would have sufficient notice about returning to capitol hill if legislation related to the coronavirus was to be considered before may 4. the senate is scheduled to resume legislative work on monday, april 20. that is subject to change due to the pandemic. watch live coverage of the house on c-span and the senate on c-span two. up, the top republican on the small business committee. he will discuss the effort to assist small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. of joint tasknder force katrina on the response to the coronavirus and damaged. psychologist talks about mental health concerns during the pandemic.

association of american railroad president on railroad freight and passenger travel during coronavirus. >> president trump is expected to name a commission on reopening the u.s. as the coronavirus abates. plans are in place to coordinate reopening. good morning. welcome to washington journal. who should take the lead in the reopening of the u.s.. here are the lines.

mountain and pacific, send us the reporting this morning of the wall street the two groups of governors said they would coordinate efforts to gradually sociald as this is andes distancing. president trump said he had authority on restarting the economy. this comes after a decline in daily infection rates, propped officials to express cautious optimism. the same reporting in the washington times. control of the

reopening. west coast box trump's claim of ultimate authority. they are crafting plans for reopening schools and businesses in their state, putting them on a collision course with president trump. he said he had the ultimate authority to reopen states. this is what he had to say on the issue. >> the president of the united states has the authority to do what the president has the authority to do, which is very powerful. the president calls the shots. back the states up. it's a decision for the president of the united states. we will work with the states.

it's very important. microchip, they are pinpointed. i would step in so fast. they can't do anything without the approval of the president of the united states. >> it is possible he will name that reopening commission. briefing, he expanded on his comments on the federal government and the president's authority. >> the president's authority. when somebody is the president of the united states, the authority's total. that's the way it's got to be. the governors know that. you have a couple of bands -- excuse me.

of have a couple of bands democrat governors. they will agree to it. the authority of the president having to do with the subject we are talking about is total. critics challenging trumps authority to reopen the country don't want him to get any political credit for make it happen. it's irrelevant whether governors reopen, it's time to put people back to work. businesses who are deemed necessary. essentialt get labels. kim reynolds made it clear we will decide when to open the state. to lakeland,t

florida. caller: i'm doing ok. not going to it's happen. and right now, we still don't around, andts to go what you are asking people to do risk theird and lives for a situation in this country where you don't have any control over how many people actually got the virus, the ones that they have as far as 1000 plus that have actually been tested. you have a lot more walking around better at home, isolating themselves, and you are asking them to go to work in two weeks, and most of them have the virus, and they don't even know it. there is not a building in this country, businesswise, that is set up for a virus, when you put people in a crowded situation, and you are expecting them to work and do a full day's job. it is not going to happen.

they are going to kick the can down the road, because until you control the virus and the hospital gets the account, you cannot open the government. host: your governor is ron desantis, right? any plans on reopening there? caller: no, and i think he will be the one who basically will try it, because he is a trump supporter, and he does what trump says, but if you look at it from a realistic standpoint, we do not have control of this virus, and if you do not have control of it, then there is no chance for you to actually put people in harm's way. a leader is what doing, politico, "macron sets out a plan for winding down restrictive measures from next month." to add in winchester, virginia, good morning. caller: good morning.

thanks for taking my call this morning. i think the decision should be left up to governors, not to someone who is proven to be as incompetent as donald trump has shown us. , we are seeing the most incompetent person running our country, and he is going to go down in history as the death president. more people will die under his presidency and than any other president in the history of the united states, and donald trump is very proud, achievements of being number one, so i believe donald trump wants the country to continue in the path it has gone, and the sooner we get this incompetent fool out of office, and that won't be until 2020, and i am not a joe biden guy, but donald trump has got to go. incompetent, killing americans, every day he is killing

americans because of his incompetency. host: to lafayette, tennessee, we hear from michael next. caller: good morning, c-span. host: good morning. caller: i am going to give it up to the governors. i think they should make the decision. i am very fortunate that my primary care physician is a disease infection specialist at vanderbilt. he told his three children, stay in place until june 1, and then we will reevaluate, because we do not have control of this virus. we do not have the vaccine, we do not have anything to fight it except for staying home and keeping the distance, like what we are doing, so i am going to listen to him. iam able to stay home, and just go to the grocery store, and that is it. host: how long has he been your doctor? caller: in 2005, when i was diagnosed with hepatitis b, he cured me three years later, and i asked if he could stay on, and he said no problem. one of the leading infectious disease experts at vanderbilt.

so i am going to listen to him. he is telling his three children that are grown, i think they live in three states, he is telling them that. i am going to go with science on that. i would not trust donald trump as far as i could throw him. he is just an embarrassment. the guy who just called, i agree with him fully, he has got to go. host: ok, we will hear from stephen in michigan. caller: good morning. host: good morning. caller: thank you for c-span. i was watching the daily briefing yesterday, and when president trump said he had " ultimate power," i just leapt up out of my chair. he is not a king, and we need people with experience on this. is for himself. we do not need that. we need instructions on what to do. i just went to the hospital for a dislocated shoulder, and fortunately, i did not catch the virus, but they were taking my

temperature and everybody else's temperature every five minutes. it was unreal. home with ating recovering shoulder, and i am watching him just make a full of himself. he does not deserve to be king. he is not king. has ultimate power, but he is wrong. host: similar comments, stephen, from governor cuomo in new york. this is the headline of the "watchmen examiner," that covered this briefing yesterday, too. "we don't have a king. cuomo disputes trump's claim about authority." we want to remind you, too, that all of the briefings we're on c-span, those are available to you online at c-span.org/ coronavirus. cochrane wisconsin is next up. jeff.

hello there. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call pete i would like to give a hooray for all of the people who voted in wisconsin during a pandemic and got jill corrupt korafsky voted in on the supreme court. and i agree with everyone else, president trump is not king trump, and i would like to have the agriculture people in the states try to help the farmers that have times and times of vegetables in their fields, and they have nowhere to go, because the schools are closed, the colleges are closed. we need that. host: what is the solution to that? feedinghehead of america on the other day. we talked about this. milk,s dumping unused

dairy products. what is the solution, do you think, jeff? well, they are going to have to get together without foodservice of america and stuff like that and the farm bureau's of the states. american farm bureau, or every farm bureau in their state should be looking for areas where they can put that produce and the milk and stuff like that, because it is a big deal. andan, stores are empty, their stuff in the field. guest: and his cochran, where you are, a rural city? yep, i am on the mississippi river about 100 miles south of minneapolis, st. paul, on the wisconsin side. host: thank you for calling in. jeff mentioned the primary.

joe biden one matt. he also got the endorsement of senator bernie sanders. trump pickn trunk in wisconsin vote." "a down ballot vote that didn't demonstrated a strong vote by mail, came as a shock to republicans and democrats alike in wisconsin, where contests were president, governor, and the state's highest court have all been decided by about 30,000 votes or less, following weeks of democratic anger over republican's of holding elections -- republicans' insistence of holding elections despite the coronavirus. is peter.ichigan, it go ahead. i amr: i will tell you,

tired of listening to these people call up and downplay our president. our president is the best president we have ever had in this country. you know, he stops the people from coming to this country from china, and everyone is crying, oh, you are a racist, you are a blah.obiae, blah, blah, he played all the clips yesterday on the damn tv, showing you people that, but they, and everything, they just went off the air as soon as they showed that, they cut the broadcast. they don't care about the people watching their own channels in this. host: peter, what network were you watching where they cut the broadcast? caller: i was watching fox, but i change the channel, and i could see the others, as soon as they started talking about them

and showing the dates and that, oh, you are, you know, we are not going to let our viewers to see that, and they go off to their own opinion people. they are ridiculous, and they put down the president, they try to impeachment, they tried russia, they tried everything, and now they are trying it on a world scale level, and he is going to come out on top again. host: peter, to let you know, in terms of watching the briefing, watch it here. whatever time it is on this afternoon, 5:00 or 5:30 eastern, whatever time it is, we show the whole thing all the way through. most of the governors briefings, we show the whole thing all of the way through, so we hope you turn in for that. caller: are you still there? host: yes, we are here. caller: ok. i watched it on c-span, but yesterday i was watching the five, and they cut into the -- host: i see.

caller: but it is the same thing every time. it is the same thing every time for the last four years "new , putting him down, i mean, he could cure cancer, and they would say he has not done it right. these people in china kept the .ecrets host: this is lizzie who tweets, "the people will open further governor. you cannot keep people in their homes for much longer." michael text from oregon, "trump does not have the ultimate authority. the states do. there is not a one-size-fits-all solution. each state confronts a different solution, so it is up to each state to determine when to open." john from chillicothe, ohio, "the president has all of the experts by his side, so i think

what he said about working with the governor sandy experts best." i want to take a look at the johns hopkins university worldwide cases and deaths, now approaching 2 million cases and the total deaths so far, 120,449. cases ofers, 582,000 covid-19, 23,649 deaths. we hear from steve next in san jose, california. caller: well, i totally agree with a couple of the comments on your previous caller, or what you just stated just a few seconds ago. that was my point exactly. has the experts, however, i believe the power rests with the states. however, this has got to be a joint responsibility to opening these areas of the country up.

now, i trust to run. he has done an extremely, extremely excellent job. i would give him an a minus, not perfect, but an a minus is excellent, and i would trust him, because he met dougal, the goal wasl, and to flatten the curve. that has always been the goal. now, when the country opens back up, this is not going to go away. we are going to have death and destruction, but we will be prepared. now, there's going to be people in the news claiming that because we are still having death and attraction, that will be with us for a while, that he has failed. no, he has put us in a position to be able to handle this. extremely important,

yesterday, and that was not one person has gone without a ventilator, not one person has gone without a bed, and that was the fear from the beginning. everybody has received health care. .nd that is what i have to say host: great, thanks, steve. we go to massachusetts, and we hear from sheila. good morning. caller: good morning. thanks for taking my call. this business of who is in charge, the feds for the states, i am thinking we are in the midst of i declared national emergency. the presidentives the primary power to decide how this opening is going to proceed. i think what he will do is he will declare that the emergency has ended, and that he will allow the governors, with federal guidelines, to reopen

carefully, with caution, and with concern for those who are infected with this virus. i am tired of these democrats calling up, bashing the president day after day after day for 300 and however long he has been in office. it has been every single day, nobody can find anything good that this president has done for this country. now is the time that we must join together and get the economy going, get people back to work, and have some peace in this country. provide with this type of division in our political way. be prepared. president trump will be president again in 2020, so all of these democrats can just get sob ready,urt

because they will have to use it for the next five years. host: it was fox news reported yesterday, some of the initial reports, that the president is putting together a commission on the reopening of america. some further information on that, this is actually reported in the politico playbook this morning, but they are quoting a "new york times" story from today, saying the president spent sunday assembling advisory officials with the like treasury secretary steven mnuchin and a host of other cabinet secretaries, but he later ruled out his eldest daughter, a ivanka trump, and his son-in-law, jared kushner, despite earlier discussions of including them. "outside figures could also be seated including investment , blackstone." "it is unclear if health experts like dr. fauci would be included." again, more from the "new york times," the president's task

force will include members from the cabinet, including mr. mnuchin, wilbur ross, sonny perdue, the agriculture secretary, elaine chao, transportation secretary, the energy secretary, eugene scalia, labor secretary, and housing secretary ben carson, trade representative robert lighthizer and russell vote, the acting director of the office of management and budget. reported, "new york times" also says it is likely that mark meadows, the president's acting chief of staff come up would be the chair of that commission. let's hear from barney in bradenton, florida. go ahead. you are on the air. go ahead. barney in bradenton, are you listening? well, sorry about that, sir. we are going to go on to lia in seattle, washington. caller: hi. good morning. guesthost: good morning.

