-- s that say been poll climate change has risen to the top issue, surpassing health care, as the number one priority. greta: you see it with the 2020 candidates, as well. nick: that's right. the washington governor came out with his plan today. very ambitious. it's close to what the green new deal is. as i mentioned, senator warren and beto o'rourke have plans to address climate change that are very ambitious. you are seeing candidates speak about it a lot on the campaign trail, more so than 2016, certainly. greta: thank you both for being on "newsmakers." scott: thank you. nick: thank you. >> coming up in about 20 minutes, we will have more live programming from the u.s. institute of peace. holding an institute -- a

discussion on china's role on the negotiations concerning north korea's nuclear program. you can watch that a 1:35 p.m. eastern. you can listen live on the free c-span radio app. >> joining us now, kc dinges. -- joining us now, casey dinges. good morning to you. talk about your organization, particularly the role it takes. society ofamerican civil engineers has been around since 1852. it has 152,000 individual members mostly in the united states. we do have a washington office. we do not lobby on specific infrastructure projects. a lot of the issues we focus on our infrastructure related and

transportation and water. host: when you hear this discussion of a $2 trillion package, what goes through your mind? guest: it is good to hear that a $2 trillion number being bandied about because those are within the contours of some economic studies. our failure to act studies have prtiofhat over a 12 year -- the gap is about $2 trillion over 10 years. that is $200 billion a year. if you look at that number, 200 billion, half of that is in the transportation space. ofnsportation is an aspect -- was 2017 when you put out your last report card. what was the general consensus? guest: the overall grade for the nationstate of a d+. the same grade for 2013.

there has been a little bit avenging up. some of that, you can point to the states that have taken a number of legislation -- legislative action. let me mention the gas tax. the state level -- half the states have raised their gas tax in the last five years. that is red and blue states. roads isour question, a deeply urges rc plus. mass transit is a d-. the worst grade on the report card. there is a deficit of $90 billion. host: so when it comes to those grades that you give, why the consistency? why are we seeing this? guest: underinvestment has been the biggest issue in the country in terms of the aspect of why the grades have been struggling the way they have.

the other thing with infrastructure projects a can take a number of years to get through the approval process. in the span of four years, it takes a while for it to be safe. host: if it is an issue of underinvestment, where's the shortfall coming from? guest: the federal government hasn't touched the gas tax for 25 years. we have gone a quarter of a century living off a 1993 federal gas tax. when people think about the price of gas, i know it has been spiking a little bit. just $.18 of that is going from the federal level to support infrastructure. the typical state gas tax is about $.29 a gallon. people need to understand we are paying a hidden tax in the country because of the current level of underinvestment. the average family is losing $3400 a year, nine dollars a day

because of underinvestment in infrastructure. good --the cost and a cost in goods that gets passed along to them. it takes longer for them to get there as being stuck in traffic. the typical driver in this country is losing 42 hours a week per year stuck in traffic. that's like losing a vacation while being stuck in traffic. host: our guest with us to talk about these issues of infrastructure in light of these discussions of a $2 trillion for infrastructure package. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. independents, (202) 748-8002 . you are proposing a raise of the gas tax. what degree? host: we would support -- guest: we would support up to

$.25 a gallon. nicolettaze that in a -- a nickel -- you can phase that in a nickel a year over several years. a nickel increase would cost the average motorist nearly four dollars a year. the other thing to say, this has been a bipartisan issue for decades. we would like to see it continue that way. you often see increases in the gas tax under republican presidential leadership. hoover, eisenhower, bush 41. all had gas tax increases and mr. trump said last year he was going to consider a $.25 a gallon tax increase. host: would alleviate the issues of roads? we had a lot of callers saying i still have issues with potholes and we are still getting taxed for these things. guest: right now, one in five

in poores is considered condition. the average motorist is losing 400 to $500 a year because of road conditions. does the state have to use it specifically for infrastructure needs. guest: transportation specifically and about 1/5 of it or 20% can be used for mass transit projects. mass transit can be helpful in allowing a road system to perform well. -- itit has to be used cannot be shuffled into another fund. guest: you should have tight legislative language that says these moneys cannot be diverted to another purpose. that brings me back to another issue. money cannot be funneled to a different purpose. the harbor maintenance trust fund, the users of the harbors pay a fee into a trust fund.

