week, 2019 spending, the conference report for funding energy and water programs, the legislative branch, both to reconstruction and the a programs -- and va programs. on c-span2, the u.s. senate returns. on c-span3 at 3:00, the women's bipartisan caucus hosts a discussion on sexual harassment in the workplace. at 5:00 p.m. eastern, a conversation with justice ruth kidder -- with justice ruth bader ginsburg. coming up in an hour, washington examiner's senior health policy reporter will discuss continued efforts by congress to undo major provisions of the affordable care act. at 9:00 eastern, unit america executive director -- discusses the group's efforts to help elect independent candidates.

9:30, the american foundation for suicide prevention founder discusses suicide prevention suicide prevention week and legislation related to suicide prevention. ♪ host: senate majority leader mitch mcconnell told reporters in kentucky when it comes to november elections "i hope when the smoke clears, we still have a majority." politico reporting the majority leader plans to keep the session -- senate in session during october, noting that -- it would cost democrats key campaign days. there is an effort in the house by republicans to make permanent the tax cuts the gop enacted last year. republicans say the measure would not only help americans, but the economy overall.

critics citing the cost, saying it would add to the nation's debt. we want to get your thinking for the first hour this morning. if you support that decision to make the tax cuts permanent, 202-748-8000 is the number to call. if you oppose it, 202-748-8001. if you are not sure, 202-748-8002. you can post on our twitter feed @cspanwj and also post on our facebook page, .acebook.com/cspan joining us on the phone to discuss the move by republicans to make in these tax cuts permanent is naomi. good morning to you. guest: good morning. host: could you talk about the politics behind this move? the tax bill republicans passed last year was their signature legislative option of the trump era and

republicans want to highlight that a congressman ahead of the midterm elections. if think the economy is doing well and they think it is a good move for them to highlight the economy ahead of the elections. host: when it comes to the actual moves by congress this week, what does the house plan to do in terms of making these tax cuts permanent? guest: the house ways and means committee is planning to hold a committee vote later this week on a package of bills, one of which would make the individual tax cuts in the 2017 bill per minute. another of the bills focuses on trying to increase savings and another of the bills focuses on trying to encourage this incentive nation -- disincentivation. host: -- lock in these passed tax cuts, including doubling the

standard that option -- deduction. as far as reaction from republicans, are they in lockstep this move? guest: no, there are some republicans who voted against the tax bill last year because the bill caps the deduction for state and local taxes, which is a tax break that is popular in ,igh tax states like new jersey new york, california. there were lawmakers in those states that voted against the initial tax bill and they are not particularly in favor of a to make that limit on the state and local tax deduction permanent. host: naomi jagoda, one of the criticisms of making the tax cuts permanent would be the cost. talk a little bit about what the cost would mean over the long-term if the house and the

senate passed these bills. guest: chairman brady of the ways and means committee has said making the individual tax cuts permanent would cost around $600 billion within the current 10 year budget window. the 10 year budget window theady includes years where tax cuts are already in effect. in the long run, these costs increase. foundation think tank in d.c. estimated making the tax cuts permanent cost about $165 billion and -- annually. host: what is the interest of senate republicans to do the same? guest: i don't think the senate is going to take up this bill before the midterms. in the of the rules senate, they would still need 60 votes to pass and they don't really have that. for starters, they only have 51 republicans in the senate and

probably don't have enough senate democrats to support this, to go along with it and you also have republicans in the senate concerned about the debt who probably would not go for voting for this. i think this is more of a exercise in the house than in the senate. host: how much support as the president himself giving to this effort? guest: i think president trump is pretty supportive of it before the august recess -- supportive of it. before the august recess, he met with some members working on this effort and brought reporters in for the talk of the meeting. i think he is pretty interested in this. host: naomi jagoda, who reports on this issue for the hill, reporting online. we thank you for your time. is how thisis proposal is being sold. if you support the move, it is 202-748-8000. if you oppose that move,

202-748-8001. if you are not sure, you can call us at 202-748-8002. protecting family and small business tax cut is the main piece of legislation. there are other pieces attacks .o -- attached to it this includes the family savings act of 2018. it would make it easier for businesses to offer retirement would assist- entrepreneurs starting up businesses. those three pieces of legislation are part of overall this effort on what republicans are calling tax cut 2.0. to your thoughts on whether those tax cuts should be made permanent. philadelphia, pennsylvania, marvin on our oppose line. go ahead. caller: i am just trying to get a full understanding of it. basically, we have been trying to cut our budget for like 18,

19 years and when the middle class was getting a tax break, they wanted not to give the middle class a tax break because they would've put it into our budget, if i am correct. now you want to give the rich a tax break and now it is ok. i don't understand. passedrom the tax cuts last year, have you seen anything from that in your paycheck? caller: very little because they the children -- head of household, they cut a little bit of that. they put more into your pay. you never -- only see $20 extra week on yourevery paycheck. in the long run, they are going to cancel that out and the middle class is going to go back to regular taxes and then they

are going to make it permanent for the rich. for the business people. int: let's go to elaine washington state, who supports making the tax cuts permanent. caller: i think it is only fair they should make them permanent and one more thing i want to add wealthyrations and politicians who live in these multimillion dollar houses like maxine waters and hillary clinton, of course they want tax cuts to go away because they will not be able to deduct more their property taxes next year. that is corporations and people who are really, really wealthy. they are getting a lot of money out of that. host: you started your statement talking about the fairness of this -- the fairness issue. what do you mean by that? caller: when they passed the tax

cut law, they could not include individuals at that time because it was under the house rules as ,ar as voting on a budget right? so they could not include people on that, but they could include corporations. i don't know all the ramifications of it, but there was a glitch in it, why people --ld not be individually their taxes lowered more than 6 years, i think it was. you, elaine.got the washington post highlights the analysis of this move if it were to take place saying it is the center for budget and -- priority estimated the plan would cost two point $9 trillion in the 10 years after it takes effect from 2026 to 2035. the think tank said the cost

could reach as high as $3.4 trillion. both projections were made before kevin brady released text for the legislation monday. congress is expected to rip -- soon release more detailed numbers. supports the move, tell us why. caller: i think it has been a great help to us and our children. host: great help how? caller: what? host: how has it been a great help? give us an example. caller: our taxes have been lowered. our children's taxes have been lowered. estate tax is wonderful, cut it in half, or whatever. we work so hard to save our money for our kids. i don't need to give money away to some but he else. host: when it comes to these tax cuts, whether they should be made permanent. if you support the move it is

202-748-8000. if you oppose the move, it is 202-748-8001. if you are not sure, 202-748-8002. florida. up next from he supports this effort. go ahead. caller: good morning. i will tell you why i support the tax cut. let me turn this tv down. , well, there is a variety of reasons. the principal reason i support , if it continues as , itised by president trump will bring industry -- american industry, it will bring it back to america and, ultimately, my fondest aspiration is china be

returned to an agrarian economy and america becomes the manufacturing capital of the world, which is its rightful place. we -- were it not for the likes of nixon and the other trade still be the would top of the heap as far as manufacturing. host: to the actual cost of the tax cuts, how do you think they will be paid and if they are made permanent, are you concerned about what it would add to the budget? ultimately, look at it theseay, please, when non-american nations, foreign nations, communist nations are obliged to buy manufactured goods from america rather than manufacturing them themselves with american-made machinery, incidentally, which was looted

from our country. of these cuts,st are you concerned what they would do overall if they were made permanent? caller: we are not worried about paying off our debt to china. they host: will be borrowing money from us. host:let's go to our oppose line. caller: how are you doing today? host: fine, thank you. caller: i oppose because i think a lot of people -- and america does not know how these tax cuts really are and buy them explaining it, they need to explain it so ordinary people can understand it so that we can get a clear understanding about what these taxes come from, where the money comes from, where it is going to and i believe people need to understand that most of our taxes that we pay pay for knowces and people don't

that. they need to know that. 1 why do you oppose making them permanent, then? guest: because it doesn't make things -- caller: because it doesn't make things grow. when you are busy cutting, big corporations actually don't pay for their share anyway. the people at the very bottom, they don't have a job. they make tax cuts in a way that would actually create jobs for everybody to work, that way, everybody would pay in the system -- and when the system gets paid into, they don't have to worry about taking money out of different budgets to do other things. host: here is the justification from kevin brady when it comes to making these cuts permanent. he says the tax cuts and job back -- jobs act changed the trajectory of our company forever dashed for the better.

this is our commitment to the american worker to ensure our tax cut remains the most competitive in the world. supposed to take up legislation or a markup of this proposed legislation. we are asking you about this idea about making the tax cuts permanent. two members of congress were on cnbc recently to talk about their perspectives on the tax cuts and if they should be made permanent. a democrat and republican. here is what they had to say. [video clip] >> as we talked about before, i support cutting corporate tax rates. it has had a significant impact and has had a tax fight on our residents. says ons a report that average, every single county in my district will have their taxes go up. it cap's at $10,000 and on average, it is $24,000.

i want tax cuts, not tax hikes and i am second tired -- sick and tired of these moocher states to get tax cuts on our backs. lowering corporate taxes and we have to be competitive with the rest of the world, and complete the duct ability of state and local taxes and if we were to pass this in the house, it would be an exercise in futility because it could never pass the senate. it would take 60 votes and that is not going to happen. host: if you agree with kevin brady or the two legislators you heard about, 202-748-8000 if you support that. 202-748-8001 if you oppose it. if you are not sure, 202-748-8002. next in virginia on our support line. caller: is that me? host: yes, go ahead. caller: first of all, thanks for

taking my call. i do support it. here is the simplicity. it's not a question of tax cuts, it is a question of spending. i am in my late 40's and i worked two jobs and my wife works two jobs. we would like to keep more that we make. for decades, the tax revenues the federal government has taken in has always increased. i could be wrong on may a quarter here or there. for decades, the money has increased and the thing is, spending never decreases, it continues to increase. it doesn't matter whether we have tax cuts -- whether they ,re permanent or what have you the problem is government spending and that is the same for your own personal household budget. people need to learn to save and the government needs to stop spending more money than they take in. of workamount of volume

my wife and i do, we would like to keep our own money and tighten that fiscal belt as far as spending habits go. host: when you talk about you see efforts, did anything measurable from the tax cut last year? absolutely, the tax rate bracket coming down saved us a bunch of money. we have one child, so we get the child tax credit. we do not live, necessarily, in a higher tax state. the problem that residents of new york and california and those other states are having, i don't suffer from that personally. for me, it was a net increase in take-home pay. for people living in those states that are higher tax, they need to take that up with state legislatures and get them to stop spending money. you keep throwing money at the government and letting them have more money, guess what?

social security is bankrupt, all these state pensions are bankrupt. you keep giving your government money, they are going to spend it, blow it, and promise commitments to people and we cannot afford it. spending cuts is the solution, not tax cuts. host: that is john in virginia. to that state's neighbor, we go to leslie in maryland who opposes this idea. go ahead. caller: i wanted to make clear, when the tax cuts took effect, my paycheck was reduced by $6. got, myaycheck i just taxes were increased and my paycheck was reduced by $63. i am wondering what the benefit is -- i am sure somebody is seeing this benefit, but it surely isn't the average american. my tax preparer told me at the start of this fiasco of tax cuts for corporate america that i

would be owing more at the end of the year. it is not benefiting who they say it is benefiting. it is a farce. thank you for taking my call. host: the washington post story says the gop second round of tax cuts would -- the average cut of $460 for those in the bottom percent of income distribution. that is according to a left-leaning think tank. brad in fort washington, maryland, you are next. caller: years ago, an international marketing friend of mine told me companies like overseas these shoes and sell them here in excess of like $70. he said they only cost $.10 a

shoe to make and they take their companies overseas and make these shoes and make big profits, but the workers don't pay income tax. when the chinese would do their rocket test in taiwan or wherever these things were made, our country sends aircraft characters -- carriers at a billion dollars a day on taxpayer dollars to protect these people's interests. host: how that relates to making these cuts permanent? paying because we are taxes on these billion dollar a day aircraft carriers, but these guys making gobs of money off these shoes -- and not just shoes, anything -- other things, they are not paying income taxed the workers. they are paying workers with bowls of rice and stuff. host: we will hear from michigan, bob on our oppose line. caller: i've got a couple of

points here. first, the tax cut does not add to debt. .hat is economy 101 you will always have revenue until you spend it. it is not a tax on income, it is a tax on lifestyle. if you make $50,000, you pay taxes on $50,000. pay for your own mortgage and your own children. seven different tax bracket is paying according to your ability. karl marx would be dancing in his grave right now. host: there are the numbers if you want to call in on your thoughts on making these tax oppose,manent, support, and not sure. for those of you who support this move, 202-748-8000. 202-748-8001 if you oppose it. and if you are not sure, 202-748-8002. a couple of other news to show you, results from the new hampshire primary from yesterday . this is the union leader reporting it was a nail bite

race. -- secure the republican nomination for new hampshire's first congressional district, the first african-american to win the gop nomination in the district. he thanked his wife, cindy, and at am full of supporters toyota dealership "i am so humbled so many people were motivated to help me on this campaign." seat,e going to win this you spoke loud and clear that ethics and integrity matter." the week reporting on the democratic challenger and this is how they wrote the results, saying levi sanders, the son of bernie sanders and one of 11 democrats running for an open seat did not win tuesday night. a member of the governor's executive council was victorious. he was one of the two front runners along with a former obama administration official. if he wins in november, he will become new hampshire's first openly gay member of congress.