caller: i think it should be the governors. isly power the president has -- as a lifelong democrat, i never understood why republicans have always said "states rights, state rights, states rights," but now it is and critically important that the states have the rights. i have family in louisiana, washington, d.c., missouri, texas, in new york, and i certainly don't want their lives in the hands of mr. trump. host: alright, we will go next to nearby oregon. actually, this is oregon, illinois, i am corrected. richard, go ahead. caller: good morning, c-span. preaching the broadcasting of all of the briefings, i glued us of the noticed some local briefings have not put the

president on. this is john from connecticut i have on, right? caller: no, this is richard from oregon. host: the local networks in your town or not showing your governor's briefing? caller: not on the local stations, like abc. host: oh, really? caller: no. host: go ahead. go ahead with your comment, richard. caller: my problem with the states are they cannot even handle balancing the budget. they have to return to the federal budget, which determines that summonses are illegal, but they can go ahead and sell it, -- thoughotally states, they are not going to get no assistance at all from the federal government. balance the budget, do things right. particularly our governor in

illinois, he is a billionaire. i don't think a billionaire has any problem with money. so when this comes about again, you are doing things that the government has said to the states you are not allowed to do that. the states don't care, you are going to do it anyway. host: all right, richard. fauci, "when president trump we tweeted a fauci, here dr. jolted a conservative fringe movement that viewed it as acknowledgment of their cause and the "fire county" was ready a replacement, a controversial scientist who is pushing a variety of claims that

range from dubious to disputed to outright false. he is saying and and and since he aided view at oz with the oddsal computer the -- at with the medical community and research. host: dr. fauci was on "washington journal" prime time last night, and was asked what he thought when he saw that how #-- -- #, that fire county fire fauci #. guest: you know, you are going

to see things like this all the time, that was the result of an answer to a question that i was aven by a reporter, which was valid question, a hypothetical question. somebody did not like the way that i answered it, so they hashtagged it fire fauci. that is it. that is the world that we live in. it does not bother me. host: but can be president fire you? what: well, it depends on you mean by fire me. i am on the task board, serving at his pleasure. he could report -- remove me from that. i was with him for quite a while today. yes no intention of doing that. host: if for some reason you did leave, is there a plan to have the continuity that you provided, if that were to happen? guest: you know, i do not think it is going to happen, i really don't, but there are a lot of competent people around. i am sure they could get somebody to do that. host: did you have a conversation with the president tonight about this? guest: no, he said we are fine.

i mean, you know, he saw that, i walked in, i had a chat with him, he was fine. host: last night's "washington journal" prime time. a reminder, "washington journal" prime time tonight and every weeknight during the crisis tomato club p.m. eastern here on c-span, on c-span radio as well. on can find that interview c-span.org. comments and texts about our topics, who should be deciding when the u.s. is reopen, the federal government or states? larry enrichment said "states should decide when they reopen, as they know the situation in their state." from rand in river falls, wisconsin, "there something wrong with this picture, from talking about reopening, with many more metros to go, we may be the tip of the iceberg." "the reopening of the country must be a partnership between federal and state governments,

no matter how tasteful they are either." (202) 748-8003 is the line for those who want to text us. s,02) 748-8000, caller mountain, eastern, central. , mountain and pacific. from georgia. go ahead. caller: good morning paid i love what you guys do for the nation. have got tors, you keep your comments simple. now was not the time to be going at each other. i know you guys cannot stand president donald j. trump, but the guy is the duly elected president. on the questions, as the lady from california said, it is a declared national emergency, so of course the federal government chargebe leading the

that reopening the government and the states to do their part accordingly. another note, the prime time "washington journal," how long has that been going on? host: um, probably three weeks now. we started it the weekend of the national emergency, and the week sevcon to god by a little bit, so i am thinking three weeks. why do you ask? have been calling for a prime time "washington journal " for at least 10 to 15 years, because the job that you guys do said,pan, like the caller local news channels, they cut livefrom the president's newsfeed, live briefing, but you guys never turn away, and i still trust and believe that we can be that shining city on the hill that we are destined to be,

i will lose that space, if anyone happens to -- anything happens as he spent. host: i cannot tell you about any future plans to "washington journal," but i will tell you, like any broadcast company, we the our challenges, and production requires live individuals in a control room adhered to do it, mostly. lots of our interviews can be done by zoom, but to do that runtime program requires another person to come in at night, so we appreciate you asking for that. it is very flattering, but keep in mind, we have the challenges that every other organization does in terms of that. caller: i understand. the point i am trying to make is what you do for the nation, what you do for the world, and people try to discredit you guys and say that your left wing and right wing, you guys just read

the articles. you guys open up the phones. you guys ask the questions of the guests. do you understand what i am saying? host: i do, and it is well-made, tavares. thank you so much. we will go to scott in fort smith, arkansas. caller: hey, i agree, thanks for what you guys do. between you guys and pbs, i probably never have to watch a mainstream news channel. i just get this straight dance from you all as far as the role of the federal government versus the role of the states, i do think in a time of national crisis like this, and looking at the big picture, if you get away from the partisan mudslinging and just look at the facts, i think we are at a time in this country where people really need to look at who we are going to be and at what the role the federal government is, and we have two different camps from the left and the right of what they believe the role of the federal government should be. be to basically staff our military and man our

borders, and everything is up to states? market in the i mean, did they just tax our money and/or military, or did they have the responsibility to provide things like health care and things like, you know, these meals for the kids at school and all of the essential social services, and socialism, i guess, you know it is the bogeyman word that they have made out, but when things like this happen, people don't seem to turn their noses so much at help from the federal government. it is easy when times are good to say oh, it is up to the states, but it seems like when, you know, everything hits the fan, people expect a little bit more from the federal government, and i just think everyone should keep that in mind when they need the help. it is like only praying to god when things are going bad. host: a previous caller said the way she envisioned it, the way she saw it happening is the president would declare an end

to the national emergency and leave it up to the states to decide what they want to do. if that were to happen, the president ended a national emergency, what sort of continued federal responsibility do you think the government should have? caller: for instance, i watched jared kushner on tv, and he was is ag, you know, and he good window into the trumpet administration, when he was talking about the reserve life and he was saying, and this is a direct outcome i think, from is notcan november, it the job of the federal government to stand on the street corner and hand out ppe, and i thought about that, and i thought actually, it seems like in a national emergency, when thousands and thousands of people are dying, what is your job, then? so going forward, they definitely need to pace themselves are not open up everything too quickly. but i realize they have the balance of the economy with that, i mean, you know, but

trumps quote that "staying at ," there's worse things, people dying is worse than the economy crashing. the economy is already where it is at. it is already going take a long time for the economy to recover. when he speaks about the economy, it shows he is more concerned about his reelection, and i think that is his real motivation, so i just hope that at least some of those people care about people's health. thank god for dr. fauci and the line that he had to walk. host: joe biden on the democratic primary, no surprise, the headline on axios.com, earlier in the day, the former vice president got the endorsement of his former -- now former rival, senator bernie sanders. care is a look. [video clip] sen. sanders: it is no great i have joe, that you and

our secrets. we are not going to pave them over. that is real. but i hope that we will come together, utilizing the best minds and people in your campaign and my campaign, to work out real solutions to these very important problems. so i look forward to working with you and bringing some great people into those taskforces. mr. biden: well, bernie, i want to thank you for that. it is a big deal, and, you know, your endorsement means a great deal. it means a great deal to me. people will be surprised that we we apart on some issues, but are close on a whole bunch of others, and i think you have made, if i am the nominee, which it looks like now you just made need, uh, i'm going to

you, not just to win the campaign but to govern. host: on that endorsement by bernie sanders, the trunk campaign said this, "this is that even though bernie sanders will be on the ballot in november, his issues will be. has got most of bernie's agenda to be successful in the democratic primary. one thing that is missing his enthusiasm, however, as was no one's is excited about a biden candidacy, and while biden is the democratic establishment candidacy, president trump remains the disruptor candidate. his supporters will run through a brick wall to vote for him. no one is running through a brick wall for joe biden," from brad of the truck campaign -- trump campaign. press, the associated printed in "usa today," a former aide to joe biden accused the

presumptive democratic nominee of sexually assaulting her during the early 1990's when he was a senator. biden's campaign denied the allegations into interviews with the associated press, tara reade alleged the assault occurred in the basement of the capitol hill office building in the spring of 1983. -- 1993. she filed a police report on thursday, saying she was the victim of a sexual assault by an unnamed person in 1993, a copy of which was obtained by the ap. it is not the first time she has made an accusation against the former prize -- vice president your cheat accused him of inappropriate touching last year allege sexual assault. kay bedingfield said the former vice president "has dedicated his public life to changing the culture and laws women. violence against

he firmly believes women have a right to be heard and heard .espectfully," she says and the national convention was moved in milwaukee to august, but the dnc chair, tom perez, was asked in a zoom interview on politico weather now, as the weeks go by, if indeed the convention would happen in august. here is what you said. [video clip] ourperez: we moved convention back by five weeks because we wanted to maximize our opportunities to have an in i amn convention asked to completely committed to milwaukee and wisconsin. at the same time, we are not -- we continue consulting regularly lit with public health professionals, so we are planning for the best, hoping for the best, but we are planning for every contingency,

and we will continue, as we get closer and closer to the convention, to listen very clear fully to what our -- carefully to what our public health professionals have to say. reporter: you must be prepared for it to look significantly different if it is in person than it has in the past. mr. perez: again, we are going to prepare for every contingency. how many people can we have an auditorium? all of those contingencies are things we will discuss, but we are going to make sure it is safe. safety is job one. host: news about the return of the u.s. house, the headline in call, "the house expected return delayed to may 4. the timing of the next coronavirus aid bill adds uncertainty." the house will be in today, 10:00 today eastern, for a strictly pro forma session, we believe, live either way at 10:00 a.m. eastern here on c-span. back to calls, utah, this is blake. go ahead. caller: hey.

thanks for taking my call. if i were to make a statement, where would you want me to jump in here, with tom perez's statement, or -- host: whatever you -- our question is reopening of government, and should that role be led by the state, should it be led by the federal government? fire away, blake. what are your thoughts? caller: well, i am a big champion of states rights. in this situation, i feel like this is a lot of backpedaling by the trump administration. rights inve absolute warning the public, with regard he issible pandemic, and now reciprocating that need to get the message out to people about a warning to -- about when, you know, the pandemic should be considered closed, and we can all come out and be considered safe, and right now,

this just feels like a newspaper that has been laid over the top of what the dog did in the living room. this really is not a fix. answer that we are looking for. i wish i could put it in better words, but he does have absolute rights, and that is to warn us. but with regard to an all clear, that is when it is determined by governors to, at a state level, let us know when they believe it is safe to come out, so to speak. and the thing is, we have got to do this on a national level, because if we have governors jump the gun, it will be like the spanish flu, where -- i don't know if many people know this, and i don't want to sound like trump, like not too many people know this, but the second wave was more deadlier than the first, and we don't know if we

could possibly, you know, fall into that category. so like i am saying, i am butetting what trump used, the total control of the presidency, and the presidency does not have total control. we have equal branches in order for us to maintain balance of control, and of course he would love to be king and mandate that the economy is more important than people's lives, but that is the most important and most effective, and he can use it when he gets warnings back in january, that it is more than just one person coming on a plane from china. host: thanks for that, blake. here is the view from alabama from james. wasational emergency declared in all states and u.s. territories, which gives the president the authority of which he spoke. give context, please."

to lou in highland park, illinois. good morning. caller: good morning. i want to thank you for c-span also. it is the greatest news show on television. i just want to remind the audience, the name of our country is the united states of america. each state has a different problem than the other states, example, the mississippi river starting in minnesota is totally different than the mississippi river that empties into the gulf of mexico. each state along that river has a different problem, and every republican listening to this president,ant the president biden, outlawing guns. they would demand states rights. that is the problem.

we have to allow states to decide what is best for them in their own area. and that is all i have to say. if you want to discuss it, i am here. [laughs] host: i am glad you called entered into olympia, washington, elaine. hi there. caller: hi. a disaster plan for one of our state agencies, so i know a little bit about this. the state has to declare an emergency, and then the fed have to declare ans emergency. it cedesfeds do it, them control. fema, the key responsibilities fema-relatede all post-disaster hazard mitigation programs and activities, and a mitigation activity is returning to normal.