that is being allowed to build up and not expended properly. we have at that case an issue with the trust fund. host: it really depends on the state or locality. guest: citizens and legislators have to be vigilant in making sure there are provisions that say none of these dollars can be diverted to non-infrastructure are nontransportation. host: what about this idea of a vehicle or miles traveled tax? is that something you're organization would be on board with? guest: very interested in that. i think that's the way of the future. we have a low percentage of electric cars. the gas tax is probably the way to go over the next five or 10 years. as we think about the future and the way cars are powered, we will have to look for a way to charge people for how they drive. dinges of the

american society of civil engineers joining us. we have calls lined up. our first call from ohio. this is todd, independent line. go ahead. caller: you said your name is casey, correct? guest: yes. caller: i'm making my decision on who i vote for president based on who has the best infrastructure repair and update plans. i wanted to ask you, in your individual opinion, if you use new york city subway, what would it look like in a brief description if it were to get an a in your opinion? guest: i guess there are two questions there. it is still -- it is still too early to know who has the best plan. we have the democratic leaders on the hill and president trump trying to work in a bipartisan fashion. i'm not sure it would be particularly helpful to train

handicap one or the other in terms of the election. i'm not quite sure about the second question. i have used the subway system a number of times over the years. it definitely needs a lot of investment. it's one of the older systems. host: i think he was try to say what would something look like to get an a grade in your mind? what kind of example could you offer? guest: what i can give you is the grading scale from the report and the definition. exceptional, fit for the future. the infrastructure and the system or network is generally in excellent condition. typically new or recently rehabilitated. meets capacity needs for the future. a few elements show sign of general deterioration or requires attention. facilities meet modern standards for functionality and are resilient to withstand most severe weather events. resiliency is going to be a big issue for most infrastructure going into the future. host: so for light rail or train, nothing achieves that in the united states currently. guest: if you have a brand-new

system. i am not sure of the most recent mass transit systems put in place. a $90 billion funding gap on mass transit across the country. let's go to judy in minneapolis. independent line. caller: this is judy. minnesota is working hard on raising the gas taxes right now. we have road were going on all the time. -- roadwork going all the time. i can only hope they are building it for the future. severe weather all over the united states, texas, minnesota, from new york to california. we can see the severe weather. , andamage that is doing already old infrastructure. in my opinion, my question is donald trump traced all over this country, you call us the flyover states. we drive.

my point is why donald trump is lending the helicopter in iowa and promising he would like to buy some land there, you can look that up. host: what is the specific question for our guest? caller: what we got is a tax cut for the rich. infrastructure should have been the first bill that was brought out into congress. the senate and house of representatives to get financing for infrastructure to raise jobs. i don't want to hear about what people might make too much money, the average person working on infrastructure. we need infrastructure. host: thank you. guest: i support the comment that it would've been nice if that was the first thing with the new administration. it wasn't. this is the hand we have been dealt with here, so it is an

issue now. it is a pressing issue. having presidential leadership is very important. host: you talked about electric vehicles. this is a viewer that says they draw a large amount of electric power charging stations, why don't we charging stations, why don't we tax that? guest:but talking about

infrastructure. you are throwing different numbers out which i agree if you look at it per person as far as the population of the united states, as far as parsing out the 25% gasoline tax. then you mentioned something that is really a pet peeve. you've got a perfect trifecta.

mentionedup, you increasing the federal tax, you talked about how the individual states increasing their tax and than the worst of the worst is when you talk about public-private partnership, a.k.a. the e-zpass, people coming in for investment. these states, like here in virginia, they signed one of the worst deals ever where these people can actually go up on the tolls in perpetuity with no lease attached to them. trillion, who is going to follow that money to the point where it just doesn't friends ofenzy of the politicians getting the bulk share of the actual construction money and then dealing with public partnerships that are going to put the american public

basically at hostage of being able to continue to charge unlimited amount of toll fees and charges. you've got a lot there. concerned about the price of gas and taxes, you are already paying a nine dollar a day hidden tax at the current state of the nation's infrastructures we are suggesting an investment of three dollars per day to eliminate that drag on the u.s. family. just think what a family can do without money, start a college fund, do a home project, a home computer and iphone. these are not small amounts of of thend in terms prioritization of projects, i have to have enough faith in the different levels of government to know in terms of their communities where the highest priority project needs to be addressed. host: concerns of public-private partnerships.