rudy giuliani -- that is the reporting of the week publication. you can find that on their website at theweek.com. those who support making the tax cuts permanent, they include jim in fort lauderdale, florida. go ahead. caller: good morning. i really feel sorry for the american people when economic debates like this happen because the real truth never really comes through and it's really kind of hard to understand through people. let me just dispel a couple of and whaths about taxes is going on in our country. number one, the democratic party's main objection is that these tax cuts will increase the deficit, while, in the wings, republicans are saying, come

join us and pass an amendment to the constitution to make a balanced budget mandatory. democrats are the major opponents. where is their big motivation for deficits when they won't join the republicans to make balanced budgets permanent? it is a big lie. the other big myth they are putting out there is that these tax cuts are for the rich. if it is for the rich, why are they doing everything they possibly can to protect the rich people in the northeast states and in california from having to suffer the repercussions of only being able to deduct $10,000 of state income taxes? why are they trying to protect rich people if they are so much

against rich people pay more taxes. this results in rich people pay more taxes and democrats are trying to protect them from it. host: let's hear from connecticut on our support line. you are next. caller: good morning. first of all, making tax cuts really erroneous. they won't be permanent. this is basically an extension of the tax cuts. any future congress can overturn this. that is number one. number two, you had two representatives from new jersey, one democrat, one republican and they were talking about how new jerseyans are going to be harmed --this because other "neuter will benefit.s" if they are worried they cannot

andct state and local taxes they are worried about moocher states, then, the fact of the matter, is that new jersey once other -- wants other taxpayers to pay more to subsidize their high taxes in new jersey. that would make new jersey a moocher state. host: we will go to connie and tennessee, who opposes this effort. hi. caller: hi. -- in high finance, the tax cuti oppose because i do not think it is a tax cut. and verified, but i

think it may have changed, most corporations, some don't pay any tax at all. 12% torporations pay 17%. they lowered the taxes for books,tions -- on the 35%. -- 25%.ered it to 25 inil we get corporations their fair share, not sending iney away from this country order to hide it from being taxed, we are not going to and, iten anything out

much, there is not very veracity about what we hear about corporation taxes in the media because corporations politicianst of our and they also buy them and now we have citizens united and i don't think, until corporations pay their fair share, we are ever going to work some of our problems out. int: that is connie tennessee. for those of you just joining us, and effort by house republicans to extend tax cuts and in some case, permanence of them. we want to get your thoughts whether you support or oppose that idea. maybe you are not sure. our lines for each one of those

categories if you want to pick one and tell us why. noaa's latest map when it comes to tracking florence. that is one of the agencies and consult with the president. it was at the white house yesterday and the present talked about the efforts of noaa and other agencies, including fema, when it comes to what happens in preparation for florence, but making comparisons from previous efforts, including the one in puerto rico. here is the president's statement on that. [video clip] >> puerto rico was our toughest one of all because it is an island. we moved a hospital on to puerto rico. a tremendous military hospital in the form of a ship. i think, and the governor has been very nice, if you ask the governor, he will tell you what a great job. the hardest one we had by far

was puerto rico and -- because of the island nature and it is one of the best ones that has been done with regard to what this is all about. puerto rico got hit with not one hurricane, but two. the problem with puerto rico is the electric grid was damaged before the storms ever hit. inwas in very bad shape, bankruptcy. it had no money and was largely closed. when the storm hit, they had no electricity essentially before the storm and when the storm hit, that took it out entirely. the jobs that fema and law enforcement and everybody did working along with of the governor in puerto rico, i think was tremendous. i think puerto rico was an incredible unsung success. host: when it comes to efforts by fema and money spent, cnn was reporting yesterday and updated it this morning saying it was senator jeff merkley who released a document saying the

transfer of nearly $10 million from the emergency management agency to i.c.e. the document from the department of homeland security specifically mentioned the money would come from the agency's budget for travel training, public engagement, and information technology work. the department denies the money came from disaster relief funding. berkley said on msnbc that the administration is taking money from "response and recovery." going on to say i would dispute the statement this has no bearing on addressing the challenges from hurricanes. that is from cnn. if you go to the pages of washington post, one more story. this is how the military is doing with that. taking a look at the efforts, began the u.s. military evacuating some people from the area, including the recruit training depot, in a marshy area

on the coast. the recruits and the marines training them are being bussed to the marine corps logistics space in georgia. corps could be especially affected. they are close to where the hurricane could come ashore. according to a marine corps spokesman, many persons living there are being encouraged to leave. to help positioned others afterwards. back to your calls on the tax cuts and whether there should be a permanent to them. jacksonville, florida opposes this effort. fran, go ahead. caller: i oppose it. if the people who would listen and think about what is in play here. this tax cut and for regular people, itsu years. and for corporations, into perpetuity.

the ones in place now, people don't like. most people i would think, because they are crumbs. why do we want to make that permanent? right now it is five years. let's get a new congress. maybe we can have a government of the people, by the people, for the people. what we have right now is not for the people. i hope they will think about that. the reason why congress people aren't running on the tax cuts is because the people realize they are not for them. don't make it permanent. make it better. congressn talks about people running on the tax cuts. this has become a political issue for people running in congress. to show you some ads related to

the tax cut, this is the pro-democratic house majority tax added, it targets a democrat of iowa for voting for the tax bill. [video clip] >> david young paints a picture of working for iowans. the truth is, that is just a load of you know what. in congress, young took hundreds of thousands for insurance companies on wall street and voted for a tax bill that gives them huge tax cuts, although the pl raises taxes on middle-class iowans. it david young is serving his donors, not you. ad inshow you another just a bit. bill in maryland, who is not sure about this effort. tell us why. caller: because i ain't had the learning. i am going to learn to face value of it. if i can get any relief on my

, is not going to help me pay the $2300 i have got to pay every month because i am in business for myself, for obamacare, which is just a socialist machine. anybody that has got to go from $500, $1000, and now i am up to $2300 a month and i ain't even sick. that is for two people. -- think about it. i think i will take some crumbs. host: did you see the benefits from the passage of the legislation last year? caller: did i see benefits? -- i leteally get into my wife do that. i don't really keep an eye on it because i am too busy working for obamacare.

host: no measurable extra money because of the tax cuts last year? is that what you are saying? caller: just to give you a good idea of what is going on, i have got to keep my income under -- i think it is right around $60,000 to hopefully stay in a low bracket for good health insurance. don'toing to say -- i want to answer because i could be not telling the truth because i don't really look. i will say the crumbs of it that you are getting, it is not a lot of money, but every little bit is going to help, right? host: that is bill in maryland giving his thoughts on not being sure on this effort. you can do the same on that line. this is from the co-republican -- tax cutsrship being part of this ad, or the major thrust of it. [video clip] >> for over 30 years, bill

brotherson has supported higher taxes. massive property tax hikes. as governor, he raised taxes and fees nearly $1 billion. now he is attacking president trump's tax cuts as morally wrong. morally wrong? trump's tax cuts are saving middle-class families $2000. senate leadership fund is responsible for the content of this advertising. host: we will he next from frank in virginia, who supports this effort. go ahead. caller: i support the tax cut. i would like to see one more if the president could get around to it. -- for socialing security and stuff ends up being a lot of money. i don't care if they tax rich people. it doesn't matter to me at all. host: what is the benefit of

extending these cuts, do you think? caller: people need more money than what they have got. the crybaby states like california and new york and new jersey, if they quit voting democrat and a office, they would not have this problem. what about the --host: what about the other analysis done about the cost of the tax cut and what it does to the budget and the debt and that stuff? that is part of the problem, they would not have a problem if they did not vote democrat into everything. give more money to the illegal aliens and all this other stuff. i have a question. host: we are going to move on. steve from michigan on the oppose line. caller: hello, pedro. it is an honor to talk to you and thank you for national treasure, c-span. i oppose the tax cuts because i was talking to my local tax assessor for my city and she explained when they put taxes on

the federal level, state taxes go up 2:1. i pay a lot more taxes than i .sed to the other thing i oppose it for is because they did not pay for it, pedro, and it adds over $1 trillion to the deficit. host: the washington post highlights an interview mitch mcconnell did for a -- for reporters back in kentucky, taking a look at november pass elections -- november's elections. president trump's approval rating tumbles and democrats gain ground, mitch mcconnell of kentucky on tuesday sounded some of the most doubtful notes of , thatesident's presidency republicans will keep the upper chamber of congress am a telling

reporters "i hope when the smoke clears, we will still have majority. " public polls registered further erosion of approval in the president. shipwreck is how one leading strategist described the situation and goes on to say one of the most expected fights is in the reliably gop texas, where ted cruz is trying to fend off beto o'rourke. republicans are diverging resources to texas. it goes on from there. on this program, yesterday we took a look at some of the key house and senate races leading up to the november elections, and particularly what it might say about who has control of both those bodies after the elections. if you want to look at that segment and other segments, you can do so when you go to our website at c-span.org. opposes this, she effort. go ahead. caller: good morning.

i oppose it, yes. i am on disability and have been disabled for the last 16 years. we have not seen an increase at all in disability. because the interest rate is going up. our rent is going up. we are not seeing anything. both of my kids, who are in the middle-class, none of them, they haven't gotten anything back for more of their money. my daughter's ended up paying more in taxes this year. when you look at the money the government needs in order to do things like infrastructure, to pay for fema for all of these assistance could -- assistance to go down and help with the hurricanes and stuff, they need that money from taxes to help take care of everybody.

the site real clear politics take a look set -- takes a look at polls. one of the things they pulled on earlier this year, from june to august, is the republican's tax reform law. when they put those together and averaged it, 37% of the polls saying they approved of the tax reform law that was passed, 41% saying they -- 41.8% disapproving of the passage. that is a combination of various polls. if you go to real clear politics and look at the results and breakdowns. alan is in columbia maryland and says he is not sure. thank you for calling, go ahead. you are on. caller: hello? host: you are on, go ahead. caller: hi, it is alice. host: i am sorry, go ahead.