so it is really clear in the law control, agency has and because our president is the executor of that agency, he it isls fema, and so really simple. it is in the law, so i do not why what anybody, you know, anybody has got their tail in a not, because it is so clear. host: so the president declared a national emergency a little over a month ago, march 13, and he has, as of the weekend, every state has a 5-3 declaration of that state being a national area, as you pointed out, which has fema federal implications. what happens, though, elaine, if the president says, as a caller mentioned earlier, ok, the national emergency is over. is there still a continued federal responsibility? caller: well, if the national

emergency is over, then the state would have control, but as long as the state has the emergency going on, then fema would have the emergency going on. because i doubt very much that they would, you know,, you know, they would let the state have an emergency without the feds having an emergency, however, when he does open up -- he would be opening up the government, primarily, to begin with. host: can you tell us what agency they are in washington state you developed this emergency plan for? caller: the division of transport under dhhs. inslee,ur governor, jay was on the leading edge of reports of cases in the coronavirus. how do you think the state response -- not just the agency you had worked for, but the overall emergency response plan

for your state has played out? caller: yeah, i think he did rather well. they have done rather well, except it is too bad that the nursing homes are being infected like they are. they need to -- anybody who walks through the door, has to be tested, and that is one thing that they are not necessarily doing. that is why the people in the nursing homes are getting it. or, you know, that is really what needs to be done, and they are not doing that. host: another disaster confounding and was playing the coronavirus issue is the tornado's that ripped through easter sundayon night into monday, and the headline at nbc news.com, at least 33 that is dozens of tornados ripped through the south, one million people without power monday morning as it travels up the atlantic we go to new york and hear from mark in the bronx next. caller: hi.

good morning, sir. host: good morning. caller: i think trump should definitely be in charge and everything, but i'm confused about people. why don't we just put china in charge? in order to take over the hospitals, and let the country kill less with respirators. host: to frank next in delaware, go ahead. es, i have often wondered, and as i listen to your show, why the democrats even have a party. then all these callers call income and they are liberals, i can see now, even the more on sneed a party to go to command the democrats know that. number two, of course the president should say who comes and starts doing business. come on, people. and you want to put in

88-year-old man as president? are you kidding me? host: that is a view from delaware. next we go to mike in new york. mike, hello. i was wondering, if republicans want to take a lead, why don't they let all of the politicians go back into the senate and the house? they want to take the lead so much. why are they so afraid? they are staying in their houses, hiding. there's 23,000 americans dead because of your president, the guy you duly elected, and he has failed america. from the "new york times" on the census bureau, the headline "census bureau asks to extend deadline for months." they write, "conceding that the effort to county nation's population has been hamstrung by the coronavirus pandemic of the census bureau said monday would ask congress for a four-month

delay, delaying the census data, for representatives and political districts nationwide. they asked that the delivery of the final census figures be postponed to april 31, 120 days beyond the existing december 31 deadline. that the state legislature would get final population figures for drawing new maps as late as july 31, 2021. delivery of that data normally is completed by the end of march." i think that might be a typo. i do not think there is an april 31. i think april has 30 days. to marshall in clearwater, florida. thanks for waiting. go ahead with your comments. caller: good morning to you. host: good morning. caller: i would like to say that i believe the states have the right, and i also believe that there's a twisting of president trump's thoughts and words

command i will tell you why. he has said repeatedly that the states and the government are working closely together. that it is thed states, when he is questioned about it, he says the states have a responsibility of putting their state into quarantine or not, which, once again, he is deferring the power to the states. i disagree with what he said yesterday, but when i look at his actions, and i look at his continual commas over the last several weeks, concerning the wer, i believe that he is thinking something, but his actions and his words are continually stating that it is the states' responsibility. i don't believe -- and what it plays into is the narrative but he is a tyrant and he is a dictator. they want to believe that, so they try and hit on it, but when

you look at his actions, and you look at his comments concerning the states' rights and states' for one do not believe second that this president is going to force a state to open before it needs to. and i would also like to just make a comment concerning the left. democraticat the national committee, who chose hillary clinton, not the people, and then now they have chose joe sanders, thernie democrats really need to look at what the democrat national committee is doing, whether it is the vote of the people or the vote of a committee. host: all right, marshall in florida. from the "washington post," white house aides, outside groups launch an effort to theen the economy, but treasury secretary was also at the briefing yesterday and talked about the stimulus checks

, the payments that are now coming up, started over the weekend. here is what he said. [video clip] sec. mention: we are very pleased that we are ahead of schedule on delivering the economic payments. these are known as "the checks in the mail," and this is ahead of schedule. we started processing those last friday. we expect that over 80 million hard-working americans will get the direct deposit by this wednesday, and we know how important that is to all of those hard-working americans, many of which are at home, not working at the moment. receiveo not them by wednesday come on wednesday, we will be launching, irs.gov,v, click on click on "go get your payment," oryou file taxes in 2018 2019, have that information. you will be able to id yourself, he will be able to put in your

direct deposit information, and within several days, we will be able to automatically put the money in your account good we want to do this as electronically as we can. it is very important in this day and age. it is more secure, and you do not have to go to the bank. if you are a social security beneficiary, you do not have to do anything. you will get a direct deposit. if you have not filed and did not need to file a 2018 and 2019 return, you can go to irs.gov right now and enter your information and authenticate yourself, so, again, we are very pleased that that is ahead of schedule. host: join us next year on "washington journal" by phone is representative steve javits. he represents the first district in ohio between cincinnati and dayton. thankssman steve javits, you for being with us this morning. guest: sure. host: how is your district doing overall with this pandemic? guest: people have really pulled

together. they are working together. it is really heartening to see. most of the small businesses, for example, and town have been shuttered, through no fault of their own, so people are out of work, but people are stepping up, they are really doing the right thing for their families and themselves, and we are going to get through this. host: speaking of small business, you are the ranking member of the house small business community -- committee. the paycheck protection program underway, nearly $350 billion from the c.a.r.e.s. act that pass. from your experience, how is that going? guest: well, it has not been flawless. there have been some frustrations because of the share volume of small businesses and lenders who are trying to get access to the program. the good news is of the $350 billion set aside for this program in about a week's time,

more than half of that money has already been targeted for these small businesses. much of it has gone out the door, so it is working, but it is working so well that we really do need to replenish that money iscause the going to be gone probably within a few days, so congress really does need to get its act together. we need to put politics aside and put more money into that, because america's small businesses are the backbone of the american economy. about half the people in america who work work for a small business. 70% of jobs in america are created by this country's small businesses, so we need to help them, and this legislation, which was passed in record time, on a bipartisan basis, we need to get more money into the program to get it out to those small businesses. host: from a practical standpoint, how do you think that is going to happen, reportedly $250 billion of additional aid, as you mentioned did we just read the story that the house will be out until may

4. how quickly do you think the house could be called back to vote on something like that? guest: well, it is not a likely clear how that will occur, but what is most likely as there will be negotiations. there are some members of congress. town.adership is in the senate and the house have pro forma days, when only a few members are there, and if we can work out an agreement that both republicans and democrats can support, we could pass it without bringing the entire congress back to washington. it is by a process called unanimous consent. now, in the house, one member can sort of throw a wrench into that, and of course that happened last time, and about half of the members, including myself, went back to washington and passed the legislation. so i am hoping that we can get an agreement. the problem is when you have one thing like this, some members want to throw in a bunch of other stuff that may be

unrelated, may be related, so we ought to be focused on this one thing and not have a bunch of side issues involved, which will slow the process down. host: what is the situation like for the hospitals in your district? guest: well, they are doing quite well. they already, you know, we have had extra beds ready. i actually got a phone call, an hour from now, along with a couple of other members of congress from our area, with the lead doctors from uc health, university of cincinnati health. they are the largest medical entity, other than children's hospital, here locally. they are doing very well. obviously, you know, congress helped by passing the c.a.r.e.s. act, which included $100 billion for hospitals and health care providers all across the country, but at some point, that may be, and maybe necessary to replenish that fund as well. at this point, and our community at least, you know, it is helping, but we are keeping

close monitoring of that, because if more money is necessary out of washington, we are certainly going to support that. we have been asking our listeners who should take the lead on real bidding the u.s. how do you see this happening? the states work with washington, the federal government, the president, and i think it will be a combination. in ohio, governor dewine has been very aggressive and active in keeping the social distancing in place and trying to keep this down in ohio, and it has been quite successful here. obviously not every person is happy with that, and there is a concern about our civil liberties, you know, being infringed upon. but in this case, the goal has been to keep the social distancing to keep this disease from spreading even further and killing a whole lot of our most

vulnerable population, which tends to be the elderly and those that have underlying health conditions like heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, those types of things. it is working, but obviously we have never seen anything close to this probably in a century, since the spanish flu. you and your family and the folks in your congressional district say -- stay healthy and safe. thanks for being with us this morning. coming up next here on "washington journal," we will be joined by the former commander of the task force for joint task force katrina, retired lieutenant general russel honore. he will be with us, looking at his perspective on the administration's coronavirus response. later, psychologist jennifer hartstein looks at mental health concerns amid the pandemic. first, see -- the south dakota governor announced her states medical efforts to fight

covid-19. >> very excited to have an announcement that talked about us going on offense against covid-19 in our state. we are going to be the first state in the nation to run a statewide clinical trial on hydrochloric when. it will be used to fight covid-19, and the team behind me , stanford health, has helped lead this effort. over the last week, i have been addressing this with president trump's team and have spoken to vice president pence, jared kushner, the chief of staff, many within the task force, making sure they knew what we wanted to do here in south dakota, that we had all of our health systems on board, not only will stanford be leading the effort, but monument will be participating, and this will be the first ever state-backed, statewide clinical trial available in the united states to help take care of our people here that would not only treat

patients but would also give us the data we need to be prepared to fight this virus long into the future. over the weekend, we received the initial first doses of the drug, and we will get this trial up and running. my understanding is that there may be some patients already receiving this today. that is thanks to the leadership of stanford health and these other medical teams and for avira and monument partnering with us. i am excited. there are so many things today that can get discouraging. we see increasing positive cases in the state of south dakota. we see new people and families being impacted. yet, we know all of this has been expected. for weeks, we have talked about how we would see this virus come. the science tells us we cannot stop it but we can slow it down and take care of people while we're dealing with it. and this, today, this announcement will make sure that we do that in the best way possible, and we are going on offense to help everything a person deal with this virus and

be willing to fight it and get better and go home to their families. >> " washington journal" continues. from batonng us rouge is retired lieutenant general russel honore, former commander of joint task force katrina, here with us to talk about the current crisis and the administration's response and his state's response. general, pleasure to have you with us this morning. thanks so much. guest: good morning, sir. host: tell us about on the ground in new orleans and louisiana, very hard hit by the coronavirus. how do you view things there? guest: well, it is kind of a study state the last couple of days, but we still have a lot of people who are losing their lives from the coronavirus. ofhave the capacity in terms hospital beds, but it is still a challenge for the medical people to continue to operate at this high rate of operations, and the

concentration is in new orleans with some increase in baton rouge. but the largest loss appear to be in the vulnerable populations, a disproportionate amount in our nursing homes and our veterans home to that vulnerable population. host: numbers from johns hopkins on that from this morning, confirmed cases in orleans 244 deaths. with -- do you think new orleans in particular, louisiana, has been so hard hit? guest: well, it is the concentration of people. i think most people agreed to the fact that mardi gras brought a lot of people together, and we are a port city. as a result, people went home from mardi gras and took the virus with them, and new orleans

is a very compact, and jefferson parish, very compact, largest concentration of people in the state in those two parishes. the virus loves that. it goes from people to people in that close environment. we ended up with this hot spot in new orleans. host: you talk about mardi gras, and there have been numerous articles about that, including this morning in the "new york times," why officials went ahead with mardi gras even while bracing for virus. from a distance -- you are not in new orleans or the louisiana government officially, but you saw that decision -- what was your a lot -- reaction, to allow mardi gras to go forward? know, what iyou somebody is always looking for somebody to blame in disasters or why it happened. new york did not have a mardi gras, and it is a large

