follow him on twitter, @desideriodc. thank you so much. >> live thursday on the c-span networks, the house debates and votes on the resolution to make the mueller report available to the public when it is released at 9:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. on c-span two at 10:00 a.m., senate debates the resolution to terminate the president's national emergency declaration to build a wall on the u.s.-mexico border. the final vote expected in the afternoon. 10:00 a.m. on c-span3, the commerce secretary wilbur ross appears to talk about the upcoming census, including the addition of the citizenship question. hour, indianane congressman jim banks, a member of the armed services and veterans affairs committee, here to talk about president's $750 billion pentagon budget request.

at 8:30, illinois representative robin kelly, a member of the energy and commerce committee, on the fiscal year 2020 budget request and trade policies. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2019] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪ host: good morning and welcome to the "washington journal" on this thursday, march 14. we will begin with what is happening in washington today. in the senate is expected to block president trump's national emergency declaration over the border wall and -- on the other side of the chamber, the house is voting on a resolution calling for robert mueller's report to be made public. there will also be a hearing on the trump administration's plan to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census with wilbur ross testifying. lawmakers will hear about the defense budget from the joint

chief chair and the acting offense secretary. the president requesting a 5% .ncrease in defense spending the total price tag for the budget, $4.7 billion. democrats, 202-748-8000. republicans, 202-748-8001. .ndependents, 202-748-8002 join us on twitter at @cspanwj or go to facebook.com/cspan. we will get to your calls in a minute. let's start with the vice president yesterday in west virginia. here is what he had to say about the senate vote that would terminate the president's national emergency declaration along the southern border. [video clip] >> ensure all of you have the resources you do -- you need to do your jobs. we are grateful to members of congress and the great state of

virginia that stood with this president and his emergency declaration. we are grateful to congressman mooney, senator shelley moore capito, and others in the west virginia delegation. despite the fact the president has a clear statutory authority under the national emergency act, as i stand before you today, some in congress are actually poised to try and stop the president from exercising the authority congress gave him to address this crisis. we are grateful for senators who are continuing to work to find a way to address this crisis and support the president's emergency declaration. i was on capitol hill for productive discussions with senators looking to address this crisis and support border security. i told them and i will tell all of you, a vote against the president's emergency

declaration is a vote against border security. a vote against the president's emergency declaration is a vote to deny the human at terrien and security crisis at our southern border. -- humanitarian and security crisis at our southern border. stand up for border security, stand with president trump and put the safety and security of america first. phone,oining us on the zach cowan, senate corresponded with national journal talk about the vote. where do the votes stand? guest: as far as we know, there is about four senate republicans who said they would vote in favor of a resolution that came up from the house that would terminate the president's emergency declaration. their argument is it is constitutionally unsound that gives congress the power and authority to allocate money for things like a wall on the

southern border and instead that this would work against that. the president's emergency declaration does get money from a few other places more legally sound. specifically, they are taking aim at one that would reconstitute unobligated pentagon projects, military construction. that is what they are having an issue with. today we will be watching to see how much of a margin, how many senate republicans will vote to end the emergency declaration. who are these four republicans the ones to watch our susan collins and lisa murkowski. they are both seen as swing votes from time to time in the senate. susan collins is up for reelection in maine and lisa murkowski in 2022. then you have thom tillis who said he could not vote to

support the emergency declaration because he has always been opposed to more powers for the presidency and that is something he ran on in 2014 when he came to the senate and then you have rand paul who said he could not support the power grab he opposed during the obama administration and there could be others to watch. -- alexander on the floor said the president could have all the money he could need for his border wall -- host: mike lee was working on some sort of -- i don't know how you would describe it, legislation behind the scene that would take some of the power away from the president to declare these national emergencies.

how would you describe what he is doing and what impact that had an in the end, how did it shake out? guest: in my conversations with senators, they made it clear this was not a bill that would come up side-by-side with the emergency declaration. it would be processed through regular order. essentially, what senator lee's bill was meant to do is put some of the power back in the hands of congress and give them more oversight in the event any president, not just president trump, would want to declare a state of emergency. i think that was an effort to get more republicans comfortable with this idea that something needed to be done to address constitutional concerns without having any concerns about appearing to be politically opposed to the president possum border security addenda, which is a big part of the 2016 campaign and will be a big part

of the reelection. not berticular bill will brought up today and should be a part of the conversation going forward, but was more or less a failed effort to build more bipartisan consensus. host: what time is the boat supposed to take place and if those four republicans you mentioned vote in favor of terminating this national declaration, is that enough? guest: yes. it is up to 5. i misspoke earlier when you have the addition of senator mike lee. they only need the majority -- they will vote sometime this afternoon. vote threshold for other pieces of legislation, but the president said he would really it -- reiterate that on president. otherrgin will look for senate republicans who will vote and give it that two thirds margin that would be needed in

the event of veto override, which is a different political question. it seems unlikely it was passed -- it would pass in the house by the same margin. host: that cowan, thank you -- zach cohen, thank you. guest: thank you. host: our coverage of that vote this afternoon on c-span 2. you can watch to see what republicans vote to terminate the president's national emergency declaration. of the president tweeted out a national emergency vote today on border security and the wall, which is under major construction. prepared tod -- veto if necessary. what do all of you think? let's go to barbara in new jersey, republican. hi, barbara. caller: hi.

good morning, greta. i am calling in regards to president trump with the wall. i think it is so important he gets what he wants. he is trying to get america to do the right thing by having a border wall that people come in the right way to be an american citizen. please. these democrats don't understand what is going on in america and if they see how they are doing by just coming in and not havewing the rules that we to come in and sign up to be an american citizen, it is so important. host: are you active on this issue? are you reaching out to senators and lawmakers? guest: i am. diane, greta. it is so important more people should do this for the point america is trite -- the

president is trying to make america great. it is important to have the wall built. host: let's go to riverton, wyoming, a republican. good morning to you. caller: good morning. how are you this morning, greta? host: i am doing well. i believe we should believe in our president, even if he isn't a democrat. presidenthe is our and nobody else to see that. lived inn mexico, i texas. when my husband passed away, he republican.taunch republicans did not care about the united states and this time, i have decided,

too. i believe our president is a be. president and he should host: he should be able to declare a national emergency? caller: yes, he stood. how many presidents have declared emergencies? a lot of them. i do believe we have the right. i lived in new mexico. i lived in texas and it was a mess then. i do believe we need to have all wall. host: speaking of texas, happening this morning outside of washington, but clearly causing buzz in other places, beto o'rourke, the former texas lawmaker put out a video saying he is running for the president -- for president in 2020. the cover of vanity fair for the latest cover was released last night.

am born to be in it, i to be in it. this is what he had to say in the video with his wife. [video clip] >> we are happy to share i am running to serve you as the next president of the united states of america. this is a defining moment of truth for this country and every single one of us. the challenges we face right now, the interconnected crises in our economy, climate, have never been greater. they will either consume us or afford us the greatest opportunity to unleash the genius of the united states of america. of this moment of peril produces perhaps the greatest moment of promise for this country and everyone inside of it. we can begin by fixing our democracy and ensuring our government works for everyone and not just corporations. we can invest in the dignity of those who work and those who seek to work. we ensure every american can see

a doctor and be well enough to live to their full potential. everyone can acknowledge if immigration is a problem, it is the best possible problem for this country to have and we should ensure there are lawful paths to work, to be with family, and flee persecution. host: beto o'rourke and his announcement put out this morning with his wife that he is in the race. the huffington post says beto crashes the party. in the vanity fair article, they aware o'rourke is acutely to his greatest vulnerability, being a white man in a democratic party. the government all levels is overly represented by white men, that is part of the problem, and i am a white man. if i were to run, i think it is important those who would comprise my team look like this country. if i were to run, that my administration looks like this country.