caller: that's ok. good morning, pedro. i am a first time caller. it is not so much that i am unsure. i believe this is a marketing ploy for the november elections. .he timing is suspect there are a lot of people that are unhappy with the republican party. there are people who are on the fence and this is a wonderful littlemake them may be a happier. the house knows the senate will not be able to vote on this and they also know the senate does not have enough vote to pass this. they know it is a moot point,

but this might get them votes. that is what i think and as far , i was against it from the beginning because the corporations got the best deal and we got crumbs. i haven't seen anything at all. host: wesley is next. he is in illinois. he supports the effort. hi. caller: yes. yes. yes, i am for a tax cut. my money is tax-free, but i was a taxpayer before i started getting tax-free money. that is a tax cut and a tax improvement to the democratic party. program,ax improvement republican reform and a senate

suppository systematic democratic committee commissioned rebate. host: why make them permanent? tell us the reason why. caller: that is like retirement. host: meaning? your taxou work, get w-2 formx cut on a when the taxes come around every year and then that goes for your retirement. host: that is leslie -- wesley in illinois. in the opinion section about this effort by house republicans, they make this case , when it comes to the pieces of legislation, saying it would allow small employers to band together to offer workers 401(k) plans. it finally create a new universal savings account which would allow maas holds --

households to invest for non-retirement purposes. this bill is highly unlikely to pass in the senate, but at least it puts democrats on the spot. if they are truly and cearley concerned about the temporary nature of these tax provisions, they will have a chance to fix the problems. if they do vote for it, they -- if they vote against it, they will have to come clean to the record that they want you to pay higher taxes. that way voters would at least know what they are getting themselves into this november. that is the editorial section, the opinion section of the washington examiner on this tax cut 2.0 legislation being considered, three bills. from florida, we will hear next from paul. i think it is going to

be good for the corporations. there will be more money in the coffers for the stock increased, 401(k)s, some workers will get raises. people don't want tax cuts, go back to the treasury, give it to me. host: what about the overall cost to the federal budget? apparently democrats did not care about that when obama was in there. i don't think he spent a penny on it, he gave it to the unions. host: a writer for the fiscal times takes a look at the tax cuts and the real price tag for the public and tax cut 2.0 saying this, republicans don't seem phased by the price tag. requested a release by democrats -- consistent with the committee's planning and called it a modest and smart investment in the commodity -- in the

economy. a republican of florida downplayed the resulting deficit increases adding "i don't dismiss this as irrelevant, but i don't think this bill will have a decisive impact on our debt situation." one of the reports mentioned earlier blasted the tax package, saying "fails the fiscal responsibility test, delivering substantially more to high income households and -- than for those with high and moderate income -- low and moderate income." it will have to be paid for through program cuts or tax increases that would likely reduce low and middle income -- family's income more than tax cuts increase them. you can find that article online. this is matthew, pittsburgh, pennsylvania. caller: good morning. how are you, sir? host: i am well, thank you. go ahead. caller: i am not really for the

tax cut unless they make it permanent for the middle class only and what they should also do, i believe, is reinstate tax cuts to the businesses. taxave businesses permanent cuts along with loopholes, so, in effect, businesses will be paying close to nothing. taxes is what makes this country run from infrastructure, to schools, to everything we depend upon. .t's all based upon taxes i think what we are doing is the same thing republicans have done for over 40 years, bait and switch. if a everybody, we are going to away -- theyonomy promise everybody, we are going to square the economy away and what happens? the only jobs coming in our minimum wage, low-paying jobs. where are all the family-sustaining jobs? we sent them overseas and we are not going to get them back.

host: frank in delaware who supports this effort. hi. caller: good morning. i called in to say i am for the tax cuts. when you get older, you should get smarter and anytime anyone is going to give you money, you take it. all the tax cuts help small businesses and small businesses create all the jobs in america. wake up, you liberals. host: that is frank in delaware. this time of year, you will see previous political figures head out on the campaign trail. one of those figures is former president george w. bush, who will be doing fundraising for various gop candidates. the hill sankey headlined several fundraisers -- the hill headlining -- fund raise for rick scott and his bid to unseat bill nelson.

the scott fundraiser and palm beach bill -- billed as a $1000 location0 per person -- private event. tovernor scott is glad accept the support of president bush, vice president pence, and anyone who shares his views that we need to reform washington." the former president will appear at a closed-door event wednesday morning in fort worth, where a gop representative heard he will -- another one in dallas for pete sessions according to politico. nate in richmond, virginia, you are next. go ahead. caller: good morning, pedro. love c-span. i just wanted to call in, i am 30 years old and i checked my pay stubs at the beginning of the year and my family is getting about $200 more per

month after the tax cuts. i am for the tax cut. i do understand people's concerns about a balanced that it, so i think it needs to come with more fiscal responsibility. one question i have, people keep saying it adds to the deficit overall. isn't that based off of static gdp number? my understanding was the idea is tax cuts would grow gdp, which would pay -- that increased gdp increases tax revenues overall and would pay for the shortfall. is that right? host: let me see if i can scan the analysis i read earlier. i may not be able to do that. let me give it a shot and see if i can get an answer for you. that is nate, richmond, virginia, giving his thoughts. representative -- gives

his thoughts on this proposal -- despite the evacuation of over one million because of hurricane florence." mike adding his thoughts saying "republicans version of fiscal responsibility, increasing the deficit to provide tax cuts for 1%."ealthiest that is some of members of congress giving thoughts on this topic. greg is next and he opposes this effort from maryland. you are on, go ahead. caller: yes, i oppose the tax cut. i think, in april, 2019, the middle class is going to find out the numbers don't work. they took away personal exemptions that will work for them. they are capping interest on your homes that like $10,000. like i said, april, 2019,

everybody is going to find out now this is not a good tax cut and they are going to lose money. thank you. host: kevin brady with the house ways and means committee put out a statement taking a look at these topics and the proposal they are working on. part of it says the tax cuts change the trajectory of our income for the better and now it is time to change the culture of washington. he goes on to say we are creating financial security through the family savings act, which helps families save more and earlier for the future. we are helping entrepreneurs grow with the american innovation act. by helping entrepreneurs move from the kitchen table to main street. last year's we said goodbye to the broken tax code. we are seeing job growth, bigger paychecks, and a tax code that works on behalf of families and american businesses. california, we will hear next from betsy.

hi. caller: i am just talking about taxes in general. they are always too high. , i just bought a used car and i ended up paying the department of motor vehicles fees for ataxes and three-year-old car. that just goes to show you, we have potholes. that money is supposed to go for roads and we have potholes all over the pace. my condominium that is 700 square feet, i end up paying $600 property tax each year. where does that money go? i don't think it goes everywhere. -- anywhere. host: because we are focusing on the effort to make permanent some of these tax cuts, what do you think about the effort? caller: i think all taxes should

go down and be made permanent. host: because why? caller: because the money is not going where it is supposed to go anyhow. it is just going to foreign countries and illegal immigrants. host: that is betsy in california. these last couple of minutes, if you want to call in on the effort to make these tax cuts permanent, like robert in missouri, go ahead. good morning, young man. how are you this morning? host: i am fine, go ahead. caller: what i would like to say is 7 times in our nation's history, whenever the republicans got control of our government, we had economic chaos. in 1893, the one in 1929, the one in 1987, the meltdown of 2001, 2007.

history shows, they are just tearing these people apart. host: what all that means for the current effort? tell us that. they really need to put the common man into perspective. antitrust laws, that is what gave the common man the best opportunity of any place on earth. every time republicans run this garbage on the american people, they are really hurting them and too stupid to see it a lot of times. host: we will take one call from wayne in south dakota on the oppose line. caller: i totally oppose these

tax cuts. our country cannot afford them. our politicians would have learned from the bush years, when you give a big tax cut, it could lead to recession or almost depression like during the bush years. host: that is the last call on this topic. tax cuts being one of the things republicans are working on, the other, portions of the affordable care act. guest will talk about the republican effort to change portions of that act, kimberly leonard of the washington examiner joining us next. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

>> what does it mean to be american? -- we aree question asking middle school and high school students to answer by producing a short documentary about a constitutional right, national characteristic, or historical event, and explain how it defines the american experience. $100,000 in total cash prizes, prize ofing a grand $5,000. january 20, 2019. for more information, go to our website. >> sunday night on q&a, --torian -- documentary biography of herbert hoover. >> when you stop to think about

it, it is a rather unsentimental , the sort of thing you would expect of an engineer. that is one of the keys to understanding his life, his success in everything but the presidency. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern on c-span's q&a. >> c-span, where history unfolds daily. 19 79, c-span was created as a public service by america's cable television companies. we continue to bring you unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court, and public policy events in washington, d.c. and around the country. c-span is brought to you by your cable or satellite provider. washington journal continues. joins usberly leonard

from the washington examiner, senior health policy reporter here to talk about the future of the affordable care act. specifically, efforts by republicans on the act. what is going on? guest: they are looking at a bill that would repeal or undo certain taxes and obamacare. what would happen is aspects like the employer mandate signs would go way. -- would go away. there is a tax on tanning salons that would go away. when it comes to the overall efforts, why are republicans still making these efforts on the affordable care act? did make a promise to voters that they want to follow through on, but it is important to note that a lot of these taxes have been delayed before, in a bipartisan way. be room for democrats to jump onto this. of course, they won't frame it

as repealing obamacare. -- toikely to talk to talk about it as a fix. host: this is being labeled the fix american work -- guest: essentially, they are trying to help3 small businesses impactey look at the that obamacare had on them. they would change the definition of obamacare's full-time worker from 30 hours per week to 40 hours per week. they would, as i mentioned before, with the signs that come with the employer mandate. if you have 100 employers -- employees, then you have to provide them with health insurance. that was supposed to go into effect and the fines were supposed to occur, but under this, the fine would be lifted over the course of 2015 to now. those would go way. it is just another effort to they are stillt responding to some of these needs, and seems like a

follow-up to a lot of what you were talking about earlier on this program, with the tax cuts. host: is this a response from employers, something they've been lobbying congress to change? the things that small employers say, and when i say small employers, i'm talking about restaurant owners, retail. they are concerned that a lot of the mandates in obamacare are causing them to have to lay off workers or give them fewer hours. if you say that 30 hours per week's full-time, what if an to 25er moves there hours hours per week? then they aren't getting health insurance. so there's been concern about some of the unintended consequences of these mandates, essentially resulting in job difficulties. kimberly leonard is joining us to talk about the efforts in congress. if you want to ask questions, you can do so. if you receive health care from an employer, call (202) 748-8000

. if you get health care via the aca, (202) 748-8001. everyone else, (202) 748-8002. one look at costs. if they were to put this bill into law, the congressional budget office, it looks at different bills and scores them, it says it would cost the government about $52 billion over 10 years. that is because the government would not be taking in a lot of these taxes that are meant to ultimately pay for obamacare. like i said, there have been a lot of delays in the taxes before. one of them that is included in this package, that i neglected to mention, is called the cadillac tax, which is supposed to apply to especially expensive health insurance plans. what has happened is that so many health insurance plans now qualify as expensive, cadillac plans, that really just apply to

your average, middle income worker. a have been pushing that back along bipartisan lines for years. inis set to go into effect 2022. under the house bill, it would go into effect in 2023. host: sometimes legislators poo-poo the numbers from the cbo, and other times they supported. -- they support it. comes to things like -- especially obamacare, when predictions came off a little bit, they are always used as a sort of political tool. there is argue that this large bill that has been passed for health care that is not being paid for, or you can also say, the government is saving all of this money, the industries are saving all of this money. or you could say the cbo score has been incorrect before. that is what a lot of members and appointing two. host: being so close to the

november elections, what has --?n the f - guest: the senate has already said it won't be taking another swing at obamacare repeal this year, so even if the house moves forward, it is doubtful the senate will take it up. schedule withll the supreme court confirmation, and they want to pass an opioid response bill next week. to see thisficult happen before the midterm elections, but these are parts of obamacare, as i've said before, that have been passed on by partisan lines. efforteaction on this from the newest senator in arizona, tell us what he had to say. guest: not particularly about this effort, but jon kyl, replacing the late senator john mccain, has said that he would

vote to repeal obama care. we don't know if that means he would vote for the repeal and replace bill, the skinny repeal, the different measures that republicans the forward. even if he were to do so, you still have two centrist senators, lisa murkowski and susan collins have essentially said they want to work with obamacare, want to make it better, or against repeal. kyl'sicans, even with jon vote, don't have enough votes in the senate. host: as far as the timeline, walk us through these efforts and how soon we may see action. guest: the house efforts, they are meeting later today to discuss how they are going to move forward on it. the senate this week is really focused on cap and on as well as the opioid package. kavanaugh nomination, as well as the opioid package.

