♪ host: president trump had to kansas city today to address the veterans of foreign wars, robert wilkson has been confirmed as the president's picks for the veterans administration. comments onthe c-span three, and democrats unveil a package of economic goals yesterday as part of a larger effort in hopes of winning the house in the november election. some say the goal should go further, including adopting a push by senator bernie sanders of medicare for all and free college. with the november midterms coming up, we want to hear from

democrats only in the first hour about your parties economic and intoical message heading the november midterm elections and what they should focus on. should adjust to be about the economy or other factors as november comes up? usocrats only, you can call at (202) 748-8000for those in the eastern and central time zones, for those in the mountain and pacific time zones, (202) 748-8001 us . you can post on twitter and also on our facebook page at facebook.com/cspan. was active in democratic policy and has an op-ed in the washington journal this morning addressing the 2020 elections, he wants to read some of his thoughts, to beat trump, get a grip. he sang democrat should take a look at how trump won the election.

leadership claims it was because whiteports from supremacist, religiousness, nativist, misogynist and latino haters. this is a failure to recognize what actually happened. president trump was the consequence of the cause of a -- loss ofss of confidence in all-american establishments. he goes on to write that national security and the economy are the two risible issues in the presidential campaign. the trump record should be critiqued by democrats and they should not turn off -- and they should, in turn, offer credible alternative policies. they do in their presidential candidate seems reasonable democrats can reclaim the white house in 2020. talkmocrats call in and about the midterm election, if you think the national security economics that ted van dyck should be talk about as a major goal should be talked about is a

major goal, you can let us know that. there may be other topics as well. are those of you in the eastern and central time zones its (202) and for those of you in the mountain and pacific time zones its (202) 748-8001. took to the camera yesterday unveiling an economic package, saying what to democrat .hould be focusing on he says he unveiled this updated economic pitch to help his party win back the house, saying congress needs to help american households make progress financially, rather than just tried water. you can see the complete comments on our website -- just tread water. here are his comments yesterday. >> people are getting by but they are not necessarily getting ahead. that is what our country is supposed to do, give everyone a shot at getting ahead. that is what it means to make it in america.

as our economy continues to strengthen, we must do more to ensure that workers can take care of their families. to do that, we need to raise including a long overdue increase in the minimum wage. we need to make health care more affordable, and stop government corruption, that worsens inequality. those are the core principles of house democrats for the people, platform for 2018. host: some of those comments from steny hoyer talking about the proposals economically when it comes to democrats, should they win the november elections on our facebook page. we posted this question for democrats only about the economic and political messaging for the 2018 midterms. voteyn holler says to blue, there are no checks and balances on the president and

then get back at the monstrosity. order,n to regular review and update and checks on the executive branch, balance budget and health care from patrick. and ryan says free health care, , and ponies.e care those are just some comments on her facebook page. in's start with juan, alexander, virginia. good morning. thank you c-span for the service you provide. in theve strongly strength of the middle-class. i think the message is right on track. i think we need to tie that in and the corruption, current administration's efforts to undo every single positive step that president obama has taken. the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer and the

middle class is getting squeezed. we have had enough. i think the message is strong and loud, democrat should be able to retake the house in november. host: economically, is this idea to the middle-class is something the democrats should do, what will bring parity or equality? i think, primarily, the minimum wage needs to be raised, we have a wage that allows -- to be able to survive. we are starting to understand, that bernie sanders is this correct. we need to raise the minimum wage and allow for more tax credits for families to allow more income to come in. income inequality is an absolute disaster in our country. we need to move forward with more progressive policies so we

can have the american dream be achieved by all, not just the few at the top. gainesville, virginia. next on her democrats only line, go ahead. -- on our democrats only line, go ahead. c-span,good morning thanks for taking our call. unless you incorporate the idea bernieabeth sanders and -- elizabeth warren's and set -- and elizabeth sanders. they are controlled -- the democrats are controlled by big money and we need to talk -- focus on the real issues of the people. there is huge economic disparity between 1% and the rest, it's like bernie always says, the big becausens the congress,

of the lobbyists. so bernie sanders idea must be brought in, kid should be able to afford college, people need to learn how to compromise today. being here we need to bring in uncorrupt politicians in washington. thank you very much. the topic of colleges and the washington post, this is she for luca --verluga, says this proposal counters a the higherbill, education act originally passed in 1965 and it is supposed to be renewed every five years but the last was reauthorized a decade ago. democrats are proposing to give students the chance to earn a degree withoutin debt in part by creating a state and federal

partnership that calls on states to provide two years of community college tuition free in exchange for federal funding, states would have to promise to invest in higher education and maintain those investments, adding that the democrats proposal would expand federal aid to low income families by increasing pell grant and tying them to inflation so the value does not diminish over time. program attract the that erases the remainder of loans of graduates who work in the public service field and expand that to farmers and employees in veterans services and organizations. it would also strengthen the oversight of for-profit colleges. those -- the democrats that would also strengthen oversight of for-profit colleges, and forease federal funding programs aimed at homelessness and those leaving foster care. we're talking about democrats in julian isng election,

next, from pennsylvania. good morning. caller: good morning. i agree with everything the previous callers were saying, i am all for more social welfare programs, obviously higher education would be a great one. schoolple i went to with, you know some of them were actually getting scholarships. but there are still a lot of things you need to pay for, room , clothes, books. there are so many things. even having a work promise from the government that everybody would be employed, or having some kind of livable wage because as much as you want people to go to school and get them to be educated and get them the things they need to have for that to happen, you cannot send a kid who is hungry or who need clothes or books to school and expect them to learn. the one thing i'm actually really focused on that i wish democrats would speak up more

about his transparency and protecting journalism. -- is transparency and protecting journalism. i think that helps democrats, having people who speak up on the progressive side. the issue i mainly worried about haven forng safe julian assange. i think if he is out -- found on charges of treason in america he will probably be in jail for the rest of his life and that is not the kind of person you want in jail. he want people who are transparent and who release information about certain things that are going on -- you want people who are transparent and who release information about certain things. that's important for society. i would like to see democrats get away from the russian narrative. speaking of the media, there is a story this morning, this highlighted in the new york magazine. the new york daily news said

that staffers received in emails mandating that everyone be at the office at 9 a.m., given the circumstances it was not hurt -- hard to discern was about to happen. been circulating that they had been bracing for tronc, thefrom media conglomeration that was bought by the paper from mortimer zuckerberg for one dollar last year. the story from new york magazine confirmedexecutives employee's worst fears, he spoke for yes than a minute, saying that dozens of staffers will be let go. bringing the total to less than 50 people. the last caller brought up transparency in media, and there is a larger topic.

going into the midterms is the topic from this first hour, dave, in michigan, you are next. i have to think that national security has to be an issue. what was on display in helsinki last week was stunning. just been recently, but over a year now, our best intelligence people and agencies have been telling us on a beenly that rush -- has telling us that russia attacked us, they used terms of warfare, cyber. and our commander in chief has been dissing been telling us that russia attacked them, denying them, and calling it a witch hunt. and what he did in helsinki was stunning. had using democrats should take that as far as messaging and concern for the november election -- how do you think democrats should take that as far as messaging and concern the november election? caller: i understand what the last caller said about too much russia, but how can you deny

what is going on? we need to change the guards in the congress and the house and we need to do something. if republicans refuse to act, it's almost obstruction of justice, the way they are responding to this president. commander-in-chief, and it's like dereliction of duty. he is going against america's intelligence agencies and sleeping with the enemy. suggestedid putin they should help investigate, my god, come on. you will have the perpetrator help investigate the crime. john, in's hear from west hollywood, california. we're talking about messaging for the november midterm elections. caller: good morning. i suggest -- i called alexandria cortez in new york, and i know

she was out on the campaign trail with bernie sanders. espousing democratic socialist of free education and a guaranteed job or income and so forth, and medicare for all. i told her that in watching, i'm a political scientist by i advised president obama's campaign in 07 and 08. i was suggesting to her that they propose a financial , which was tax originally passed in the united ,tates in 1914 at 2/10 of 1% and was raised to 4/10 of 1% by fdr during the depression, politicalch economists recommended at raising it higher to alleviate

the depression. at that rate, even at the 4/10 that change the law in 1932 or 1933 that provided for -- $4 trillions of trade on wall street, which is a conservative estimate. that estimate was inductively proven by speaker paul ryan when he was still on the ways and , with thenttee representative and now senator chris van hollen. for mattersome only of time, do you think the party should adopt more candidates like alexandria ocasio-cortez. caller: what? host: adopt more candidates like ocasio-cortez. that she andnk

sanders have a way to pay for the program they are espousing and they are not espousing the way in which to pay for it. story stemminge off, highlighted by the huffington post this morning, a republican of florida referring ocasio-cortez. is, this girl, wherever she -- whoever she is, when you look at this girl, she is a totally different universe. it's basically socialism wrapped in ignorance. but having to impress posted a video that goes on to their website, you can read more there -- the huffington post had this on their website, you can read more there. we will your next from kathy. , who was speaking

before, he so over the head of everyday people it's bizarre he goes on like that. is the future. in 1980i was speaking with my , -- inl grandmother 1980, i was speaking with my maternal grandmother. she said kathy, i'm a socialist. we were having a discussion, she was scottish and she married a dane. we have to bring up the livable wage in this country, and the only way we will be able to do that is if we bring back manufacturing, so people actually have jobs. and i mean solid, clean manufacturing which will enable it will rights to people, that includes education because education is not equal in this country. , anded health care for all we need to start living healthier lives so the cost is not so burdensome because it is. host: do you think that

democrats here on capitol hill are responsible for those kinds of messages are making that an emphasis? why or why not? caller: from what i am reading, no they are not. they are not speaking to the everyday person, it's always the same line and they always look so polished in their expensive finery. cannot relate to that. -- we cannot relate to that. because they have more than their fair share, and they are telling us to wait. no. the time is past due. hear from jordan, in durham, north carolina. about, i want to talk have a message for democrats everywhere. think they should focus on

social security. trump is not doing anything about it, and we need better social security, better living care, and medicaid. what do you think? host: wire those things important to? i'm only judging by the sound of your voice that you're not close to grabbing onto those programs, why is that important to you now? unable to vote now. i'm 8 -- i am able to vote now. but i will need social security and medicare, and i am trying to get into college. that's jordan, in durham, north carolina. for those on the line, would you mind turning down your televisions so we don't get the feedback? one of the members of congress is looking to get a new position with in congress, representative barbara lee is one of the utmost outspoken voices in congress.

the california congresswoman would become the first african-american woman to hold a leadership spot in a new caucus. have beenerican women the backbone of the democratic party, and we should be in the space of leadership she told politico on sunday. weather comes to grassroots issues, or voter moto the -- mobilization and political activism, black women have long proof they can lead our communities, and our country, on the tough issues facing us. she was first elected in 1998 from one of the nation's most liberal bastions, in oakland. she has a long record of the coalition builder. the party prepares for the 2020 election cycle, the california congresswoman said these are the issues that can economic growth, poverty, education, and health care.

