george washington to barack obama. exploit the events that shaped our leaders, challenges they faced, and the legacies they have left behind. "the presidents" is now available as a hardcover or e-book today at www.c-span.org /thepresidents, or wherever books are sold. >> live wednesday on the c-span networks, the house returns at 9:00 a.m. eastern. members take of bills with attitude ocean acidification. os josean2, axi discussion with senator chuck grassley and debbie stabenow on prescription drug prices. the senate continues to debate and vote on executive nominations. on c-span3, the house intelligence committee holds a hearing on the national security implications of climate change. coming up in 30 minutes, national immigration form's ali

noorani on the houseboat extend protections for daca recipients. at 8:30, americans for tax reform's grover norquist on the trump administration's trade and tariff policies. ♪ host: good morning. it is wednesday, june5. begin on the rift opened between senate republicans and the white house with president trump's new threat of tariffs on mexico. president trump saying they would be foolish to try to block the tariffs. republican callers only in this first hour. we will hear about if you support the tariffs on mexico. give us a call if you're a republican eastern of central time zone at (202) 748-8000. if you are a republican in the mountain or pacific time zone, (202) 748-8001.

you can also catch up with us on social media, on twitter and facebook. morning.od wednesday you can start calling and now. we are asking for republican callers only for the first half-hour for your thoughts on the new escalating tariffs that is it is from this will begin next monday unless mexico does more to curb illegal crossings between mexico and the united states. on the front page of today's wall street journal, the paper addition. the lead saying senate republicans threatening yesterday to block the white house's planned tariffs on mexico. president trump was traveling in london yesterday. askedas his response when about republican efforts to possibly block the tariffs. [video] pres. trump: i think if they do that, it is foolish. there is nothing more important

than borders. i've had tremendous republican support. 94% approval rating as of this morning in the republican party. that's an all-time record. can you believe that? i love records. we have a 94 percent approval rating in the republican party. i want to see security at the border. i want to see great trade. mexico called. they want to meet and they will meet on wednesday. secretary pompeo will be at the meeting, along with a few others that are very good at this. we are going to see if we can do something. it is more likely that tariffs go on and we will be talking during the time the tariffs are on and they will be paid. host: president trump in london yesterday. here is the washington describing the scene on capitol hill during a closed-door brunch between the republican conference and senators of the party meeting. at least half a dozen senators

spoke in opposition to the tariffs president trump plans to levy next week. no senator spoke in support, according to multiple people present at the meeting. after the lunch meeting, mitch mcconnell came out to talk to reporters and was asked about the rift over tariffs. [video] sen. mcconnell: there is not much support, for sure. we appreciate the opportunity to talk to representatives from the white house about this particular strategy. i think i can safely say most of us hope that this mexican delegation that has come up here to discuss the challenges at the border and what the mexicans might be able to do to help us more than they have will be fruitful. and that the tariffs will not kick in. i think it is safe to say you have talked to all of our members. we are not fans of terrorist. we are hoping this can be avoided. at the same time, it is way past

time the president's requests for assistance from our government be met. we walked out of here after we did this supplemental and the democrats insisted on taking out of the supplemental they just passed in the house yesterday anything to address the humanitarian crisis at the byder that would be funded health and human services. they need to take their heads out of the sand and work with us on our side of the border to address the humanitarian crisis that their resistance has contributed to. we have a problem here, not only with the mexicans not doing as much as they could do to prevent this onrush of people, but our own government and democratic resistance to addressing the humanitarian crisis at the border. host: that is mitch mcconnell yesterday. we are talking to republicans

only in the first hour -- half-hour of washington journal this morning. getting your thoughts on the new tariffs on mexico that president trump announced last week. that we go into effect on monday, june 10. hey 5% tariff on all goods from 1,ico, rising to 10% on july 15% on august 1, 25% on october 1. the permanent tariffs would remain at 25% if mexico takes no action on illegal immigration. that is the plan announced the white house. president trump said it is going forward and negotiations are happening in continuing to happen with those tariffs in place. what would be impacted by the tariff that goes into effect next week? mexico is america's second largest supplier of goods, with imports and 2018 totaling $346.5

billion, up 10.3% from 2017, up 16% from 2008. 768% from the pre-nafta days back in 1993. u.s. imports from mexico account 13.6% of overall u.s. imports. $93cles from mexico, billion in imports last year. $64 billion in electrical machinery. $63 billion last year on other machinery. mineral fuels, $16 billion. optical and medical instruments, $15 billion last year from texaco. that is -- from mexico. that is some of what would be impacted. republicans only in the first half-hour. john calling in from new york, go ahead. caller: yes. i don't agree with the tariffs on mexico this time. the other tariffs i do agree

with. you have to do something else to get the border right. host: why don't you agree with them this time? what changed for you? caller: the tariffs ain't the way to do it. you have to get the democrats to get up there dead butts and the republicans, they have to get up and do something about the border. the border is getting crazy down there. host: that is johnny new york. jack in michigan, good morning. caller: good morning. i finally got through. what trump is doing at the border right now is probably not the first option he had, but the way the democrats -- the way -- ito it, i don't see will probably put a strain on

prices. worknk it will probably but it will be -- it will not be a pretty sight. trump is doing what he campaigned to do. only one of if not the presidents we've had in my old,ime, and i'm 84 years and he easily went doing exactly what he campaigned to do. host: what do you think of republicans -- caller: they don't have any other option to go that route. host: if republicans in the senate what route of trying to block him from opposing these tariffs, but would you think about that? caller: i don't think too much of it. i know they have to. when he said he was going to clean the swamp out, the swamp up in washington is not just all the democrats. you have republicans in the

swamp, and he found out that swamp is not that easy to clean out. like i said, he's doing the best he can. i don't approve of everything trump does on a lot of his language he uses and stuff like that, but he is doing what he campaigned to do. host: the front story of the new york times today, there story about this rift over mexico. a picture of ted cruz on the front. ted cruz one of those lawmakers who spoke up in that meeting yesterday, that closed door lunch that took place in which republican senators were briefed by lawyers on the white house. ad cruz calling the tariff $30 billion tax increase on texans. he said of the outcome of this game of chicken is massive new tariffs that destroy jobs in texas and across america, that would be a terrible outcome. we want to hear from republicans only.

anthony from tampa, florida. good morning. caller: how are you doing? i agree with the tariffs. i would put the 25% right off the bat. i would tell these american companies get back over here and stop playing games. block,as the republicans this shouldn't surprise you. they had the leadership. paul ryan was a disgrace for a republican. an absolute disgrace. mitch mcconnell, the only thing he has done decent as a leader is the courts. anything else he's been a total failure. republicans and democrats. the only issues that separate them is the abortion issue and the gun rights issue. the only reason the gun right issue is because in the southern states they could not get elected without gun rights. it does not surprise me. everything they make down there, we can make it better here.

we have a $751 billion military budget. why the military isn't down there stopping the invasion is beyond me. host: anthony in tampa, florida. a few comments from those following us on social media from facebook. brian prefers congress do its job to address the crisis at the border, but until congress stops obstructing the president, tariffs it is. paul says i would rather have them do their job and fix the problem that is plagued this nation for four tariffs. tariffs adding $18 billion to america's populace. "they are just more of a tax on americans and they would only hurt mexico's ability to fund itself if they worked, which they won't. people like trump moved american jobs to x echo, now suddenly

they're stealing them? welcome to capitalism." getting your thoughts on this first half-hour, republicans only calling on the phone line. if you are in the eastern and central time zones, (202) 748-8000. mountain or pacific time zones, (202) 748-8001. jack is in las vegas this morning. caller: thanks for taking my call. these republicans against the they live 2000, 1000 miles away from the border. texas, parts of texas are 1000 miles away from the border. it is still bad here. you have people working in the stores that don't speak english. some don't even speak spanish. my teenagers can't get started jobs because they're all taken up by illegal aliens. there are waves of crime going on. it is total chaos out here.