host: talk about the effort by the senate, what is being done on the front of opioids. come tohey have finally an agreement after months of negotiations on what they want to see in this bill. the opioid crisis involves overdoses from heroine, prescription painkillers, and especially potent, fentanyl. thousands of deaths every year, sort of an out-of-control public that congress has tried to tackle. they have a lot of things they can do in terms of adding additional funding, reduce -- removing regulations, speeding up the development of different drugs to treat pain. they have a giant package of 70 measures that they've cobbled together to try to reach an agreement. so, we are expecting it to get a vote this week in the senate. guest: kimberly leonard reports for all things on health policy

for the washington examiner. she is here to take your questions. the numbers on the screen, (202) 748-8000 if you receive health care from an employer, (202) 748-8001 if you receive it under the aca, and others, (202) 748-8002. the first one is from rod in indianapolis. caller: yes, hello. a suggestion. if they really want to help small businesses, why don't they just get rid of the insurance companies altogether and go to medicare for all. ,e are spending too much money and all insurance companies do is shuffle money up the ladder into the hands of the very wealthy. doesn't help anybody. guest: there are more senators , theever who agree

medicare for all act, a bill by senator bernie sanders, has an unprecedented amount of support senate, the house and and is where a lot of the left-leaning democrats are looking to make changes. it is to roll everyone onto the medicare program, whether they have private insurance, medicaid, or are uninsured, to create what is often called a single-payer system. host: julie is in ohio, go ahead. caller: medicare for all is not free. evil that have medicare have to pay $150 per month out of their medicare check, so that wouldn't be free. i get my -- i get my insurance from my employer. is $5,000.ble when they changed this, it is terrible. they need to go back to the very beginning.

cover the people, have an exception for people who cannot get insurance. my daughter gets aca and she pays zero. we have to pay $100 each week for insurance, it is ridiculous. my question to you is why, when i look up the aca, and says, did you lose insurance? you can only apply through this period of time. why is that? it seems like you should be able to get insurance anytime you want. guest: the reason it is set up that way is because the law does not want to have a bunch of people waiting until they get sick to sign-up for health insurance. so what they have is a thing called open enrollment, for six weeks. this year, it is going to be six weeks, beginning on november 1, during which people can sign up for health insurance. there are a ton of exceptions.

if you qualify for medicaid, you can sign up for medicaid at any time. if you have a circumstance in your life that has changed, birth of a child, divorce, you have access outside of that time. -- theson they access reason they set it up that way, knowing what to expect as far as how to price their plans, knowing who is in them instead of people waiting until they get sick to enroll. host: does the administration -- to educate people about enrollment periods? guest: there's certain money that they spend on things like navigators, and they kind of bring in the private sector to educate people about that. we are reporting on it all the time. but there are certainly ways that people can sort of get around some of the restrictions, and they have, as well.

look to the did administration to see if we can tighten some of these orders. in the initial years of obamacare, they initially spent a lot more on people who were enrolled than expected. host: the insurance company, cigna, put out a flowchart. do you offer coverage? if the answer is no, $2320 for a full-time employee minus the first 30. does the plan offer a minimum value? no, the fee iss -- thiser of $3400 ultimately adds up to a lot of money for a -- for an employer. certainly does. but there are certain people who say, if you are going to have workers, this is one way to make sure they are covered. the affordable care act was about helping -- was expanding health insurance coverage to as many people as possible.

theyis one of the ways plan to do that, in addition to the plans we talked about earlier where people can sign up from healthcare.gov or in state exchanges. this is just one of several measures, one that keeps getting delayed. a lot of it has to do with a lot who sayctivism by folks that it is impacting their business. host: this is eric from fort washington, maryland. i don't have as much a question as i do a statement. i think the whole health care program has been a racist conspiracy. if all the states had been required to participate in the affordable care act, if it was never called the obamacare, instead of the affordable care act, there is no other bill that has ever been passed that has

been called by a president's name, and the president does not pass a bill. social security is not called roosevelt care. the welfare work right is not called the clinton care. whole problem with premiums going up is the fact that states opted out, health insurance companies opted out. if everyone was required to participate in the plan, premiums would have gone down. host: to that point, there was information this week about premiums under the affordable care act in the coming year. guest: one of the interesting things that has occurred is that premiums are set to rise at a lower rate than they have in past years, about 3.6% rise, which is pretty low. there have been expectations that premiums would rise by double digits, so this is kind of a surprise. in addition, we have data that are eitherrs

expanding into more states, which will give people more choices about coverage, and show that they are also offering more kinds of plans in the states. all of this is happening despite predictions that say everything would be going in the opposite wouldion, that premiums be going up and insurers would be leaving obamacare. that said, a small growth in an already high number is still a lot. people are still looking at paying more in premiums next -- or paying just as high however, there are people who fall below a certain income of ourld, who, as one callers mentioned earlier, are paying nothing for coverage or premiums. but people should keep in mind as well that deductibles are a factor in all of this, and that whenever they take a plan, it is going to come with a certain number of doctors and hospitals,

so it may not necessarily be the health providers they prefer. so, there's going to be an effort, i think, to educate people about what their offerings are. if there are reasons we are only seeing a 4% growth this time? one reason is that insurers looking into selling plans this year actually ended up overpricing their plans. year, they apply to work in different states and sell health insurance there. they essentially say, here is what we want to charge in premiums. health insurance regulators kind of negotiate and figure out what the prices are going to be. and they can't just throw a number out there, they have to show data for why plans will price -- will be priced the way they are. ,he plans are price pretty well

insurers are still making money and are not losing a lot, and are still able to make claims. is kimberlyest leonard of the washington examiner. timothy from new york, go ahead. yes, i'm currently on medicaid. medicaid does not pay for everything, ok? i've gone to the doctor, and the doctor says, well, your chart -- your insurance is not going to pay. and there's nothing we can do for you. this kind of ridiculous, you know, that people that are disability and stuff like .hat cannot afford anything they are lucky if they can afford where they live. host: thanks, caller.

about one of the things medicaid is that it reimburses health care providers at a lower rate than health insurance. so there are a lot of doctors that will say we will not accept medicaid plans. but then some do. it might be worth asking a few different providers about whether they accept medicaid plans, that because the reimbursement rate is so much lower, there does tend to be a sort of gap for people in regards to what they can access. host: penelope gets her insurance from her employer, calling from san antonio. caller: i think the whole thing should never have been instituted. i think it has been just another way to extend government. all they want is one single-payer, and they are going to get to it by forcing it and forcing it. ,axes for the county hospital where people were treated before this, have gone up and up.

so the hospital is still taking the people in, yet in our state, they can't have these little health clinics at the walgreens or walmarts or different small pharmacies, because the state has brought it. the doctors have brought it. if you have just those little clinics, you could reduce so much. people could pay their own, you wouldn't have thousands of employees and taxes and penalties and all of this nonsense if you just let the market work. host: before we let you go, have you seen changes to how year and -- to how your employer has provided insurance? retired government employee, so of course we get taken care of. i don't worry about myself, i worry about the poor people who can't put food on their table or medicine, or rent because they are spending so much money.

guest: san antonio? texas has an expanded medicaid expandedt -- has an medicaid, which is an area where low income people can access insurance coverage. and the argument she's making, i think a lot of different health care groups are undergoing this effort to show they can provide health care at a lower price, that they can better coordinate care. it is interesting that you are seeing groups like amazon saying we will create these collaborations with different companies and tried it deliver better coverage and better care. so there's kind of a rolled out response from the private sector that says maybe we can try to figure this out. host: there's a story in the paper pointing to a federal judge in texas, a decision that might affect the future of the affordable care act. guest: is an interesting lawsuit.

what happened last year is that republicans ended up zeroing out uninsured ongoing obamacare, known as the individual mandate. people no longer have to pay a fine if they are uninsured. waged by aawsuit, bunch of republican states, says that because the mandate went away, they believe the rest of obamacare should follow a. sort of adding -- should follow away -- should fall away. the trump administration is saying that instead of defending we agree with the republican attorneys general, but only to a certain extent. they believe that only two parts of obamacare should fall. the one that requires health insurance to cover anyone regardless of pre-existing condition, and the part that says that if someone has a pre-existing condition, you can't charge them more than

someone who is healthy. this has been kind of a nightmare scenario for republicans interview -- into the midterm election. -- protections are the most important part of obamacare, and they are essentially running against candidates who are saying they are trying to take away your health care, or charge you more because you are a woman or had cancer, or have an addiction. so this is a big part of what is playing out. host: is this the kind of case that could circle back to the supreme court, and if it does, what could that mean for brett kavanaugh? of red statelot democrats, they really held onto and this of the law lawsuit, because they are able to say this is their biggest , when they decide whether to confirm the judge. host: art is in florida.

haver: good morning, i three quick comments. the worst thing about obamacare was the fact that when it was written, the insurance companies and lobbyists were the ones that wrote the bill. so they wrote it in favor of them. win on that one? and republicans have made it their goal to destroy that bill to begin with. , supplementale secondary insurance through united health care, which is but as far as socialized medicine, england and canada have wonderful programs that work. the lobbyists and republicans are just trying to scare people into thinking that this is not a good thing. that is total crap. i'mhird point is that, seeing in a lot of bills coming up about the opioid crisis, are

any of these geared towards holding the big pharmaceutical companies responsible for the opioid epidemic, because they are the real culprits in why this epidemic even started. host: we will let our guest respond. for some backtrack viewers, the opioid epidemic is credited towards the overprescribing of these narcotics that are extremely addictive, meant to treat pain. rings like oxycontin. what happened is they were prescribed to patients in abundance, and a lot of people became hooked. once they sort of started petering out because doctors that sot -- noticed many people became addicted, people turned to a different drug, heroin, to maintain the high or alleviate the pain they are having. there are bills in the package aimed at holding pharmaceutical

companies responsible. there are senators who have called for bringing in some of to askharmaceutical ceos questions, hold them accountable in hearings and things like that. right now, a lot more of the measures are focused on giving more funding and resources to things like the national institutes of health, to come up with nonaddictive treatments for pain and come up with other options for people who have addictions, so they don't have when they arekey trying to overcome some of the difficulties of being hooked on these drugs. host: the caller started by talking about insurance companies. if i am the head of an insurance company and i'm looking at what republicans are trying to do with the affordable care act, what is going through my mind? guest: it is not just what republicans are doing, but with the marks are doing, which --

notdemocrats are doing, just insurance companies, but hospitals and doctors. they would say they don't necessarily want to go in the direction of medicare for all, because they will be getting lower health insurance rates back. they won't be able to cover all of the services they currently , and theyr the plans say, we want to keep the aca. we want to have the senators invest in it, have more funding for it. things like that. i would say that a lot of health industries are pretty united when it comes to what they want. but members of congress are not united in terms of the approach they are taking, not what stakeholders want to see. host: helen from michigan is next. caller: hello, yes. you were talking a few minutes ago about medicaid.