george, from virginia beach. caller: how is it going up there? i agree with jordan, and kathy. about everything they said, pretty much. host: what's the most important issue than? what's the most important economic or political message? caller: i think the most important message is going to be to get away from centrist politics, and go more to the left. like with burning, or -- bernie, or elizabeth warren. progressive.t are there,se republicans out who are saying socialism is a bad thing. i voted for trump.

he said he was going to help common people. he lied of course. that's what republicans do. i was in the military for 32 years, the navy is a socialist system. we get paid to live, our housing is paid for, if we are a pilot or something else they pay for that. we get retirement, we get disability, our health care is free, if that's what they call socialism, that's what we need in this country. host: and giving back at work for everybody in the united states? not a closed system like the navy? caller: it's not that closed. our country needs to be closed in the sense that it needs to be organized. host: let's hear from susan, in fredericksburg, virginia. democrats message to

is that there should be one economic message and one foreign relations message. the economic one would be please , put together a large infrastructure plan, because that would help with jobs and with the immigration issue if they did it a certain way. and my foreign relations message would be please, repair what trump has damaged in our relations with our allies. host: how do you think winning think thathow do you goes to that and start that process? that congressk can be more involved in foreign relations than they are. they can send messages even if they still have trump in office. that theynally hoping get him out of office before his term is up.

i think congress can be more involved in how people perceive us around the world. chuck is next,, good morning. caller: good morning, looking sharp as always. to make.point american people need to realize the government is not the enemy. it's a reflection of us. we need to be less selfish as a people. freedom is not free, we have to pay our taxes. point, capitalism, left unchecked, leads to cannibalism. if we're not careful this will turn on each other -- we turn on each other. host: with those points in mind, how do you boil that down to a message? or some type of things that democrats should go after in the election? caller: i have to say that mr.

trump stole a lot of mr. sanders' messaging. but it's more about changing our minds as americans. we have to be less about me, and more about what we leave for our kids. host: that's chock, in saint marysville, ohio. in this first hour we are -- is as chuck, marysville, ohio. his first hour we are talking about democrats in the midterm hour,ons -- in this first we are talking that democrats in the midterm elections. you can call us at (202) 748-8000if you live in the central and eastern time zones, and at (202) 748-8001 if you live in the mountain or pacific time zones. michelle goldberg writes a column for the new york times, it's called democrats are moving left, don't panic. saying i'm not unsympathetic to

people of good faith who want people to win in november but americans are more conservative than activist likely. i grew up in a time when democrats are deep were -- were afraid of liberal overreach. clinton's defeat has overshadowed the government as the democratic party's pair down the trauma. there are several lessons you can draw, but it's clear in a polarized electorate, grassroots fervor and a candidates charisma matters. and an agenda that seems to modest could be as risky as one that is overly ambitious. the economic demands that animate the left are generally quite popular. medicare for all means different things for different people, but 62% of americans view it positively. a recent poll found that 46% of likely voters support a federal jobs guarantee and a more radical proposal that was barely

present in american politics a couple years ago. centrists might not think these are good ideas, but they represent the efforts to grapple with the chronic economic insecurity that is the enemy of civil -- political stability. will not defeat trump by promising the resurrection of what came before him, the country is desperate for revision. you can read more at the new york times. herbie is next, from washington, maryland. i was reading the --hington post on sunday some ideare getting of messaging for the 2018 midterms, what would that be? caller: if people wake up, they need to worry about their social security because trump will cut that. people, especially a hold need to vote. -- especially old people,

need to vote. i'm 75 and i'm afraid they will cap my benefits. they capped at $2000 for my physical therapy, and it straight up for profit. host: so social security should be the main messaging? caller: health care and social security should be the main messaging -- messaging. host: melanie, from ventura, california. caller: i think privatizing -- social security would be a big mistake. i think health care is one of the biggest things we have in this country and i truly do not believe it is going to happen as free for all. i'm not the typical democrat, i don't believe in it, but it takes time. and the youngsters don't believe in time. i'm a little outspoken on this

issue, this is very important with health care. they are doing it the wrong way. say things like that, what is the response then, typically from friends who might be democratic? caller: they're just saying all, well, it should be across the board free, there are other countries. and i say we are not in a socialistic country, we live in a capitalistic country, so everything takes time. they want to banter with me, and to me it's common sense that everything takes time in this country. i disagree, highly, with the thought process. everything takes time. it's not an overnight fix. host: what you think of the attention of the attention that bernie sanders gets when he talks about these messages, and if they are adopted by others younger and older alike? caller: my problem is that he is playing to the crowd. thatows in his heart

nothing will happen overnight. nothing is for free, either. but he is playing towards the younger group that when they came in, see instant gratification over long-term gain. my generation is different. we believe it takes time, and you earn what you get. we believe that you put the money into the system so that it will be there when you get older, this generation to has not believe in that thing. . they think it will just be there . that we can pay for this with nothing. yes, we can tax the rich, but we have to get rid of the wealth. time, it's going to take time. host: let's go to rich, in hickory hills, illinois. democrat, because

one of the things that are has always been that the democrats were for the working people -- it is one of the things that democrats have always been for the working people. distinction, and division that keeps us from pulling together for americans, and these things that we have, these problems are because they are in direct confrontation to whether our dem -- whether you're a democrat, republican. are you for business, medical care, who pays for it? that should be the issue, do we want medicare people to be healthy and taking care of? andis going to pay for it these divisions keep us apart. host: we showed you a little bit from steny hoyer, making that economic messaging speech yesterday, you can see that on our website.

in a write up this morning, the washington post makes this point saying that the bigger issue that pointer --hoyer and other democrats have to contend with is the perception of a strong u.s. economy which stands to be the cornerstone of the republican midterm campaign. paul ryan another top gop leaders are promoting a message of better off now, highlighting record low employment, rising wages, and an uptick in economic growth. some say that republicans believe this is rooted in slot -- in tax reform. steny hoyer was asked about the current state of the economy and what it meant for messages like ones he was delivering. here is his answer. >> the economy is doing very .ell, for some it has done very well, for some. unfortunately over the weirs -- the years, it has not done well

for those in the middle class, for just getting by. and not making it. that's our promise. forwarde going to move -- that is our premise. if you're going to move forward and make sure they have the skills needed to compete and be employed successfully in the 21st century economy, we have to focus on skills training. we have to focus on infrastructure. we have to focus on the ability to create new enterprises. that is what making it in america is about. bill,t passed the tax paul ryan talked about the tax bill is being for the average guy, he talked about the average family making $59,000. the average family was not the focus of the tax bill. host: let's hear from wanda, in chattanooga, tennessee. i believe that if

hillary took bernie with her she would have one. --won. i think they should focus on telling the truth. i think it was wrong that she didn't take bernie. in oklahoma he came in and had a to say after president bush. they come in, and they start talking about foreign affairs, when they are not together they're are taking a lot of focus off the american people. they need to continue to focus on the american people and their needs, and i think they'll go a long ways. to focusingt comes on those needs, what is at the top of that list? what should be the first or the main thing the democrats focus on? everything the politics as usual. for me it would be -- everything

, but politics as usual. for me it would be putting a lot on bringing people together. obama did a good job of that. i think help would be a good thing for everyone. host: the washington times takes a look at house raises, and money raised going into the midterm elections. have candidates in the countries heartland are raking in the cash, republicans are fundraising in many key raises -- races, putting the party on democratsnd, outperformed the republican counterpart in iowa, kentucky, michigan, minnesota, and texas races. 2010, mirror image of when republicans led the money battle.

according to the democratic national campaign committee, they went on to win 40 seats, flipping control of the house. at this point in time, the numbers indicate i think that there are as many as 55 to 57 democratic candidates that outraised republicans. chosen advantage not just with fundraising but grassroots operations. , from fenton, michigan, you're next. morning.ood i hope you give me a minute, i'm nervous. my problem is i think the democrats are talking about fact that the social safety net that the republicans want to and end, talking about medicaid and food stamps and that sort of thing, benefits the employers, so they can pay their people less than it takes to actually live on. hours,y keep them on 30 20 hours, they cannot work a

full-time job where they could make enough to live on. franklin roosevelt talked about was how youat measure the prosperity of the country. if people could earn enough to be able to live. we are not allowing that to happen, because people are in the wage jobs, and they cannot earn enough to actually support themselves and their families. the case, what does that mean for democrats for the november election? what should the message be? caller: the message should be that we are supplementing the economy of this country with government aid in order to equalize the economic field. as long as we continue to do we are not benefiting somebody sitting on their but and not working. employer,efiting the like walmart that can pay their people less than a living wage. host: let's go to ron, in albuquerque, new mexico.

caller: on to go back to 50 rick -- reminding me of what bobby kennedy said after he won the california time -- primaries. he says we cannot allow ourselves -- hello? we cannot allow ourselves to be divided. the rich against the poor, the young against the old, or by race, we are all against -- we're all in this together. and we stand united together forever. i think that's more important today than ever. host: how does that boil into a message for democrats in november? caller: it's complicated, but very simple. god.d and anger are not of they are of the devil. we need to be loving one another and standing for one another and understand and accept those differences. if we were all the same, wouldn't that be terrible?

michelle, in west virginia. hello. caller: i would agree with a lot of the other callers, that the democratic party needs to go back to its original message of there for the working class, and the working poor, and people are having so much trouble with getting medical insurance. it's a big issue. another thing we need to focus that the democratic party needs to stop trying to control the message for individual candidates. we live in a large country, and from area to area, democrats differ. for example they expect to tap the party line on gun control, and abortion. if you live in conservative virginia, trump won a lot of people because he played to that. and a lot of people in west virginia will be more

fromrvative and move away the democratic party because they are so focused on gun control and abortion. the democratic party, being in control of the money because of the candidates and that kind of thing need to stop micromanaging, and let democrats run in their individual areas on a platform that will work for them. and i think they need to focus on corruption, i think a lot of people are so turned off by the emails about hillary's money influencing bernie who was pushed out because it makes the voters feel like their voice in the party is not being heard by the upper echelon. that was a big problem. they need to go back to your voice matters, and we care about your issues, where ever you live and what your issues are. not that we are a party, and this is our line. that will not work. host: that's michelle, in west virginia. if you have been with us, or

you're just joining us, your economic and political messages 2018 midterms. this is for democrats only in the first hour, for the remaining 20 minutes. if you would like to call and give your comment on that, it's (202) 748-8000, for the eastern and central time zones. for the 748-8001, mountain and pacific times and. twitter and facebook are available to you as well. , talking about this messaging, what do you think? caller: i think the message should be impeach trump. i believe with the congressman from texas. impeach trump. bob. in north carolina, you are next up. caller: good morning, thank you for c-span. solve many of to

the country's major economic problems. but it is never discussed anywhere, for the most part. it has to do with our income tax system. my proposal would be to corporate and individual income taxes entirely , and replace it with a system that will double government a singleithout harming individual in the country, to lowering taxes substantially for middle and low income groups. host: what system is that? caller: it's a three prong there would be a tiny national sales tax with exemptions for the poor. it would be a tax on corporate revenue, corporations over $10 million in revenue.