these people are insulated from the borders. they don't believe in walls on the borders but they believe in gated communities. you moved to las vegas from california specifically because of illegal immigration? caller: in good part. there are job opportunities. host: when did you make that move and what kind of job are you when? ?- you in caller: i'm a chemical engineer put all those jobs have moved to china. i work as a handyman. i get jobs when and where i can. i went to las vegas and it's not that much better here. it is just as bad. almost as bad. these people taking these positions, they live far away from the border. it does not affect them like it affects us. things are in chaos in the

crime wave is awful. mostly petty crime but it's a lot of crime. -- we areing to be going to be part of latin america soon. something has to be done. these people don't believe in walls but they live in gated communities. even the pope. he's against walls. as a student i was in rome. they have pretty big walls around the vatican. host: this is robert in michigan. good morning. de aer: president trump may mistake. he should have given congress 48 hours to pass legal, good didn'ttion and if they then close the border down totally. shut it right down. nobody comes across until they do it. then they will put the blame on the people that deserve the blame.

now they are trying to blame trump. it is the congress and some of the dead republicans in office. they have to be kicked out of their. -- there. host: which republicans are you most concerned about? caller: mitch mcconnell is almost acting like paul ryan did. he's against the tariffs. i would be against the tariffs. close the border down until the democrats get off their butt and do something. host: we are talking to republicans only in the first half-hour. democrats,from the the senate minority leader chuck schumer yesterday. he said on the senate floor he thinks president trump is bluffing when it comes to his latest tariff threats against mexico. [video] senator schumer: i don't believe president trump will go through with the tariffs. when he doesn't we should be ready to proceed to these

commonsense policies instead. president trump has a habit of talking tough and then retreating because his policy is often his tough talk and it can't be influence it or does not make sense. ofsident trump has a habit proposing asinine or dangerous policies before backing off, and a habit of preventing the act of not following through on a misguided policy is somehow a victory. i would not be surprised at all if president trump does not follow through on these tariffs either. host: chuck schumer yesterday evening earning a tweet response from president trump. crying chuckine schumer saying out loud for all to hear i'm bluffing with respect to putting tariffs on mexico? what a creep. he would rather have our country fail they give republicans a win. no bluff."

monday, a 5%t on tariff on imports going into effect. expected to meeting happen between secretary of state mike pompeo and mexican officials taking place in washington. all eyes on that meeting today to see if they can avert the showdown. this morning we are hearing from republicans only, getting your thoughts and if you support new tariffs on mexico over the issue of border security. luis in south carolina. caller: good morning. i fully support president trump 's negotiating tactics. this is a negotiation. i fully support it. -- backing up on stuff. he was elected because he's a good negotiator.

host: what do you think about republicans saying they might try to block the president on this point? will,: i don't think they -- the democrats, they people need to think when they go back to the polls to vote. person want to elect a that is going to oppose everything that the elected president tries to do? from texas,s dan good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. i had some training in economics. a little bit as a grad student. -- i'm aerstanding texan originally. tariffs always get passed down

to the consumer. i grew up on the border. i saw in the 1990's as it young kid. i could not tell you whether or not economics improved for the border towns, but there was a change. agree with senator ted cruz. arizonans or californians will probably be a little bit more affected. this is somewhat related to immigration. this is totally population replacement. with u.s. birth rates so low for nativeborn americans and all these folks coming in from other countries, it is strata population replacement. it is dangerous when you start doing that. that is my comment. andfully economists

demographers can figure it out. there is an inflection point. what are we doing here with people moving north to south or east of west? host: what do you think about the president's legal immigration plan he proposed a couple of weeks back, trying to move the country towards a more merit-based system? not trimming the overall numbers allowed in through legal immigration channels? caller: that's interesting because he's putting -- he is facebook -- based on the merit. if you're able to provide for your family or yourself, take taxes in, you have a reason to be here.

skills are through hard labor. go out into fields to pick fruit and weeds or whatever you do, that can be hard labor. really --ink that is i would not call that low skilled. host: you are concerned about population replacement. does that apply for legal immigration as a dozen your concerns about illegal aboutation? -- as it does your concerns for legal immigration? caller: people are not in the shadows. some folks say there are 13 million illegal aliens. we don't know but it is north of probably 20 million. beyond that, who knows? they get into services, schools, emergency services. all these things require taxes. some people only pay sales taxes

in the getting paid cash. a lot of these services are generated on income tax or property tax. property because are not legal residents. there are a lot of services not getting funded because they demand from the system but they're not paying into the system. it gets back to the senses. you do need to ask -- it gets back to the census. for serviceso ask and voting that affect services and how our congress and senators and president and delegates distribute the money for us to have the government they are elected to provide. dan, on the numbers you talk about about the end document of population, the migration policy institute tries to track those numbers. they put it around 11 million in

this country. only infrom republicans this first half-hour. about 10 minutes left in the segment. john is waiting in arlington, virginia. go ahead. caller: i kind of support the president's actions. i've had some problems with his earlier stuff, blowing up the agreement about exchange of daca for the fs border fence. i thought that was not such a great idea. as far as pushing broader immigration stuff. what he is doing now, let's face the fact that a lot of those imports are talking about from nexico are made by america companies that moved down there because they can get cheaper labor.

they have to help us out. if we have a big hole in the border, that will not help out. the mexicans can control the guatemalan border. comparing our problems with the colombians in brazil who are handling 3 million venezuelans, it's pretty interesting. that just shows you a comparison of what a real situation is. certainlymocrats and the republicans have refused to adopt policies which could really squash the whole thing. they don't want to do e-verify which would take care of people coming up and getting jobs. if you're not legally here, you can't get a job. the other thing is if we don't watch it, we will be in internal colonial society where you have a lot of people coming in with low skills and a lot of people

don't want to do jobs that require low skills. that is dangerous for the country. host: you are talking about the imports. billiononed the $346.5 in imports in 2018. here is one category. the agricultural imports from mexico and 2018 was about $26 billion, making it the largest supplier of agricultural products the united states -- vegetables $5.9 billion. fruits, $5.8 billion. billion, and$2.2 processed fruit and vegetables, $1.7 billion. all the imports would be subject to the president's tariffs if they go into effect on monday. june 10 is when he says the first part of the escalating tariffs would go into effect. republicans in the senate making moves to see if they could block

the president. we will hear more from them after this meeting today between the u.s. and mexican officials. in terms of how republicans might actually go about blocking president -- blocking the president over this, the wall street journal says if no deal is reached in the talks taking place today, the next top lies with the white house which was formally imposed levies. the move could prompt a vote to end the tariffs, which could be initiated in either the senate or the house. beginning with the senate vote my provide political cover to house republicans who are generally more reluctant to challenge president trump to . is excited top rely on the international emergency economic powers act, which is triggered by an emergency declaration that has not been used as a basis for implement thing you tariffs. it would be a vote on disapproval of that emergency

declaration. that would be the vehicle that congress could use to block the president here. a few minutes left to get your calls from republicans only on whether you support the new tariffs on mexico. stephen oklahoma city, good morning. -- steve in oklahoma city, good morning. caller: thank you for a great topic. i like how you have the phones set up this morning. i voted for trump. i did some work for his campaign. he is the last person i will ever -- the last time apple over last time i will ever vote for donald trump or anything. it is like they are either getting bad information were not paying attention. one caller said trump has kept his promises or tried to do what he was elected to do. rallies, you watch his he ran on getting the swamp drained. the swamp is the money, the big

money, the 1% money that runs our government. wall street, lobbyists. trump did not get rid of those people. he let them right his tax plan. the democrats and some other republicans who sponsored some legislation would have used that trillion, to $1.5 actually encourage jobs to come home. they did not put any of that in the bill. they could have used that tax plan to accomplish this thing about bringing jobs home. taxe tariffs are merely a on the american people, while his tax plan gave 83% of $1.5 trillion to 1% of us. 17% was divided up by the 99%. host: you said you worked on president trump's campaign.

