>> one of a number of briefings from democratic leaders this morning. find others at c-span.org. the house returning in about half an hour. they'll begin consideration of four spending bills to reopen the government. first, the rule for those measures, and later, they'll take up the financial services bill, which includes funding for the treasury department, the s.e.c., and money for the i.r.s. the house live at noon eastern here on c-span. and now reaction from the white house. we'll hear from counsel to the president, kelly ann conway, reaction to the president's speech last night and reaction to day 19 of the shutdown. ms. conaway: i disrespect with that respectfully. i did what -- i think what was new for the president is taking the case to the american people. in a span of a week or so he's taken that case to the rose garden, the situation room, now

the oval office. today, up in the senate, the situation room. tomorrow is the border. i mean, he is all out there because he's all in on securing our southern border. i also think that -- i didn't hear -- i agree with you, i didn't hear anything new from the democrats. i thoughts the response was anemic and a little bit partisan. here's what i didn't hear schumer and pelosi say. they can't say zero children haven't been raped, zero people haven't be trafficked, drugs aren't pouring in, we don't have -- that 300 americans don't die every week from heroin, according to the c.d.c. from the 2017 numbers. so all the things they couldn't tell you and i think that's where we should start today. my advice today is we start with just the drugs. we start with just the kids. see if we can identify the problem, agree on the problems together and then get to the solution. i think we're closer. i think tom perez, head of the d.n.c., on fox news, seems to

have -- i think put a little give in there saying we're close. we can agree on reasonable -- reasonable measures to help secure the nation and, of course, he's against the steel barrier, i suppose. the president is for detection methods. he's called for additional personnel. on our way to immigration reform overall. reporter: the president describing asylum seekers [inaudible] what are you hearing today that [inaudible] ms. conaway: i know there will be phone -- s. conway: i know there lr phony baloney things. the american public learned new things. i set in off-the-record briefings when members of the media admitted they learned new things yesterday. i imagine the public certainly did. this is a complicated topic but

an urgent one as well. reporter: are you seeing minds changed? ms. conway: across the country he's trying to change minds. in other words, do we have a crisis? definite anything of a crisis is a difficult and challenging time that demands a decision, demands action. again, for the democrats to say this is a manufactured crisis i found that to be a crushing, disapointing and downright insulting word to use against the families who like the president i met and held their hands and hugged them and got to know them on the campaign, here while we've been here in the white house. their stories, ladies and gentlemen, are real. it's very raw. they lost loved ones. and that is not to say everybody who comes over the border is a gang member, terrorist, a drug -- it's naive and downright insulting and disrespectful to their grieveas losses to pretend their loved ones weren't killed, weren't trafficked, that we're not

losing our kids and even our adults to drugs increasing in this country. 72,000 died last year. so much is coming through the southern border. now, one thing i will tell you, because it hasn't been said enough or not at all, every democrat voted for the massive drug legislation that passed a couple of months ago and now is the law. and they've acknowledged we have a drug problem. one of the measures is called the stop act. it compels our own postal service to be more rigorous in interdicting packages that come from foreign nations. so you have to have -- much like the third-party carriers need to do. sender, recipients, contents. the idea there is to cut off some of the flow that's coming through our own postal service and into our neighborhoods and poisoning our kids and our adults. and so they've all admitted that it's a problem. so the problem for that -- we know in this regard as well. we're just asking them to make good and extend on the promises they already funded, already

acknowledged. my advice to everybody, let's just start with the kids or let's just start with the drugs and maybe take it piecemeal so we'll see what happens. i wasn't elected to anything. reporter: what are our -- what are other viable options? the president said he would close the southern border. he said that before. we haven't heard much of that sense. aside from a potential national security we have heard in recent times -- ms. conway: very pleased they're coming back here today. very pleased the senate is going to the senate at lunchtime. i was up there yesterday with the vice president and the republican conference and secretary of homeland security and obviously acting director of o.m.b. and i want to point out something to you the vice president keeps saying. the democrats who were negotiating this weekend on behalf of the leaders did ask for certain measures that are on the whole back page of that two-page letter to chairman shelby that came from the