concentration. detroit did not have a mardi gras, nor did chicago or the hotspots. and washington state did not have a mardi gras. so i think myrtie crossed -- mardi gras can become something that, yeah, if hindsight was 20/20, probably would not have had it. but they did cs on st. patrick's they did see us on st. patrick's day was some pushback from some people in the state, and that was a good decision. i do not think it will be a defining moment from big lessons learned. we needed a national alert that could have come a couple weeks earlier, and that could have possibly canceled mardi gras. but it did not come, and the party went on. and today the people there in new orleans are trying to survive that. host: you retired from the army in 2008. you served as the task force commander, joint task force commander, for the katrina

response. from your experience there, how difficult is it to make ensesions in key and t situations like that? that was obviously a very dramatic and deadly moment in american history. is easy once we have a priority from the national command authority, which was to save lives and evacuate the population and then provide food and water and medicine to people. fromar priority network the national command authority, something we have been struggling with over the last two months. host: so your observation in terms of the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic, that there needs to be more federal coordination at the top or coordination with the national guard, with the military, what agency? thet: i think it is in

interagency and the white house. normally operations are not run out of the white house, but in this particular case that is the way they chose to do it. that is the prerogative of the president. it is normally run by a lead agency such as hhs and cdc when it comes to a pandemic. in this case, the white house task force is running at. that is with the execution of the logistics and the support coming out of fema. host: for better or worse or whatever you thought of it, your face was certainly the on-screen face a lot of the response and briefings during and after katrina. how important do you think it is that that one person be the steady voice of the response? adds awell, i think it to pullto who is trying

the message and priority of work together. this pandemic is a lot different in that it affects every state, and you have to respect that when the federal government go to a state, what i was taught when i was on the joint chiefs asstaff and the command subordinate command in the northern command, that in the state, the senior elected official is the governor, and that governor is in charge to what happens in that state, and the federal forces that go in there, they're there to assist the governor, and that includes fema. federal terms of the response in the federal presence at the briefings, do you think the presence of president trump as a sort of the lead smoke smitten -- spokesman on this diet's the message of other key medical and personnel involved on the recovery, or the response, i should say? guest: i think what confuses the message is that, with all due

respect, i think the president enjoys that role of being upfront and leading the way. for.5 him not to run for office at the same time in dealing -- it is hard for him not to run for office at the same time in dealing with a disaster. i think that has the tendency to confuse people, and we miss the message sometimes, as opposed to responding to what we have been doing. a lot of good things have happened in terms of deploying the military to assist fema and the governors, the use of the national guard, which is a governor toolbox authority to use them, and the sorting out of the logistics. even though it was very cumbersome and started late, it appears to be working toward solving some of the logistics problem. but it is very unusual to have the president being the the plans officer,

officer, and the president of the united states, senior member of the command authority. most unusual. host: our guest is retired lieutenant general rester on her he wasel honore, and commander of joint task force katrina. we want your calls. central time zone, (202) 748-8000. mountain and pacific, (202) 748-8001. for new orleans residents, your line is (202) 748-8002. general honor, from beginning to end when you were given the role as the joint task force commander, how long was that period of time? guest: six weeks, sir. host: just six weeks? guest: yes, sir. host: what was the biggest challenge he faced during the response to katrina? guest: the evacuation of the people in the city was underwater and the roads and airports were closed, the river

was closed, and starting that out, that was a big challenge. the other one was dealing with the remains, going in and search-and-rescue of each home to find the remains, and then the security -- then to secure them and treat them with dignity and respect. was thethird one reentry into the city to assist the mayor and the governor and the orchestrating the reentry to the city. host: the thing you did in that response to katrina, you look at the response now, the federal government response or your state's response to the pandemic , is there anything that you think, oh, i wish they would do what we did back then because it would work really well? anything like that? guest: i think we basically used the response plan which was created after 9/11, which basically led with the political objective. we had a national strategy of how we were going to do this,

and we applied tactics that we ,ad trained on and practiced and as federal troops with the national guard, we met the needs of the mayor and the governor and the priority of work. and we have seen that play out magnificently and you see the work of the core engineers, the work northern command has done in the army north in providing the medical personnel needed, along with the navy and the ships. so that is the way it is supposed to work. requestsnors put the out. fema approves them. and many of those tasks go to the department of defense. with usneral honore from baton rouge appeared we welcome your comments. first one is from ohio. go ahead. caller: good morning. i live west of cincinnati, and i am here to tell you that the federal government has no sponsor.

they have talked about response. they have told you what the response should be. they have told you how to respond, but they themselves have done nothing. my governorio, and is mike to wine, and he has done a fabulous job -- my governor is mike dewine, and he has done a fabulous job in keeping ohioans safe. but trump has only given us mouth service about what he can do, what he will do, but he should do, but in reality he has done nothing, just like everything else. trump is impotent. he cannot do it. we have the wrong man in the office. there are things that could be done. all he has to do is speak the word, and he has absolutely refused to help anybody. we have thousands of people who dying, andck, and

holly does is give us lipservice -- all he does is give us lipservice. and if we do not fall in line with what he says, he gets angry, and i feel like we get a two hour lecture every evening. and if we do not lock step with what he says, he gets mad, angry, and he lashes out. it does not matter who is in the room, he will lash out at whomever. host: ok, general, your thoughts? thet: well, i think that is problem with having the president lead the press conference, that he becomes defensive. let's face it, he is running for office. i can remember president bush dealing with katrina. the opposition party is always there. and in a disaster, you lose the first half. and a disaster will make you look stupid. and then the press make sure everybody understands the

failures that were created. but we have to look forward. we have to drive this bus out of the ditch, and we are not going to do it focusing in the rearview mirror. we have got to move forward. big decisions need to be made, and hope the president will use his command authority to bring him plans to move forward and deal with the virus. it is going to be here, many experts say, for years. it isy he is going about dysfunctional at this point in time, and thank god the governors are taking the lead. host: the woman talked about the presidents briefing. do you think the press at that briefing adds to some of the dysfunctionality of the moment? press is doing its job. i did not like dealing with the press are being interrogated. i did not like their questions. remember, the purpose of dealing with the press is to tell the american people what you are doing.

if the press is not there to report what is going on, than the people would not be informed. now that press can have various flavors to the questions they ask. but this is a democracy. this is how it was built, why it was built, the transparency. that is the purpose of the president to answer those tough questions. otherwise we would be looking in the mirror all the time and get a one-sided opinion to what is happening. i think the press is doing its job. mr. president, you do not have to always try to answer every question. host: louisville, kentucky, this is lisa. caller: good morning. thank you, general, for your service in the army. i appreciate what you have done, and you did a wonderful job during the katrina disaster. i wish that trump would appoint somebody like you to coordinate a national effort to get our country reopened again. yes, we would like to have our country reopened again.

i would, too, and everybody else would. but if you do that, the virus is going to get stronger. this is a physical entity that nobody really knows how to fight. i have been listening to governor cuomo and our governor here in kentucky, and he has done a wonderful job. i wish they could get together with you on a personal level and have somebody like you to lead our effort. thank you. host: thank you, lisa. guest: good day. thank you. host: that must be a common question or request, general honore, given the recognition of the work you did after katrina. have people ask you to serve as a coordinator or serve on committees as a response to the pandemic? guest: no. i stay engaged on social media and push ideas out there and thoughts, and hopefully they land on some staff officers' desks, and they will take it to some governor or somebody in the white house and say, look, i

have a good idea. that is the way i engage with it now. but there are many capable people in the government and general offices out there that if the president wanted to, he could appoint, and they would have the stature and the command authority -- must have the stature and command authority -- to be his lead person. and there are many capable generals out there, and america the core engineer general, what a great job he has done, as well as out of northern command. we have the people to do it. all he has got to do is call them up, the people in command, not staff officers. host: you are joining us from the studios in baton rouge, louisiana public broadcasting. thank you for coming in. what is home life like for you, the self-quarantine, in baton rouge? guest: stay-at-home, wash your hands. stay-at-home, wash your hands.

[laughs] that is what it has been like. and staying engaged with what is happening on the news, and helping through social media, engage and try to shape the solutions. because i think we do all have to work together. we do have to look forward to the next phase of this, and we need to prepare that this, unlike a hurricane, will not go away. it is going to be here for a while, and we need to figure out a way forward on how we are going to continue to protect ourselves and how we are going to get the testing done, how we are going to operate schools in the future, how we are going to operate stores, and some of the entertainment things we like to do, and that is a lot of work to do. but just opening the country up will not give people the confidence that it is ok to go sit in a crowded restaurant or go back to a basketball game or fall football. our culture will be changed as a

result of this virus. everything from not shaking hands to more accepting the fact that we can work from home in large part of our population. host: and on social media, our guest is ltgrusselhonore. from prairieville, louisiana, david, good morning. asler: i am looking at fema, ,ar as not having louisiana part of south carolina, florida, texas, as far as helping for rent or any type of financial backing for people that does not have small businesses, maybe lost their jobs. i mean, why isn't louisiana included through the fema process? that is a good question, and i am glad you asked it. as for what we have seen with floods and with hurricanes, fema

has the authority to provide what we call individual moneyance, and that is for short-term housing, hotels, rent. that did not come out as a part that wereefits allowed under the virus. , wish it had, because fema through much practice over the years, has created a way to even put that cash directly into your bank account once you apply. that was not used in this response, but that is a good question. i wish they had used it, and it it maytoo far yet -- still be used because it is an effective way. it is called individual assistance, and it helps in housing and gives people money so they can stay alive. but that has not been executed by the white house or requested by the governors that that be

made available. is those they went things passed by the senate and the house, which was supposed to do that with the check, but that is an unproven system, whereas the fema process is a proven system and it works. host: birmingham, alabama. we will hear from gilbert. caller: thank you for c-span and, lieutenant general honore, thank you for your service. you made mention about hindsight and 20/20. i was in discussion with a friend of mine who is a vietnam veteran, and he made light of the fact that during the fdr thenistration, they sent japanese to the internment camps, and during the eisenhower administration, they put mexicans in camps. i said that to say this, there were over 200 15 direct flights

that came out of -- 225 flights that came out of wuhan, china, and i read that in an article today, and we as a nation would have had to take some draconian measures to stop this thing coming out of china. and i think the american public with have thought it to be cruel and inhumane treatment. what is your thought about that? guest: well, i think you saw an example of the contain an isolation with the ships. obviously what we should have done with those airplanes is those people coming out of them should have been contained, isolated until they got tested before they were released. action report and the follow-on investigation, which we should have, like we did with the post 9/11 investigation, because we cannot allow this to happen again.

much pain and suffering possibly could have been avoided had we, the cdc and hhs, along with the state department and custom and border control, they can isolate anybody coming into the country if they are suspected of carrying a virus or if they're coming from a contaminated area, and that routinely happens. it is not a presidential authority. host: our line for new orleans , forents is (202) 748-8002 louisiana residents, we go to new orleans next and hear from penny. caller: good morning. i am act div and the coalition against death valley, and research says the air can make the covert outcomes worse. how can we get governor edwards to protect the communities of color that are disproportionately impacted in the chemical corridor? guest: thank you for that

question. it has been widely known that your relationship to where you code couldur zip affect your health. and i think what this is playing out to show is that people who live in polluted areas where there are these fine particles from an ozone impact and carbon impact had impact on the health, and much of that has to do with , asupper respiratory system well as the immune system. again, we have always suspected that in information from the there registry shows that is a higher rate of cancer in and around these plants, and now between baton rouge and new orleans, we have over 130 plants, which includes those parishes of st. john, jefferson parish, and charles parish

where we have had some spikes. but we need to learn and move forward and do something to make sure that we're containing pollution as far as the permits, and we do reduce the amount of pollution and fine particles allowed in the air through these permits issued by the louisiana of quality and the epa. unfortunately, we see the epa are now lessening the rules during the virus as opposed to increasing and reducing the amount of pollution in the air. and i think we are going to see a direct relationship as these study groups go through that shows that the vulnerable population, many have lived for years in the shadows of these plans, and it has had a high impact on their health, along with the other health disparities. host: not just in louisiana or new orleans but across the country, and it is pointed out

in this article headline from abc, coronavirus disproportionately killing the black community. general, in terms of a response to the virus, how could that lessened? how could that be addressed in treating communities of color in particular and among poor communities of color? guest: well, i think in the military you look at where they spread to the enemy is, to use a parallel with how we do things. we have been playing defense here for the first part of this war against this virus. it is time to us -- it is time for us to go on the offense appeared we have some pretty good data now that shows the population that it is maybe 80% detriment once you get in the hospital and get a ventilator on you, and that age group, i think we need to go on the offense, and as a part of the national strategy, put priority on that vulnerable population in terms ,f testing and contact tracing

isolation, and mitigation, so we protect that vulnerable population. we need to identify where they live and who they are, and we need to go on the offense now. ist: your call or more data could buy washington, d.c.'s, mayor. she urges more data collection in the communities of color. next is christina in oakland, michigan. caller: thank you very much for c-span. i have not called in a long time because there was nobody i wanted to talk to as much as general honore. i complement you for everything you handled, and i watched you during katrina, and you were amazing. straightforward, and you are intelligent. your intelligence is beyond question. president trump knows more than the generals. i know when general that he cannot hold a candle to.