it's the only way i know to meet that challenge. we are taking your phone calls on what is happening in washington. don is next in riverside, california. a republican. hi, don. caller: i would like to say who are these republicans that are turncoats and not following the president of the united states to secure our borders? toshould have term limits get rid of those people in the swamp. thank you. host: did you hear the list when cohen? talking to zach let's go through it. susan collins of maine, lisa murkowski of alaska. kentucky.of thom tillis of north carolina. and he mentioned a fifth, mike lee of utah. all five have said they would vote to terminate the president's national emergency

declaration. robert in michigan, republican. you are next. wantr: if congress doesn't to appropriate the money for the wall and trump is trying to get it other ways and they say he is going against constitutional rights, what do they expect to do, just let mexico keep pouring into the united states? my daughter is a nurse and they had to hire a spanish-speaking nurse for when they come in the hospital. how can these people come into this country and get a job when they cannot speak english? host: here is the argument from democrats who opposed the president's national emergency as well as some republicans who have said they oppose it as well. here is the leader of democrats in the senate, chuck schumer. [video clip] >> to our republican friends stand for any principles or do they just take a loyalty prior

-- pledge to president trump and meekly do whatever he wants? there are lots of issues we disagree on and lots of times to republican friends bow president trump. there ought to be an exception and if there ever was an exception, it should be this. many of my republican colleagues rightly stood up and told the president not to take this action. leader mcconnell said it was a bad idea. , contravenes the power of the purse, a dangerous step, and erosion of congressional authority, and our republican friends were right. in the president himself said "he did not need to do this." that is not an emergency. are we going to say any time that a president cannot get his way or her way with congress that they can declare an

emergency and congress will meekly shrug it shoulders and walk by? any demo --ance to president, democrat or republican? what a disgrace. host: the vote to terminate the president's national emergency declaration happens today in the senate. c-span 2 for coverage of the vote. we will be live gavel-to-gavel with coverage in the house on c-span. in the house, they will be voting on a resolution to make the special counsel's report on the russia investigation public. this is the washington post reporting. the house began debating a resolution to encourage william barr to release special counsel robert mueller's full report to congress and the public when it is completed. the latest appeal from democrats worry parts of mueller's findings may be kept from them.

that fact gave republicans an jeer thety to resolution as a waste of time. thee house democrats insist congressional investigations of's the president's alleged russet ties are not dependent on tiesngs -- alleged russia are not dependent on findings -- the attorney general, william barr's refusal to pledge to release the full report during his confirmation hearing such -- helped fuel such concerns. -- made democratic lawmakers concerned every reference to trump may be blotted out of the even if he might have been implicated in the events. that also on the table as we

take your calls about what is happening in washington today. the vote happening in the house. let's go to gym in north dakota, republican. caller: can you hear me? host: we can. go ahead. caller: we have a little bit of a blizzard here, so i guess i am trapped today. i am a little shook up because of two apartments down, somebody shot through a door. i am having a drink and enjoying myself about 8:00 and swat team pulls me out of my room and makes me wait an hour outside. some lunatic, probably cabin fever. anyway. i wanted to say you hear a lot from these wealthy white guys, republicans and democrats, that it is not an emergency. of course it is not an emergency if you are not a working guy. i worked in roofing and siding and meatpacking plants, farming in montgomery county.

i remember when the first mexicans started to arrive and the very first vietnamese refugees. host: don't know what happened to jim, apologies. we will go to bill in california, a democrat. caller: it is a curiosity and thank you so much for taking my call. i was born in southwest philadelphia myself. i used to live in chicago and people keep talking about we need billions of dollars for the wall like we are going to throw wall seeds down and the wall will pop out of the ground in 24 hours. it will take years and years and years of study and preparation to get this thing up. people just don't seem to get it . most of the people that call on the republican line are spouting whatever rush limbaugh said, the one fox says and as

gentleman just said, this thing called winter is going on. when the weather starts to break , the highways and byways and small streets and large streets will be falling apart as a result of the freeze-saw process. it will take billions of dollars nationwide to repair our own roads. we certainly do not need a wall. we need to fix our own. host: you say they should focus on an infrastructure bill -- infrastructure investment rather than the wall? caller: yes. north that would care to drive south to look at -- border and noticed preserve where this wall has to go in, they are going to hit a lot of potholes along the way. of these things need to be fixed before we worry about this imaginary issue. as well, i live in california. where i live was mexico not that long ago.

who is going to pick our fruits and vegetables? mr. trump and his children? i don't think so. host: are you going to be watching the vote this afternoon in the senate? caller: i will watch some of it, yes. i work with the food bank in palm springs. in the morning, we set up the food bank, so we will be busy with that and in the evening, i will be running the food bank. i will watch what i can. to live in northwest indiana and spent 30 years in the steel industry and i used to love to watch c-span in the morning just so i could see into spring when the trees start to green up. i can say, in a couple weeks, they will be green here. it's always exciting to watch. host: thank you for watching all these years. let's go to chris in texas, a republican. caller: good morning, greta. host: morning. caller: i was raised in las

cruces, new mexico. when i was a kid, we worked cattle. from tucson, arizona, el paso is a barbed wire fence. out there two years ago to see it again. there is nothing stopping them from coming in, nothing. i support the president. he is at least trying to protect the country. i am very upset with mitt romney and mike lee. as a member of the mormon church, if they vote against the president, i am going to quit the church. i am saying that on the air right now. i will quit that church and never go back to it. host: you would quit the church over mitt romney and mike lee voting against the president? caller: yes, they are

representatives of the mormon church. the mormons, we are a conservative group. for these guys to be going against president trump breaks my heart. that ruins my whole day every time i think about it. these guys are making my vote not count and that is not fair. thank you. host: chris in texas. also on capitol hill today 10:00 a.m. eastern, house lawmakers on the oversight and reform committee will hear from wilbur ross, the commerce secretary and they will ask questions about the citizenship question for the 2020 census. our coverage begins at 10:00 a.m. on c-span 3. you can watch or listen on c-span.org or the free c-span radio app. robert in louisiana, a democrat. caller: how are you doing? i want to make a few comments about this wall thing.

you can build all the walls you want, but the companies that hired all these illegal people is the biggest problem. i am a truck driver. i see a lot of illegals driving trucks, doing construction work isn't highways, and mexico supposed to be paying for this wall? trump made a promise mexico was going to pay for a wall. i don't mind building a wall, but you are going to pay -- build a wall and you will still higher all these people from across the border, what difference does it make? they are still going to have a job. get with it. host: robert in louisiana. harry is a republican in pittsburgh. good morning. caller: thank you. i think trump ought to veto this and get it to the supreme court

and take border agents, new york taketalking about ms-13, angel moms. one of these raped a 12-year-old girl and killed an older lady. this is happening weekly. i don't want to wish anything on anybody, but these people calling in arguing about the wall and trump, there is something called karma. i would not wish on anybody, but maybe it is one of their children or family members. host: i am going to stop you. the president said he will veto this resolution that terminates his national security declaration. it looks like what we learned earlier from zach cohen that there are enough republicans to terminate the national emergency declaration and he says he will veto it and it goes back to the house and senate if they have the two thirds vote they need to override a veto. there could be court challenges, as that caller was talking

about. bill in florida, a republican. hi, bill. why,r: i just want to know when barack obama was in office and he said the wall -- we and there were so many people crossing the border it was illegal, chuck , theyr and nancy pelosi all voted it was a problem. how come now all of a sudden nobody says it is a problem? host: front pages of the newspapers are dominated by the president's decision to grounds max 8 and 9 planes. here is what he told reporters about the decision. [video clip] anwe are going to be issuing emergency order of prohibition to ground off lights of the 737

max 9 and planes associated with that line. i have spoken to the secretary , the actingation administrator of the faa, and dennis muilenburg, ceo of that will boeing and be available shortly after our conference today. they are all in agreement with the action. any plane currently in the air will go to its destination and then be grounded. planes in the air will be 737nded if they are the max, grounded upon landing at the destination. pilots have been notified. airlines have been notified. airlines are agreeing with the safety of the american people and all people is our paramount concern.