and an aggressive tax on surplus wealth. it's something like $70 trillion or more of surplus wealth in this country that goes untaxed and it grows and grows. to it is a major contributor the growing gap between the rich and the poor. host: that's bob, giving assaults on messaging for democrats in the 2018 election. some other news to show you -- giving comments on messaging for democrats in the 2018 election. some other news to show you. there was a poor part -- a report that robert wilke has been nominated as the secretary of veteran affairs has been delivering on president trump's promise -- he won approval on a ,ibe -- bipartisan vote securing the backing of many democrats after insisting at his

confirmation hearing that he would not privatize the government second largest department. respite fromnt of the sharp political divisions engulfing president trump's other nominee before the congressional midterm election. that's a place yesterday and you can see more on our website. president has to kansas city today, for an event at the veterans of foreign wars. that will be asked 12:30 on c-span3 if you want to check it out there. go to our website for more information. if you were to read the pages of the kansas city star in their editorial pages, they talk about veterans and their future under this president. and the president should take this opportunity to take something he's not known for, and that is to listen, really listen, to some of the heroes who be on hand to hear him. they will surely have something to say about the realities of war and the horrors of combat. those insights would be good for trump to hear as he continues to battle his saber at foes around the globe.

more on that event this afternoon, and you can find the information on our website. in hollywood, california. james, thanks for waiting, go ahead. fast but stickgo with me. i think what democrats need to do is focus the country on big ideas. what i mean by that really is taking a more careful look and educate people on what our government and country is really based on. whether you have a monarchy, or theocracy or a military state, it doesn't matter. when we say politics and economics separately we are talking about a political economy. they are actually the same thing . no matter what system you have, , forave to define for whom what, with what, how much, and how much it is going to cost.

as a political culture, we have to stop operating as a culture that -- the surplus of our market. the fabulous thing about our government is that we have markets. markets were around before governmental systems, when you bring the politics and, it's not an issue of right versus left -- in, it's not issue of right versus left. host: we will leave it there, from oregon, carol. you think you are looking -- if you're looking for one were to define democrats, i would suggest security. like security of everything, the environment, health, so? host: go ahead.

specifically under the idea of security, what is the main focus do you think? caller: the democrats offer security. national security act of domestic security? specifically what? caller: all security. medical, and my mental, health. environmental, health, foreign affairs, jobs, it covers all areas. and security for people in their religions, and being able to walk the streets and not have to worry about guns. every kind of security. host: let's go to larry, in los angeles, california. caller: good morning, thank you for taking my call. i don't know if you know, but you hit a real important topic this morning and it's going to cover a whole lot of bases.

michelle,ke to say wanda, kathy, and i really liked michelle from west virginia. she talked about the states issues that are local to the people in the areas. we don't just operate on a we operatec system, on a combination of capitalistic ideas and socialistic ideas. and as far as the democrats pushing the issue, it's going to be complicated to encompass all of the things they really need to speak to. -- if they speak the truth to truth, justice, and the american way, i think this will go a long way towards bringing the country together. thank you. host: that's larry, democrats are the focus of this hour, although president trump stood inore cameras at an event washington, d.c., entitled made in america.

it featured products made in the united states, and in part of that speech, the president touting the economy at the event, showcasing those products. even as memories of the manufacturing industry were worried about the trade policy would disrupt recent progress. amongesident strolled cowboy boots made in texas and campers from indiana that were virtually all made in the u.s.. manufacturedamper by indiana-based newmar , and he looked at ford model t and the f-150 which he said were beautiful. he said that the role of american manufactured -- he talked about the role that american manufacturers play. here's part of his statement. >> american ingenuity of the railroad, and put up skyscrapers and landed a man on the face of the moon. marvelsnly imagine new

this century will bring. can you imagine. you look at some of the things that were done today, and i look at computer spring -- and your screens, can you imagine what it will be in the future? but what we do, is that these marvels, when you look at them, they've been dreamed, forged, and made in america. greatill be made by the hard-working people like the people in this room. incredible people. i know you have been through a lot over the last 10 years, and everything will person i met outside that were showing off their product and displaying itir product is saying that is better now than ever before. they have never had a time like this. and i'm happy to hear it because that is what i am here for. it is betterbetter. you might not be able to envision, we have so much potential in this country, it's going to get better. it's good, really good, it's

going to get even better. more that event is available at c-span, on twitter green energyaid sources are free energy sources and others have to be bought, shipped, burned, the witch taken out and done again. green energy burns itself and there is no waste. rouge, in baton louisiana. messages for democrats going into november, what do you think? caller: i think it would be better if everybody would pull up behind democrats like to do with the president we have now. but they don't. ,ecause it they get put behind this would be a better world. togethert want to work , that they are working together for him. saying thatu democrats are not working together? caller: yes, they are working

together, but my thing is why couldn't they work with obama when he tried to do right? and trump doing wrong? host: brenda, for democrats going into november, that's the focus of this hour. what do think the message should be? caller: stay together. if they stay together and are word and true to word and true to themselves, this will be a better world because watch, got said the last will be first in the first will be last. host: and bernita, from pittsburgh, pennsylvania. go ahead. caller: good morning. a better worlde when everyone changes their mind about hurting each other. revisit a lotuld of stuff, like retraining

officers, and going to the community state-by-state. gun law controls. for standard ground we need more reasoning. people not being educated. when the country comes together it's because we all agree on something. i could complain about the school system, but what are you doing to change it? why my going towards the president with my hate or what i have to say, when i need to find out who is in my system that is responsible for my state so we can talk to them and have common ground. the education system is completely different. i have to send my kid the way to school where it is predominately another culture because in my culture they are always -- it's bigger than just trump.

want to sayrats anything like we need to stand together, you have to stand together for something. you have to have a mascot. i don't care where you get it from but it has to make sense to us and we have to feel like we belong. we might be ok paying more taxes. host: let's go to beverly, in pennsylvania. caller: hello. how are you? americans, toor listen to what this says. 2, the776, august declaration of independence, having been in close on parchment was signed by the 54 delegates present. president john hancock affixed his name first. we must be unanimous, there must

be no point in different ways. we must all hang together. replied, yes,lin we must all hang together, or we shall all hang separately. point, like to make that this book has a lot of history, although it back to the year 1000. i wish i had time more -- for more. host: so the message would then be stay together? caller: democrats and the people of america. not hang hang do together, we will hang separately. america was built on our forefathers who died to get us where we are. i think we are forgetting that. come inat's beverly pennsylvania. several stories like this in the wall street journal, taking a look at the tweets that have been exchange between president trump and iran three liter --free leader, this is in light

of the nuclear program. the foreign minister sent a tweet, following up on this back pressrth saying that the and the world have been hurt even harder, and that iranians have heard them. -- color us heard eventhe world harsher bluster a few months ago, and iranians have heard them, albeit more civilized, for 40 years. because this. all of the coming up as mike pompeo goes up before the senate relation's committee. up,topic of arendt may come but the primary topic will be russia and north korea -- the up, but iran may come the primary topic will be russia and north korea. jean, how are you?

caller: i feel we need to have the message of rebuilding america together. i very strongly think that our pursuit of the almighty dollar has done so much damage to us, individually, as people. i feel very strongly we need to let people have a day of rest, because i have not met one person, whether they work in retail or grocery stores who wants to be at work on sunday. one more call, from alabama, we will hear from priscilla. go ahead. caller: good morning. my message for the 2018 midterm election for the democrats would america, let's build back america together again, as one. host: how should democrats go

about doing that? caller: working together, as one. host: on what things? caller: it would take the whole to --or me >> out of the list, what's most important to you? caller: the economy. host: that should be the focus? caller: yes. host: ok, that's priscilla in alabama, on this democrats only topic. we will talk about current activities in the house of representatives set to take place this week in relations to matter of health care and obamacare. here to talk about that is ellenlen mcintyre --mary

mcintyre. and we will hear from two legislators this morning. we talk about the president's performance in russia and the use of tariffs against china and other countries. those conversations, coming up. >> there are a lot of people who feel like they don't want their kids to read stories that are sad, disturbing, downbeat or whatever. that is not a totally illegitimate thing to say, that i want to choose when my kids understand stuff that might bring them grief but there are points beyond which when you say, they are 14 now. when do you introduce them to the idea that everything isn't perfect outside your all-white suburb? so those factors swirled together to create the dumpster

fire of books. in-depth fiction edition. discussing his latest book, "walk away." 14 other novels. phone, twitter or facebook. our special edition "in-depth -- on book tv,tion." on c-span 2. >> c-span, where history unfolds daily. in 1979, c-span was created as a public service by america's cable television companies. unfilteredring you coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court, and andic policy events in dce

around the country. c-span is brought to you by your cable or satellite provider. "washington journal" continues. host: this is mary ellen mcintire. looking at matters of health care. as a revisit this this week? guest: the last week that the house is in session for the summer. there will be a series of votes on bills related to health care. are looking at access to health savings accounts and to repeal one of the affordable care act taxes. one of the most unpopular parts of the law. inare revisiting health care the final weeks before republicans go on to campaign. are looking at premiums which has been a big focus. focusing on that. republicans to say that they took votes and

they're looking to get people more options. their argument is that more access to health savings accounts disk people control to their health care. do republicans not want to be attached to the rising premiums? not necessarily to lower premiums but it is a chance for them to take on health care. result inecessarily lower premiums for insurance plans, it is a chance for republicans to say that they are lowering health care costs. host: let's look at specific topics. health savings accounts. tell us about the legislation at play? guest: the ways and means committee approved earlier this bills.wo they will broaden the types of things you can spend that money on. a tax-free account that you can

spend money on. it is pretty specific what you can use it for. they're looking to open that up. exercise open up jim equipment. you could use your health savings account for things like that. it would also allow more coverage for hitting your deductible. direct primary care, things like that. -- sor bill would seek to for local seniors, one would allow them to establish a health savings account for additional health care costs they may have outside the part a coverage. host: is there a cap on these plans. how much money can people put in these? guest: one of these bills looks the amount of out-of-pocket

costs. host: you mentioned high deductible plans. how deductible -- how prevalent are they? >> they have become more common. republicans say that there's an effect of the affordable care act. is trying to bills increase the types of plans associated with a high deductible plan. a bronze plan under these measures would qualify for hsa which isn't currently the case. host: our guest will be with us to talk about health care. you can call the lines. democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. .ndependent, (202) 748-8002 for the proposals, how responsive are democrats? little bit less

enthusiastic. on the boat -- on the vote today isminimize the tax, that sponsored. proven to be have a little bit less partisan. a few voted for a piece of them but the democrats of argue they are not paying for these measures. bills don't dose enough to address rising premiums. instead, theyt should put forth stabilization bills to stabilize the market place. are eligible for the tax credits. and they want to reverse the steps that the administration has taken in the past several months. the tax on medical devices is a tax to helpexcess finance the aca.