a problem with president trump's he is so egotistical. he could have good advisors, but he does not listen to them. first. not put people he puts himself first. my compliments to you, general honore. we need somebody like you to start the offense, but he won't because he is inferior to you. thank you very much, again, for all you have done for the people of this country. host: thank you. general? wash your hands, where your mask, socially isolate. host: general, do you think that president trump is listening enough to his military advisers, the joint chiefs, and others? outt: i think they are doing what they think he wants done and the tasks associated

coming out of fema. and i think we have got a good balance. our military has to stay steady. all the commission commanders have sworn and taken oath to support the constitution of the united states and to obey the orders of the president of the united states. you must maintain that as a and that the american people know that the military will do what needs to be done to secure the country and try to keep our people safe, working in support of the governors, and they are out there doing it. they are the silent partners and are trying to save lives as we speak. host: you were a commander of northern command, part of your service in the army. what should your concerns be if you're active in the military now? the crisis affecting the rest of

the road, but also potential military threats in the u.s. military being on guard for that? guest: at the end of the day, that is the number one mission of the u.s. military, to secure the country and defend the , as well as with forward-deployed troops in significant places around the world, doing our work. right now it is maintaining the readiness of the force because we have to do that with the virus coming into our formations. so we have to deal with that. it takes a lot of work. we have to recruit and train the next soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines that we're going to need next year based on the number one leaving. doing that while the pandemic is going on is a unique challenge, but we have got a great group of military leaders that are doing their best to take care of our

troops, sustain the readiness of those troops, but that will be a challenge. but as we say, the military, for so when he years, we do the difficult, takes a little time, and the impossible just takes a little bit longer, but we will get the mission done. i have confidence that our military will secure the nation and take out people and keep them safe. host: let's hear from robert, also calling from new orleans. good morning. caller: good morning. general honore, i am a big fan of yours. i live in new orleans and evacuated to memphis during patrina, and it was really reassuring when you came on the scene. i just want to say something, the whole question about mardi gras earlier, you are very tactful in your response to that, but the reality is, mardi gras went on from february 10 until february 27, and nobody was talking about shutting down the city then.

there was no leadership, from government saying you should not have mardi gras or anything, so i am really tired of that whole storyline. downyou said, nobody shut times square in new york or shut down the commuter trains in and out of jersey, you know, anywhere else. but the question that i had for you, and i will get off the the, the whole firing of commander of the aircraft carrier, i would be interested to know your thoughts and your comments on that. well, i am going to defer to the navy. again, i have opinions about a lot of things. but that crew right now is under stress, some 400, 500 of them fighting to stay alive, having been identified as having the virus, and they just lost a crewmember yesterday.

crew is going to have to stay together, take care of one another, and move forward , and they admired and respected their captain. there are many great attributes to that captain. there are only 11 navy carriers, so he was carefully selected for that job. one of the most premier jobs in the navy. pass, in the, will history. but i think i want to leave it at that because i want to command those sailors for maintaining the readiness of that ship, trying to get that virus off that ship by cleaning and isolating those that are sick and injured so they can get that ship back at sea. and i think the issue of the captain is not over. it will be dealt with later.

in the meantime, they have a new captain, and that captain needs to focus on those sailors and work as a team to get that ship back out at sea. but this is a hard struggle, and it shows the veracity of this virus and the impact it has had on our war fighting capacity when it can take an aircraft carrier and make so many people sick on it. we need to find some solutions, and we need to have instant tests on all of our ships. we have learned a big lesson here. we have got to fix that. our sailors on ships and our troops manning our equipment need to have instant tests. that has to move quickly. we cannot wait until more than one person has that virus, and we may have to test them every 24 hours. but we learned a big lesson from the roosevelt, and we wish those sailors well as they bring that ship back to make it seaworthy

and go do its mission. host: as you pointed out, aboard honore, a sailor the covid-19 stricken uss theater roosevelt died of the disease, the navy announcing that monday. the sailor's name is not released, pending notification of family, and he tested positive on march 30, was placed in isolation, and was found and responsive in his room on april 9 and was moved to intensive care at the u.s. naval hospital on guam. they say the navy has tested 92% of the roosevelt's crew as of sunday and moved nearly 4000 soldiers to shore. sailors remain on board the ship to operate its nuclear reactors, guard its weapons. and they are sanitizing the vessel, as you pointed out. we hear from shelly next in farmersville, louisiana. caller: yes, hi. first of all, i want to let general honore know that he did a very wonderful job while

working with hurricane katrina. but there are a lot of things with katrina that are in comparison to what is happening with the coronavirus. first of all, president bush was blamed for situations that he could not control. neither the governor nor the mayor wanted his help until it was almost too late. and over the years, the federal government has given much money fixing of the for levy, and it was not actually hurricane katrina that caused the damage. it was the breaking of the levee, so that was a misuse of funds for years. so trump has acted with america's interest at heart. those who want to call him names and give accusations, i remember the same thing being done to president bush during katrina. they said that he caused the

flood, that he did not act, he flew over, he did not stop. all of those things were just assertions and innuendos made to harm the party that is in power at that time. you. all right, thank general, your thoughts? guest: as we said, during a disaster, you are to lose the first half, meaning that is why it is a disaster. people's lives, property lost, lives lost, and lives forever changed. the opposition party is going to point out what you could have done better, and the press is going to challenge you on what you're doing, how you are doing it, and if you're not getting the effects in dealing with the virus. so this is a democracy. this is how it is designed to work. the big bucks get paid, and you spend four or five years or a

lifetime trying to win the presidency. when you get that job, what comes with it? the good, the bed, and the ugly. at the end of the day, you're ultimately responsible for what happens or what failed to happen, and the job of the president and the opposition party is to challenge whoever is in that office. and for the history of our country, that has worked. i understand it is frustrating, but that is the way it is designed to work. and i think it has served us well to challenge the party in power when disasters happen, because as a result of that, we will change the government following this to be better prepared the next time, just as we did after 9/11 and just like we did after katrina. we reorganized our disaster response after katrina. we will have to do the same thing with this virus. from newhad that call orleans expressing frustration over the whole mardi gras situation.

i want to play some comets from your state governor concerning the social distancing violations in terms of his view of it over the easter weekend. here is what he had to say in a briefing. [video clip] >> i will tell you that anecdotally and somewhat non-anecdotally, i have received reports of the people of louisiana over the easter weekend did not take social distancing as seriously as they should have and the stay-at-home order in the mitigation measures were not practiced as they had been previous to that. and i am encouraging everyone to get back to taking this very seriously. the reason we are trending in the right direction, the reason we have a slowing in the growth of cases and deaths, is because thehe social distancing, hygiene practices, the stay-at-home order. and all it takes to have a spike in the cases and go back the

other direction is for too many people to violate the order, too much social contact to spread this disease. so i'm asking everyone to do thatr, and i can tell you the social distancing dashboard which attracts movement by cell phone gps data, the state actually was not doing that well before, headache c-. d.had a c-, but now had a there were too many people moving around. i am asking you to take that seriously. host: new orleans is a very social place. what happened there over the easter weekend, just gatherings of people at easter? guest: i have to believe what the governor said, we had a few deliberate acts with some religious groups to intentionally gather, meaning having easter services, and that is a part of our religious right

to practice our religion. but at this case with the guidance given by the government of social distancing, i think we're going to have to put some and when people deliberately organized a group meeting that exceeded 10 people and get them all into, for instance, in a church, we have to deal with that. we do not have trouble in louisiana putting people in jail if they go out and protest and they walk a road. we will put you in jail. we will bring the riot police out and will put you in jail. but in this case, we have somebody clearly violating what has been said to stop this virus, by having church services. and it happened in many places throughout the state. that is a violation, and it needs to be dealt with, because those same sheriff's that allowed the church services to

happen, if you take 30 people out there and you go stand on the road without a permit, they .ill put you in jail what you're doing is executing your first amendment right, but they will not deal with this from a law enforcement perspective other than to give that one particular preacher a where he violation, never left the grounds of his church. they wrote him a ticket. if he was there doing a protest, he would have been in jail, as we have seen many times here in louisiana. wet: general honore, appreciate your time and sharing your opinion with our viewers and listeners this morning. we hope to extend an invitation to have you back. guest: test, test, test. where your mask, wash your hands, stay home. host: good advice. thanks so much. on the way here on "washington

journal," next is psychologist jennifer hartstein to look at the mental health concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic. first, new jersey governor phil murphy held a briefing monday announcing new efforts to assist residents and updating the availability of medical supplies in new jersey. [video clip] antoday i am signing executive order to prohibit internet and phone services from being shut off until 30 days after our current public health emergency has ended. further, all service downgrades, service reductions, or late fees due to nonpayment are prohibited unless they are proposed in accordance with a policy approved by the board of public utilities. finally under my order, any internet or phone service that was disconnected due to nonpayment after march 16 must be reconnected. i was doing this -- i am doing this, and i was asked about this over the weekend, i am doing

this for a simple reason. people actually need to stay connected. last month most of our service providers voluntarily took these steps in accordance with fcc policy, to protect their customers during this time, and we thank them for the partnership. however, as i was asked about, some providers have loosely interpreted what it means to stay connected. so today we are forcing them to do what is right or get with the program, as i have used those words last week. our kids need internet access for remote learning. individuals need the ability to telework and seek medical addiction in -- medical attention electronically. families need to keep each other informed. this is no time for anyone to have their connection to the world severed. now switching gears again on the topic of ppe and ventilators, as we announced yesterday, another 200 ventilators have been delivered to new jersey from the strategic national stockpile. this means we not only received

