affordable care act. the american foundation for suicide prevention on rising suicide rates in the u.s. good morning. it is thursday, june 14, 2018. the senate reconvenes at 9:30 this morning. the house convenes at 10:00 a.m. the american flag is flying over the capital building. june 14 is recognized as flag day across america. let us know what the american flag means to you. republicans can call in at 202-748-8001. 202-748-8000.

, 202-748-8002. a very good thursday morning to you. you can call in now on this question on flag day -- what does the american flag mean to you? we begin with the okeechobee news this morning, a column by jerry bryant, the county judge in okeechobee. "because it is not a painted rag -- we do this on june 14 because that is the day the second continental congress passed this brief resolution in 1777, less than one year at the birth of our nation. result -- resolved, that the flag of the 13 united states be 13 stripes, alternate red and white, that the union be 13 stars, white in a blue field.

woodrow wilson established june 14 as flag day, that it should be in this year and the years to come be given a special significance of renewal and a reminder of a day which we renewal,t our minds on thoughts of the ideas and principles of which we have sought to make our great government embodiment. those are the words from 1916. that would make today the 102nd flag day. we are asking this morning, what the american flag means to you. 202-748-8001. -748-8000. 202 202-748-8002. host: mark writes --

host: we want to hear your thoughts. tweet @cspanwj. james, good morning. caller: good morning. good morning, c-span viewers. the flag means to me -- well, my grandfather was in world war i, and my dad was in korea. and their cemeteries, they get know, i wish you other people liked the flag. i cannot stand that rebel flag. there is no such thing as southern independence. slaveryted black and they wanted to fight for it. that rebel flag should be done.

that rebel flag is hate and should be out of america. it is -- are you still with me? host: i'm still with you. go ahead. caller: i studied everything from george washington. george washington said, "so help me god." thomas jefferson did not even want to know, did not want to be known as president. james int is pennsylvania. getting your thoughts on this flag day morning, what the american flag means to you. boyd is in arkansas, line for independents. go ahead. caller: good morning. host: good morning, sir. flagr: well, the

represents the country. if you look out your window, looking out your office, the studio, wherever you are and think about what you see, that is america. it is a great country. boyd in arkansas. maria is in atlanta, georgia. good morning. caller: good morning, how are you doing this morning? host: doing well. caller: the flag really means nothing for me. i have no respect for it because once you learn your history, you have no respect. my father was in the service as well, served in the air force, is retired. he has no respect for it himself. he has been around the world and sees everything. so i have no respect for the flag. i learned my history. i thank you. host: that is maria in atlanta, georgia. the american flag was on the other side of the world earlier

this week and made some headlines for its appearance alongside the north korean flag at that summit meeting between kim jong-un and president trump. ," ex ciasweek chief jerry bash said it was disgusting to see the flag north korea plus flight. he said it is not in a cop which meant for the american president. he said -- he said it is not an accomplishment for the american president. he said the backdrop was really jarring to see, a debasement of the american flag. some of the headlines coming from that summit. here is another from jackie speer earlier this week after that same handshake. "only president trump could think of putting the flag on

equal footing with that of a murderous dictatorship. less disrespectful than kneeling to exercise the freedoms they flag represents." an independent from ohio, mark, go ahead. caller: good morning and thank you for c-span. what does the flag mean to me? ,t represents the big lie because ever since 1933, every president we have had decide to silence the war document. first thing they do, which puts aside the constitution, which makes of the -- which makes us the biggest lying sack of you know what. it represents the wealthiest, evillest people on earth, and

they use things like our flag to get us in crowds into their thought patterns and to do what they want, which why everything is falling apart. -- which is why everything is falling apart. i cannot hear you at all. mark, go ahead. caller: i saw your mouth moving and did not hear anything. host: just listen to your phone, mark. caller: they signed the document, the first thing they do. it just means our flag is a lie because we do not follow the constitution at all in this country anymore. they will bring it up when they are trying to make a point, but the fact is that we do not follow it. things have already gone far astray, and people that are bloated up with this happy feeling that we are in the greatest country in the world have never been anywhere else to

see what goes on in other parts of the world. but there is much more freedom in other countries. they are taxed less, taxed more fairly. i'm sorry, but it is the great lie. host: that is marked in ohio. snyder is in florida, a democrat. good morning. like to say that the flag is a symbol of our great nation, and we should all treat it with honor and respect. and that is -- turn down yourto tv when you are talking through your phone. caller: president trump talked about the flag and his celebration of america at the white house, after the visit from the super bowl winning philadelphia eagles was cantered. the president appearing before the crowd and to -- was canceled. the president appearing before the crowd. pres. trump: we love our

country, we respect our flag, and we always will stand for the national anthem. we stand to honor our military and to honor our country and to remember the fallen heroes who never made it back home. we stand to show our love for our fellow citizens and our magnificent constitution. we stand to pay tribute to the incredible americans who came before us and the heroic sacrifices they made. , arica is a great nation community, a family. america is our home, and we love our home. host: it was just two days after that tuesday event that the white house, that congressman our green took to the floor of the house of representatives to talk about the flag as well. here is what he said.

p. green: mr. speaker, i salute the flag, i sing the national anthem, and i believe in what the flag stands for -- liberty and justice for all. but, mr. speaker, i find now that the flag is being used as a tool to suppress what it stands for -- liberty and justice for all. mr. speaker, peaceful protest is how i arrived in the congress of the united states of america. if not for peaceful protest, i probably most likely, and believe in the sincerest corners of my heart, that i would not be in the congress of the united states of america. peaceful protest has brought about positive change in this country, but peaceful protest is now under assault from the highest office in the land, the

office of the presidency. peaceful protest is under attack , and i rise today, mr. speaker, to defend peaceful protest. i rise especially to defend it as it relates to the flag, because the flag stands for liberty and justice for all. peaceful protest is about liberty and justice for all. this first half-hour of "the washington journal tom: on l," over the united states capitol, the flag flies 24 hours a day. john? yes, i was told that the

continent group has the flag, and there have been stages at times for the flag, and the where we look to over the centuries is what the flag is all about. thank you. louis,renda, st. missouri, line for democrats. good morning. caller: good morning and thank you for taking my call. itt this has done lately is seems hollow, and that is because the president of the united states, when we were kids, we were taught to stand up in our classroom and put our hands over our heart for the american flag. but that is your choice as an adult. and what it has done as we dive into our history, is the national anthem and know what the actual words are saying there, which does not represent everyone. , a man that was too

afraid to go to war, does not even know the national anthem himself. i cannot believe people are just sitting back and allowing things to go on and supposed to be the united states of america. songi hear people tell the said how their ancestors came over here, it just makes you dove into how your ancestors ll of aer -- in the hu ship, no respect at all. it does not mean as much, and i think he is the one who has diminished what you think about the american flag. thank you. maryland,on, severn, line for independents. go ahead. caller: i believe the flag represents the citizens of the united states, and what we all need to do is to turn away from

all this fracturing, all this separateness, and how different we are from each other. even if it is just for one day, i challenge everybody, please see your other american citizens as your brother or sister. it is time. it is the only thing that is going to save us from falling asrt, and we have to do it soon as we can. we cannot rely on the government to do everything, and we have got to start pulling ourselves together. i mean that in the best way. thank you. on theore recent tweets flag from elected representatives, and governor scott walker of wisconsin, this past weekend, tweeting out that walk in the 60th annual appleton flag day parade. there are some of the pictures

alongside that tweet. nebraska tweeting out, -- ed fisher of nebraska, tweeting out -- from the end of last month, senator tammy -- double the w ntt amputee from the iraq war, a veteran. there is the picture that she sent out. she sent a follow-up tweet to that. host: that was the end of last month from the democratic senator.