, there is one kind, my husband was in a medical care facility. $8,500 per month, and i could not pay it. had to go on medicaid, and they are going to take my house. but i was living in it, so they didn't take it. lessmedicaid is more or the people that don't own anything, illegals that come over here and get everything for nothing. and that is what is so sickening. , undermedicaid obamacare, was intended to be expanded to anyone who made $16,000 per year or less, and they have to be in the country legally to obtain that. what happened was there was a lawsuit before the supreme court

and which states said we don't want to participate in this, even though the federal government pays for most of the expansion. so the supreme court said that states can just decide if they want to expand medicaid. most have decided to, but some states haven't. so you see this gap in coverage where people who would have otherwise but health insurance from the obamacare exchanges don't have the medicare option -- the medicaid option and remain uninsured. host: let's hear from an employer, virginia. nobody seems to talk about tort reform anymore in civil insurance costs, but i know that a lot of doctors pay outrageous amounts for insurance. a lot of preventative medicine to take care of frivolous lawsuits. so what happened, has there been any more of that? there is not a lot of

talk about that on the hill. one of the areas being talked , and i have a story next week, it has to do with regulations around how doctors and hospitals and other health care providers can sort of contract with each other. order to fit those regulations, they have to hire attorneys to make sure they comply. that is an area that the trump administration and congress is saying, should we loosen these regulations? should we allow more, let it go? where thescenario trump administration says, if we get rid of some of these attorney fees, difficulty understanding the rules, we could lower the cost of health care. coversimberly leonard health policy for the washington examiner. coming up, open phones. (202) 748-8000 for democrats, (202) 748-8001 for republicans, and independents, (202) 748-8002

, we will take those calls when we come back. this weekend, c-span's cities tour takes you to lake charles, louisiana. our cableelp of partners, we will explore the literary lines and history of lake charles. here about how it grew from a lawless home to pirates, to one ofthe top manufacturers petrochemicals. gas has always been a big part of southwest louisiana, in terms of the exploration and discovery. but it really actually came more to fruition with the refining of , because we had the ideal situation, we were ideally suited in terms of where rail

lines crossed, where the water be movedl was able to in and out easily. at 2:00 eastern on american history tv, a visit to the small and predominantly african-american community of moscow. -- of mossville. point, this was a beautiful, wonderful community where we had everything. churches, grocery stores. people began to get better jobs, which showed them that they could be better in the future, for the next generation. ofwatch c-span's cities tour lake charles, louisiana. -- and sunday at 2:00 p.m. eastern on american history tv, c-span3. washington journal continues.

host: on this open phones, you can post on our facebook page, and our twitter feed is available to you, and the phone lines themselves start with the 202 area code. (202) 748-8000 for democrats, (202) 748-8001 for republicans, and independents at (202) 748-8002. brett kavanaugh is the subject of the story in the new york times focusing on senators collins and murkowski. the interest groups nominating -- opposing the nomination -- estimates that her offices have received nearly 3000 code theirs -- coat hangers in office, to date. some -- garbed in red robes and white bonnets, an allusion to

handmaidens tail, demonstrated outside her home over the weekend. and a crowd funding campaign started by two local advocacy groups, maine people's alliance and mainers for accountable leadership -- has raised more than $1 million. the group says they will donate to a democratic challenger for miss collins in 2020 unless she votes no. if you miss the hearings that took place last week, you can see on our website, c-span.org, and there is also available, everything we've discussed about the supreme court nominations. on the open phones, we will start with ed, on the republican line. caller: i can't hear you. host: you are on, go ahead.

caller: you were talking about social security, medicaid. they said that everybody on medicare, we get a raise in social security? then medicare goes up, the price of it. i just wish that if we get a raise, it actually shows. what is your advice? host: fredericksburg, virginia, independent line. andrew is next. caller: i had a quick comment about what the lady before was speaking about, i didn't catch her name. as far as the big thing, whether or not we can expand medicaid are not, i'm kind of on the fence about it. leann towards -- but i towards -- side, not really going to work entirely if you --e sort of an individual

not participating in a nationwide, federal program like social health care. host: new york, republican line. we will hear from frank in pough keepsie. caller: commenting about the , one of theaker problems with the affordable care act, and i think it is responsible for part of its difficulty, is that the pre-existing conditions under the affordable care act are a little different than they were under traditional insurance policies, and i think that is a point of friction with the insurance companies. that when you had a pre-existing condition, you didn't have coverage for a time, then after that time, the policy would cover the pre-existing condition.

my understanding under affordable care is, and why the younger people didn't buy into it, is if you have an event where you need health care, you can then apply for coverage and ffect retroactive health-care coverage. i guess there's a penalty on the premium. of that defeats the purpose forcing people to have coverage. in order to have insurance coverage, you must have a group of people who put in premiums, the idea of affordable care was that the young people would subsidize the cost of the old people. host: let's hear from ruth in hyattsville, maryland. caller: i'm calling about the brett kavanaugh nomination. i'm curious if c-span is able to

on thekind of analysis hyperbole and rhetoric that is going on. brett kavanaugh seems like a qualified but run-of-the-mill conservative candidate, but the rhetoric is so ratcheted up around his confirmation that i'm afraid that several senators on the democratic side and some of the advocates are essentially putting the person's life at risk, who is being nominated. one quick comment on ruth bader ginsburg, i feel like if -- had tendered her resignation earlier in the obama administration, we would have a very liberal justice on the court, but she chose not to do that. i feel like this is not a brett kavanaugh problem, it is a ruth bader ginsburg problem. maryland, in republican line. hello, i'm not sure what

open phones is. am i allowed to talk about anything? host: typically, yes. caller: just real quick, if you are a christian, read genesis , and it absolutely tells you that god said that there will always, forever, be all four seasons. theseon't understand why people are trying to say there will be global warming. let's get rid of that bullcrap. host: the wall street journal reports about the central choices for the president's personal counsel. president trump is leaning nextds emmett flood as the white house counsel, but -- have urged him not to rush. he wants autonomy to hire his own staff and restructure the

office as he sees fit. one person characterized his wishes as, i want to be able to run the show. inside the white house, john kelly is urging president trump to be deliberate about his final decision. thecal matters throughout administration, interpreting laws for the executive branch, and is viewed as the chief legal protector for the office. president trump has once said he wants tough-minded lawyers -- protecting the interest i of the presidency as a whole. lucy on the independent line is next. hello. first time caller to c-span. i am a registered nurse, and i have been for 37 years. it is amazing to me all of the misinformation about the health care. , and illowed closely remember how much

misinformation, like death panels and things like that, being put out. what is also amazing to me and very sad is that the medicaid expansion that these states were given 100% of the cost to cover their people, to give them health care, that they actually refused it because they hated the president so much that they refused that federal money and went to the supreme court to try to not take the federal money. i was just wondering if this had ever happened in the history of the united states, that individual states were so, had such hatred for the president and for obamacare, that they refused billions of dollars in federal money. that is one comment. host: let's go to nashville, tennessee, independent line. chuck, good morning. caller: good morning. i wonder why we don't seem to

realize that the policies are made for the rich people. sayan, i heard the lady that you had 100 employees, they were talking about giving you a tax cut if you had 100 employees. aren't you rich? look at all the policies they obama.ncluding me, we needseems to to understand, somehow we need to level some of the playing fields. host: how so? caller: well, the biggest corporations don't have to worry about the insurance. if i'm mistaken, somebody correct me. , like,n we have those

100 employees and they don't have to worry about it. they are talking about passing a bill so they don't have to pay. it really comes down to the people who can't afford to do it , and eliminating the ones who can. if you follow what i'm saying. chuck fromhat is nashville, tennessee. open phones until 9:00. you can call on the phone lines or make your comments on twitter and facebook before we finish open phones at 9:00. we will be talking to legislators in states that are going to be directly affected by hurricane florence. representative scott taylor republican from virginia, representing the second district, including virginia beach and cape charles. caller: good morning.

a representative of the virginia pilot newspaper says the president has reported -- has responded to the state of emergency in virginia. what does that mean for the commonwealth? , ther: we are thankful whole virginia delegation signed a letter asking the president to do so. it essentially coordinates and gives us more resources to deal with any potential damages and emergency collaboration and court nation the localities and federal agencies. host: what portions of the commonwealth are most concerning theyou right now? caller: models keep changing a little bit. we are preparing for the worst. obviously, along the coastlines, the governor has called for evacuation of zone a, really close to the coast line. storm surges and more flooding.

and you have to be concerned about inland as well, because the rivers are already a little bit saturated. hurricane,h of this category 4, if it hits land, it has been a few decades or so that we've had a storm the strong, in terms of the vegetation and stress, the vegetation has not been under that kind of stress in a long time. so we are concerned about andding at the coast inland, concerned about storm surge, rivers, and vegetation. guest: the areas -- the areas of the commonwealth that you represent, are they under mandatory evacuation? caller: parts of them are. i go from the maryland line to the northern carolina line, so on the eastern shore, there are parts that had been ordered to evacuate. parts of virginia beach along the coast, southern virginia beach where it is pretty marshy and wet, and low lying.

so there's parts of it. emergencyt for coordinators and the state government, they don't want to cause a panic, of course, and don't want to just evacuate people without it being absolutely necessary. i would encourage folks who are to maybe pay attention, listen, and please follow the orders. of military installations in that virginia beach area. how are they preparing? caller: my district alone has eight major military installations. for several days, ships have been going out to see to be able to -- obviously, not worry about the potential winds. we have claims in oceania -- andving planes from there langley air force base, moving them inland to avoid potential

damage to our military assets. host: when it comes to the work of the house, will it be affected by hurricanes and preparations? host: i'm not sure -- caller: i'm not sure. as far as i understand, we are still voting in the house. i'm not leaving my district. we have let the whip team know that we are working in any capacity we can. north and south carolina, maybe maryland are doing the same. i don't know of any big effects on the votes for cancellations, but depending on what this hurricane does, you might see some cancellations or movements of those. in preparation, are fema teams already moving in? yes, they are already on the ground, coordinating with the coast guard and local emergency response folks.

onalities have been conference call with the governor's folks. we've spoken with the coast guard, fema. we've had a conference call with them. this veryis taking seriously, i'm actually impressed by the response at the local, state, and federal level. with scarceis, resources and the fact that states beside virginia have the same problems, a lot of this is going to fall on the shoulders of local government, first responders, and emergency coordinators. that is why it is important that folks out there listening get prepared so that you are good to go for at least 72 hours. about hurricane florence, preparations in virginia. representative scott taylor represents the second district, including virginia beach and kate charles. thank you for your time.

-- and cape charles. jim incalls, this is texas, democrats line. caller: i am very sad this morning, about yesterday. of course, it was 9/11. and one thing i noticed was nobody, and i mean nobody, had their flags at half staff. bank, the post office, the whatever. nobody had their flags at half staff. .000 human beings died and i'm not just talking about crisiss that died in the and everything. i'm talking about the ones that died from all the poisons and stuff, from later. 3000 plus more maybe died from that. got a senator, i'm

not putting him down or anything. john mccain, he's from my same era. he was in vietnam, i was in vietnam. i was never a prisoner, but i respect the fact that he was. but he got the flags at half staff. and you can't respect for 17 years? you can't respect all that death and care, for that little amount of time? please, please people. we can't be that forgetful. in texas, is jim talking about september 11 and remembrances yesterday. arkansas is next, independent line. michael. caller: hello. i just wanted to commend c-span for their coverage yesterday for the 9/11 ceremony observations. it was very well done, and split

up and timed so well. always telling friends and relatives that if you really want to get good coverage of tothing like that, tune in c-span, because the other networks, they have so many talking heads and analysts that talk over so much, hard to believe that 10 years ago or 15 years ago, to get talking heads, we would have to get up on a sunday morning. now they are all wall-to-wall. and the coverage of senator needn's services, the thing to me was -- the nea thing to me was, the services at the national cathedral, you got to hear the beautiful bells playing "america the beautiful," and i surfed around, and you didn't hear any of it on the other networks because the talking heads were talking over them.

as far as the people in the carolinas and tidewater country, follow the old motto. don't try to reason with hurricane season. host: again, if you want to follow or watched the coverage of the senator mccain -- on our website. studentcamow our program, our yearly documentary program for high school students, we give you a theme, you produce a documentary using c-span materials, they released the team today. according to them, the competition, what does it mean to be american? you can see more information on that at studentcam.org. follow the twitter link. to see more details, you can find out more at studentcam.org. elise is on from maryland. caller: good morning.