o.m.b., office of management and budget. i think it's important to look at that because they are asking for additional money to meet the humanitarian needs. they are asking for additional personnel, electronics, technology, detection measures, and that is in the letter. it's a proposal, basically. so i know we are as far apart as it sometimes seems but, again, i'd ask the democrats, too, if you object to more steel slat barriers and are you willing to tear down the walls that are already there? tear down the barriers that already exist? that would be really tough. i haven't heard a single democrat say, let's tear the wall, to coin a phrase from another great president. if they agree that is helping somehow, then why not just extend upon that in addition to all the other measures that are in there? also hink the president said we're continuing negotiating, let's get to the table, let's see where we agree. by the way, where do we disagree? do we disagree that some people are being raped and trafficked

and i haven't heard somebody say that because they can't say it. reporter: why does the president continue to -- reporter: [inaudible] reporter: what does the president say to those up for re-election in 2020, now more, let's end the shutdown, then discuss border security? ms. conway: well, that was said in the situation room, too. in other words, there was nothing new from schumer and pelosi. they said that before. look, if that were true, if that were an honest offer, then border security would have gotten done in 2018. reporter: what about the republicans who are suggesting -- ms. conway: this is nothing to do with 2020. the president said it's not a campaign promise. it's a solemn duty to keep us all safe. he sees border security being national security. he will certainly be addressing those members, the republican members of the senate today, pete, and he'll take their questions as well. if they want to raise that with him they will. obviously o.m.b. has been

talking to, including to the press, mitigation activities that are already happening. the pain that was caused during the 2013 shutdown was very notable. here there are mitigation strategies as well. yesterday the announcement with food stamps, for example. and also making sure the coast guard was funded right away since that falls under d.h.s. and so i would ask, also, that the democrats stop keeping the government shut down because all they have to do is fund d.h.s. the way that d.h.s. and the president are asking. and by the way, a lot of this comes from the men and women at the border. that's who tells us what they need. they immediate more personnel. they need technology. they need steel slats. that's where this came from. we are not cooking it up inside the white house. you have people -- we're very comfortable here. they're putting their lives on the line every single day and that's what they say they need. reporter: kellyanne, why do the president describe them as

asylum seekers -- ms. conway: no. you have to get their semantics. if they are asylum seekers that means they have presented a claim of fear at the border and it will be processed. under florez, we can't seep the families for more than 20 days, as you know. it's the courts and congress who have failed to act in a way that helps us manage the increase of unaccompanied children and families coming from the northern triangle countries which is fundamentally different than what has been the case at the border for many, many years which single male countries. semi colon, furthermore, comma, mexico has offered them asylum and work visas in mexico. while their claims are being processed. we are waiting for some court action on that. that's a very good offer. because that safe passage and work visas in mexico has been terrific. secretary pompeo and nielsen have negotiated that. not everybody that presents a claim of fear has a credible

claim of fear. they are all being processed. you're calling them asylum seekers -- you should use more -- respectfully, what -- respectfully what you should do -- no, that's not true. there is a safe third country. it's called mexico. and under the law, they could certainly stay there while their claim is being processed. their claims will be processed, there's no question. reporter: if they are trying to get asylum here. that's a legal process. ms. conway you're wrong. anyway -- you want to call -- you want to just change the semantics around but the fact is i don't want you -- you make me stand here all the time as a mom, as a woman -- as a person who has a heartbeat, mother, conscience, i don't want these kids raped, trafficked, getting the drugs. i care about the kids on that side of the border. i care about the kids on this side of the border. it's time people rise above the partisan point. let's get bipartisan solution.

thank you. >> the house returns in about just under 20 minutes, noon eastern. democratic leaders beginning their efforts to reopen the government. one agency at a time with four spending bills co-2ed up over the next couple -- qued up over the next couple of days. if that passes they'll take up the measure overseeing financial services, including the treasury department and i.r.s. live house coverage here on c-span at noon. this morning, steny hoyer, the majority leader, and a number of other colleagues, democratic colleagues from the washington area, talked about day 19 of the government shutdown and how it's affecting federal workers. we'll show you as much of this as we can until the house returns. mr. hoyer: the government, as all of you know, is shut down. 800,000 people are directly