state of black america. we speak to colin it -- connor acting chair of the consumer product safety commission ann marie buerkle. ♪ host: good morning. it is thursday, august 2, 2018. the house is on august recess and the senate adjourned with plans to convene on wednesday, august 15. we are with you for "washington journal." we will talk about defense spending, the midterms, and the consumer product safety commission, but we would again does we begin with open phones in our first half-hour. republicans can call in at (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000.

.ndependents, (202) 748-8002 you can catch up with us on social media, on twitter and on facebook. a very good thursday morning to you. you can start calling in now on open phones as we take you through a few of the top headlines. the senate passing a new defense , a spendingn bill authorization to the tune of $717 billion. that bill had passed the house and is on its way to the president after being passed by vote.nate by in 87-10 we will delve more into that bill and what is in it later in our program. the johnicially named s. mccain national defense authorization act. chairman john mccain has been in arizona recovering from brain cancer since last year.

he tweeted last night after the senate passed its version of the bill, saying, i am humbled my colleagues chose to designate this bill in my name. i have found high purpose in the service of a cause greater than the women ande of men who defend america and all that may stand for. of those who defend the united states, this story on the status of those war remains from the korean war, it was a solid ceremony in south korea -- solemn ceremony in south korea. 55 flag draped -- the ceremony, you can see the image at joint base pearl harbor in hawaii. vice president mike pence was

there to receive the remains in an honorable cary ceremony. 700,700 troops are unaccounted for in north korea. president tweeting about six hours ago about the transfer of those remains from korea, saying, thank you chairman kim jong-un for keeping your word and beginning the process of sending home our great and missing fallen. i am not at all surprised that you took this kind action. also, thank you for your nice letter. i look forward to seeing you soon. tweets yesterday on the ball or investigation getting a lot of attention on the front pages of today's newspapers. here is the story of usa today -- president trump writing on twitter the jeff sessions should --p the rigged russia rick

witchhunt right now before it stains our country even further and accuse robert mueller of having a conflict of interest, and criticized his staff as angry democrats that are doing his dirty work. the president saying it was a the top democrat on the house intelligence committee. says his client was expressing his opinion on his favored medium for communicating, not issuing an order to his attorney general. the editorial board of "the washington cup -- "the washington post" seizing on that tweet. in their lead editorial, instead of focusing on defending the country from further attack the president has resisted and undercut efforts to evaluate

what happened. it may be understandable for him to dislike anything that seems to question the legitimacy of his remarkable 2016 victory, which took most political professions by surprise. act onot acceptable to that sentiment by trashing american law enforcement professionals and journalists. the editorial board of "the washington post" today. if you want to join in the conversation, republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. .ndependents, (202) 748-8002 a few tweets already this morning. david writes -- honesty in the executive branch. kevin writes in -- how about elder care? i know more and more people are on hard times because they cannot afford suitable eldercare.

medicare only pays a portion of these bills. kevin in denver writing in about that 3:47 ago -- a.m., coffee mostly. we want to know what is on your mind in open phones. silver spring maryland, a democrat. caller: good morning. good morning. host: go ahead. caller: i just wanted to say that president trump has been fighting back with robert mueller and saying that jeff sessions should recuse himself -- not recuse himself, should intervene in this matter. i think the president should just allow the mueller investigation to continue. if he didn't do anything, then fine. let him support the mueller investigation and have the american people hear what

mueller has to say. if mueller has to say trump did not do it, did not collude, but the russians did interfere, then he can be a winner in this. him fighting and lying about it i think is just dividing the country. as an immigrant myself, 20 years in this country, i have never seen the country in this much division and also just chaos. the president of the united states is held in a higher standard around the world, that nowadays -- but nowadays it is a low standard. anybody that comes in after him is not going to be -- is not going to need to have too much credibility to beat him. i am just waiting until the mueller investigation comes out with their findings.

let's give the country relief. west titus is in lynnfield, michigan, for democrats. caller: thank you so much. just reflecting on trump's presidency, i am wondering on how -- i believe he has brought shame to the governments of this country. what do you think? host: we want to know what you think this morning and open phones. lily, kentucky, on the line for independents. caller: i wanted to take the time to encourage everybody to reflect on the career of senator robert kennedy. i think we all could benefit from looking at some of his speeches and his personality and his life.

he was a martyr. to ethel kennedy who is still alive and out there, god bless you, man. thank you, and i hope you are in good health. host: what speech, what quote from bobby kennedy sticks out to you? well, there are many. any action a man can do can send out tiny ripples of hope into the world. kentucky. is brad in bobby kennedy killed 50 years ago earlier this summer. ofwas june 5, i believe, 1968. josh is in detroit, michigan, line for democrats. good morning.

josh, are you with us? in pomona, newl york, independent. .aller: hi i just want to say that the republican party must have fell asleep to allow a dictator like donald trump to do whatever he wants to do, and furthermore, donald trump, melania trump, , trumpand michelle obama and his wife could not shine obama and his wife's shoes. disgraceump is a total and i am hoping that they are able to put the cuffs on this guy and put him in jail, because he is nothing more than a dictator. we can't allow a dictator in the united states. host: speaking of the russian

investigation, the president's tweet yesterday saying attorney general jeff sessions should stop this rigged with china right now got a lot of attention -- rigged witchhunt right now got a lot of attention. >> many have described the president's tweet as blowing off steam. is that a fair characterization? it is just an opinion and has nothing to do with his governmental control or supervision really -- supervision of this? >> it is not an order. he has been crystal clear how he feels about this investigation from the beginning. host: taking your calls in open phones. hal is in california, republican. caller: hi. i just wanted to say that i think trump is doing a very good job. matter of fact, i haven't seen a

president do so well and so fast in all my life. hispanic. i was born here. my uncles, my father, my brother , i missed the draft just buy a year. -- just by a year. if you look at things realistically, all i see is him trying to do the best he can for this country. i am hispanic. i think we need the border. it is very serious. we are talking about our tax dollars going away. beginning maythe be it was fine, people were

doing things that should not have been done, but you know what, it is time to stop these drugs, all that other stuff that has been talked about, that needs to stop. host: how do you think -- do you think the funding for the border wall is worth shutting down the government over if it comes to that? caller: no, i don't think that is worth that and i do not think it will come to that. host: why don't you think it will come to that? saidr: because trump has he was going to do it. i think it was just a threat. it is just like anybody talking. when you talk and think about things and you think about it, you can change your mind, just like a woman's prerogative. int: we will go to linda marx, mississippi, for democrats.

mississippi, line for democrats. caller: i think when a president it should be things that should be for the country. whenever he speaks, he is just like a three-year-old. someone has to come and clean up the mess that his mouth dribbled out. obama ofaccuse barack inling out the automobiles 2009, he comes up and wants to give the farmers $12 billion. obamat had been barack making all of this mess and have a somebody clean it up, these republicans would be on fire. leader.st like a cut

he tells them -- alt leader -- cult leader. he tells them, do not hear what you hear or see what you see, just believe me. they believe him. how in the world could a grown person with common sense believe a lying fool? host: on the issue of the border wall and the timing of a potential shutdown over the border wall, here is a story from "rollcall" from yesterday. signalingdonald trump he might sign with republican lawmakers and delay a government shutdown showdown until after november's midterm elections. now the showdown could take place after the election, i happen to think it is a great political thing because people want border security, trump said on the rush limbaugh radio program.

ending the anniversary these a lottery -- diverse array visa he threatened a third federal funding laps on his watch over the immigration matter. jim is in manassas, virginia, an independent. caller: good morning. thanks for your c-span. i have a suggestion on the supreme court. it seems that there is a lot of dispute and conflict on that. we have 11 circuit court districts in america and it to maybem logical consider expanding the supreme court to 11 justices. that might balance the court better. pick who would get to those extra justices?

what it be one president at one time or would we spread it out? caller: i would think the current president would appoint whatever justices are vacant. host: that is jim with his suggestion. some information on the timing of brett kavanaugh's supreme court confirmation hearing and potential vote, we will probably know whether he will be the ninth justice of the supreme court by early october, according to chuck grassley, who heads the senate judiciary committee. he told a radio host that a hearing in front of the judiciary committee will take place in september and a vote will follow in early october. karen, detroit, michigan, democrat. caller: yes, hi. i am calling about the medicare and seniors in what they have to go through once they work and

retire and can't seem to get help with their benefits. i worked in this city for many years as a home health aide. can'tdown in my body and get any help from anyone. $134 out of your social security check and then they only pay 80%. what happens to the seniors for the other 20%? orean, if you have a house you worked all your life and you have a house, you have to have a little savings to pay for things that go wrong. ify don't want to help you you have anything less than $2000. i don't understand how it can what did they expect of us? we worked in this town and we can't seem to get any help.

i am very concerned about that and i would like for someone to address the senior citizens that need to have help with the 20% of their health care. host: thanks for your call this morning. some news out of the white house yesterday, the trump administration and one of its most significant efforts to roll back the affordable care act released a rule that will allow for the proliferation of cheaper, less comprehensive health plans that were restricted by the former obama administration. it would loosen restrictions on short-term medical coverage. such terms -- plans can now only be carried for up to 90 days. the new rule would allow the plans to last for a year and be renewed for a total coverage of 36 months. the plans do not have to cover people with pre-existing conditions and insurers can charge higher premiums waste on

a consumer's health status. chuck schumer took to the floor to talk about what he described as the president's junk health care plans. [video clip] the trump administration has finalized a plan for health insurance that will essentially repeal protections on pre-existing conditions and allow insurance companies to cover fewer benefits. the so-called short-term plans are the very definition of a bait and switch. under the guise of lower premiums, these plans lure americans and but they hardly cover anything. the insurance company will tell you this plan will cover you for this and that and then when you read the fine print, it doesn't, even though you are paying a nice size premium. there are no protections in these plans if you develop a pre-existing condition. god for bid you find out your son or daughter has cancer, q

need help, you are desperate for help, you areeed desperate for help, and the insurance company can just kick you off. that is not what america should be. these plans the administration is supporting, allowing, pushing don't have any protections for pre-existing conditions. many don't cover basic services like maternity care, prescription drugs. how do you like that? you sign-up up for a plan, no prescription drugs. when you get sick, you discover you are on the hook for much more than you expected, maybe much more than you can afford. host: about 10 minutes left in open phones in this first segment of "washington journal." taking your lines for republicans, democrats, and independents. gary is a republican in sterling, virginia. caller: thank you for taking my call.

i would like to talk about these world leaders and their immigration problems. birth control, and how these leaders, a lot of them are against birth control and at the same time they are against immigration. that doesn't seem logical, reasonable, or shows any common sense. know,t understand, you what -- people talk about the sanctity of life. i think they are just pandering to the perverts and pedophiles. i don't like subsidizing puppy mills for pedophiles. thank you very much. host: fran in jacksonville, florida, democrat. caller: good morning. as far as health care is concerned and what they are

trying to do with obamacare, i ,m not really for single-payer but i think we need a public option. give thehat would population more choice and would make the insurance companies live up to their responsibilities. as far as donald trump is concerned, he is a menace to society. i would like to hear some people talk about that $100 billion tax cut that he is trying to go around congress to give to the billionaires. does his base agree with that? also, there should be no hearing on the supreme court justice until the mueller probe is complete. those are my thoughts. host: catherine is in north conway, new hampshire, independent. caller: good morning. i have a question.

