i see of the clinics, and the cancer, and everything that is going on with the veterans. they have to focus about that. we gave our lives for the freedom of this country and the island.

and now our veterans, they need to take care of them. putting them afraid when they are sick. host: ok, you put a lot other for our guest. we will let him respond. guest: i want to clarify just one issue. your uncle is in puerto rico and you said they are threatening to close the hospital in puerto rico or -- host: she's -- guest: she's not with us. ok, a couple of issues to tackle here. puerto rico is a very unique situation. the island has a lot of veterans and a lot of veterans who require care. the vfw is down there just a few months ago. one of the other concerns that i think you are getting toward is the threat to shut down hospitals related to the budget shortfall. one of the issues that the vfw is working with congress is to make sure that the bill to supplemental he fund the

department of veterans affairs would be passed by recess. it is something that secretary mcdonald warned that hospitals that employees could be furloughed. hospitals would have to shut their doors. within the next couple of months, that is something of the vfw finds unacceptable. we have to find a way to deliver care to veterans when they need it. host: from paul in columbia south carolina, for our guest. you are next. caller: good morning. i'm a veteran, a retired serviceman, and i go to the v.a. here in columbia. when i first started going there they saw me every six months. now it's a year. so in the meantime, i also have tri-care for life, and medicare,

since i am 86. i go downtown to see a doctor occasionally. what bothers me is every place you go, and i received two or three from the v.a., they waste money sending out letters, doing a survey. how was my treatment? i have also been to fort jackson, and they sent me a letter from mom creek hospital. how was your treatment when you saw's? -- when you saw us? why in the world waste money on asking you how you are treated in such and such a place because if i was treated badly i would let them know almost immediately. they don't have to survey me. thank you very much. guest: thank you paul. one of the reason the v.a.

conducts these surveys is to do exactly what you said. keep a check on the type of care they are delivering in the hospital. we have heard concerns about too much correspondence going out to veterans, versus phone calls and what have you. the ba really needs to strike a balance with this, that it is not invasive and it is also not wasteful. so that veterans in your situation can receive care more than once a year is necessary and not feel like they're being hassled either v.a.. -- by the ba -- va. this is one of the reasons we started surveying our members. we do a lot of surveys through the internet, and asked similar questions. some of it will hopefully reveal some of the answers to the department of veterans affairs. that way we can have finger on the pulse on what is happening and the v.a. can focus more on cared delivery. host: do veterans have options

as far as going to services, because i have heard tri-care, i have heard medicare. is there overlap as far as medical care is concerned when it comes to veterans? guest: there is. there are a number of different options for veterans out there. the veteran who just called and is a prime example of that. he is eligible for care from the department of veterans care. he is also eligible for medicare as a retired age american. this is one of the concepts that the vfw has been pushing for -- allowing the department of veterans affairs to build up that care as it would any other third party insurance company. i will give you an example. i have private insurance. i've also eligible for the department of veterans affairs. what happens when i go to the ba to be seen to a condition -- for a condition that is not related to my medical -- military service, they can build my third-party insurance

provider for that medical care. this is understanding the ba has a very strict budget that they have to adhere to -- the va. and if they are able to bill medicare for nonmilitary related conditions, it would save them money. taxpayer money is going to pay for this care which is one of the reasons there is so much opposition in congress over this. if you make sure that the v.a. has the resources to deliver care much like you would for a private insurance company. host: when a veteran goes to a veterans hospital, does it have to be strictly related to service, or does care fall around that? guest: it is a full spectrum of care as a matter of fact. this is something the veterans community advocated for a long time ago. the reason it is full spectrum of care is to keep up competencies for v8 -- v.a.

doctors. one of the questions we get asked a lot is the v.a. should really only treat service-connected conditions. i ask back, what is a service-connected condition. what about plantar fascia is a -- the shiite us, or other conditions that result from military service? those are also covered. the v.a. delivers a full continuum of care to any veteran who is eligible. some of this care has military service associated with it. if -- has fees associated with it. of course if it is not service related they can bill your third-party insurance company. it can really be a one-stop shop for veterans. you will at the care that you need. how it is paid for is really dependent on your eligibility level. host: how are drugs handled for

veterans? guest: a number of ways. perception drugs are available through the v.a.. what your co-pay would be is really dependent on your level at the v.a.. for instance, if you are a priority group one your prescription has no co-pay whatsoever. many of their prescriptions are done through essential mail-order pharmacies, which is the preferred delivery model. there are also pharmacies at the a medical centers where they can receive those perceptions. host: what -- how do you rank as far as priorities? how does that work? guest: it depends on the nature of your service. your need. and also your service-connected abilities. if you earned up -- if you earned a purple heart, you are priority group three. if you are a low income veteran, you are priority group seven or

eight. host: our guest ryan gallucci from the vfw here to talk about veterans issues. let's hear from bob in ohio. go ahead. caller: i was just calling mainly for comment that i have been in v.a. care for proximally five years. i have gotten -- been out of service for 20. it has gotten tremendously better and i really appreciate all the work that they do. i would say push congress to do the right thing for us, but my v.a. clinic they are doing a great job. host: bob, when you say they are doing a great job, what does that mean? give us a specific. caller: specifically i needed some care that was due to an injury i received in military service and the care i received, i could not have got it out here in the civilian community i will.

they understood me, they knew the injuries. they had the people. yes, you may have to wait 30 days for your appointment, but the care i got was absolutely worth the wait. host: that's bob in ohio. guest: thank you for your comments. your comment are spot on with commas we have heard from other v8 -- v.a. members, which is that they are absolutely capable of delivering top-notch care. he said -- i spoke to one veteran from michigan who said, v.a. save my life. i want to share a story about my father as well. he said in the 1970's when he came off of active duty, the v.a. was not a place that at -- self-respecting veterans would go. flash forward to when i come home from a rack, my father is the one encouraging me to go to

the v.a. you said they understand the conditions that veterans face. this is a very important concern we are talking about health care in the community versus delivering it directly at the v.a.. they can i get my trends unique to the veterans population, that service aerial. a number of my colleagues who served in iraq suddenly start developing respiratory illnesses, it would become more apparent as to a v.a. doctor because they understand the conditions of those veterans face. they see a number of iraqi veterans coming in. they can pinpoint what that condition might be as diagnose it easier, where as a doctor in the community, it may not be very apparent to them. they may wonder what is causing it and what is really going on, whereas the v.a. has an advantage. host: from georgia, good

morning. caller: i just wanted to make a few comments here. i am a retiree, aged orange victim. -- agent orange victim. what is going on with the da denying service for people from the vietnam time? i went in to have them look at my conditions and the v.a. said oh you're getting better. i have had open heart surgery, i have diabetes, a skin condition, and thyroid cancer. they said we are going to have to cut you because you are getting so much better. i went to a lawyer to try to see what i could do about this and then i find out that congress has a set up a program where they don't want any legal looks at the v.a. because they limit how much a lawyer can be paid to

take a case in front of the v.a. . it's like one big humpty dumpty here. take the agent orange people lets them die, or take that money and give it to the iraqi war veterans. guest: first of our, thank you for the comment. the issue with agent orange, as i'm sure you're very well aware is it is a national embarrassment. it should never have taken this long to acknowledge the number of conditions associated with agent orange exposure. it's a thing of the vfw is dealing with, expanding the presumptive condition list for agent orange exposure. with regards to your specific case, with the v.a. telling you you are getting better, is to seek out a specific person at the biw -- the fw associated