erie,e, pennsylvania -- pennsylvania, the line for independents caller: good morning to you. honest, what the american flag means to me is actually less and less as time goes on. as it becomes weaponize as a partisan political tool, or is -baiting, and it becomes a consumer item made out of chinese plastic and sold in convenience stores. funny how the people who are the most boastful with their flag t-shirt, pants, and stickers, au stop and ask them name me supreme court justice, tell me who your congressperson is --

can you tell me anything about the three branches and what the implications are of that structure in a democratic republic? it just becomes a boast and is used to diminish and franchise -- diminish and disenfranchise other people. it seems every time america has one of its scare euros, like the civil rights -- one of its scare rights erathe civil --cries that the sky is falling, that people are going to take our jobs and ruin our neighborhoods. increasingly militarized culture like our civilian police forces. and then the granddaddy of them all, the red scare during the mccarthy era. in the first place, all of the

stuff that was pumped into and added, things like the pledge of allegiance and our currency. that is the most disturbing part for me personally. it is the main reason why i am actually leaving the united states for germany in the next year. i actually have to break out of the united states to find my american experience, and there is a more american styled life for me to be had in the republic of germany. host: are you going to give up your american citizenship? caller: absolutely. i am actually looking at my at how i am prepared to spend six months in a transit camp as an asylum seeker. -- it has all been litigation i have

been pursuing that has very much to do with my american .atriotism a governmental agency was defrauding citizens of my county and providing false evidence to lock people up. so i sued over it and i created a new law in new york state. this was the first thing that i -- but it didbe not garner much attention. between the president and sex scandals, it seems the more salacious and superficial, the more attention it is getting from americans who do not think about the implications of the this willw and how affect their lives going

forward. symbolism,the moments of instant gratification , as i said, these people do not really have much to offer in the way of credible testimony of what to them the flag means. host: that is your point. twitter, a picture on twitter with the american flag upside down. it says -- host: one more from omg flag.

host: speaking of displaying the american flag, that was one of the 11 aspects of citizenship, responsibilities of citizenship, tested by the pew research center, trying to find people's opinions on what it means to be a good citizen, what the actions are of a good citizen. of the 11 actions tested, displaying the american flag came in last on that survey. the percentage of people who said it is important, what it means to be a good citizen, 62% said it was somewhat them -- someone important to display the american flag. ,mong the other 11 actions citizenship that rang tire, voting in elections rang tire, paying -- ranked higher, paying all the taxes that you owe. the pewant to read

research center poll, it is available, the responsibilities of citizenship. twice as likely as democrats to say it is very important to display the american flag, and then some information about age groups and how they feel about displaying the american flag -- displaying the flag and knowing the pledge of allegiance do not rate particularly high for young as important characteristics for citizenship. 53% say it is important to display the flag. not top the list of older adults either. those 65 and older are more part ofo say both are being a good citizen. that was from earlier this year, back in february. kevin, what does the american flag mean to you? line for independents.

caller: you have the right to protest the government for what is going wrong, and to live free as american citizens. but our freedoms are being diminished in this country, and we have never been a perfect nation. i do not think we ever will, but our job is to strive to be that nation that we want to be, and we are not to discriminate against anybody. i had a grandfather that also fought in world war i, and seven uncles in world war ii. we have been here since the beginning of the nation, my family has. i really do love this country, but i am fear -- i am in fear of this country with the man that the white house -- the man that is in the white house right now, and that is the way i feel. we have the right to protest, and that is about all i can say. my mind goes like sometimes when

i go on here. thanks a lot. host: peter is in mckinney, texas, a republican. go ahead. caller: good morning. i guess i would like to say a few words on behalf of of what majority, thelent people who are working right now and do not have the time to call c-span and offer something else other than what the majority of the other callers are saying this morning, this negativity, with smallmindedness. they are so angry with trump. as a republican, i was angry with president obama. but he was my president, even though i did not like him. i wish people would get over their pettiness and support. i fly my flag every day, not just today. when we hear these silly comments on television and

radio, where commentators say it is disgusting that the american flag was flying next to the north korean flag -- as if that is something unique and special to president trump, when in fact in our previous summits, with both the chinese and the russians, neither of which were very good people to deal with, our flags flew next to theirs when we did our meetings and negotiations with them. that is peter in texas this morning. speaking of president trump, president trump turns 72 today. the white house, according to "insidehington times" the beltway" column -- "there is a chance he will make an appearance at the congressional baseball game in nationals park in washington, d.c., this evening."

one recent host of the president did not forget his big day. on monday, prior to the north korean summit, the singapore prime minister presented president trump with a birthday cake a door and with fresh fruit and a single candle. speaking of the congressional baseball game, it begins at 7:00 today. we will be airing our coverage of it on c-span. we will be on c-span3, c-span.org, and the free c-span radio app. you can watch all the festivities of the 57th annual congressional baseball game at 7:00 tonight. our next guest, a member of congress, will be playing on the republican team. we will ask him about that as well and his outlook for tonight's game. time for a few more of your calls on the meaning of the american flag. mike is in minnesota, and independent. go ahead. caller: i am kind of ashamed.

it used to be i was very proud. i flew the flag almost every day, but now we have a president in there that stands next to dictators and tells us that russia should be in the g7 and all this kind of stuff, and he backs up the ku klux klan, the that, and everything like that he cannot take care of our kids getting killed in schools. we have congress that plays baseball with all the security around them, but we cannot have security for the schools. i do not understand it. i do not understand where this country is going, and it has only been for a while. it has only been since donnie has been in there. host: thank you. why are you an independent? i do not believe in the parties. i think it is ridiculous. everybody talks about left and right and up and down and all that kind of stuff.

the parties are for individuals who have nothing else and they just want to belong to something. host: dorothy, a democrat. go ahead. represents theg united states of america and its people. what has happened, which many colors have said, is that our president has taken the flag and he has weaponize it. he went into a private franchise, the nfl, and threw the flag in there when he did not even have anything to do with that. the owners and the players did not have a problem and he did not even insight anything. where he is going now -- and this is important -- he is going somewhere to try to make laws that would take our freedoms. suppose if he said we have to stand and do these things that he is saying for the flag, which is really crazy. suppose he makes a law in that. where would we be going that?

would people be locked up when the national anthem is playing and you do not stand? that is dangerous. that is where our president is going to. think congress would pass that law if the president proposed something like that? caller: they might not passed a law, but what if he did an executive order? i do not even know if he could do in executive order. presidents do. you notice -- the republicans -- only thespect ones that are going along with trump are winning. a lot of republicans are stepping down because i believe their party has been lost. and we need two parties. we do not need no parties really, but if we are going to have them, we at least need two parties. the republicans need to do something about this. it is becoming trump's party. you look at what bob karp -- what bob corker said -- it is

becoming a cult. thank you. up next, we will be joined by michigan republican congressman fred upton, discussing the efforts to come the opioidcome back epidemic. and david price will be here to talk about the state of the affordable care act. we will be right back. announcer: we are experiencing technical difficulties with "washington journal." press conference from yesterday.