1550 ventilators, and i will continue to push for more. i think vice president from, -- i thank president trump, vice president pence, and the team. masks,ance is now 950 in and we are pursuing multiple avenues literally from around the world away from the strategic stockpile for insulators and ppe. additionally, this weekend, 100,000 medical masks arrived at one of our warehouses thanks to the government of taiwan, and another 200,000 will soon be on their way to the ambassador on the left there, and the people of taiwan, we cannot thank you enough. >> "washington journal" continues. host: joining us from new york city is child, adolescent, and family psychologist jennifer hartstein, talking about some of the mental health concerns during the pandemic. and for her sting, what are you

seeing in the areas of mental emotionalpression, concerns -- jennifer hartstein, what are you seeing? guest: we're all in this global, anxious moment together, and we are seeing a lot of anxiety, worry, a lot of fear. for many, that translates to feeling sad and just overwhelmed, because we are kind of on this crazy roller coaster together, and it is a global phenomenon in a way we have not really seen. certain disasters happen to certain areas, but this is happening across the board, so it is unprecedented and is kind of impacting all of us. host: it is entering the fifth week here at the national emergency, really of the beginning of the shut down, particularly in new york and many other states. over the past few weeks, how have concerns or issues changed among the people you have spoken with? guest: i think we're kind of in the calm of the storm. i think the hurricane started

and everybody is lulled into the moment of this is what it is and we're doing our best to follow the policies. many people are like, ok, this is what it is, and i'm going about my business. but i think as the talk happens that we will open back up and come out of corn tea, it will amplify again because the unknown unsettles us, and the unknown creates anxiety for people. when we do not know, we cannot figure out next steps, and it is changing constantly. we are unsettled, and that brings a sense of uncertainty. right now everybody is kind of calm but waiting, but we will have another wave of anxious, depressions, sadness, overwhelmed moments as things change again. host: we're talking to you by zoom this morning. is that the way you are interacting with your clients? guest: it is, and i think it is the way most therapists and doctors are communicating with their clients, some sort of tele-therapy, which we are lucky

to have at our fingertips. we are able to continue to be there to offer the support that is needed and have continuity of care, so we are very lucky for that. sot: you mentioned anxiety, how do you identify somebody that is going through anxiety and before that gets into leading into a depression, certainly a clinical depression? what are the warning signs that you as a professional look for and perhaps family members or friends should be focused on among their groups? guest: it is a great question, and i think we can kind of point out that emotions exist on a continuum, right, so all of us feel anxious at different times and feel sad or feel levels of anger at different times. so we have to recognize that at a baseline, you might just be anxious, having a more nervous reaction to things globally, we are anxious. when it becomes problematic is when we cannot function in our lives the way we might.

we cannot leave ever even though we are told to go for a walk. you cannot even do that. we are just absolutely paralyzed by fear, watching the news. we might not eat as much or might not be sleeping as much. we might be oversleeping. so we exist on this continuum. as a professional, i will look for any significant change in behavior that is out of character for the person. that might be what parents tell me will, what a partner tells me, what an individual tells me. but the shift in behavior is what we need to watch for. host: all of us has had to change our behavior, our pattern each day, what we do, where we go, if we go anywhere, indeed. but how much of an issue is it, the loss of a normal daily routine, so now people have to create a new normal, if you will? guest: yes him and that unsettles us. humans really crave structure.

many people might not believe that, but we do like routine. we like the reliance on it, and we like to kind of know what is coming next. one of the things i encourage people a lot is as soon as we had to get into this new normal, figure out what your routine is. there might be flexibility in that because we need to have some flexibility in life, but the routine keeps you grounded and helps you navigate your anxiety and helps you navigate those emotional bursts you will have. be ready for that routine to be screwed up and thrown out the window and start again. we are all kind of negotiating this newness, and we're going to fail and have to learn from that and pick ourselves up again. host: jennifer hartstein is a psychologist in new york, and we're talking about the psychological issues that surround the pandemic. we would love to hear from you. if you are in the eastern and central time zones, that is (202) 748-8000. for mountain and pacific time

zones, (202) 748-8001. in medical professionals, (202) 748-8002. you can also send us a text at (202) 748-8003. lines, help lines, if you will, are apparently going through the roof in terms of calls. a report says the coronavirus pandemic takes a toll on mental health. they say in the u.s., crisis text online, nonprofit offering free support via text, has seen traffic rights over 40% in the past four weeks. in the u.s., canada, and the u.k., some 70% of conversations that mention virus are about anxiety, including getting sick, feeling lonely, or worrying about financial hardships as a consequence of the pandemic, according to the chief executive that organization. sounds like those of the top issues that you are dealing with with your clients and others.

guest: yes, 100%. this is disaster mental health at its finest. living in new york during 9/11, it was very specific to new york, and people in other parts of the country were saddened and upset but it was more specific to where i was. same with katrina or hurricanes and things like that or shootings. i feel compassion. we all feel compassion for them, but they do not necessarily affect us personally. this is a global pandemic and is impacting all of us. so the mental health needs increase immensely as a result of that, as well so we are noticing people are afraid of getting sick, afraid of what could happen, afraid of what life will look like when they return to "normal," because our old normal will not be our next normal. it will be something altogether different. all of this unknown causes us to create scenarios in our heads that make us more nervous, more

anxious, more worried, and more sad. times" says one million juniors miss out on exams, and officials scramble for solutions, just one of the effects in terms of high school kids and kids in school. what are some of the other concerns you have as a psychologist over kids missing this big chunk of schooling? guest: i think many of my clients do not have to take the be verythey might relieved. just saying. i think there is an element of sadness for so many missing big milestones, and being able to wrap their brains around the idea that although the milestone is missed, does not mean they will not have more, because many of these young people are graduating from high school and going to college, and they cannot go visit the colleges, and then they do not have high school graduation, and they miss prom. they are missing things that are kind of typical, but this is an atypical time, so we need to

validate the upset and recognize it is happening. in regards to education, one argument is that kids will be behind. the flipside is that all of the kids will be behind him so it is not like one is necessarily going to be more advanced than the other. but it also promotes an opportunity for creativity and exploration and learning in different ways, which for many kids might be very exciting and really helpful. so i think we have to find the good in it because, in many ways, it is what it is, and we have to figure out how to turn it into something positive. host: certainly, part of the process is the parents of those kids trying to come up with those activities or certainly helping them interface with their school systems if they are doing it online, the parents having to have a much more present role than ever before. ofst: and i think a lot parents are recognizing how important teachers are and how important the education system

is and how we need to do more for that system because it is a new world for parents, too. teachers are stepping up and are present, and teachers are giving really interesting opportunities to learn in different ways online. i know a friend's child has virtual field trips once a week, and many of the travel sites are coming up with virtual ways to go traveling and visit things, and parents can do those types of things. but it requires a new hat for a lot of parents who might also be working and having to take care of the home and all of these things. it is finding the balance, and that is where that routine that we talked about before is so important because you want to structure your time so everybody gets the time they need. host: let's hear from tom calling from new york. caller: hi, i just wanted to make a point for the doctor, because i understand that people have depression and stuff during the virus, but a lot of people

are missing the point. spending time with family is important, and the more you get time with her family is the better. for 11ave been a shut-in years because i do not like going up because i do not like the way people treat each other, and i have no problem staying at home by myself. guest: i think that is true. for some people, this is a very comfortable place. quarantines being in kind of easier for some. for some people who are more introverted are people who do not prefer to go out, this is a time that is really not a big deal. people who are more extroverted and need that connection more, it is a challenge. it is a continuum and will impact all of us very differently. host: next is in martinsville, virginia. caller: good morning. this downtime during the covid-19 has afforded me the

time withy to spend how differentrn, things to meet those psychological needs and not be so absorbed in my interests. have been npr, i heard me, the older people like esports, where you use videogames to get interested in attitude, itve the is negative, it is negative, before we even look into it it is a negative thing but if we take time and let maybe a younger person explain, this is why i am interested, then that is an opportunity right there.

thank you. guest: that is a great point. i think this is an interesting time where if you have the available time to learn more about the people around you or try something new, change is scary. it is the thing happening in our lives constantly, but it is scary so we often have a negative reaction to it first before we can get on the other of it and figure out what is the good and this woman brings up an excellent point of learning about the people in her life which makes connections stronger. host: what concerns are you hearing from people who are being cooped up with family? tensions are boiling, commit -- particularly domestic violence issues. guest: there is a rise in that. there is a rise in domestic violence, a rise in child abuse because there is no break for

many people. those issues that were there previously are being amplified. to provideing at how greater support and greater resources. it is hard because so many of the available resources are closed or unavailable at this time. there are hotlines that people are encouraged to call. host: one of the tragedies of this pandemic is that for families who have relatives or close friends who died, the funeral itself has very limited participation. with social distancing guidelines, what sort of recommendations do you have for people dealing with that kind of grief? guest: it is hard because there is so much isolation. people are dying without family celebrationand the of life is not being done the same way. people are getting creative and life zoom celebrations of

or whatever telecommunication device people are using. i think the guilt is compounded because there is a sense of guilt from not being able to be present and be there for the other person. finding new and creative ways, i know hospitals are using face time to have communication. really stepping in and stepping up to provide solace for the family. host: let's hear from evelyn in the nation's capital. go ahead. caller: hello. daughteron is about my andhas a six month old baby her husband has a son from a previous marriage and also his mother has a lot of exciting because he is still in contact with his son from another marriage and he visits his mom.

theis concerned about social distancing and i wonder what i can say to her to make her feel better. guest: it is important in those moments, that is a really valid and real concern. a lot of families where there are step families involved and kids going between houses. first you want to encourage her to remind her stepson to do all the things he needs to do like washing his hands and staying clean, and i think to say to her, to validate her. we want to validate the worry. it is real and we want to recognize, if you are doing all the things you need to be doing, chances are everybody is ok. if he is washing his hands and maintaining social distancing. validate that it is a fair worry and point out the facts. do the distancing, it

can help calm the excited down. down -- thed anxiety down. manyr: i am sure that people that are without a home have been military veterans and i just wonder who addresses their mental problems? they are everywhere in los angeles, at the gas stations and grocery stores. they are just looking for assistance. they haveountries, some kind of formula to wash down city streets and services and it would nice -- it would be nice to see that happen to improve -- it would reduce some fears if you have to go to the store or the gas station for essential purposes. host: two things there.

the homeless and to broaden her point, what do you think the somenment could do to ease resident concerns about the virus? guest: the homeless problem is a problem in new york he as well -- in new york as well. there are several pieces to the puzzle, more than a conversation we could have here but number one is access to care. that right now is limited because we cannot have in person sessions. having access to care for people who may not be able to get online is limited. we are going to see more problems in that area because clinics are closed or the v.a. is closed. i think we need to do a better andfor that community because of the limitations we are having, we are kind of stuck. governments do?

the hardest part is knowing we are on the same page. we are not getting consistent information. the bordering states are working together to come up with a plan to kind of work at the same time or how we are going to reopen or roll out and that sense of community which helps all of us, that helps communities statewide and a plan is coming out. whatever and in some way, the governments could alleviate so much exide id -- so much anxiety if we had a plan. because you think that the unknown of when things will get better, that just increases anxiety in folks? guest: absolutely.

not knowing makes people nervous. if i don't know where i'm going, i get nervous and i start to get panicked. we don't know where we are going with this pandemic. we don't know where this pandemic might go on a larger scale. room -- really have a have a roadmap. some people can sit in that uncertainty and be ok, and that is awesome. host: mary is calling from new york. good morning. caller: good morning. i am a retired rn. i worked all over the country. the last 10 years or so was in mental health. i am really interested in talking to miss jennifer this -- new york,

has been hit big but we at the peak yet. 113 cases today. i was just talking about the healthedical and mental through television and getting the internet throughout the -- there is so much. i just cannot get over it. i just can't get that because number one, mental health effects children earlier than medical problems oftentimes.