, was thinking about kavanaugh he might not be such a bad guy, but unfortunately, the republicans brought this on to themselves with the fiasco of the merrick garland nomination. i believe they should extend an olive branch and let the democrats review all the documents. as i understand it, there is no need to have nine justices, so time forjust give the democrats to read the documents. byt: there is an effort congress to pass a series of spending bills. a unique element of one of those selling bills, one of the winners, federal energy veterans and legislative branch programs, sledders,ll'hill -- u.s. capitol police not to

enforce regulations -- used as playgrounds or otherwise when encountering snow sledders on the ground. attention inewed 2015 when capitol police indicated ahead of a big snowstorm that they planned to enforce the ban, but ultimately after theo do so public flocked to the capitol grounds. luther on the democrats line. i just want to comment on two things i've heard on c-span the past few days. yesterday, when they were talking about the 9/11 commemorations, there were many say theycalling to believed it was some sort of set up. i commend john for asking these people to give some sort of verification that that is true. almost invariably, he got no

firm response. the second comment is about the issue of the gofundme page to find a wall. if we needed proof that our nation is in real trouble, all we have to do is listen to the nonsense inc. perpetrated about this wall. -- the nonsense being perpetrated about this wall. it is insane. we are losing our minds, failing to think and act rationally. thanks for taking my call. host: cherry is in tennessee, republican line. hello? host: you are on the air. caller: i'd like to know if a taxpayer had to pay for any of john mccain's -- times takesshington a look at a recent poll that came out.

c center for public affairs researchers. 25% of americans say that it is very important or extremely important that a candidate has strong religious beliefs, according to the polls. only 19% believe it is important that a candidate shares their own beliefs, and more than half -- nearly half say it is not important or not very important. want the americans influence of religion to extend beyond traditional culture war issues and into policies addressing poverty. americans are more likely to say religion should have at least some influence on poverty then on abortion or lgbt issues. among white evangelical -- an additional 25% say it is moderately important.

far fewer catholics and -- felt this was important. our last call from long island, new york. hello, i'm just talking about the legalization of marijuana. i think it is a bad idea. telling these people to go ahead and mess with drugs. i live in an apartment, and i have people on either end of me, and they do drugs all day long. and i've got to smell that stuff all day long. i tried calling the cops, the cops will get rid of them because they don't do anything. mario cuomo says i want to do it, then i don't want to do it. it's ridiculous, it is like the border. cross the border and you give them amnesty, they are going to keep crossing the border. host: coming up, two segments.

first, we are going to take a looks ton effort that elect independent candidates. nick troiano with the group, unite america. then later, a discussion about suicide with robert gebbia. coming up on washington journal. >> announcer: c-span cities tour takes you to -- we explore the literary life and history of lake charles. saturday at noon eastern. here about how lake charles grew from a lawless home to pirates to one of the country's top manufacturers of chemicals. last lake charles. >> bezos always been a big part of southwest louisiana in terms of the exploration, discovery. it really came more to fruition with the actual refining oil.

we had the ideal situation. we were ideally suited in terms of where rail lines crossed. barge lines connected, where the water was able to be moved in and moved out very easily. 2:00,cer: on sunday at american history tv. a visit to the small and african-american community of loss mill. >> at one time this was a beautiful, wonderful, wonderful community. we have -- had everything that there was. family, church, school, grocery stores. people begin to get better jobs. which showed them that it could be better in the future. for the next generation. watch c-span cities tour of lake charles, louisiana saturday at noon eastern. and sunday at 2:00 p.m. eastern on american history tv.

working with our cable affiliates as we explore america. washington journal continues. joining us from denver colorado, unite america, or executive director. a discussion on independent candidates and getting them elected. good morning. guest: good morning. host: a little bit about the group. what does purpose? guest: thanks for having me. i want to start by acknowledging observed they we 17th anniversary of the september 11 attacks against our country and remembered that close to 3000 americans that were killed. we vowed to never forget. we have honored that. what we seem to have forgotten is what happened on 12. how our country and political leadership were able to come together in a strength and unity.

that is what we have lost since then. the idea that the most important identity we have is the one that we share in common. that we are all americans. it was telling last year when our secretary of defense was asked what is the biggest threat facing our country. he said the lack of political unity in our country. because we have two political parties today that seem intent on ripping the country apart. on pitting one american against another. to raise money, win votes, and ultimately, to do what seems that only focus. to gain political power. danger that we confront. washington warned us that that in his farewell. he said that the alternate domination of one faction over another shepherd by the spirit of revenge is a frightful despotism. lincoln said that a house divided cannot stand. that is the challenge that unite america seeks to confront. we are building a movement of democrats, republicans, and independence who want put country over party.

we are recruiting, supporting great leaders, true public servants for office. for office and serve in office independently of either political party so that they can represent the people and not be party bosses or special interests. to bring the country together to solve some of the big problems. host: when you bigger your backing to the candidate what is the requirement? how do you define an independent candidate? guest: independent candidate is someone who is running for office not through either political party, but they gather enough signatures to get on the general election ballot. as an independent. there are over 400 50 independent candidates running for state and federal office this year. int is 100 more than we saw 2016. that is more than twice as many as we have seen in 2010. they are growing in number. unite america gets to know them. these candidates based on their credibility, alignment with our principles, their

ability to run a competitive campaign to figure out who we want to endorse and support. we have endorsed 27 of those candidates running for state and federal office this election cycle. trying to offer them the support structure that a democrat or republican would get from their party. access to a community of donors. grassroots supporters. the electoral infrastructure to run a competitive campaign. specifics, what are some races that you are focusing on across the united states? i'm joining your from denver, colorado. this is homebase for unite america. for our state organization unite colorado. last time i joined you we were trying to recruit five candidates to run for state legislature. we succeeded. we have a slate of independence running here. we are supporting to candidates for u.s. senate.

we are supporting three for governor, including the reelection of the governor bill walker and alaska. the nation's only independent governor. these are folks who signed on to what we call a declaration of independence. a statement of principles about the importance of an approach to governance that is about putting country over party. using common sense and finding common ground to solve problems. investing come and values of equality under the law. economic and national opportunities for all. stewardship for the next generation. these are leaders -- leaders that are pioneering a new way forward at a time when both political parties are running to their extremes and a glut -- growing plurality of voters is affiliating. over 40% consider themselves to be independent. 1% of ours and elected officials are in our state of federal legislatures. that is what we aim to change. transformative impact on government today.

particularly in legislatures that are narrowly divided. ise the u.s. senate which 51, 49 between republicans and democrats today. or in 31 state legislatures where five or fewer independents can control the balance of power. neither party has a majority. the coalition of independence would have incredible leverage to choose who is in the leadership and set the policy agenda and change the rules of the institution. all to focus on problem-solving and put a stop to this partisan point scoring that stands in the way of solving any of the problems that we face. host: our guest will join us until about 9:30. if you want to ask him (202) 748-8000. if you vote this way and consider yourself an independent, you can call and ask questions. (202) 748-8000. recent call by the associate

-- gallup showed that about 41% of americans identify as an independent rather than a democrat or republican. does that surprise you? not at all. look at the choices that we have today. we have two political parties first, the thing they stand for is being against the other side. they are running to their ideological extremes. that has left a lot of americans feeling politically homeless. people are leaving the parties and searching for a new option. the goal of unite america is to provide them that option. is a greatll walker example of what an independent later looks like. how they can govern. he ran and was elected as part of a unity ticket. he was a former republican. they have assembled a cabinet of the best people they can find in alaska regardless of their party affiliation. he has been able to make tough decisions, including tough

choices to put their budget back in order. solutions tooned climate change and criminal justice for reform. he uses common sense. he asked -- he says i do what is best for my state. that is what being an independent is all about. host: how is the organization funded? we are backed by individuals across the political spectrum and across the country. small donors. members who contribute on a monthly basis, a growing number of 1000 across country. some in the larger amounts by individuals. especially entrepreneurs who see a political marketplace that is ripe for destruction and new competition. we are transparent with our funding. unite america.org. you can sign up to join the movement. you can see the individuals who are behind us. desireite us most is a to put country over party. to get a policy that works better so that we can solve any of the big problems that we face today. we are in a midterm election

season. half the country is horrified by the idea of two more years of congress and republican control and abdicate his responsibilities hold an executive accountable. the other half of the country is horrified be the idea of nancy pelosi regaining the speaker gavel. the american people are going to decide how that turns out. what is true is that no matter how this election pans out, there is not a reasonable scenario that we can expect a policy making process to improve. we will be stuck with the same discussion we see today or go back to even greater partisan growth locked in partisanship that we have seen in the past. it is not that the elections aren't important, people have to participate, so much of our energy and focus is on the symptom of the problem. the party -- parties that are at thewith each other today,

underlying problem is a political class that is intent on serving themselves and not the people. it is working out fine for them. congress has less than 15% approval rating but more than 90% get elected. the only way we can get out of the mess today is by not continuing pendulum probably it is to change the paradigm altogether. in to eject new competition and innovation into the system. solving for 2018. we are trying to solve for how to we get our politics back on track over the next decade and take the leadership in another option in 7 -- outside of both of these medical parties. host: it is independent only pure our first call from maryland. go ahead. thank you for this conversation. i am sick and tired of the bickering and the politics that is so partisan. you are 100% on target. people like me, who lean a

little to the right of center, i am sick and tired of both parties. devicesn up all of the that are meant to capture terrorists to go after innocent americans because of political affiliations or political leanings. that is wrong. i have no choice but to make a pic of one of the two tribes. seemo glad to independents to be gathering force and momentum. thank you very much. i will join your organization and try to help it. i am sick and tired of the bickering and politics that does not do anything for the common man. thank you, the good news is you are in maryland. you will have another option on your ballot this year for u.s. senate. his name is neil simon. philanthropist, business person never ran for public office before. her about the organization and

got interested in running. help launches campaign. he is running strong. think about the senate that has an independent and it along with independents angus king, and perhaps a couple of the current incumbents. other independents in the cycle. that would transform politics as usual. we would not have a majority leader mcconnell were minority leader. it is the independent who can decide who gets to lead the institution. how committees are divided. what the issue agenda is. and on any particular issue, those independents can float ideas and build coalitions from the center out. --se independents sought-after votes. we are trying to say we don't need to elect an independent for president. we don't need to start a third party from scratch. we just need to elect a few independents in a few key places and that can change politics as we know it. host: this is charles and illinois.

we have several different independent parties. what they need to do is have a primary for the one that gets the most votes. that would be the party that the independents back. they would then have just like the republicans or democrats, they would be able to be in your discussions and they would all back one party. when they spread out to three or four they don't have the people to represent. there is 40% of independents. they could elect a president if they would just use it like a primary and select funds. guest: thank you. host: -- idea. it is an extinct in most elections there are zero independents on the ballot.

we are trying to solve that problem first. interestingly, the last election cycle, more than 40% of state legislative seats only had one candidate on the ballot. either a democrat or republican. that is in large part because of both parties have gerrymandered these districts to be safe for one side or another. those are seats that are primed for an independent step forward and run. we have seen that this cycle. one of our candidate is named in diamond. -- and diamond. there is only a few candidates on the ballot in the primary. the top to go to the general election. she won her primary. she is on the ballot. in colorado, it is paul jones who is running for state house in a district that there is a democratic incumbent and no republican. the voters in that district would not have a choice. independents provide a service just by making more political competition in our system and

forcing both parties to have to compete for voters who are outside the party. toher than just skate reelection without competition. host: you had mentioned senator king of maine. what do you think the impact has been in the u.s. senate? i think senator king comes closer to more centrist independent. his impact has been to call the shots as he sees them. he currently caucuses with democrats. he has been a voice of common sense in the senate. more needed. that is our goal. if there were just a couple more independents, they could form their own caucus or coalition. it remains to be seen if senator king would join. this past weekend, we saw a lot of coverage around the fact that that everyday he wakes up thinking about leaving

the republican party to become an independent because both parties are not having the kind of conversations or debates about whether country is going in the future. they are simply fighting and bickering over the issues. what if he were to leave his party? what if susan collins were to do the same? it takes a few to cut her -- catalyzed some tremendous change. we have seen that in the state legislatures. here in colorado, john has served in the legislature for 16 years. in her last term, she left the democratic party to become an independent. she provided some crucial leadership as an independent to open conversations on both sides. agreement around transportation funding. independents can be the bridge in these legislatures where the center has largely fallen out over the past two decades. host: independent line. independents only. this is from maine. hello. caller: thank you very much taking my call. you mentioned that our senators

collins and king. i have disenrolled from the major party this year. i just figured the two major parties are garbage this past year. we have two independents running for car -- governor. i'm wondering if you think either of those have traction. and i'm wondering is your organization support third-party candidates such as libertarians or anyone else? --ler: guest: we have endorsed an independent candidate in maine. terry hayes. she is the current state treasurer in maine. previously served in the legislature as well. she is one of the most and credible candidates we have gotten to know this election cycle. in maine, a state that has elected independence both to the senate and the governorship, we believe that she can win. we have also endorsed some candidates for state legislature in maine. including representative ellen cassatt's. who is currently in the state house.

