republican debate and what it means for the 2016 field. after that it 8:30, michael director of the sierra club with details on the paris climate change agreement. >> i want every american to know as you will of the holidays, as you travel and gather with family and the kids open their presents, as you ring in the new year, that you have dedicated patriots working around the clock all across the country to protect us all. ♪ host: a new poll out showing that trust in the government's ability to handle terrorism threats as of a post-9/11 low. what about you? do you trust the government to protect against terrorism? that is our opening topic on the washington journal. area codes for our phone lines, 202-748-8001 four republicans, 202-748-8000 for democrats, and

independents can dial in at 202-748-8002. do you trust the government to protect against terrorism? @cspanwj. if you want to get through on twitter, make a conversation on acebook.com/cspan. you can always send us an e-mail. pew research center, view of government handling of terrorism post-9/11 low. here, you can see it for the first time. more americans do not trust the government. 52% as opposed to 48% that do. you can see variations over the years since 2001. over all of those years, americans have trusted the , a majority of americans have trusted the governmentprotect against terrorism except for now. the new york times this morning looks at the president's press conference, his statement yesterday.

his defense -- response to terror attacks. mr. obama now realizes he was slow to respond to public fears after terrorist attacks in paris and california, acknowledging his low-key approach led americans to worry that he is not doing enough to keep the country safe. he is engaged in a blitz of public events to try to convince them otherwise, including a visit on thursday to the national counterterrorism center. he had a private session with columnists that was off the record. the president's remarks were recounted on thursday by several people in the room after one of ius ofiters, david ignat the washington post, described some of the president's thinking in a column without intervening it to president obama. his defense of his approach came as republican presidential candidates have been raining him as weak and repeating in their calls for more robust action to combat the islamic state in

syria and iraq. in tuesday night's republican debate, donald trump said even the families of terrorists should be killed. carpet bombpose to and holdouts despite the risk of civilian casualties. ben carson argued for sending ground troops. mr. obama made his comments during the nearly two-hour meeting with columnists and other opinion writers on tuesday afternoon, about 10 in all. just hours before the debate. his frustration with republican criticism was evident. he appeared exasperated with mr. trump who has called for a temporary ban on muslims entering the u.s. mr. obama said that mr. trump's comments on muslims to not make him an outlier in the presidential field, but represented the culmination of many years of a republican strategy of division and fear mongering. the people in the room who described the president's comments asked for anonymity because of the ground rules

among those attending the session. opinion columnist and an editorial writer for the new york times, but they were not sources for this article. this article is by peter baker in gardiner harris in the near times. 202-748-8001 four republicans, democrats,r fo 202-748-8001 four independents --202-748-8002 four independents. let's begin with a call for mary judith and dansville, virginia. republican line, go ahead. caller: thank you for taking my call. i am a republican for one reason. i am pro-life. i voted for president obama twice. pickgoing to try to somebody who is going to do away with abortion. i trust president obama for now. rousinga lot of rabble

coming out of people like trump. the minute anyone says we should terrorist's family without due process, this person does not belong in the white house. to carefully research the situation. a lot of why president obama and democrats have been so careful about condemning islam in general is the minute you do that, you give the terrorists their holy war. they can say they are against all of his long -- all of islam. host: here are the facebook comments that have come in. this is michelle. i don't trust the government to protect anything except itself. pauline says i wouldn't trust this government to protect a hen

since they themselves are the wills -- the wolves. it depends on to say on what type of terrorism. when it comes to white power terrorism, not really. they are part of the kkk. this senator probably has a white power agenda. he takes it in that direction. steve says no such thing as perfect security. you might as well believe in unicorns. i trust this government not to make the same blunders george w. bush did. an softer line, democrat line. caller: -- democrat line. caller: i trust the government. there is a lot that we have to do. look around, see what is going on. the government is doing things behind the scene. barack obama is doing stuff. they are working on it. they don't tell us a lot of stuff they are doing. there is a lot going on.

republicans keep preaching don't trust the government, don't trust the government. we have to turn this around. we have to do something together, work together. that is what this president has said since he was given office. we are not a red state or blue state. that is my comment on it and i trust the government. host: here is a little bit more from the president of the national counterterrorism center. barack obama: at this moment, our intelligence does not have any specific and credible information about an attack on the homeland. that said, we have to be vigilant. as i indicated in my address to the nation last week, we are in a new phase of terrorism. loan actors and small groups of terrorists. -- lone actors. because they are smaller, often

self initiating, self motivating, they are harder to detect. that makes it harder to prevent. the threat of volts, so do we. -- thethreat people's threat evolves. host: back to the new york times article, mr. obama is fast in a message to reassure americans he is battling the islamic state while avoiding the alarmism voiced by some presidential candidates. polls suggest many americans do not believe he is taking the threat seriously enough. nationald the counterterrorism center on thursday following a similar trip to the pentagon earlier in the week in an oval office address to the nation last week. he is trying to make the case that his administration is succeeding in its fight against terrorism and the islamic state. even some members of his own party are grumbling that he needs a new strategy.

mr. obama said that he -- it is understandable that americans are concerned, but that they should be reassured. here is what i want everyone to know. since 9/11, we have taken extraordinary steps to strengthen homeland security. mr. obama emphasized that vigilance against terrorism should not lead americans to sacrifice values that define the nation. a direct response to remarks from republicans. jim in chicago, independent line, what do you think? caller: good morning, peter p peter. i want to say you are my favorite host. i don't trust the government one bit. democrats or republicans. how can you trust their government that does not take care of the middle class? let's illegals into the country? doesn't take terrorism seriously? doesn't take care of vets? this country is hurting

financially. it seems like the people on wall street, capitol hill, they don't care about the average person. the problem should be the economy. host: that is jim in chicago. diane on facebook says i don't trust any government. i'd rather take care of my own security. it is called smith & wesson. democrat in baltimore, high, you're on the washington journal. trust obama because i think he is always sound and thought out. thater, we have to know anybody who wants to do harm in this country is already here. they are already here. they have guns tanks to the nra. this is the question i want to ask. this man in south carolina that

killed all of these people in the church, what terrorist group did he belong to? we quickly forget and separate things. we have groups right here in this country that want to harm african-americans. i.e., the police. this individual was an operating alone in south carolina that kill people. -- he wasn't operating alone. let's be real about this. the terrorism going on against african-americans in this country, they haven't stopped. anybody who wants to do harm to people in this country are already here. host: do you feel tense in baltimore with the freddie gray trial going on? caller: i don't feel tense at all.