with your claim. one of the reasons this rule is out there is to make sure that when a veteran is deemed service-connected for their condition that they are the ones receiving that disability compensation, that a certain kind of it is not going to pay attorney fees in perpetuity. this is one of the reasons that the vfw and organizations like it exists. the vfw specifically, we provide 80 hours of training to each of our accredited services -- service doctors every year. so they can understand the regulations related to veterans affairs. we provide to proficiency tests to the service doctors. the service doctors are provided -- deployed all across the country. admittedly, when i returned from iraq, i used the disabled veterans services to help me file my claims. the interest here is making sure

your claim is adjudicated in a timely manner. the best advice that i would have is that if you have not sought the assistance of an accredited veterans association go to at -- a regional office. go to vfw.org, but american lead in and other veterans groups also offer this service. you can together assistance. they're there to help. in many cases they are veterans themselves who may be affected by the same condition. host: your group heard from president obama last week and he offered his assessment of the v.a. one of the papers said he offered a mostly rosy assessment. what's did you think of the president assessments? guest: the reaction in the room was favorable, i would say. the crowd was allowed to hear

the president. it is a very difficult for them for the -- for them -- forum for the president come to. the vfw is a nonpartisan organization. when the president is charged to speak to an audience like that it may not always be the warmest reception. as far as the picture he replayed -- portrayed of the veterans at scandal from last year, we thought the president at least acknowledged that there is more that the v.a. needs to do. we are not quite there. i think everyone can agree that veteran care is not right needs to be. especially veterans like myself who use it. however, even our own polling shows that veterans perception of the v.a. is improving and care delivery may be improving. what is critical to that is to make sure that this gets pushed through before congress goes on recess next week so that the ba can continue to deliver that care.

host: 42016, what is your organization planning on doing as far as at least talking to the candidates about the issues? do you get involved? guest: as a matter of fact, the vfw always talks to the candidates. we hosted a convention last go around. barack obama and mitt romney joined us and spoke to our membership. they laid out their vision of what veterans benefits should look like, what veterans affairs should look like moving forward. this is always something the vfw has done. it's one of the recent congressionally chartered veterans service organizations exist, is to advocate with congress, the executive branch. advocate with the branches responsible for funding us. host: jesse from alabama, go ahead please. jesse from fairfield, go ahead. let's try girl. earle is in waterloo, iowa. good morning.

caller: yes. i want to ask a question. i am 100% service-connected, i have medicare part a and part d. i wonder why the v.a. will build 20% of my men -- bill 20% of my medicare if i go to a regular dr.? guest: the question of why can't v.a. services supplement your payer outside of the system? that is really the symptom of care today. the v.a. is not a service provider -- insurance provider. they do not necessarily air you receive in the community. they will pay for care in the community that v.a. has coordinated, but it will not serve as a second payer or anything like that if it has not

coordinated through the v.a. host: sandra from phoenix arizona. good morning. >> thank you for taking my call. i wanted to ask a few questions. i'm so sorry to hear about all these veterans that are calling in. their stories are just heartbreaking. i wondered why 15,000 military personnel are going to get six changes -- sex changes and the military is going to pay for that? they are not ill, they are not hurting, they are not in pain. 15,000 are going to get a sex change. $1 billion that the president got to give lawyers for the

illegal children that came across the border. to give them attorneys. i wanted to know how outrageous this is. this is just going to can -- encourage more gays to enlist in the military, just for the surgery. i think many of them should go -- guest: thanks sandra. unfortunately these are not really issues that the vfw delved into. you are absolutely right, are veterans do need more care. especially veterans who were called up today -- who are so called up today who are having issues with access to the v.a. health care community. this is really what the vfw is

working on, pushing for responsible funding. funding that satisfies the demand within the veteran community. side effects -- satisfies the need as we bring our troops home from iraq and afghanistan. host: as far as funding issues, you mentioned supplemental funding. what happens later on this year if money for a budget can't be agreed? what happens specifically to veterans? guest: if the funding on -- if the funding isn't agreed on by the time congress goes on recess, there is the legitimate concern that the health care facilities will not be able to meet the demands. some of the may have to close some of the main appeal to afford certain procedures. employees may be on furlough. as far as moving forward, with the budget prospect looks like for the department of veterans affairs, this actually speaks to one of the vfw's top legislative priorities for the past couple of years. that is budget sequestration the budget control act with establishes 10% across-the-board

cuts for agencies not called the department of veterans affairs. one of our concerns moving forward is that under the original did cap the v.a. would not be exempt from the -- would be exempt from sickness duration -- from sequestration, but there is no guarantee of that for 2016. it could affect ancillary services that ultimately affect the care of veterans. the vfw has been one of the most vocal associations about the dangerousness of sequestration the dangerous effects on the deferment of labor funding to help veterans find jobs. the potential with respect to the offending. -- there potential of danger with respect to v.a. funding. when the president joined us he mentioned v.a. funding as well.

it's something that everyone seems to hate, but no one seems willing to take action. for all the reasons that i said before, we need to manage to the demands of the veterans of -- community has. host: ryan gallucci, joining us to talk about veterans affairs. coming up on our program for 25 years the americans with disabilities act has offered work and other protections for people with disabilities. joining us to talk about the anniversary of the act is helena berger. and now that the united states and cuba are in the process of aligning relations, what issues faced both countries? jason marshak will get his perspective as washington journal continues. >> it's almost as if they were mansur -- matter and antimatter.

>> he is always to the right and almost always in the wrong. >> anything comfortable -- propagated confuses him. >> filmmakers robert gordon and roger metal talk about their documentary, best of enemies, on the 1968 debate between conservative lien of ugly and liberal gore the doll -- vidal. >> it is very unlike today. today i believe there is someone saying, you know, the numbers are dwindling. talk about hot topics, hot salacious topic number two. whereas then, i don't think that was the norm in tv at the time. i don't think these guys needed that. >> the moderator was a distinguished news man. i think he was really kind of embarrassed by this.

he was moderating, but he disappears for sometimes five or more minutes at a time. today you would not have a moderator not jumping in every 30 seconds. i think really everybody at abc just sit back and let the fire burn. >> tonight at it got eastern and pacific, on c-span's q&a. >> monday on the communicators fcc commissioner michael o'rielly on key issues before the fcc, like net neutrality, regulating the internet, and the public influence on policymaking. >> when an item is made for in -- an open committee meeting that document should be made available publicly. i think that would provide an opportunity for everyone to comment. they could hone in on issues that they see as problematic. right now we see people who raise concerns but they often don't know exactly what they can

put forward. that is problematic from my point of view. i would rather people tell me exactly where they would like to see changes, and not spend time on things that don't need attention. >> monday night on the communicators, on c-span two. "washington journal" continues. host: it was july 20 6, 1990, that then-president george bush signed into act -- law the americans with this ability act. [video clip] >> this act is powerful in its of simplicity. it will ensure that americans with disabilities will receive basic guarantees for what -- which they have worked so long and so hard. the opportunity to blend fully and equally into the rich mosaic of the american mainstream. and legally, it will provide our

disabled community with a powerful expansion of protections and basic civil rights. it will guarantee fair and just access to american life, which we all must be able to enjoy. host: on the 25th anniversary, we are talking with helena berger from the american association of individuals with disabilities. where have we gone in 25 years? >> we haveguest: we have gone fairly far. i think one of the biggest achievements of the ada thus far has been how it has really raise the consciousness of the american public. there are barriers that have been taken down because the ada is a very sweeping piece of legislation. it covers the workforce. it covers public accommodation. transportation. telecommunications.

