response to deal with the pandemic. later, a look at how the department of veterans affairs is handling the pandemic with contributor leo shane. ♪ good morning, everyone, this tuesday, a 19. we begin this morning with your confidence in the trump administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic. -- -- dial ining -- us.can also text c-spanwj andtter @ facebook.com/c-span. here are the latest numbers --

4.8 million numbers worldwide confirmed. 1.5 million of those cases in the united states. 318,000 deaths and over 90,000 deaths in the united states. 28,000 -- people have recovered. look at the right-hand side of your screen. you can find this on the johns hopkins website. before we get to your thoughts on the confidence level in the trump administration's response to the pandemic we want to begin with the president's comments yesterday that are making -- making news, what he had to say .bout taking hydroxychloroquine president trump: -- [video clip] president trump: a lot of good things are coming out. many oftline workers, them happen to be taking it.

i happen to be taking it. >> hydroxychloroquine, you are taking it? pres. trump: hydroxychloroquine, right now. i've heard it's good. i've heard a lot of good stories. if it's not good, i'll tell you right. i'm not going to get hurt by. it's been around for 40 years for malaria, lupus. front-line workers take it, a lot of doctors take it. i think people should be allowed to. i think people should be allowed to take it. come lesse comments than a month after the fda came out with a warning saying it could cause abnormalities in heart rhythms and should not used outside of clinical trials or where patients are monitored for heart problems. by that time, hydroxychloroquine

a controversial issue within theve issue trump administration. speaker pelosi had this to say about the president taking this drug. [video clip] speaker pelosi: as far as the president is concerned -- our president, i would rather he not be taking something not approved -- especially in his age group and his weight group, morbidly obese, they say. host: the more -- the president's position put out this statement.

after remembere of you may the new york times reported in april of this year -- this is the headline they had. ofump's aggressive advocacy malaria drug to treat coronavirus divides medical community." in the report they noted that if hydroxychloroquine becomes accepted treatment, several companies stand to profit including shareholders with connections to the president. himself as a small, personal financial interest in a french drum -- and drugmaker that makes the brand name version of hydroxychloroquine. headlines.pril 6 you also have this reaction in the headlines this morning. "politico" -- crazy thing to do. you have the minority leader in

the senate, chuck schumer saying his statements are reckless, reckless, reckless, and "huffington post" notes no collusion warns that the drug will kill you. this caused the president to uto and fox mr. cav news, saying he is looking for a new news outlet to watch. we go to linda in geneva, new york, a republican. go ahead. what is your confidence level? caller: good morning. i am pretty confident. i was on -- which is the same thing, for four years, it did not kill me. i do not know what the fuss is about. let's talk about cuomo saying these old people in nursing

homes would have died anyway. i just cannot believe the crap that you guys are going after the president for. it is totally ridiculous, and i guess that is about all i have got to say this morning. host: all right, linda. thanks for calling in. your confidence level in the trump administration's response to the pandemic. cat in gainesville, florida. what do you think? caller: i think this is a once-in-a-lifetime, unprecedented thing that we are going to. i am a small business owner and my problem is ideal with small business owners and the money is not trickling down. the reason why we are opening is the beach.have if the money trickle down faster, we could get somewhere. the big banks are only giving us 10% of what we are asking for so

we can get loans through them so they can get paid back the money so they are forgiven. i went through paypal to get mine just because they haven't and you can get it -- have it and you can get it. i am letting the small business owners now the money is there. we have to have a leader that gets on a microphone and talks to small business owners so that we are not scared that we are going to lose everything that we build. .o -- built so, i am just saying -- i don't want to disrespect anybody. he is our leader. i did not vote for him. peoplewant to make sure are aware, small business is the root of the american bloodline, and if we don't take care of them, they will have to open up and they're going to implode because they have half capacity. the president needs to listen to small business owners and when i say small, mike's beauty shop to david's syria.

host: -- pizzeria. t, do you know the senate banking committee is coming together to hear second -- testimony from treasury secretary steven mnuchin and federal reserve chair jerome powell, likely a discussion this morning about small businesses and what the treasury department or federal reserve can do to help out small businesses. i want to let you know about that -- 10:00 a.m. eastern time on capitol hill. you can watch that on c-span, c-span.org, or you can listen if you download the free c-span radio app. they are likely to be asked about this headline in "the washington post as well -- "washington post" as well.