warming andglobal climate change. we know many of the reasons contributing to this change. history,d, our earth in our earth history magnetic poles have reversed. i wondered if this was contributing to climate change. are we at the beginning of a reversal? middle? does it happen quickly or slowly? i just wondered if it had another factor in climate change. host: thanks for the questions. it is a bit above my pay grade, but if others want to talk about climate change they can do so. morris is in san diego, california, line for republicans. caller: it is not above my pay grade or maybe it is way above my pay grade, but i can answer those questions. the thing that has the biggest impact on climate change is god. he is the one that controls the

weather. that is not why i called. i wanted to say quick comment about a few things. john mccain, i don't want to beat up on him to bring much. -- too much. he did a lot of damage with that health care bill when he did the thumbs down so i hold that against him. the economy is like a bullet train right now. as soon as the democrats wake up and admit that donald trump is good for the economy, i don't even know what they are running. do the democrats have a platform anymore? it looks like they have not come up with anything yet. host: on the economy, we should get more news on the economy in about 25 hours. the jobs report usually released about 8:30 on friday mornings. on the first friday of the month, that is coming up tomorrow. jim is in york, pennsylvania, an

independent. caller: good morning. i wanted to comment on the mueller investigation. to me, i would use the words of the lead investigator. it seems like a very effective insurance policy and seems to be paying off big time. we'll all know that russia has been interfering in our society since 1919. that would be their modus operandi for the last 100 years. that is it. host: are you concerned about what russia will do in the midterm elections? we are less than 100 days away. caller: yes, we should have been concerned about that for the last hundred years. it is not something that is new and is not something that came

with the 2016 election. we should have been concerned about that since 1917. host: do you think the current administration is paying enough attention to that issue? caller: at least as much, or more than previous generations, yes. yesterday helde a hearing in the senate intelligence committee on russian influence in u.s. elections. here is the chairman of the senate intelligence committee, at your birth, yesterday. [video clip] >> the russians conducted a structured plan using u.s. based social media platforms to target the american people using race,ve issues such as immigration, and sexual race, immigration, and sexual

orientation. that campaign is still active today. they didn't do it because they have political leanings to the right or to the left, but because -- or because they care about our elections, but rather because a week america is good for russia. some feel that we as a society are sitting in a burning room calmly tricking a cup of coffee, telling ourselves, this is fine. it is not fine and that is not the case. we should no longer be talking about this the russians the russiansif attempted to interfere in american society. they are still doing it today. host: if you want to watch that hearing in its entirety, check it out at c-span.org. roseann, san diego, california, line for democrats. caller: there are so many horrible things that trump has done to talk about, but the one that i have on my mind is just the vulgar and horrible behavior of those people at the florida rally that he had.

that was just so embarrassing for the american -- for america. i just cannot get over that much anger at nothing. anyway, that is my topic for today. believe how those people behaved and they are doing it all the time. it is not like that was anything new. host: president trump expected to hold another rally tonight in wilkes-barre, pennsylvania. we will be covering it on c-span two and on c-span radio and the web at c-span.org. robert is in caspian, michigan, an independent. caller: good morning, america. about theopinion elections from state to state for governors and senators for different states.

i don't think the president should get involved in different elections throughout the state, not just the present president but in the past i got to look in and watch in. i think he should maybe attempt tend to moreess -- business of the country instead of getting involved in trying to influence different people to sway for this person and that person that is running for the governor of each state. i think it would be a waste of the taxpayers' dollars for him to go around flying the plane like that, doing that i know it is his personal opinion and he is entitled to that. -- i thinkn't think they should have some policies made to where the president should stay out of the elections from states. a red state,ys

blue state, different governors, and they bicker back and forth and the president leans one way or the other and tries to influence it. lately, i have been watching about three or four different races throughout the summer where he lost his -- the election he was wanting the governor or senator to run for. i think some of them do not really want him sometimes. host: on the election front, a key primary taking place today in tennessee, the governor's race and also a senate race. what do you think about former presidents making endorsements in the midterms and current races? would you be ok with that? caller: no, that is what i'm saying. i think it should of been years ago actually, just got to thinking i do not think the president should be allowed to

endorse different candidates. that is the word i was looking for, endorsing different candidates. i think he should stay in the house and -- host: even if he is no longer in the white house, if he is a past president? caller: icy, if he is a past .resident -- i see if he is a past president, that might be a different story. again, i am a four-year veteran in the air force back in the 1970's and i have not been paying attention much until i retired. i don't think nobody pays attention much to politics if they are a working-class person, because you are too busy paying bills and taking care of the house and doing other things, and you do not have time for that. host: thanks for paying attention and calling in.

formerendorsement front, president barack obama endorsed some 81 candidates in the midterms and said he is eager to get involved. that is the story from "usa today" yesterday. barack obama engaging in the midterm elections, we are less than 100 days away. maine, lineshburn, for republicans. go ahead. caller: i think the democrats are on the wrong end of the deal. they want open borders, they want to destroy the country, that is what is happening. then you have a past president who is the god of the democrats who aided and abetted iran and god knows how much other damage he has done that we do not know about. brennan was a muslim working in the white house, everyone knows that, but they do not discuss those things.

host: who are you referring to? caller: the former cia director who was vocal against trump. he is a muslim. everyone knows that. host: how do you know that? caller: i have seen it. host: we will stay in maine, stephen is in madison, a republican. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i just wanted to make a comment that i don't see how the democrats are doing anything for this country. thatn, it just seems to me people should get together and do what is right for this country, never mind the fighting between democrats and republicans. we are all americans in this country and we should all watch out for each other. if there is something wrong with that, i don't understand why

someone would find a problem with watching out for americans. that is the job of the president and i think he is doing a heck of a job with america. the numbers don't lie. the economy is booming. people are back to work. what is so wrong with this that the democrats have to every time something happens, they always have negative comments? when can we get some bipartisanship in this country? it will help everyone in this country do what they need to do. have a good life. thank you. host: that is stephen in madison, maine, our last caller on this open phones segment. we will be right back to have a conversation about the state of black america. we will be joined by national urban league president arce

morreale joining up -- marc from columbus,us ohio to discuss their national convention. later on, president trump is poised to sign the $717 billion defense authorization bill that passed yesterday. we will take a look at the big ticket items and that bill with connor o'brien, reporter from "politico." we will be right back. ♪ >> we have found out over the last two years that many of the areas introduced into the 2016 election were not of american origin, that they were crafted by foreign intelligence agencies outside the united states. >> sunday night on afterwords, former cia officer malcolm nance and his book. burning were slow

propaganda warfare techniques used by russia, but could never keep pace with the news media world of the 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, and 1990's. it is only when social media came to the height of its power, the ability of you to pick up a fake story and in fact three or four or 10 other people inside your facebook channel or twitter feed, and then they would do the toe thing in a daisy chain effectively create an unbreakable link of false narrative. at that point, nothing you believe before can ever be real because you will abandon it on the basis that it is being super reinforced by everyone you know, including the president. sunday nightrwords at 9:00 p.m. eastern on c-span twos book tv.

>> american history tv on c-span3 is in prime time this week, starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern. tonight, world war ii d-day films featuring the 20th anniversary of the movie "saving private ryan." the confederate icons conference on the history and future of confederate monuments and the battle flag. watch american history tv this week in primetime on c-span3. "washington journal" continues. host: mark morreale is the president and ceo of the national urban league, joining -- marc morirreale al is the president and ceo of the national urban league, joining us from columbus, ohio. guest: let me thank you for

having me and say good morning to you and all of your listeners and viewers across the nation. this year's state of black america, we took a bit of a different cut. we decided to look at the technology sector, what we call the digital revolution, and examine the effect it is having on the nation and its effect on black people and urban communities. here is what we found. we found that african americans are much more likely to own a smart phone, to be at the forefront of using social media and those sorts of online tools, than any other ethnic group with the exception of asian americans. that was a very interesting and powerful finding. secondly, we found that for many of the large silicon valley companies, african-american employment levels at those companies is really below par.

it is not a significant percentage and there is a tremendous amount of work to do. where does this lead? this leads to the very important question, and this is what we are examining in columbus as part of our conference -- how will this digital revolution benefit everyone when it comes to the jobs it is creating, the economic opportunities it is creating, and the wealth it is creating? we have got a lot of things taking place. we have a tech zone. we have a number of competitions for young people developing apps. we have small business matters which is designed to lift up small businesses focus in the african-american community. we are focusing on looking at the problem and defining, lifting, and energizing the solutions. host: president trump often focuses on job creation. can you talk about almost two years since the election of donald trump, what has been the

trajectory of african-american employment in those sectors you were talking about? what impacts has the trump administration had? guest: i like to think the obama recovery has continued. this recovery we are in, this unprecedented streak of job creation began in president obama's first-term. up agan slowly and picked mentor, and we have been averaging about 200,000 jobs per month in terms of being created. this is continued into the trump administration. the growth a bit has increased, but let's look at the fact that the trump administration has boosted the economy with its own stimulus. the tax cut was a stimulus. the increase in defense and domestic stimulate -- spending our stimulus is that will add to the debt and deficit.

job growth and expansion is good, but we want to underscore that the black unemployment rate is still twice as high as the white rate, and that african american homeownership and homeownership for all americans is at historic lows, lower than it has been in multiple generations. that paycheck, people who are working, they still do not feel like they are getting ahead because wages have been stagnant for many years in america and they have not significantly increased. they are taking up a little bit now and that is good, but it wagesake a long uptick in for people to feel as though they are earnings -- their earnings are giving them a chance to live a dignified life. host: african-american employment came up yesterday at . white house roundtable the president talking about it

but also darrell scott, and african-american pastor, was at that forum. some of the comments he made about the trump administration and its impact. [video clip] >> this is probably the most proactive community we have had in my lifetime. i am almost 60. i have a good makeup artist. to be honest, this is probably going to be -- i'm going to say this -- the most pro-black president we have had in our lifetime because i try to analyze the people i encounter. this president actually wants to prove something to our community, our faith-based community and ethnic community. the last president feel like -- felt like he did not have to. this president and this administration will probably more proactive regarding prison

reform than any present in your lifetime -- president in your lifetime. do not pay attention to these guys back here, and i promise you, we will do something -- this administration will continue to make history. it will be a lot of positive change, great things on the horizon. host: marc morial i want to get your response. guest: it sounds like a paid political advertisement to me, it really does. it is a gross exaggeration. it is a gross exaggeration to speak in such exaggerated terms for a president who has been in office only 18 months. we don't have enough time to compare or to talk about the obama administration or even the bush administration or even the clinton administration, in terms of the steps they took to advance urban america. i have been on the scene, i was

mayor of new orleans during the clinton and bush years. i was president of the urban league during the bush, obama, and trump years. if there was a window of opportunity where the trump administration could make a difference, it is in prison and criminal justice reform. i think there is a determination by many in his administration to put their markdown, but that does not take away from the rollback of civil rights titans is taking place at the justice department or department of education. those rollbacks have a long-term, deleterious effect on the body politic of the nation. nor does it take away from this charged up climate in the it isy of rhetoric and extremely divisive. i do not have enough time here to just go point by point with this particular pastor, but it was a great paid political

advertisement. host: we are taking your calls , the ceo andial president of the national urban league. republicans, (202) 748-8001 is the number. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. this was the 42nd report of the state of black america, focused on the digital revolution. that is the focus of the conference that marc morial is heading up today in columbus, ohio, joining us to take your calls. james is first in hyattsville, maryland, a republican. caller: good morning. , i wondern to you what you might think of an idea with the president's supposed idea about the capital gains and making the inflation adjustment in the stock market.