what did you do for the campaign? caller: i did some yard signs, some phone calling, phone banking. i also donated. what i figured out was i had two choices. i do know the middle class is decimated by our jobs leaving. that is just driven by greed. it is not just the jobs. if you look at china, over the 30 year period where we had the suppose it open trade, their economy grew 10% to 12% for over a decade. that's because it was our capital and our jobs. yeah, we got cheap goods but too many people went from making goodgood wages to making no wag. host: stephen oklahoma. this is mike in michigan. caller: thank you for taking my call. wasink the last caller

disingenuous to being a republican. tariffs are going to be more to the trump side. once the media and the people start realizing that congress is not doing their job, when congress is not doing their job, the electorate is going to be smart and they will vote, and when they vote, i think the next go around there will be a lot of voters who will see what is really happening at the border. host: our last caller in this first segment. 20 -- plenty more to come. up next, we will be joined by the national immigration forms ali noorani to discuss tuesday's vote to create a path to

citizenship for so-called dreamers. yesterday, congresswoman elaine luria took to the house floor to remember the victims of last week's mass shooting in her district and call for action from congress. [video clip] hear tens if not hundreds of stories of the heroism of the individuals who helped save lives during this tragic event. including the officer among first responders who took a bullet to protect our community and was, by the grace of -- by the grace of god saved by his protective vest. braveryn unbelievably at the hospital where i the honor of visiting a survivor of the shooting. she classed my hand as i stood her bedside and her strength and resolve were palpable, as she had only narrowly come away alive.

i've seen love and hope at heart side vigils where people of all faiths gathered to remember those who left us too soon. i have seen the strength of city leaders and police chiefs as they addressed are greeting communities, determined to remember the 12 we lost. those who knew the victims are making statements that we need to hear. a neighbor told the virginian-pilot reporter, it is the world we live in now and it is a shame. a friend told the washington post this kind of stuff has got to stop. another friend said she did not deserve to die like that. none of them did. this is a moment where doing nothing is no longer an option. to prove that point, all we have to do is look at the first responder who ran into the building and took a bullet to protect his fellow citizens. to him, it was never an option to not act.

if there is a lesson we take out of this tragedy, all we have to do is look at him. we must run into the building together. we must act. "washington journal" continues. host: ali noorani joins us from new york. he is the executive director of the national immigration forum, a supporter of the bill that passed yesterday on the house floor. the american dream and promise act of 2019. ali noorani, what with the bill do? do?st: guest: yesterday, on a bipartisan basis several house republicans joined every democrat in the house, the american dream and promise act was passed and now heads to the senate. the legislation would provide a path to citizenship for approximately 2.7 million immigrants who are here contributing, helping americans

and american families thrive. this includes those we would call dreamers. those who are brought here as children. currently, many of those folks have deferred arrival for arrival. about 300,000 of those have temporary protected status. this legislation would cover a large number of folks who are contributing and put them on a path to citizenship after they meet certain criteria over time. host: was that criteria? what is that path? guest: that path is to be able to, over the next 10 years, show that these individuals are completing their higher education or working or enrolling or enlisting our armed services. that is the affirmative criteria. the other criteria needs to be passed is passing a criminal background check and showing

they have good moral character. there are provisions in the legislation to ensure that those who do not have a criminal background check or are affiliated with gangs, they are not able to obtain legal status. this is a good piece of legislation for the american economy, for communities across the country, who are benefiting from the contributions of whether they are dreamers or temporary protected status recipient, or those who have enforced departure. host: the new york times writeup notes that the democrat immigration measure was notable for what it did and did not do. was a grant of legal status for an error group of immigrants, not a comprehensive measure to overhaul what lawmakers concede is a badly broken immigration system and to deal with the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the united states. are you disappointed it is not a larger bill to fix a larger

problem? guest: the immigration system overall needs repair in a dramatic way. can bearlative market a narrow solution. the narrow solution is what the house passed. this is the opportunity for republicans and democrats in the senate and the white house to get a win focused on dreamers or those who have temporary protected status. let's put together the bipartisan plan that can get through the senate and get the president of victory on immigration. host: in this bill get through the senate? guest: i think so. you have senator graham, who has a long history of being constructive champion for immigration reform. in march, he and senator durbin filed their version of the dream act in the senate. there is a companion piece of legislation that is bipartisan

sitting and waiting for action in the senate. it will be up to mitch mcconnell to give us the green light to move through judiciary committee and get to the senate floor. this is the type of bipartisan when and legislation that the american public has been clamoring for. host: ali noorani with us until the top of the hour. phone lines, republicans, (202) 748-8001, democrats, (202) independents, (202) for8002, and a special line daca recipients, (202) 748-8003. remind folks with the national immigration forum is. guest: the national immigration forum is a nonpartisan immigration advocacy organization. our mission is to advocate for the value of immigrants to the nation. we prioritize our work to engage

conservative and moderate law enforcement and business leaders across the country. the friends and the allies of the immigrant community get larger and larger and broader and broader every single day. we have incredible privilege to be working with pastors, police chief's, local ceos from georgia to idaho. host: your group was in favor of the american dream and promise act that passed on the house floor. one person who was not in favor of that bill was doug collins, the ranking member on the house judiciary committee. here are some of his comments from yesterday. [video clip] >> democrats have the chance to help the overworked dhs heroes and the people who believe in our country's sovereignty. the democrats are making us consider a bill that will give a green light to the border crisis, incentivizing more people across our borders illegally in the hopes of the amnesty pie. the smuggling cartels are getting the word out.

migrants walking across our border are being told cargoes will legalize me. just get there and they will do it for you. i implore my committee chairman -- and a bill legalizing include enforcement members to secure our border. sadly, they refuse. they had a chance to show they are serious about immigration solutions for daca recipients and dreamers. they said today we are considering a political messaging bill. america's will not enforce its laws are protected people. hr six provides a special path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants. it places the interests of those who violate our law before those who waited patiently for green cards to become available. because the bill provides the same path to legal nonimmigrants and even people living outside america and the number of

beneficiaries is unknown. host: ali noorani, to that comment and his concern about this creating an incentive for amnesty for illegal immigrants. host: when you lead -- when you read the registration -- the legislation, it is clear that the individual must have been in the u.s. for a number of years, three or four years before passage or signing of the law. it is clear that those entering now would not be eligible for this legislation. on the other hand, the congressman makes an interesting case for a more comprehensive solution. he is talking about the larger undocumented population. he is talking about fixes to the legal immigration system. or to workressman with some of his republican colleagues to start a fashion that sort of a package, we would have a pretty interesting conversation on the hill in terms of addressing the larger problem.

we do have to address the green card backlog and make sure those that have been waiting in line can go through the process. border to make sure our is secure and we are investing the right resources in the right places. at this point, given the approach of this white house, it looks like the narrow approach for dreamers is the right way. if the republicans want to take a swing at the larger problem, i think that would be a wonderful conversation. we will let you have a conversation with some of our callers. tony in texas, a republican. good morning. caller: good morning. the all of the issues congressman had that was just on , i do not understand -- why didn't jump from 700,000 to 800,000 daca recipients to over 2 million?

that does not make sense. i understand -- was it tpg? host: tps. caller: i'm all for these people being able to stay in the united states. when there are gang members and ice cannot pick them up. we do not want cutthroat people. there are thousands of them and it is dangerous. why couldn't they just let amendments be made. why will they talked the republicans? i have it happen over and over and over where they completely shut republicans out and will not discuss. they are bullies and i'm tired of hearing it. i put a coffee cup through my tv set a month ago over issues like this had to buy a new one. i'm so fed up with the democrats doing this stuff. it is not fair to us, to americans.

why don't they put the vote to the americans? host: tony in texas. a couple question. guest: on the expansion of the definition of dreamers, first of all thank you very much for the question. i hope my answer does not lead to another coffee cup through your television. 2.7,rms of the number, the the 700,000 800,000 individuals is are daca recipients, that a specific slice of the larger dreamer population, those who were brought here by their parents at a young age. the legislation goes beyond that 700,000 to 800,000 to look at people who came here when they were younger and have been here for a different amount of time. that is one reason why the number is larger. there economic contribution is $40 billion a year. the second are the tps recipients, temporary protected status, 300,000 individuals.