i worked at several psychiatric units across the country, private and public. , 13, 14.s start early predisposes children to addiction problems, behavioral problems that end up sending them into juveniles engine centers -- juvenile detention centers. residential security facility right cannot imagine they could keep kids separated from each other during this time. to see them take hold of the environmental issues that go with these viruses that are going to come out and i have personally turned around rehab

units by a team approach. i have supervised huge places and you can turn around by teamwork and that is what happened. host: thanks for sharing your experience. jennifer hartstein. guest: we have to remember that mental health affects everybody, we all have mental health. we have learned so much about our physical health, starting very young. we are coming into this awareness and this was happening before covid-19 but all of us have mental health and we all need to focus on that. point, it affects kids, adults, it affects all of us differently and access to care is a huge problem. we do not have access to the internet and don't have -- and

don't always have access to the care we need. all of us need to check in with ourselves and see how we are doing and how we are feeling and reach out for help and community support. host: an observation from will on twitter. he says what is sad are the potential negative changes in customs, traditions and lasting effects on people and culture. fear, paranoia, isolation and apprehension with human interaction. guest: i would agree with that. it is going to be very interesting when we come out of quarantine, how we interact with other people. dr. fauci said the day of the handshake is gone. what an important piece of our lives that has been, how we greet people. touch is incredibly important and powerful and we have been told not to touch people. how we -- how we negotiate that in our lives is going to be a big change. concerts, movies, all things we

are going to be thinking about differently. we are going to have to negotiate with other people. it is going to require conversation and a lot of compassion as we work through what those changes are. host: let's hear from michigan on our line for medical professionals. joseph, you are on. clint, michigan -- flint, michigan you are on. caller: i had to plug my charger back in the wall. if i go blank while i am talking, it is out of ignorance. i should have had it plugged in. host: go ahead with your comments while we have the battery life. caller: i am doing the best i can. i have to get to the living room and plug it in but if it goes blank because that is good because i am a talker. say variousors

occupations that one might attend to to get through this and one as you mentioned, ima picker. -- i am a picker. i heard the doctor mentioned a possibility -- mention a possibility of travel. how are we supposed to travel when we are stuck in our house? guest: it is virtual travel. travel sites are doing things like visit the coliseum and doing a virtual tour of the visit -- a lot of parks are doing that. national parks are giving you

virtual tours of the park. you are not traveling literally but you are traveling virtually so you can see and it is great for kids to experience different areas without actually leaving your home. caller: thank you for your answer. guest: thank you for not picking on me too badly. host: thank you joseph. we will let you charge up. we will go to melanie in california. caller: good morning. high is theis, how spike in the domestic violence department? i have noticed a lot of women and men in my area -- at no if it is because we are locked in. i am not getting much information about that.

what are some options? guest: that is a great question. there are national domestic hotline numbers you can reach out to and even local domestic hotline numbers. we do notice that the numbers have increased. the intensity of emotion, being home, no breaks from one another, all of that are risk factors. i think the national hotlines that people can reach out to can very often direct you to local support. those are great places to start. jen: our guest is dr. online. a text from sean in virginia. blacks, what can you tell and brown people, especially men around the executive wearing a

mask in public and being targeted versus not running the mask and obtaining the virus? -- wearing the mask and obtaining the virus? guest: this is a question we here in new york city all the time. we are being told to wearing the mask -- we are being told to wear the mask but there is a risk for many people. the research is interesting in that a lot of places say where a mask when you are in a public place like a market or a grocery store or when you are walking you don't have to wear the mask. there are ways to present yourself that we can't see your face so we can't see a smile, so can you kind of look smiley in and how do you make your eyes look happy? how do you walk with an open stance? it is a challenging time for people of color because of this and people of color are targeted already and so a mask might

increase risk. i think body posture, openness, some sort of connection, those things can be helpful and hopefully we as a country can recognize that if we are all behind a mask, we have to be respectful of each other. not everyone is a bad person. us from los calling angeles. caller: good morning. thanks for being on. i have two questions. , i am a very quickly c-span guy, c-span people talk in and say c-span is bad but the funny thing is i watch the network news from time to time and more than usual it is bringing anxiety if for nothing with those rolling death counts. that peoplest

switch away from network news took as a way -- network news as a way to quell their anxiety? guest: i encourage my clients to shut the news off entirely all the time. they should pick a very specific times during the day to watch so they can get something in the morning in the evening, maybe a half hour, no more because it does feed anxiety. any kind of news talking about all the negatives is going to make you more anxious and concern. i constantly recommend to shut it down. caller: have you suggested anyone change over to c-span? i know i am preaching to the choir on c-span. guarantee an anxiety-free experience. we show the briefings as they are. guest: i was going to say. i think news is news and it

creates anxiety all around. find thege people, news source you feel works for you and go to that but shut it off otherwise is my advice. mine't want to recommend to anybody. everybody has freedom of choice. and to your point, bill, you are presenting the news so we cannot prevent that entirely but we can encourage distance from it. host: sam did you have another question? caller: yes and thank you very much. is exemplified in the difference between a couple of callers. one of your new york callers said i have no problem isolating because i don't like people and i am using lady said this as a way to get more connected with my community. i wondered if that points to a

greater difference between the way we live in urban and suburban or rural places. i don't know if your practice is in new york city or greater new york but i have family across the river in montclair. i am from rural south georgia. andidea that anxiety financial insecurity for people in new york is nothing new in the same for the caller who called from l.a. talking about what a crazy place that is. know, a that people i i have ae study, friend who lives on a working farm and she is doing pretty well. another friend in brooklyn is a total mess, living in her apartment.

is one of the things we may look bein the years to come may an encouragement for people to stop thinking that living in the city is the way to be? shout -- should we encourage people to try and move back to being closer to family? host: thanks for your comments. jennifer hartstein. guest: it is a great question. i think community is where you find it. some people find it in friends, can -- in friends, neighborhoods, family. it depends on your personality. someone who is an introvert is going to be happier being home and being isolated. extroverts thrive or -- thrive young around people. -- thrive being around people. this is a great opportunity to look at that. there are going to be some people who say i need to be closer to family, the grind in the city is not working for me, let's get back to basics and

kind of create that neighborhood in my family space and other people are going to be like i love this, i still have access to a lot of things. it is a very personal choice and very personal kind of need for all of us and we have to tap into that while we have the opportunity. host: a question for you on twitter asking what are the mental health implications for people who are working in businesses that have remained open to the public during this crisis and not receiving the proper safety equipment, hazard youor testing and are hearing any of this from your clients? clients but im my certainly see it in the community. we focus a lot on the first responders, the doctors and nurses, people in the hospitals which are doing amazing work. they will have their own degrees of trauma when this is over. as are the grocery clerks, delivery people, amazon workers.

all of those people are going to have a secondary wave of anxiety because they are on the front lines differently and we as a country need to think about how we are supporting them because they are putting themselves at risk and there is going to be an increase in anxiety and worry and at the end of the day, we will notice an incredible amount of resilience. they get up and show up with a smile on their face and that is really impressive across the board. host: johnson up next in louisiana. caller: good morning. pitch for c-span, i went to purdue with brian lamb. i am a long time c-span listener. i got a degree about 40 years ago in counseling and human development and i became a fan of albert ellis. he had a thing called rational emotive thought.

foridea is -- my summers the last 20 years were traveling to motor races in a big motorhome and i can't do that but i don't worry or let anxiety come over me because that does nothing to change the fact. i find something else to do. i have been doing all kinds of projects. i changed all my bulbs in my big garage. i worked on the motorhome. i do things to keep busy to keep my mind occupied and there is plenty of stuff to do. thing is you cannot worry about it or you will drive yourself crazy. worrying does nothing. find something else and get on with your life. i will and with any luck be as old as my dad. i have a few years left but you have to get your mind going in a direction that you can go and stop worrying about the places you can't go.

host: thanks for your call. we will pass along your greetings to brian lamb. jennifer hartstein. guest: that is a really important point and something that i talk about with my clients and my friends. that idea of radical acceptance. it is what it is in its most purest form and there may be nothing i can do to change it so i have to change how i am thinking and feeling about it. getting engaged in other projects is a great way to channel that. it doesn't diminish that i am sad or anxious, i have those feelings but those feelings come down when i say to myself it is what it is, now what do i do, and allowing ourselves that moment to be frustrated or angry is important, we want to validate that and then we went to figure out where we can connect to make it manageable. host: a quick observation, we

talked about kids and child of element. one twitter user says my grandson is eight and is doing online classes and in some ways it allows him to go beyond the daily sessions. let's hear from judy in vermont. lady.: i am an elderly my husband just passed away and i lost my son a few years ago but i live on what used to be a really beautiful street but this town is very rural and we are a border state and i was sitting on my porch and the lady next was dumping garbage in the brook. now we have all kinds of animals around here and everybody is kind of nervous because they are

saying how do we know we are not going to get another virus? what is going on? person and ius have been through a lot medically. i find it in my faith. i have to believe in my faith, that god is still in charge. some people say how can you do that, don't you think he should change this? he didn't create this. he did not create this to hurt anybody. if you can do -- if he can do anything to help somebody, he will do it. he has done it for me. guest: we call that doing what works. whatever works to get you through. for some people it will be a real connection to their faith and looking at the higher power. for others it will be connection to family and friends. doing work to get you through

this, it is wonderful that that is what it -- that is what works for her. host: one more from pennsylvania. bob, go ahead. caller: i am a retired math teacher and i look for positive spinoffs of this event. one would be possibly world peace because we have a common enemy now. another one would be, we just attended a celebration online that was so much better done than the archaic funerals in the past, so it was so much more pleasant, so i have a whole list of positive spinoffs of this situation and it is going to teach us -- i can see the future being, more people going online for their education and could produce a better result. mathn take the best

teacher teaching algebra one online and then have the other teachers being consultants. does allowink it more growth in many ways for us. one of the things we don't want to diminish how we are feeling in a negative way and we have to look for the positive. there are going to be some interesting changes and some really wonderful positives that could come out of this. we have to look for them because we are feeling heavy and anxious and it is hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but there will be one and we have to figure out what that will look like for all of us. host: jennifer hartstein, we take -- we appreciate you taking the time for washington journal and our viewers. guest: thanks for having me. host: we will open up our phone lines again. we started by asking who should best leave the opening of the u.s., the states, the federal government -- the states or the federal government? the lines are up. (202)-748-8000 for folks in the

eastern end central time zones. (202)-748-8001, mountain and pacific. monday, brian kemp the governor of georgia talked about his state's efforts to boost coronavirus testing, expand hospital bed capacity ahead of the projected peak. [video clip] >> the state lab has processed 750 tests. commercial vendors have processed 53,271 tests. despite our partnerships and undeniable progress, our testing numbers in georgia continue to lag. as i have said before, the status quo is unacceptable and dr. toomey is pushing public health officials across our state to collect more specimens and process more tests. this morning, dr. toomey held a conference call with public health directors in every region, directing them to expand

test sites and revise current testing criteria. we need to be firing on all cylinders to prepare for the days and weeks ahead. at dr. toomey's direction, we are expanding testing criteria to include symptomatic critical infrastructure workers and a some demented individuals who have -- and a symptom attic -- mptomatic individuals. we have continued to process testing for symptom attic individuals along with first responders, health-care workers -- symptomatic individuals along with first responders, health-care workers and staff regardless of symptoms. although physicians can continue to refer patients to us for testing at public health sites, state officials can directly schedule people who require

testing through local districts. i want to be crystal clear. we do not want people showing up unannounced to a hospital, emergency room or health care facility for a test. you need to contact your local health department beforehand to arrange for a test. while testing numbers continue to frustrate georgians and state leaders, i am proud to talk about the progress that we have made to expand search capacity. over the -- surge capacity. over the weekend we built an alternative care facility at the georgia world congress center. yesterday the georgia national the department of community health, the department of public begin preparing the site for potential coronavirus patient surge.

pods the 209 icu medical similar to large cubicles with patient rooms, we will be able to house georgians with mild to moderate illness. if needed, we can quickly expand capacity to 409 icu beds. our teams will utilize contract medical staffing for the state's projected peak date currently set for april 26 according to the ihme model. >> "washington journal" continues. host: [video clip] -- host: "washington journal" up until 10:00 this morning eastern. briefuse will meet for a pro forma session. no votes will take place. in person submission of bills are being limited. most are being sent electronically. the house is not expected to

return for votes until may 4. we will go back to our opening conversation with you on who should take the lead in reopening the u.s., the federal government on the state -- or the states. the lines are open. (202)-748-8000 for the eastern and central time zones. (202)-748-8001, mountain and pacific. this is the new york post this morning, reporting on a television appearance by state governor andrew cuomo. problems he would have enforcing total authority overstates. he warned president trump he would have a problem if he tried to force new york to end its coronavirus lockdown without albany approval. quote, i don't know what the president is talking about. quote, if he pushed it to that absurd point, we would have a problem.

he insisted that potential attempts to enforce presidential powers. to your calls. let's hear first from brad in minnesota. welcome. caller: good morning. i am really perplexed on this questioning, this line of questioning you put out there today. you shouldn't even be asking this question. you shouldn't be leading by the media. you are pushing the narrative for division. this has to stop. you are part of the problem now. do you think they should continue so you can have these people saying trump this or trump that? you are doing no good service to the country right now at all. you should be -- i don't know, you don't care. all that matters to you people is that trump loses, trump fails. that is the problem with america today. you keep doing this.