last sessionn the are those independents providing a critical service. they can champion reforms to our political system that democrats and republicans will not. as you know, in 2016, maine voters approved a referendum to establish ranked choice voting in the state. that is a system where you get to rank your candidates according to preference rather than just picking one. it helps level the political playing field. the legislature, the double kratz and publicans in the house sought to repeal that. it was the independents who joined together to oppose it. ultimately, the voters had another referendum to protect that voting reform. .aine is leading the way they are great independent candidates on the ballot. we are rooting for maine's next independent governor. terry hayes. but outur organization a report or part of it takes a look at the map of the united states highlighting the fact that in some states independence

out number one party, in other states they outnumber both. there are states that don't register or report by voters i party. talk about this map and the larger context of this report. the map is revealing and more than half the states that register and report voters by party, independents outnumber either democrats or republicans. it independents were a party they would not be a third-party, they would be a second party in many of these states. like alaska, they outnumber both parties. not a lot of people realize that appeared independents have a lot of political power if we were to organize with each other. that is not to say there aren't many democrats and republicans who would not join the coalition. gallup asked are both parties doing such a terrible job that a third is needed. more than half of democrats and republicans antics -- answer that question yes. a major reason that people are democrats or republicans was that they thought the other

parties policies would be harmful for the country. this is this whole idea of negative partisanship. where people know the party didn't like but they don't have one that they love. this data was included in a report. the american institute released uniteust that -- at our summit called reimagining governance in an age of polarization. independenceowed currently in office. there are more than two dozen around the country. to break down the best practices they have used as individuals and as coalitions to be able to have an effect on the legislature. the question is can they make a difference in office. the answer is yes. i have given a couple of examples. another is in alaska, following the 2016 election, two independents were able to help form a bipartisan governing coalition. republicans had a majority there for close to 30 years. , moderatendependents republicans, house democrats

joined together. to form a trans-partisan coalition. their number one objective was to deal with the state fiscal crisis that both parties were unwilling to address. in the last session they were successful in shepherding through four bills that would do exactly that. illuminates how independents are already making a difference. it is happening. it could happen at a larger scale this cycle and next as more independents run and get elected. host: from maryland. independent line. hello. caller: hello. it is a very good idea. -- i just heard his name today. -- we were supporting. i'm very concerned when you take someone like angus king as an independent. when you are elected independent, you should not cause any of these. when you look at angus king or bernie sanders, more than 90% of

the time. i believe there was an independent, we did a publication. when you are independent in congress, you should not be caucusing with any of these. thank you. to agree withn you, as do other independents running for office. marty is a candidate for u.s. house in maine. would you caucus with the set our caucus with the people of my district. that is the right answer. some insiders might say how are you going to get your office space and committees. nothing is getting done and the congress today. we need leadership that is truly independent of both political parties to be a voice for the growing 40 plus percent of americans who don't choose to affiliate with either side. inis very possible that once office, as a coalition, they may these to vote with one of

parties to form a majority. that is how they have leveraged to choose whose leader is. whether it is a speaker or senate majority leader. to use that leverage to set the issue agenda. independents, i believe the caller is right. don't pre-commit to being with one party or another. that is the essence of being a true independent. united american institute report highlights some recommendations or at least some categories are characteristics with independent legislatures. some of them include they would put their district and state i had a partisan special interest. candidates or legislatures would also injured his idea that post -- both parties are unwilling to initiate or the policymaking -- give an example. say what it comes to the economy, what is an independent approach to the economy? particularly since her publicans and democrats, this topic differently. approachthink a good

with regard to fiscal issues which impact the economy is what we saw back in 2010. president obama establish a fiscal commission cochaired by a democrat and republican. saw the unsustainable trajectory of our budget and national debt. they put together a commission that ultimately got a majority of democrats and republicans to vote yes on. that would deal with our long-term entitlement spending. slowing spending on programs to reform our tax code in a way that would raise more revenue and not contribute to the deficit. ultimately to grow the economy. those were common sense ideas. those were independent ideas. that is one of the major reasons why i left my foreign party and became an independent and decided to run for congress. neither party is willing to make hard choices. --ocrats are unwilling to republicans are unwilling to talk about more revenue. the idea of fiscal responsibility is missing.

that is something an independent can champion in congress by drawing on some good ideas and building the coalition instead of running away from it to pander to the base of either party. that is a politics today incentivizes for incumbents who have to win their primary or have to raise money from special interest groups. or say crazy things to get on television. independents are free from that influence. was the one lesson you learned running for congress as an independent? start local. i did quite well in my hometown and home county. i think if i had ran in statehouse would have been much more successful than running for congress. that is a perspective that unite america has. we are trying to build this movement from the ground up particularly in state legislatures with the barrier to entry is much lower. instead of 10 million-dollar campaigns these are $100,000 campaigns. success it will

change people's -- perceptions of what's possible. the biggest barrier reef face is not structural in nature. it is psychological. once people believe this can happen it will. building from the ground up and putting some wind on the board, which we will do in november, we believe it is a movement that can quickly accelerate toward the future. host: in maryland, this is gail. caller: i am a first-time caller. my question is how do you that the candidates that you support? morally, if i knew that you vetted these candidates very well i think you would have an excellent agenda. thank you. anyone can run for office. what we try and do is help send a signal to voters of who the independents are.

who at least meet our criteria. you are a credible candidate, have the qualifications to run are aligned with the principles. i mentioned the declaration of independence. you are someone who puts country ahead of party. you use common sense and find common ground to solve problems. thirdly, viability. do you have the ability to raise money and have name recognition or base of support to run a viable campaign. we get to know them through a series of phone calls and meetings. we do a background check. our endorsement committee considers his information and renders an endorsement, which opens up access to our support structure for those candidates. shows the 27 we have endorsed and the many more we have put on our radar. candidates we are watching to see the progress they make. as we come close to election day. host: doris, from florida. wondering,as just

does your organization except contributions from corporations and would you be willing to name them? cannot name them because we do not. we only accept contributions from individuals tonight america. to united america.org/organization purity conceal the individuals that have contributed to our effort. that is one of the problems that we seek to tackle in politics today. the influx of dark money. people who are not willing to disclose their identities who want to influence the political process. we aim to be fully transparent in that. in addition, many of our candidates do not accept contributions from political action committees. they are running just with contributions from individuals as the corrosive nature of money in politics today is one of the reasons why we see such dysfunction and gridlock. host: one more call, florida, jim, go ahead. caller: i really applaud what

you're trying to do here. it is a mountain of a problem. the demographics you point out to 40% are independents or more, we really need to do something. the two parties are so polarized right now. one of my big questions is what is your background? in florida, how do i get involved? a general comment, both parties seem to be -- spend, borrow more. how do we get out of this vicious cycle? i have been involved in government from a business perspective. i categorize it as this. we have -- we now have a government of the lawyers by the lobbyists for the corporate executives. guest: thank you. united america and the work that we're doing is about a 10 year

journey for me ever since getting involved in a group called unity 08 back in 2006. a man named chuck -- doug bailey. your other question, hopefully you can get involved by going to our website. we have several chapters around the country that you can get involved in. we are very active in political reform trying to open up the system, level playing field. there is a petition in florida right now trying to "-- primaries independent voters. stewardship is a core value of our movement. today, that's perspective on fiscal issues is moving from both parties that we hope to inject back in. we do face a mountain that we have to overcome. in part, because it is the only thing that will parties agree on. to make it difficult for new competition. unite new mexico is in the new mexico supreme court today. challenging a decision from the secretary of state to put a straight party ticket voting option on the ballot. to give voters a shortcut to

casting a strict partisan ballot. which would injure or hurt independent and third-party candidates. we have to challenge these rules. we have to on rig the system. we have to find leaders are willing to step up and run for office or willing to put country over party. i hope those out there who this message resonates with, roll up your sleeves and get involved because the two-party system has a lot of inertia. it will continue unless we choose to do something about it. run for office. join the movement. hopefully, we will be successful in 2018 and beyond. host: the executive director of unite america, you can go to the website to find out more. thank you for your time. guest: thank you. up, a discussion on suicide with the american foundation for suicide prevention. we take a conversation in just a couple of moments. we will continue on talking with legislatures across the united states.

particularly in the states that are in the direct path of hurricane florence. tom price, republican of south carolina joins us. he serves the seventh district. myrtle beach, good morning. guest: good morning. figure for having me. about the federal involvement in your state right now when it comes to hurricane preparations. fema cord knitting agencies, they are staging to face thisparing onslaught. this is a storm that the carolinas have not faced probably since floyd. category fourive storm that is larger than the state of south carolina. i grew up. myrtle beach, south carolina. live here my whole life. i'm 61 years old. the first time we ever evacuated was hurricane hugo.

i have been here for over 30 years before we had our first evacuation. floyd.ated for we will evacuate for this one. i remember, hurricane hugo headed this way. the beginning, they said it was going to hit pennsylvania. then charleston. at the end of the day, myrtle beach. i remember dan rather saying it does not matter where in south carolina that this storm hits, it is going to devastate the entire coast. not exactly right, he was pretty close. this storm is the same scale. our government master described the other day as larger than you go with more water. for,ath that their calling to make landfall above the north carolina, south carolina line by 50 miles. and be entered on the coast. fairlyd make this place

uninhabitable for weeks. , we need toto be pray for the best and prepare for the worst. our goal is no loss of life. you need to get out and get out now. how would you characterize your states preparedness has a standard now? guest: i think the governor has done a great job. he has been at -- been very proactive. ordered a mandatory evacuation of the evacuation zones. beginning yesterday. well in advance of when the storm will be here. ofe on the grand strand south carolina is obviously very tourism oriented area. people thatf actually live here pales in comparison to the number of residents that are here on any given day. the tourists have left.

the roads are sparse. the traffic on the roads is sparse. i think a lot of the residents have left but a lot of them are watching the tv and trying to figure out the path as they get up this morning and study their options i think you will see most of them will leave here as well. thatovernor has ordered the hospitals that are in the evacuation areas close. afternoon, grand strand hospital is closing. people who stay here do so at their own risk. they need to be prepared for that. they will be reopened as soon as it is safely possible. i think the governor is doing everything he can to make sure that people are as prepared as they can. most people have their property secured by now. most businesses are closed.

the tourists are gone. most of the locals are gone. host: representative tom rice. republican of south carolina. serves the seventh district and this hurricane florence update. rep. dent: and the price, thank you for your time this morning. guest: yes sir. thank you. host: joining us on the set. robert, the t6 or did of officer of the american foundation for suicide prevention. good morning. as we talk it is national suicide prevention week. what's that mean as far as your organization? and what does it mean for those who deal with this issue on capitol hill? guest: it is an important week to get the message out. suicide is a preventable cause of death. we need to do more to reservoir -- awareness about that. the extent of the problem. it is a major public health problem in our country. also, what people can do. i'm recognizing warning signs. what to do if someone the care about maybe in some distress. how can they help. message that suicide

prevention is everybody's problem. we all need to get involved in this prevention. supportw much effort or to you. what does the federal government to on this. important that suicide prevention become part of public and private sectors efforts. on the federal side, on the public side, we need the federal government to step up the investment. every leading major cause of death has been addressed and improved to reduce mortality. when you have invested in the science and research and prevention. we need to see an investment firm -- commensurate with the size of the problem. more investment in suicide prevention research to the nested -- national institute of mental health. it is underfunded. about $40 million a year. we think an initial step up should be at least two $150 million. we need to know more about why suicide happens and how to prevent it through research. we also need mental health parity. which was passed 10 years ago.

the first mental health parity bill. in the affordable care act it was advance. still today, many americans do not have access to mental health care. mental health treatment. we need to do a better job with our regulators both federal and state to ensure that every american has access to mental health care. we will not bring the suicide rate down. she and see that investment. host: our guest is with us until 10:00. (202) want to call it is 748-8000 we talked about those contributing factors with 74% according to the harris polls come this was done in august of this year saying that a feeling of hopelessness was one of those factors followed by being bullied, financial issues, relationship problems, losing a job. it is is comforted. it is not just one factor. multiple things that come together to create that sense of hopelessness.

underlying depression is often there. addiction. anxiety. maybe an underlying mental health condition. when you add some of those other things, disappointment in life. significant loss. loss of a job. a breakup. other things that happen in one's life contribute. for some, most of us are resilient. most of us can get through that. for some, they become hopeless. that is when you worry about suicide risk. the most important thing people should understand his they see something that is going on in someone they care about that it is different for them, changes in their behavior, becoming isolated. talking about not wanting to be around. things like that. it is ok to ask what is going on with you. are you thinking of hurting yourself. it is actually ok to do that. most people think that if i do that i make at the thought in their head. not true. they may tell you. what you can do is follow up. make sure they get the professional help and care that they need. host: the other take away from

the harris poll. 90 percent of those set that they would do something if someone close to them was contemplating suicide. it could be that prevented sometimes, often, or all the time. host: -- guest: that is an amazing finding. real change ina the public's understanding of suicide. and the fact that we can do more to prevent it. we are really encouraged by that finding. the public wants to be more involved. it understands this is a preventable cause of death. .e commissioned that pull the national action alliance. the suicide prevention. our foundation and the action alliance together. we want to understand more about what the public thinks at this point in time. we are very encouraged by these findings. one of the other findings that is interesting is that about 80% of americans think that their mental health is as important as every other aspect of their health. physical health.