announcer: saturday at noon eastern on book tv, hear about the life of tennessee williams, best known for his plays "glass menagerie," "cat on a hot tin and "streetcar named desire." celebratingns is its try centennial this year. we are 300 years old. the historic law -- for the bison -- we wanted to look back at the cities tour earliest leaders -- earliest years and what it was like when the city first developed. to oneer: then a visit of the city's oldest restaurants. a the muche takes larger piece than it does anywhere else. we live to you in new orleans. announcer: watch c-span's city on "bookew orleans,

tv" and sunday on "american history tv" on c-span three. announcer: "washington journal" continues. host: republican congressman fred upton has become a leading voice in the opioid crisis. what is the state of that crisis right now? is this something that americans should still expect to get worse for it gets better? guest: iis not very good across the country. i was part of a bipartisan panel with the president a year ago, and we all shared stories with him, and he showed his genuine concern. just this morning, getting up to come in this morning, i turned on my local website to see what the stories are. 34 deaths just because of in one county last

year. it is a huge problem. i have met with undercover police. they have shared with me terrible stories about how this is getting in, and we do not really have the tools in the toolbox to stop it. one postal inspector for all of the mail,because of ups, fedex, whatever -- alarming numbers. more than traffic deaths across the country. we move legislation through the energy and commerce committee, all of this bipartisan. at the end of the day we will pass about 50 bills in the house, and there is good encouragement that the senate will take these up prior to the break. host: how much new money is being devoted to the opioid crisis right now. -- right now? guest: my big piece of legislation, when i was the chairman of energy and commerce, it is approval of devices, a $45

billion increase over a 10-year span, working with an -- with an is appropriations committee with the nih. we approved $2 million over the first two years. you will see more money, but we have some other things, too. we have legislation -- all these days run into each other -- but i think it was tuesday that we passed legislation that i pushed ,ery hard with debbie guignol democratic colleague, and it allows a working relationship between the nih and the private sector to actually develop nonaddictive painkilling drugs. that is an approach that we ought to take, and we passed it on tuesday. host: that is the cutting edge research act? guest: that's right.

there are 50-some bills that we are doing, and it is going to get to the president. host: what does that mean? when will the nonaddictive pain medication become the rule? guest: because of what we did with 21st century cures, we know that there is a genetic issue with some folks where they do not feel pain. it is often a problem. they have their hand on the burner, and all of a sudden they do not realize they burned their flesh. it is genetic. can we maybe look into all of that and maybe turn those receptors off as the individual is recovering from back surgery or knee surgery or whatever it might be? host: is the answer five to 10 years down the road? guest: i hope it is just a couple of years. there have been some good advancements. collins at nih is

actively promoting it and helped us in writing this legislation, that at the end of the day we will get these to market faster than they otherwise would be. host: you were the former chair of the energy and commerce committee. what are some of the other bills, legislation that will pass? guest: i brought them all. i have 50-some bills here. host: that will have a more immediate impact? guest: they are. it is more education with our physician community, looking at fentanyl more, more tools for law enforcement to identify this. it is a pretty comprehensive list. at the end of the day when we move these appropriation bills, that have now started in the house, we will have more money in 21st century

cures in these appropriation bills as we look toward fiscal year 2019 and 2020. the chairman is very interested in this. we have a track record of getting it done. if they do not do the job, we will have amendments to do it for them. host: taking your questions and calls -- republicans, 202-7 48-8001. 202-748-8000. 202-748-8002. ruth, good morning. caller: good morning. i have been watching some of the debates on the floor of the house and senate, and the committee meetings, and i would muchto ask -- how involvement or input are you

getting from the medical profession itself? -- i think the great majority of doctors are not badlyh prescribers or intentioned prescribers, the outliers. and there are many patients who .o have chronic pain say cutting off, making rules arbitrarily about cutting days a person of can have a prescription for, etc., is unwise. host: ruth, we will take your

point. congressman? guest: you make your point. we have to have a careful balance. we have had a lot of input from the medical community. most of us have had roundtables back in our districts. i have had metal health -- mental health advocates, law enforcement, and the patient community as well. if you watch the debate on the house floor, it is pretty stirring. as people grapple with just awful pain that has got to be relieved for them to feel that they can even live to the next day. we have some pretty powerful drugs out there as well that deals with that. but as we know, they can be addictive. for a lot of families, they are now beginning to lose some of them because of these overdoses. particularly with something like fentanyl, just recently, the

news in my district was 34 people in one county, this is the cause. we have got to listen to the medical community. they have been on board with what we are doing. if you look at the votes that we have had on the house floor, many of these bills are passing by voice. we have republicans and democrats together. frank cohen has been very supportive of the bills that we have. very supportive of the bills that we have passed on the house floor because the vote total, when you see it, we feel very confident that the senate is going to take these up as well. got toical community has be involved with this, along with the patient community and others. host: maryland is next. garrick, a democrat. good morning. how are you doing? with all due respect, congressman, in a straight face, ,an you please explain to me

with the crack epidemic in the 1980's, with all the communities, instead of putting them in jail, you all were thinking about that then. everybody is worried. who really ist suffering the most from this stuff. if wes not fair to anyone are all supposed to be so-called americans. people wonder why we look different when it comes to the american dream. let's be real. you honestly tell me that you were doing the same thing during the crack epidemic? was not in the congress in the mid-1980's, but there is no question that we need guidelines. there is bipartisan legislation that is moving. i am not a lawyer or on the judiciary committee. but my understanding is there are some sentencing guidelines prison reform, judiciary

reform, moving through the congress. it is a priority for democrats as well as -- if you look back on those days, i would think there would be some justifiable complaints, criticisms over some of those sentencing criteria. but let's move on from that. let's realize that we need to work together, which is why it is so important. chairman wallman, that chairman walden has done work looking for a bipartisan way to deal with the crisis. it is all walks of life, all races, allrata, all communities, urban and rural. host: an independent, good morning. caller: what is your take on medical marijuana? because even nowadays the police are arresting people for marijuana. through the studies and stuff , which uses,rnment

it shows that medical marijuana is a miracle drug. people like you make it illegal so that they arrest minorities and stuff. i wonder what your take is on it. you guys are bought by pharmaceutical companies and the rich to go against the people, just to make money for the rich. guest: in my state of rich michigan, marijuana is legal, and i supported that. it was a voter initiative a number of years ago, and it passed by a pretty good margin. we had votes in the house. there were some writers that -- there were some riders that no funds could be spent, and i supported our state law. you make a very good. some illnesses -- i did in epilepsy walk in kalamazoo just this last week.

additional marijuana, particularly the oil from those seeds is something that may be a miracle drug to try and help alleviate some of those epilepsy fits. i think you have seen some bipartisan support for that. a number of states now have gone the way the michigan voters have done, and it should not be an issue for people like me. host: about 15 minutes left with congressman fred upton. i want to change topics for a second and talk about your of that discharge petition to force a vote to protect young, undocumented immigrants. that effort failed. .ere is the headline on it "the great moderate republican flameout is how they describe it. that it would not say failed. the immigration system today is broken.

it needs to be fixed. doing nothing just perpetuates this broken system, whether it's employers are people who are ade, dreamers from the community. let the district -- what the workarge petition did was what came back to the house. the senate did not get the votes. the bills had 54 votes. there were some where nothing was happening. interest groups, moderates, working with colleagues on the other side of the aisle, got up to 216 signatures on the discharge petition, which forces the issue out of committee. at the end of the day, literally this week, our republican werership, some folks talked into not signing it. we failed just short. , we agreed to bring

up a couple bills this week, so a billgoing to bring up that will be probably a bill later this morning, outlining the more comprehensive approach for not only dreamers but border security and different things. the early indication is that the white house may end up supporting this second bill. host:. speaker ryan from yesterday talking about the immigration bill. ryan: this is an effort to bring our caucus together. i am very pleased with our members. our members got together and spoke with one another and compromised each other so that we could find a way forward. now what we have is an actual chance at solving this problem. members wanted to have votes on these issues.

then we now have a bill that represents a compromise that is going to be brought to the floor so members can vote on legislation, tackling this issue. this has a chance of going into law. the last thing i want to do is bring a bill out of here that the president will not support. we will work with the administration to make sure we bringing a bill that represents the president's four pillars. this represents a consensus between our members so that we can move forward on the immigration issue. it is a good compromise on our mission -- on our members. the issueare forcing to come to the house floor, letting the votes come where they may, and i am hoping that we can pass at least one of these versions and it back to it back to the senate.