host: that was the president talking about his decision to ground the boeing airplane that came after canada made the same decision and over 40 other countries as well. teresa in st. louis, missouri, a democrat. hi, teresa. caller: hi. host: what is on your mind today about what is happening in washington? caller: i support the president building a wall. when i go down along highway 10 and looked at the border, i could not believe -- i don't know what that was, it was nothing. i support him in building the wall. i just don't think it should be a government shutdown and i think they need to give him the money to build the wall. had they just did that in the beginning, we would not have had the government shutdown down, we

more moneyave had needed. it costs more money not for them wanted host:hat he . the argument by one senator, republican senator rand paul of kentucky for voting to terminate the president's national emergency declaration is he said congress did speak on this, we opened up the government again because we agreed the president could have $1.3 billion, not what he requested. the argument is you cannot declare a national emergency because congress has spoken. teresa? caller: i just wish they would give the president the money to build the wall. that is what i wish. host: what do you say to those who think they cannot give the power of the purse the president of the united states no matter

who the president is? itler: i don't believe should be that way. i think they should consider what he is saying. it might not solve all of our problems, but i believe it would help. host: bernie in ohio, independent. caller: how are you this you to full day? host: morning. caller: i am -- i have been sitting here thinking how i am a liberal progressive independent and i wish these people who are calling in who support this wall would realize that donald trump was told to say the word wall to remind him to talk about immigration and when the crowd responded, like they often do like the cult often does, he made it a big issue.

this idea democrats want to let people flood in, no. i am an independent, but i definitely lean to the liberal and proud of it, side of things. technology. a wall, something the chinese found out years ago did not stop the mongols from coming into china, technology is the way to do it. i agree with the guy who called a little while ago and said we need billions of dollars per hour infrastructure. this wall saying was a figment of his own staff trying to get him to remember, this is a mental technique to get him to remember about -- to talk about immigration. why are these people thinking he was all about all wall? how wall only because people responded to it. this sucks all the air out of everything else this country needs to be doing.

we have so many challenges beyond a wall and i am ashamed of our country, so many people come here at escaping like beto o'rourke just said a few minutes ago when you showed his announcement. he said here are these people leaving violence and any american who can tell me honestly that if their son came home and said they have threatened you and the family if i don't join the gang and they left -- we are not doing anything. the money needs to be spent on judges and people to get down vet thesehat -- to people. if they are really seeking asylum, let them into the country. i think frequently of the inscription on the statue of liberty and i was proud of that and now we are like, they cannot come into our country. only if they have skills and

money. my goodness. host: bernie's thoughts in ohio saying congress and the country needs to focus on other things. one of the jobs congress has every year is the federal budget . the president unveiled his request to congress this week with a price tag of $4.7 trillion and the defense budget going up 5% while nondefense spending being cut by 9%. here is the headline in roll call. after a bitter fight, defense budget will stay high. the hard-fought outcome keeping defense spending at historical highs. lawmakers will hear from the joint chiefs and the acting defense secretary today when they testify about this budget. adds more than 30 $3 billion to the department of defense, buildtes $8.6 billion to

sections along the u.s.-mexico border. this article from roll call says a house controlled by democrats will not easily swallow trump's proposed into/programs by 9%. trump's $750 request for the pentagon and other defense accounts makes one of the biggest piece time defense budgets since world war ii, even adjusting for inflation. budgetumvent the defense cap five requesting $97.9 billion for assorted defense in thes unrelated to war warfare account, which is part of the defense department budget exempt from statuary spending limits. that debate likely to be happening over the coming weeks on capitol hill, something all of you can talk about today. let's go to derek in virginia. caller: good morning.

host: morning. asler: i would like to cite a country of immigrants, there is nobody here in this century except the native population who did not arrive either willingly, escaping persecution somewhere, or unwillingly, as a shameful mark of how our southern states .mbraced slavery now there is this feeling of i am already here, my ancestors came here legally. there was no legal immigration and we have forgotten who we are as a country like the previous caller said, the poem inscribed on the bottom of the statue of liberty. we need to find a way to bring people because there should not be a test of skills to come to

this country because people talk about a big tent party, this should be a big country where people can come in a matter their background. asylum seeker, refugee, illegal immigrant. come to this place and make a new life for yourself. boats.ing tide lifts all talked at the 1984 -- 1988 democratic convention -- there was a time when fdr wanted --ike when we were headed west as americans forging new frontiers, it wasn't expected like conservatives think, somebody will have to fall off the wagon, people are not going to make it, but the strong will survive and

we will forge a frontier. he said, we should have an expectation that everyone will make it and pick up people along the way and make it together. host: derek in virginia, democratic caller. lots of interest from all of you about the southern border, the building of the wall, and the president's national emergency declaration to do so. the vote in the senate to terminate this national emergency declaration taking place this afternoon. tune into c-span 2 to watch the end of the debate and vote take place. you can go to our website, c-span.org for scheduling updates on that. yesterday in the senate, new york times reports the senate saudi war inthe yemen defined the president. the senate rebuked president trump for his continued defense of saudi arabia after the killing of the dissident

journalist jamal khashoggi, voting for a second time to end american military assistance for the war on yemen and curtail presidential war powers. a nearly fourng year conflict in yemen that killed thousands of civilians and inflicted a devastating famine sets the foundation for what could be the first presidential veto. the vote also might be the opening in a week where senate republicans have an opportunity to hit back at the president's aggressive use of executive power with the chamber voting on a resolution that would overturn mr. trump's declaration of a national emergency to secure funding for border -- his border wall. kj in northport, florida. caller: how are you? please have me an opportunity to make three quick points. my first point is this whole

border wall thing, no one is saying the border wall is going to solve the immigration issue, just like democrats argue we to stopban bump stocks people from being able to shoot multiple scores of people. that is not going to stop killing. it's the same thing, the same argument being made, to slow them down. my second point is the reason why -- at least nancy pelosi and those senators from those particular states do not support the wall is because the plan of the democrats is basically to replace black people as far as ipo -- as far as a voting bloc in a democratic party. black people are the kingmakers in the democratic party. when blacks don't show up, democrats don't win. they are tired of that, so they

will not support something that will stop their future block voters from voting for them. this idea this is a country people are calling and saying we are a nation of immigrants and give this to the poor and hurt. how does this country treat black people? are they discussing in congress what is going on with the black community and all the killings that happen? they are more outraged about immigrants getting shoved at the border than citizens of the united states, black people, getting killed in the streets unjustly. helen in michigan, democrat. hi, helen. caller: are you talking to me, greta? host: i am. caller: nice to talk to you. i haven't talked to you in a while. with thebig problem

rich people buying their kids .nto colleges another thing is i watch the news a lot and i watch all channels and i love you guys, i watch every day. of thing of it is i am tired black people saying it is black people getting hurt, it is all poor people. off to getheir butts into college and get a degree and a better life to even be spendiddle-class and then the rest of their life trying to pay it off. the fact of the matter is this wall is a joke. i don't know who is handling the money and who is going to get the money to pay for that wall. who is going to handle it?