a chair has not been appointed, but there are four members and they put out a 17-page report finding that the money from the $500 billion fund created by the first cares act to help businesses and local government, very little of it has been spent. so those two will be asked about that this morning. again, 10:00 a.m. on c-span, or watch on our website, c-span.org ap.ownload the c-span radio the federal reserve chair is likely to be asked about a "60 minutes" interview where he set the fed has not used all of its tools and will use more if it needs to. that is in "the wall street journal" this morning. there is also a related headline in the "wall street journal" "powell -- -

although that conversation happening this morning at 10:00 a.m. ingrid in pensacola, florida. democratic caller. -- hi, ingrid. caller: thank you for c-span. we just had on our local news, a year ago you must recall a saudi arabian had killed eight people, and it has been proven now, a year later, that he had had for years, contact with al qaeda. i hope you have that article there, darling, and the second thing i wanted to say -- host: we're talking about your confidence level in the trump administration's response to the pandemic. what is that? suckingwell, he keeps

up to these leaders that scare me, darling. it is about the conference in the president. -- confidence in the president. are you there? yes, i am listening. and that gives you little conference, is that what you are saying? caller: yes, and also about that hydroxychloroquine, i was given that medicine, and if anyone would take the time to look it all aboutes -- talks how it could lead to lasting i said problems, heart problems, -- eyesight problems, heart problems, heart failure. people need to look this up. i do not have confidence in the president. i wish he would believe in the science, darlings the -- darling, the doctors and the scientist. out drug tweeting

thetages have been caused impact of covid-19 on foreign and domestic manufacturing, and the use of approved drugs used off label for covid-19. levels wesupport issued project -- product-issued guidances. she goes on to say we are prioritizing the review of new a and for drug shortages foroved hydroxychloroquine those who depend on the drug, including those with lupus. denise in oakdale, california. a republican. hi, denise. caller: how are you? what is your confidence level. caller: i would like to know if you would let me finish my comment. host: go ahead.

caller: i think president trump is doing a great job. he is going to weed out the demon rats in the adventurous. i wanted to know why you started off the show with clips to degrade the president. it is obvious what your game plan is. you say you are bipartisan but you are not. this came down as a -- at a great time because of the presidency, he was up for reelection, the economy was doing great. perfect time for the pandemic. censoring theia plandemic interview and all the other doctors against what you guys are saying about this agenda for this pandemic? dr. fauci and all of them -- they want to poisonous with their vaccines.

chip us.s wants to you want to track and trace everybody. you want an end amount she badge so that we are immune to it. you guys are planning. how much do you get paid, and how do you sleep at night? orville in indiana. an independent. good morning to you. caller: how are you doing? host: good morning. caller: i have a true story about this hydroxychloroquine. it is not good. host: let me ask about your confidence in the president. caller: i am trying to. i don't have much confidence. let therather he

scientist speak. my experience with hydroxychloroquine -- about a year ago i was prescribed it for inflammation in my hand, and three days later -- i felt of the prescription may 28, may 31, eyedrops, went unconscious, -- i dropped, went unconscious. i woke up in the hospital. apparently i had heart arrhythmia. the doctor said you should have never been prescribed this because you had heart issues and this stuff about killed me. i was dizzy for a while, for and it didtaking it, not help inflammation. i had carpal tunnel surgery which solved the problem. mickey, charleston, west virginia. nikki. caller: my confidence in

president trump -- i think he has done a fantastic job. i think he is then everything that could be done during this pandemic. not only that, before it. if he is taking hydroxychloroquine, bless his heart. for fourhas taken it -lupusor longer for pre and arthritis and she has not had a sign, not even one little sneeze during this pandemic. if he wants to take it and his doctor says he can, take it. they are going to watch them. if there are any side effects, they will jerk him off of it. posted yesterday also thinking out the u.s. response to the world health organization's assembly and the leadership of the world health organization, saying he sent this multipage letter to the

leader of the world health organization, and he says it is self-explanatory. in this letter he lays out where he sees the world health organization showing bias towards china and he concludes in the letter writing this -- "myra -- administration has started his cushions on reform and the organization, but action is needed quickly. we do not have time to waste. that is why it is my duty host: now, the hhs secretary, alex azar, attended yesterday's testimony and