the president said last fall, congress, i am tired of these executive orders. do your job. pass a bill. i am going to give you six months. go at it. this is now the culmination of that effort. host: is it your understanding that that compromise legislation will include a pathway to citizenship? guest: the second bill -- i do not know whose name will be on it, i will know later this morning -- yeah, that will be the case. expected that that bill will pass. you never know. these things happen. but that second bill, also debated next week, we'll have a pathway for the dreamers. if they have been here so many years. we will see what happens. host: back to your phone calls with congressman fred upton of michigan. don, go ahead.

caller: how are you doing? listen, i am a primary care natural dr., not a common .edical alternative doctor i believe all drug laws should be repealed because the fda and our representatives work in a corporate democracy, and they .re violating nuremberg they are putting poisons in our children's vaccines and they are saying kids have adhd and they put them on class 2 narcotics, and i have to see these kids come to me, getting drugs from the cia overseas. , it: congressman fred upton will give you a chance to respond. did 21st century cures, we listened to folks all around the country. what can we do to advance better

drugs at a cheaper cost? all with the safety requirements that are there. we worked with the a on birtisan legislation. out of ourt committee, 51-0. we passed it on the house floor with more than 390 votes. we worked with the fda and said tell us what tools you need. they said we will need additional resources. we did that. we want drugs to be safe, but we also think that the fda is the gold standard for the world. if it is approved by the fda, it will go through the proper course. we are not the scientists are the experts. we want to find the cures for these diseases, whether it be how simons or cancer or epilepsy. host: the second caller said you have been bought and paid for by pharmaceutical companies or corporate interests. what do you say?

largestfizer is the employer in my district. they are out there. we have. process that i supported campaign finance reform a number of years ago. the courts have made some interesting rulings as it relates to that. court -- corporate money has been banned. it always has been. there is a maximum that they contribute, $5,000, in an election cycle and get one pfizer check. host: gym, a democrat, good morning. caller: good morning to you. good morning to you, senator upton. on theciate you speaking previous topic of what the flag means to me. i am in navy veteran of 37

years. it symbolizes freedom. ton i have the opportunity raise and lower the flag, memorial day, for instance, it resonates to me. many people died so that folks could kneel instead of standing. that is my message, sir and sir. guest: thank you. first i just want to say, thanks for your service. a lot of us have veterans in our families, and i know they share those same views. the flag means a lot to them. my dad may be watching this morning. 94 years old,s was in the battle of the bulge a long time ago. host: some criticism earlier this week, placement of the united states flag next to the north korean flag at that summit. what do you think? guest: well, it was a summit. i have been to north korea in the past. i think it is great news what happened.

if we are going to get on a path that will denuclearize the north peninsula,he korean that is great. of course you will have a flag of the other side, no matter what. in miami,rt is florida, on the line for independents. i have been in health care for 35 years as a nurse, and i see overprescribing of pain medication, and even antibiotics. medication, we already have pain medications like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory's. patches.idocaine and we prescribe percocet or oxycodone instead of trying other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories. it is a big problem.

arepharmaceutical companies pursuing these medications and also physicians who are not providing other medications we have available at this time. thank you. guest: that is why education is important. and i know that the medical community, as yourself is much more aware of this and some of the hazards there -- but ts r, too. a lot of patience thought they were overage -- they were overprescribed. it is a little bit of a two-way street here, but it is an important message to get out. one of the things that we are accomplishing, as you saw this legislation move not only through the energy and commerce committee, but on the house floor. host: amy is on the line for

democrats. go ahead. caller: good morning. i just have a question about your party. what has happened to the republican party? it has changed a lot in my lifetime. i am 47. what happened to the party of patriotism? you used to be the party of family values. supremacist ine the white house. who is takinge children from their parents in the white house. we have a pedophile in the white house. --t happens to your party what happened to your party? i am not sure i can answer this in the time allowed. voters have choices. for me, i have not been afraid to speak out when i think any administration is on the wrong track.

as i have worked for both democratic and republican administrations, i worked with the reagan administration a lot of years ago. i want every president to succeed, and every president has got some flaws. we need to work together as a country to move forward. if you look at my record, that is something that i am proud to have done. host: that caller thinks this administration is on the wrong track. where have you spoken out? spoke in charlottesville when that happened. i objected to the terrace, was one of the hundred and something politicians -- i objected to the tariff, was one of the hundred and something politicians who have spoken out on hundreds of issues. fred upton,ssman republican from michigan. frank, newastle, pennsylvania, independent. go ahead. caller: a cple of callers ago

said that congress is bought and paid for, and he made a few comments about how everything is taken care of, everybody knows how much they get contributed for campaigns and stuff. my question is -- i am not sure what the actual wages for congressman coming into that for congressmen coming into congress, i can you tell me how they come into congress, like pelosi and schumer and the rest of them, and end up spending 20 years or 10 years and walking out as multimillionaires? where does that money come from? i would like him to explain that. caller: well -- guest: well, congressional salaries and pensions -- salaries are 100 $74,000 a year. they have been frozen for the last 10 years. $174,000 a year. they have been frozen for the last 10 years. the pension is for any other

federal employee. we fill out disclosure reports every year, listing all of our assets for ourselves and our children to read and our spouse, anything more than $1000. nancy pelosi, one of the wealthier families, her husband has done very well. i think he is in real estate. they have done well. little bitis a higher because she is a former speaker. there is a bonus there if you are a speaker. but the good news is -- and i voted to make sure that congressional salaries and pensions are the same as any other federal employee, whether you work for the department of irs or the department of agriculture. host: what did you do before you came to congress? guest: i worked at the white house. i worked for president reagan as a legislative

-- under dave stockton and jim miller. host: bill has been waiting in pennsylvania, the line for republican. caller: hi, representative. a lot of people are saying the same thing, that we feel like the pharmaceuticals -- and you mentioned pfizer as 1 -- there are a lot of other ones. you said something like it has taken us a while before we understand the risks of opiates and all of that. opiates used to be in foods and drinks in this country. we realized they were dangerous along time ago. so then we put them under the care of our doctors, that if they would be prescribed. the fact is, money is running the show here. they do not care that these people are dying.

i have overprescribed them. my comment to you is -- isn't it true that they just changed the to, you guys changed the law now oxycodone can be prescribed to people under 12? is that true or false? guest: i don't know the specific answer to that. between the doctor and the patient and the family, i don't -- it is probably a lesser dose. i don't know that we changed a law to allow them to do that. host: the 21st act you are talking about. -- cures act you were talking about. guest: i would say most people have never heard of this thing a few years ago. a lot of it is coming in from china, through the mail. ,e have been unable to stop it again going back to our case in west michigan with one postal inspector. just ao harmful that

brief interaction with it can cause death in high dosages. that is different, it is different than it was five or 10 years ago, for sure. host: congressman fred upton, member of the energy and commerce committee, appreciate your time. up next, it is open phones. the phone lines are yours. line for republicans, democrats, and independents on your screen now. we will be right back. ♪ afterwords,ght on bill pratt talks about his book "from the left, a life in the crossfire." he is interviewed by a syndicated columnist. >> who is one of the most persuasive guests? >> john mccain. >> what subject? >> just about anything.

i admire john mccain because he is somewhat of a maverick. he is also brutally honest, willing to take on his own party. i wrote a book critical about barack obama, which i got a lot of crap for for my fellow democrats, but there are some things i believe he let the progressive side down. party wasn felt his not living up to what he believed the republican party should be and was willing to say so. >> sunday at 9:00 eastern on c-span twos book tv. "washington journal" continues. host: open phones, any public policy issue you want to talk about, we can do that. republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002.