used inhey are a tool other parts of the world, more in the united states it is still catching on. the advantages of a public-private partnership can be, you have to put them together. you can have a lot of money frontloaded in the system that might be hard for the public sector to come up with to get something going and then since you have an entity running this they will want a payback over time. so the advantages you can get something -- the advantage is you can get something going. perhaps a more nimbleness or discipline to get these done on time. then you are right. time, theeriod of private entity will be collecting the tolls and then reinvesting those moneys into the toll system and taking a bit

for profit. that is what happens when you get the private sector involved. that's the potential advantage. host: toll roads came up at a discussion in baltimore, beltway on a proposed toll. protesters fighting against those, the governor put out a tweet in response saying pro-traffic activists show no regard for the hundreds of thousands stuck in traffic every day. they have no real ideas to solve the crisis that is hurting the quality of life in the region. think of the larger issue of toll roads? guest: in this region there have been a lot of interesting developments on the virginia side we have a number of hot lanes added to the beltway, to interstate 95 and interstate 66. people don't like paying tolls but in some cases they have created lane options for people

to use. it may take longer to make the trip but the option of using a faster lane, i really have to get to the soccer game on time or the business meeting on time. congestion tolls. they will vary depending on what the traffic is on the free lands so once you see that toll is $10 to go 10 miles, that's a signal the free lanes will take you a long time to get somewhere. it creates an option for people. but it is an expense. host: new york is next in oceanside, republican line. ian. caller: good morning everybody. we obviously -- president trump said six set -- $6 trillion, $7 trillion spent overseas. $200 billion, 10 years. we need to. what i would like to get is the democrats remember he is an

illegitimate president, resist, resist, russia, now nadler is going after him yet they want to work with him. is he a nazi, is he a racist, it would be nice to get an apology for the start to work with president trump because they keep doing this and here they are willing to work with this man. is he a good man or a nazi you are going to work with? let's get that straight and apologized to the president. host: gotcha, ian. curious discussions about the topic of infrastructure. what you take away from that? guest: whenever you spend $1 trillion or $2 trillion there will be a discussion so this is part of the process. the meeting they had, i think it's two weeks from now we should see something out of the white house in terms of funding ideas and let's keep going forward on this. to letoo big of an issue personalities and other issues get in the way. host: colorado, democrats line. caller: hello.

i would just like to know why the democrats are trying to destroy the united states? trump has done a lot better than most of our democratic people have, even the republicans. host: we are talking about infrastructure, what is your question and comment. caller: infrastructure needs to be worked on and the democrats need to stop spending all these to run him trying down. they could put it into the infrastructure. it would help. host: thank you. we saw the previous administration put a considerable sum on shovel ready projects. a quick comment on that. talking about the recovery act early on in the obama administration. that was about $900 billion, a

very small slice of that was for infrastructure and maybe 100 billion. so one in eight of those dollars went to infrastructure. there was a misunderstanding i think the public had that that was all infrastructure. it was really quite small. shovel ready. i can understand the president's position at that time that the economy was so unstable and keeping people at work was his priority so i think that was the focus. i think we can get away from that now. unemployment has been taking down. in the -- taking -- ticking down , except in construction. . host: thomas from texas, republican line. caller: how is it going? overseas lately and seen the systems of infrastructure, they are building everything on time.

we need better training for our kids. houston, i'mere in doing roofing again because we can't find anybody to work. we need some training really. the money is there. if you read the report on afghanistan, we are -- trillions. host: i apologize thomas. we hear comparisons when it comes to other countries and how they compare. comparisons,those what's a legitimacy or what would you say? guest: they are further along on the public-private partnership approach then we are in this country and the other thing i would say. some people don't like hearing it, but they tax gasoline at a much higher rate than we do. even if we were to raise our gas tax by $.25 a gallon it would be

far cheaper than it is in western europe and competing nations. carolina,ld in north democrats line. good morning. caller: good morning. can you hear me? host: go ahead. caller: i would like to make a quick comment about the infrastructure funding. i wonder if it could involve tracking a way of mileage regardless of whether they are hydrocarbon or electric. i feel woman get our tax or registration on these vehicles, they should record the mileage at that time on your registration certificate, that way next year when you renew your registration, you would see exactly how many miles it was ,riven and contacts accordingly

except a fair tax against electric would not matter. guest: that's a good idea. this conversation goes forward, what are you looking forward to, what you paying attention to? we are looking two weeks out and see what the administration has in advance of that and what may be happening behind the scenes indicating they are making progress. the: casey serves as managing director. if you'd like to see the reports he referenced and some other reporting, go to >> live now, the discussion of

china's role in [indiscernible] you are watching live coverage your on c-span.

>> good afternoon, everybody. i am the president of the united andes institute of peace i'm delighted to welcome everyone here today for a very timely and important conversation. for those of you joining us for the first time, the u.s. institute of these was founded 35 years ago by members of congress and a nonpartisan national but