it really affect just about everything. nothing was excluded. it has brought down barriers which means there are more people visible. i think having more people with disabilities visible and out in the public, some of those myths and stereotypes has been erased. i can, i think it has done a really good job of raising the consciousness. president bush did talk about freedom. you can get on public transportation you can go to a restaurant, go to a movie. these are accessible. you can contribute to society. you contribute to your community. i think today with what we call the ada generation, the generation that was born after the ada, i think their expectations are very high.

they expect to get a job. they expect to go to college. there is a lot of disability pride. all those that i think have made the ada very significant in terms of some of the attitudinal matters. host: how does the law defined disability? guest: if you have a disability that affects a major life activity. it also covers if you are perceived to have a disability or if you have an illness that you are recovering from. host: so if someone is classified as that, what services do they received? what are they entitled to? guest: basically they can't be discriminated. that's what it does. it protects you from being discriminated in the workplace. if you want to get a service from state or local government. if you want access to a restaurant, if you want access to transportation.

that is what it protects you. you are a protected class now you cannot get discriminated when you want at -- to access services. clearly in the workforce. host: generally then, our people finding that they are getting access if they are defined as disabled and they make these challenges to get access? is it commonplace that they do get access or are there still challenges for people who want that? guest: i'm going to say that is the and no question. i think we're seeing -- when you look at the built environment, i think it is much more accessible. host: what you mean by the built environment? guest: when you look at buildings. restaurants, movie theaters. i think there has been better enforcement over the years.

that being said, we hear all the time that people with disabilities are still wanting to access a certain facility, and it may not be accessible. i think with any law, it does not happen overnight. it has been 25 years. i think there are certain aspects of the law we hope to be a little further ahead. certainly in the harry unemployment. that is one airy aware of -- area where the needle has not moved unfortunately. there were four goals of the ada. they were economic self-sufficiency, independent living, equal opportunity, and full participation. in most of those categories we can claim success. when it comes i think to economic self-sufficiency, which ties into employment, unfortunately the ada has really not made much of a dent. host: 25 years of the american with -- americans with disability act.

there talk about it, helena berger. if you want to ask her questions about this -- the specifics of this act, (202) 748-8000 for the eastern time zone, (202) 748-8001 for the mountain and specific -- pacific time zone. if you are disabled and you want to give an opinion, (202) 748-8002. you specified employment. where are we? host: i can cite the british invasion right, and by that we mean for a population that is older than 16 and either working or actively seeking work. for disability -- people with disabilities that was 20%. for individuals without his abilities, that was 69%. i think it employment one of the things that we really have not

conquered is a lot of the attitudinal barriers. i think employers sometimes see people with disabilities, as not going to be able to maybe do the job, or too expensive to accommodate. will they get sick and be out a lot? i think there are still those myths and stereotypes that need to be broken down. the only way to do that is to start hiring people with disabilities and interacting with more people with this abilities and the workplace. i think people with disabilities who, let's say, have non-visible disabilities, i think they also have to be more forthcoming and proactive. i think that is really one significant way to break down the barrier. host: what classifies a visible or nonvisible disability? guest: a mental health disability. epilepsy. an example is someone who is deaf or in a wheelchair, or blind. host: the census bureau tells us when it came to 2010, there were

about 30 million people with movement impairment. hearing impairment, it's about a million as well. senility or any form of neurocognitive disorders, 2.4 million. how does that play out in the workplace. you talked about these issues come as a sleeper's movement impairment. clearly they can work in certain aspects, but how does an employer comedy for that? guest: i think the bottom line is, the ada says you have to be able to offer fundamental aspects of the job. regardless of disability, if you can perform it, you work with your employer. if for whatever reason you can't do it, then that's a legitimate not higher -- non-higher -- no n-hire. there is a network out there called the job accommodation network. i think most accommodations are only going to run you know, a

couple hundred bucks. not very expensive. but the ada is not an affirmative action. you have to be a qualified individual. i think again, people just have to be more open-minded about hiring people with disabilities and like i say start erasing those attitudinal problems. host: why these things are the attitudes still exist, even though we have gone 25 years and we have seen people make strides? guest: that's a good question. i think again i think it is just a stereotype of what a person can and can't do. i think it is fear sometimes, to be honest. if i hire this person, and it doesn't work out, willie sumi -- will they sumi -- sue me because they have a disability? i think there is a fear that they will be sick more often. will the health insurance go up?

i think those are all the things that sometimes employers are wary of. host: eastern central time zones, (202) 748-8000. central and pacific time zones (202) 748-8001. disability -- disabled individuals, (202) 748-8002. we are on with james, go ahead. caller: when i have to ask you is, i was working for a company in kentucky. i had a weight limit. my boss told me well, you lift it or you are fired. i got hurt. now i have to go to the doctor. i have a pinched nerve in my net, of -- in my neck, a bulky vertebrae in my back.

they fired me. february 6 is when i filed for workmen's comp.. within two weeks, they fired me on february 23. fired me. i turned this into the eeoc, which they are working on it right now. now i am in worse shape than i was, and i could not even draw workmen's comp. they are putting me through medical, i am going to see a neurosurgeon right now for my neck and my back. this is the way they done me. i mean, it's not fair to these people that are on disability. it's just not fair. that's the way i feel. host: james, we will get a response. guest: i understand. my recommendation was going to be to file a complaint with the eeoc so i am really happy to

hear the you did that. that is only course that you certainly have. under title i of the ada, which is the employment section, if you feel that you have been discriminated against that is the appropriate agency to file your complaint with. i'm glad to hear the you did and that you are following up. hopefully you receive the justice that you deserve. host: of course, the eeoc, what is the caseload like? guest: my understanding to be honest, is when it comes to disability determination, it is the highest number of complaints that they have. it has improved. it has improved in terms of keeping up with the rate that they are receiving. like most federal agencies, they are not flush for cash. there is always that issue of the number of employees that can handle the rate.