we -- disappointing side, only about 50% of -- feel as if their health care provider takes mental health as seriously as the other aspects of health. it has some room to do there in terms of educating our providers. host: we tend to think of teens, veterans. far as thefall in as rate of suicide and how widespread come other than those major categories, who contemplates these things? inst: the largest increases suicide have been among people in the middle years of life. veterans make up about between it and 9% of our population. about one out of every five suicide deaths is a veteran. we have a lot more to do. it is not just the v.a.. the v.a. sees and the veterans go to the v.a.. it is about 20% get a health care from the v.a.. where are the other folks getting the health care? partnership,med a a memorandum of understanding

with the v.a. to try to work wherehem and communities veterans are. where they live and work. and may not be going to the v.a. to do more outreach. we have chapters in all 50 states. v.a. locations in all 50 states. working with the v.a. to try to reach and invest in service organizations. to top -- try and reach veterans were they live and work. we need to help them. host: is that federally funded? guest: it is non-funded. we will take care of our own costs on the private side. this is a public partnership effort. we need to step up on the federal side as well as on the private side. roberts joining us for this discussion on suicide and suicide prevention. the line is (202) 748-8000. for the mountain pacific time zones, (202) 748-8001. you are on with our guest. go ahead. caller: good morning.

project 2025.bout especially firearms and suicide prevention. could you enlighten us more about the national shootings foundation and the american foundation for suicide prevention. and the national effort to educate the firearm owning community about suicide. and how to remove access from the home where an individual is at risk. guest: great question. project 2025 is an effort we launched to try to see if we could bring down the suicide rate. 20% in the u.s.. 20% by 2025. what we did is an analysis of where are we losing people. how are we losing people. to try to see where those opportunities were. to do better. and try to prevent suicide. what we found is health care systems, a real opportunity. i could talk about that.

specific to his color, your question, we also realized because about half of those who died by suicide, use a firearm to take her life. if we don't start to educate those who own guns about that risk, we are not going to save a lot of lives. we have to do better in terms of safe storage. do not keep the gun accessible. it should be locked and unloaded. when to temporarily remove -- remove the firearm from a home when someone is at risk in the family. even to the point where that is voluntary. you are educating people to voluntarily do these things. when there is risk and the person won't voluntarily store or remove the firearm, there also needs to be court-ordered action where in fact the gun can be temporarily taken away during that time of risk. this is not about controlling firearms, it is not a second amendment issue. it is a safety issue. many in the gun owning community

, the retailers, shooting ranges, other communities are working closely with our chapters to try to educate those who sell guns. also the customers that come in and buy those guns. about safe storage, temporarily removing it. what to look for. just to become basically educated about suicide risk. we think that has potential to save lives. the numbers are enormous in terms of those who take their lives using a firearm. host: would you find similar parallels with drug overdoses?/ guest: it is not just firearms. safe storage of medications and so on. very important. it is really educating people about when someone is at risk in the home, how to make that home safe. beterms of things that could used to make suicide attempt. one of the things that is really amazing we have learned from the research is that time of crisis is very short. if you could buy time by not having access to the means

available, things happen. they change their mind. the feelings change. someone could intervene, get them out. time is really important here. safe storage of firearms. safe storage of medication. things of that nature are really important. government -- federal government, national suicide hotline improvement act. what is it and what does it do? been a highhas priority for us. we have advocates all over the country that weighed in on that. why it is important. the national suicide prevention lifeline does a great job. the crisis center has been a part of the network. throughout the country. calls to that lifeline have doubled since 2014. the resources to support that have been flat. what we urged was an assessment of the crisis system in our country by the federal government. and in addition to that, they're looking at the creation of a three digit number that would

make it easier for colors. if you make it easier for people to call you better beef up the capacity to answer those calls. in the senate, senator hatch and senator donnelly have sponsored a bill in the house here at it was sponsored by chris stewart. a republican in utah. a democrat in texas who had strong bipartisan support. it passed unanimously in the senate. almost unanimously in the house. so, the next year or system will see what is needed. and look at the possibility of a three digit line. long-term, we believe it is going to have to be a larger federal investment in crisis services. this is a safety net. it also includes the veterans crisis line. which is important for our veterans when they call. we have been big proponents of this. there has to be a bigger investment in crisis services to save lives. host: the national prevention lifeline number.

-- in georgia. hello. caller: hello. question. something i'm going through my granddaughter. she is in new jersey. we went round -- the older she is getting -- we don't ask for help and she said they can help us. like if she is our duck running around all them different crackheads and stuff like that, and the mother cannot control -- it is a mess up there. they said they can help her because she is an art -- odd duck. the only place my grandson found for her is a place that is in some part of new jersey.

that is not good for her anyway because there is a man problem. she get out there and they get tracking. she get her money and go give it to the sick man in new jersey. messed up. it worries me. b seven to nine -- 79 years old tomorrow. host: thank you. guest: this is the kind of story you hear over and over about people who are struggling with an underlying mental health condition. addiction. alcohol. and not finding the care that can help them. new jersey has a good care system. i would say to this color to try to find the care in new jersey that can help her. she has got to want help. i realize it takes both the provider and the patient's -- patients -- patience. people end up living on the street because of their mental health condition. it is very hard to treat. it can be treated.

to try to find the care. the crisis line might be able to help in terms of referring or where you can find services in the -- new jersey. you, ma'ames out to in terms of finding the right care to help your daughter. host: your statistics on the , suicidehat you have is the 10th leading cause of death in the u.s.. americans die by suicide every year. for every 25 attempts there is one suicide. of $69 billionst annually. guest: that comes to the federal government through the cdc and others. what that means is it is lost years. productivity. there's two parts to that. and the cost of health care. the cost of the health care system. that is when it comes in. that has been going up dramatically. the other thing to point out is

that the cdc issued a report engine which showed that over about a 15 year time come the suicide rate nearly went up 30% in the u.s.. this has been going up. the cost of it to our society is going up. there is that financial aspect. there is also the human toll. takes a terrible toll on families, loved ones, school systems. workplaces. all communities. that is the human cost, which is significant. we give messages out. we try to help those affected by suicide loss. having them understand it is not their fault, their loved one died because of an illness. mental health conditions are real. these illnesses are real. they need treatment. they're are not alone. after that, 45,000 people who die every year, the numbers of people affected are in the hundreds of thousands. in terms of family members,

friends, coworkers, classmates. guest: there is still the same level of stigma to mental health, getting help for that and counseling that you have seen in years past? guest: it is getting better. it is not gone. getting better because we know this from several things. the numbers of people getting involved who have been affected by suicide, either through a loss of a family member or friend or because they themselves struggle and their family members getting involved. reply speaking out and getting involved in numbers we have never seen before. there has been something called lithic experience movement. what that means is these are individuals who have lived the experience of being suicidal and have recovered. and now are talking about that to help others. that would not have been something people would have disclosed in the past. now, we see them talking about it freely and openly. without fear of discrimination. i think it is not gone. it is still a risk. of the american

foundation suicide prevention joining us for this discussion. jay is in california. you are on with our guest. caller: good morning. a couple of questions. what ist would be america's standing on euthanasia? and are you there? id the second one would be hear you talking about the v.a. and all the stuff. i would look to tell you a little story of what they did for me. i am a veteran. 60 years old. guest: thank you for your service. caller: not after what they have done to me. i am sorry. when i am was in -- when i was in kansas city i had to go to the ba and i had my medical care myvider say to me recommendation to you, you go out and buy a gun, you load that

gun, you cocked that gun, you put the barrel in that gun to the roof of your mouth, and you k brains out and all their problems will be over. that is the care i have gotten from the v.a. system since day one. i have to cut you off there. i want to let the guest respond. guest: it is appalling. that a clinician would say that to a patient. it is appalling. i hope we have gone better. that was the 90's. i hope we have gotten better in understanding the metals -- mental strains and underlying problems that veterans feel. as they leave the service and transition back into society. i hope we are doing better than that. that is an appalling story. my heart goes out to you. thank god you did not act on that was a -- ridiculous

comment. on the question of euthanasia, i want to come back to that, we as an organization believe that people who are struggling with a mental health condition can get well. there is help and hope. of people whoity become suicidal do not die by suicide. they get through it. to get well. we want to get that message out to people. there is hope and help. when you talk about euthanasia specifically to people with mental health conditions, we do not support that. clearly ahat there is way to improve the quality of life for people who struggle with a mental health condition. life prematurely for euthanasia, it is not something that exist in the u.s.. position assisted death for people who are terminally ill, that is a whole different subject. euthanasia is you request to have your life taken. we think that goes absolutely

against suicide prevention methods. teenager wanted to die because they are struggling with an addiction or mental health problem, i think they'll be horrific. not to try to help them and get them well. host: sue from new mexico. caller: good morning. i wanted to talk about my friend angela that i have known from high school. she suicided last year when she was 60 years old because she gave up. she was scared. she could not afford to live anymore. i think our living conditions are so hard now because after 2008 the hedge funds were allowed to buy up rental places. i had no idea this was going on with her. her mother was just so mortified that she took her life that she did not even put an obituary. which is heard about to -- through the grapevine. i held a buddhist memorial for her. only 10 people show up. i feel bad that i did not --

reach up to her more. person rebuffs you, you just keep reaching out. do you have any suggestions for people who have the smile on their face, her father had also committed suicide, so it was right around that time. do you have advice for people who are on the edge? is the wayhing out to go. have an honest conversation with the person. does not work. in the case of your friend, you tried. it's not your fault. this is a convocation condition. it is driven by underlying illness. what youe is to do can. have an honest conversation. try to get them to seek professional help. sometimes you have to to take them. go with them to get them to seek care. you you are in the state are not thinking clearly. illnesses of mental health conditions do not -- they affect your judgment. you're not thinking rationally.

you think the only way out is to die. it is important to try to get them to get help. they can recover and they will recover from that. i am sorry about the loss of your friend. it is not your fault. people try and we need to try. sometimes, if it does not end who left behind feel guilty. you should not. it is not your fault. it is important to know that. short onare running time. go ahead with your question or comment. that,: let's just say i had this friend and if you ike it is my fault because really feel like it is my fault that she passed away. from suicide. i love her. i miss her. i feel like it is all my fault. guest: i would say this to you.

i am sorry about the loss of your friend. there are services, educational programs, you may want to reach out and get involved. support groups. if you go to the fsp.org website there is information about support groups. something called international survivors of suicide loss data that our foundation hosts. healing conferences for those bereaved by suicide. all of the country. if you go to the website as well you can find that. if you go to that you will realize you are not alone. there are so many people like you experiencing the same thing. that feeling of connection with other lost survivors will help you. it is not your fault as i said earlier. you may want to reach out to some of those programs. you had talked about abdicating congress for more money. where are they as far as the attention they pay to the issue?

guest: it is starting. it is taking time. we do have some champions, interestingly enough in the house. mental health caucus which is chaired by grace napolitano. and john cap code. suicide prevention task force within the house. that is starting to get some momentum. it isit is the first time we hae ever had that. it has got bipartisan support. we have some champions. they know we need an investment in research. we will work hard to get that as well as through the prevention program. there are so many places and our federal government that we need to invest in if we are going to reduce suicide. the problem is growing, but the investment is not. is assp.org.site

time.you for your it has been 10 years since the financial crisis took place. at the brookings institution in washington, d.c. today, a discussion with ben bernanke, tim geithner and hank paulson about not only what happened, but where we are at the moment. that event is set to start in a few moments.

>> ladies, good morning and welcome to the broke sing -- brookings institution. . i would like to welcome me to be here today for a very important event hosted by