i am just thinking that african-americans and minorities are underrepresented in the stock market. foret them into investing the betterment of america, if instead of proposing that tax wealthy or to increase the incentive, how tax returns are under a certain amount, $40,000, $50,000 a year, to have zero capital gains for your investments in the stock market as a way to stimulate interest and get them investing in themselves and in this country? thank you. guest: that is an interesting idea that i have not heard, which is to create a capital gains rate for people whose income is below a certain level. that is an interesting idea.

i would study that sort of idea and would not dismiss it out of hand. what i have always thought about the capital gains tax, and there was a positive provision in the recent tax bill which created the opportunities on program -- opportunity zone program, which will create capital gains relief for investors who invest in distressed areas. those distressed areas which will be designated could be rural or urban. i have always been open-minded about the idea of creating tax-based incentives for investments of private capital in urban areas. that is the key. how do we redirect private ,apital that will build housing create affordable housing, retail opportunities, support small businesses, into areas that are distressed? your idea is interesting. i am going to take a look at it.

i think a broad-based cut in the capital gains tax, however, is not necessarily a good thing. there is no suggestion that the money is going to be reinvested back where we need the money to be reinvested in america, and we have also got to watch the deficit. we have to watch the deficit and debt in this country, and make sure that the steps that we take are not unduly burdening that. i want to thank you for the idea , and certainly, we are going to take a look at that thought. host: kevin is a democrat in chicago, good morning. caller: good morning. so very interesting. sector, andnd that what it means for opportunities for african americans. it just so happens that i work for a technology company in human resources.

we are global in scope. here is the challenge i think that faces african-americans in that sector. low, not because skill sets are low necessarily but because of unconscious bias we know exists. when we do look at our global numbers, since we are a global company, i can't say who, we are looking at other diversity metrics, particularly gender. females and gender because of our global scope. we are also multiethnic since we operate in over 27 countries. that complicates those diversity metrics, but much like affirmative action -- and a lot of white collars do not know this and need to know -- the number one beneficiaries of affirmative action are indeed

white, females, not black women or men. that needs to be clarified to everyone. one other thing, please do not get off police brutality. there needs to be a laser focus on that, beyond this administration. it is scary for us. cops,n gangs, crime, and we can't lose sight. we can win the american people over on this. we got to stay on it. those are my comments. host: marc morial? guest: i appreciate his passion on police brutality and misconduct. he is from chicago. chicago is now debating a police consent decree, which i think is the right step to reform the chicago police department and get away from some of the bad history of awful

unarmed black man being killed by the police. host: history quickly? guest: basically it is an agreement between the department of justice, usually, and i believe it is between the state of illinois and chicago police department. that is an agreement to take certain, very specific and concrete steps towards reforming a police department with the possibility of judicial , andight, penalties sanctions, if the parties do not follow the written agreement. it is an excellent way to get everyone to the table who is willing to work on reform. i would just say on his other question, this challenge of diversity is a multiethnic challenge, but here in the united states we have got to understand that the legacy, if , african-americans and latinos, we found there is an

incredible reservoir of talented, young african-americans studying computer science and technology like -- at students like howard and i could name anymore, tuskegee university, as well as places like georgia tech, university of maryland. we have got to make sure we are doing everything to lift them up. he talked about unconscious bias. we have to kick unconscious bias in the you know what and end it in america. host: eric is here in washington, d.c., independent. caller: thank you for giving me the chance to speak about the state of black america. i am an african-american myself. my comment is if we really need to change our community, we need to be honest with us first. first of all, black on black crime, i always hear about police brutality but if i take

baltimore, if i take chicago, citiesrican-american where african-americans are the majority, we have our own people killing our own brothers. i do not see the outrage. the outrage is only there when it is a white man killing a black man. also, a lot of my fellow ged,ers do not even have a high school diploma. it is as if we do not really understand that education is the key. the only time i hear about my black brother is when they play basketball or saying. -- sing. we need to understand that we need to educate our own. how many african-americans are born to a single home parent? we need to go back to our values. we need to start a change with our self first and then we can

continue. host: marc morial? guest: i wonder if the caller has heard of freemen rebel ski, the president -- freemen ruboq ski? this conflation between black on black crime and police brutality is based on an illogical comparison. we know, and there is a tremendous amount of outrage and pain in the african-american community when it comes to black on black crime. if you are part of the african-american community, you would see it in community organizations, churches, grassroots organizations. that does not get seen by the mainstream of america because it does not get the media attention. second to that, we know with black on black crime that when in fact someone is caught, they are going to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

the issue with police brutality is lack of accountability. the officers can engage in illegal acts, they can engage in killings of unarmed black man and suffer no sanctions. it is an accountability issue that raises the ire and concern. if there was accountability, then these issues would not raise the kind of protests and the ire that one speaks. i have to push back on this false stereotype, this false stereotype that every african-american doesn't have an education, every african-american is born of an unwed mother, and try to create a pejorative image of black america. that is not true. we have an incredible, the highest high school graduation rates in black america in american history. that happened under the bomb. .- president obama

we have one of the highest college matriculation rates among young african-americans than ever before. it is a myth there are more african-americans in jail than in college, african-american men in jail than colleges. that is a myth and it is not true. i have to address some of the caller's points are based on stereotypes and myths that simply do not hold up to the facts. since we work in this space and look at these numbers, and our organization is immersed in the community, i always appreciate the chance to speak to c-span's viewers who want to be open-minded, to clear up and clarify, are there issues in every community? the number of children born to unwed mothers is up among all races, not just african-americans. we have got to understand that the broader societal challenges we face in a country, but

whether a child is born of a single mother or two families, the issue is, will we provide the support and love and caring for them to become the type of person, the type of adult we want them to be? that is what the urban league works on. host: we mentioned that criminal justice roundtable at the white house yesterday. were you invited to join that? guest: i don't believe i was invited to be a part of that. --i was -- i doubt if i was i could not have been there anyway. jared kushner, the president's son-in-law and a number of other the ideave lifted up of criminal justice reform and prison reform within the administration. i have had a number of conversations with him. we worked together with congressman hakeem jeffries and in november -- a number of

republican members of the house to pass the first step act, a prison reform bill which is just a piece of criminal justice reform. we need broader reforms, sentencing reforms, bail reforms. we need more support for the public defender system in america. the first step act is something we have worked with, and we have also worked with them on the concept of expanding the commitment to reentry. notwithstanding the fact that i have got a deep disagreement with many of the administration's policies, i am never going to have a closed door to finding ways, means, methods, to benefit our community. it could very well be that there is some opportunities because there is a democratic, , leftican, independent

right momentum to do something significant around criminal justice reform, if we can get the politics straight. the ideas are there. the will outside the political spectrum is there. when we get the politics straight, there is a chance to do something significant in that area, and there are allies within the administration, and certainly a tremendous coalition of people outside who run the ge political spectrum. we are looking forward to that continuing. host: we have time for maybe one or two more phone calls before you start your day in columbus. david has been waiting in chicago, a democrat. good morning. caller: good morning. i'm sure you are concerned about african-american tech hiring. i'm not sure if you are aware of this, but in silicon valley there are very eager just jim crow hiring practices. for instance, they are using

workers to report to the government, and this is illegal. you only have 2% hiring of african-americans in silicon valley, which has been going on for a long time. and then to help make the 14th amendment means something, what about representative yoder's quota in that amendment basically rubberstamping the legal test the legal executive order by president obama? just look at those two things. start enforcing the law for a oc reporting. eocs best for -- for reporting. it is out of control. guest: excellent points.

we are certainly going to take a look into those items. thanks for bringing them to our attention. host: last call from james and pensacola, florida, a republican. caller: how are you doing, sir? pensacola is not too far from my hometown. caller: it is kind of rainy right now i'm cloudy. i have a question. i think the whole russia investigation is overblown. to tell you the truth, i'm an african-american trump supporter under 35. i know what goes on in cities like new orleans, baltimore, where the crime rate is outrageous. nothing is really done about it. witha had nothing to do the election. i think it was democratic failed policies that put trump in office. if you look at everything since

the clinton administration, it hasn't been good for the african-american community. the african-american community has to take -- will look at itself for change. the wholennot change destiny for a group of people. change has to start within, sir. that's all i'm saying. i know you work for the urban league, and i appreciate what you do, sir. if peoplekind of like are not getting along in the community, there will never be any peace. i think it is the mass media and propaganda that spread it out to the masses of the black community that promote ignorance. host: that's james in florida. guest: let me just quickly respond. i think that there is ample,

overwhelming evidence that's been reported from our own intelligence community that russia engaged in a pattern and practice of activities to try to interfere in our american election. we also know from revelations made just yesterday that foreign actors are seeking to impact the 2018 election cycle. i am not in a position to disagree with them. how can i disagree or watch it i disagree with these preliminary findings? i also think that people need to understand that the mueller investigation needs to be allowed to run its course. there's no basis to shut down an investigation in the middle of callsrticularly if the come from people who may be the subjects or targets were people of interest. we need to let it run its course and judges result aced on what the results are. mr. manafort is on trial in

northern virginia. whether his actions had anything to do with the trump campaign, what we do know is that he had close ties with russia and powerful people in russia related to his work in ukraine. we need to let this investigation run its course like any other normal investigation. is that,been notable notwithstanding all of the attacks and opinionated, mueller has taken a highly professional approach by not publicly commenting, not calling press conferences, not standing on a podium to sort of talk about the investigation and where he is. we should allow it to run its course. i believe our intelligence agencies and the reports i've seen that there has been an appearance. today people who may be supporters of donald trump may say i don't think there's any russian. tomorrow another foreign power

to try to help somebody else or some candidate you don't necessarily support. that's what we've got to understand. at the bottom line, we got to cut this off, this idea that russia or any other nation can participate in interfering and seek to manipulate american public opinion around democracy. they don't have democracy in the country like we have. we've got a protectorate. we've got to -- we got to protect it. we've got to treasure it. we have got to preserve it for our children and our children's children. host: we appreciate your time during your annual conference out in columbus. ," next on "washington journal we will talk about the national defense authorization act, a $770 billion authorization bill the senate passed yesterday.