this is your chance to lead the conversation. nick fromsick -- sarasota, florida, the independent line. caller: i would like to give a suggestion for a show. the question would be -- is the american media and education system that creates school shootings and divisiveness? a lot of your callers are a good example of that. here in florida, they are going to put a police officer in every school and now they are talking about bringing in social workers and psychologists for every school. they are going to drive the kids leftisth all of this nonsense. my understanding is they have not taught civics in the school since 1972. you have all of these anti-american comments coming in from people from the last two generations, that simply do not know what it is to be an american. host: what would be the most

effective thing in your mind, to talk about or to change? caller: two mandatory classes, ninth through 12th grade and all through college, american civics. maybe the subtitle, preparing for adulthood in 21st-century america. the second, critical thinking. here's a question maybe for the ninth grade. and youan auto mechanic notice your taxes are little high. voting is coming up in two weeks. you would vote for the republican who wants to reduce taxes, but for the democrat who wants to raise taxes, go out and riot and smash things, or none of the above. i guess they missed that. host: phyllis on the line for republicans. caller: hello. . was calling about the flag i tried to call earlier but did not get through. when i want to say is very

in-depth: i -- so i cannot say everything. i want to tailor to the viewers, the way you break down a nation and a country is you have a dynasty. you break down your history, break down the education, the religion, the government, and financial. all of these brackets are being broken down piece by piece, by all kinds of people that want to destroy this nation. people need to wake up and realize that they are going to name tag and complain about this and complain about that. our nation was founded because where wethis nation would be free, because our faithful were bonded.

if you read the bible and understand the bible, people have bleeding hearts, but there are rules. god believes the country to be a godly country and follow rules. he have laws and have to obey those laws, whether we agree with them or not. i did not vote for obama, but i supported him as the president. we are one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. host: debra in new york, line for democrats. caller: i just wanted to thank you for having this piece on the importance of opiate prevention and addressing opiate overdoses. i am very curious about what is happening -- i love the idea of having nonaddictive opiates being researched and marketed. certainly, that will take some time. in the meantime, it seems like money could be saved if there was an equal focus on prevention, given that the path fentanyl seems to all

start with a prescription, something not necessarily rated -- related to chronic pain. i was hoping there could be a segment focusing on the prevention peace and how we can prevent the addiction in the first place. is there any statistics on the acute versus chronic surgeries that result in these prescriptions? if those are correlated with the lengths of the prescriptions being given. host: thanks for the suggestion. always appreciate upcoming topic suggestions. i am sure we will talk about opioids again. i want to show you some of the other headlines, news around the country. here is "the wall street journal" -- the federal reserve signaling they could pick up the pace of interest rate increases this year and next her to keep a

rapidly expanding economy on an even keel. central bank officials voting unanimously to raise their benchmark federal funds rate by a quarter percentage point. it is their second rate rise this year and they penciled in a total of four increases for 2018 , up from earlier projections. a quote from jerome powell, the decision you see today is another sign the u.s. economy is in great shape. growth is strong, labor makers are strong -- labor markets are strong. leading "the times" and several other papers today. this on the front page of "usa today" about a planned to potentially split california into three states. that proposal being foot -- put forward by tim draper, a six year venture capitalist who is savoring victory after his initiative to split california

got enough signatures to qualify for the november ballot. he made a name for himself funding hotmail, skype, and tesla, is an outspoken fan of crypto currency. he says t only answer is to start over with smaller states that can run more efficiently with less red tape. you see the proposal to split it into california, which would include about 12.3 people, -- 12.3 million people, southern california, 12.3 million people, and northern california, 13.3 million people. to read more on that story, it is in "usa today." we are joined by npr justice correspondent harry johnson to discuss the day's release of the justice department's inspector general report on how the fbi handled its investigation into hillary clinton's email. as the ig tipped his hand as to whether he found anything

improper in this investigation? guest: good morning. happy to be here. the inspector general at the justice department, michael horwitz, has been tightlipped about his findings and conclusions. we know from congressional sources and witnesses involved in this investigation that his report coming out later today will be huge, 500 pages or more. officepector general's interviewed many people, including former fbi director jim comey, his deputy andy mccabe, a number of other current and former fbi officials , and a number of former doj officials in the obama era. that includes loretta lynch, sally yates, and other folks as well. issue any sort of punishment if he finds wrongdoing in this report? guest: the inspector general has authority over current justice department and fbi employees. maden and has in the past

disciplinary recommendations about those people, often top doj press take those recommendations -- brass take those recommendations into account. the ig has the power to refer people for potential criminal prosecution. his investigation has resulted in a criminal referral a former fbi deputy director andy mccabe for allegedly misleading investigators involving matters involving the hillary clinton email investigation. the u.s. attorney's office in washington, d.c., is currently looking into mccabe. host: the ig is considered a nonpolitical office. does that mean this report will be taken differently than if it were put out by a congressional committee or another political entity? along, this investigation was announced in january 20 17th. since that time, persons on both

the left and the right have been trying to use this investigation for their political purposes. emma kratz, people who worked on hillary clinton's campaign -- democrats, people who worked on hillary clinton's campaign claimed james comey for her loss. republicans have been using some of these allegations about the mishandling of the clinton investigation not just to beat up on jim comey, but to beat up on the special counsel robert mueller whose team is investigating russian interference in the 2016 election. we think the inspector general will find that jim comey violated some fbi, doj policies and procedures with respect to speaking too close to an election about hillary clinton. that actually helped donald trump and hurt hillary clinton. host: when will we be able to see the report ourselves? guest: the report is expected around 2:00 p.m. eastern time today.

we know that president trump is getting a briefing earlier in the day from deputy attorney general rod rosenstein and people on the hill will get a briefing around midday. look for this big report to drop, 500 pages or so, around 2:00 p.m. today. host: remind us what other high-profile investigations michael horvitz, the inspector general at the department of justice is currently conducting. guest: this guy has his hands full. remember that earlier this year, the justice department brass investigate allegations of possible improprieties in the wiretapping application for carter page, advisor to the trump campaign. he is looking into a variety of issues that the federal bureau of prisons, the fbi, and whether the justice department systemically discriminates in some fashion against women employees and women agents. it is going to be a very busy

run for the ig in the months to come. host: carrie johnson is the justice correspondent at npr. always appreciate your time. guest: my pleasure. host: speaking of inspector general horwitz, he took part in an event in washington earlier this week commemorating the 40th anniversary of the inspector general's act. >> there were many post-watergate reform pieces of legislation, and i think the ig act has been one of the most important, injuring and ng andsful --enduri successful pieces of legislation over the last 40 years. the numbers show as it has been pointed out, recoveries, returns, findings for the taxpayers, the public, have been substantial well beyond what our budgets are. -- onour findings about

good governance issues, there is no monetary, no number you can put on that. at the department of justice, we have a fair amount of findings involving monetary issues, but reports like our best insurance report, our oversight of the fbi's counterintelligence authorities, tomorrow's report, there is not a dollar value you can put on those and yet, what we all try and do is a community publicg's is allow the to know that there are watchdogs out there based in the executive branch that are watching over our agencies, thencies that we oversee. we are there to be the eyes for the public at large. that is who we work for. it is very important as we do our jobs, and as i know will be talked about today, the challenge as independent watchdogs to not be wrote

actors. we are not untethered. law, andt -- we have a ig act. one of the challenges that we face as ig's, and i know my colleagues will be discussing, is that tension and push and pull between understanding where we sit in the constitutional scheme of government, which is within the executive branch, but are independent of the officials in our agency. host: if you want to watch that full event with michael horwitz, the inspector general come you can do so on our website at c-span.org. it is open phones right now on "washington journal," letting you lead the discussion. whitney is in waveland, mississippi, an independent. caller: good morning. i was calling in to comment on my hopes that the presidency