is he going to hire his own builders? where is the rest of the money going to go? host: an update for you on michael cohen, the wall street journal reporting federal prosecutors are seeking cohen's pardon emails and another headline for you on this from the washington times, cohen will not be punished for unclear testimony. democratic tear of the house oversight committee said he will not attempt to punish michael cohen for misleading the committee. we claimed he never asked president trump for a pardon. cohen has clarified through his own lawyer his testimony could have been clearer. cohen says he was only referring to a specific period of time in his testimony. of the maryland democrat said that was good enough to get him off the hook, he could have faced prosecution for lying to congress. his lawyers say he stands by that statement of what he said

on february 27 when he testified only so far as it refers to after june 2018 when he left the joint defense agreement with mr. trump. that in the washington times this morning. also happening on capitol hill from usa today, dreamer bill faces grim odds in the senate. house democrats introduced a bill on tuesday that would grant permanent protections to undocumented immigrants brought to the u.s. as children. their fate will rest in the hands of senate republicans who struggled for nearly two decades to come up with a solution they and their conservative base can endorse. there used to be a time the dream act was accepted by senate republicans who said it was unfair to punish children for the actions of their parents. the 2003 version of the bill was sponsored by orrin hatch and had 12 other gop cosponsors. as the party's conservative wing began booing the dream act as

less of an act of compassion and more an act of amnesty, the gop backed away from the bill. the houseplants plans to vote on that dream legislation in the coming weeks on capitol hill. denise in new york, independent. good morning and welcome to the conversation. go ahead. caller: good morning. a few things. i love this country. i think most people do. i think some people on the far left to not see the good this on the right, and i am independent, but i am leaning right because the left is too far left, it is not that i am against illegal immigration, i want everyone to congress, but i want to work together to make a good immigration law. we need to do that and we know the last time we did it, democrats promised the wall in

the 1980's, 1986, and we never got -- not a wall, but border security. we need to put in some border security. trump is not asking for nothing that nobody else asked for. now we get free technology, too. let's put the ideas together, work together, fix immigration. i want everyone to come here and everyone to thrive and for the people on the left that keeps to work atis going the farms? why are you limiting what mexicans can do? if i was mexican, i would be appalled you think that is my only call coming -- goal coming to america, i get to pick your crops because kids today cannot even get out and work and do stuff like this like they used to do. we need to get back to old-fashioned values. i am not even that old. i would like to see congress

work together and everybody push to get them to work together. trump was right, the system is rigged and we are seeing it. who did not think rich people paid for their kids to go to school? and newnise's thoughts york. david in cincinnati, a democrat. caller: good morning. i love the green, perfect for st. patrick's day, very pretty. i would like to change topics and talk about the defense bill. toincrease and we are coming an end of two ground wars. where is all this money needed to be spent now? stuff?ng with the space military in outer space? very bad idea. we are still trying's, -- trying, since the 1980's, to have some kind of defense against ibm's.

it did not work in 80's or the 1990's or early 2000's and we are still trending -- spending trillions on a program that doesn't work, greta. knowld like to know -- i you have a representative, republican coming on. can the pentagon do an actual audit? they were supposed to be able to buy this point? host: they have. caller: what are the results of that? i have never heard or seen any results from the audit they did? host: we covered a discussion about that on c-span. if you go to our website and put can findon audit, you the person who ran the audit, the conversation they had with reporters about sort of the overall objectives of the audit, what it accomplished and how they will go forward and continue to do pentagon audits.

it's a question we can ask in 10 minutes to jim banks, he serves on the armed formers -- armed services and veterans affairs committee and we will talk about the armed services budget and audit as well. lawmakers will hear from general joseph dunford and patrick shanahan, the acting defense secretary about the president's budget request. susan in california, republican. hi, susan. caller: yes, we cannot financially sustain everyone who wants to come in this country. my grandparents came in, too, but my grandfather had a job, he did not collect. host: okay. he did not -- he had a job, he did not collect. we are listening. caller: yes. i think the people in this country should not be collecting off welfare or food stamps and have housing paid for.

host: don from south carolina, democrat. say -- share your thoughts with us. caller: good morning. i wanted to say three things. the first being that trump exercising the emergency clause that is setting a really bad precedent. look out, my republican brothers and sisters. if a democrat gets into office, he will use it for guns for sure. the second thing i want to talk about is we are missing the boat on what is the most important thing, which is climate change, climate. i want to take my hat off to jay inslee of washington, the inernor for leading the way getting off the oil and coal train to produce energy.

my third point is donald trump is, besides being a criminal, is just -- he is a traitor. he is a russian collaborator and i am really ashamed 30% of the american public supported him. host: what evidence have you seen that he polluted or coordinated with the russians? he is following basically russian foreign policy in his strategic moves with our japan, in hisea, effort to dismantle nato, backing brexit. all of putin's goals seem to be enacted by us and the rest of the world is reeling. they have really no idea what to do. japan is talking about building

their own missile-defense if they cannot depend on us anymore. the same with nato. they are kind of getting lost and nato is the most important offensive thing we have. he is just doing nato's business -- i mean putin's business. host: ahead of today's vote in the senate to terminate the president's national emergency declaration, john korner came to the floor and had this to say. [video clip] 7 >> the president's emergency declaration was his commitment to finally address the problems that overwhelmed our communities on the southern border. both in 2014 when president obama identified it and today. it is our duty to deliver real results not only for the people of texas, but for our friends to the south. i have heard concerns raised by my constituents and colleagues about the use of emergency powers in this situation and i

share some of those concerns. i still believe the regular appropriation process should always be used, but, unfortunately, we saw a refusal on the part of the speaker of the house and others to engage in bona fide negotiations on border security funding and left the administration with what it deemed to be an inadequate source of revenue to do the border security measures they felt they needed in order to address the humanitarian crisis. rather than engaging with the president and debating whether the president has the authority to declare a national emergency for border security, which he clearly does, i think our discussion should focus on the structure of emergency powers laws moving forward and whether congress is delegated to much power not just to this president, but any president under these circumstances. host: senator cornyn with his

thoughts on the president's national emergency declaration for what they are calling a crisis along the southern border. we are getting your thoughts on that as well as the house voting on a resolution to urge william bar to make public robert russia's report on his investigation. in other news, hear from the washington times, matthew lee reporting the trump administration used an annual report on human rights abuses to callout close partner saudi arabia on wednesday over the killing of u.s.-based saudi .ournalist jamal khashoggi last year the annual global human rights report said virginia-based columnist was killed by agents of the kingdom while inside the saudi consulate. it drew no conclusion as to who was responsible. despite the belief of intelligent -- mohammad bin salman ordered the murder. the report noted the public prosecutor's office indicted 11

suspects and said 10 people were under investigation, but hasn't released more information. related to that is a full-page ,d in the wall street journal the new york times, and the washington post and it looks like this. these are the names of the 1337 journalists killed in the line of duty since 1992. their legacy is in our hands. the last column -- thelastcolumn.com. this brought by the committee to protect journalists. this full-page ad running this morning. mary in south carolina, republican. caller: thank you for having me. i want to talk about the bill coming up today that is going to be voted on against the president's emergency powers. i hope every republican in that

,enate that votes for this bill that they get voted out of office next time because we, the people, put this president in because we wanted him to take care of business and the border was a big one. we cannot afford all these people to come across the board and ask for amnesty. our country cannot fix their own roads and bridges. the billions of dollars we spend every year taking care of these people we can put on our roads and have good roads. we have all kinds of homeless people living in the streets in california, but we are paying for housing for illegal aliens? into the debate on c-span 2 this afternoon and let's go through the senators we should be watching as we learned from zach cohen this morning. susan collins, republican of maine, lisa murkowski of alaska, the other republicans include rand paul of kentucky and also

thom tillis of north carolina and mike lee of utah. those are the republicans, including moore, could be lamar alexander, mitt romney as well in favor of terminating the president's emergency declaration. democrats are border deniers and refused to see or acknowledge the desk, crime, drugs, human trafficking at our southern border. we have a few minutes left in the conversation. rob in -- rob. why don't they build the border on the southern border of mexico. that is where our troubles are coming from, ecuador, honduras, that area. i am sure mexico would go along with us and helping us build a wall on the southern border. it would be much cheaper, much

less land to cover, nobody has ever brought that up. int: we will go to ralph georgia. caller: i want to speak quickly, i know you are running out of time. i am excited about beto o'rourke running for president. i would like to see him and kamala harris on a ticket. he talks about the voice of sawoning and also, i talk.r cohen he said he did not care how much money beto o'rourke raised, he at senatoring to be cruz. everybody knows that is a red .tate that is what we need, some new blood. on data or work's website