it is on its way to president trump's desk for his signature. on o'brien, the defense -- conor o'brien, the defense reporter for politico, will be on. with the consumer product safety commission, ann marie buerkle will be here. we will be right back. ♪ announcer: this sunday on "oral histories," we continue our series on women in congress with former democratic congresswoman pat schroeder. when we first got elected, i was in this idealistic mode of this is wonderful. how long do you think it will be before almost half of the houses female? so i asked the library of congress or somebody with a thought. they said probably 300 years. [laughter]

it is very incremental. very incremental. announcer: in the weeks ahead, we will hear from sue myrick, eva clayton, barbara canales, nancy johnson, and lynn woolsey. watch "oral histories" sunday at 10:00 a.m. eastern on american history tv on c-span3. weekncer: on c-span this in primetime, tonight at 10 a p.m.,p.m., -- at 10:00 the net roots conference with cory booker. on friday, more from the netroots conference with senators elizabeth warren and kamala harris. ,his week on c-span www.c-span.org, and the c-span radio app.

announcer: "washington journal" continues. host: conor o'brien is the defense reporter with politico joining us this morning. as we try to tackle this massive bill, break it down into its main categories. as i understand, this is made up of a base budget for the pentagon, energy department defense programs, and for overseas military operations. how did each one of those faire in this larger bill -- how did each one of those fare in this larger bill? guest: it does not provide funding, but sets these topline and as importantly, prescribes policy for the pentagon. $717 billion, a very healthy about. it is a near historic budget level for the pentagon. essentially the pentagon's base

budget, the everyday program ballpark --nd, just a lot of members to figure out the past week -- just under $620 billion for that. just a little bit over $20 billion for the nuclear weapons programs of the energy department, and about $69 billion for the war budget, which is separate. it takes care of things like positioning troops in europe, the war in afghanistan, the campaign against isis. that is not capped by these budget caps that lawmakers have complained about these last seven years. we have seen that try to be used as an escape valve in recent years, but not this year. host: we often talk about these bills in terms of winners and losers. who were the winners and losers this year as compared to previous authorizations? guest: there are a lot of

winners, frankly. we saw it get broad bipartisan support. i think fewer than 60 members in the house voted against this last week. just 10 senators voted against it yesterday. really you are kind of a beneficiary if you are in favor of increasing the defense budget , building up the military. defense hawks have been big winners the past few years. they have helped secure a budget deal early this year that was about $165 billion increase in budget caps that we talked about over the next two years. , in general,y few lawmakers that don't benefit from a massive piece of legislation like this. if you don't have a base in your district, maybe you have a

contractor. maybe it is not building a massive weapon system, but a component or something like that. so a lot of winners. there are some people, some lawmakers who have complained billion is far70 billion is far7 too much for a department that has never undergone an audit. democrats have fought against a new low yield nuclear weapons, which is a smaller nuclear weapon that the trump administration asked for in its latest nuclear plan. that is authorized at just $65 million, but that is the initial funding to get the program kicked off. democrats really thought that one tooth and nail. bill, so thatat is probably going to get pushed off the next year again.

small?ow is this something that could be used tactically on the battlefield? nuest: that is the contentio of the justification for building these weapons. essentially what is called the nuclear posture review issued earlier this year by the trump administration said they want to build these low yield nuclear weapons that could be launched off of submarines, and the contention is that russia has these and is outpacing the united states. if russia has it, the united states should at least pursue it. host: we are taking your calls this morning with conor o'brien, defense reporter for politico. thise trying to break down $717 billion defense authorization bill, the john s. mccain defense authorization act .

if you have questions or comments, republicans (202) 748-8001, democrats (202) (202)00, independents 748-8002. on the naming of that bill from john mccain, whose idea was that? we saw some reaction from him on twitter. host: he was very humbled by that honor -- guest: he was very humbled by that honor. we have seen in the past the names of a retiring chairman, mostly house and senate arms chairmen. he hasn't been on capitol hill to manage this bill. the senate armed services committee elected to name the bill after him, and the joke going into the conference committee between the house and that the house

would happily give up on that issue and allow the bill to be named by john mica -- named for john mccain. obviously one of the top defense hawks on capitol hill, and just as importantly in recent years as the top gop critic of president trump and his agenda. authorizes anl increase of the overall size to the tune of how much? guest: the ranks of the active-duty military would increase by 15,600 kamala most of that in the army, but also in the marine corps, navy -- 15 most of that in the army, but also in the marine corps, navy, air force.

building up the navy to 355 ships. the idea that underpins this is the military needs to be bigger to meet the threats that are out there. members alsoduty would see a pay raise through this bill. guest: a 2.6% pay raise, the largest in nine years. law.was called for by the it was recommended by the trump administration, and there is really no debate on that one. lawmakers have really been out there touting that one as well. host: you mentioned the trump administration. the president is expected to sign this legislation? guest: that is unclear thus far. obviously it has to head over to the white house first. it will have to be enrolled, and then once it is the president will have 10 days minus sundays to sign it.

regardless of that timeline, i think if he signs it sometime before october 1 it will be the first time in 21 years, i 1997, to be signed before the start of the fiscal year. the committees actually went back and looked at when these bills became law over the last 57 years that the bill has been passed. this would be, they say, the earliest in just over four decades. host: taking your questions this morning on the ndaa, the national defense authorization act, passed by the senate yesterday before they left town. they won't be back until august 15. this large piece of legislation on its way to president trump's desk. darius in new hampshire, the line for independents. you are a first. -- you are up first. caller: good morning.

there's a lot of big thing -- there's a lot of bad things in that bill, and the american people have been losers. i want you to talk about the indefinite detention that been put in there. it is totally unconstitutional. there's a lot of unconstitutional stuff in that bill. host: what else concerns you beside that issue? caller: besides that issue? all the wasteful spending. there's so many things in there. it is mind-boggling. if you jump down the rabbit hole, which i hope most americans will come a figure it out. host: conor o'brien. guest: i think it is a good point. this bill, when you include the report that accompanied it is probably over a couple thousand pages, so it is very easy to lose stuff in there. on the indefinite detention peace, this has been an issue for lawmakers since the provision was included in

earlier ndaa in the obama administration. it might have been the 2013 and daa -- 2013 ndaa. it allowed for detention of terror suspects. critics have said this needs to be repealed as it could allow for indefinite detention of american citizens. the big advocates of this, senator rand paul, senator mike lee pushed very hard to get a vote on this on the senate floor . i believe senator lee was accompanied by senator feinstein, who used to be chairman of the intelligence committee. it has been blocked by folks like senator lindsey graham, who is a former military lawyer himself, who say that provision is necessary to detain people in the war on terror. that has not been resolved yet. that was not in this bill. ,n the wasteful spending piece

that is a concern of many lawmakers, absolutely. i think the interesting thing will be to see what the results of the pentagon's audit are in the fall when that comes outcome of the first-ever audit of the pentagon budget. saying whyawmakers are we giving the pentagon $700 billion plus when they haven't even been able to check their own books? host: jeff is in silver spring, maryland, a democrat. caller: thanks c-span for providing a great service. i have two questions. one, are the pay raises only for military? are the plans that there are no raises for federal employees? the question i really started with is i thought sequestration hadn't really been repealed. a thought that was providing some limits on the extent to which the defense funding could be expanded.

is that something i'm wrong about, or are they just going around it, or was it actually repealed? guest: the 2.6% pay raise is for military service members >> i can't -- service members. i can't speak for the whole civilian side, but that has been a complaint of some lawmakers that they need to take care of the civilian side as well. on the budget caps, technically the budget is still capped. it is just much higher than it used to be. which some ofaps your viewers probably know the history of were enacted in 2011 to cut the deficit, which was in excess of $1 trillion at the time. there have been deals essentially every two years to increase this cap -- increase s on defense and

domestic agencies. whereis kind of a cliff the real ample funding stream that's just been opened up would drop off in fy 2020. would look for lawmakers to try to make another deal to get through that, but if the majority's change, if something like that happens -- i mean, who knows what the priorities are going to be. in maryland. good morning. caller: it was just a couple years ago one of the generals said one of our greatest concerns is the national debt. barack obama cut our annual debt almost in half. we are back to looking like we will have a $1 trillion debt for the next 10 years because of the tax cuts that weren't paid for and aren't going to pay for themselves, and the military

spending. again, i'm ok with an increase in military spending, but two things need to happen. scrutinize how a are the money because there's a lot of waste, , help pay for the military and not put it on our credit cards. there is nothing conservative about putting this on our credit cards for our children and grandchildren. i'm just confused where all these fiscal conservatives are when they are blowing up our national debt more than barack obama ever did. it just concerns me that we don't have the fiscal conservatives out there going crazy over this administration and these republicans that are in office. i just hope democrats can get back in and we can have a little more balance because i think it democrats in have one house or republicans in one house because it provides better checks and balances.

i thought sequestration was a great thing because it forced them to make tough decisions. thank you. host: to clarify, the national almost $3 now is trillion. the federal deficit right now so far is $792 billion, although $1jections for the return of trillion deficits are in our country's future. people thought sequestration would bring some fiscal sanity back to the house. we had a massive budget deal worth about $300 billion in extra spending over the next two years, and you had a tax cut that, based on the estimates come at it somewhere between $1 trillion to $2 trillion to the debt.

not a lot of members, particularly on the republican side because they champion the tax cut, have wanted to connect the effect of the tax cut which reduces government revenue to what the prospects for our future defense budget are. i've asked a lot of members about this, and they don't really want to connect the two. someone who's heard that a lot in debate has been adam smith, the ranking number of the house armed services committee, who has said these $700 billion defense budget are going to be unsustainable because congress cut taxes by that much and really hasn't made the hard budget decisions. sequestrationt did reduce the deficit for some time, but going back up now because of abandoning those caps in part. host: about 10 minutes left in this segment on "washington

journal." taking your calls with connor o'brien of politico, a defense reporter. how did the chinese telecommunications company zte become a major sticking point in this year's ndaa? guest: a lot of the national security committees, particularly in house and senate armed services, have heard about zte and others, while wa -- and the cyber, security threat they pose through their equipment, things like smart phones. both versions of the ndaa in the house and senate had some version of a ban on federal agencies or the pentagon doing business with those companies, and what we saw in the final bill was the adoption of a governmentwide ban on zte and

huawei and similar chinese telecom companies. what senators in both parties pushed for and got into the senate passed bill was a provision to reinstate sanctions on zte. a couple of months ago the trip administration that's the trump -- the trumpn and administration and commerce department cut a deal with zte to install a compliance team in order to lift sanctions so they could do business in the united states again, what people have called lifting the death penalty. that provision was not carried in the final bill. really the only was an ndaa on the floor sponsor of the original provision and marco rubio complaining about how that is not in the final bill, saying this is a good bill, but a gaping national security hole.

one of the things that senator rubio complained about -- and he voted against the bill -- was that essentially the deal the trump administration made, slapping a big fine on that would not work because they are backed by the chinese government. they have close ties to the chinese government. it was popular with both parties, but what house and senate armed services leaders who negotiated that provision have said is that they still have a governmentwide ban, so that still is effective in their eyes. the other thing -- and this gets to kind of the inside congressional baseball -- is the congressional budget office which scores the budgetary effects of legislation and has a big role in the defense authorization bill said was that reinstating sanctions against zte would actually cost $1.2 billion because the government stands to gain $1 billion in the fine.

