insight. for those who want to follow your, they can do so on the website. and emily larsen, thank you very journaln's washington live. coming monday morning, dennis hayes, cofounder of earth day, discusses a creation of earth day and sustainable development efforts. also political senior writers to talk about the news of the day and her new book the hill to diane, the battle for congress and the future of trump's america. be sure to watch "washington journal live monday morning. join the discussion.

announcer 1: all this month on c-span, we'll feature the first and second prize winners of our to student cam documentary competition. middle and high school students created videos answering the question, what does it mean to be american? and now it is time to announce our grand prize winner. mason doherty and eli scott, 11th graders at the imagine international academy of north texas in mckinney, texas where c-span is available through spectrum. their winning entry is titled what it means to be american. >> the topic is accountability in government was what we believed was the really important topic in describing what it means to be an american because it was something that was pretty clearly written into our constitutional documents. >> the thing that surprised both of us the most was the sheer amount of knowledge and resources made available for us to research the corporate narrative. at least on my part, i was a little bit surprised at just how much effort and planning goes into producing a documentary. >> we were trying to make the

film that was going to win. we eventually got a topic we were passionate about and went with that. >> i still think like even now i am having trouble processing what this means. i mean, it is amazing that this message will be spread throughout classrooms across the country. mr. trump: and we are going to washington, d.c. to drain the swamp. >> to be american means to hold your government accountable because america has a corruption problem. in a recent gallup poll, 75% of american respondents said the political corruption is widespread. when an american thinks about political corruption, it is common to think about criminal bribery and illegal money, but that is not all. political corruption can be defined as any abuse of power or distortion of democracy that undermines the interest of the people. what is the role of citizen accountability in our government?

>> we live in a representative democracy. it is essential and definitive of what america means that we hold our representatives accountable. if they don't reflect the people, then the entire concept of the american experiment does not work. the american people are behind, what happens when you get to dc is a totally different story. >> our obsession of corruption is an american tradition. >> our country was founded by framers who understood that concentrated power is always inimical to liberty. >> when did this fight against tyranny make its way into the structure? >> going back to the very founding moments, that was an essential element of the american creed. >> the declaration of independence says we hold these truths that all men are created equal, endowed by their creator unalienable to

rights. to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. >> is the birth of our nation, the founding fathers drew on this quote, the corruption of a republic rests within the corruption of its principles. where has the united states detracted from this? >> instead of the textbook model where you have the executive executing law, judges judging violation and the legislative making law, you have all three functions combined in bureaucracy. executed largely by people that are not elected. >> it ultimately comes down to who the folks are in power, but the constitution has always provided for evolving to meet progressive goals, and i mean progressive as far as a more representative society to be able to give people power and authority over their government as opposed to just a wealthy elite class. >> it is clear the anxieties of our founding fathers have not necessarily lived on in our democracy regardless of how many protests planned, laws passed and positions lost.

the successful fight against corruption was intended to be a distinct american quality. so what are the disparities? >> there has always been a disconnect when you get to elected representatives, ones -- once they are in power and they become dependent. they have to go out and be dependent on lobbyist contacts or the ways the industry influences their behavior. >> but relationships, when they manifest in the political arena to get things done for one person that is not done for another, it is a form of corruption. i think it is pretty clearly gone beyond that in construing the scope of federal power, and has done that by i think distorting the original meaning of the necessary clause which gives congress the power to make all laws necessary for carrying into execution its enumerated powers. it has moved all our politics to the federal level with one-size-fits-all legislative solutions because the federal government has pretty much unlimited power today. >> so how can citizens hold the

government accountable for abuses of power and undermining the interest of the people? >> try to convey and fight for people start thinking of purpose driven decisions instead of partisan driven decisions. on the local level, you can get in our face and express your view, and you will be heard. there is much more access and accountability. >> taking leadership and introducing reforms that can catch fire and catalyze federal reform. we see it the only way through now is doing this at the state and local level. >> the public cannot stay on top of everything. a citizen's most important job is to do what they do well and then vote. voting people to represent you and trusting that role to members of congress that you believe in is really as much as anyone has time for except for a select few. >> we have had almost 80 anticorruption acts, resolutions passed around the country.