they have been here 15 to 20 years. removing them from our economy would be costing about $45 billion. those are the populations. the question around the gang provisions. the initial version of legislation was so progressive that many moderate democrats were saying i cannot vote for this. i need to have better enforcement and security measures. tose leadership made changes make sure there were provisions in the legislation so that if individuals were gang affiliated , the department of homeland security secretary would have frombility to stop them that legal status. there were provisions made in that legislation. in terms of a bipartisan approach, that is an incredibly important piece of this. that is where senator graham is in the drivers seat as chairman

of the judiciary committee and his expertise. he will be in a position to create that bipartisan proposal that in our opinion, it is narrow and focused on dreamers and smart enforcement measures, then we can get into the senate, the house should endorse it, and the president should sign his name. i would agree we do need more bipartisanship and that is why the senate is set up in the way it is, to force that cooling action. coffee mug is still in your cup. host: clarksburg, west virginia. an independent. good morning. caller: thank you for accepting the call. er.s gentleman is a bs he is like me. he is an independent. this is 100% democrat. bill,nt to pass this

anyone caught illegally in this country is escorted back to the border. i am sure if i was republican i would vote for it, but as an independent i would not vote for this bill. this is a democratic bill. there is nothing republican about this bill or independent about it. we mentioned the vote yesterday was 237 to 187. how many republicans joined democrats? guest: seven republicans. a number of other republicans had questions around process. those are legitimate questions. that is why would we get to the senate, there is an opportunity for senator graham and other republicans to find this compromise. we would implore them to keep the compromise narrow on dreamers and smart enforcement and protected status recipients and those with different enforcement departure, and we get to this bipartisan

compromise. ,0% of the american public democrat from independent, republican, are looking for this type of solution for dreamers and gps recipients -- and tps recipients. that is the opportunity for the white house, the senate, and the house to find a compromise. let's keep the train rolling. host: evelyn, virginia, line for democrats. caller: thank you for taking my call. i'm so disappointed in how the democrats and republicans -- it is like we have a war within the united states. i have voted republican and democrat and this is a hurtful because it seems like we are at war with ourselves. i agree with a lot of things some of the people have said. we need to do something about illegal immigrants, but this did

not happen overnight. we have a lot of people from mexico, they have worked, and they have sweat for many a year. it is going too fast when they have worked in this country and worked the farm's. when they say it illegal immigrants, it seems like it is just immigrants from mexico. what about immigrants that are cartesian that are in this -- that are caucasian that are in this country. if you're going to do immigrants, it should be everybody. it seems like there is one set of people targeted. i'm sure there a lot of illegal immigrants of caucasian background. host: that is evelyn in virginia. guest: the immigrant population is incredibly diverse. you have a community from ireland, poland, an increasing number from latin america and asia. that is why i think we need to have thoughtful solutions.

you also bring up an important point. in terms of the exhaustion of the electorate. there is an organization last year called more in common that did research that found that two thirds of the american public could be categorized as the exhausted majority. some of them lean to the left, some to the right, some to the middle. they may not agree on the solution, but they want their elected representatives to find compromise. they are exhausted by the partisanship. immigration is one of those issues that can start to break through that exhaustion. that is why i think democrats and republicans need to figure out the way they can find an error solution and restore confidence in congress on the part of the american public. right now, people are tired of the partisanship. host: the largest impact the american dream and promise act would have would be on the dreamers population in the u.s.

here is a chart for migration policy institute, breaking down who would be eligible and the distributions -- and the definitions of hr 6. the dreamers protected include 1.4 million mexicans, 100,000 individuals from el salvador, 71,000 from guatemala, 55,000 from honduras, 55,000 from china, 47,000 from the philippines, 44,000 from korea, 25,000om from the united kingdom. some of the numbers, migrationpolicy.org is the website to look for that breakdown of this bill. 10 minutes left with ali noorani . phone lines for democrats, republicans, independents, and the special line for daca recipients, that number (202) 748-8003.

dan in washington, d.c.. a republican. taking myank you for call. it is a wonderful conversation to have about immigration because of the fact that we are a nation of immigrants. whether you are republican or inocrat, it does not matter the sense that a majority of the people that came here came through immigration. my family is a third-generation. i'm a third-generation immigrant from europe and i worked illegally in a foreign country. i know what it is like -- i worked in dublin, ireland. from that perspective i understand what it is like to work, to come to a country and work and provide for the economy and produce for the economy. i was wondering if anything in this bill, which is a fantastic bill, i think it is a good step in the right direction, but we

also live in a world of reality, as we know in the beltway. is there anything here as we are headed into an election year, especially a presidential election, anything about border funding for a wall or anything for border security that might entice the senate in order to because it was a bipartisan bill that passed in the house. as we know, that does not mean the senate will take it up. of any fundinglk for a border wall or anything that might entice republicans to take this up in an election year? host: an excellent question. guest: a great question. in the senate, what i hope all happen is you have the base bill filed by senators durbin and graham that is a dream act, a clean dream act. then hopefully they would go through the judiciary committee hearings, where republicans and democrats will look at the smart

border security elements that the country needs. from our perspective, that means we should be investing in ports of entry. ports of entry is where you see the majority of guns, drugs, and money being smuggled. ports of entry, we need to make sure there are immigration judges in place. there are border patrol personnel in place. those asking for asylum, their cases can be processed in a humane way. there are a lot of ways to invest dollars of the border that keep us safe that reduce the smuggling of drugs, guns, and money and help people go through that asylum process in a fair and effective fashion. if there are eligible for asylum, let's put them in front of a judge, if they're not eligible, they have to return to their country of origin.

that is the opportunity in the senate, to find that set of narrow solutions on the enforcement side. they can go to the president and say you want smart border security? these are the five things were putting in place based on expertise in the field and around the country. thingk it will be a great for republicans to be running on in 2020 to be able to say we were the grown-ups in the room and we worked with democrats to find this type of compromise. host: when you use the term clean dream act, that means no money for border security, correct? guest: that is correct. it is just looking at the legalization provisions of the dream act. as we go through the process, that is when republicans and democrats should be looking at the measured and focused enforcement priorities. host: schenectady, new york, next, an independent. caller: thanks for taking my call. this bill your guest keep saying is bipartisan.

we have seven republicans in favor of the bill? i do not think that is bipartisan. my grandparents immigrated from italy. my dad served in world war ii. this country was built on immigrants. i think the bill the democrats , a lot of the issues regarding gangs, mitch mcconnell is never going to address this bill, it is never going to get through the senate. republicans say they are in favor of a pass for immigrants -- a path for immigrants, this bill will never see the light of day in the senate. i think the democratic majority has a bill that addressed a lot of issues. i do not see it going anyplace. thank you. i wish i could disagree

-- i wish iily could disagree with you vehemently, but i think we will need to do a lot of work to get mitch mcconnell to take up the legislation. that is why i go back to senator graham. senator graham has years of experience and a great relationship with the president. senator graham, if there is a person that can make the case for president trump that this is a win for the white house into the 2020 election, it is lindsey graham from south carolina. if that is the opportunity , we hope thatve for the good of the country and the good of dreamers and the good of recipients of temporary protected status and deferred enforcement departure that the president acts on this opportunity. host: time for a couple more calls. margaret in kansas, a democrat. caller: there is no discussion about the corporations and their

responsibility in this fiasco where filipinos do not come to the border there, and we have problems in chicago, where nurses had to compete with filipino nurses and nigerian nurses who were brought over by the corporations and paid less than we were. it sets up a bad thing. here you have wonderful people who are capable of running things. like any group, have a new group comes in and starts doing things, then he would have the blacks in chicago, they cannot get the construction jobs if you're bringing over the next group of romanians and albanians. they will do it cheaper. it is always the people at the top riling up the cheap labor and making it harder. we need to see -- down in mexico, that makes me mad. mexico -- that is land we took

from them. we took land from the native american indians. i do not see mexicans as a foreign. it is hard to work when people come in and they feel threatened. whatever, they just hide and have their kids and try to hide, then they get an immigration lawyer. that is great. it does not help when everything is hidden. corporations need to be accountable. host: got your point. guest: a lot of good points. with our work across the country, we found that the american public has three questions about immigration. our immigrants integrating or isolating? are they learning english and becoming american or living in enclaves? from a security perspective, are they here to do harm or

protecting americans and american values? from an economic perspective, our immigrants giving back to the american economy or taking something? when you look at the small town or a big city, we can make a clear case that immigrants are giving back to the economy. they are creating jobs. they are learning english, they are becoming americans. if one in five medal of honor recipients in our nation's wrists -- in our nations history are foreign-born, it is clear that immigrants are protecting american values. those concerns are real. if we ignore the concerns, we are not helping people understand the potential america has because of immigrants and immigration. debate, we arel whittled down to a soundbite. the questions you bring up and the tension is real. corporations have the opportunity to make a case as to why immigrants and immigration are great.