it has repeatedly been delayed. it currently won't take effect for a couple of more years. the bill is sponsored by representative from minnesota. it increases that costs on device manufacturers. it isn't on sales. so it becomes more difficult for them to invest in these issues. host: all types of medical devices? all types. host: the first call is from richard in north carolina. you are on with mary ellen mcintire. go ahead. er: i was wondering with the health savings accounts, why you can't go into a bank and open one up?

guest: the individual is in charge of the health savings account. , they areent laws under high deductible plans. if you have a plan that qualifies, you set it up. and you put a certain amount of money each year under a certain limit for that and you can use it for various purchases you make over the year. host: new york is next. sean, good morning. caller: i want to make a quick comment about pharmaceuticals. when as as if pharmaceutical company does advertisements for the drugs they are trying to promote, they get a big deduction on their taxes when they market these drugs to other people. likehe fda has something 4000 drugs ready for approval.

but they put them on hold for whatever reason. when president obama was president, right before he left office, he came out with the cures act. could you expound on that a little bit? pharmaceutical companies, and other major health care issue. pricingl discuss a issue tomorrow. you mentioned pharmaceutical advertising. that is one thing they will be discussing in the blueprint. it requires pharmaceutical theanies to list -- to give list price of drugs. it is unclear how much the administration can do on our own. peaking idea that has -- that has peaks a lot of interest since they put it out this year. the cures act passed at the end

of 2015. and it was meant to spur medical innovation. it is a bipartisan bill. the energy and commerce committee will be doing some work on that as well. and -- will be testifying on that this week. is this still a push to lower the price of prescription drugs? guest: this is something we have seen the secretary talk a lot about this week. we have had announcements from prescription drug prices. lowering the prices of certain drugs given questions about how much they will go so far. but these are questions for the secretary and the administration who have seen trump leaning on pharmaceutical companies in the past couple weeks. where therearea

will be legislation tomorrow. it is unclear how much issue will come from capitol hill. -- caller: i don't know that much i do notlth care and agreed annual report so i went through and read the reports of the larger companies when i discovered something called the -- issue where every dollar they earn a premium and they have to in claims,5 or more

right? so that leads 10-15 cents for all of the other expenses from the country -- from the company. 2% or 3%.em to pocket why do thehe case, press and other companies vilify insurance companies? compared to what the tech companies make? guest: it is an important provision of the aca. care required to meet a threshold of expenses going out to cover medical expenses. salaries, etc.. these things that companies are criticized for this. we have seen in the past couple of years with insurance companies doing better under the aca. although it is an issue that comes up.

they are required to meet his threshold of covered medical expenses and cover administrative costs. host: for the bill we will see in the house this week, what are the companions in the senate? guest: it is undetermined what the visit to the senate is. they haven't heard any hearings this year. this is something that -- the medical device tax appeal bill cosponsorednate which isn't enough to meet the threshold. so it is unclear whether or not these can come up in the senate. but industry groups are hopeful. that it will pressure the senate to take it up before the end of the year. guest: let's take it up with

brenda. from washington state. caller: the keyword in health savings accounts is savings. many don't have savings. that is the problem. , i want to say tax cuts. ok, what do do with a tax cut when you need milk or medicine or food right now? i'm blessed. i have good coverage. but the bottom line is, what we up, likeo is step every other industrialized nation and provide health care to our citizens. i want to say it again, health savings account -- some people don't have savings. thank you. that is a common refrain we have heard democrats talk about a lot lately. the discussion in congress. it is onlysay that

the americans who have health savings accounts. so an argument from democratic lawmakers in the past weeks is that this is an something that helps enough americans. it doesn't get at the root of the problem with higher health care costs or premiums. guest: how much of this carries over in november and democrats who want to take the house back? guest: we see this being a really big issue. the effort last year to repeal and replace the affordable care act, this has been an issue that democrats have been having across the country. we have seen moving advertisements. senate democrats have been talking about this issue when it goes across the board. when it comes to pre-existing conditions. this is definitely an issue we see play out in the midterms and possibly it is an important one. because there is that democrats across the country, health care is the number one issue for

democrats as a vote. host: talk about the time between the aca and the supreme court nominee? guest: now that the affordable care act individual mandate was repealed last year, texas and other conservative states are arguing that because there is no tax that can overturn the affordable care act in its entirety -- the trump administration says they are now not overturning it in entirety the community- rating issues as they are known in the law. it iss a case that -- unsure how far it could go. whether he gets off the ground at all. but it is a case that likely will wind up before the supreme court. onocrats are really focusing andexisting conditions protections, popular across the

board with democrats in the aca. it could be going before the supreme court. so they argue that will be a key issue with the nomination. host: has he made any statements about the concept of pre-existing conditions? guest: as a district court judge he made rulings on the aca but you do see both sides of the aisle, both conservatives and liberals, it taking issue with different cases he has taken so it is hard to say. host: the republican line from tampa bay. you are on with mary ellen mcintire. you doing this morning? trying to get my thoughts together. thank you. i want to say one or two things. i have had a health savings account with my husband. i am a little bit older than mr. mcintyre -- a little bit older

then mary ellen mcintire. they was an issue where charged us fees to handle the health savings account. that is number one. number two that probably vary state-by-state. and the next thing is that we were so happy to get a health savings account until we found that the fees add up but there is no taxes on the health savings account but it doesn't mean that there wouldn't be state-by-state or federal taxes the health savings accounts in the long term. the other is that it was not through contracts drawn up by government people, who sponsored my husband's health savings. he works in the government the other and question that we had about health care savings accounts is that when you go and you shop

getnd, you basically would in between $500-$800 in your health savings account but your employer would contribute to your actual health coverage. that barely even covered the co-pay if you walked in the door. host: thank you. guest: people have health savings accounts, it typically do like them but state-by-state, -- fairies have a state state-by-state, it fairies how the state handles them. i wouldn't want to comment on that. to these bills do look increase how much money you could put in annually, contribute annalee, to the hsa. republicans say you are not able to match the and potential out-of-pocket cost so they are trying to increase that number. tax-freere of the

money through the year. host: kevin brady has been talking to the white house about reinstating payments to insurers under obamacare. what are they talking about? where's the white house on that? guest: my understanding is that the conversations are ongoing when it comes to the payments, trade tothat insurers cover their losses under the aca. this is all coming after court ruling. the administration is set to be reconsidering this pending rule on the management and budget, to reset the payments. so we are not sure what it will look like. it doesn't now, appear that the house is set to take any immediate legislative action on this but it is something that they have been talking about. barry from new jersey. good morning.

caller: good morning. my concern is with the generic drug business. 2012, hello? host: go ahead. passed in 2012, congress the fda safety in innovation tax. it permitted the fda to charge generic drug manufacturers of defray the cost of the what they had to review. what congress did -- and it was an an animus approval, they then the $300 million, they took the number of generic manufacturers and divided $300 million by that number and it gave an annual fee. was $75,000.fee today it is $248,000.

65 generic drug manufacturers went out of business. monopolies.ed it raised the price of generic drugs year over year 15-20%. caused these companies to go out of business. guest: yes, from cynical companies do pay user fees regularly. it gives the fda be works and an issue -- and it is in the drug pricing debate. of the time they are brand-name manufacturers. -- the backlog, this is something you have seen the fda commissioner talk about. dealing with the backlog over the last few years. host: walter from massachusetts,

go ahead. how are you doing? good morning. yes, when it comes to health care in america, i've been mying to understand through research and reading and looking into history. i'm starting to realize that no one is paying attention to health care and not keeping americans healthy. it is about money. it is running a viable business. whether it is obamacare or medicaid or medicare. the pharmaceutical industry, the arecal industry, if they not getting paid then our elderly has to pay high costs and our children have to be kicked off health care. that is what health care is about. i'm listening to us talk about it and no one is talking about the fact that if you have

40,000-60,000 americans die every year because they can't afford it? they don't have the means to get a procedure done. and what is sad is that a lot of theorations subsidized taxpayer money and then we get sick from the products they sell us. and then when it is time for us to get the health care, we can't afford it. i'm sorry america, we need to face it. guest: there has been a lot of discussion about whether there should be medicare for all. the senate vote will go to democratic primaries this year. we see more people winning when they talk about medicare for all. if it is single-payer in the light of what the standard is -- this is what we see a lot of

democrats talking about. forming the cost for all. a lot of people found this as to how much this discussion has come forward in the last year or so. democrats will discuss that moving closer to 2020. host: is that mainly amongst the rank and file? guest: there is a number of progressives in the house -- and in the senate, we have seen five or so different bills put forward including a medicare public option and a medicaid public buy-in. but we are seeing this happen only lot more amongst democrats and figuring out, where are we, what are we interested in? latter democrats are talking about the public options.

so these ideas are becoming more common. independent line from massachusetts. go ahead. good morning. i agree with the gentleman who spoke a while back about the health care now being about businesses making profits and getting payments for their businesses. the costt to say that of medications is incredible. two of my medicines went from $30 up to $620. $48 up toe went from $941. if you have an income for $12,000 and your house taxes are going up and everything else is going up? i would like to have c-span have the two congressman or senator's

sponsored the bill to pay for the health care act and social security, $.50 a week for everyone, or $25 a year. if you can have a program on those two senators so they could get more publication to people who are interested in these issues? prescription drug pricing, as you mentioned, we have seen countless cases of massive increases. when the comes to mind is a drug that we have seen prices go up in the past couple of years. the trump administration put out a blueprint with a number of ideas. ago, with a few pending rules. one appears to be targeting rebates. that go along with prescription drug pricing. up --nate will be marking

the house legislation will be marking up legislation. from undercist certain insurance plans. telling a consumer that it would forheaper if you don't pay your insurance, it would ban those clauses. so that could help. so that is one of the first steps we are looking at of congress looking at drug prices and taking action. host: the story yesterday on the modern health care website said there was an oversight of the cost process after it underestimated the impact of -- $4 billion. host: can you put context to that? change tos is a past

a whole under part d. so there were questions about how the cost benefits of that had been calculated. so saying, we will put more effort into this issue. it is something that people have a lot of questions about. host: from our line from democrats, matt, go ahead. caller: the affordable or on affordable care act was designed to create pre-existing conditions. before that, if you had insurance and you developed a pre-existing condition, they were not allowed to change your premium. so that would be covered within it, the insurance companies were

able to wipe all that out when we got lied to that we can keep our insurance because when you got new insurance, you then had a pre-existing condition. the solutions, there has to be a change in the way people are treated. to an emergency ward, we have to have a government paid low-cost neighborhood medical center like we see privately, number two, send to an emergency ward. after that, it could be associated with the next layer of hospital care or outpatient care.