if you undo that deal, you lose that $1 billion. there are some other revenue provisions that add up to $200 million. they would have had to gone $1.2 billion find in mandatory spending, which there's not a lot of in ndaa. they claim their hands were tied to come up with some folks are not satisfied with where they landed on zte. host: to indiana, alan is a democrat. good morning. caller: good morning, and thank you for taking my call. especially thank you for the "washington journal," c-span. it truly invaluable service. that's a truly invaluable service -- a truly invaluable service. i think we are happily skipping into our next recession. we've got 13 aircraft carriers. they just commissioned the gerald ford. the rest of the world has five.

one in china, one in russia. even brazil has one, but i guess the president uses that to grow parties on. the f-35, 400 billion dollars was spent just on research and development, which is ridiculous. i kind of blame president obama for not killing. we were supposed to buy 2000 of them at a price of $130 million apiece. i believe in this defense bill there's another $10 billion for problems they still have with the f-35. the only military superpower in the world. i think we spend more than the next 10 nations combined, and we -- and wet cut taxes still cut taxes so we can't pay for it, which is a classic formula for recession. host: alan bringing up a couple of different issues there. guest: sure.

there are a lot of complaints about some of these big-ticket programs like the f-35. that is a big one for john mccain. it has been estimated that over the life of its service it will cost over $1 trillion. it will be the most expensive platform in military history. at the same time, it has also big tolled by some too fail because it is the only future plane we are now buying, what is called a fifth-generation fighter. an aircraft carriers, there was a multibillion-dollar cost overrun on the gerald r. ford, the latest aircraft carrier to launch. i believe we are at what the navy's requirement is, for 11 carriers. these programs, the

consensus is united states needs a lot of these systems have but pentagon waste continues to be an issue. host: we don't want to overrun our time too much. we will take two calls and let you comment on both before relate you go. gavin is up first in illinois, a republican. good morning. caller: good morning gentlemen. not too long ago there was an audit that was being done on the pentagon and the department of defense, and that kind of went by the wayside for some reason because they put up a roadblock to turning over details. it's been said that since 1988, 200 $18 trillion has gone -- $218 trillion has gone unaccounted for with all these military defense contractors.

there's no checks and balances. no one is really stating the real, true cost of all of this military hardware. there's 300,000 troops in 177 countries we have going on. i think it is just a big waste of money. it is draining the taxpayers. it is stripping money right out of the treasury, taxpayers' money up in smoke. 30's to be some accountability going on. this thing needs to be -- there needs to be some accountability going on. this thing needs to get under control. host: bill is next. caller: i look out my window here in tennessee as the green grass and trees. i don't see any burned-out areas, burned-out buildings, strafing or bombing history.

i really think that we are on the right track. we need to be strong and powerful. we need to have a great military. i saw the vote. pretty one-sided, wasn't it? i don't think you had that many people. i know you mentioned rubio was going against it. i really feel that we need to be strong and to be 10 times bigger than our nearest competitor, which happens to be china. host: thanks for the call from tennessee. conor o'brien on those last two callers. guest: that is kind of the we have about-war priorities in those last two calls. there are a lot of democrats saying, even if they do support this bill, that there needs to be a hard look at what our national priorities are in addition to defense. rhodes, education, health care, that sort of thing. hawks,ublicans, defense

invest in the't military for a long time, and now is the time to rebuild. that is kind of the clash. host: conor o'brien, cover of defense issues for politico, pleasure having you on. up next, ann marie buerkle will be here to talk about her agency's missions and priorities. stick around for that. we will be right back. ♪

announcer: friday at nine a clock p.m. eastern, watch our interview with larry kudlow come a director of the national council and senior advisor to president trump. mr. kudlow: under the right policies which provided economic opportunity and freedom and incentives, we can grow the american economy at least at its historic rate, which since world less 1952om more or the year 2000, we grew at 3.5% a year after inflation. i see no reason why we can't replicate that with proper policies. announcer: larry kudlow, friday night at 9:15 eastern on c-span, www.c-span.org, or the free c-span radio app. there are lots of people who feel like i don't love my kid to read stories that are sad, disturbing, downbeat, whatever.

right? that is not a totally illegitimate thing to say, i want to choose as a parent when my kid understands stuff that might bring them grief. but there's also a certain point beyond which that is like, well, they are 14 now. when are you going to introduce them to the idea that not everything is perfect outside your all-white suburb? all of those factors i think swirled together to create the perfect comes to fire -- perfect dumpster fire of mass banning of books by marginalized people. live sunday at noon eastern, discussing "walk away." his other books include "little brother" and 14 other novels. our special series "in-depth: fiction edition" with dr. cory torow on booktv on c-span2.

announcer: washington journal continues. host: for the next half hour, we will talk about the work of the consumer product safety commission with the acting chair of that agency, ann marie buerkle. what is the mission of the cpsc, and what you try to account wish? guest: thank you for having me this morning. our agency is often described as a small agency with a large mission. we have a statute we enforce that was enacted in 1972 and modernized in 2008 to protect the consumer from unreasonable risk of injury or death. that is essentially what we do through various methods. host: define unreasonable. guest: that is one for the books. that is often debated. when we look at a product, we

see if this is for seeable misuse. is there something we expect the consumer to do? that this violent one of our statutes like with children's products, small parts and sharp edges?those are all highly regulated products what wouldk to see create a substantial product hazard. host: how many people work at the cpsc? guest: we only have about 550. for an agency that has jurisdiction over about 15,000 types of consumer products, that small army of people, engineers, scientists, compliance officers, all those geared to keeping consumers safe. host: what are those folks doing all day long? are they testing different product and laboratories? guest: some are. sophisticated facility in rockville, maryland.

a lot of testing goes on there to see if a product does create a substantial hazard. that is one thing we do. publish our mission through various methodologies. we participate in what is known as consensus standards with about 70 different literary standard groups with industry and consumer groups to try and determine what would make a profit sav -- product safe. we do create enforcement and compliance. cbt.rk very closely with we are a data driven agency, so we are constantly looking at and analyzing data to see what is on the horizon. where to the next product hazard come from? that is another -- vigilance is very important. host: the enforcement side is where most consumers probably get interaction. what are the different enforcement methods and penalties you can impose?

guest: one of the things i really want to emphasize today is the consumers. we had a website they can go to if they have a product that they are unhappy with that creates some sort of hazard or risk, and report that. saferproducts.gov. we want to encourage the use of that because that is one of our sources of data, from consumers themselves on the front line. our compliance officers, we do some very obvious investigations. our statute requires that a manufacturer or retailer or importer must report a product to us is it could present a substantial product hazard. these constantly getting reports, and we investigate those to see whether or not there should be a recall. i think probably we are most well known for the number of recalls we do. that is where consumers can go to our website, www.c-span.org

-- our website, cpsc.gov, and see what we have recalled, and get that product replaced, repaired, or refunded. host: can you talk about the recall process? guest: what happens is in this reporting mechanism where companies report to us, which they are required to do by law, it is really as soon as they become aware of a potential hazard, they have to immediately report. then we determine whether or not there is a potential product hazard. they are voluntary. although they must report to us, these recalls are very collaborative. product outet this of the market as quickly as possible? once we determine there will be a recall, we work with the company. timing is very important. we put out a recall notice, and the company will take over from there into the recall. host: what is a company chooses

not could to cooperate with you in that process? that is a very rare occurrence because they don't want their consumers or customers injured. but if they do refuse to do a recall, we can sue them to do a recall, and then we get into prolonged litigation. for the most part, the companies are very cooperative. they have the same interests as us, and that is safe product in the marketplace. i often and kind of concerned thet recall fatigue because constant news and how people are bombarded with information, you always want to make sure that if there is a recall, the consumer is aware of it and they take advantage of it. we are constantly trying to push out that recall information. host: we are chatting with ann marie buerkle, the acting chair of the consumer product safety commission. if you want to join the

conversation, if you have questions, join the conversation. phone lines are split up regionally in this segment. the eastern are central time zones, (202) 748-8000. in the mountain and pacific time zones, (202) 748-8001. why are you the acting chair? guest: the president appointed me to be the permanent chair back in september 2017 -- excuse me, july 2017. in september i had my senate confirmation hearing. there is quite a bit of gridlock in the senate, so there are many of us who have been nominated at our hearings but are waiting to be confirmed by the senate. it is, quite frankly, a source of frustration. the agency needs leadership. there is a third commissioner who has been appointed, peter feldman.

we are waiting for him to be confirmed. if we can get the confirmation stuff, we can have a full conference of commissioners. five commissioners is what we have to have by statute. then i think we can be most effective in keeping the consumers safe. host: what does it mean to be an independent agency? guest: although we are part of the executive branch, we are sort of off to the side in terms of our reporting to the president. for instance, if there is an executive order, some of those don't pertain to us. we are not bound to follow those. oftentimes we do just because of the spirit of those executive orders. we want to be cooperative. the chevronard of aterence, the courts look the independent regulatory agencies and respect their knowledge. they respect their technical abilities, so they often will defer to the agency if there is litigation. guest: host: your appointment runs out -- host: your appointment runs out in october. what happened after that? guest: by statute, we can stay

on for a year, and then the president, and addition to appointing me to be the permanent chair, also appointed me to another term. i am hopeful that the senate will do the right thing -- and it is both parties they need to get together -- and confirm all the nominations committee not just myself, to give us a full nominations, not just myself, to give a single comment of commissioners. host: they are concerned that you are too close to the to exposingposed strong health and safety regulations, for use of table saws that reduce the risk of finger amputations. that is just part of a letter they sent to senators during the nation process. do you want to -- during the nomination process. you want to address some of his concerns? guest: my background is one of

health care. i was a nurse, where i started my professional career. i've always been an advocacy. i have six children, 17 grandkids. i know firsthand the importance of product safety. i think under my watch to date, the agency has run efficiently and effectively. we've upheld our responsibility. host: what is the most high-profile recall or enforcement effort you've been involved in since you've been at cpsc? guest: most consumers will remember the samsung phone about a year ago. that was our agency that did that. that recall was a major recall. host: remind viewers who may not remember. guest: it was a lithium-ion battery -- also hoverboards have been very high-profile. the samsungve as recall. ikea dressers. there's been a number that we have done.

where i'm imploring the consumers is to really respond to these recalls. take it vantage of that remedy. they can get a refund or repair or replaced. attention. they can get notices of any recalls. go to our website, sign up for them, and then they will know. host: do they always have to be free of charge to the consumer? guest: generally they are. that is something we negotiate with the company as part of that recall process we talked about. remedies, the three by statute, our replacement, repair, or refund. depending on the situation. with the phones, they replace those. it depends on the product and what the fix is. that is negotiated with the company and our compliance officers. host: what would be a situation in which there is a safety risk you've identified that a consumer would still have to pay out of their on pocket to get a fix?