-- beto o'rourke's website, releasing that ad he is running for the democratic nomination for president in 2020. sandra in alabama, republican. you are next. am for the, i president and the wall building. when the democrats get in, god help us, it is going to be horrible. people really need to think about what these last two years have been about, they have tried to overthrow a duly elected president. it's all coming out that we all elected years ago. it's like russia, we've got fbi acting like kgb. this is crazy. america is going crazy. tune intohe way, just

c-span 2 or go to our website to follow along this afternoon on this boat to terminate the president's national emergency details at our website, c-span.org. when we come back, the president's budget as we talk to republican congressman jim banks , a member of the armed services and veterans affairs committee and later democratic congresswoman robin kelly of illinois of the energy and commerce committee will be here. we will be right back. ♪ >> watch american history tv live on saturday starting at 9:00 eastern from historic

ford's theater in washington, d.c. for the twice second annual abraham lincoln's imposing, the gathering hosted by the abraham lincoln institute and the ford theater society brings lincoln scholars to highlight his life, career, and legacy. they will talk about lincoln and the natural environment, his sense of humor, and how he was remembered in new deal america. his relationship with abolitionists frederick douglass and on lincoln as president-elect. watch american history tv this weekend on c-span3. afterwards, on georgetown university professor examines russia foreign policy and international goals in her book putin's world: russia against the west and with the rest.

are you more optimistic than if we find some common ground like you mentioned? arms control? that we can be a good partner with russia? popularity putin's has fallen and data shows the majority of russians do not want stability but change. they want better economic situations and many of those people understand having this antacid -- antagonist relationship with the west is not the way to go if you want greater economic growth. >> watch sunday night on 9:00 eastern on c-span2. >> "washington journal" continues. host: back with jim banks from the armed services and veterans affairs committee. the president wants to increase defense spending by 5%.

we had a caller earlier ask, we are winding down two wars, why do we need to increase defense spending by 2%? ofst: the president's number $750 billion is where it needs to be, preparing for the threats of the future. we may be winding down efforts in afghanistan and syria and iraq, other threats remain in those places. the strategic nature of our competition with places like china and russia and iran, and a renewed focus on those adversaries means we have to rebuild the military. , my new in washington, d.c. first term was last term and i am in the third year in my time on capitol hill and i have learned that defense spending is one area that was cut over the past 10 years and we are in a rebuilding phase and the president's $750 billion

baseline for defense spending gets us back on track. host: where does the money go? , rebuildingll capabilities and improving readiness of the military. all across the board. by the rebuilding be structure of the army or the nature of the , ay, modernizing the navy lot of modernization of our platforms. the money goes to all of the above. all of the errors you can think of with defense and with modernizing national defense. host: it would cut nondefense spending by 9% but the washington post says the administration projects deficits would total $1.1 trillion in 2020 or four point present of growth domestic product -- 4.9% of growth domestic product and would exceed $1 trillion over the next three years. does that concern you? yes, spending has been a

problem under republicans and democrats and the president budget does balance around the 12th year and gets close to balancing at the ten-year mark. that part of it i like. when we talk about the budget , the complicated nature of the budget caps, that is where this budget proposal gets tricky and that is why the nondefense cuts at $1.1 trillion and the increase in defense cuts, it is part of the budget cap equation. the budget caps at the 2021 mark, not that far away from this in my opinion ridiculous and disastrous deal that was passed around 20 long before i got to congress11,, that led to the down slide of the fencemending. a 25% cut in defense spending over the past 10 years. a lot of defense hawks are looking forward to where the budget caps deal goes away and

makes this a lot less complicated in how we approach budgets and spending on capitol hill. host: viewers can participate, democrats call 202-748-8000. republicans, 202-748-8001. independents, 202-748-8002. talking about the defense budget. roll call says candidate donald trump valid to save medicare, medicaid, so security without cuts. peopledo it he said, have been paying him for years and now many candidates want to cut it but his 2020 spending slows 845 billion less on military and 1.5 trying dollar cut to medicaid at $8.5 billion cut to social security. are those cuts needed to spend more on defense? guest: not at all. those cuts are not cuts to those programs for anyone that relies on them today. these are many reforms necessary

to try to maintain these programs and make them sustainable well into the future. i have not been critical of the administration because these are steps in the right direction but we have to take much more significant steps in the direction of performing social security and medicare and medicaid, not just do address the national debt to save those programs for my daughter's generation and future generations, and the budget proposal this year takes false steps in those directions -- takes small steps in those directions, not cuts in those programs but reforms that will make them sustainable any future and will not cut any programs for individuals who rely on them today here. host: conway, missouri, democrat. you are up first. caller: i would like to mention that the pentagon has never been audited because they cannot audit it, there are so many holes in the system.

my brother-in-law was a commander in the navy with john mccain and his comment was, any war is better than no war. anything we do, just like wells fargo, once the consumers protection act got into the system, they absolutely -- they policy androyed -- feinstein -- nancy pelosi and feinstein were sitting under the bank. waste, fraud, and abuse. host: your thoughts? guest: it is a great point. the first audit of the pentagon started a little over a year ago. under this administration, it is a 10 year audit process. as a member of the armed services committee, we have had a number of hearings about the progress of those audits. there, get it and will take a lot of time.

through that -- they are complicated and will take a lot of time, finding areas where they can claim savings and discovering of assets that the pentagon they did not know they had and either get rid of or maximize. when secretary mattis was leaving the pentagon, he talked about -- leading the pentagon come he talked about how the audit would help in the future, the savings would help us keep a baseline number where we need defense spending to remain. host: how much of an impact will these audits have over the years? guest: it is to be determined but over the next decade as the audit process is well underway, it could claim savings that, if we cannot maintain where we are in the current budget, $718 billion baseline spending and now asking for $750 billion, if it is in between, if we cannot reach that figure, maybe the audit can help us maintain a savings to maintain those figures. host: todd in temple, florida,

republican. caller: it is scott. guest: -- host: scott in tampa, florida, going to. -- go ahead. caller: i support a strong military but it seems like we are throwing money every which way. , the airrrent budget force announced it will buy x's which will turn into more and it will easily cost $125 million based on an airplane that is 45 years old. a brand-new f-35 is coming out and the price is coming down in export orders are going up and we can buy them for $80 million, is 20llion a piece and it

times the other airplane. experts are shaking their heads and saying this is corporate welfare. what is going on? the acting secretary of defense is a former boeing executive. look at all these contracts going to boeing. this is the perfect example, this airplane, it is not needed and the air force does not wanted an expert so you are crazy. we will go spend billions and billions of dollars in the defense budget. we are making up for all of the stuff, all of the defense stuff we cut years ago, we need to think smarter. host: let's get a reaction from the congressman. guest: an interesting debate before the armed services committee as we debate this over the next couple of months. the president submits his budget

proposal. in most cases in recent years, it merely sets a baseline for the debate moving forward. in the congress, it is our responsibility to pass the budget, which has not happened very often and republicans failed that leadership test to pass the budget last year and democrats are talking about not passing a budget this year as well. this budget exercise is at the end of the day, it begins the process and the debate. f-35 inte over reduction and buying something else is a debate during the armed services committee during the nda process and will be vigorous between those of us who see positives and benefits from both platforms and having a 5's and number of f-3 maintaining the importance of that but recognizing the f-15

may give us added benefits in the short term. host: bigger is an lengthy debate we often cover on c-span and the amendment process. guest: i cannot wait. of thoseen through two processes, sometimes a 16-18 hours day and we debate every issue related to military and one of the debates will be less f-15and we will's authorize a certain number for each platform. host: a headline from the washington post, the veterans affairs chief has pledged to be the next pentagon chief. would you approve? i havei do not know, enjoyed working with secretary wilkie when he is been at the veterans affairs and appreciate his mindset, especially in areas

i am focused on, i.t. modernization, electronic health record modernization underway at huge $16.1 billion contract and a 10 year implementation process. one of my complaints about the leadership at the v.a. is that it is a revolving door. long of an interim process between shulkin and wilkie. if secretary wilkie will move on to something else, that would create another delay in a lot of the important programs going on at the v.a. i do not know if it is speculation he has pursued the job or if he has. a lot of this is based on internal sources and rumors. i have no doubt he would be a great leader at the department of defense because that is where he came from before.