but over the years it has gotten better. host: dan is from massachusetts -- dana is from massachusetts. good morning. caller: good morning. my question to helena berger is, has her association thought about the implanted devices that people are being implanted with that obstructs their minds and their ability to function in their own capacity? science and medicine and the military i think, are collaborators, but my question is, they are doing this now, and what would be your thoughts about the legality of such activity to obstruct a person from their own ability to function? guest: to be honest, i'm not

familiar with that particular situation, so unfortunately i can't address that question. it is certainly not something that my organization is working on, so i'm sorry. host: let's go to korea -- kria in new york. that morning. -- good morning. caller: i first want to thank you for the discussion, as well as everyone behind the scenes on c-span every day. i have been with difficulties. i stood up to michael bloomberg. you can see in 2009 on the new york times front page, to test the system they denied as a --

us aid. in 2011i had a decision. they did not comply. i lost 85% of my esophagus to esophageal cancer. i am trying to make lemonade now. i am asking if people go on to indigo goegogo, because with disabilities you are allowed to stay at home. but if you are in new york they are saying they can't enforce the order down in new york state i do have a solution. this is it. in this country the law is excellent. it's like giving a metro card in

d.c. for life. we have the laws on the books. we protect property. if you are a bad penny you go to court and 15 years later -- 15 days later you are jail. we need a human rights court. host: thank you my much. we will let our guest response. -- guest respond. guest: you're right. in the ada is not a panacea. when you encounter at the state and local level, with your local governments and the bureaucracy that you have to deal with unfortunately you feel like the 88 is not working for you. one of the recommendations i have is working with, if you have not already, some of the local disability organizations on the state and local level specifically independent living

centers. independent living centers are centers that are run for and by people with disabilities. they do the one-on-one advocacy. they are there to assist you. they are there to help you. there is also an advocacy system in every state, so that if you have these type of issues and legal questions they can help you as well. i would highly encourage you to seek out some of your steak -- state and local entities that could help you navigate some of those problems the you are currently encountering. host: a viewer are on twitter asked if we are doing a good job weeding out fraud? guest: i don't know if i am actually equipped to handle that question. i think though, there are always going to be a case -- cases of fraud. i assume they are talking about disability claim fraud. that's what i'm assuming.

again, to be honest, i am not really equipped to handle that question. i'm going to assume yes, it is not generally an issue that my organization deals with. it is not a problem that comes up very often. host: roger in mount holly, north carolina. hi. caller: hi. i wanted to make a comment and express my admiration for the work that ada has done. my daughter has a consultation, she lost her eyesight. she worked for several years before she eventually passed away. the lady who made the comment regarding the perception, that is an important, and. my wife was extremely upset when we would be out together and people would ask me how she was doing when she is right there.

she could just see people in disabilities see people with disabilities as something they are not sure how to deal with. that's my comments. guest: i concur with that. there are still plenty of attitudinal barriers out there that people with disabilities confront every day. many times the ada as a law does not necessarily always combat that. the only thing i can say, the more that people with disabilities are in the public has of the ada, and the more interaction people with non-disabilities have with folks that have disabilities -- i think that is the way to break down that barrier. there are a lot of stereotypes and misperceptions of people at

this abilities. i think there is fear. people aren't comfortable. the way you break down that fear, the way you break down feeling uncomfortable is you have to increase the interaction . a perfect example is what we are seeing happening in the lgbtqi community around equal rights. that is because it has become very commonplace now for folks to interact with people in that community. it needs to happen in our community as well. host: there is a story in the "expert post" -- "pittsburgh post-" about a transgender person and how it might challenge issues of the ada's constitutionality. guest: i'm not a lawyer, i personally don't see any problems with that but not

being a lawyer i really don't know if i'm the appropriate effort -- person to address that. host: after 25 years, would there be updates needed, and if so what would those be? guest: the access board, which is responsible for promulgating regulation primarily to public accommodations -- they the last 25 years have insured that constant recreations in cruise ships are accessible. when it comes to access i think we see regulations being promulgated. one airy a -- area that is an issue for our community that the ada has not really addressed is the institutionalization of people with disabilities, and making sure that their home and community-based services for people with disabilities so they do not have to be

institutionalized. so that they can live in the community and be productive like anybody else. i think we're going to see and hear more about community integration as we go beyond the 25 years of the ada. host: there was a story this morning in "the washington post." saying virginia is one of the last state stands to reforms under the 1999 supreme court ruling that requires people with disabilities to be moved out of government institutions and into community settings. guest: again, if you talk to a lot of people in the community in addition to the employment issue that i highlighted, i think we need community integration. we need to get people with disabilities out of their situation -- institutions, back into their homes and communities. the way to do that is making sure that they have to support from services that they need. host: sharon from silver spring maryland.

good morning. caller: good morning. i guess i just wanted to find out -- i've heard that this ability was running -- disability was running out of money, so i just wanted to find out if there is something we can do where that does not happen. i even read that either it will be cut by 20% if the republicans -- but they have to find something where they put it back in effect. i guess my concern is my brother. he is diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. he takes in several different medications. once he takes the medication he is out like a light. literally. he actually brought this to my attention.

he read it online. his case is not that he does not want to work. he even worked before he was diagnosed and before he was actually taken -- taking his medication. he gave those people hell on the job. literally hell. now he is on medication, and once he takes a, like i said, he is out. once i go to work, i know i can't take that because i feel for me, that just that one pill. i can honestly say right now i am a caregiver for him. once i see him take those pills i'm like wow. so i guess my concern, my question is, are they really running out of money? guest: well, i think what you

need to do is you need to contact your two senators. you need to contact your congressperson and you need to make sure that they understand why this is important to you why they should not be cutting benefits, why they should not be cutting social security. these are all the issues, you know that we always hear about every year in congress. there are always threats. the one place where there is an impact is when the american people speak up and call directly their legislators so they understand exactly why this is important to you. that is what i would recommend. i would recommend being proactive and contacting your senators and representatives so they hear your voice and a hear

your concerns. i would also recommend that your friends and families do that. laws change in this country attitudes change in this country when people mobilize and a galvanized and they stand up for their rights. that is how the ada was passed, and that is how many civil rights laws get passed, so that is what i would highly recommend. to get involved in our movement and to make sure your voice is heard and your concerns are addressed. host: from olympia, washington. here is a lane. hello. caller: hi, i had my femoral and bypass surgery and i got through that. it took a while but the last surgery i had was an artery in my leg. because i was 61 years old and i could retire i ended up retiring because i knew the recovery on that was going to be a lot longer. i was running out of sick leave and annual leave.

to make a long story short, when i asked social security about disability because i had no intentions on retiring, they said i could not get disability. even though i paid in my whole life. i am a single person. can you tell me anything about that? i will hang up and listen to your response. thank you. guest: well, without knowing the circumstances, the only thing i could say -- i mean, it sounds like you would be eligible. why they are saying you are not, i do not know. i know there are organizations out there that will work on your behalf to help you get social security. i cannot really address why social security is denying you. what i would say is you are going to have to deal with that bureaucratic process. i would begin to an appeal and i

would look into working with entities that will work with you to try and secure your social security. that is the best recommendation i have read i would not take no for an answer. i know it is going to be a long process and you are going to have to persevere. host: joanna from maryland. hello. caller: good morning. i wanted to talk about the positive side of the ada and a personal story. a number are calling and about social security issues rather than the ada. the whole purpose of the ada is to allow people to go to work, go to school. that is the main thing. and have access to everything from lawyers to doctors to restaurants, that kind of thing. i did ada technical assistance for a while and my specialty was title i which is employment. i want to say that the ada allowed me to go to college. i was able to use textbooks

graduate, go to work. i am retired now but i worked my way up to be a senior manager in a transportation company where i did a lot of hiring and firing and disciplining. i want to talk a little bit about someone had mentioned the essential functions of the job. i will give you an example -- if your job -- if you apply for a job, let's say you are person who uses a wheelchair and you apply to repair a small appliance like, i don't know, and your job is to sit at the table and repair these. that's the essential function of a job because you are hired to repair these small appliances. taking them afterwards and stacking them on a shelf is not an essential part of the job, so that is something that can either be waived or traded off. even do something for somebody else and they stand up and put

it up on the shelf. that is the difference between an essential function and an outside function that is not necessary. i want to say that the ada has been really wonderful and enabled a lot of people to go to college and to get jobs. for the most part accommodations are not as expensive as people think. you only have to do what is effective. if someone goes in and says, well, i want some sort of hydraulic thing to be able to lift heavy boxes well, it is a simple creature that you can purchase from a store that will work. an employer only has to provide what is effective. host: joanna, thank you. let's get a response. guest: i could not agree with you more. in terms of employment and the essential functions and what you are talking about, the employer has to make reasonable accommodations.