guest: the protections for patients with pre-existing conditions, it doesn't allow insurance companies to charge them a higher premium -- those are two of the most popular parts of the affordable care act. we hear about this from republicans and democrats. thes a target focus from lawsuit from texas. the trumpet ministrations that they won't defend those in court . so we will see what happens there. that they are generally popular provisions. republicans sought to repeal and replace that law last year but that is an issue that has verifications. host: that was mary ellen mcintire. thank you for your time. toing up, we talk representative ryan castillo and that conversation is next.

later on in the program, representative john sarbanes discusses the future and heading into the midterm elections. that is coming up on "washington journal." ♪ >> sunday night on cue and day, the book "impeached." >> it is a scandal. the chapter on johnson. it should be expunged from every

library in the country. man who wasn a tasked with casting the single vote that saved him. the mostlls the vote heroic moment in american history. i think his vote was purchased. was not a johnson heroic moment. text david stewart, sunday night c-span.p.m. eastern on brett kavanaugh continues to meet with senators on capitol hill. follow the confirmation process on c-span, leading up to the senate confirmation hearings and the vote. c-span, c-span.org or listen on the c-span radio mobile app. "> "washington journal

continues. host: joining us now is representative ryan castillo, good morning. one of the things we have been hearing from you lately is the president's performance in russia. give your assessment of what happened on the trip and what you think it did for u.s.-russia relations. guest: it is difficult for me to say what it has done for u.s.-russia relations but i think it was a low point in the presidency. that is because to me, the presidency of the united states theds for more than just hard powers. it stands for the soft powers and the role around the globe. and giving that equivalency to vladimir putin on the national stage in undermining the thelligence community, over fact that russia interfered, it was not a good thing and i think it reinforces for russia and its propaganda campaign and other

countries -- russia has interfered in elections all across the globe and it gives -- forroxy candidates instance in bosnia or italy or anywhere else, to say, this isn't true, russia isn't interfering. i stand on my own. some call this trip treasonous. would you go to that level? guest: i don't. polling -- and i am critical of the present when i don't agree with him but i do try to keep it more policy -- the reason that the president has such strong numbers amongst republican voters is because often times, democrats or the far left go too far with their republicansd then say they took it too far.

and it reinforces the support for the presidency. he does while they may not agree with trump on this or that or the other thing or the name he uses to call someone -- when you take it too far, it gets you back to what your core political or what party label you agree with. so i don't agree with the trees and label. once again, i have been very critical of the president on this trip. host: 52% gave the president approval. guest: i'm not one who gave him the approval. i'm a little bit surprised but i do a tribute that somewhat to the over response or some of the language that is used on the left. but i am surprised. i think a lot of republicans still want to give -- and do

-- a lot of room to the president for negotiations. wheret comfortable with he is headed on the terror side. but they want the american public and republican members of congress to give the president and not of a roadway to negotiate the way he said he was going to negotiate through his campaign. host: our guest will be joining us and if you want to ask him isstions about russia, it (202) 748-8000, democrats. (202) 748-8001, republicans. .ndependent, (202) 748-8002 if you want to tweet us, you can do so. you can also reach us on the facebook page. -- highlighting some of the things said that even though his personal attitude towards putin

is one thing, this is a new class of nuclear weapons, and national security ever that signaled out challenges ahead. and new weapons sales to ukraine's government, and that is because they are locked in. what do you think about those actions? guest: these sanctions put on russia, that is what i get back to when asked. times, whatt of republican members here is that we need to stand up to the president and we are not doing enough that i say, look at what this congress has done in terms of pressing america's hand against russia. and the data points that you hit upon. the policies he put into place are substantial. before we take calls, your thoughts on the tariffs as the

administration may be ready to roll out new tariffs? concerned about the uncertainty it will bring to the american economy. more than anything else you do hear from farmers concerned about the price of soybeans. we are not headed in a positive place. i voted for the tax bill and i thought it was good policy. i think we do need to put more money back into the pockets of americans and we need capital expenditures in corporate america and in small businesses. these tariffs pushes back in the wrong direction. tariffs andmpact of i think you will hear a lot more stories in the coming months. host: the first call comes from dawn. . republican from pennsylvania

caller: i am from phoenix, arizona. when you have a person who goes to court and they are charged with a crime, do they not also look into other people's crimes if it is possible? takenve people who have $150 million from the russians. you're a people who have gone over there to do speeches for the russians. and yet they stay on trump. guest: broadly speaking, i support the mueller investigation. it doesn't mean the president colluded or was involved in any of the wrongdoing that was found by those who actually have been charged or the plea agreements that have been met.

it also doesn't mean that the clinton campaign or other people in this country haven't done wrong things. i don't do the whole "what about"-ism. host: joe is next. hello, pedro. i want to talk to you this morning in reference to russia. i can't understand why republicans always, when they ok, wehat they say is, know that russia interfered in putelection but they never the sentence together saying that yes, i believe trump and these people had something to do with it.

so they are slick when they speak. but the people from main street that i speak to, what they are saying is, yes. russia did interfere in the elections. we need the cooperation of trump and these people. cannot understand that this is what you are doing as republicans. guest: my assessment on what you said is that this is why we have the independent investigation. congress isn't well-suited to do investigations of the sort. because political very quickly. shuster, justbill put out in an protection plan yesterday. the previous guest was speaking about health care bills that will be on the floor this week. we do have a host of issues.

we could talk energy or agricultural policy, there are things that the congress has done and should be doing. have members of congress congress in charge of the russian investigation isn't what we should be doing. host: part of the story that came out said that a congressional candidate asked for information from russia. your name came up that. what happened? guest: my wife and i and our little one were at the shore and i logged on to the hill and it -- dumpedted that information on my political itonent and i read about online. and we weren't going to use the information.

largely public. whatn trying to figure out congressional candidates -- he had reached out and i don't how you go about doing that. because there were only a small number of candidates whose comeent information had in there.me was but i was very clear on twitter that it wasn't me. i bet dollars to donuts that whoever the candidate was, the mueller investigation knows about it. i hope they will identify who that was. although i don't think anybody thinks it was me. i have not been contacted.

it is very weird for me to be asked a question about that. it is legitimate that it is so far beyond what i do on a daily basis to think that somehow my name could be a part of that. on therom new jersey republican line. go ahead. wondering, why don't you give the president a chance? let's see what happens before you badmouth the man? i don't think you will be in the job that long if you go down that road. that: anybody will find is and my votingan record -- while one of the more independent -- i lean republican on most issues.

if you say what you think and toe thet necessarily party line, you get republican callers who characterize you as always badmouthing the president . which is the case. everybody is entitled to their opinion. and i'm entitled to mine. i do that based upon what i think. host: you are planning on stepping down? guest: yes. the state supreme court had struck down and reid ribble districts. it is now the one that the hillary clinton lost. that was the deciding factor.

host: what are your plans afterwards? guest: i don't know, i have to find a job. laughter] caller: i saw a documentary on c-span on saturday. hersh who mr. seymour i wishe whole story and you had thought that documentary. to talk about what really happened. host: overdue like to address with the guest? wondering if he knew about the documentary? guest: i have not seen the documentary.

has cut would you ever envision a time when congress gives control of how terrorists are managed? guest: the constitution prescribes that power in conjunction with congress. but you see the president 232 tong section ourcate on the basis of national security. senator toomey for my home state comment he is pushing with senator corker. in the power of the president to unilaterally issue tariffs. it is it smart policy. i understand what the president is doing. it may turn out for the best. if i would advocate for the presidents permission, i would

say, look at the imf. china is the tightest gdp, 59% of what the u.s. gdp but five years from now it is estimated to be 88%. equalize, continue to we do need to change the rules of the game as it relates to tariffs. my concern in the short term is do harm tod will small businesses in this country. and it will disrupt supply chains. so while i understand what the the-term processes, in short term there will be paying for the american worker and small business. host: from the california republican line, alfred. caller: thank you for taking my call. my question to you is this.

terrorists, there tariffs-- in regards to , we are willing to take that decades, we for have been piggybacked. they take advantage of us. you want to believe that are trying to limit our president's hand in tariffs. i don't think you are doing the right thing. he is a businessman. that's why he was voted. he is a disruptor. look at what he has done already? guest: he makes a good point about the president being a disruptor. if you look at economic growth indicators, i believe some of that is deeply attributable to the regulatory reform measures.

at this point in time, when you who have priced in what they will be able to sell things for and you have this coming out of nowhere and people don't like to use the word createsars" but it uncertainty. and it undermines a lot of the business plans that have already taken place. that is my big concern. i think it's a reasonable concern. i think you find a lot of democrats tond agree. and i hope the president does land in a place where we had and itdeals with china was originally supportive and i continue to hold out hope that he will continue to negotiate after deals.

myave been muted about criticism for two reasons. one, i believe you need to allow any president the willingness -- the ability to negotiate. the president campaigned on this. it isn't necessarily orthodoxy that heated campaign on it and to the callers point, he won. he won the election rather substantially. so the caller makes good points, for sure. tweeting president ." riffs are the greatest guest: the supporters pound the table and say, this is why i voted for this man and his

opponents say, this is exactly why didn't vote for you. these things draw an emotional reaction from folks. i don't think tariffs are the greatest. consistent with what i've just said, the president has a strategy and he is seeing it through but i just worry greatly about the short-term damage it will do to our economy. and i hope for the best. we all hope for the best. every american wants this strategy -- even though we don't know fully what it is or how it take shape ultimately -- we want this to be successful. and i will say this. even more than what china is , whaton the tariffs side it does in order for american companies to gain access to the stealing proprietary interests of american companies, that is deeply damaging. on therom texas independent line.

tony, go ahead. caller: good morning, how is everyone? my question is, what are we going to do about health care? i know there has been a decade of talk about health care. with congress and health care reform. even theems that people who have campaigned, no one has done anything about reform? guest: republicans passed a bill out of the house -- i voted against it -- with the thought that you take medicaid expansion as a tax credit and have those votes entered into the exchanges to provide a larger pool in the exchanges to stabilize the marketplace and bring costs down in terms of what they would be. bill, i think, it

ultimately went to find the house and the senate didn't pass it. so now we're back to square one. what i think we need to do in the short term is pass cautionary reductions. which would provide subsidies in the exchanges. otherwise we see a lot of those who are self-employed see double-digit premium increases in the fall. that is a we need to do in the short term. is a moreg-term, that sophisticated discussion dealing with how we bring a part health care with pharmaceutical drugs. creatingas to do with the right kinds of insurance products in the marketplace. 5%-10% of those who costs the most -- i hate saying it that way but we have thatok at it that way --

is about 60% of all health insurance costs. providing health insurance products and getting them the care they need -- preventative thatpecialty care -- and will bring down costs for them and it will bring down costs for everyone else in the health insurance market. host: we see an emphasis in the house this week on health savings accounts. where are you with the legislation being pushed? guest: we did an extension on that. it would broaden your use of that for the use of more things as well as allowing it to carryover for the hsa's. it out and solve everything but it does some good things. guest: -- we continue to see

trump's ratings improve and get higher and higher while congress's ratings go lower and lower. and as a congressman for the united states of america, what are your thoughts on that? guest: i believe he is accurate when he says that. congress is everyone's punching bag. if you are the american public and to support this president, it could be your punching bag and if you are democrat who doesn't like this president, it can also be your punching bag because you can make the argument that we haven't done enough to push back. they find their way to support the incumbent member of congress.