i do not have a good answer for you at this point but i do believe, when it comes to the department of veterans affairs, we will have a lot of large, bureaucratic issues we need to solve and a lot of modernization issues and the continuity of leadership is important and secretary wilkie has not been a very long to keeping them there for long enough to pursue the goals he has laid out is important as well. host: robert in california, independent. go ahead. person,military history please bear with me, from ejections to the romans -- egyptians to the romans to the americans, as soon as you lose a grip on the military, you are not leading the world anymore. important thing that happened to obama, he slashed the budget and isis got stronger and the chinese started building their -- the fakend

islands and our military was getting pushed around the world because they were concentrating on global time of change. we should have been concentrating on our safety as safety is the most important part for american democracy, american growth, american business, and american infrastructure. the most important thing period. you have to have a very strong military or you will collapse. you have seen that throughout history. the english and even the germans. their militaries collapsed on themselves mainly because of stupid he. -- stupidity. we have to pay the price because of what mr. obama did to our military. host: where are the next threats? how does the defense department need to evolve? important,point is

in modern times what president trump has achieved in rebuilding the military is much like what we saw under president reagan. a significant military rebuild. they are parallel in so many ways. president trump has also subscribe to the temptations of the previous demonstration where many of us have -- administration where many of us have criticized president obama from retreating from our role in the world, the abrupt drawdown in afghanistan. we know where that leads because when president obama abruptly left iraq and afghanistan, we saw the rise of isis and our adversaries grow and rebuild. and terrorist groups like isis and al qaeda rebuild and grow in those places in the world. that is a concern to many of us on both sides of the aisle, president trump succumbs to the same temptations as obama we will retreat from the global

world that america place, the imminent threat of isis and these groups growing and rebuilding in that part of the world, that will prove to be a defense threat to the united states of america and our allies for many years to come. in my opinion, it is all about china and what we have seen derived from their tactics of espionage and stealing our intellectual property in the united states. and also stealing our military secrets as well. there are many notable examples. we read about cases in the newspaper and seen in the news over the past week over stealing fromand maritime secrets some supplies -- supplier type businesses in the supply chain, to stealing some of our research on college campuses. this is all a part of a long-term chinese strategy to

disrupt the nature of our military strategies moving forward. host: this sounds like cyber threats. stealing our intellectual property, data, military secrets, etc. why does that cost so much? and what are we doing to stop this threat? guest: to boil it down, the chinese have developed a platform of their own that looks a lot like the f-35 that we have invested billions of dollars in. when you compare and recognize that is what this means, the chinese have stolen many of our secrets to build up their own ourbilities or exceed capabilities and exceeded us in other areas like hypersonic missiles and some of those capabilities, this does not just pose a military threat, but also boil it down into defense

spending and what it takes for us to catch up and exceed their capabilities. the big picture is that, there has been a lot of focus on russia over the past couple of years, and russia continues and remains a threat to the united states of america. but the chinese pose a longer-term and much more complicated threat we have to address and the national defense strategy by the president has a way forward to address it but we cannot retreat from the american traditional role in that stage of the world in respect to the outcome will be different. host: wayne and hanover, pennsylvania, democrat. caller: good -- good morning, congressman. i am a democrat. this democrats and you republicans -- if democrats and you republicans can get

together, he makes a lot of sense, if you can get together and impeach this man, he is nothing but a liar. i see it by the way you're talking. the stuff he wants to do. you talk about draining the swamp. that is all i have to say. think on it and talk to your members. get this man out and let's get this country back on track. let's get the debt down, you will not do it while he is there good he will touch -- he will say he will not touch medicare or medicaid or social security but he lied. thank you and have a great day. guest: i was pleased to hear policyolicy say -- nancy -- nancy pelosi take impeachment off the table. getting closer to the november

election, the silly season on capitol hill and things become more politicized, unfortunately, i am pleased, to the question by your caller, areas where bipartisanship still works on capitol hill and a lot comes from our work to support our veterans and work to support our troops. those are committees i happened to be on. i have seen bipartisanship, when republicans were in charge and now democrats in charge, and that is where i will focus and do my work. host: brian in northeastern washington, independent. you are on with congressman jim banks. we lost them. stacy in utah, republican. caller: good morning. a comment and maybe a question. i was in the air force for a long time but now out. i know how the military works fantastic, but i

am now a federal worker in utah. for the second straight year, a proposal to freeze a small cost-of-living raise. , i have aal employee family of four, i see a reason going up and for the second year we are not proposed to get any raise. of the federal workers were out of work for a of time andod however things going up to present, 3%, 4%, and we are not getting raises to keep up with the economy. i want your feedback on that and what he thinks is just. not from president trump's point of view but from his point of view. guest: the initial point, in the president's proposed budget,

troops will receive the largest pay raise in over 10 years. i support that and will continue to support this as we move forward. as far as federal government employee pay raises, i cannot speak to that as i have not dug that deeply into the budget. there are many tough cuts and decisions that were made by the president. once again, this is a proposed document by the white house and many of my colleagues have are ready thrown their copy of the budget in the trashcan for others -- and for others it is the baseline for the debate. i think it is a good place to start and we need to pass the budget that balances and addresses the $22 trillion national debt. int is what i'm working on my task force for the republican study committee and we will introduce our own budget process that will balance before this -- the presidents budget would and would cut areas further than the

presidents would and address the put -- $22 trillion debt. host: where could more cuts be made? guest: all over the place. host: defense? guest: not in defense, we can balance the budget and get to be $750 billion but look at other areas, i sit down with my colleagues once a week and we go through every area of the budget. we spent an hour last night going through many health-care related ideas, where we can stabilize programs and make cuts in some areas. related to that. last week we dealt with issues related to another area of the budget, as we find programs where we can cut, the american people have figured out already that if you cut $1 million here and $10 million there, soon enough you are talking about hundreds of millions of cuts and

that can lead to trillions of cuts and we can begin to drive down the $22 trillion national debt. host: if china is the biggest threat, and according to wikipedia, if they spent $146 billion in 2016 on their defense spending and we are spending $750 billion, why do we need to spend so much if they are the biggest threat and only spending $146 billion? guest: they are not the only threat. addressing radical terrorist groups like al qaeda and isis. isis-k is growing in afghanistan. one of the unspoken stories out of afghanistan today, a threat much like the threat of al qaeda dating back to 15-20 years ago. these are threats we have to address. and threats that pose an imminent danger to the homeland.

which is the initial reason we went into afghanistan to begin with. as we address that and address the growing threats of china. china does not just pose a military threat but an economic threat to the united states that is the and for this of the presidents ongoing trade negotiations, which by the way he has made great progress in that area. we have to talk about russia and iran. there is a much larger nature to america's role when it comes to our military strength around the world. it does not compare apples to apples with what china spent as a dollar figure. host: democrat, cedar park, texas, kim. , no talk, nicee to meet you, representative jim banks. onr talking points go on and and i just hope all the democrats that are running for president or candidates are listening.