with the media has helped to manipulate the weak minds. what you don't understand is that the democratic party is losing people by the droves because of you people. that is all i've got to say. host: to barbara in california. good morning. caller: good morning. your callers are a trip. these people on the trump train need to get off. the states should take care of this. he is trying to be a dictator and it is what it is. i don't know what to tell you people but trump is no good and it is time to wake up. it is trump virus, not china virus. get it together america. host: kelly is in florida. good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. it is very strongly that really a state to state decision because we can't travel so it is best to keep it within the state because you have to stay within the state.

that is more logical. i am a mental health counselor and i worked in the psychiatric field for years. ofeel that there was a lot news, too much news is not good. i agree with the psychologist. you really have to turn it off. there is a lot of stress. haveu can cope, then you good mental health. they should have more exercises on coping, like how to cope and --o, for the people that , have more help them health programs instead of fear

fear fear. make them have more hope that if they take good care of themselves, try to control their diabetes, that would be good. able to doe to be counseling over the phone but i -- i have copd so i cannot go out. i have called many places in my community, but i am legally blind so i cannot travel. host: we are glad you got through. thanks for that. looking at one of the key parts of the u.s. supply chain during this pandemic, we are joined by the president and ceo of the association of american railroads. thanks for being with us. guest: good morning. thank you for having me on. host: give us an idea in normal times what the role of the freight network is in the u.s.

and how it has been changed by the demands of the pandemic. guest: that is a great question. sayng normal times, we freight railroads are the backbone of the economy, whether into consumerving stores and shelves, railroads types of products across the country whether it is ismicals, lumber, whether it consumer goods that end up at target, those are moving by rail at some point. covid-19 and the very challenging times we find ourselves in have had an impact on rail traffic as it has on a larger part of the economy. i can tell you that the freight railroads continue to serve the customers, we continue to get goods to market and the freight

railroads are running early well right now serve communities across the country. our mission does not change, it is just challenging. host: your comments reflected in a similar piece at fox news. coronavirus, our freight rail network also delivering for america. how are you ensuring your members -- how are you ensuring that your members are ensuring that the workers on the rail lines are staying safe? guest: employee safety is priority number one. freight railroaders are out working 24/7 throughout the country. it is imperative that we work to keep our -- to work to keep our employees essay for we possibly can. that is anchored around the cdc guidance for critical -- for critical infrastructure employees, including social distancing in the workplace, increase cleaning and sanitation and ensuring that those who are

exposed or may have been exposed are quarantined and kept home for the appropriate amount of time because our folks are out there every day as are any number of workers across the country, getting the job done and delivering things for america and we need to be able to keep them safe. host: you talked about some of the typical things that are hauled by freight across the country. how have some of those demands changed? what do the loads increasingly contain these days? guest: we continue to move all of the commodities we typically move. of automotive sector, 75% finished autos traditionally moved by rail at some point. that traffic is down. what we do continue to move, consumer goods. we take those goods to distribution centers that are friends in the trucking industry take to the storefront -- that

our friends in the trucking industry take to the storefront. ,ackaging and materials drinking water purification, we are moving paper pulp to make toilet paper. everything across-the-board continues to move host: on the other side -- continues to move. host: on the other side, amtrak is basically shut down because of the restrictions in travel and social distancing. a headline in mass transit magazine says the federal rail administration is making $1 billion available to amtrak in response to covid-19. coming out of this, how does amtrak look? in the lastess stimulus bill appropriated $1 billion to support amtrak operations during this time. hitak has taken a dramatic in ridership, as have other passenger oriented transit industries.

we are pleased to see congress step up on that front to maintain operations during this time. looking forward, should congress look toward an infrastructure bill, we think it is appropriate that congress look at funding amtrak to replace critical infrastructure whether it is on the northeast core door. there is quite a bit of needed largely between washington and new york. those are needed investments for the country. those are investments that incorporate really well-paying jobs and will truly be a benefit to the country. host: you mentioned funding in that bill for amtrak. what about the freight railroads inc. -- the freight railroads given the increased demand on your operations? will there be money in those spending measures for them? guest: in the last stimulus bill we were not seeking direct

funding for the freight rail industry. we are a privately owned industry and did not file need to seek that out -- file need to seek that out -- feel a need to seek that out. people to make sure receive appropriate unemployment and sickness benefits. if congress chooses to pursue and if a structure agenda, we think first and foremost, programs should be funded and we should focus on the funding side and not try to do major policy rewrites that could bog things down. i mentioned amtrak getting funding for infrastructure replacement. for railways we think there are opportunities for public-private partnerships, rail grade crossing projects out there. we are certainly interested and we will be engaged in the process. host: good luck to you and your members. ceo of thent and american association of

railroads. back to your calls and comments. first a headline. nytimes.com, predicting the book -- pricking the worst economic downturn since the great depression. a stark warning about economic damage from the coronavirus, saying today the global economy faces the worst downturn since the depression. shuttered factories and lockdowns causing the economy around the world to collapse. we go to john in wisconsin. the question this morning about the responsibility for leading the reopening of the u.s.. go ahead. caller: i guess i have had a lot of time to write so i will just read my comments and then shut up. i am hoping that the socialist democrats love the recession and that they are very close to martial law. this is unbelievable. i don't know where people are going to get money from?

you have no income and nobody working. with all the layoffs, these people, all of the states and the federal government, nobody is working so it is something to think about and i don't know what everyone is going to do when the money runs out. i am for trump over the states. the states all know what they are doing supposedly, yet they are going to be getting federal money. that is my only comment. thank you for your time. we go to minnesota, joan. caller: i think the states should be in charge. when they gave corporations the right to support members of congress and put money towards it is when the problem began. all of the candidates have to

spend their time convincing these corporations to support them. their minds were taken away from the issues in their state in order to please the corporations. the people that were trying to get into office, if they didn't have the money, like kamala years, they spent three corporations spent three years choosing our representatives. if the states do what they did before and look at the people and see what they need instead of having to go to the altar of corporations, we would be in the best shape we should be in. we don't need the federal government telling the states what to do because they don't know what is going on in each of the states and the corporations are not people even though that is what they profess to be. they don't follow laws.

they don't do anything but try to many delete our government. states arein those the ones who hired trump. he is our employee. he was hired to help the government for four years, to do the people's bidding. he has done none of those things. we need to go back to before corporations came into business and let the states do their business and take care of the people which i would appreciate very much. maybe i would have some say so in what happens in our state. host: thank you. statesdline at npr.org science, not politics will guide decisions. in ohio, this is alan. sorry about that. let's try that. you are on the air. caller: how are you doing today?

host: doing great, thank you. caller: this is one of the craziest situations we have ever had in our country. just to start out with everybody is kind of panicking. nice ifit would be somebody would read -- on the air so people understand what they are going through. when it comes to who should have the ultimate authority between the president or the states, if it was only estate problem, i would say the states but this is not just a state problem, this is global. all the leaders of the world have to be involved in working with one another to be able to transport goods and services that can help each person on this planet with what they make in their countries. let's let the leaders do their job. we don't need 50 other leaders from every state plus the president trying to talk to the global world and decide what is best for this country.

let the people do their job. host: to missouri, this is myrtle on the line. calling in i was regard to opening up the states. in order to open up the states, we should have testing before they do that. until they find a way to be able to cure this, because there is always a way. america has proven that day in and day out throughout the centuries. need tohink that we listen to trump, listen to the states, but trump has to listen to the state governors to be able to protect their people. god bless all of us, god bless america. host: our line for those of you who want to send a text is (202)-748-8003. tell us your name and where you

are texting from. wiley in virginia says, this should be and advise and consent situation. the governors are the regional management teams and should advise trump and he should provide assistance and support prior to and after reopening. teamwork makes the dream work. in the washington times this morning, high court to hear arguments by teleconferencing. the supreme court will break from tradition by hearing nearly a dozen cases by telecom conference. that finally opens proceedings to 21st century technology. livestream's will be made available to the media and the public. the press will be able to distribute the audio to the public in real-time. listen up for c-span network coverage plans in the coming weeks on the supreme court cases. richard in california.

go ahead. caller: hello, good morning. how are you doing? host: i am doing fine, thank you. believe the governor of california is doing a great job, so is the president. i have no problem with staying at home and doing what is told. i am a vietnam vet. i pretty much take care of myself. host: are you by yourself? caller: i live with my wife. married for almost 40 years. my wife has an illness and i do too and we just hunker down and go with the program. host: stay safe. we go to minnesota, linda is next. caller: good morning. i think people are forgetting that a lot of us have known

about this pandemic or the problem for a couple months now, long before trump has jumped on board. i think cuomo and these governors are doing a stupendous job and in my opinion, president donald trump should be arrested for war crimes for intentionally killing civilians in this country. thank you. host: this should cut -- this should not come as a surprise to anybody, the front of the business section of the new york times, their headline, how the virus transformed the way americans spend their money. the coronavirus pandemic forced radical changes in how americans lived and shut down pillars of industry in a matter of weeks. , number of lines on this graph the teal one, the greenish one, groceries and the other ones in red, health and beauty, entertainment and restaurants, transportation and travel. you can see the huge jump in

groceries up through march 19 in the big drop in all of these other areas. i am not sure if our camera can show it. more spending, not surprising, general merchandise, e-commerce, supermarkets, home-improvement. many home-improvement stores are allowed to be open. warehouse clubs. this is the area of more spending, in the area of less spending in mobile, charitable giving, even fast food with fast food restaurants open, not as many people eating fast food. that is at nytimes.com. we will go to robert next in illinois. caller: good morning. host: you are on the air. caller: yes. according to the constitution, it should be up to the states and it seems to me like president trump's holding the states blackmail to the federal

government and the guy that was on earlier talking about the news media, there is a thing in the constitution that says we have a right to free speech. , thingss doing his job with reveille be a lot better but i feel it is the states' choice. they know what is going on better than president trump does. host: massachusetts, we will hear from peter next. caller: i want to thank you very much for the work you are doing and the people in the media, on the front line, all the people who are still working, give them my thanks. pbsks for c-span and for for providing some good media. . clearly it is the states that should be able to control this kind of thing in keeping with our constitution. i think the gentleman who spoke just before me had a couple of

my points but it is remarkable how the republicans will use states rights when it suits them and then flip around when it doesn't support their controlling power. isn't that disgusting? we have to be nonpartisan. we have to come together as a country. it shows what the gop is all about and it is not about our country. they don't care about us as people. they only care about their control and power and they are willing to support a traitor of a president to do it. ,ost: the wall street journal in the capital journal piece this morning, writing about the debates on capitol hill and the spending measures passed by congress so far during the pandemic. the headline, gop embraces government fixes. the last time washington moved down this path, the reaction was a grassroots rebellion that stirred anger at a taxpayer rescue of big banks and the people who took their loans. soon that anger took the form of

the tea party movement. since then, that movement has largely fallen behind mr. trump and looked the other way as his administration has seen a rise in the federal budget deficit to $1 trillion and that was before the new surge of coronavirus spending. now some of that tea party resistance may be reemerging. the cofounder of the tea party patriots organization says 96% of the group's supporters quote, don't want any more spending. they think two point $2 trillion in spending should be enough and if there is more -- if there is to be more rescue legislation, she adds 95% of her supporters think quote, we need fewer regulations so the free markets , adding overall, the republican party is moving in a different direction this time. a variety of forces are behind that shift. let's see if we can get a call or two before the house comes in at 10:00. florence in tennessee.

you are on the air. elizabeth, tennessee. florence you are on the air. caller: yes. i would like to call in and just praise the president for what he if done because i feel like he had not locked it down, they would be more debts than what there are. i praise what he has done because i used to work for his and if he hadn't of locked it down, we would be a lot worser often what we are now. host: glad to have you with us. that will do it for the program. the house coming in next. a reminder, c-span's "washington journal" prime time at 8:00 and we will see you tomorrow morning at 7:00.