guest: i cannot think of a situation. most generally, i would say across the board, companies just bythe right thing because, law of what we require of them, you need to replace it, repair it, or give a refund. host: ticket your questions about the consumer product safety commission, the recall process, ann marie buerkle is the acting chair of that agency. gene is up first from san diego, california. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i have a question about the plastic guns. will you be researching the potential safety product safety hazards of this plastic gun? if so, how would you even go about doing something that is so highly controversial? host: are you talking about the 3-d printing guns? caller: yes. guest: thank you. good morning, and thank for your question.

i believe those guns have been banned. any guns or weapons come a really, jurisdiction belongs to the atf. we really don't have jurisdiction over those. we may have jurisdiction over toy guns, but they are highly regulated. what you are talking about we would not have jurisdiction over. host: joe is in chevy chase, maryland. caller: good morning. my question relates to what ms. buerkle mentioned about the senate confirmation. why is it taking so long to be confirmed? do all confirmations take this long?is it typical ? been in unusual, this presidency and the amount of time it has taken for nominations to be confirmed. if you look at the senate and the number of votes that have been invoked, it is much higher than perhaps the last four presidencies. however, i am hopeful that

within the next couple of months , it is up to the leader mitch mcconnell to bring these nominations to the floor and get a vote. it is the right thing to do because it is what the american people need and deserve, to have leaders in place so these agencies can be run efficiently and effectively. host: is this something you are saying mitch mcconnell could fix tomorrow? guest: he needs to keep his members in session. they are gone today until august 15. [indiscernible] to come back, apparently a little more in august than usual. the senate will be back for the of august.eks it does require the majority leader to take up these votes and have the clock start running , and start working these nominations. host: of august. have you had a chance to meet with mitch mcconnell about where this process is an talk to him about some of these concerns? guest: i have spoken with his

staff. i have not spoken to him directly, but with his chief of staff. i have expressed concern about the process because the myertainty for not only agency, but any agency that doesn't have a permanent leader in place, it really i think affects how the agency is run. host: charlene is in roswell, georgia. good morning. caller: good morning. i have a question about buying products online. i have a toddler, so i am a busy mom. i buy a lot of toys and things for him online. how can i ensure that they are safe? for can i get information about recalls to make sure i am not buying it recalled product? guest: excellent question. e-commerce has really been a challenge and something the agency needs to be paying attention to. the way the consumer buys products today is different than it was just a few years back

when everyone went to the store. now they can buy it online, so that product can technically come from the manufacturer, the consumer, without any of the interference we may have along the way. it is very important. the concert -- it is very important the consumer pays attention to our website, cpsc .gov, for a recalls that may occur. we are working very closely and cooperatively with some of the e-commerce platforms. just recently we had a summit at our agency with five companies there to talk about how they can help us promote safety and make sure that the consumers are aware if they want to buy a product online that they do know it has been recalled, and the companies can help us do that. host: if someone buys a toy overseas from china, how do you regulate a problem that you may find with that toy? guest: toys are highly regulated

, so if you look at how we look at products, some of those regulations are very clear. a children's product can't have small parts, can't have sharp edges. they are age graded. there's a lot of regulations. those are a little more obvious to us because we look to see if things comply with the regulations. we have what is called a risk assessment methodology. products coming in from overseas, regardless of where from, we have algorithms to see whether or not these products are or could be violative, and we can stop them right at the port. host: taking your calls this morning with ann marie buerkle of the consumer product safety commission. republicans, it is (202) 748-8001, democrats (202) (202)00, independents 748-8002, although we split our phone lines regionally, so those are not correct. in the central or eastern, (202)

748-8000, in the mountain or pacific time zones it is (202) 748-8001. raymond is in arizona. an him yes, i just got mail about airbags in my 2007 ford ranger. the danger part is they said the and send explode shrapnel and kill the passenger and myself. airbags thought these were supposed to protect the .onsumer it.ve to go monday to get can something be done with something more safer than these deadly gases and flying metal and everything else? guest: thanks for your call. airbags are regulated not by us,

but by nitsa. they have automobiles and everything related to automobiles. we don't have jurisdiction over them, but i would highly recommend to get that airbag taken care of on monday. do whatever the letter is telling you to do to make sure those airbags are replaced. host: the national highway transportation safety of menstruation does cars. atf -- the national highway transportation safety administration does cars. the atf does guns. what else is not under your jurisdiction? atf, fda. have we have pretty much jurisdiction over every product except what we have described. we pay close attention to children's products, and to products, toys, clothing,

atv'sl, electronics, rvs, , off-road vehicles come up or double generators -- vehicles, portable generators. host: of those 400 or so recalls in the past year, what category took up most of those recalls? is it toys usually? guest: essentially it is across the board. it is interesting how often times it is toys. oftentimes it is an electronic. we have some are obese -- we have some rov's and atv recalls. it is a broad swath. host: as a mother and grandmother, what concerns you most with what products your children and grandchildren buy? does this job change the way you are as a mother and grandmother? guest: i think it makes you more aware of what can happen.

i see that as an important role of what the agency does, to the risks ands of hazards for parents like we've heard from today know what to be looking for, what to protect their children and families from. we do a loto that, of educational campaigns. we have very significant campaigns to educate and inform the consumer about things that could happen to help them protect their families. host: mike is in illinois. good morning. caller: good morning. everyone hasabout a bed and a bed frame. and thetting on my bed back of my bed frames last be back of my cap right open, and bloodless -- my calf right open, and blood was just gushing out. is there a way to get them to rivet those on everyone's bed

frame before they ship them out? guest: thank you. thanks for your call. what i would highly recommend that you do is report that is saferproducts.gov. our staff looks at that complaint to see whether or not they can work for the company if what you are suggesting was a violation, that there should have been a cover. investigatione an if it is appropriate. i would highly recommend reporting that to saferproducts. gov and let our agency decide whether or not there is more to be done. host: how do you decide if it is appropriate to do that investigation? guest: any data that comes to us -- we receive data from hospitals, from saferproducts.g ov, from retailers that report to us. we have a whole swath of data we look at. we have teams of people, certain engineers and epidemiologists,

they look at that to see if this is something that rises to the level that it should be investigated, that we should do a recall. there is a daily analysis done by these teams who are designated daily analysis done y these teams who are designated toys.s team looks at this team looks at furniture. it is separated out by what they review. they lick it data coming in to see if something should be done. at data coming in to see if something should be done. host: or something should be done, how long does that take from the report to the recall? guest: it depends. should we look across the bandwidth of data to see other reports? is it a one off, or are there other reports? houston, texas.

you for being on. i have a question. we do you be willing to go against trump if he, for instance, said i don't like the president of this company who makes widget and i want to hurt his stock. i want to hurt him or her. threatened torump use the post office against amazon. he was going off on the koch and they make a lot of product. would you be willing to stand up to trump? i know you will say there are laws, we can do that, but for some reason the law doesn't apply to trump. we do you stand up to trump and say that is a politically motivated investigation of a product, and i can't do that? guest: you read my mind. ando have statutes

regulations we enforce, but at the end of the day whatever actions we take must stand up in the court of law. what we do must be legal. what you are describing would not be legal in my eyes and in the purview of the agency. i often tell my staff, the agency, safety is not political, nor should it be political. we may have different styles, previous chairman's to myself, but at the end of the day we are interested in keeping the safe.er i like to stay as far away from politics as i can. i think the focus should be on consumers.d i want to encourage consumers, saferproducts.gov if you have something to report. what ise you know current with consumer safety. host: a lot of our viewers are if you want to follow

the consumer product safety commission. janet, seattle, washington. go ahead. caller: i just missed your question. what did you say? host: it is not a question. it is time for your question or comment. go for it. caller: i really like this ann marie buerkle. she used to be a rn. how did she get into this product safety group? guest: thank you, and thank you for your kind words. the science commissioners, when we are up to. to -- when we are up byl speed, we are pointed the president. i was appointed by president obama in 2013 as commissioner. president trump appointed me to be the chairman and permanent chair.

it is the presidential appointee, and you have to be confirmed by the senate. we are waiting for confirmation. i wanted to give the people of my district a choice. there was no one running against the incumbent. i thought they should have a choice. all of the things important to iranspecially health care, on those. host: what year did you run? guest: 2010. it was the 25th congressional district commonalities the 24th post-redistricting. host: what did you do before? guest: i represented a large teaching hospital in upstate new york. i was a nurse before that. host: paul, good morning. i was wondering, as a manufacturer, a toy manufacturer, or any product, does it have to go to you guys

first for approval like the fda approves a product before it is put out on the market? or can they put it out and then it is taken care of? what is the protocol? guest: that is a great question. is no preapproval process. the company's manufacturing, they have to follow strict guidelines in terms of how that product is regulated. i mentioned earlier what we call consensus standards, mandatory standards. before you put a product on the market place it has to be compliance. we have certificates of compliance. when a company is bringing in products from overseas they have to prove they have a certificate. some of the e-commerce platforms require a certificate, so that when something is sold on their website it is compliant with the

law. when it is in the stream of commerce, or if we stopped it at the ports because of violations, which is the best case scenario because it isn't in commerce, but if it is in commerce a company may become aware and report to us. notice,nvestigators may received complaints, we may receive complaints on .gov, and then we would do an an investigation. cpsc has the size of the grown with the number of products you have to review or watch out for? number of products has grown. technology has improved. i mentioned about e-commerce. we have iot, the internet of

things. many products are connected products. if that breach affects the safety of that product that is connected, that becomes our problem. understanding now that there are so many different things going on, it is not all brick-and-mortar. there are connected products, us staying -- current is very important. our budget has not expanded, nor has our number of staff. that has been a frustration for me as chairman. host: have you been advocating for a larger budget? guest: i have been. host: what is the budget? guest: $126 million for fiscal 2019. host: charles in portland, maine. caller: thank you for your work.

i appreciate it. i am sure you are tired of hearing about this -- am i on? 014.have aw-2 they are in a state of denial. because i thought it would have a good airbag. guest: i apologize again, that is not our jurisdiction. i would recommend you contact nifta. let them know your frustration in replacing the airbag. what you're saying is not an unknown issue. host: the other website you want people to know about? guest: saferproducts.gov.

host: we appreciate your time. up next, and our last 45 minutes or so, we are asking what your top issues are heading into the midterm elections. we are under 100 days from the midterm. there are primaries in tennessee. let us know your top issue in the midterm election. lines for republicans, democrats, independents, and outside the united states, you now.tart calling in mike pence was in hawaii to receive the possible remains a 55 soldiers who lost their lives in the korean war. [video clip] pence: we are here to receive 55 flag-draped cases, which we trust contain the remains of

american heroes who lost their lives in the korean war. some have called the korean war the forgotten war, but today we proved these heroes were never forgotten. today, our boys are coming home. heredent trump asked me be -- me to be here on this day on his behalf. honestly, i have never been more humbled to be asked to represent him. you see, as the admiral just pencemy dad lieutenant ed fought in combat in the korean war. he came back with a metal on his chest. my dad, gone now 30 years, always told us the real heroes of the korean war were the ones who didn't get to come home. i know there is no place dad would rather have me be than

here, with all of you. , welcoming these heroes home. week, thego last armistice was signed to bring the korean war to its close. from the moment the guns fell silent, american soldiers returned home, some to families and futures, some to eternal rest. more than 8000 americans didn't come home at all. our nation has worked tirelessly to keep our promise to leave no man behind. while several hundred of the missing fallen have been returned, for more than a decade as a result of north korea's nuclear threats and escalations, search and rescue and recovery efforts have been suspended until today. int: about 50 minutes left

"the washington journal" today. we will talk about the upcoming midterm election. we want to hear what your top issue is. republicans can call on (202) 748-8001. democrats on (202) 748-8000. independents on (202) 748-8002. having this conversation as we are 96 days away from the midterms. it is also a day where primaries are taking place in tennessee. we are less than a week away from a high profile special ohio.on in we figured it would be a good time to ask that question, what is your top issue in the upcoming election? the poll in "the washington focuses on a response to that question. 28% say economic issues will influence their vote. 19% say security issues. 16% say health care issues.