the quick definition only talk about reasonable accommodations -- keep it easy but really the employee and employer sitting down and figuring it out, see what works -- wsseei what works. ng and to the other point of the aba having computer affect -- aba having a good affect overall, i think if you pose most americans with disabilities, they would say that the law over the last 25 years has had a huge effect on people with disabilities and has really changed their lives. i think it has changed to some degree public perception. we are not there yet but the consciousness level that has been raised would never have happened without teh ada -- the

ada. host: david from washington d.c. go ahead. caller: good morning. i was talking to talk -- i was calling to talk conventions and at the beginning of the segment we watched president bush sign in the ada and that was 25 years ago. the republican party has decayed into it in a state of, you know, individuals only and do not help your neighbor kind of mindset. if you want to look at jeb bush running around talking about cutting medicare, if you vote republican, things like the ada where we look out for each other, things like that program and what their current mindset they will go away and you'll watch budget cuts happen over

and over. i wanted to point that out. you will not get any help. look at texas for example. that's all i have to say. guest: i'm not going to get partisan, the only thing i will say is that i think the disability community needs to be educated about the candidates and about the policies. the republican platform, the democratic platform, and make an informed and educated decision. unfortunately, we do not have the number of people with disabilities voting at the level we would like. it keeps increasing, i want to point that out. every presidential election, the number keeps increasing and there are barriers to voting when you talk about accessibility. if you do not have accessible transportation, there are barriers. i do think that our community needs to take responsibility and vote. that gives us elliptical cloud.

that gives us the ability -- that gives us political clout. that gives us the ability to be a strong voting bloc. without getting partisan, the message is -- the informed, know the issues, know the platform and got". host: betty from south dakota. caller: good morning. i just have one thing that i want to save. if the ada was voted in one year after i had a major car wreck and ended up disabled, so they have done wonders for me. now we are bending over backwards to allow people to have animals everywhere, even in the grocery store now. these are not dogs that are helping blind people or disabled people. they are little dogs that people have, cute dogs that they take

everywhere. i think they are abusing the ada in that respect. i do not just -- i don't just like it. there's not a lot i can do about it but i want to complain. guest: i think there are going to be people who take advantage of that aspect of the ada, but i think for the most part that people with service animals, and not just lined individuals but service animals -- blind individuals but service animals that help psychiatric disabilities, and i think for the most part it is not an abuse but i need. we have to realize that there are people that will take advantage but i feel strongly that that is not the norm but the exception. host: helena berger with the association of people with

disabilities on this 25th anniversary. thank you for your time. guest: thank you. host: coming up, we will talk to jason marczak on what happens now with the relationship with cuba. first, i want to point you to "newsmakers" program which you can see at 6:00. the chair of the house appropriations committee is our guest. he is going to talk about the next step in this lending progress and his reaction to the prospect of a continuing resolution for funding. >> number one, i do not want a long-term cr. if we did that, all of the work that the corporations committees have done so far in perfecting the 12 bills -- all of that work would go out the window. and all of the writers, changes in spending, new bills to modernize current spending, all of that would be thrown out in a

cr. i do not want to see a long-term cr. however, it looks like the probabilities are we will have to do at least a short-term cr, a couple of months or so in order to allow us time to perfect and alter the spending bill like we have done in the past two years. however, the difference this time is we have the sequestration cap someplace -- caps in place. it is probably going to be impossible to get an agreement on the spending bill with the white house and both bodies on the hill. it's going out today probably some relief from sequestration. that means we're going to have

to have offsets and those good come from either the energy and congress committee on entitlements. hopefully we would see some offsets gain from those places in order to offset the spending increases to get away from the severe caps sequestration. >> "washington journal" continues. host: our last guest, jason marczak, good morning. what did you think when you saw the cuban flag line over the embassy in the united states for the first time in 50 years or so? guest: i thought the flag flying up on 16th street after 54 years without relations -- it is a historic change. one of the first kind of concrete substances, physical actions we can see as a result

of the announcement in december with executive actions to free up our u.s.-cuba policy. we have had a policy with cuba which has failed to produce results. we still have the same regime in power, lack of basic freedoms for the cuban people and the step of opening the embassy in washington and havana is an opportunity where we cannot diplomatic relations and further them in havana to be able to do their jobs better. host: 20 think happened on the ground in the united states and cuba to bring about the change? guest: i will take on both sides, on the u.s. side, a recognition by obama when he first had when he ran from office -- ran for office. his overall foreign policy whether it is the deal we saw last week or other things that his government and his administration would be the one

to talk to regimes that they did not agree with. the whole idea of engagement to bring about change as part of the foreign policy and that is what we have seen in regard to cuba. we also saw in the cuba case the frame -- the freeing of the u.s. contractor who had been jailed in cuba for some time. his health was in serious -- it had gone seriously awry, so part of the announcement, allen gross was free and flown back to washington. on the cuban side, a recognition that they do not want another special period. that was in the 1990's after the soviet union fell. the cuban economy faltered incredibly. the cubans are now incredibly reliant on venezuela for much of its oil, a lot of it's hard currency as well as other things. the venezuelan economy is

approaching hyperinflation levels one hundred 20% or so so the cubans recognize that they need to find other ways to let the release valve off some of the challenges they face in the economy. host: what is next for u.s.-cuba relations? our guest jason marczak, if you want to ask them questions -- 202-748-8000 for democrats guest: -- 202-748-8001 fo republicans. r (202) 748-8002 for independence. there are still problems going forward, right? guest: definitely. it is not a policy that condones the castro government. it is not a policy that condones but a policy change in which we

recognize by having a greater opening with cuba, we are able to more effectively, for example, support the nation's private sector. there is about 500,000 entrepreneurs and cuba, a couple hundred different specific types of category of self-employment permitted in cuba and that permits -- and that has only been up in the past few years. the private sector gives a different voice rather than the stripped out voice of the government. that is one thing we can be doing. there are other things now that we have diplomats on the ground you can travel freely throughout cuba they do not need to ask for permission. there are greater opportunities to engage with cubans in both societies. cubans no longer need to put their name on a list to enter the embassy which they had to do before. on the cuban side there are significant challenges. they want us to get back on guantanamo.