might cede power to congress in the coming years. i want to comment on a call made earlier. there was a woman who said that this is a christian nation, and i served my country two years in americorps and i did not serve a christian country. i served a secular government. in 1797, we were fighting with ,irates off the coast of libya and what created trade negotiations between us and what was then called tripoli is the treaty of tripoli. in that document from the founding period is the statement -- the united states is in no way founded on the christian religion. this is a country tolerant of all faiths, and that is my comment. host: in hernandez, mississippi, larry, a democrat. caller: good morning. the document that trump signed

with north korea, there is no verification in it. the news media asked the secretary of state about it. --got angry and asked protect the news media, talking about they should not asked the question. this government under a trump is the quirkiest i have ever seen -- crookedest i have ever seen. host: the secretary of state is torently in china, expected be mapping out the next steps toward north korea's denuclearization process. you can see his press briefing this morning. this evening chinese time, he is visiting beijing as part of the effort to continue those discussions, tasked with making that agreement concrete. pompeo is due to hold talks with senior chinese officials. a final peace settlement is expected to happen down the road . the south china morning post

talking about the briefing and the secretary of state's schedule over there. paul is in canton, north carolina, republican. caller: good morning. i just wanted to make a comment on the opioid addiction. , both recovered addict alcohol and opiates. i think we pick and choose our battles. 2017, over 88,000 people were killed from alcohol related deaths. as opposed to 66,000 people killed from the opiates. wherek we have an issue you just pick and choose your battles. thingl is a very popular and people enjoy their cocktails at the end of the day. is still an issue there, but

there is nothing being don about at. host: we are actually going to be talking about another one of the top causes of death in the united states later in our program. at 9:00, we will be joined by john mack again with the american foundation for suicide prevention to talk about some of the recent high-profile cases and also a new centers for disease control report on suicide rates, up 25% since 1999. that discussion coming at the top of the hour. line yet is in utah -- lynette is in utah, life for democrats. best line for democrats. -- line for democrats. sect --not to six accept a bill to sterilize all while mayors.

-- wild mares. this is bad for the environment. it helps the ranchers and there are alternatives. we can keep our wild horse population. call your senate appropriations committee member, if you live in one of their states. it is easy to find on the internet. host: why is this such a big issue for you? caller: because i am an environmentalist and i know that , what the damage is that the ranchers and cows are doing to our watering holes and our grasses, and that the grazing fees ranchers pay do not cover the cost of repairing the environmental damage they are doing. ranchers are some of our biggest welfare queens right now, and i

think our wild horses are iconic . they are part of our heritage and more importantly, they help preserve the environment. if we have some more big predators, they could keep the wild horse population in check naturally, without having to kill so many. the american taxpayer is being , because 60,000 wild horses are held in the midwest. we are paying for that and we would not have to if we would institute more natural methods. host: lynette from utah. is in westerville, ohio. caller: i enjoy listening to a lot of the topics you had this to have to spam the phone, my opinion -- stay on the phone, my opinion and suggestion

to the public is to fight hard for term limits on these officials. a lot of them are not telling the truth. a lot of them go to washington, get what they want, turn washington into their own private business for themselves and their families. you see a lot of this emigration coming here from around the world, officials have been paid off. they really do not care about the american people at all. we are secondary now. the drug situation could have been dealt with back in 2000 when they had three of the major ndug dealers from mexico vegas, and they were told not to sthe gentlemen. that order came from congress back in 2000. i don't have a lot of faith in that. we have a lot of fake news on both sides.

host: going back to the congressional order in 2000 you are talking about, what do you mean? congress voted on something? caller: they were ordered to release them. it was illegal for them to arrest the drug dealers from out thatho they sent they had won vacations. they were in vegas, the big drug dealers. host: another story you may be waking up to, this report from cbs news last night, two of the most visible members of the trump administration are planning their departures. the latest sign of up people in the white house, press secretary sarah sanders and rosh hashanah -- she told

friends she planned to leave the administration at the end of the yearsh. ah has nettled on his fil date. some pushback from those two people, sarah sanders tweeting i the cbs news know something do not about my plans and future? they wrote a story about my plans to leave the white house without even talking to me. i love my job and am honored to work for the president. "the new york times" reporting in their wrapup of the school hah told people the report is "fake news." christopher is in tallahassee, florida, line for republicans. see that am happy to .arah sanders replied to that

this --ge is just hopefully today we find out more about director comey and maybe ag and about the tarmac meeting. i just wanted to relay this to the people so they remember, it was loretta lynch that told us all in the hearings that it was the tarmac meeting that made her decide to take the recommendation from the fbi. my question is, i wonder if loretta lynch told director comey to call it a matter before or after she got caught on the tarmac. my last point is, isn't it kind of ironic how quick the reporters in new york city got a hold of the trump tower meeting? ,f you wanted to have collusion or if you wanted to show collusion or set up a campaign, if you want an insurance policy, i would send a russian or someone to trump tower to make

it look like colluding. who knows? what do i know? host: a few more headlines on the upcoming release of that report on the hillary clinton email investigation, this focusing on the ig at the department of justice, michael horvitz. the justice department watchdog has defended him. the editorial board of "the washington times" taking up this topic. at the end of that editorial they write -- "there will be no conclusion onn -- the collusion of until the clinton associates and their hidden assets get the same hard scrutiny to which mr. trump has been subjective -- subjective." caller: good morning. a gentleman called in a while ago and asked the guess you had, the guy from michigan --

host: congressman upton. whyer: he asked him about so many congressman and senators were millionaires. i have been saying this to myself for a long time. i have been wondering why, so i looked it up. i googled it, actually. 66% of senators are millionaires. 41% in the house are millionaires. 1% of americans are millionaires. that is very badly skewed. i would like to see you have a alone, and askat people what they felt about that. host: we did actually have that discussion on this program a few months back, after rollcall came

out with their annual wealth of congress listing. i encourage you to go back. you can go to rollcall.com to explore their information, charts, and plenty of stories in that discussion. rollcall breaking down the wealth of congress each year and raking the net worth of the various members. daniel, bellevue, florida, line for democrats. caller: good morning. turnedff, in 1967 when i 18, like a good civilian or citizen, i went to register for the draft. that is when the vietnam machine was virtually taking any warm body with a trigger finger. inways, i go to this office boulder, colorado's tallest skyscraper at the time. it was on the seventh floor, there was a draft office.

guess what they had for an american flag? it was made out of polyethylene. i was astonished. i wanted to laugh or cry. pertaining to opioids, they are propriat$45 billion. that means there is $1 million assigned for each mortality. i think there is some corruption somewhere. point,nally, a final cotton was a draft -- clinton was a draft dodger. he even hated the draft as many times as donald trump did. nobody seemed to care. clinton was a philanderer. no one seemed to care. people have to hold clinton to the same standards that they are degrading our president by. incidentally, trump is the greatest president in my lifetime. trump andman through

i do not know if i will make it out of trump's administration. host: why are you a democrat? caller: i told your screener i was born a democrat, i did vote democrat for a couple times. the last time i voted, i voted gw bush era i think he was running against kerry, who is a traitor. he is a kept man. he married a well-to-do widow and then he goes to persia to , and they can find nobody of lower stature and have more contempt for anybody other than a kept man.