from a health care perspective we do research over and over immigrants from the philippines are serving health care needs in small towns and cities across the country. there is a lot of push and pull. i think we need our national leadership to have an honest conversation with the american public. this is the long-term benefit of immigrants and immigration to the american worker. let's figure out a solution. host: last call. valley, california. republican. caller: good morning. thank you for this. i'm a republican but i am an economic republican. i am liberal on social issues. paid to educate these children. .e've already incur the cost to send them back after they paid that makes no sense to me.

that, the reason a lot of these people are coming here is because of the dangers in central america generated because of the gangs, and the gangs are getting their money from americans addiction to drugs. we are sending hundreds of millions of dollars to these gangs that are threatening these people. , i woulded down there take my child and i would get train, on the roof of a whatever, and try to get into the united states. we are sending of hundreds of millions of dollars down there. i'm sorry for my fellow republicans that:. they just sound like -- it sounds like they are racist. it irritates the heck out of me. we need more people in this country. host: ali noorani, we give you

the final minute. guest: is a good point. when we talk about central america, we see three countries that are struggling to have any semblance of the rule of law. these are countries where any one of us in that situation would take our kids, put them on a bus or walk with them to the u.s./mexico border. unfortunately, up to this point, our approach to the situation in central america, to immigration has been enforcement only. that is clearly not working. the legislation the house passed yesterday, the american dream and -- is a good step to start to address the issue and look at the long-term solutions in central america to make sure we have a way to get these countries back up on their feet. folks do not want to leave their home. this is their country, they are proud of it. they are leaving because of safety. this is a complicated problem.

i think our elected officials need to have the confidence in the american public that voters want. a complicated solution. that means we have to be working across political lines to create these compromises. host: ali noorani is the executive director of the national immigration forum. you can find them online at immigrationforum.org. we appreciate your time this morning. host: thank you. guest: up next -- guest: thank you. host: up next, a chance to take your phone calls. phone lines for republicans, democrats, and independents. yesterday, utah senator mitt romney made his maiden speech on the floor of the senate. he offered a defense of u.s. alliances in the face of threats from china. here's what he had to say. [video clip] >> today we mark the anniversary of the tiananmen square

massacre. that day, prize for freedom were brutally crushed. since then, china has pursued a relentless course to smuggle the kind of hopes and dreams that fill that square 30 years ago. that china might someday experience a discontinuity, or another uprising, there will change its course. barring that, because china's population is almost four times our size, its economy should eventually for hours. -- dwarf ours. because economic advantage enables military advantage, china's military could pass by hours. it is possible freedom itself could be in jeopardy. if we fail to act now, that possibility may become reality. imperatives.

first strengthen ourselves. second, stop china's predation. mr. president, in the long run, for a country like ours with relatively small population to rival a country like china with population, we must join our economic and military might with that of other free nations. alliances are essential to america's security, to our future. i cannot states that more plainly. to alliances are invaluable us, and of the cause of freedom. we should strengthen our alliances, not dismiss them. we should enhance our trade with allies, not disrupt it, and coordinate our security and our defense. it is in the united states most

vital interest to see a strong nato, a strong europe, stronger ties with the free nations of asia, the pacific, the subcontinent, and with every free country. we need to hold our friends closer, not neglect them or drive them away. these alliances are a key advantage we have over china. america has many friends. china has few. journal"ngton continues. host: it is just after 8:00 on the east coast. the house coming in at 9:00. that is the schedule. we will go there to see the house gavel-to-gavel when they do gavel in. for the next 25 minutes, time for your phone calls on what issues you are tracking today in washington. here are three of the stories we are watching. president trump continuing his travel overseas.

he is in the u.k. today in portsmouth meeting with officials and veterans, world war ii veterans on the 75th anniversary of the night before the d-day landing. president trump is headed normandy, france, tomorrow to mark the 75th anniversary of d-day. officials arean meeting on whether they can come up with a way to better secure the u.s./mexico border and overt those proposed tariffs. those tariffs would go into effect on monday if mexico does not do more to stop illegal migration across the u.s./mexico border. also the reaction to federal reserve chairman jerome powell's comments yesterday signaling an openness to a rate cut over the continued trade tensions. here's the story in today's wall street journal. the lead story, noting the fed is putting the interest rate cut in play as trade tensions rise.

the central bank is looking at taking action. here are some of the comments yesterday from jerome powell. [video clip] >> i would like to say a word about recent developments involving trade negotiations and other matters. we do not know how these issues will be resolved. we are closely monitoring the implication of these two elements for the u.s. economic outlook, and as always we will act as appropriate to sustain the expansion with a strong labor market and inflation near are symmetric 2% objective. today, like this conference, will focus on longer run issues. host:'s comments at a meeting of the federal reserve bank of chicago. getting your reaction to that story and more in this 25 minutes of the "washington journal." phone lines, republicans, (202) 748-8001, democrats (202) independents, (202)

748-8002. george is up first. a democrat from philadelphia. why -- my question is the president is overseas now. everyone who find the war are white -- what would happen to the black soldiers. we do not have none today. host: where did you hear you made that comment? caller: watching msn. host: tell me about the president overseas, how you think he represents this country when he is traveling? caller: this is for d-day. everyone there is white. where are the black soldiers and the marine people? that is george in

pennsylvania. bradley is next in mississippi, an independent. go ahead. caller: it is barry. i want to comment on leadership. leadership is not pretty. it is hard. it takes a real leader to do the hard things. we have issues in this country, we have issues across the globe, and we have one leader over here that is trying to tackle the hard issues. he is not getting any help from either party when it comes to simple things that could be done in the house of representatives. host: what is a simple thing that could be done? caller: two things on our immigration issue. the asylum law, and then the flores decision. those could be handled. it would probably solve most of the problem on our border.

there is no leadership in the house of representatives. whether it is republican leading democrat leading, there is never leadership. i can say the senate is the same thing. there is no leadership. whichever party is in control, there's never any leader leading and getting the hard issues all. we take it down the road for the next person or we just want to sit there because we have power where we have the majority. host: do you think we tariffs on mexico is a way to solve the problem? caller: somebody has to do something to solve this problem. nobody but one person is trying to do it. host: that is very in mississippi this morning. gilbert is next, birmingham, alabama. independent. good morning. caller: good morning to c-span. when i think about the trade war tariffs imposed on china. i am an independent, but i

commend the president for taking a chance -- taking a stand against china totalitarian government. , they want to get all of their goods to make the cell phone technology and facial recognition, but i blame the previous four presidents starting from clinton, both bushes, and obama for letting us get to this point. when outsourcing came out, where were the same senators who were up there opposing the president? they went along with the outsourcing. the companies in america developed the businesses out of this country and now they want about a many hell trying to save it. gingrich saidewt we are dealing with a dangerous foe call china.

the american people think china is our friend and communism is a good thing. and thefacturing base businesses that sent all of our companies across the world, they might think this way. as a man of 69 years old i was taught that communism was to the detriment of society. host: that is gilbert and alabama. the concern when it comes to tariffs is on president trump threaten tariffs against mexico. they would go into effect at a rate of 5%, and a, june 10, and then escalate on the first of for four months after that. the headline in the washington journal talking about the concern by republicans on the capitol hill. senate gop blocks mexico terror plan. the senate threatening to block the white house plant care of. those senators on capitol hill

waiting to see what happens in that meeting today between u.s.o officials and officials, including mike pompeo. waiting for news from that to see what happens and if they perhaps over those tariffs. wade is next in edgefield, south carolina. an independent. caller: the problem in this country is we cannot tell the difference between a republican and democrat. the second point is you quoted that we have 11 million illegals in the country. i've been calling into c-span since 2008, and that is the same andre brought out in 2008 ever since. we've not had one cross the border since? it had a get -- we actually had a guest on the 11der to talk about the

million figure in terms of illegal immigrants. one of the things she talked about was the deaths that it happened since then, that some people have become legal in that time, some have left the country. explanation that game that that number has not changed in recent years. 11 million is the #it by ultimo groups, including the migration -- 11 million is the number cited by multiple groups. clinton, michigan, a democrat. good morning. caller: my belief on immigrants coming to this country -- that is our country was born. illegal or legal, they should benefits, they should not get the social security, they should not get medicare, they should not get

food stamps. their children should get no education. it is putting a burden on us taxpayers. they can come here, but until they become a citizen, and they work at least 10 years, they should not receive any of this stuff. we cannot keep giving, giving away. i feel sorry for them. they are running away. we cannot support the world. people, agree -- i know myself, they come to this country in the get social security and medicare and food stamps. i have a daughter working at minimum-wage. she cannot get any of this stuff. host: you do think there should be a path to citizenship? that includes 10 years of working this country? caller: working in this country,