we are not even discussing that right now. obviously, there is the issue of the u.s. side of nationalized properties, about a billion dollars in property has been nationalized -- about $8 billion in property has been nationalized in the early 1960's . they cubans say we owed them 10 times that amount because of the harm that the embargo has created. i do not agree with that number. host: that is not an issue probably. guest: not an issue probably but because of nationalized properties, there is increased air travel. only when you can travel the country, that they're like and service the u.s. but they will not fly here because we can technically expropriate any airplane from cuba that lands on u.s. soil. host: one of the things secretary of state kerry mentions, even at the opening

with the first press conference with the cuban official, the idea of human rights and how we go forward in addressing the issue. i want to play a little bit of what you say and get your response. secretary of state kerry: we will always express because it is part of the u.s. foreign policy and rdna as a country. -- and our dna as a country. we have had good exchange. as you know, part of this arrangement that took place involved an exchange of people as well as the release of some people. our hope is that as time goes on we will continue to develop that. host: spell out where we are or the issues when it comes to human rights? guest: on the human rights front, we have seen, even since the president's announcement, we have not seen much of the lead up of the cuban side.

there were a number of arrests a few weeks ago. on the cuban side there continues to be any type of civil action or gathering that is seen to counter is a the official policies of the cuban government. there is no free press and cuba, there is a very prominent well-known blogger who started an online newspaper but it is hard for most cubans to see that because most do not have internet access and when they do it is limited. internet access is more available in myanmar than cuba. there is a lack of freedom of the press, lack of ability to freely gather. in general, speaking out against the castro government will and you in jail. cubans are wary of doing that. the president said just this

week or a spokesperson said this week, he is considering traveling to cuba in early 2016. that visit would be contingent upon cuba's advancements and one of the three areas is a great respect for human rights. if there is no improvement in human rights in cuba between now and the end of the year, the president would not travel there. host: the numbers are on your screen. we have set aside a special site for cuban americans -- cuban-americans to join us. we will start with tony in florida. independent line. go ahead. caller: hey, how are you doing? i am just so opposed -- i'm originally from jamaica and a lot of cubans fled to jamaica and florida. i am so opposed to this opening up relations with cuba and i am just so disgusted by the

deceitful arguments in favor of it. i would like to tackle them quickly. [indiscernible] for over 50 years -- let's go to something else. slavery took decades to and, civil rights took centuries to achieve. the embargo is not there because we hate cuba, it was an incentive to seize the american citizens. any nation can say we can take away americans and after a while, america will lose interest. the final one, we keep hearing that if we open up cuba, we will change the cuban people at commerce. the rest of the world is already open to cuba, has been four years, europeans have been going there, canadians, you see billboards all over toronto advertising vacations and cuba is still an oppressive regime. this is a lack of will, a lack of focus, and that is all.

you have a good one. guest: thank you. obviously, this is a very heated issue. i think we will have a lot of calls on both ends of the spectrum. i think among the cuban-american community, there is a generational divide between the cuban-americans to came to the united states in the early 1960's and workforce to flee their homeland and come to the united states versus the cuban-americans born in the united states. you see this generational shift as far as the younger population wanting some type of change wanting some type of new policy that can finally turn the screws on the castro government in a way that has not been done for over five decades. i think we are seeing the majority of american people

supporting an opening with cuba. we did a poll last february which found the majority of americans, 56% of americans, but even more in florida supported an opening with cuba and that was across the political spectrum, republicans, democrats, independents. before a lot of folks knew about the u.s.-cuban policy and now that you have seen the president's action and a series of polls,, just a recent poll last week in the pew research center found support was at about 73% across the united states. the president -- in each action the president said, -- not the pew poll but other polls you are finding, you found 10 -- 10% or upward supported that. there is overwhelming support among the american people and increasingly among congress.

in congress, there was only a few house members, marco rubio and bob menendez in the senate they were vocal on cuban issues before. now you are seeing a groundswell of congressmen and senators who want to find ways to make our policy more effective. i agree with the caller. the focus of this policy needs to be human rights and it needs to be -- what can we do to best support the cuban people? that's what this comes down to in the and. it should not be about u.s.-domestic policies it should not be about the castro government. it is about the cuban people and what can we do to support them/ -- support them? i think the opening of the embassy this week are all signs that we can fight by further engaging, by using the power of the american people to engage with cuban people and we can

provide better support. by doing that, we can further their opportunity to support their own particular political and human rights. host: let's hear from michael in virginia. go ahead. caller: sure. i'm sorry to have to say this, but i have pictures right in front of me of myself and my family with fidel castro [indiscernible] and the whole -- and the whole line of when they came up to washington. we knew them down in cuba. my sister was a friend of a cousin and i used to go up to the camps in the mountain fishing with my sister. i was only eight years old down

in cuba and my dad worked with airlines. [indiscernible] what they have done to the communist and these people are running cuba and all people like that that are fascist, communist and artistic minded people and they have evil intent. you have to understand and the world has to understand that they are not tightening the screws. you have to understand these things and understand who the people are. those people down there, when the taurus come down, the citizens cannot take the cash money that they get -- when the tourists come down, the citizens cannot take the cash money because they confiscated and they allow an allotment of cash. you have to listen to me -- all

you people from this new generation and people in the government and citizens sitting in their lazy boys are allowing the communist influence to coming to america from the presidency and it you study and understand who these people are and learn, you will be fighting to death and stand up and not allow it another day. host: -- guest: i think he raises a number of points but among the many is the one about what happens to the currency that cubans received when americans or europeans travel to cuba. i have into cuba. i have talked with the owners of small restaurants or the people with small ice cream shops whatever type of entrepreneurs it is.

the idea that the government takes the currency that are given to those individual entrepreneurs is just not correct. that money stays with us entrepreneurs. the problem is, what happens is there are two types of currency. their two types in cuba, the cuban national peso and the comfortable pesos. that is what travelers use to pay for goods and that is on a one to one dollar rate. there is a national has so -- peso which is up significantly less value. the convertible one is what is it used to pay for everything. it we were to go down to cuba, we would use the comfortable peso. what has happened because of that is you are creating greater inequality because there are the people with access to the tourist industry with the convertible peso.

those people are able to buy more, to save more money, they probably keep it in their house and they don't put it in the bank but in their house. and there are those who don't have access. that stems from the people who have relatives in miami and those who do not. the ones of relatives in miami our miami relatives can send messages back to cuba with $500 per quarter before the the president's announcement and that has been lifted to do thousand dollars -- two 2000 dollars per quarter. now that he is come out, he should and the cap completely. it is creating inequality between those who have access outside the island and those who do not. this is going to be an issue -- frankly, it is a motivational issue, too. it is largely an issue for

afro-cuban to not have as much access to ocular shores and the white cuban population that does. this has been increase -- this has been result of increased tourism, something the cuban people will have to deal with in the upcoming years. host: a cuban-american from tampa, florida. here is moses. good morning. caller: good morning. i was born and raised in cuba and i came to cuba -- i came from cuba in 1990. i don't even know one cuban, out of all the cubans and italians that i know in town, i don't even know one that agree with obama on this opening with cuba relationships or anything like that. what you are saying right now about equality, they will never

be equality in cuba because the cuban people that lives in cuba, the cubans that live there, they do not gain nothing with this. they do not gain nothing. all of those people who you are saying right now in all the small ice cream places and pizza places, i have a friend to as a pizza place in cuba who went to school with me. he is a personal friend of mine. just last week, the government went to his place and took everything because he was buying when he needs for the restaurant , the government went in there because he stop buying from the government because he got caught buying it from somebody else. it is sort of like china. you have a private business but you need to do business with me to develop your business. the government in china is doing the same thing. what obama is doing is the same thing kennedy was doing when i was a kid.

