what the white house did not release an address this week. california representative scott peters delivered the democratic weekly address. he talked about the government shutdown and border security. mr. peters: hi, i represent san diego, california. when i first came to congress in 2013, i asked the president of the regional chamber of commerce in san diego, the former

republican mayor and police chief, what is one thing the government can do to promote job growth? he said we needed an investment in critical infrastructure at the border with mexico. but this former police chief was an asking for a wall. he wasn't asking for a wall, he was asking for a gateway. the long delays a vehicle crossings were costing the region billions of dollars of economic activity and 60,000 jobs per year. working together, the congressional delegation, republicans and democrats, secured the $42 million to modernize the san ysidro port of entry. it is the busiest land crossing in the western hemisphere where commercial trade is valued at $2.1 million per day. our nations investments in the port of entry support a thriving

international economy but also provide -- customs agents expect -- inspect and x-ray vehicle bags. they make sure people have valid these is that are properly vetted and screened -- visas that are properly vetted and screened. drugs were seized. agents arresting criminals, sees narcotics, -- seize guns, identified people as criminals. we don't want a wall. in the last congress, peter annular, a democrat, and will

heard -- will hurd, talked about border security measures we could all agree on. they talked about a mile by mile assessment of the entire southern border to determine the most radical and effective way to secure it and offer congress a strategy. it could be state-of-the-art technology for tunnels or even where we have a fence, it is pretty easy to dig underneath. it might be sensors and radar to stop moving people and -- spot moving people and objects in any kind of weather. or it could be drones where the terrain is tough to monitor. or it could be a physical barrier if it makes sense in some places. if homeland security wanted to recommend a wall in a place, they would have to justify the expense against less costly tools. in the last congress 193 congressional democrats and 23 republicans acted to force a vote to these smart approaches but republican leadership did not allow a vote on the bipartisan bill. i think most democrats would support that this year.

when president trump says democrats are for open borders, he is lying. we do not support a multibillion-dollar wall that would destroy sensitive land, take private property, could be tunneled under, cut through, while steadily declining border crossings happen. that is not border security your that is borderline crazy. -- crazy. there is a humanitarian crisis. it is needed -- it is committed by him. when he wants to shut down the immigration and asylum process, it is a campaign gimmick. it is a crisis when he spends $72 million of your tax dollars as like a political stunt. it is a crisis when this administration is allowing women and children, babies, to be dumped on american streets in the middle of the night with nothing more than the clothes on their back and left without food or money. there is a crisis when the government shutdown means 800,000 workers are denied a paycheck and can't pay their

mortgage or rent, student loans or medical expenses, hurting their credit rating because our president will not budge on his impossible wall. and this includes the coast guard, a cornerstone of border security you how stupid is that? -- security. how stupid is that? we have laid out several measures to get behind good let's get the government -- to get behind. let's open the government and stop holding people hostage to a wall that will never get built. announcer 1: today is the 22nd day of the shutdown, making it the longest in u.s. history. continue to follow us on the c-span networks with the house and senate briefings. here is more from a capitol hill reporter. bill: with us is "l.a. times" congressional reporter sarah wire. the house next week plans to continue to vote on legislation to fund and reopen parts of the federal government.

also planning to debate a $12.1 billion disaster relief funding bill. why is the house democratic leadership bringing up that measure in the midst of their reopen push? sarah: this was one thing that didn't get accomplished last year. and so i know there's a lot of pressure to get it done sooner rather than later. bill: well, the new appropriations chair saying this about the effort coming up next week. this legislation is the first step to helping our fellow americans get back on their feet. i am pleased that it includes important funding to strengthen resiliency against future disasters, especially those that are being made more frequent by climate change. what are the sorts of things that it will fund?