speaking english. united states citizens. we go to other countries and we have to speak their language. why do they come here and we have to change our united states to complement them? here if they are working for 10 years, do you think they should pay into the social security system? caller: yes i do. after 10 years, once they start paying in, then they should be allowed to have benefits. you cannot come here and automatically -- because they are seniors and stuff, start collecting social security and getting medicaid and hospitalization. their children get our schools and overburden our schools. i am sorry. i feel sorry for them. i do not believe it is our responsibility. if our president, whether you

like him or not, if you just cut -- it is all about the money. they come here for the benefits and the money. host: don in michigan. steve is next in ohio. a republican. good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. i want to encourage congress to continue with the impeachment of the president. that way will guarantee the election of donald trump for a second term and we will get to find out who the people is we should take out of office. it should be overwhelmingly a sweet. they are wasting their time and our money. host: the president currently overseas in the united kingdom today, headed to france tomorrow. how do you think he is doing on this trip overseas on the 75th anniversary of d-day? caller: outstanding. everything i've heard is nothing but positive. he is a good representation of this country. he speaks the language i

understand, and i do have a college degree even though i'm a deplorable and i live in flyover country. host: showing images from earlier today, president trump in portsmouth, england, meeting with world war ii veterans and others to mark the d-day anniversary. those pictures there from earlier. bill is next in columbia, maryland. good morning. caller: i think it is a shame the republicans are undermining trumps negotiating position with mexico. ae mexicans, they do not have border like we do on their southern border. they could stop the people from coming into their country. they choose to let them come through their country, knowing they will go to our country. the republicans are undermining the president. it is a shame. republicanal

speaking out yesterday, especially after that with lawyerseeting from the white house about the president's tariff proposal in mexico. ted cruz one of those who spoke out, calling the tariffs a $30 billion tax increase on texans. this is more for what he said to reporters, the outcome of this game of chicken is massive new tariffs that destroy jobs. that would be a terrible outcome. republican senators taking to the airwaves yesterday to give their thoughts about this rift that has formed over these proposed tariffs against mexico. this is lindsey graham, the chairman of the senate judiciary committee on fox news yesterday addressing the issue. [video clip] >> there's a lot of talk about what happened today behind closed doors. republican senators having a conversation. where do you stand? on theffs would be tough

economy, but the border is broken and needs to be fixed. if caps on or what it takes, i am all for carrots. trump is not the problem. -- if tariffs are what it takes, that i am all for tariffs. trump is not the problem. why do we have a million people coming from central america? we know if you have a card claiming asylum, you're entitled to a hearing. it takes three or four years to get a hearing, and we do not have enough space so we let you go. i have a bill that says you have to claim asylum in your home country. we ship you back here cap to claim asylum on your store -- on your soil. if you have a child, you cannot send that child back. mexico provides buses to these people. i'm not blaming president trump. i am blaming the congress, because we cannot do our job, and i'm blaming mexico. host: lindsey graham yesterday.

thoughts from our viewers this morning on these proposed tariffs against mexico. trump kept his promise and built a big beautiful wallpaper for by mexico, there would be no need for new tariffs. donald saying he's does not support the tariffs because of history taught us anything, it is that tariffs wrecked economies. one more from ryan on facebook -- it got mexico talking, didn't it? sometimes you have to take pain in the short term to make it better in the long run. caller: good morning. thank you for having me on. i've been a democrat forever 40 years and whomever is elected the president, we have respect for, no matter if it is a democrat or a republican. i must walk away from the democratic party. we elected all our congressman, and all they are doing is pointing the finger at the

president, saying he should pass a law. i thought the executive branch and the legislative branch were separate entities, and the democrats in the congress who are in control currently, they are required to pass laws. why are they not doing their job? host: who did you vote for in 2016? the independent -- jill -- i forget her name. host: jill stein? caller: that is correct. democratsote for the because there was too much investigation involved with her wherever she goes, and i do not want to vote for donald trump. he is a new yorker, but i do not like what he did in miami, where everything is expensive now. host: would you vote for donald trump in 2020? caller: absolutely. i have to put that on reserve due to the fact that we do not know who the democrat is who is

going to be running and who the independent is it will be running. host: is there a democrat who could bring you back to the party? caller: yes. but he was assassinated in 1963. host: have you like to democrat since kennedy? caller: absolutely. i voted for mcgovern. i voted for many. forever 40 democrats years. i am 62 years old. i'm a retired federal employee. the democratic party has always been for the people. not for big business. the republicans always wear for big business. now, everything is flipped. now the republicans are trying to bring the middle class backup and the democrats are only taking a pharma money and big aggro money.

there are two things i'm concerned about. we should bring our boys home from overseas. we've been having them shot out from every nation that puts up posters in their country, should americans, come to iraq, blowup americans, come to iraq. i think it is time to stop. there is no end game. let them decide their own sovereignty. let them decide who they want to have running their own country. host: this is paul in west palm beach, florida. the republican. good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. all this immigration, all these -- the democratic party wants open borders. they have converted new york and california completely democratic. they want to convert florida and texas.

the ball is in their court. that is what they are trying to do. all of these illegal people should not be allowed to work for 15 or 20 years. these people will not be doing this. that is my comment. host: what would they do if they cannot work? work, but thean immigration policy that people overstate the visa. people in my extended family come here and they get social security income. i know one family who got $2000 if they stayed. they put $2000 in the bank for the parents and all of the other taxpayers are paying for it. host: that is paul in florida. this is eddie in columbus, ohio. good morning. about: they were talking

the democrats, the previous caller was talking about the democrats not passing any bills. they have passed dozens. it is mitch mcconnell that is blocking everything. it is not trump. because the executive does not have that much power, i pin this all on mitch mcconnell. i hope he loses his reelection bid in kentucky, because he is the one screwing it up. host: do you think mitch mcconnell should try to block president trump when it comes to these new tariffs against mexico? caller: in terms of the tariffs, i kind of support them. congress has been kicking it down the road for the past 30 years. both parties are responsible for their own reasoning. case, therticular republicans are against it. in my personal view, because

there are major contributors will be losing money from the tariffs when americans have to start buying american. their cost margins will shrink. host: this morning the wall street journal taking you through what could happen in the coming days if republicans take this route and try to block the president on this issue. that meeting taking place between mexican officials and u.s. officials today could avert any sort of showdown. if no deal is reached, the next step lies with the white house which must formally impose the tariffs. republicans a said the move could prompt a vote which would be initiated in the senate or house. it is unclear which chamber would vote first. beginning with the senate vote could provide political cover to house republicans were more reluctant to challenge mr. trump. to oppose the tariffs, president trump is expected to rely on the statute called the economic emergency powers act which is

triggered by an emergency declaration and has not been used as a basis for implementing new tariffs. the vehicle to block the president would be a vote of disapproval of that emergency declaration by the house and the senate. president trump would likely veto that vote and it would be up to the house and senate to see if they had the votes to override that veto. that would be down the road. we are seeing what is happening today. in ang your thoughts couple more calls in this phone section. larry is in memphis, tennessee. a democrat. democrat and i cannot believe these mush brained republicans. the senate passed a good bill out of the senate to deal with this, and the house stop it because they feared it was too much money being paid to the mexicans. the mexicans would have stayed at home.

they would of been making well more than three dollars to come over here and pick fruit for rich white people that do not care about anything but rich white folks in this country. .he tariffs will hurt the poor the poor whites and the poor blacks. have a nice day. host: stick around. is back grover norquist on our program, the head of americans for tax reform. we will talk tax policy coming minutes. last 30 stick around, we will be right back. ♪