250,000, you want an increase, which is crazy, ludicrous. what is a national emergency? -- do you date 250 remember when john mccain standing on the floor and when the budget was at 500, we had all of our troops in afghanistan, we brought them back, no, sir, here is what we need to do, we need infrastructure, we need to invest in the people. we need school loan forgiveness and mental health provisioning. we have drug division. on -- drug addiction. on the streets, takes the military, get it strong -- fixed the military, get a strong, but do not touch of security or medicaid. if you do not invest in the people, representative banks, this is a national crisis and

the daca have already been here and if you do not invest in the people, we will have a civil war and that is what happened and we will terror everything up. -- tear everything up. guest: so many issues that were just addressed but i should say budgete president's proposes a number of increases in domestic spending. it may cut some areas, he does propose a $200 billion increase ,n infrastructure development $4.8 billion more to address the opioid crisis. some significant proposals fo higher educationr and the family leave and childcare act that a ivanka trump is championing. they address health care by proposing, if you recall the grand cassity proposal for block grants to the states.

for the obamacare block grants. there is a lot more to this budget proposal than what we have talked about today. too much to get into in a half hour but he addresses domestic priorities. we narrowed our focus to the defense budget but there is a lot threere. betty, republican, california. caller: what do you know about the so-called black budget for the defense department top-secret area 51, x-files, ufo'are reals so tell us what you know about the black budget. guest: i do not know anything about the black budget. host: can you talk about the contingency overseas funds and explain it and how they

president shifted money into that fund to get around the budget caps? guest: because of the budget caps, a larger amount of money before we go to the overseas contingency fund, and that is billion.ts to $750 a larger amount of money ties the hands and now those dollars -- on how those dollars can be used and is detrimental to a number of our efforts that rely on more long-term planning. it takes away the certainty those funds will be there in the following years of fiscal year budget as well. that makes it harder when it comes to programs that are maybe decades long funding programs. dollars that go towards a it makesied up in oko, it harder to plan for the future. host: appreciate the

conversation. guest: thank you. host: when we come back, we talk from democrat from illinois, robin kelly robin kelly --robin kelly, we will continue the conversation about the budget and trade policies as well. we will be right back. ♪ >> c-span cities tour exploring the american story. this weekend, with the help of our cable partners, we visit cedar rapids, in east-central iowa. >> this is the piece everybody knows and a lot of times people will not know the artist or the title but it is an iconic piece, probably the most iconic piece in american art today. >> have not been great at selecting the next president but it seems that the caucus, their

best or highest function is winnowing the field. talking about three tickets out of iowa, the top three finishes in the caucuses can move on. booktv as we speak with local cedar rapids authors. sunday at 2:00 p.m. on c-span3 is american history tv, working with our cable partners as weeks for the american story. -- as we explore the american story. &7.day on q >> i had no expectation we would be here in 2019 talking about this war in afghanistan. the way it has been escalated, the way it has escalated every year, the countless lives that have been wasted. and the continual suffering. >> anorak were veteran and state department official on his article "time for peace in

afghanistan and into the lives -- lies." >> saint i had seen in a rock and when i worked -- same as i had seen in iraq and when i worked at the state department. there was a difference in the both --rations, they're they both have a desire to win for political reasons. everything else was secondary. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern &a.c-span's q host: we welcome back congresswoman robin kelly, democrat from illinois. what is your reaction to the president's budget? guest: it will not surprise you that i do not agree with the budget. there is nothing for the american family and it makes me wonder, does he care? when you look at budgets, there

is some morality, and the budget gives you direction. it concerns me he wants to make cuts in education, he wants to make cuts in medicaid, medicare, sosa security. -- social security. that is what american families depend on. host: jim banks said the cuts would not impact social security and medicare, these are reforms that would happen down the road to balance the budget and 10, 12 years. that reforms are needed to address the growing programs. guest: the devil is in the details. that is not the way it was presented to me and we are also saying, this is for further down the road but we get big tax cuts with their -- we like to call it his tax scams and we are giving the corporations a break and we would give them a break down the road also. host: the congressman talked

about the increase in the defense budget, 5%, while cuts to nondefense spending. arguing it is necessary because of the threats that exist from china, and around the world with isis, etc. and this president is building back up the pentagon and the defense department after president obama decreased it. guest: the truth is i feel less safe now because of our lack of diplomacy and our lack of representation around the world because of the things our president has said. think the world feels as good about us. i feel less safe now and do not think that amount of money is necessary. what about the people in the united states? investing what about in families and health care, we need to be strong and healthy also. host: where would be priorities

before a democrat budget? guest: the priority would be health care. we have talked about our infrastructure that is falling apart and that is not a red issue or blue issue. and we put more people back to work with decent salaries if we invested in infrastructure. we would do that. education. a host of things. host: talking with congresswoman robin kelly. democrats call 202-748-8000. republicans, 202-748-8001. independents, 202-748-8002. the other issue this morning as trade. president trump is in the middle of talks with china to end the back and forth between the countries. how should he be negotiating right now? , i stillrst of all believe in diplomacy and we need the right people in china

ongoing, not just every once in a while we have to have representatives there. china does need to put in check. it is not right. settle, by theto we need to hold them accountable, but i think we need to be consistent and have the right people over there, not just hurling insults back and forth. the other thing he needs to number one -- we are in soybean, and number three in pork, those industries are being hurt by what he is doing. host: how badly are be -- are badly -- how badly are they being hurt? guest: the first of the tariffs they lost over $300 million in

soy and pork. when i talk to my farmers, which i did yesterday, the prices they are getting, corn prices, you need to be careful we are not helping one industry but the other industry is suffering. people said he gave the money to make up but to me he created that issue and that is what he had to give them some supplement to solve it. host: the budget the conversation and this is what the president told reporters yesterday about a potential trade deal with china. president trump: i think things are going very well. dealin no rush, i want the -- somebody said i am in a rush but i am not in a rush. we are getting billions and billions in terrace into our coffers -- terrace into our coffers, it has to be a good

deal and if it is not, we will not make the deal. rush becausen no we are getting billions from terrace -- tariffs. a good thing? guest: but farmers are being hurt so you may be getting billions but other people are suffering from what you are doing. host: the president saying on trade, my administration looks forward to negotiating a large-scale trade deal with the united kingdom. the potential is unlimited. democrat, good, morning, you are on the air with the congresswoman. caller: good morning. the budget is predictably. we went through continuing resolutions for years and with regard to the defense budget, to raise it or cut it, whether be through sequestration or

whatever, if you cannot have a predictable budget where you can forecast defense projects or multi-your programs, a lot of the contracts are multiyear contracts, i believe it could be scaled back. it is the predictability in the budget. you are correct when you say the budget affects our values and difficult choices. as it relates to infrastructure, truth care, the budget reflects we are not investing in those things which i think is a mistake. i would like your comments in regard to that. guest: i could not agree with you more as far as pretty debility because we hear that with the continuing resolutions, that contractors do not know what to do and at the end of the day, we pay more because we do not have predictability or stability. a lot of us, democrats and republicans, want to see the continuing resolution stop and

once we have a budget you can count on and predict ability, both sides, many on both sides feel like that. host: kathy in delaware, republican. caller: good morning to you both. i hear youive kelly, say you are concerned about safety but why are the democrats concerned about the criminal -- why aren't the democrats concerned about the criminal element coming across the anders ravaging our cities they continue to support sanctuary cities that they know have criminal elements and will e.t even cooperate with i.c. we are tired of the democrats talking out of both sides of their mouth. what do you have to say? guest: if you look at the statistics, the fear the administration has put in people , if you look at the steps, i am not saying there is no criminal