sarah: it's going to include things like flood mitigation so it's easier to with stand major -- is year to withstand -- it easier to withstand major floods. same thing with levees. disaster relief when it comes to hurricanes and fires. just kind of more preparation for those things. bill: your related story at latimes.com has this headline, california water projects could be shelved as trump seeks money for the border wall. tell us about this and what the president's trying to do here or reportedly trying to do. sarah: these are some projects that were funded by congress last year in the disaster appropriations bill. the money has already been appropriated, but it hasn't been spent yet. it's been allocated mostly for flood plain relief.

and the white house is looking right now for a place within the government where they can find unspent money like this that can be used to fund the president's wall at the border. this would allow him to declare a national emergency and potentially end this government shutdown. bill: in a normal year, in be a un-shutdown-year, how would these unused funds -- what would happen to these unused funds? sarah: they would be contracted out at some point, or they would be remitted back to the government to be appropriated again. bill: there's pushback from the puerto rican governor who tweeted this, no justification should be considered to reclassify the money that u.s. citizens will use to rebuild their communities. if anything the conversation

should be how we get more resources to rebuild those impacted areas faster. what you have been hearing from the california delegation in particular about the reported plan from the president? sarah: they're very much against this. some of the projects being targeted in california are really necessary. you've got a lot of the flood plane in california comes down from the sierra nevadas and flows down toward central or southern california. that's where the majority of californians get their water from. but there's also a constant risk of major catastrophic floods. you know, because the sacramento area is the second most likely city in the country to be flooded. bill: there's also been tamping down of the reports of those, of that plan. mark meadows, the chairman of the -- the former chairman of the house freedom caucus, democrats continue to refuse to negotiate in good faith or appropriate any money for border barriers. if they won't compromise, president should use asset forfeiture money or other discretionary fees to start construction. if not, he should not declare a national emergency -- he should declare a national emergency. it's time. is that the general sentiment among the republican side from what you're hearing? sarah: the idea of asset forfeiture or maybe other places to get the money, that seems to be fairly popular. this would be a way for both sides to essentially get a win in the government shutdown. i think the idea of using disaster funding, whether it be

to actually make repairs after a disaster or prevent future disasters, it doesn't seem to be too popular. i'm getting bipartisan pushback to the idea. bill: well, the house democratic leaders have spent the opening days this past week actually in passing appropriations bills for the remainder of fiscal year 2019. is there any indication of a compromise in sight? any thought that the senate will take up those measures that have been passed? sarah: at this point it doesn't seem likely. we're not hearing about a lot of negotiations happening behind the scenes. and senate majority leader mitch mcconnell has really said that he's not going to bring a bill up to a vote in the senate unless the president has signaled he's going to sign it. and that's kind of a high threshold to cross at this point. bill: sarah wire covers congress for the "l.a. times." you can read her reporting at latimes.com and follow her reporting on twitter @sarahdwire. thanks so much for joining us. sarah: thanks for having me. announcer 1: then sunday on "afterwords," it was all a dream, a new generation confronts the broken promise to black america. she is interviewed by the root

editor in chief daniel belton. barack obama got elected for president and then our political climate changed. for me it was the idea that the american dream, maybe as possible for black americans. maybe it wasn't created for us, this idea that you could do better than your parents if you just work harder, it doesn't matter. it doesn't seem that that is actually the reality, even now. it is a really profoundly disappointing thing, at least for me. >> watch book tv this weekend on c-span2. >> the senate confirmation hearings for william barr to be the next attorney general begin on tuesday at 9:30 a.m. eastern. in december, he was nominated to replace jeff sessions who had the position for a year and a

half. william barr is now counsel at the law firm of kirkland and analysts and served as attorney general for president george h.w. bush. watch the confirmation process for attorney general nominee, william barr, live tuesday at 9:30 a.m. eastern on c-span3. >> over 100 new members members of the house and senate join the 116th congress on january 3. c-span interviewed several freshmen members while they were in washington, d.c. to attend orientation sessions. democrat harley rouda defeated 15-term republican incumbent dana rohrabacher. mr. rouda, a business man, lives in orange county, california. what motivated you to run?