>> sunday on q&a, blues musician darrell davis talks about his book "clandestine relationships," where he details a friend include clucks clan ku klux klan members and convincing them to leave the organization. >> he walks into the room first, and is wearing camouflage, military fatigues with the " across his chest, and embroidered on his head, his hat, was "knights of the ku klux klan." kelly,followed by mr. the grand dragon, in a dark blue suit and tie. when the nighthawk entered the room and turned the corner and

saw me, he just froze, and mr. kelly bumped into his back, because the guy had stopped short. they stumbled and regained their and i knew what they were thinking. they were thinking, you know, either they were given the wrong room number or this was a setup. this was an ambush. i went like this, displaying my hands, nothing in them, and i approached them and said hi, mr. kelly, my name is daryl davis. come on in. on q&a.y night >> washington journal continues. host: grover norquist is back at our desk, president of americans for tax reform, a group known for its taxpayer protection pledge. do you consider tariffs a form of tax? almost 100 years, tariffs were the taxes we had in the united states. in the 1830's in south carolina,

afore slavery became defining issue, they called out the national militia over tariffs. they had a national convention to look at everything in the 1830's because of the tariff fight. so tariffs our taxes, and the challenge with terrorists is -- is -- andwith tariffs i understand what the president is trying to do, but the danger is you get stuck on the t ariffs instead of lowering tariffs, or using them to change behavior. they are taxes on the american people. they are not taxes on mexico, or taxes on china. they can damage those countries, but they are paid by american consumers. ourexico puts taxes on goods, we are punishing mexicans, not americans. china has tariffs that damage the chinese people. are wars ofrs

choice, and they are expensive. we have a debate -- is it worth the risk to do this, to get china to stop stealing our intellectual property? i understand the argument there, but iteris is a tax. host: you mentioned -- but a tariff is a tax. wars ofu mentioned choice. should they make that choice of the president museveni with his tariff -- if the president moves forward with his tariffs on mexico? guest: this is an expense of tool to use, but mexico has started to talk to the white house about fixing their role in immigration. you are stuck at two things. it is a weapon, a tool that is very damaging, expensive, and she american people in poll say, i know the cost is borne by americans. even the people who say this is important to shake up mexico, they know they are bearing the cost. they will be hit as well. host: has this tool worked at

all during the trump administration? is there a tariff you would point to and say, is that worth it? guest: you have a renegotiation of nafta, which is an improvement over nafta and now just needs congress to hurry up and agree to it, since the canadians and mexicans did. we have europe agreeing to go zero tariffs, zero nontariff barriers, zero subsidies. that came from american tariffs saying guys, we need to get this fixed. so everyone of the other presidents has thought well for now, i have these other problems, but trump has an advantage. he has the economy moving so well in terms of both wages up,g up, employment going all the things you worry about a trade war making more difficult, he now has the power, looking at

china and saying, you know what? we can afford this trade war more than you can. china has a lot of problems, some we can see, some you can't see. he has made a decision that this is worth the fight. if we get anything close to what the chinese actually agreed to just before it fell apart -- at last minute they agreed and then, maybe not. if we get close to what they said they would agree to, it would be a phenomenal victory for american workers, businesses, and consumers. any of are close, but on these fights, any negotiation, you are furthest away just before you agree. we will see. with usover norquist until the house comes in, expected at 9:00. until then, your phone calls and questions. ,epublicans, (202) 748-8001 democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. and your thoughts on kevin hassett leaving his post as the head of white house counsel for economic advisers?

-- we kevin hassett, we ett, like j. kass lo. we may have started something here on c-span, the trendsetters. he is a great economist. he said he would stay for a couple years, not forever. i am only disappointed because i cannot imagine anybody as good. when we find some of the, i will be here, but he is really great. i think kevin has done a great job. he was so spot on on that tax bill that passed. their projections of what was going to happen were right. the guys at cbo were wrong. thisare very proud to see economically reflected -- agatha christie could use it in a murder mystery as a weapon, but it probably has the best explanation of modern american economic history, and how the economy is doing and where it is going. on monday,antly

next, kevin hassett will be performing at the shakespeare theatre company in "will on the hill." host: will you be there? guest: yes, i am performing also. host: who will you be? guest: they write a play every year based on shakespearean themes, a modern play. have several dozen republican congressmen, senators, d.c. personalities, famous people like kevin hassett going up in shakespeare garb -- -- and youour own read from this play. it is great fun. it raises money for shakespeare education for kids in the d.c. area. host: do you know what part you are reading or what your dress is going to be? guest: i know what my outfit is going to be, because i always get there early and get the same one, because i like it. the play itself we will be getting in a couple of days. host: with that, your phone calls for grover norquist.john

is up forced first, florida, republican. i am thehat luck, first one. i don't agree with you 100%, but no one ever does. i always love the democrats when they are complaining about consumers,ecting the but when they want to raise taxes on corporations, they are all for that, they are just of taxesthe effects on corporations do to us consumers. as far as the terrace on mexico goes, i do not know why the president doesn't use the remittance tool he has in his toolbox. why not suspend alderman's to mexico, which is over 20 -- suspend all remittances to mexico, which is over $28 billion each year, with a b. president trump would do that

tomorrow immediately, which he could do by executive order through the treasury department who has a little office called the office of comptroller of currency, he could stop all wire transfers to get theomorrow and retention -- i have been sending emails to the white house for 18 months telling them to do this. i don't know why they haven't. it is a no-brainer. what do you think? guest: a very interesting question. to the first part of your question, all taxes are paid by people. general motors does not pay taxes, general motors charges you more for the card and they need to and then they take some of that money and give it to the n they need-- car tha to and then they take some of that money and give it to the government. so you raise taxes, the cost of living goes up for the american people, so you're quite right. tariffs are attacks at the border borne by consumers -- are

a tax at the border borne by consumers. the corporate income tax, sales tax, property tax paid by people. consequences that make companies say, we do not want to be in the united states, we want to be in belton, so they are losing jobs. it is worse for workers and consumers in a company that is able to stay and pay a little bit of tax. high, youat tax too lose businesses, jobs, innovation, and economic growth. that is a hidden tax on our future. the president has been trying to talk with mexicans, they have in the past police their their own -- policed border rather roughly, and if they did that on the southern border, it would solve some of the problems of people coming into the united states without

authorization. this is one last effort to try and talk to the mexicans and get that fixed. mexicos helped is that is doing better economically than in the past, partially because of nafta, and that is when people are willing to stay home and live in mexico because there are jobs there. i wish them in the -- i wish them well and having a stronger economy as well. democratmaryland, line. good morning. report came out recently regarding the effects of the tax cuts of last year, and the report said that the went to thet year top millionaires and some billionaires, so i don't know why you can say that it was such a great tax structure. secondly, the way the president -- byng about using imposing tariffs on other

nations, which is kind of insulting to them, shows he is not a good negotiator as he claims to be. why not provide responses to mexico to support your southern border -- resources to mexico to support their southern border instead of bullying them by imposing tariffs on them? and we added $2 trillion to the deficit, which you and other republicans used to scream about , talking about how the debt when was too high and democrats were in control they were spending so much. now the republicans are spending too much. guest: two things -- first of all, you said something that isn't true, that the benefits of the tax reduction only went to millionaires and billionaires. the new york times sort of said post saidwashington

that fear they both recently in print said that most said recently in print that most americans -- host: do you mind if i jump in he wase article that referring to? the crs report noted that in 2015, gross domestic product was about 2.9%, and on the whole, the growth affects tend to show a relatively small, if any, first-year effect of the economy, according to the report summary. although growth rates cannot indicate the tax cut was the effect on gdp, they tend to rule out very large effects, particularly in the short run. that is from the crs report. guest: i have seen the crs report. the only affects you would thect from a tax cut are day it passed, or the day president trump got elected you saw the stock market shoot up because people could project he

would take the business tax from the worst in the world, 35% -- our business tax was at 35% throughout the obama administration. never did anything about it or introduced a bill to fix it, and everybody said it needed to be fixed. trump and the republicans did it and it made all the difference in the world. that went down to 21 percent and capital is flowing into the united states instead of out, and companies are no longer fleeing the united states because our tax policy is so much worse than belgium's and canada's, for crying out loud, than everyone in the world. it is now 21%, a modest average tax on businesses. it should be. the president wanted 15%. i think 15% is better. you can write this down so you do not let this ers or anybody fool you -- the crs or anybody for you in the future. $4000dian family of 4, 70

median income, got a $2000 -- $74,000 median income, got a $2000 tax cut. afamily with one kid got $1000 tax cut. when biden has said he will repeal the entire tax cut, he has told the taxpayers in the raise theat he will $2000.e you will be paying $2000 more every year for the rest of your life. it is a significant tax cut for americans, and to add to that, it got rid of the obama tax, the penalty, the $700 tax on people who did not want to buy obamacare or could not afford to buy obamacare, but got hit with a $700 tax. that tax was deliver the targeted to people making under $50,000 to publish them for not doing -- to punish them for not doing what the government wanted.