nobody else did. she said let's prosecute the police. that is the only way we are going to stop it. prosecute them, convict them. i don't feel any tension at all. think that office is working very well on our behalf. host: thank you, ma'am. maryland, republican line. do you trust the government? caller: hello, good morning. largely about the perception of the understanding haramigious war by boko and isis, whatever we call them. i am originally from nigeria. i came to the united states about 10 years ago. don'tlamic extremists

need anybody to incite them. it is the religious ideology. i lived with boko haram before americans in the west knew about it. they were in the other parts of northeastern nigeria. these killings started a long time ago and they will not end. it is whether or not somebody says something supportive or unsupportive of islam or muslims in general. we christians go out and do our evangelization, carry our bibles around, talk to people. the way islam goes about it into -- through evangelization is through holy war. it doesn't matter what the democrats or republicans say.

it is just the way it is. we have to accept the reality and do what we can as americans and hopet ourselves that the government would also do what is right. host: randallstown, maryland. the question this morning, do you trust the government against terrorism? showing thatl out americans for the first time since 9/11 do not trust the government to do so. posted on facebook, i trust the government to protect us from terrorism. the question is, can the government protect us from terrorism while playing within the rules? larry, tennessee, democrats line, go ahead. caller: i trust the government. i think the reason -- on the

radio, the republican candidates. that they still over in their hatred for the -- removing the trust, the reality on the ground. i saw a statistic that 43 people were killed in the united states since 9/11 due to terrorists. how many years have gone by since 9/11? it is pretty evident that they do.doing what they need to host: a little bit more from the

pew poll. growing partisan on whether islam encourages violence. you can see that 68% of republicans agree that it does. independents are at 45%. democrats are at 30%. steve, north charleston, south carolina, republican line. do you trust the government to protect against terrorism? the independent line, so i don't know how that happens. anyway, i am going to try to keep with the question. i will leave politics out of this if i can. put, i don't completely trust the government with my security with regard to terrorism. i don't think they can keep up. i don't think i have a total capability. i don't think they can do it all. i think we have to rely on ourselves to some degree. here is my point. after the paris attacks, who did

terrorists threaten? -- i will say the president got up after that and said we have no credible threats . to your viewers and listeners, we didn't have a credible threat before the boston marathon commerce, before fort hood, chattanooga, and we didn't have one before san bernardino. this is a great argument to keep the second amendment intact. we have to protect ourselves. i do hold the president a little bit responsible for getting up in front of the nation and single about your business. this is your mongering. listen, we have a credible fear, that is for sure. i trust the government to some degree with air travel coming into the country. terrorism that is being sources onby outside our soil, they can do it all. let's face it or it i don't blame the president. host: that is steve in north

charleston. poll, gope pew on gun control, democrats on climate change. the republicans have a 12 point advantage when it comes to a terrorism threat. they have a six point advantage when it comes to gun control. ron is calling in for miami. hi, ron. caller: if you can let me finish what i have to say. the problem is the majority of the ones congress, with the state solution in israel, the ones against the two state solution, vote them out. the terrorism started in palestine. thank you. host: ron, in miami. republican line, helen, you are

on the washington journal. what do you think? in, 35 yearsored ago, in middle eastern history and american foreign-policy. this was before the idea of jihad and the restoring a caliphate was a popular concept. the professor i had said that this would happen. because of our foreign-policy in this region for the last -- this was back in 1985 -- the last hundred years had created a ,estern hegemony in this region setting up those governments propped up by western powers, britain and in the united states. , theeaction to that ruthless foreign-policy, would create an era of uprising. their identity would be through their religion. he said it wouldn't be terrorist

on nationald borders. it would be based on religion and a political religious ideology, but especially fueled by religious ideology. government maye do its best, but i don't how you are going to control the thoughts, hearts, souls, minds of someone who is convinced, regardless of where they live or what culture they grew up in, whether it is in san bernardino. they are inspired to commit terrorism against what they have historical oppressor. it is going to happen. i don't know how the government program is going to be able to protect us completely or even 50% of the time from terrorism. either in the united states or other parts of the world. host: helen in fullerton,

california. the this morning, obama to the country, we cannot give in to fear. in this article, it says that the un security council unanimously adopted a resolution thursday aimed at disrupting revenue that the islamic state extremist group gets from oil and antiquity sales and other criminal activities. senator john mccain took to the senate floor yesterday to talk about terrorism. john mccain: we may well look we were2015 and realize present at the unraveling. we were present at the unraveling. at the beginning of this year, president obama was still committed to degrading and ultimately destroying isil.

couldt unchecked, they pose a threat to the middle east including united states. in 2015, that is exactly what happened in paris and san bernardino. it will not be the last. i promised my colleagues under with thenistration present policy and lack of strategy, there will be other attacks on the united states of america. i regret deeply, deeply regret having to say that. i hold my constituents and americans that i know and respect to tell them the truth. more than one year into the campaign against isil, it is impossible to assert that isis is losing and we are winning. if you are not winning in this kind of warfare, you are losing. stalemate is not success. witnesses before the armed services committee, is it

contained? it is not. isis is not contained. contrary to the statements bizarrely made by the president of the united states literally hours before the attacks on san bernardino. the openingpic for segment of the washington journal this morning, do you trust the government to protect you against terrorism? for republicans. 202-748-8000 for democrats. 202-748-8002 independents. we are basing this question on a poll telling that the majority of americans for the first time since 9/11 do not trust the government to protect against terrorism. here are some more inside poll results from this pew poll. terrorism is now the most

important problem facing the nation. in one year, terrorism grew from 1% saying yes, it is the most -- 18%,t problem to 15% sorry about that. this month. the economy dropping six points, defense and national security also raised six points. bill, lake ariel, pennsylvania, republican line or go ahead. my answer to the question is do we have a choice? decide whether we are at war were not at war. are we at war? if we are at war, we have to go over there. we are the most powerful nation in the world. we have to go over there and destroy them. stop farting around. we could do it. americans have to be vigilant

and be behind what they do. give the general state power to clean them up. host: bill and lake ariel, pennsylvania. this is herbert and humble, texas on the democrat line. stop being so afraid. reporting of the news is totally different on the bbc. can you read headlines from their? winning up north, the kurds are kicking butt. conduct, america. host: what is the bbc saying? caller: read it. let the american people know. the european papers are totally different in the states. humble, texasin on the democrat line. back to the pew poll, and across the board drop in efforts to reduce terrorist threats. percent saying the government is doing fairly well introducing

the threat of terrorism, democrats, 64%, republicans, 27%, independents are in between those two numbers. you can see it divides people that they have done between the george w. bush administration and the barack obama administration. a huge increase in the democrats after barack obama was elected and a big decrease in the republicans when barack obama was elected. georgia,berryville, republican line. do you trust the government to protect against terrorism? caller: absolutely not. i think the government has failed to realize that not only us but the whole world is at war people who have gone haywire.