last call in our this open phone section of "washington general." northl be joined by carolina democrat david price to talk about the state of the affordable care act, and later, john madigan joins us to talk about the rising rates of suicide in the united states. ♪ >> sunday on american artifacts the library ofr congress exhibit on the centennial of world war i, which

showcases american ideals about the war. >> the idea of continuing to the war through labor, the idea of growing your own food so as to conserve larger quantities for the war effort, this is actually by mabel right, frank lloyd wright's sister. risesr individual kind of to the surface from world war i. you see here also two conservation. i know we make everything out of corn today, but the fact that we didn't, this is kind of new. in world war ii, we were rationed. the government stepped in and rationed. believed ifr i, we you encourage people to act correctly they would need to rationed food themselves. >> watch "american artifacts" sunday at 6:00 p.m. eastern on

american history tv on c-span3. >> "washington journal" continues. host: democratic congressman david price, and appropriations committee member from north carolina and former professor of public policy. i want you to put on that professor hat. the justice department recently indicated it would no longer defend some key provisions of the affordable care act. what does that mean for the health and sustainability of the health-care law? .uest: i am not a lawyer i did teach political science, so maybe i should be a lawyer to give you a specific answer. my impression is from talking to a lot of people who know more about it than i do, they are on very weak grounds in the legal challenge to the affordable care act. i will not even go through the argument. they are trying to say the provisions to the act that require insurers to cover everyone, including people with

pre-existing conditions, and that requires them also to charge the same rates, what they call community rating. the justice department is trying to charge test challenge that. -- challenge that. those are keeper actions -- key protections of the law. i do not think there is any argument that is unconstitutional. i think that was settled a couple years ago. that is what they are trying to do. the larger significance is that they want to wreck this law. want to sabotage the affordable care act and they failed to do it legislatively in the straight up way. so now, they are chipping away at it. the trump administration has always created a kind of uncertainty about whether those subsidies would be paid and whether the venue stream would berotected, whether the stop loss protections would be there.

you have a repeal of the mandate, which says everybody needs to be in. you do not just ensure people on their way to the emergency room. everybody needs to be in, and that means there is a risk pool that let's us ensure everybody. now the justice department wants to remove some of the other protections. the other part of the bigger picture is that they are going after health care beyond the affordable care act. first of all, they want not to expand medicaid as the affordable care act made possible to cover millions and millions of people. we still desperately need to do that. they want to decimate medicaid as we know it. just look at their budget. it is a war on health care, to coin a phrase. this is just the tip of the iceberg. by thehis move last week justice department comes as 20 republican led states are bringing suit to challenge the aca. if the justice department

chooses not to defend the law in court, who does? caller: the justice department -- guest: the justice department should defend the law in court, that is their job. it is the law of the land. it clearly has constitutional merit and legal arguments on its side. i suppose other interested parties would find ways to get into court. this is kind of a blindsiding move. wouldnot think they challenge the most popular and beneficial aspects of the law. host: the attorney general called this a rare step. some are pointing out that prident obama's just a step -- justice department chose not to defend the marriage act. can you take us back to that? guest: the obama administration did the right thing and not defending that unconstitutional law. that is the difference.

it is not just a mere policy disagreement. host: we are with congressman david price, democrat from north carolina. republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. we were talking about the inspector general report on the hillary clinton email investigation. what are you expecting? guest: out of this justice department, i don't know. i would say the inspector general historically has been protected from the politics of the justice department and other departments. we have inspector general throughout government. i would hope for a report that goes over the facts and makes very clear what i think is clear , that this has been investigated to a fault and that there is no further need for action. host: do you trust the inspector general of the justice

department, michael horwitz? guest: i go in with the assumption that like other inspector generals, he is independent and will go over the fax. -- facts. host: have you ever met him? guest: no, this is not a personal judgment. i am reflecting on my experience with inspector generals in general. we demand that they be independent, they go over the lead,- go where the facts and not be subject to the political pulling and tugging. host t appropriations committee approved a $675 billion defense bill earlier this week. did you support that? caller: yes. -- guest: yes. host: why? guest: i thought it was a well-crafted bill, basically, that needs our nation's defense needs. a lot of the budgets of previous

years have been at least minimized to a great deal. i am talking about the off budget money for overseas operations. we are relying much less on that now. we do need some funding for the compensation for our men and women in uniform. we need some additional readiness funding. there are funds there and elsewhere in the budget that i do not agree with. i think we're on a dangerous path to be talking about --eloping a new low yield that is a question for another budget. host: questions people have for these defense bills is money in their four -- in there that was not requested. more jetsuying 16

than the pentagon and trump requested. why is there money for things not requested? guest: that particular item i think is excessive. that is not a positive feature of this bill. it is something that tempts one to vote no. it is excessive. having said that, this is a form of government where the congress is the first ranch and wit -- branch, and where it is the job to assess the administration. we have had our budgets originate with the executive branch for 100 years. we have an independent ability and responsibility to scrutinize those budgets, to raise those items, lower those items, condition those items, whatever we choose to do. have the power of e purs host: are there any other excessive items you think? guest: yes, there are.

the thing i most strongly object to is continuing the language about closing guantanamo. host: congressman dave price with us until the top of the hour, taking your calls and questions. we start with wayne in reidsville, georgia, republican. caller: my question for the congressman a simple. when the obama administration pushed through the american health care act, what has been the final cost of it and why do they continue to push this forward when it is obvious the american people do not want it anymore? guest: i have to say, it is obvious to me, and i get confirmation every day the american people want the affordable care act, want it, need it, and are determined to keep it. i have had more town meetings in the last couple of years and i have had in a long time. there is a big demand for public discussion.

invariably, people show up at my town meeting and say, we depend on the affordable care act. we did not have health care before. my child had a pre-existing condition and we could not get health insurance, or i am not covered at work or i could not afford it. the affordable care act has brought health care to us. that is why, in brief, that is why congress was unable to repeal the affordable care act, despite a mighty effort from donald trump and the republicans to do so. people want and need this. it is legislation that needs to thei think, refined in sense of making it steady and reliable. i will tell you something about my state of north carolina. one of the problems with the affordable care act had been that the premiums were tending to go up more than one would like. blue cross blue shield which is the main carrier in the state,

they say that this year their premium increase would have been zero if there had been assurances that the trump administration was going to stabilize the affordable care act, in other words, keep the money flowing and make sure it was administered in a stable and predictable way. host: what are people saying now? guest: they are making money on these programs for the first time, and the premium increases would have been negligible. now with the instability, premiums are going up again. sabotage is not too strong of a word. i think that is what the trump administration is trying to do and politically, they will pay a price. host: gabriel from maryland on the line for republicans. caller: my question is about international financing and relations in regard to help care. times"read in "the india that the u.s. is putting pressure on india to remove some of their price caps on various

pharmaceuticals. i heard that japan keeps the prices on their mri machines low because mri's are more expensive in the u.s. the companies that build those devices, they raise the prices here so they can sell them elsewhere. i am curious, has any of this contributed to your discussions about the ada? we know that the premise of your question has a good deal of merit. in other words, the united states, with the prices we pay for drugs and medical devices, is subsidizing the rest of the world. it has been true for a long time. what you are talking about in india where there is pressure to raise the prices there, i have not heard about that case

specifically. i think with respect to the worldwide availability of drugs, it is highly desirable that these wonderful drugs that we have and that our pharmaceutical , it isave developed highly desirable that those drugs be widely available. be some profit in here somewhere for these companies, and that becomes a real challenge when you are making these drugs available in the poorest parts of the world, where they simply cannot pay full freight. yes, there are delicate questions involving pricing these drugs for the companies involved, and for u.s. aid and u.s. assistance to these countries. does the discounting of medicines have? er brings upll international relations.