gerrymanderinga package. a comprehensive ethics package in alaska. we have more anticorruption democracy measures on the ballot in november than at any point in american history. i would say like this movement is taking hold and folks getting the idea that we cannot wait on elected officials to take care of the problem. >> in short, it comes down to us. our american institution is one of the most unique in the world where citizens have power to hold the government accountable, rather than just sit around and complain. the greatest thing about the issue of corruption in the united states is that the citizens are vocal in subduing it. in most places people are willing to recognize the nation's flaws even when the politicians do not. this checks the balances of power in the governed and the government. you may remember the gallup poll that a beginning of this film and the significance is not how widespread corruption is but in how well we seek to keep the government in check. out of the 20 other nations interviewed in a survey, the united states has by far the most pessimistic view on

corruption, no matter how many times governments overstep their power, the citizens are always there to play their part when they are knowledgeable of what they can do. so stand up. participate. and exemplify what it means to be an american by holding your government accountable. ♪ announcer 1: you can watch every winning studentcam documentary online at studentcam.org. ♪ >> the release of a mueller report was the talk of the new shows. this week, adam schiff of california said the report could push house members to start impeachment proceedings against the president. the point is that the level of evidence in the mueller report is serious and damming

and in normal circumstances would be without question within the realm of impeachable offenses. we are unfortunately in an environment today with the gop leadership are prepared to carry the president's water no matter how corrupt or unethical or dishonest. , whense circumstances mitch mcconnell will not stand up to the president either, it impeachment mayaceni be unlikely. we may take it on nonetheless but we need to decide as a caucus what is the best thing for the country? is the best thing for the country to take up impeachment because to do otherwise sends a message that this conduct is office or will it not be successful in the senate because they were not do their duty? that is a very tough question.

>> president trump's lawyer, rudy giuliani, said on cnn's state of the union there was nothing wrong in a presidential candidate excepting information from roster -- from russia. the stray shark rebuke -- a sharp rebuke from another guest on the program. >> any candidate in the whole world and america would take information -- >> from a hostile foreign source? it is legal? did the information cannot be false? the information it was clean and disseminated, every newspaper printed it. post andhe washington the information it came from a foreign source when they knew it was hacked? for doingust as wrong that as the campaign wanted to use that? >> why did you call mitt romney a hypocrite.

>> there is nothing wrong with taking information from russians it depends where it came from. >> on the question of whether or not it is ok to take the russians, i pressure that will be -- that rudy giuliani's role is to use -- to stick up for the present but he should pause and think about what he is saying as advocate for a president who he claims is exonerated. that we that it is ok, should be telling future candidates in the run-up up to an election in 2020 that if an adversary is offering information against a political opponent that it is ok and right and proper and american and patriotic to take that information. that is an extraordinary statement and i would hope you would retract it. live money on c-span, at 9:30 a.m., the house comes in for a

brief pro forma session and an environmentalist talks about earth day's 50th anniversary. he is expected to announce a book for the earth effort ahead of the 2020 presidential election. later, a conversation with supreme court justice stephen breyer, who is expected to talk about the process for making decision and his relations with other members of the court. c-span2, the senate holds a pro forma session at 9 a.m., and then we will show you the kaiser family foundation form on the trump administration's initiative to end hiv transmission in the u.s.. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] newsmakers is next with an insurance industry perspective on medicare fraud, health plan costs and doubles, and how the health care law can be improved. at 8:00 on q&a, high school senates -- students talk about

their week in washington to what they have learned. former president george w. bush and defense secretary robert gates discussed governing and leadership at former president's library and center in dallas. susan: welcome to "newsmakers." health care policy is a significant topic for 2020 presidential candidates. of course in washington and on the hill. we will be talking about that with our guest, matt eyles, the president and ceo of america's health insurance plan. it is a national trade association representing health insurance riders. he spent his career in the private sector and government for two decades now, joint ahip -- joined ahip. let me introduce the two people that will be asking you questions.