we know in our country and across our unsecure borders that being at war with them takes away their rights and freedoms in the united states. we ought to be able to go in to their homes, arrest them, and search their homes. i also believe we should not harm the kurds. we should do it ourselves. arming the kurds will only allow isis to obtain more weapons. that the supreme court should be limited to a 10 year instead of a lifetime tenure. host: richard and berryville, georgia. crimes york times, against muslims increased sharply in the u.s., is the headline.

dozens of attacks occurring in just a month according to new data. the spike includes the assault on hijab wearing students and shootings and death in recent years, there has been an average of 12.6 suspected hate crimes against muslims in the u.s. per month based on fbi fbi datazed -- analyzed by the research group. the rate of attacks has tripled since the event in paris by islamic state operatives, with 38

a week after the terrorist attacks, a six grade girl in the bronx was reportedly attacked by three boys who tried to take off the hijab she was wearing, punched her, and cultured isis. later, a woman reported a similar event. a driver wasurgh, shot in the back after the passenger angrily asked him about isis and motley profit mohammed. in anaheim, a bullet riddled copy of the koran was left out and islamic voting store. linda is calling in on our democrat line from marx, mississippi. you trust the government at this point to protect you against

terrorism? caller: yes. i trust them. my point is the speech that john is whatust made, that undermines the confidence people have in the united states. ideology is a mindset. confidence that people have in the united states. it is a minefield. win the mind set, --ar the hate out in order the government cannot predict from the united states. someone will hate you. everything that goes wrong in this country is not always .errorism black people have been terrorized in this country for years. millions walk around with guns, terrorizing muslims.

that is a form of terrorism, but it is not called that. it is the republican mindset against this president. just preachd weakness, people outside and within this country, ticket confidence from them. we came together on 9/11, and can come together again. obama is the president of all of all the united states. he just happens to be black, that he is doing a great job. that was linda from mississippi. this is samuel from fresno, california. that i dowas thinking stress the government because we do the most for the world. for foreigners and people of all types -- i am part jewish and mistakes,obama making

i believe we are a government of the people. fresno.at is samuel in john from pennsylvania on the republican line. lastr: was one of the drafted in 1970 before we went to an all volunteer army. i have tried to pay attention to what is going on, and i watch c-span more than the average person. i watch the house and senate, what is going on. i would like to remind the people calling in, we passed the 25th anniversary of going to war in iraq. 25 years. 10 years ago, donald rumsfeld asked himself the question, am i creating more terrorists than i'm killing? we know the answer. , it was eightr

months into the bush administration when 9/11 happened, when they attacked the towers and our military headquarters. for 7.5 years, george w. bush thed there with president and said that he would smoke out every cave in afghanistan to find bin laden. every cave for seven point five years. when president obama found him, he was in pakistan. ,e are at war in iraq, syria and pakistan. the terrorism has been coming out of pakistan and saudi arabia, not the countries we are at war with. host: that was john from pennsylvania. in the usa today, the national president of the fraternal order

of police has an off and "do not let nfl stadiums be soft targets." he writes that he suspects many nfl the 70's would welcome the presence of off-duty law enforcement officers attending events, and would have no objection to them being armed although the current nfl policy prohibits the stadiums for making this decision on their own, the nfl should and could change their policy. roger goodell, do not let your fans be soft targets, he writes. from mobile alabama on the republican line. good morning. ponderingile we are why all of this is happening, if 2008hink back to the election campaign where mr.

obama promised us that he was going to change america and the world. unsuccessful.etty host: that is ruth. let's hear from kennedy in time bluff, arkansas, democrat. i feel like we are safe in america. and i trust the government. want to that all you say? caller: that's it. bluff.ennedy in pine from the washington post, the house is coming in at 9:00 to vote on the funding bill for the government of next year, here is the article in the washington

post. congress looks to clear year and budget deal. trying to clear the year in tax and spending bill as lawmakers seek to wrap up the remaining congressional business with congressmen itching to head home for the holidays. despite some grumbling, the spending bill and the package of tax cuts is expected to be approved by both chambers. the house vote on the appropriations package will occur on friday morning, it could be close. the tax portion was passed 318-309. will go to the house at 9:00 a.m. when they start the final debate on the package and take the vote. speaker ryan spoke about it yesterday. [video clip] year we will next

do things differently. i do not think this is the way we should be governing. we have a bipartisan compromise. i think we have some good wins. the democrats have won some things, too. that is the nature of a bipartisan compromise. there are good wins for the american people, the economy, jobs, taxpayers. it will help us build a competent america. as congress works in the new year i want to get back to regular order. a system that operates like the founders intended. i feel like we are getting off to that start next year. host: north carolina republican tweeted this as he went through the omnibus bill. throughst night cutting 2000 pages of words, words, words. he has a chainsaw and is wearing

a mask and gloves. --resentative jerry polis, i voting no, here are some reasons. you can see he is holding several thousand pages of legislation. president obama will hold a news conference at 2:00 p.m. it will be live on our c-span networks, currently on c-span3 if the house is in session. you will definitely be on c-span radio, and www.c-span.org. you trust thedo government to protect you against terrorism, based on a the firsthowing for time since 9/11 the majority of americans do not think the government can protect them against terrorism.

michael, a democrat. what is your opinion? , when you opinion is listen to the question -- it amazes me how people are now all of a sudden so afraid, so in fear. they were not in fear of terrorism when timothy mcveigh blew up the oklahoma city mirror building. when jim jones took a bunch of americans, one was my cousin, and murders than. where was the fear of terrorism? they did not attach religion to .he act, but it was terrorism they were not afraid when this young man walked into a church and killed 9 innocent people who were worshiping when it came to find out that he was a christian murdering other christians. all of a sudden you attach

religion to these issues, it becomes terrorism. they were not afraid when the ku klux klan, the oldest terrorism organization on the planet, is still murdering, killing, and committing terrorist acts. since they are christians, not islamic, it is not terrorism, but an act of violence. we need to stop this rhetoric. i will government can protect us, but the best protection is the citizen coming together to help the government protect us. host: this is pregnant on twitter -- this is peg on twitter. the government cannot stop it all. from radical taoist. safety is an illusion. only a weak person would expect it from someone else, especially

in the end up to government. , if obamaandy beach wants me to trust him on terrorism, why doesn't he try flying commercially first-class to hawaii and back and prove it? good morning, tom. caller: good morning. don't think the government is doing enough. part of the reason is because i believe the president is a muslim sympathizer, making it difficult for him to pretend that he wants to fight against islamic extremists. he will not even say the words. the president has allied so many times makes it hard for us to trust him. he lied about fast and furious, the gunrunning scandal. the irs scandal. benghazi. -- it goes on and on.