here's a headline from "the washington times" -- truck tells the world you can sleep well after the north korean summit. you agree? guest: no. we should be very worried and the rest of the world is worried. donald gave russia what it wanted at the g7 and proceeded to give china what it wanted in korea. we got what in return? what in return? donald trump got headlines. dictator,is murderous and the u.n. has said this is the worst regime in the world, just gross violations of human rights and brutality. we give this guy, he has been seeking a meeting like this for decades, he and his predecessors. we give this to him. we say, apparently without tipping off the south koreans were our own military, donald trump says we will cut back our

presence on the korean peninsula. in other words, we give this preemptively and what do we get in return? host: would you prefer the president not meet kim jong-un? guest: no, that is not the point. i certainly favor diplomacy. i am a strong defender of the nuclear agreement the president just trashed, the iran nuclear agreement, a masterpiece of diplomacy. of course we favor diplomacy. talking is better than fighting. we want this flag day, to get your thoughts of that image of the united states flags next to the north korean flags, as that handshake took place. guest: i am glad to see them talking. i am glad to see them talking, and i certainly understand that we always want to have understanding toward the people of other countries, even countries that are in an antagonistic relationship with us.

flags, i think we prematurely granted the dictator access to this kind of legitimacy. what really bothers me is what donald trump said, and the absolutely empty-handed nature of this deal. it is not one -- 1/20th of the iran agreement that trump just for up. -- for up. -- tore up. host: mike is in north carolina. caller: have an issue with the statement that the current administration is proceeding with an assault on health care. determinedis better as assault on socialized health care. i consider socialized health care to be an assault on health care.

i'm a physician, dealt with this 30 years, and see nothing positive with regard to socialized health care. guest: do you regard helping folks out with nursing care --enses, is that health care socialized health care? caller: that i think is appropriate. it is the skewing of the free-market principle that bothers me. guest: does medicaid skew the free market? what about the children's health insurance program that has had broad bipartisan support, that makes sure no children go without coverage? is that socialized health care? caller: it is socialized health care and does skew the so -- skew the system. guest: you don't want those children covered? caller: i am not saying that. guest: what is your option? caller: this is a complicated question. what options are more competition. -- my options are more competition. host: what kind of doctor are

you? caller: i am an internist. guest: or the community health centers socialized health care? caller: the community health centers socialized health care? i see no problem with funding at some level people who cannot afford anything. what i think you end up doing when you are socializing the entire spectrum, you are greatly skewing the whole system so that you now have a single-payer. when you have a single-payer, you have higher prices and lower services. guest: i do not think we have a single-payer by any means. let me respond to this socialism canard that gets thrown out. socialized medicine is what they have in britain, and it seems to work rather well. they have a governmental provision of health care and governmental insurance of people. canada has a hybrid system. have governmental insurance but

private provisions. we have neither. we have mostly private insurance and private provision of health care, and that includes the affordable care act. it was a republican designed plan from years ago to correct the marketplace, to improve the functioning of the marketplace rather than replace it with some kind of government plan. subsidies forme the lowest income people to access the system. it requires, as we are learning, some responsible city administration in order to work. it certainly is not socialized health care. we do have some government programs, but as the caller indicated, when you start talking about the specifics people tend to back off. i did not mean medicaid or medicare or the community health systems or the veterans administration.

those are governmental programs that provide by a large good health care, and the republicans are trying especially to go after medicaid. they not only do not want to expand it to hundreds of thousands of people, as the caller knows in north carolina, who otherwise have no coverage, but they want to decimate medicaid as we know it. there is a rude awakening coming, because people have no idea. i will just tell a quick anecdote. yearsed my elderly aunt , a care nursing home facility. it was a very nice facility and i was very pleased we were able to place her there. in the course of checking her in, i asked the administrator, how many people in this facility are on medicaid? what do you think he said? 95%. these are not poor people at all. these are people who have spent

down all their assets. they are poor now, because nursing home care is so expensive. minutes leftive with congressman david price, north carolina. john in michigan, on the line for independents. caller: you were talking about how great the affordable care act is. prior to the affordable care act , i was told i could keep my insurance. at the time, i had a plan with zero deductible, a 10% co-pay until i got to $1000, and everything was covered but my doctors office visits. that finished. currently, i have a plan that is $500 a month with a $6,500 deductible before they cover anything. basically, what i have now is what they tell me i don't qualify for. i have a catastrophic plan. greatonsense about how

the affordable care act was for everybody out there is nonsense. instead of just dealing with the people that did not have insurance, you took and turned the whole insurance upside down, and did not care who it affected and how it affected them. guest: we did a couple of things. i am sorry that your situation is difficult. i get a lot of inquiries about what insurance companies are charging people and the kind of plans they are offering and not offering. we try to help people track that down. the fact is that the affordable care act did not attend the pend thee -- up insurance market. you are leaving the workplace, for better or worse. we like.he system

they have good insurance at work so they keep that. we keep medicare, medicaid, veterans administration plans in place, but the affordable care act is aimed at that sector of the market does not served by those kinds of coverage. a lot of people have coverage who did not have it. that is basically what has happened. we did enact some standards for insurance in general. i do not know if the caller had ever experienced under the policy, there were a lot of bare-bones policies around that sure enough they had loaded up those low premiums than you found out there was a lifetime limit or annual limits were something that meant you were not covered for serious illness. i do not know what his plan looked like, but i can tell you that was overdue, to make sure that plans were not fraudulent or just hollered out plans -- hollowed out lands.

the trumpism menace -- the trump administration is allowing those plans to be introduced back into the marketplace, and there will be a variable price to pay when people wake up sick one day and find out, i really do not have insurance. host: the line for democrats, ingrid is in pensacola, florida. caller: good morning, representative crist. -- representative crist. -- price. jobare doing a really good of explaining things so that we can understand. i just want to say that as a democrat, to c-span, you are allowing people to call in on the democrat line that are not democrats and you are not calling them out. host: there is a lot of trust here. we trust that callers want to call in on the right lines. we do our best to make sure they stick to that, but go ahead with your question. caller: i understand that.

it is just that republicans are not honest. i wantesentative price, to thank you for your explanation. the thing is that i'm afraid of this president. he has turned what is normal for a president upside down, and he really scares me. i am just afraid for the daca people. i am afraid for senior citizens. i am just afraid. guest: i understand that. we will never, never accept as normal some of the things this president has done, and the kind of, the way he has degraded the office. on the other hand, we have a constitutional system of government. we have a balance of powers in this country, with a court

system and what the legislative branch of government, which we really need to step up to the plate. some say this is an article one moment, referring to article one of the constitution when win in the congress -- and that should include both parties -- we need to ask ourselves what our responsibilities for example, the damage he's doing to our western alliance. other times, it's going to be figuring out how we fix initiatives like health care and political reform, campaign reform, cleaning up the syste how can we take initiatives that can gain bipartisan support? host: what about her comments that republicans aren't honest? guest: i grew up in a republican area in a republican family. i've been around long enough to

know that there are honest and dishonest people in all forms of life and all political persuasions. we needed to call ourselves to the standard of honesty. that is something donald trump has degraded. we need to remind ourselves of that. honesty and truth telling are really basic in civilized society. we will not be able to survive to work with each other unless we have a basic level of trust. i hope we can find that trust all across the political spectrum. host: we will end it there. congressman david price, democrat. up next, we will be joined by john madigan of the american foundation for suicide prevention to talk about the rising rates of suicide in the united states. we will be right back. ♪

>> c-span, where history unfolds daily. c-span was created as a public service by america's cable television company. we continue to bring you unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court and public policy events in washington, d.c. and around the country. c-span is brought to you by your

local cable or satellite provider. theunday on q&a, thementary "hit and stay: history of faith and resistance ." >> the antiwar movement was mostly thought of as scruffy haired, college aged protesters. here were middle-aged clergy. it made the public think, if they are against this war, maybe i should reconsider it myself. >> their action clearly didn't end the vietnam war, but i don't see how you can argue that it didn't help end the draft. they felt they were under attack. you can draw a line