15% say senior issues. 7% education issues. 5%, women's issues. 4%, energy issues. we figured we would give you time to talk about it. andre and hempstead, maryland. voting my top issue for this meant terms is national security. host: why is that? caller: national security is top. in helsinki sat next to a kgb operative and through the u.s. intel community under the bus again. donald trump knew how he got elected, the american people know it, the world knows it. i don't expect donald trump to take any action to deter this attack on the united states via elections and other means.

he is not going to do it, and he knows exactly how he got elected. host: we are less than 100 days from the special election. here is president trump's job approval numbers heading into the midterms. the real clear politics average of polls has his approval at 43.3%. disapproval at 52.9%. you can see the various polls that make up that average. robert in louisville, kentucky. go ahead. caller: thank you, for taking my call. in this election, to me what is important is knowing who your true enemy is. blaming russia, china, and north korea, but the problem in our country is these treasonous democrat running sanctuary cities that is

protecting the illegals. inm illegals are coming because they know the democrats are traitorous and will do anything to bring them in. they don't care about the country. this country can't survive with traders. ors. should try -- trait they should try to deport them. take them out of the country. try them for treason. "st: the editorial board at the washington times" saying americans want security at the border. midtermshat the 2018 could come up with a new phrase for elections. way toeconomy is giving a maximum, waiting for someone to determine immigration

determines the kind of nation we will be. most americans like the nation we already have. rome wasn't built in a day and neither will be the wall. patience is a virtue, and so is the relentless pursuit of goals at hand. americans want order restored at their border. reparation will send the president's poll numbers through the roof as well. well, i had called in earlier on open phones but -- it get through because wanted to let people know what the situation is here in texas as far as the border wall goes. when hillary and obama passed the senate today a big border wall.

what happened was here in texas that money didn't get spent, because there were lawsuits going on to where the farmers and ranchers along the border, they don't want that will. -- that wall.until those issues are resolved , there is no way that border wall is going to get put up. also, there was a big push to hire 5000 more border agents. the problem was, it is not the wages. is there is no housing down there along the border areas for them to live in some of them are having to drive three hours just to get to work and back because there is no housing for them to live in. also, i really resent, as a

democrat, when the president gets out and says we are for ms-13, because that is not true. if any rational human would think about that, that doesn't even make sense. we have to live in this country too, you know. we worry about our safety, our .amily and friends' safety of course we don't want those gangs over here. i am hoping ted cruz goes. ,e has done nothing for texas and the man from kentucky, he needs to look at rand paul. what has rand paul done for kentucky? giveand paul does is speeches and go on the news channels all the time and talk

about how he is against everything. he will always end up voting for whatever he says he is against. about as useful -- he and ted cruz are both useless. host: prince george, fo virginia. caller: thank you for taking my call. i wanted to bring up the border wall. nia, which is a pretty safe blue state. i think tim kaine will hold the seat, but you never know. it is a crazy time. we will see if stuart and his base can rally enough support to shock us all. i wanted to bring up the border and remind everyone that president trump clearly stated that mexico was going to pay for it. that is my only objection to the border wall. i don't think the u.s. government should be funding it. he clearly stated it.

whether it is in trade surplus how he will get the funds, i'm not sure, but he did promise the american people that mexico will pay for that wall. host: the cook political report seatrating agency has that as a solid democratic seat in the upcoming midterm. the tossup taking place in florida, indiana, missouri, north dakota, and west virginia with democrats defending seats and all of those states. today's "washington post" focusing on the north dakota and west virginia race. states that president trump won in landslides are heading in the opposite direction. increasing hopes with north dakota and diminishing hopes in

west virginia. senator trying to fend off patrick morrissey. no other states where democratic senators are running for reelection went more heavily for president trump in 20 then north dakota and west virginia. n the former by 36 percentage point and in the la tter by 43%. oklahoma. what is your priority headed into the midterms? caller: i have not gotten to call in for months and months. say something to everybody else. i was a retired truck driver until i got hurt. the 2009-2010 tim, my health care

because obamacare destroyed health care in my town. then i got a bad bleeder in my leg. leg so it got my worse and worse. now the american people have to pay for me, when i would rather be at work. the doctor wanted $3000 a month supplemental to my medicare. ifember, all you democrats, gas prices go down another $.40 you will be dead in this water. lay off the protests! las cruces, new mexico. concern right now is something no one seems to be talking about per immigration. does anybody have a plan for the 20 million people already here illegally?

the first testaments i have seen, it would cost $400 billion to remove 20 million people. i don't see either side willing to sign that check. we have 20 million people not paying taxes, and no plan to remove them. i'm waiting for one side or the other to come up with a real plan to solve this problem. host: in san francisco, line for republicans. caller: good morning, good morning. host: go ahead, sir. i have been a republican for the last 48 years when i migrated from india. i am also an american muslim. of american muslim communities are totally against donald trump because of his

disconnected in name eric in the american muslim community. all that california, all of the u.s. of a, none of them want to vote for him ever again. how do i change this? i have always been a republican. i do like the republican agenda, not all muslims are bad. he has never brought any muslims into an interfaith study. he has invited hindus and j ews but never a muslim. host: how did you vote in 2016? is that important for me to know that? i think that is irrelevant. i am a republican, i stand for republican values. this is my question, you know?

host: thank you for sharing your story. scott in spring hill, florida. mine for democrats. caller: i will make a quick point. simple, stupid. i don't want to get anybody when all of these republicans and democrats, and everyone goes out to vote, keep in mind that the politicians currently in office are not looking out for you. for the not looking out safety of the people. ms-13 operates within 10 miles of the white house. post" in "the washington regarding that in prince george's county, maryland. these folks need to stop going into the polls and voting

republican or democrat. the affordable health care act, known as obamacare, was meant to bring the cost of health care down. they should have went with medicare for all. folks will have to get educated and stop just pulling the lever. host: is there a third party you are looking to to be that third choice? i think we lost scott. a story in "the new york times" focusing on the green party and their efforts. a wave of noting that liberal excitement has raised hopes for a blue wave in the midterms and empowered a new crop of progressive democrats, like alexandria cossey of cortez. it has paid dividends to the green party whose formal

endorsement of anti-capitalism sets them apart from the democrats and contributed to a mbers, many ofe them young and former democrats embittered by mr. sanders' prima ry loss. it is "the new york times," if you want to read that story today. line for republicans. caller: thank you for taking my call. all thes me at political parties we have. you have the extreme left, you have the extreme right, you have the green party -- you know, none of them are really doing what they should be doing. we are all americans.

we should all be banding together, and not so much hate for each other. i look at it, the russians are doing what they plan on doing, the division in our society. it used to be communism. now they call it the russians interfering. they are interfering and people don't realize it. america needs to wake up. thank you. host: taking your calls in this last segment. about a half hour left. want to hear your top issue for the midterm elections. republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. outside the u.s., (202) 748-8003 . we mentioned the primaries taking place in tennessee. a very closely

watched special election for the open house seat in ohio's 12th congressional district. troy balderson and democrat danny o'connor are in a tight race. this is the story from "the washington times." mr. o'connor's campaign has outspent but outsiden, groups have made up the difference in investing more than their democratic counterparts. the congressional leadership fund, a super pac, aligned with house speaker paul ryan poured into television ads tearing down mr. o'connor. they note that mr. balderson needs all the help he can get. the race he led by 10 points last month is now a dead heat. election is taking place on tuesday of next week. taking your calls, talking about the 2018 midterms.

want to hear what your top issue is. shonda in race city, -- ray city, georgia. caller: hey, i want to say they would build the wall and stop fighting. on the news channels, all you see is people fighting. host: what is your top issue besides the wall? caller: the border wall, they should put it in. i have immigrant children i have adopted.i'm telling you from someone who knows, the m 13 needs to get out of the country. they need to get together. host: cindy in st. joseph, minnesota. caller: good morning. as far as building the wall, i think the president's group folks on theirup

accomplishments. we are not hearing anything about what is going on. unless you are glued to the tv, we don't have a clue. in minnesota, we have no representation for trump supporters. the republican party has done their darndest to silence the party members that do support trump. they're not even allowed in some cases to campaign. they are blocked out by city councils and city attorneies that tell them point blank you cannot campaign. we need to know who to vote for in minnesota that really does truly support president trump's team. as far as the russians, they are not the problem. it is the british. they are always waiting for us to be sleeping at the channels. they still want to take over our country.

wants to think britain take over the united states? caller: of course. it is crystal clear. it is always the british that are the whistleblowers. behindhe british everyone's complaints. they attack russia and every avenue. i think president putin is doing the best he can with his country and has done a lot to help against the defense against isis. people need to read channel their anger against what has been said repeatedly. i don't think it is the russian. s. i don't know, but i think you need to hear people out equally and give them a chance to voice their concerns. andy in kentucky. caller: good morning. about.s i'm concerned

we should build the wall. number two, russia is out to hurt us and they are out to hurt israel. we don't need to be working with russia. we need to stay away from russia . we need to be careful with them because they are our enemies. russia is. we need to be careful with russia, and we need to build that wall. host: when it comes to elections, unions often play a big role. one of the nation's largest unions, the president of the afl-cio, was at a christian science monitor event in d.c. he talked about what role he expects unions to play in 2018. twoe have tier one and tier states. tier one, you probably have a trifecta. you may have a governor, senate,

and house races. we obviously will focus there because of the number of people. we are also targeting individual house races in states where we wouldn't normally play because they are important. people in that district, that is their highest priority. governor's races are important. state senate and house races are important to us in a number of different states, because that is where the attacks are coming in in large part. 25 states have legislative attacks on us, either collective bargaining or other prevailing wage -- one of those things. those are important to us. state.es from state to we have tier two states that have the same deep program, but

will have fewer coordinators. this has been one of the easiest years that i can remember to get people from -- people to volunteer and come out and get released. this has been our easiest year to do that. people have been more anxious to get out and raise. host: we're taking your calls. what is your top issue for the midterm elections? where less than 100 days from the midterms. republicans can call in on (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. outside the u.s., (202) 748-8003 . we expect to hear from the president about the midterms in his campaign rally taking place tonight at 7:00 p.m. in wilkes-barre, pennsylvania.