was taken out by the trump tax cut. if you talk to those people, they do not think the tax cut was only for other people. host: you mentioned former vice president joe biden, a story in the new york times today about some of his plans and how he would fund them through various taxes he has proposed, including plan, proposedy to be funded through some sort of new carbon tax. i wonder how you feel about this topic? i know it is when you have talked about before on this program. guest: sure. a carbon tax is a tax on energy, all energy that gets produced. it is a value added tax and hits everything in the country. the biggest difference between the united states and europe is we do not have a value added tax . they have one at 20%. a carbon tax is that on training wheels. when you put it in, i think it is a good idea to have a national election where biden says he wants to have a tax on all energy. this is a gasoline tax, not just

on your car, but your heating, electricity, air-conditioning, and everything you buy that uses energy, the truck that brings you your amazon goods, all becoming more expensive to you because of a carbon tax, attacks on energy. tax on energy. we had an election in australia, and the liberal democrats, the left, the liberal party, left of center party was for carbon pricing, which is what they say when they don't want to say tax. we are raising the pricing, regulations and other things, kind of like a tax. [laughter] use the word tax. they were smarter than that. but they lost the election there. that is the third election in australia that lost by the advocates of carbon taxes, and canada to the north they had a carbon

tax specific we put in alberta, and they had an election, defeating the party that put in the tax. taxesbon taxes and gas are taxes on all americans, very expensive, very damaging. i am surprised that biden has been pushed that far to the left host:. host:about -- to the left. about 10 minutes left until the house comes in, we will take another caller -- i think we lost tom. crystal in texas, a republican. caller: hi, thank you so much for the call. i want to comment on the tariff s. i actually agree with the president on this one. i understand by putting tariffs on mexican goods coming into our country it will increase the price that americans pay, but i feel like it will be more whenul to mexico, because the price of things go up, sometimes you choose not to

purchase at that price, and i feel like our economy right now is in such a good position, a better position than mexico, so i feel this is really going to be more harmful to mexico than to us, and i feel like it will bring them to the table and make them really help with our immigration system. host: -- aest: you just articulated position held by a great number of americans. you correctly understand tariffs shat -- understand that tariff are tax on consumers, and you think the issue is important enough that we take short-term pain to get longer-term success, and that is the race we are having. i think it is important that republicans and free marketeers always were member that a terrorist is a tax -- that , and if is a tax you go down that road, it is something you want to do quickly, win the argument, and go back to peace and free trade. host: in pennsylvania, diana,

democrat. good morning. caller: good morning. i realize that mr. norquist is ande to discuss tax reform got into a discussion about tariffs with mexico. thisi don't understand is --igration problem is countries in south america are having a terrible time with people fleeing for their lives, practically. why can we not, instead of using why can't the united states start negotiating with those countries to see if we can't bring about peace in those countries? we are a nation of welcoming immigrants fleeing dangerous situations. -- thecouple things government is kind of at war

with its own people, and there you see people eating shot at -- being shot at. most of latin america is at peace, it is just not governed very well. i think what the united states forgets to do is that we export what the rest of the world wants, and that is freedom and rule of law. where they have established property rights in peru, they had a terrorist movement called the shining path that almost destroyed that. the country said, we will title everybody so that every peasants, every person that squats someone near a city -- somewhere near a city owns the land they are on. they can buy it, sell it, go away and come back and it is still theirs. that is helpful to peru's economic growth and the stability of the country. i think one of the most important things we could do is support those movements to get private property rights to citizens for their homes, for their land, to the indigenous

populations in brazil and other countries, to give people capital, land that you can sell, borrow against, and start a small business. this has worked very well in the united states, but also worked in those countries that we have more recently worked on doing this. latin america needs rule of law, they need property rights -- those things lead to less corrupt government and people are happy in the countries they are in. host: is foreign aid and efficient vehicle to export freedom and rule of law? guest: what they need is rule of law. they don't need foreign aid for that. you just need a government willing to recognize the property rights of others and have a central area where you count those. host: with the almost an almost never, where is it ok? guest: never say always come you get in trouble. host: tony in houston, texas, a republican. i will be brief. i am calling on the republican

line, but i have been a democratic presidential voter since jimmy carter, but i am not voting democrat, primarily for what joe biden said about a carbon tax. now they don't mind taxing americans, but they are against tariffs because they feel that it will make products more expensive for americans from mexico. that is hogwash. americans are doing very well. how many televisions do you need in your home made in mexico? how much other cheap stuff do you get from china and mexico that you go to walmart for? we've got enough chief stuff -- cheap stuff. if the mexicans wants to play ball -- the only way to deal with a corrupt government is you have to do as much as you can to hit them where they care, and that is in your pocket book. if we do not buy their products because it costs too much, the businesses will start making them in the united states, like we used to for 150, 160 years. this is my last comment. isles a believe from the

gentleman talking about the ,emittances -- president trump you see how people feel about all the illegals coming here. the president has restricted them from sending money back to their own families, -- if the president restricted them from sending money back into their own families, they will be protesting, waving honduran flags in the streets and have to send in the national guard, because it is their right to work here illegally and send the money back, because who are we to stop them from doing that? guest: your original point, the carbon tax is a tax that can change votes and how people vote. you saw that in a series of australian elections in 2013 and 2019. carbon taxes were front and center. in the elections inside the two parties, one inside the labor party and one inside the more conservative party, each time, the guy who was more for a carbon tax got kicked out because he was killing the whole party. there is no one inside the

democratic party with the governor like that to say to do this, and they keep drifting for some reason to the left. without focusing on it -- someone have to be smart over hillary clinton's political advisers said this wonderful -- sent this wonderful email that got caught up and shared with the world. we looked at the polling on the carpet tax. -- carbon tax. it sucks. hillary clinton was smart enough to know that you did not want to touch it. you might be for it, but don't tell anybody that. biden is leading with his chin on this. he is old enough to her member walter -- to remember mondale. he was supposed to beat reagan in the polls. reagan was not very popular, it had not turned around yet, and then walter mondale said, i will raise your taxes, and the tax cuts kick in and reagan had both economic roads and running in his a guy who said

speech he will raise your taxes. people believed him. reagan carried 49 states. if we continue the strong economic growth, tax cuts, and the deregulation process -- i think deregulation here is almost as big as the tax cuts and getting economic growth continuing to move forward and strengthening, but if the democrats are going to run, we are going to tax middle income people and make everything you buy more expensive, and shut down mines in pennsylvania and indiana and ohio, state that might have thought you could get an electoral college win -- it is unwise of the democrats to take this approach and thresh and -- threaten to tax the american people. or two more calls before the house comes in for the day. william in hillsboro, north carolina. the credit line. good morning. caller: -- democrat line. good morning. morning.ood

i thought it was a good show when norquist started out his discussions on the frivolous to apply a tax to all imported goods. but then he interjects the idea that benefitscy the middle class. trillion thate $1 went into the tax reduction went to corporate, and to large taxpayers. they eliminated the alternative minimum tax. how confusing is it for a person that believes that trump is for the middle class when 95% of the benefits went to the upper class? we will take your comments to give grover norquist some time to respond. guest: i know this is what the democrats said happened in the tax bill in 20 before anyone had read it. the bill was very unpopular

then, when all you knew about it was what cbs told you about it. as you get close, and the new york times has a wonderful chart , it got more and more popular closer to april 15 of this year, and more people looked at last year's tax bill and this year's tax bill. last year's tax bill, this year's tax bill. they know that he got -- they know he got to give it -- they know they got significant tax reduction. if you go to h&r block pro the website, they have a 20% to 25% there -- huge, huge spread. the lower class, the exception $12,000, now it is $24,000. the rhetoric that it is only for rich people -- no. corporate income taxes are down almost nothing in terms of revenue, although we took the

35% to 21%. host: we will have to end it there. grover norquist, president for americans for tax reform joining us. we will see you down the road in time. that will do it for today on "washington journal." tomorrow, 7:00 a.m. eastern, 4:00 a.m. pacific. have a great wednesday, and we take you live to the floor of the house of representatives.