element coming across the border but not nearly what has been put forth. it is not that we do not want the border secure, we are saying use scanning and technology and more personnel on the border, have more judges to deal with the cases, before we go to building a wall. there are many other things we can do. experts have said that. in hearings. we also need to be humane, not separating kids from their parents. and costing states more money when i ask where the children go, and in illinois they go to dcfs which costs our state more money which i because of tragedy. budgethe president's includes $8.6 billion to build sections of the wall on the u.s.-mexico border. , 3.6 billion

dollars is for the defense department military construction budget and $5 billion for the department of homeland security. how do you think democrats change that proposal, or does any of that money he is requesting get included in the budget? guest: i am certain some money he is requesting gets into the budget. he is the president and he can have his input. it is not that we do not want to do anything he says, but we want to do met -- what makes sense. host: mike in wheeling, west virginia, independent. caller: thank you for taking my call. i have one quick question, a statement and a question, nondefense spending, you are cutting social security and medicare and medicaid, i would like to bring up that, maybe you can answer or the congressperson can answer this question, how

are you entitled, when there is 535 congressmen and senators in the house of representatives, each one has about 300 on their staff, not counting the white house, how are you entitled to $82 per day for food and $395 per day for a hotel? .gov and pull gsa up your state. washington, d.c. come $82 per day for food -- host: when the member of congress is traveling? guest: we do not get a stipend. host: when a member of congress is traveling? caller: yes, the average congressperson has 135 days travel time. guest: i am not sure what you're

thinking about. time, i come on monday and leave on thursday or come on a tuesday or leave on a friday almost every week. if there is a holiday, we may be reset but i travel back to my district and do district work. in august, we are all. -- off. some people may take vacation and travel, everyone works in the district when they are off. host: when they travel on official business to other countries, or traveling around the country, but when you travel back to your state, that comes out of your budget? guest: yes, my member money. host: the month -- the money that is given to each member travel back to your state and to washington, d.c. guest: yes.

income members of congress if we had to pay for our flight back and forth, it is very expensive and i come from illinois but people from california or hawaii or alaska, that is a lot of money. travel, we do not have that many days. democrat.h carolina, caller: thank you for taking my call. countries.d in three me how backwards it is. especially in health care. taxes. and artificial intelligence. especially defense. you want to update defense? two the 21st century, not the 20 century.

you want to balance the budget, it is not difficult, it isn't. have amazon pay their taxes. raise taxes on the 1% and the big corporations. medicare,ch medicaid, and food stamps for children. what is wrong with congress? what is wrong with you people? guest: thank you for your call. andtions have consequences we have to think about who we are voting for. i agree with a lot of what you are saying. we hear that from people who travel to other countries, we are the richest country in the history of the world and so many people still do not have health care. we need to invest in our communities and invest in research and development and artificial intelligence. we are losing out to china. i agree, we definitely need to step up. our corporations need to step up

also. host: the president's budget would increase spending on artificial intelligence and hypersonic weapons, and more money for veterans health care. bill in kansas, republican. caller: yes, ma'am. i am on a delayed satellite link and had to leave the other room so i could concentrate. ma'am, whatind out, we as a nation our willing to do that are willing to do. -- are willing to do. we are watching a series of falsehoods of all and we have a criminal in the white house, and i am a republican, a member of the republican national committee. what are you going to do about it? guest: we are still waiting for the mueller report. we do not want to make moves to

fasto. -- too fast. nancy pelosi says we do not want to conservation on impeachment, we need to show we know how to govern and move the country forward. i understand what you are saying. i feel like president trump has proven you cannot believe a lot of what he says. , he has been proven on tv says something one week and something different the next week. we are waiting to see what happens with the mueller report. from that time, is it worth it to spend time on impeachment because 2020 is next year? we also need allies and we need republicans speaking up loudly. it is not about republican or democrat, it is about the american people and what this country needs and what kind of leadership we need. host: the house will come in early this morning, not :00

eastern -- 9:00 a.m. eastern so they can vote on a proposal to urge the attorney general to release to the public and congress details of the robert mueller report on the russian investigation. also on capitol hill today, wilbur ross will testify before the house oversight and reform committee, our coverage begins at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span3. you sit on the committee, what questions will you have for him today? more ony questions are a moral basis. saying, what do they expect people to do? how do we expect people to live? health care is expensive. the economy is better but, i was talking to someone last week, and the economy is better but people are working two jobs and three jobs to make ends meet and people working who still need to get food stamps to eat every day. the economy is better but there

are still something's not right and we need to do more. host: roman in los angeles, republican. caller: thank you congresswoman. i may have missed the question or answer, where are you from? what state? guest: i represent the state of illinois in the chicagoland area, my district is urban, suburban, and rural with 1200 farms in my district and the biggest part of it is -- caller: you mentioned chicago. cook county? cook, a part of will county. i am way south of rogers park. you mostly do not represent cook county. guest: i represent suburban

cook, the biggest part of life -- where i represent. host: what is your question? caller: could you bring it up to congress, from what i hear, the billion forst $8.6 what president trump is proposing. for972, in the budget spaced row, -- space travel, was 1% of that. please correct me if i'm wrong forthe only reason spacecraft was because -- space travel was because there was a war with russia and wife reverse it with russia instead of space satellites in space? people tropical -- trying to

travel into space and succeeding but at the same time this is something they could have done since the 1950's, the 1970's. by and now have gone all it takes is one tesla to go to space and you tell me -- i am sorry for scrambling -- host: we have a just. spending money and space. guest: still spending money and space. i am not an expert on it but we did exploration around mars. i guess you are saying we need to spend more? host: do you agree, disagree, he was. guest: i cannot comment either way. there are things on earth we need to do. bill, democrats.

caller: good morning and thank you for taking my call. ando have a welfare program it is called corporate welfare. a lot of it is going to the defense budget. abuse thatwaste, and is in these budgets, and the expectation on what is being spent throughout the entire is mind-boggling. we have people like the color earlier askinger about your travel, they obviously have to travel to washington to vote, they have to have a place tuesday. it is unreasonable -- place to stay. that theeasonable

american people getting older will not have medicare and medicaid. unreasonable to expect we will not educate our people. unreasonable to expect that we with go building a wall $8.7 million, most of which will go to donald trump's friends. unreasonable. when will the american people wake up and start supporting our folks? i have one question. host: make a quick, the house is coming in. caller: when will congress and the senate step up and really go is, these porkg projects that are going on is why we have our financial problems. host: when will congress go after waste and fraud and abuse? guest: i am on oversight and

reform and we are going to look at that. point, we had been looking at that but since president trump came into office , a lot of the oversight did not occur in the last couple of years. cummings, wean want to make sure our agencies are efficient and effective. our our travel comes out of member money but all of us pay to live here. at home or rent at home and mortgage here and read here. that comes out of our paychecks. -- read here. -- rent here. that comes out of our paychecks. host: jerome, independent. caller: hello and thank you for c-span. this budget is a republican confession. if you look at the socialist

countries the republicans demonize that are making their citizens bettors -- citizens lives better with affordable health care and affordable or free education and travel and quality employment and quality of life, we are doing the opposite. this budget is a confession. our dominant capitalist society has failed. any society that has to cut this to add a border wall, isolate its people, and add more defense spending, they are confessing that the last 2000 years, of predominant white male capitalism has failed in its entirety. they say we cannot go to socialism like everyone else. congresswoman? guest: i did not hear that. host: you can take his first point. guest: what is reflected in the

budget are president trump's values and not my values and they love my colleagues values -- a lot of my colleagues values , we need to take a page from different countries in the world but i also think that there are countries that can take a page from the united states also. there are things we do right. innovation, we do not take advantage of it but the ability to go to the polls and elect people to practice whatever religion you want. the united states does some things right. but there are some things we can do much better. host: this is the presence proposal, house now controlled by democrats and will have their own budget and the senate controlled by republicans will have their own budget. robin kelly, democrat, illinois, thank you for the conversation. host:e