we will be taking that live on .-span 2 and on c-span.org listen at 7:00 on the free c-span radio app. linda in for ginny beach, for beach,-- virginia virginia. am concerned about the midterms because we have a lot of people running that what to abolish ice. president trump has done so much for children and sex trafficking on situations. i think the number was 2500 children have been saved. to abolish ice, who will save these children? these children coming across the border. laws, that would be called abuse in 110 degrees bringing a child across the desert. they're coming, some of them,

with blisters on the bottom of their feet. they are choosing to be deported without their children. i can't even imagine. we need levelheaded people in congress. if these people that are calling to abolish ice, and now there is an attorney general calling to arrest ice officers. we have people camped out around their buildings. cities are not protecting the ice officers. i am very concerned. it is getting violent out there, these protests and campouts. it is out of control. we need to respect our law enforcement. thank you, very much. on the abolish ice issue,

yesterday on this program we had the head of the democratic socialists of america. she talked about that issue specifically. that group has called to abolish ice. if you want to watch that segment you can do it at c-span.org. michael in walnut creek, california. a democrat. caller: the last time i spoke to you, i had to remind you i am a which means irat, am more conservative. liberals in the democratic party have moved so far to the left it has deserted me. part of what i'm saying is a lot of the people the president has for different positions, they by chuck slow walked schumer and my senator dianne feinstein. instead of giving him the people he needs to do the job, as far as doing away with ice.

they have done a tremendous job for this country. you have extreme liberals that want to get rid of them. a lady on yourad program that was a democratic socialist. as i listened, i had to laugh. in san francisco, they wanted to give citizens free college. now they have said we need $5 million to pay for this. the free health care, i have heard estimates up to $32 trillion -- $32.6 trillion for the cost. where is this money going to come from for the liberal programs they want. int: what do you think walnut creek, california that democrats should do if they want to appeal the blue dog democrats like yourself? caller: they should change from such a liberal attitude like a tohareelosi or tom

one that is not so extreme to the left. i agreed with a lot of what the mike pence stand for and disagree with a lot of what republicans stand for. and you have elizabeth warren and bernie sanders taking such control -- i would like to point out a thing i heard on the news. jim acosta talking about being a rally,. afraidp of violence all violence i've seen so far have been created by people on the left. that disturbs me also. host: if you had to name a blue dog democrat in congress, who would you point to? dog?r: a blue i really don't think there are dogs left.

i'm trying to think -- 200 democrats it is hard to come up with one name. dogsif you are looking for some that i admire, that would be trey gowdy. the man appears to be honest. he appears to be trying to get things done rather than run a particular blind somewhere. host: thank you for the call. appreciate you getting up early for us. as we said, in its primary day in tennessee. it is a busy primary day in the volunteer state. phone toined on the walk us through primary day. start at the top. what do viewers that have not been following the governor's race need to now about the primary day for the 2 governor's races and the republican and democratic side? caller: thank you for having me. on the republican side we have 4

top-tier democrats. we have a congressman from tennessee since 2010.she has been the house budget chairman . we have that harwell of the statehouse. ee have 2 businessmen, bill l from middle tennessee and randy boyd from east tennessee. he owns a couple of baseball teams. we have the outsider versus the insider approach. 2 men claiming to be outside candidates, versus 2 politicians and harwell who have been in state government collectively for 50 years. those are the top contenders. it looks like lee, according to most insiders, is believed to be in the lead. tight. be we think the election could go late into the evening. on the democratic side we have

carl dean, the former nashville mayor that has surged ahead that many expect to win, and then we have the west tennessee democrat. the governor is term limited. has the governor made his preference known? he has decided to stay out of it. they try not to weigh in on the race of their own party. the chairman of the republican governors association. he said whoever the nominee is he will stop for. host: has the white house said anything? caller: we have had vice president mike pence come out to watch and say that he supports diane black.

in the whiten house regularly. she has tried to curry favor with the president. to has introduced bills build the proposed wall on the southern border. the president has not weighed in. needed toht that was get black over the hump. miker it is a tweet from pence and nice words when he came for a campaign event for marsha blackburn, who is running for senate. host: the president has made his choice known in the senate race? marsha blackburn is seen as the only republican serious candidate on the ballot. there are other folks trying to , but nothe nomination one anticipates that to be a close race. on the democratic side, the

former governor, who is the former mayor of nashville, is seeking the democratic nomination. he has nominal opposition. no one expects him to sweat. we are under the assumption and believe that it will be and inrn versus burtis the general election. host: that is expected to be more competitive than the governor's race in november? caller: i wouldn't say a lot more competitive. it depends who is the republican nominee for governor. karl dean is seen as a moderate. it would not shock me if there if you hadtake it people energized on the democratic side and republicans voted for those 2 democrats. tennessee historically has voted in moderate in the governor's

office and u.s. senate. that said, republicans will have an advantage given the president's popularity in tennessee, as well as the fact that the landscape has changed in the last 10 years where republicans have dominated. governor's race and senate race dominating the discussion, but are there house races we should be looking out for? caller: yes. of our 9 congressional seats, 3 do not have been incumbent. blackburn andha diane black are running for other offices. east tennessee where jimmy duncan, a longtime congressman, has retired. there are several republican candidate seeking the nomination. that will be a very close race,

as well as another one out of west tennessee with congressman who is tryingff to retain his position. is a challenger that came within 2800 votes. the president has endorsed him. those other races we are watching. host: for doing need to know about polling? are these closed primaries, or can you choose what party you want to vote for? they are open primaries. if you're a democrat and want to vote in the republican primaries, you can do that. in tennessee, you don't have to declare. as far as the polls, they close at 7:00. most have opened at this point in the day. there are some 9:00 a.m. locals. we are counting down the hours until the close. host: good luck on a busy primary day in tennessee.

he covers it all for the tennessean. back to your calls. talking about the midterm elections. less than 100 days away. in laurel, maryland, a republican. go ahead. caller: thank you for taking my call. my issue in the midterm election would be health care. cost,sue of health care and if health care could be available for all as we see what is going on in southern border. we do see many of these people are coming in from honduras. there are a lot of people that are being protected in

california, called a sanctuary cities. also, the poverty of people that cannot afford health insurance. -- what i would be looking for in a candidate is someone who has a good health care plan that would be feasible cost.ly with less that is what is my main issue that i would be looking for in the midterm election when i go to vote. sonja in miami beach. independent. caller: thank you for taking my call.

[indiscernible] the only way we are going to protect 100% our country is with the wall. [indiscernible] they have protection for the citizens like we have now. host: jacksonville, florida. good morning. caller: good morning. i believe my number one issue is up president failing to live to his own -- host: in what way? theer: not protecting

united states from russia. issue is the border wall. the only thing donald trump need to be worried about about that wall is taking his butt to mexico and picking up a check. gettinge president plenty of criticism for his comments about the media during an interview today with mike allen. the president's daughter said she does not share the president's view that the media is "an enemy of the people." [video clip] do you think the press is the enemy of the people? >> sorry?

no, i do not. are you looking for me to elaborate? no, i don't. share my ownan personal perspective. i have certainly received my reporting on me personally that i know not to be fully accurate. some sensitivity around and eople have concerns gripe when they feel targeted, but no, i do not feel the media is the enemy of the people. host: time for a few more calls. anita, line for independents. caller: thank you for taking my call. i have 2 big concerns.

one, i don't think our elections are fair because of citizens united and heart money -- dark money. and the fact that three or four presidential elections ago, the republicans started figuring out how to take over the statehouses in all 50 states and districts.ed the i live in a district that is extremely gerrymandered. when i look at other maps, i see they are too. i don'ts the blue wave, expect one because of the gerrymandering. host: we mentioned the primaries in tennessee. rose, in nashville, tennessee. do you mind talking about your primary vote? caller: i early voted. i think all of the candidates we have on the republican ticket

running for governor are good. host: who did you like in the governor's race? caller: i liked them all. it was hard. i listened to a few debates. i think possibly diane black may come out on top. we will have to wait and see. i called about the midterm elections in november. the main issue for me is the wall and the securing the southern border and the immigration policy. i wanted to encourage fellow republicans to get out and vote in the midterms. if we lose the house or senate, the democrats will try to impeach donald trump, who reelected as president. they will raise our taxes. everythingry to undo

president trump has accomplished so far in his 18-19 months of office. these democrats that call themselves progressive have a socialist agenda. if we want to keep our president, and keep the donald trump agenda going, we all need to show up at the polls and vote and not let the democrats take control. that is pretty much what i have to say. andve the country, unfortunately there is a lot of people that don't seem to agree on the republican side with president trump, and they haven't done much to further his agenda. it really makes me mad about the republicans more so than the democrats, but we still need to keep those republican majorities in both houses. host: one more question about primary day in tennessee.

you said you voted. did you feel it was a big turnout in primaries compared to the past? caller: you know, we did. i live in nashville, davidson county. we had a tremendous number of turnouts for early voting. i don't remember the exact number. it might have been 75,000. 57,000, which is extremely well for early voting. this is going to be an exciting race. i intend to stay glued to the tv to see what happens. view, newin middle jersey. mine for democrats. jim are you with us? orlando is next. independent. caller: yes, sir.

our colleges,bout ourliberals are distorting colleges. theantifa, i know what president was talking about. i have no use for the ku klux klan at all. i think the antifa is the worst threat, because you see them doing more damage and they are more widespread. they are in our colleges, all our liberal schools, and are fighting against having both sides to view. viewannot have a 2 public if it is not liberal. all of our professors are liberal. i think people who fund these colleges, especially republicans, should back off on the money they give to colleges unless they give to the christian college or nonliberal college. they are taking over.

i think things are going to be different this year, because we have people getting the names of antifas andnot the the george soros. i think george soros will run into trouble. i think antifa is too. more time for a couple calls in today's "washington journal." we are discussing midterms and 2018. this front page story on the front page of the business section of "the new york times." candidate enter the texting area with a plea, will you please vote for me? a new hard to ignore tool. personalized text messages sent to user's phones. are skipped and

email inboxes filter out promotions, it is not surprising. that is in today's "new york times." rob in new york. find for republicans. caller: thank you for taking my call. my main concern is bickering back and forth between democrats and republicans. think the wall should be built. we should stop bickering back-and-forth and stop putting down the republicans. our president is doing a great job. he is the best president we have had in 40 years. i think he is the honest president. people don't think of that. if you look at clinton, bush, obama, what they have done and how they put us in a deficit and all that.

if we don't straighten this out, we will be sorry. i'm sorry to say this about the democrats, but they need to work on getting their party back in focus. they are so corrupt in that party it is unreal. host: last caller in today's host we take you live to the national conservative student conference they host by the young america's foundation. recommend, byhly the way. kingdom follows a hollywood nobody finds himself a murder suspect in a bizarre fantasy world. injured is a contributing editor to the city journal and has essays and offense on public policy religion,