to my comments earlier, most republicans support him either because he is doing what he said they look at who is criticizing him most harshly and they may find some of that criticism unfair and then they go back to what they are partisan allegiance is. that is how i can explain it. host: democrat line, go ahead. every time this president opens his mouth, it sounds like he is half way through a stroke. he is the dumbest person i've ever heard. and on top of that, you get the bonus of him being a racist and cozying up to pretend. this wondering, on a scale of 1-10, how embarrassed you are to be a republican right now? i'm not embarrassed to be

a republican. i believe in limited government. i speak my mind. we are a two-party system. it is dangerous, to be blunt with you, to prescribe certain characteristics to all democrats or all republicans. i remind anyone who says to me that all democrats are this or i say that is not true and i say the same about republicans. i do think, you generally will e with onefy more party's conventional ideology than another. but that does not mean you have to agree with everything that is said by all of your parties leaders. i can back to when president obama was in our office and find many democrats who did not agree with things president obama did sometimes. host: our guest serves on the

digital commerce and technology subcommittees and was a recorder theeeds on the chairman of chester county of commissioners in 2013. what did you learn from that that you brought the capitol hill? guest: that a lot of federal dollars flow through the state down to the county level. for instance, at the county level, we would approve contracts for mental health and intellectual disabilities for mosquito spraying. we do oversee elections. we fund criminal justice grants that make their way to local police departments are the district attorney's office. a lot of land-use planning. storm water management. sewage planning module approvals have been at the county level. the county level of government is the area where i think it is much more public administrative that it is political. it's a three-member board.

you can't have three of the same political party so i found myself working and always have with a democrat at every level of government as i am a republican. i think that most americans want their government the function. they want lawmakers to work together as best as possible to voice disagreement reasonably. at the local level of government i found where the federal -- makes anakes a impact and was able to channel those dollars in a way that left my constituents see government working productively. host: leaving capitol hill what is most important thing you learned? guest: a lot of hard-working men and women in office and at the staff level. if you're calling your local member of congress and uri rate can't be mindful that 20 or 30 or 40 something on the line is

making a lot less than they are worth. they are smarter than you give them credit for. they work longer hours than you realize. they have their own opinions they might agree with you but they can't say that because they are working in an office where their job is to intake the input from local constituencies. they have a career in front of them and they are trying to do the best job they can with the tools that can given. host: republican line, maryland. go ahead. caller: i don't know your politics but from what i've heard so far, with your cadence -- correcting the other gentlemen with the general two things. i think the paris situation has to play on economically. i mean just around the fact that there will be short-term pain for long-term gain. your perspective on that i would

like to get also on the issue of -- guest: i would agree with what you just said. that is the approach that you have to take whether you agree or disagree with the president that is the approach you to take that is that there will be short-term pain for long-term gain. i'm concerned about the agree.erm pain but i what you just said is very accurate. sorry to interrupt you. caller: thank you. on the issue of pharmaceuticals and health care i think why we don't put our hands up and say we don't know how to fix it the idea is that when you buy a product the risk for products will be priced into the product either way you look at it the issue is whether we do it in a reasonable manner in a way that a sustainable and affordable and i think those are things that congress has no clue how to do. guest: another piece congress

has a role. the congress is not the end-all be-all and there are a lot of agencies that can act quicker that also have subject matter expertise and have also been charged with implementing policy . on the issue of pharmaceutical drugs the fda has done a very good job in a number of different areas. not the least of which is trying to get generic drugs to market places quicker and also getting pharmaceutical drugs in the fda guideline. fda pipeline, getting them approved quicker. that would bring down the cost of getting a drug to market which would lead to lower , oning and it would also the generic drug's side -- a lot of times what happens, companies will buy a patent in order to gain -- to game the system to keep exclusivity before it gets

into generics as well as start litigation to prevent other generic drug companies from getting their products to market . there's a whole pharmaceutical is very opaquet and kind of outside what congress can do on a day-to-day basis. positivean make strides in the direction of bringing costs down and they are doing that. not happening as quick or effectively as we would like. that is not the fault of the fda. that is an area where the american public can look also do see government making positive strides in that direction. host: representative ryan costello serves the sixth district of pennsylvania. things for your time. -- thanks for your time. we will hear from representative john sarbanes. that conversation coming up next

on washington journal. ♪ >> lots of people feel like i don't want my kids to read stories that are downbeat, disturbing, whatever. that's like not a totally illegitimate thing to say. i want to choose when my kid understands stuff that might bring them grief. is also a point beyond which, they are 14 now, when are you going to introduce them to the idea that not everything is perfect outside your all-white suburb? those factors create the perfect dr. fire -- dumpster fire of mass censorship of books by marginalized people.

>> in-depth fix in addition live sunday, august 5 at noon eastern discussing his latest book, walk away. his other books include down and out in a magic kingdom, little brother, plus 14 other novels. -- doctoith cory dr. row. c-span 2. >> c-span, where history unfolds daily. a 1979, c-span was created as public service by america's cable television companies. and today 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 cable or satellite provider.

washington journal continues. host: we are joined by representative john sarbanes, democrat of maryland serves the third district and is the chair of the democracy reform task force. upst: the task force was set a couple years ago and the idea was to look at the broad opportunity to put in place significant reforms to democracy in three main baskets. one has to do with voter empowerment, making sure voters feel respected in terms of how we operate, making it easier, not harder to vote. fixing partisan gerrymandering. making sure the voting rights act is enforced. these are things that say we respect the voters. that is one basket of reforms we looked at. a second is ethics and accountability. transparency in government. those are the rules about when you come to washington as lawmakers how to behave and

there ought to be standards and norms in place that govern behavior so that's an important piece of reform. the third which we brought attention to is money in politics and campaign-finance reform. there's way too much money here in washington. and as a lot of influence on how policy gets made the average person is angry and frustrated and cynical about that and they have a right to be so those of the areas we been focusing on. host: on that last point what would be the most practical way to reverse the idea of money in politics or some of the things your group will be proposing? guest: there's a couple of things on the jump to mind. we need disclosure and transparency where is the secret money coming from? there's tons of money coming in from super pac's from these dark money groups. only knows where it comes from so we need there to be transparency so the average person understands who's trying to weigh in on their democracy

in terms of the money. the other thing we would like to see is citizen owned elections. around the country are seeing states cities localities putting in place these systems of small donor matching the fund campaigns. what's good about that, the public is stepping up and saying we will underwrite your campaign and in return, you work for us. we want to see that kind of reform in washington. citizen owned elections so the average person feels like it is my voice that calls the shots in washington, not lobbyists, not the big-money crowd. host: if you want to ask questions, (202) 748-8000 for democrats. republicans, (202) 748-8001. .ndependents, (202) 748-8002 scott pruitt now no longer part of the president's cabinet but ultimately does he service a case study as far as how

congress should go forward investigating these issues? a guest: man who is completely ethically blind he did not know where the boundaries were. he treated the epa like it was his own personal fiefdom. a security detail of 20 people, which is ridiculous. he set up his own special classified briefing area where nobody could hear him. he said he had to have secure phone calls. members have that kind of thing in place. traveling at taxpayer expense on charter flights all over the country. he's kind of the poster child for how people step across the ethical boundaries. we have to enforce these norms. the heat got too much for him and he had to leave office. but there's a lot of people still in government and frankly in the executive branch, that are not observing the rules, not

observing conflict of interest requirements. stepping across the norms every day. one thing we want to do is strengthen the office of government ethics. that's the office that blows the whistle on people in the executive branch when they forget they are working for. mrs. are you working for the american people. are you holding the public trust or have you lost your way and you are just looking out for yourself or for the special interests or for your buddies? people don't want to see them in government. makes them angry and cynical. host: on capitol hill would you say about the strength of the ethics committee as it stands? guest: my can always be strengthened because you want to and some oversight degree of self-regulation of how you operate in congress, the senate, the house. we try to keep those committees

strong so it's a combination of what can you do to get people to pay attention to ethical norms and guidelines in the legislative branch which governs members of congress and what can you do in terms of the executive branch. and it is fair for the average person, for the public to expect that when lawmakers get to washington when they serve in congress or they serve in the executive branch or occupy the white house and oval office that they will behave according to the norms and standards that people have a right to expect host: democratic representative john sarbanes with us. if you want to ask questions, (202) 748-8000 for democrats. (202) 748-8001, for republicans. (202) 748-8002 for independents.

guest: my father was in public office for many years serving in washington in the house and then in the u.s. senate. represented maryland for many years. so it is a familiar name certainly in maryland it is a name i am proud of. you have to step in behind that kind of a public service commitment and show that you have the same sorts of convictions. i've tried to do that. i hope i represented the third district of maryland well the last 12 years and put my name forward. host: our first call comes from jane republican line. you're on with our present of john sarbanes. caller: my greatest concern lately almost seems crazy all of these people who are going socialistic. i wonder how you feel about it. you obviously have put a lot of time in being a democrat.