he is not to be trusted, and i do not feel safe. host: brenda, nashville, and democrat. good morning. caller: hello? host: we are listening. caller: good morning, how are you? host: how are you? caller: good, good. i only trust god and my family, because when i look at all of the news, the people that i talk -- you know,uslim they have let the genie out of the bottle. it i believet of our lives being spread to make people angry and upset. it is real,me of but a lot of it is lies. america has always been in bed

with these countries, they have to deal with it. i trust god and my family. pull new orleans is to confederate monuments. a sweeping move to break with the confederate past when the council voted to remove prominent monuments along some of the busiest streets. a 6-1 vote allowed the city to monuments, including a statue of general robert e. lee that arrested at the center of a traffic circle for 131 years. it was an emotional meeting, often interrupted by heckerling infused with references to slavery, winching's, and racism, as well as the pleas of those opposed to not "rewrite history." symboliced it the severing of an umbilical cord

tying the city to the confederacy and the era of jim crow laws. lucasville, ohio. do you trust the government to protect you against terrorism? caller: why would we trust the government? vet the tsaot even employees. 73 were found to have ties to terrorist groups. how can they vet all of the terrorists they are importing? why not bring the christians getting their heads chopped off and living in concentration camps. all they want to do is open the borders. that is the liberal agenda. open the borders and make this one world. they will not even talk about bringing in the christians. what is the difference? we can help them, too. they are living in tents from

muslims.rom the yet, we import muslims that will be infiltrated with the worst of the bunch. and we do absolutely nothing. mickey mouse club. remember he tsa employees, please, people. host: back to the pew poll. the country'sith protection than civil liberties. this has changed several times depending on the events. a bigger concern about the government anti-terrorism policies, that is the question. not gone far enough to protect country is 56% of the respondents agreed with that. to par restricting civil liberties, currently 28% agree. depending on events, this poll

has been dramatically up and down. in grand canyon, arizona on the independent line. caller: hello. host: we are listening. , i am notwant to say veryistian or muslim, but anti-islam.are very i want to say that i have met very beautiful people. i do not dig the anti-islam thing going on. it is not cool. it is un-american. host: you feel safe when it comes to terrorism issues? caller: no. no one feels safe when it comes to terrorism issues. terrorism is chaos. that thing is, if i were living in europe, i would feel more

unsafe. we have the atlantic ocean dividing us. so, it is more difficult for them to get here. host: greg and grand canyon, arizona. this is chuck in freeport, pennsylvania on the democrat line. caller: good morning. asant to make a comment that far as creating terrorism, i think someone should investigate s areas saying that gopro under arrest. you can live feed from your phone to the internet. i do not understand why no one is finding out who reported this false information if it is not true. host: richard from lake placid, florida. what is your opinion? caller: good morning. this is crazy thinking our

government will protect us. these 10,000 refugees coming theysyria and that area, are 98% or 99% muslim. supposed be helping the christians or other religions where people were displaced or run out of their homes. the director of the fbi said that there is no paperwork on these fugitives coming in. 10,000, but there will be more. they cannot find out their background. the director of the cia said that isis has cells in every state. the only one they said they might not have a cell in is alaska. every state has isis cells. that is a good thing to hear.

we see what is going on in europe, especially sweden where they set up communities where the muslims. they are going to the neighbor'' homes and tacking signs on their doors that they convert to islam or face death. host: where did you get that piece of information? caller: on the news the other day. it is on 2 different channels. one was fox, the other might have been cnn. host:. is richard in florida. .- that is richard in florida mount pleasant, south carolina. thein, do you think government is protecting you against terrorism? caller: i don't think so. i have a couple of foreigners living where i live. i think that they focus on the wrong thing. i've been a democrat all my

life, but i like what donald trump is saying. he wants to stop them at the border. i like him a lot. i am getting sick of the same thing. nothing is happening. they are killing us. all of these young people they are trying to run here. if they have that much nerve, why don't they stay there and fight? they will corrupt here, try to shoot of our bridges. i'm against that, and i really like donald trump. host: who is living across the street from you? some muslims. i like them ok, but they are so secretive about their religion. they have to throw the rag over their head before going out. what makes their religion more special than ours? why should we have to bow to their stuff? i am not down with that.

marianne in blackstone, virginia. do you feel safe? c-span,good morning, the people of the united states, and the world. i do not think the government can protect us from terrorists or terrorism. the people over here in the government have got to stop talking about hate. hate, hate, hate people have to stop that. i have been reading the bible all my life. those people have been killing was other before christ born. they will continue to kill each other. what we have to do is keep praying, and do what is right in our minds, over here in the

united states. the people running for president have to stop preaching hate. that is all i have to say. host: can you tell us a little bit about yourself? i will start with a personal question. how old are you? 86.er: i am i have been to church all my life. host: yes ma'am. tell us about your life. where you were raised, work, family. caller: i was raised in virginia on a farm. .y father owned a 100-acre farm we worked on there. -- andy him, my mother during the depression my father -- hadfight people and

people, and we lived together in peace. they have been hating every cent i have been a little girl. they have been burning their houses. they have been lynching people. they have been hating. they hate black people. they hate everybody. we are going to have to stop having this hatred in our hearts. they hate everybody. i am a christian, and i do not care what religion other people have. i know christ, that god, will protect everybody if we cleave our hearts and be good christians. host: how long have you been watching c-span? caller: ever since i retired 20 years ago. i retired from teaching. the children used to tell me, you are a fair teacher.

you do not protect the black children, you do not protect the white children, you protect all children. and i hear that every day when i go shopping. host: from blackstone virginia, thank you for your time. we have 2 guests coming up. bill kristol from the weekly standard, and then michael brennan of the sierra club. he was the president of the climate change meetings in paris. the republican senator from tennessee is our guest on the newsmakers program which airs on .unday at 10:00 and 6:00 senator alexander is the chair of the education committee. here he is talking about some of those issues. [video clip] it began with no child left

behind in 2001 with requirements for tests, reporting tests, and other things. accelerated was when president obama came in with race to the top. congress, we failed in 2007 to reauthorize no child left behind. suddenly, governors had to play mother may i with at the department of education saying may we evaluate our teachers this way, standards this way, evaluate schools this way? you had washington running 82,000 schools. we got rid of that. theap the tests -- we kept state-designed tests could what to do with the tests now moves to the governors, officers, and teachers. everyone was fed up with

telling 100,000 public schools so much of what to do. it was creating a backlash on setting higher standards, mainly common core and teacher of valuation. >> i know you were careful crafting prohibitions. solomon school district advocates are worried the continuet will try to wielding a bigger federal hammer to the extent that it can. senator alexander: they shouldn't. they should read the law. there are specific prohibitions. we do have an oversight responsibility. least 3 majort hearings in the education committee in the senate to oversee the implementation of the law in 2016. it will not only have the department of education, but school officers, teachers,