it is never going to be equality. this is a little game that the cuban government is planning and they are the winners in this game because they are going to be like, well, now you need to pay me for guantanamo bay. now you need to pay me, now you need to do this and that and they do nothing for america. it is america doing it for them. host: thank you very much for your perspective. guest: mosys, you bring up a couple good points. one point is -- moses, you bring up a couple good points. one point is your friend at the pizza shop with the government coming in and taking all of his goods and property and whatnot. that is a problem for entrepreneurs and cuba. this -- ask moses points out this is a communist run country. this is 90 miles off of our shores and it is a world that is

completely different from what we would even recognize in the united states. there are certain requirements in so far as how businesses have to buy their goods and whatnot. in cuba there is an incredibly large black market for meat and for flour and other types of flour that you can buy the russian market. there is this -- there is a price disparity between what you can buy through official channels and what individuals can produce on their own farms on the black market and make their own money off of. that needs to be coming to look at how can the cuban private sector develop.

we need to see that there is a sector on how they go about acquiring their goods so they can most effectively be business people like anybody else. on the cuban five, there was a poll a few months ago from that actually did uphold in cuba and found that 97% of cubans believe that normalization is good for cuba. i think that number is probably a little bit elevated, but i think it is still a show and we saw the pictures this week. in has all of a sudden become popular in cuba. the opening that has been

created in the united states has created a certain amount of euphoria in cuba and this is the moment in which we have to capture that euphoria. if things stay the same in cuba in the next few months and that fear and there is no greater opening or opportunity for the private sector or there are no enlargements of freedoms of the cuban people then i think we will start to see some of that euphoria being climbed down a little bit. i think in general this is something, a policy, again that is trying to significantly remake the relationship so that we can really provide opportunities for the cuban people. just like we have done in other countries in the world vietnam where we opened economic

relations. there are a number of freedoms to the being of these people that they do not have. they are still run by a communist government but by supporting the growth of other sectors in the country, they can act as voices to the government and you provide greater opportunities for the people. you had mentioned -- host: you had mentioned couple of things that as long as the basic still exist, how long will that be a sticking point on any type of bettering relations between the two countries? guest: on the guantanamo front as i said earlier, the u.s. -- this is not even on the table for the u.s. to get back to cuba and the cubans will continue to make this demand just like they will continue to make a number of demands that the u.s. is simply not going to negotiate. roast the have a number of prisoners in guantanamo when

president obama came to office this was going to be a prison that was going to be shut down and we are approaching with one year left and it still is not. i think that guantanamo will remain an issue but from the u.s. side, there are a number of other issues we need to work there before guantanamo even comes into it. host: a quick history of how we gained guantanamo in the first place. guest: i relations with cuba and date back over -- date back to the spanish-american war in 1898 . the united states in the early 20th century was actually had a protective power in cuba. there were a series of back and forth with the cuban people and they eventually got independent of their island. originally, this was a spanish island that was liberated from the spanish-american war. eventually, it was given back to

-- through a series of engagements with the cuban people and given back to the cubans. this was a piece of property -- cuba is an incredibly vital strategically vital island because of where it sits in the caribbean. the port in havana is poised to become an incredibly important shipping point as cuba is more fully integrated in the economic system but it was always known as being the naval base at incredible importance in the caribbean. host: jason marczak of the atlantic council joining us for the conversation on the u.s. and cuba relations.

go ahead. caller: hi, i just wanted to say that last week i went to the blackstone festival in newark, new jersey. there were two films about cuba and i have some neighbors who are afro cubans. from their point of view and audience was packed with over 300 people, from their point of view, neither of the narratives in terms of the program tie obama -- the pro-or anti-obama views of so-called normalization or we should normalize the afro cubans that i met are very careful of the results of this so-called normalization. wherefore then, there has never been anything such as normal. in particular, the globalization that is being referred to their

view is that this is merely a destructive form of globalization that will lead to simply further exportation of the cuban people. i would point out that china's a communist country, too, and we do not make these kinds of insinuations about them because they are a big country. cuba is a little country in the caribbean. this group of people at least is very people -- very fearful that if america has its way as a big power, it will become more like katie in the and. thank you. guest: -- it will become more like haiti in the and. thank you. guest: i think the opening we have created with cuba that we mentioned before -- you mentioned that the afro-cuban film they were watching -- one of the big areas of concern with regard to cuba these days is the

state of the afro-cuban population. there is increasingly more racial inequality and a lot of that has not been looked at. it is something that has been swept under the rug. not only will we talk about cuba but also in cuban society as well. something that just is not on the island and not talked about much. i think that what is the end goal of this policy? the last thing the united states wants is another haiti off the shores. haiti, five years later, haiti is trying to recover from the devastating earthquake. there are 10 cities still around haiti. haiti is dealing with a migration crisis right now with

regard to upwards of patients who live in the dominican republic where being sent back to haiti. haiti has become the country of ngos and there has been a lack of any type of development in haiti because of the continued education challenges and infrastructure challenges. i think that when you look at cuba cuban has -- cuba has a lot to offer. cuba and the cuban people, if we give them the tools to do it cuba is an incredibly educated society. one of the real hallmarks of cuba is a high rate of education and cuba. the medical profession, the research and technology in cuba but not only education. cuba is also a country where the health care system, overall, is

-- has traditionally been envied by many. the life expectancy is higher than most countries in the hemisphere. as we have this greater opening with cuba and there are a series of different pieces of legislation in congress right now that seek to have a greater opening with cuba and the and go all highs -- and end goal has to be, what can be done to best the cuban people and best given the opportunities you deserve? host: thomas, a cuban-american. hi. caller: i used to practice law down in miami and i used to be on the coast guard. i was one of the boats on patrols providing for the safety for the cubans leaving the island.

while it was practicing law, -- while i was practicing law, i run into cubans who came from the island to thought they were part of intelligentsia. my experience down in little havana was that a lot of the cuban culture involved dropped the cast system that even a lot of people came over to the united states, they did not leave that behind. they brought it with them. i was shocked to have a cuban-american tell me through one of my clients that he thought i should not be trying to recover so much. it was a personal injury action because he was not part of the intelligence and i was. a lot of the cubans are not come to the united states.