while i have a lot of friends toe democrats i refuse dislike people based on what their political arena is. i'm shocked at what so many people believe socialism is acceptable path. i will take your question your answer off-line and thanks. guest: it's interesting because right now the frame i'm bringing is not to some of the political labels socialist, conservative. tea party whatever it might be on the political spectrum. whether interested in washington is answering to the voice of any person, regardless of their political affiliation and what the polling shows us is that republicans independence, democrats across the board they feel like government is not listening to them that they are locked out and left out of their

own democracy and they want back in. so it is up to us as lawmakers to figure out how we do that. what is the legislation we can pass that will let everyday americans back into their own government where they belong while pushing back on the influence of big money is a big part of that. disclosure where the money is coming from and also americans stepping onto the field their own democracy and saying we will be the power players now. we will be the ones that hold government accountable and we can do that through citizen owned elections and things like that. this is about letting everybody back and whether you are republicans or democrats were independent. the people who feel disrespected in the country they feel like washington does not pay attention to them or looks down on them they want back in. that is a fair sentiment. president trump in part responded to that sentiment

unfortunately i think his efforts to drain the swamp which he said he was going to do, that is not happening. in some instances it's gotten worse so that people are still angry. folks are still upset and cynical we have to respond to that and show that we respect them. we have a lot of good proposals that i think we could do that with. host: this is richard. missouri, democrats line. years, i was raised republican and i felt like my party got taken over by the ixia dixiecrats.the the way theection superdelegates controlled -- majority people did not have a say. we voted for things we wanted it

comes down to -- we did not have much of a vote. superdelegates controlled who's running the show. think they had to register six or seven months before they voted or something .ike that guest: that's a fair point. the party structures have faced criticism that they are not letting enough voices and input and democracy into their own structures. the way i'm talking about washington generally is viewed that way. the democratic national committee has taken steps recently to try to broaden the input, address the feeling that superdelegates have too much power and sway and influence within the decision on who is nominated by our party for

president and so forth so i think the democratic party has taken to heart some of the critique about whether all voices are being heard and they are trying to put reforms in place that will do that. it's the same principle, i'm talking about in terms of how an congressenerates generates and so forth. we have a system in washington that unfortunately answers more readily and more quickly a lot of the time to the lobbyists, to the folks that have money, than it does to the priorities and concerns of everyday americans. our democracy depends on confidence from the people. the other thing is that if we are cynical about our own , the resiliency of democracy is impaired and becomes more vulnerable to outside influence. becomes easier for people like andrussians to sow discord

disinformation inside our democracy if we don't feel good about our democracy to start with so we have to restore that trust and resiliency of the democracy in order to be able to push back against these attacks come in from the outside which are very serious. earlier, were talking there's this argument among centrist democrats about where the party should be. because of the election of alexandria ocasio cortes. where should the party be? guest: where i stand is everybody should have a place at the table in this debate. i want to see as many democrats -- as many americans as possible come out and vote in this am -- in this election and if that happens you give people arriving in washington that come from all across the political spectrum. i think the democrats can manage

the debate that will happen inside our party about what our priorities are going to be the when you look at people on the so-called far left of our party, people that are more centrist, there are some principles they agree on when it comes to policy. we believe in affordable health care and strengthening the affordable care act. we want to get to universal coverage over time. different members of our party have different ideas about how quickly we can get there and what the road is we need to take but the idea that in america everyone should have health care coverage and that is good for individuals, good for small businesses, that is something all democrats subscribe to. we defend the integrity of the environment. we want to make sure we are fighting for clean air and clean water. that is a fundamental principle of our party the matter where we are on the spectrum. we are looking to pay good jobs offer good jobs

with decent wages. a lot of people do not have the wages they need to make ends meet. democrats are supporting the kinds of investments in jobs that can result in people having a decent quality of life. we have debates on some of these topics but the things we agree on and are fighting together on far outweigh those differences. host: a story about representative barbara lee of california. guest: there's going to be a lot of people running for these various positions and it is very early in the process. barbara is terrific. linda sanchez has put her name .orward for caucus chair i'm sure we will have others putting their name into the mix. all of these leadership positions we will see where it lands. we got an election to win first. i would like to be having this discussion of who's going to be occupying leadership post once .e have the gavel back

it's important for democrats to get the majority back this fall. one of the reasons i think it's important is we have to get basic checks and balances back in place. that is what our constitution says. it says the u.s. congress is supposed to act as a check and balance on the executive branch. i don't think that's been happening and i think a lot of people in the country realized that. i talked to a lot of republicans who say if no one's going to put a check on the current leadership, the executive branch to get those balances we see in how power operates in our country the democrats ought to have the gavel for a couple years so we can get that check back in place. host: should nancy pelosi be holding back gavel? guest: nancy pelosi is a real fighter. i'm expecting her to run again. i think when it comes to pushing back on this president as i said

we need to do, you need your best generals on the field. she is one of them and i expect her to run. host: you will support her again? guest: i don't see anyone else emerging i think can do a better job of fighting back against this president and frankly standing up for some of the principles i just articulated. i think for the various leadership positions there will be a lot of discussion and debate. right now she appears to be a strong leader. jersey.rdentown, new john, hello. caller: thank you for taking my call. i have a two-part question. i'm a retired longshoremen. i've seen the imbalance of trade for over 40 years. the president is trying to level the playing field as far as tariffs go. how congress really know

much we are being ripped off? 10 to 15uld take our exports to any country in the take their 10 to 15 imports that come to our country and see what the imbalance of the tariffs are you guys would be amazed. you guys should know this area this has been going on for 50 to 60 years and that's all you do is criticize the president, he's putting tariffs and it's going to hurt us. we've been hurt for 40 or 50 years. it? is congress going about it is there in broad daylight. guest: actually, i'm sympathetic to the president's instinct on this that we have to fight back against this trade imbalance. a lot of people have treated us unfairly when it comes to trade.

china is a perfect example of that. what i object to, what i have concerns about, i don't see that the president necessarily has a coherent strategy for fighting back. it's kind of like one day we decided do one thing the next day we do something else into the mix. coordinatedeed a sustainable strategy that's ,ushing back on the chinese pushing back on some of these other countries that have been trying to take advantage of the united states when it comes to trade. i think we need trade deals that protections. labor strong on environmental protections. that look at issues like currency manipulation and so forth. i think nafta could be a lot stronger than it is. maybe that is where the end result will be from negotiations that are going on right now.

it is fair for a lot of americans, and you are one of them, to feel like we have been taken advantage of when it comes to trade. that what we need is fair trade, not just free trade and figure out a strategy for fighting back. i worry that the way the president is doing this is not part of a master plan that we can sustain over time and therefore we might not get the result that you are looking for and frankly that i am looking for as well. we've got to have a strong strategy that we can stick with on that. host: joseph from apopka, florida. , i wouldongressman like to say i have been impressed with the way you have articulated different issues. in particular the way you spoke about the problem of money in politics and some ideas how to react to that.

i think the supreme court case of several years ago that considered corporations as individuals and allowed them to give unlimited amounts of money to political campaigns has affected us negatively. the least we can do about that is to force them to reveal who's giving the money. you mentioned something about transparency. we need that very much. i would like to ask your opinion regarding the national popular vote movement. it's been endorsed in the new york times. it does not get that much media attention. i think it would be a constitutional way to really have people's voices heard. it's almost shameful that we live in a country where someone can get fewer votes and still win an election. host: thanks caller.

guest: that's another reform people are looking at in terms of can we make our democracy work better. in this instance it has to do .ith how we elect the president a lot of people have concerns about the electoral college system because you can have a situation where one candidate wins the electoral college but they don't end up with as many votes as the other candidate. for a lot of people in the country that raises questions of legitimately are you should really be the president of the united states. under the current system to montauk college system. he is the president of the united states. if we want to look at changes to that i think it's a fair debate to have. i think there is merit to doing to re-examining it. it can be tricky to change the electoral college itself is that constitution the

so that can be an extended process. i think you probably know some are saying they will put their electoral votes behind whoever wins the national popular vote. so in a sense they can short-circuit the electoral college system by legitimately saying, if it's the state of maryland, new york, whoever wins the national vote, that is where we put electoral votes. if every state does that you would end up as a practical matter creating a system where it is the popular vote that governs the result as opposed to the electoral college. we will see if other states do this and whether you get to the critical mass that raises the issue to the level you would like to see. this is about how do people feel about government and whether their voice is truly represented. as a lot of things we can do to address that. host: you said one of the goals

of the task force to talk about gerrymandering. your district is one of those run examples. i'm looking at a map. can you explain what is going on? guest: across the country you have this situation where the combination of geography and politics leads to some weird line drawing. but we would like to see, and it would affect district in maryland as well as districts across the country, is that every state adopt an independent redistricting commission. nonpartisan. if every state did this you would fix the problem. some people suggested certain states do it and even if other states are not. the problem with that, it ends up making a process in the states that don't do it even more political. called thell in

redistricting reform act of 2017 . it would require every state to set up an independent districting commission. the lines would be drawn in a way that better reflects the reality on the ground of the voters. i think it would be much more respectful of voters who feel kind of like politicians choose us instead of the other way around. which is the way it should be fixing person gerrymandering is one of the sweeps of reforms is back tot giving a voice the american people respecting them as voters as citizens as residents of the district and fixing that particular issue is one way to do it. host: from north carolina, dorothy. caller: i do want to talk to a

democrat. the messaging the democrats are doing is awful. to all have allowed trump come in and claim success on the economy when you know when he came in unemployment was at 4.9%. 0.9%.y went down he did not fix the economy. broughtma came in, he it down. you give him credit for the whole thing. you're not saying anything to contradict what he is saying. things you all are never hitting on that you are not even bash people don't know about it because you never talk about it. back.utrality rolled consumer protection agency rolled back. no health care bill. no affordable pharmaceutical bill. .as going up republicans will go after social security and medicare and

medicaid. of prisons,as asian they were first it. republicans went back to the old way they're done all these things you all never get out. people don't even know these regulations trump has done that will hurt them. guest: that is a great statement as a democratic position on all of the issues you just mentioned. i'm not going to claim we always get the message through. one of the challenges everybody faces these days, including members of congress is that the way ofnt has found a gobbling up 98% of the band with of the media, the public and so forth and everyone else is fighting over the last 2% to try to get the message through. all the things you just talked ,bout i have been messaging on

just grazing our voice and saying when it comes to neutrality we've got to protect a free and open internet. what comes to protecting the environment we have to protect clean air and clean water and deal with the special interest influence in washington and a lot of other places. we got to focus on manufacturing and good benefits and good wages to go with good jobs. i think you will find if you tune into the energy and commerce committee that i sit on that democrats are talking about the things i just -- the things you just mentioned. fighting for the affordable care act and so forth. the challenge is getting that message out and through this fall that gets created every day by breaking news developments that typically start with trump i'm not complaining about it because that is part of the challenge of the job.