school board members. we will say, what is going on? how are you taking responsibility? i believe when we take off the handcuffs it will release a flood of innovation and ingenuity classroom by classroom and state-by-state that will benefit children. >> the washington journal continues. host: to continue our the first timeor since 9/11 the government rating is the worst. guest: there is a sense that the world is chaotic. the middle east is increasingly chaotic. at that cannot be contained. say, we are just getting out of the region, and the chaos will be just too bad. some people will be killed, but

it will not come to paris or here. paris and san bernardino has brought home we could not let a region of the world to generate into chaos with land controlled by terrorist group's. in 2015 it different than in the past? guest: i think people have been very worried, even before 9/11. i think the situation in the middle east, and the refugee influx in europe, and europe is a place that is easy to get to from the united states. in that sense, it is more worrisome. moments during the bush presidency, but in 2008 we had won in iraq and other parts were reasonably stable. in two thousand 12, some were worried about president obama's policy, but it did not look like

a meltdown. you have that sense now. host: the house today is voting on the spending bill, the so-called omnibus. this is what rush limbaugh said. this is a transcript. now the republicans have the largest number of seats they have had since the civil war. it has now eight any difference. it is though nancy pelosi is still running the house and harry reid is running the senate . the trade is not even the word. it is worse than the trail. betrayed is not even the word. it is worse than betrayal. let the democrats run the party, because that is what is happening. omnibus do not like the spending bill. i would probably vote against it . there is a lot of that

provisions, that are necessary to keep the government going. writers.licy some of them are favorable to democrats, some to republicans. that's the part i find a sort of offensive. they should pasties tax provisions -- pasties tax provisions. these tax provisions. it would be a lot worse if nancy pelosi carried that house. this does not make the case for democratic control of congress. i think this is a case that paul ryan has said, they are stuck with where things were. he felt he had to go with the way business has gone. he says they will go to regular order. provision, the

work pieces -- visas. that may be a good idea. he may need people to work in resorts in the summertime. it that's a that matter of public policy. there's no reason that can't be reported out of committee. that's a really intelligent thing. appropriate thing to have a public policy debate on it. it being smuggled into a bill with no vote to -- chance to vote on it separately, that's bad process. paul ryan says he doesn't like it either. i think they could have done more. the coast mark doesn't need. the chairman of the appropriations committee is from mississippi. ships will be built in mississippi.

majorityr senate both very close to thad cochran. this is why people do not like politics in washington. why donald trump is getting so many votes in the primary. host: what you think about donald trump? like donald't trump. i don't think he should be president of united's dates -- united states. i do not respect him. he says things that are foolish and irresponsible. he is an effective demagogue. challenging the political elites. the is one of those elites in many ways. it's an interesting challenge for the other candidates. that ted cruz or marco rubio or chris christie can't deal with trump, then they

probably can't deal with isis either. i think it's a good test for the more established candidates who have experience. co-opt whatnnel or is legitimate? can they not be irresponsible or foolish the way trump is? host: have you ever seen a person like donald trump run for president before? guest: ross perot is the obvious one. ross perot was an admirable person. he did huge amount for our servicemen and women. he was worried about the deficit. i don't think he should've been president either. more demagogic.

he reminds me more of jesse ventura running for governor of minnesota. a celebrity comes along. people are sick of politics as usual. they do well. governor is one thing. minnesota is doing ok and california is ok. they survived four years of not great governorships. the presidency is another thing. another person who praises put in and says irresponsible things. there is a price to be paid if you are running for president of united states. this is a huge country and people can say a lot of things. they may be ill advised and life goes on. these are the finalists for president and they do have some

responsibility to be more careful with what they say. host: i am sure you saw this. this was from salon. guest: i met sarah palin. she had run for several offices and one those races. she was a very bright young governor and she was very effective. i thought she should be considered for the vice presidency and i think she did

well at times in that race and then she was not serious enough to sustain a clear. she is not running for president. she probably should not be president of the united states. , maybe the mccain team they should have done more than enough. tting. she is not running for president and she did not say things. she was not well prepared. she was not at demagogue in the way that donald trump is. that is not fair to her. she did not tar whole religions or say 90 public policies. she was more of a movement conservative. trumps support does not come from conservatives, it comes from a lot of moderates who are disaffected. ,e is more of a classic

all-purpose demagogue. there are conservatives who say things that i disagree with, they are more radically conservative than i am. donald trump is not part of the conservative movement. tois never used his wealth advance conservative ideas. he has not tried to support conservative think tanks or various projects. it's all about himself. no interest in the conservative movement or conservative ideas or policies. he doesn't now. he's not really advocating conservative policies. sarah palin may have been simpleminded. unfair.it's they were movements that were mixed in their subtlety and

their complexity and understanding of issues. the tea party was about women limitedrnment -- government. i think those were good things. donald trump is never talked about the constitution. one of the reason i dislike trump is he has succeeded in persuading and charming some conservatives to think that he is the next stage of conservative leadership. he really isn't. we have had some very good conservative leaders. kind ofthe sort of conservative leaders, he is not a conservative leader. host: have you endorsed? .uest: we do not endorse i just comment on the race. cub should not be the nominee or president of the united states. someone asked me if i would vote for comp and i said no. i don't think he has the

character be president. appoint conservative justices to the supreme court? whatever you think of jeb bush or john kasich, everyone else on that stage with the exception of paul has aeven rand set of views and he has been open about them. i just disagree with him. muchthers are all pretty big picture on it constitutional issues and the justices they would appoint. they fall within the general conservative critique of big government, welfare state, modern liberalism. trump really doesn't. -- i once said

described myself as anti-anti-trump. some of the criticism of trump was sanctimonious. was, i did not see why he was saying some of the things that were important. announced, you've got to take this guy seriously. they are hitting the legitimate court. i was early on that. i was wrong for the last three or four months. i thought that he had peaked. i thought the air was going to go out of the balloon. he said outrageous things. he said p.o.w.'s got what they deserved after being captured. he said we should exclude all muslims. survive all of these missteps. part of it is people have a sense and a reaction against obama's political correctness.

the reaction has gone too far. if the mainstream media attacks it, we have to like it. i am is critical of the mainstream media is anyone, but you can't like anything that the mainstream media dislikes. host: paul is in orlando. good morning. thanks for taking my call. are treatinglidays everyone well. good morning and happy honda. -- hanukkah. i don't change the channel. i think your opinions and insights are very informative. i do agree with you on this last budget deal. at what point are both republicans and democrats going

about the budget deficit? this is a major problem. i do disagree with you on donald trump. i do like the guy. i don't think what he said about moslems is helpful. we need both american and foreign muslims on our side if we are going to win this war against the new version of not see as him. see -- nazism. carly says the political class has failed us. think about it. the war on poverty has been going on since the 60's. the war on drugs has been going on since the 60's. justice, theinal political class fails all of us. host: that's a lot on the table.