they went back to spain or to countries that would recognize and i have been listening for a while and i heard one argument that based upon any facts of the fear of opening up the island would make it worse for cubans. i support that and i think the port of savannah used to be restricted -- the point of havana used to be restricted because you a good -- there were go back to spain and bring things back from south america so why should we continue keeping the island cloaked? host: thank you, thomas. guest: thank you for that. i think that when we look across the world and let's take travel

for example, there has been an easy of travel restrictions as part of the president's executive actions by 12 different categories in which travel is permitted and you no longer need to get it beforehand. if you are simply going to cuba for a number of different reasons, journalistic activity research education, religious activity, public performance or just support for the cuban people among the different categories you can go ahead and travel to cuba. there are still restrictions. you have to be able to say you are going therefore specific reason. for americans, that does not exist in any part of the world except for iran or north korea. this is -- as the collar points out, this is a country 90 miles off of our shores and this is a country in which what we are trying to do is provide the

engagement of the american people and the more that the american people are able to directly engage with the cuban people, the more it shows the cuban people that there is another alternative out there. there are other opportunities for them, it opens the cuban people to the broader outside world. i mentioned before the lack of internet access in cuba. they have axes to limited internet and at least 5% have access to the internet as you and i would with full and such access to the internet. the idea of the president's policy and the idea of the embassies opening this week and idea of the number of different bills in congress, a number of amendments in the financial services appropriations bill that were approved in committee this week, all of that is helping the idea of how can we increase the interactions not only between american and cuban people but also with american

business so that american business can go ahead and provide the services that are currently lacking to the cuban people and really helped to take cuba so that it does not become -- the previous caller said we cannot win it to become another haiti, so the way to do that is provide better engagement, better economic openings because without that, the cuban economy is -- grew about -- i think projections are about 1.5% this year are somewhere along those lines. this is an economy that is going to be in trouble if there are not other openings. what is and put out a report -- the atlantic council last week mentioning the importance of cuba partners opening to the global economic community and the broader economic integration

mentioning that one of the steps is the importance of engagement with international financial institutions, the world bank the into world -- the imf, and that these types of international will be incredibly important as far as providing technical assistance to cuba as cuba looks at how to convert its economy into a more globally integrated economic model, which i think is going to be the future of cuba. host: our next call is al from texas. go-ahead. caller: good morning. most of my questions have already been answered. i have been on the phone for maybe 20-30 minutes. one of my questions was -- when will america be able to travel to cuba? i agree with the president on this move. how could it hurt the cuban people?

there is something in it for the cubans and also the american people who would be able to sell -- when i see cuba on television that they have cars from back in the 1950's. will they be able to buy new cars? if you are concerned about the cuban people, it seems to me that that is a good move. guest: -- host: there is an ad in the paper that highlights one of the cars he was talking about. are we going to see more travel and more americans going to cuba now? guest: hopefully, yes. it looks like that is the trajectory of what we are seeing in congress. the president did much of what he could do under executive authority back in december to ease travel restrictions insofar as allowing under those 12 different categories of a general license so they have to

-- you no longer have to send in an application which you need to do for some categories beforehand to be able to travel. you can simply go ahead now and book a trip to cuba with an airline. there are a number of airlines that fly nonstop from airports all across the united states, not just miami but you can fly nonstop from jfk, you can find nonstop from texas from dallas-fort worth, you can find nonstop to havana. there was an incredible expansion, but you cannot go as a tourist. you cannot go to cuba to go sit on the beach. there has been incredible momentum in congress led by bipartisan and that is the important part to allow the action on cuba and it is bipartisan action. both the action and the support of a greater opening in the action name -- an action in that

this is not a republican or democratic issue but a bipartisan on both sides. on the senate side, the republican from arizona and senator pat lately of democrat has been incredibly vocal about trying to push forward for an end to the travel bill and there is a bill called the freedom to travel to cuba act that has now about 45 cosponsors in the scented -- in the senate and i can be -- and i can remove all the travel restrictions. even this past week, there was a mark in the appropriations committee of the appropriations bill and the market this past week, there was an amendment that introduces part of that markup to allow for unfettered travel to cuba for one year and that was approved by 18 to 12 vote in committee with both republicans and democrats supporting that measure.

i think what we are starting to see in congress is a chipping away at this -- at many of the parts of the embargo that were put in place. when we look copperhead sibley at the embargo and -- when we look comprehensively at the embargo and what mystics with cuba, the travel receptions are going to be one of the first that are lifted. host: edith in hollywood, florida. the cuban-american, good morning. caller: hi, my name is ada and i have a, -- hello? host: go ahead, you are on. caller: i'm looking at the tv and i -- host: don't focus on the tv and go ahead and speak into the phone, please. caller: i have a question for your guest over there. jason marczak -- they recently went to cuba and saw what was

going on in cuba and recently in cuba, there is no law that warrants any type of investment in cuba. in regard to the private sector in cuba, in cuba, there is no private sector. i am the cuban-american, i lived in cuba, i have family in cuba and there is no private sector in cuba. the only person that owns everything in cuba is the government ok? if you look at history, you can see that years ago, when america was there and castro took over, there was many businesses that castro stole from. now, with this relations, are you going to be back, not only to the americans, but also to the cuban-americans, everything that castro has taken from them? host: we have to leave it there because we are running out of time and i apologize. guest: on your point, i think

what of the issues of national as property, about a billion dollars in the total sum of what is nationalized and interest on top of that, -- about $8 billion in the total sum of what is nationalized and interest on the back, that is on the top of the list because there can be no real normalization of the relationship and taken at the next level without an agreement on how to deal with the issue on the nationalized property taken by cuban-americans. especially in the early stages of the revolution. on the private sector, there are certain categories of businesses that are permitted in cuba, and those are smaller types of businesses. they are not professional they're more service-oriented businesses that are permitted under cuban law. that is over the course of the last few years. at certain times, there has been

a pullback in some of that as well. for example, private movie theaters at one point were allowed in cuba and the government saw that as being potentially an area in which cuba could come together -- cubans could come together to watch bones that may not be in line with some of the thinking and the business was pulled back. it confused -- it is a fluid types of categories permitted but you see everywhere -- when i was in cuba last year i went to an auto body shop, cooperative auto body shop, restaurants run by independent entrepreneurs bars that were run by independent entrepreneurs. there are a number of categories but it also mentions the foreign investment line. i think that it is important to highlight and thank you for pointing that out. last year in cuba around june of 2014, the cuban government came out with a new foreign investment law to try and

galvanize reader private sector investment -- greater private sector investment and as part of the law, and over all rethinking of what an investment means for cuba and the change in the government's approach so that foreign investment was something that was really welcomed by the cuban government. you see that in cuba with special economic some created at the port. that is an economic summit in which the cuban government is working very hard to try and get a number of different businesses to be able to set up operations for different type of status that is permitted within that special economic zone. host: jason marczak with that atlantic council talking about cuban and u.s. relations. thank you for your time. for the program tomorrow, we will talk about transportation funding. the senate and the 2:00 which you can watch live on c-span as they debate the bill.

we will get a perspective with the american association of state highway and transportation officials about the trust fund and the highway bill. also joined, mark rosenblum of the migration policy institute to talk about century cities and u.s. immigration policy. and on the your money segment, emily badger at the "washington post," talking about low income families. we will [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> next, newsmakers with kentucky congressman harold rogers, chair of the current --

appropriations committee. then the hearing on the iran nuclear agreement with secretary of state john kerry, treasury secretary jack lew and energy secretary moneys. -- moniz. the u.s. senate will be in session this afternoon to continue work on the u.s. highway bill. funding runs out at the end of this month. votes are scheduled on two amendments, one to bring back the export import bank, and another to repeal the health care law. watch live coverage of that debate beginning today at 2:00 p.m. eastern, on c-span2. susan: harold rogers of kentucky is the chairman of the house appropriations committee. they put out a press release saying they successfully passed all bills. we a