we've got to be able to deliver a strong message that you and others can hear. i think democrats will do that in this midterm election. the piece i want to bring is how important it is that we get the form about -- that we get reform of our democracy so all the things you just mentioned that we want to see happen can actually happen because lobbyists won't get in the way and stop it and big money won't get in the way. we're going to bring that case to the american people over the hopefullymonths and they will see us as worthy of holding the gavel and begin to put those checks and balances back in the place. host: democrat of maryland. chair of the democracy reform .ax force -- task force until the end of the program. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. (202) 748-8001 four republicans. .or independent, (202) 748-8002 it will take calls when we come

back. >> sunday night on q and a constitutional lawyer david stewart on his book impeached, the trial of president andrew johnson and the fight for lincoln's legacy. >> it's a terrible -- the chapter on johnson i won't speak to that. the chapter on johnson should be expunged every library in the country. it focuses on a fellow named .dmund ross it caused -- it calls crosses vote the most heroic moment in american history. i actually think his boat was purchased. saving johnson was not a heroic moment i think. >> david stewart on c-span's q .nd a supreme court nominee bret kavanaugh continues to meet with

senators on capitol hill. follow the confirmation process on c-span leading up to the senate confirmation hearings and the vote. what's lies on c-span -- watch live on c-span or listen with the free c-span radio and. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. ,202) 748-8001 for republicans ts, (202)enden 748-8002. reports street journal a new interview is being offered by president trump's team to robert mueller saying the president legal team's opening to him answering questions about possible collusion with moscow according to rudy giuliani but less willing to have mr. trump discuss questions on extraction of justice. we think the obstruction of it

is handled by a article two of the constitution referring to the provision that gives the president executive authority to appoint and dismiss members of his administration. , fiveg to paul manafort potential witnesses said to testify against him according to court documents. all five are said to have worked at financial institutions link to mr. manafort according to the washington times mr. reiko is a arrow vice president financial-based institution. nbc news reported in february that robert mueller's team was roaming whether mr. manafort had promised the president of the federal savings bank a job in exchange for $16 million in home loans. it says two of the witnesses have ties to an alexandria-based accounting firm that is handled

mr. manafort's taxes and 2012. as several stories related to the fact that there are delays in the start of the case for paul manafort. this was decided by the judge ts ellis and out's. pushed back to next tuesday and caller campaign chairman of president trump. anthony in connecticut, your first up on this open phones. caller: good morning. thank you for all you do. i'm a little disappointed i did not get a chance to reach the representative when he was there a few moments ago because i was pleased to hear from him that he thought it important for elected officials to be responsive to the electorate. i wanted to ask him what his position is on current representative joe crowley out of new york continuing to run as

an independent against corttez.a ocasio i wanted to ask if you would reach out to representative joe him to get back to me on that same question. i participated in a town hall with him last week. we were assured that our questions would be answered and i asked him that same question. although the host insisted there was plenty of time to answer all questions on the air and if not the questions would be answered by e-mail or phone, i have not heard back from him. host: andrews air force base is where the president is headed as he heads to kansas city. probably top .ssues of veterans the president heads to that can

see that event at 12:30 this afternoon on c-span 2 and our c-span radio at. mary, republican line. caller: i'm calling about environmental issues i guess. quality, i think stopping, slowing down trade with china would be good for our air quality. i come from the theory of how far goods have traveled and how much pollution has been put into the air to get a good from point a to point b. particularly diesel. it is something i'm sensitive to. i've also expressed this to my congressman. i'm in kentucky. -- this ise to see

what got me ticked off at the epa some time ago. studies that take 20 years to complete the study about whether you can run a road in a straight line you might say. we've got all this pollution going around -- if we had the straight line we would've burned less fossil fuels trying to get from point a to point b and being someone that understands the environment quite a bit a lot of this stuff recovers after you go through. the wichita eagle this morning on its front page talks about the recovery of that duck boat as it's known. particularly what's being done on the federal level saying that the coast guard and ntsb are conducting joint and separate

to a coastons going guard spokesperson. the missouri highway patrol is conducting an investigation on possible negligence and failures by the boat company and employees. arkansas, this is kathy. caller: i hope there is a lot of people listening because i have something important to say .lease america, wake up vote democrat out because if they take the house and senate again they are going to destroy our country. they are for everything that is ungodly and when you are like that our country will be destroyed if they take the house and senate. thank you for taking my call. host: the times georgian on its front page highlights a runoff election happening in that state saying that voters in georgia will decide nominees and a handful of statewide races the

winners will advance to the november 6 general election in what has become a tumultuous race for the gubernatorial nominee secretary of state brian cap running against casey cagle through the winner will face stacy abrams in november. the outgoing governor, nathan deal endorsed cable because he said cagle is the best candidate to carry of his administration's reforms adding that president trump endorsed camp earlier this month and on july 18 the president tweeted cap is tough on crime strong on the border and illegal immigration. he supports the second amendment. vice president mike pence endorsed camp during a rally in making, georgia. the president also sending a tweet on this matter taking a look at that election today saying today is the day to vote for brian cap. great for georgia. give him your full endorsement ads are out on the television

airwaves just give a sampling. here's the ad from brian cap. [video clip] >> i'm brian camp. .his is jake jake asked why i was running for governor. >> cap government spending. the georgia number one for small business. >> two things if your going to date one of my daughters. >> respect and a healthy appreciation for the second amendment, sir. >> the going to get along just fine. >> brian kemp for governor. host: one of the ad's folks in georgia are seeing on the airwaves when it comes to this gubernatorial race. brian kemp one of the candidates in the race. the other, casey cagle. [video clip] >> leadership is about getting things done for you. i will never apologize for stopping those that stand in the way of conservative school reform for our kids or cutting

taxes that create jobs i'll never apologize for outlawing sanctuary cities for stopping liberals from -- the time for consumers desperate conservatives getting kicked around is over. host: let's hear from linda in south carolina democrat line. caller: thank you for taking my call. the woman that just called i would like to know why she thinks every democrat should be voted out of office. i think congress needs to be equaled out so that equal parts have some say. i think the people need to have more value that the government has taken over all these departments and thrown out everything we really should believe in. the epa is in terrible shape. they say they're going to get rid of all of the bad people in

these positions and then they bring in people that were against the positions to begin with. i really don't understand that. care. don't course toom one golf the next golf course. and we pay for it. i don't understand how people don't care about this. host: let's hear from george in sparta, tennessee. republican line. caller: somewhere around four years ago the obama administration sent their people there for a closed-door meeting where no one was able to understand or know what you were talking. i would like to know what that closed-door meeting was about. host: where did you come to that conclusion? caller: i know.

host: you know how? caller: from the news. ok.: no meeting took place here. like, hello. -- mike, hello. caller: thanks for taking my call. ons morning when i turned the first hour was democrats only call in. when do the republicans get their hour? this is about the third time in the last couple of months where this has happened and i never heard the republicans come on. host: we give republicans ownen chances to comment in thr hour. because it was about messaging in things that were done and released yesterday by steny ther, messaging about elections we thought it would be

a good time to pose that question to democrats. we give republicans there do and if you want to find out more and get a sense of times we've taken on issues you can go to our website at c-span.org. available programming to you so you can check it out for yourself. matt in michigan, republican line. caller: good morning. theou care to speak to international terrorists? how the tariffs are collected and where does the money ultimately go. host: let me get your opinion on those topics. caller: i hear a lot about tariffs but i don't understand them. who pays them, how they are collected and where the money goes. how it will be used. host: we don't have enough time to engage on those things on any

length of time. i'm going to seleka broken record. let me take you back to the website. website. c-span.org ridiculous for this program but other forms we've taken if you type in the word tariff it will show you everything in the last couple of weeks we've aired on this topic from a multitude of views. from there you can gain an education on how they work and hopefully get those answers to the questions you have. deborah from virginia, democrat line. caller: good morning it's nice to see you and greta are my favorites. i want to give a shout out to mark warner who had a brick thrown through his window in roanoke yesterday. it shows how dangerous the situation is now for all of our elected officials. i think the country, we really gone down. my big comment is on trying to call this office.

i want marco rubio who took money from the nra, who we now spies, in with russian want him to recuse himself from this investigative team he's on because if you took money from a group being investigated that to me is a conflict of interest. i called his office and told him this is wrong. host: the viewer brings up mark warner. a story from the local news station in washington dc saying man forrrest a shattering glass monday at senator warner's office. james trainor was arrested and charged with property damage. the vandalism occurred early monday morning before the office opened at 8:00 a.m. mark warner sending out a tweet someone threw a brick through the front office of my roanoke office. no one was hurt. we are extremely grateful for the quick response of the roanoke police department.

mary lou come upon city florida. democrats line. caller: wow. ok. there was a ton of money and i don't know the amount given to trump from the nra. if only that would take that guard -- aay for a trained guard in every high school, it would be a better use of the money. this guys so crazy. stuff he's doing is hurting america. we were great and maybe we will be again. host: discussions of trade and tariffs this week. the wall street journal highlights the eu. the message they hope to deliver on tariffs out of brussels saying if the european union

that is cautiously betting on top officials to persuade dump truck not to escalate the transatlantic trade fight during a white house visit slated for wednesday the european commission president will focus on arguing the eu is washington's friend, not follow. foe.t the eu supports the iran nuclear deal from which mr. trump withdrew the u.s. in may. we will hear next from mary on open phones. caller: good morning. by the way i have to get up at 4:00 in the morning in order to see your program because i love it. host: we appreciate it. caller: i wanted to make a comment. was on thesman that half-hour before reminded me of

something. .'m a retired military person i joined the army in the early blacks and regular army were beginning to integrate into one unit. how many males and how many females he had and how many were black and how many were white. i still remember his answer. .e said i don't know when i stand in front of my squad i see 30 soldiers. and i wish elected officials would do the same thing. whenan fight before you that once you when you are representing americans, not democrats, republicans, etc. if mr. trump followed that we would not have had the problem in helsinki because he would have been representing americans

instead of complaining about democrats and the fbi and everything else. host: you don't have to get up as early for this but tomorrow there will be a hearing at 2:30 in the afternoon our time in washington dc with mike pompeo the secretary of state. the russia summit is on that discussion in north korea summit as well. catch it on c-span3 but hopefully we'll watch it. .aller: i have c-span on i'm 78 years old and i live by myself i have the tv on for just noise to remind me that the world still exists. c-span is my default station. host: thank you for watching and getting up early for us. we really do appreciate it. j in florida republican line. caller: i was going to ask a different question about maxine waters. i've a question about this let's go back a

little bit before helsinki. he mentioned that the eu and specifically germany was making a deal with russia to buy their fuel. trump pointed out it makes no sense for us to pay to protect them while they are paying the person we are protecting them from. why is that not being brought up about helsinki? host: from indiana, paul is next. democrats line. caller: i've been a democrat for 40 years my father was a the southommitteeman side of chicago. thereeen paid since i've since i was 18 to bring illegals to the polls. we were dollar head back in the 70's and 80's there up to five dollars a head it happens in every prince inc. in the city of chicago.

52 wards and two precincts award so you the math on that. host: who are you paid by specifically? caller: luis gutierrez rented the van so how is that? host: from modesto, california, mike. caller: i was responding to the fellow that was observing that you guys are twisted to the left. i find that hilarious. from theou have heat right all the time and you try to bend over backwards in my opinion. every time me like you turn it on it a foundation. yesterday it was fake christians for jews. the confirmation hearings of robert and alito and both of them responded we are cool with

-- is that specific to row versus wade and they said oh yeah that is discover law and you wait and see how that turns out for you. host: the democrats and republicans lines to switch up. if you are observing that. ahead.ello go caller: good morning i don't -- i think you guys are pretty much in the middle. you don't take sides. those security clearances should been taken away day one. all these men are enemy of the state. they're traitors they try to impeach and they are the ones committing treason and i pray to god those security clearances are taken out immediately because they are hurting this country. i did not vote for obama but i tolerated eight years of his presidency because he was my president. i did not vote for him but i respected him.

host: mary in north carolina talking about security clearances that may come up during the week. the house of representatives comes into their session for their business. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the speaker's room, washington, d.c., july 24, 2018. i hereby appoint the honorable steven m. palazzo to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, paul d. ryan, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the order of the house of january 8, 2018, the chair will now recognize members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning hour debate. the chair will alternate recognition between the parties. all time shall be equally allocated between the parties and in no event shall debate