to show you this picture. you were calling in from orlando. x-rays disney with the detectors to get into disney now. surprised that it hasn't happened sooner. this is a great city here. we have so much more than the big theme parks. orlando international airport is one of the busiest airports. that somebodyed hasn't smuggled in to the country one of those shoulder launched missiles at any one of the airports in the country and taken down a plane. i'm surprised more acts like san bernardino hasn't happened. the previous segment about

trusting the government to keep us safe from terrorism, i'm not sure that's a yes or no question. i am very surprised that it's taken this long for the theme parks -- it said. it's sad that it has come to this. i have taken up too much of your time. host: it's good to hear from you. frometersons are a couple texas. that is what he is referencing. guest: thank you for the kind words. i think what paul said, he suggests carly fiorina and marco suggested rubio and carly fiorina. both are very good tickets. i think both are strong tickets. they have different qualifications and backgrounds. exemplifies the

thoughtful person who understands. he is not for trump. he is expressing dissatisfaction with the political class. that is not the way washington takes it. someone said to me the other , the elites have failed in many ways. not in every way. not just the political elites, the financial elites. foreign-policy elites, i put myself in that category. i supported the iraq war. we call for more troops very early. we were very hostile to the management of the war. it was not very successful. look at the way we've handled things post-9/11. there have been some good people working awfully hard and

national security and the military. i don't think the leadership is always been what should've been. that was true of republicans and democrats in -- or it i think --. i think people are entitled to being ready for a change. that's why i was excited about field. to see trump ben carson and fiorina in the race. i admire ben carson as an individual. i don't think he's the right person to be president. i enjoy people welcoming him to the stage. i admire carly fiorina. at first, i thought trump would make a real impression. he is taken off.

i don't think the way he has been healthy. i don't think it's the end of the world. i don't think that conservatism has gone off the cliff. you do worry that people get so unhappy with the elites in the conventional wisdom, i'm not happy with all of them. you go to the opposite extreme. just because somebody does something shocking, you think that's a good thing. these issue should be debated. today,l that's coming up you can't underestimate how much that kind of legislation has hurt people's confidence in government or a sense that they got a fair shot. whatever you think about worker visas for the immigration that's a public policy debate.

if you have the debate and the president signs the bill, people on both sides say they had a chance to make their case. for or against our representative or senator eckstein. what is put in something like this, people feel disenfranchised. people feel like they have more of a sense and ability to govern themselves at those levels. i think people feel self-government is slipping away in this country. that leads to frustration. i think one has to understand the frustration. ron is in braden 10, florida. ton, florida. toler: i take objection

jesse ventura. i am not from minnesota. he was probably one of the best governors. if you want to talk about grassroots, he was independent. he was probably preceding the tea party. as far as mr. cup goes, he's goes, i can trump sit back and laugh and enjoy it. damage that i do know is going to take some time to fix. as thinking the government is going to protect me, i am afraid they are going to use too much of my resources to worry about al qaeda, isis coming in here.

they should worry about the other tens of thousands of , the white males in the united states that are shooting up clinics and congresswomen and movie theaters and churches. i want those things stopped. those are the things that they are going to be lax about. i think we can be tough on all forms of violent crime and terrorism. the amount of money we're spending on national defense is close to historic lows. enforcement, it's not excessive. it's money worth spending. abroad, peacety through strength abroad are the

first functions of the federal government. the police forces local. crossedthese things state lines and need national agencies to get involved. i am a hawk abroad and a lawnmower guy at home. i think we can afford to do it. there are a lot of things we don't need to be doing with the federal government. it's an interesting question about donald trump. is he going to tear apart the party? it's possible. i don't really see it yet. that is a poll last week had trump ahead. it was not minimizing the strength of trump. by 10 points against hillary clinton. he is the weakest candidate.

it does not mean he could charm and persuade a lot of voters. people change their minds. we see that. doubt, -- now, ted cruz was only trailing hillary clinton by three points. empirically, they have been on stage with donald trump for or five times. that not be damaging to other republicans to look that way? if you told me a year ago that rubio would be plus three against hillary clinton and ted be minus three, i would say that was good odds for much lesser-known candidates. now, i plan to vote republican unless it donald trump.

i don't feel he is done much damage. maybe it's because people think trump is trump. i don't think you look at him and think that is the republican party. andwhile, there is rubio jeb bush, there are more normal republicans out there. i think the caller could be right. internet's --ine bitterness. they might not support trump. you could imagine the party in some disarray. host: a caller from texas is next. caller: good morning. how are you people doing? you are so out of touch with the american people. you just do stuff one third of

ssed off one third of the republican party. your ideas go back to reagan. host: are you a supporter? guest: the whole government is corrupt. hitmanrying to be the for the government powers. host: what is your opinion of donald trump? caller: why don't you all retire? guest: that occurs to me occasionally. will try to keep on editing. i'm not a spokesman for the political class. entitled to be for trump. it's a free country. i'm entitled to say he should be

-- not the president of the united states. say?am i supposed to some people like donald trump, i'm not supposed to say what i think? it's fun and it's exciting. he's an entertaining guy. he is likable when i have met him. thinking sit around donald trump is high on people i dislike in america. he is a reality tv show guy and a real estate guy. he is colorful. a lot of people like that in america. i just don't think he should be president of the united states. convince yourself that he should be president of the united states and not that it's fun annoying people like me. those things can be fun. when it comes to voting, people have to vote for somebody to be president.

i think his support will diminish as we get closer to the votes. host: we have talked about terrorism and the spending bill this morning. we talked about donald trump. it has sucked the oxygen out of this program. that has become our topic now. he has been fantastic it making himself the center of attention. cruz surpassed trump in iowa. the people were suddenly talking about could ted cruz be stronger than we think? z fight will cru be interesting. then trump comes out and dominates. clever demagogue it i'll mean that in a nasty way.

it's a term that describes a certain kind of politician. i think it describes trump. will dothe others better in reacting trump than they were. i think the colors are right. i think the political classes in denial. see that they have to explain what their policies are. people are taking on trump. some more effectively than others. maybe this will make better candidates. i think whoever beats trump will be a stronger candidate as a result. host: john is in pennsylvania. thank you for holding. you are on with william kristol. well withgo back as him when he was chief of staff for dan quayle.

be an immigration enthusiast. he was a middle east hawk. moderate his immigration enthusiasm. i agree wholeheartedly. being aailed as far as political elite with respect to his middle east ideology. obviously, the financial elites have failed. the political class has failed. the media classes failed. the hollywood class has corrupted the culture. it would be interesting to find a class who hasn't failed. the issues are immigration and foreign policy.

i am very encouraged to hear trump, ted like cruz, rand paul be sensible andt the middle east replacing tyrants and then creating chaos and killing millions. there was no need to occupy afghanistan. ladenuld have killed bin and his crew. andever should have invaded occupied iraq. that has cost trillions of dollars. guest: i wish your viewers did not remember me going so far back. it makes me feel old. host: have you changed your positions? guest: i am consistent on foreign policy. the execution has failed.

onon't agree with the caller going back in the middle east or a lack of necessity. it's unpopular to put it that way. experiment for the last six or seven years with america pulling out in the middle east. not the situation in 2008. those interventions did not fail. it failed because obama pulled out in 2009 and 2010. i haven't changed my views on foreign policy. i don't know that i was wrong at the time. i think it would have been good to resolve the immigration issue. president bush tried to do so. republican president

and a republican congress will be our best chance to do it. had a high level of legal immigration. there was great pressure on working class wages. been more forceful before. everybody changes their mind to some degree. , it just convinced happened that 9/11 happened. you don't get to choose the parts of the world that you think a lot about. the rest of the world gets to choose you. that's what 9/11 showed. we were very good at thinking about afghanistan for a decade. i am convinced of the need for american leadership and strength.

i think that's an important debate. it's a useful thing to have that debate. i think the marco rubio ted cruz is an intelligent debate. night, ithat tuesday thought this wasn't a bad demonstration of serious people. they only had 90 seconds to talk. coherent giving worldviews. that is healthy for a political party. staff had this article. think the merits of marco rubio and ted cruz as

candidates. i think it's an intelligent case. if trump were to win the nomination, he would be the weakest. nomination, ithe will be such an earthquake in american politics it's assumed to assume that everything goes back to normal. maybe they would stay mobilized for the general election. there would be a lot of democrats who would decide they would want to vote for donald trump. i think trump is a wildcard. if people think they can say with assurance, it's foolish to say he could never be president. i think it's unlikely. i think others will have better chances for obvious reasons. i do think a matchup with rubio and ted cruz are probably the top two.

hillary clinton would be very interesting. the democrats have always had good candidates. now suddenly democrats -- republicans look that way. that's a ticket of people who are in their 40's. secretary clinton hasn't been around a long time. she first came to the white house in 1993. i think the generational contrast becomes striking. republicans can say they are the young party. paul ryan's speaker of the house. that is an underreported thing. it's amazing how little we talked about that.

the speaker of the house is -- 45 years old. that is a big change i think for the image of the party. if mitch mcconnell once a little advice for me, he is a very shrewd leader. he should let the younger members step forward more. has extremely capable members. cory gardner is in his 40's. and sullivan is 50. they've got a ton of the senators who are impressive and young. there are some good young republican governors. they remain impressive.

whether it's scott walker or nikki haley. you think of that party, that is a different looking party from dole/push republicans. basically, the democratic party, i would be worried. maybe hillary clinton can pull it out. there are some young democratic governors. hillary clinton is running against bernie sanders. the leadership in the house is mid 70's. chuck schumer is late 60's. this is not the face of the future. we appreciates, you coming over and talking to our viewers. we're out of time for this segment. the house is coming in at 9:00.

in just a minute, michael brune will be out here. we will talk to him in just a minute. tv and american featuring, we are wurster, massachusetts. manager talking about the city's history and the industrial. -- past. >> the seal of the city is a heart. we are right in the middle of the state. we are in the center of new england. roleve played an important in the history of the united states.

we are kind of a hotbed of revolutionary spirit. we are kind of at the forefront of the industrial revolution. many of the political movements have their start and some of the early agitators were located here. advancementsic whether it be modern rocketry came from sons and daughters here. role ind an important providing a gateway to the united states. we have posted many immigrant groups over our 200 year history. ago,u came here 150 years it might be the irish or the italians. we have been involved with lithuanians and today it might be people from vietnam. we continue to play that kind of gateway role for many immigrants

who come to the united states. i think the perception is that we are old, grady, an industrial city. , and industrial city. while it's still a presence here, it is not as dominant or role and we had to reinvent ourselves and we've done that very successfully. in terms of the national media or the regional media, we are characterized as an industrial old city. most of our people are employed in the medical field and education. that really is where most of our people go to work. it's based in the knowledge-based economy. that is the future of the world. >> book tv has 48 hours of

nonfiction of books and authors every weekend. weekend, winston groom discusses his latest book. it is about the winning of world war ii. afterwards, the world health gap. afternoon, the memoir son of virginia. governor wilder was the first african-american governor. >> and the opportunity to work and learn what was going on, that started me. i had a good law practice. thing i was the last wanted to get involved with.

tv every weekend on c-span2. host: joining us is michael brune of the sierra club. parisking about the climate change agreement. guest: thank you for having me on. host: you were in paris for the talks. remind us what the highlights of the agreement are. all the countries of the world struck an agreement in which every country will dissipate in cutting their own carbon pollution and accelerate a transition to clean energy. cop 21.it was known as that means conference of parties , the 21st meeting. over the last couple of decades,

we were unable to strike an agreement that had any level of ambition. we usually left rich countries it against poor countries. large countries were pitted against small countries. realizes they share the burden and responsibility for addressing climate change. host: how much do we expect to see a reduction in carbon emissions? conferencehis entire did not take place and greenhouse gas omissions were to continue unabated, most of the world's scientists estimate we to six degrees celsius of warning. that is 10 degrees fahrenheit warming over the rest of the century. about 3.5es that to degrees celsius.

based the level that scientists recommend is needed. we have an unusual situation where we have a global agreement in which every country is taking the amount ofuces carbon pollution in the have thee, and we reality that despite this level of unprecedented cooperation and despite the reductions and pollution levels, we are not yet there. we're making good progress. we have a long way to go. host: we are talking to michael brune. he is joining us from san francisco. our first call comes from maryland. caller: good morning. i would like to thank you. i believe you studied the fact that making ethanol from corn was a mistake as far as pollution. i would like you to be aware of

two projects done by john hopkins on clean energy that will come to fruition. methanol without any any molecules of carbon dockside. in the name of william avery. i hope someone will take a look toit and convince china not burn call. host: let's give michael a chance to respond to that. guest: that is something we would want to look into. we have to be aware of social and environmental impacts of mining coal as well as transporting it. is there a way to eliminate commissions from any fuel source ? that is something we would want to take a look at. host: the deal has been the subject of some criticism.

marco rubio was critical of it on fox news. it's all for show. >> they are not binding. the administration has committed the united states to certain caps, but has not told us how they are going to do it. they intend more regulations. this is a deal that's going to require taxpayers to send billions of dollars to developing countries china considers itself a developing country. let's be clear on the issue, china and india have said they will meet the guidelines if it does not hurt economic growth. it is going to hurt economic an unfunnyd it's joke. host: what is your reaction? guest: the first thing that he

said is that these are not binding, which is ironic. he does not believe that climate change exists. concern abouthis the strength of the agreement. this is what's happening around the world. we have seen the price of solar dropping more than 60%. the price of wind has dropped 50%. in the united states, solar and wind are cheaper than coal and thatal gas and nuclear are trend is increasing. isan energy around the world also cheaper than fossil fuels and at least half of the countries around the world. that is increasing. we have in the united states and india and china and countries throughout the eu,

consumers are saving money by replacing fossil fuels with clean energy. we have economies that are growing jobs. the clean tech center of the united states is growing 10 times faster than the rest of the economy. we have an opportunity to fight jobs inchange, create the process, and save money. the only reason you see senator rubio making this comment is because he has an ideological fixation to maintain our dependence on a fossil fuels and maintain his support for the koch brothers. host: we are talking to michael brune. bob int call is from iowa. he had to throw in the

coke brothers. he says nothing about the democrat billionaires who are on his side. windmills,he thousands and thousands of birds are getting killed by the windmills. i am against this climate change . i am against the epa. we need a republican in the white house that will eliminate that agency. we can get along with living our lives. has laid offe thousands and thousands of people. gas industry employs thousands and thousands of people. charges oneverance extraction of oil. solar giving any

income to replace that type of revenue. there is a lot of issues. host: let me give michael a chance to respond to that. could there be job losses? guest: thanks for bringing this up. we have some ideological differences. you are bringing up some points that deserve mention and examination. gass true that the oil and and employs thousands of people. it is also true that the solar and wind industry employ tout -- tens of thousands of people. there are many more people working in solar and wind then coal. is we need to transition away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy.

we need to do so in a way that works for workers and the communities that our country has relied on for making energy for the last century. a have to do this in respectful way that works for those communities. our dependence on fossil fuels is helped to build our economy for the past century. it has produced an enormous amount of wealth, but we can't continue to rely on that. to transition. we have to transition in a way that is smart for our economy and our transition. iowa is a great example of how that is already happening. iowa has rejected coal plants. they have made big investments in solar and wind. the largest investment is in wind. made by warren buffett's utility in iowa.

40% of their electricity will be coming from wind. they are creating thousands of jobs are out the region. that's good for iowa's economy. it's also good for the rest of the country that is seeing that we can solve this challenge and grow our economy at the same time. host: we have committed to reduce greenhouse gas omissions. how might they go about doing that? guest: we have been clear about how we will do that. we have make an -- taken steps. is in thee seeing transportation sector, we have made two levels of commitment for your average passenger car and truck. when you combine them, it will take the average fuel economy from the low 20's to the

mid-50's. from the u.s.ures government which was started by the state cut carbon pollution by 10%. there are a few other things with heavy-duty trucks and other measures that will cut carbon more. in the electric sector and through steps like set in smog and hayes and mercury and other air toxins, the government is making our power plants more andcient and more modern more effective in generating power without generating massive amounts of pollution. ,hose two steps combined reducing the amount of oil we are using and shifting to electric and hybrid vehicles and gas,ing coal and natural

that will help reach the goal. there's a good amount to be done over the next decade. we're confident that not only will the meat it, we will exceed it. host: our next caller is joe in west virginia. you are on with michael brune. would like to say thank you for c-span. i'm retired miner from west virginia. i have always been against mountaintop removal. that has devastated west virginia. destructionnd the of things that produce oxygen , mycreate a lot of methane question is how is this going to affect reclamation of mountaintop removal mines that

devastating to west virginia and kentucky? boths the bankruptcy of arch and peabody and other mining companies going to affect west virginia in terms of not playing the burden of this liability back on the taxpayers? southern west virginia has been devastated by mountaintop removal mining and the chemicals used in the process. thank you very much. i appreciate your questions. you are right to bring this up. the devastation of mountaintop removal, for those who are not aware, it's exactly what it sounds like. most of the mining over the last century has been underground, mountaintop removal involves

blowing up mountains, more than 500 appalachian mountains. than 2000en more rivers and streams be buried from all of this waste. there have been some very serious health impacts for people that live in the area. the paris agreement does not address that directly. if you read the agreement, it's a 31 page document, it's very broad and is very general. it does not address any one region specifically or anyone industry. inre are steps being taken the united states. addresson taken to mountaintop removal will have to come domestically.

it will have to come from congressional action through executive action. the second part was around the bankruptcies of those coal companies. the pensions of workers in those industries. this is a huge industry. communities are realizing they keep need to burn coal to the lights on. there is a loss of jobs and the companies are on very shaky financial ground. they are shamefully trying to balance their books on the backs of their communities and workers. escape theiring to obligations to their workers. they have produced enormous wealth and profits for decades, but they want to do it by neglecting their communities.

we have texas on the and dependent line. caller: good morning. in texas. the pipeline.d of concerning the carbon trading arc it. .- market how is this going to affect the proliferation of that market and the ability for refineries to buy credits to pollute. they provide trees to take the carbon out of the atmosphere. do you know anything about how

that will affect the market? thank you for the question. this agreement does not specify or prescribe that carbon markets be established. basically, the agreement doesn't tell countries how they have to meet their targets. the way the agreement was struck is that each country, more than 187 countries, they made their own commitments. china said, this is what we can do. the united states made its commitment. countries in south america and africa said these are the targets we are going to reach in these are the ways we will do it. the agreement does not insist that one region employ a particular method.

carbon trading is happening in the united states. there are ways in which carbon can be deceitful and not really address the problem. they are paying polluters to continue to pollute. whereupport bogus schemes forest are protected but they really are not. this can be effective for communities that are facing significant pollution in their backyard. all carbon trading systems are not created equal. this does not push anyone system versus another. host: we have to wrap up early. we thank you for joining us. michael brune is from the sierra club. he is joining us from san francisco. that doesn't today for

"washington journal." the houses gaveling in early today. we take you there live now from c-span. the speaker: the house will be in order of the the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father conroifment chaplain conroy: let us pray. god of mercy, we give you thanks for giving us another day. bless the members of the people's house as they depart the nation's capital to return to their homes. may they find rest and renewal during their time with family freands. -- friends. bless our nation as holy days of religious traditions for so many of our citizens approach. and as the year comes to a close. help us to look to the future with hope. committed to a renewed effort to work together