here's what he had to say. [video clip] >> we must be frank about why this bread out of control. the notice states welcomes the assistance provided by our friends during the crisis and we have been proud to allocate over $9 billion that will benefit the covid 19 response, including half $1 billion in planned investment to support over 40 of the most at risk countries. the united states launched the first human vaccine trial and reported the first positive results from a therapeutic clinical trial. the successes and the transparent way in which we share the moment the world. who's operations must be transparent, too, and support independent review of every aspect of who's response to the pandemic. we all must come together to make sure to view a joke fulfills its key mandate and

member states comply with international health regulations. in a apparent attempt to conceal this outbreak, one state made a mockery with tremendous costs for the entire world. we saw who failed at its core mission of information sharing and transparency went ever states do not act in good faith -- when member states do not act in good faith. this cannot happen again. azar.health sec. alex at the same event, the president promises to billion dollars in coronavirus eight in africa and backing the u.s. -- the u.n.e you agency in the united states. also, the front page of london's "financial times," highlighting germany and france united at the world health assembly and calling for a 500 billion

recovery fund. the two countries getting together and announcing that at the world health organization. the chinese president also yesterday defended his actions in the pandemic. here is what he had to say. xi: in china after making painstaking efforts and enormous sacrifice, we have turned the tide on the virus, and protective the life and health of our people that protected the life and health of our -- and protected the life and health of our people. all along we have acted with transparency. inhave provided information a timely fashion. released the genome sequence at the earliest possible time and shared control and treatment experience with the world without reservation. we have been everything in our power to support and assist cut

-- countries in need. host:'s china's president -- china's president yesterday at the world health assembly. your confidence in the trump administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic. do you like what he is doing with the world health organization with his calls for investigations into china? we go to him, flat rock, michigan. democratic caller. tim about what do you think? caller: i don't have any confidence in him at all. atdon't listen to science all. he don't follow the leaders. i wanted to mention that article you brought up about hydroxychloroquine -- how he has a financial stake in it but it goes far beyond that because santa fe's largest air holders include a mutual fund run by major republican donor ken f isher. each of the trump's family trust

holdings in a mutual fund. when you brought that "new york times" article up it rang a bell. by the president saying i take drug, itng -- this goes all the way down even to secretary wilbur ross. not a surprise anymore. host: ok, tim. frank in portland, oregon. independent. caller: i took vietnam 43roquine in years ago but i was 43 years younger, and like the president, i am old and fat. i never should be taking something like that. he is likely to drop dead and we will get depends if that happens. --pence -- pence if

that happens. he was saying people should look at dr. rick bright's contributions. he has never given a dime to anybody, either federal, state, or legislative. it is simple to look this up. that,frank, given all of your confidence level in the administration. caller: after he chewed out generals, tillerson called him a more on. parses his words carefully, and he called him a more on. host: joe and brandon 10, florida. democratic caller. morning.ood in the have confidence trump administration. doctor and he said

hydroxychloroquine is a dangerous medication that could cause heart attacks, heart disease. cronies invested in that medicine. trump suggested in fact -- injecting disinfectants in your body. he is not a medical expert. i am not sure what degree he has besides trump university. this person is insane. who is going to believe him? he lied 80,000 times or more. it is ridiculous. i agree with obama -- what he said. late, and he too dismissed the doctors, the science, like it is going to go away. it is only a fluke. he is still saying it is going to go away like a miracle.

remove him in november because look at what is happening right now. it is worse than the spanish flu. -- this is like a second depression. saidhis own administration on "60 minutes" that we need a second stimulus. a lot of are not paying their rent. they have to go to churches to get food. texasok at the lines in and florida. if he does not listen to his own advisors, he is going to lose. he did not listen to his own advisors and that was his downfall. host: all right, joe. peter in wheeling, west virginia. peter, your thoughts? yes, good morning.

i am in favor of the administration. it is a tough situation they have. i think they are doing the best they can. i like trump for several reasons. i am an older fella and i have been through many presidents. the guy has three things that he is not -- he is not a politician. he would not run for anything else in the world. , and not an alcoholic quite frankly, he is not a lawyer. lawyer politicians are the worst things in the world -- both sides of the aisle. and he is not getting a lot of support from the house. that is just obvious. host: from the republicans in the house? caller: the republicans are out-voted. even when they are in charge, they don't seem to have the

will, the tenacity, or the power to push things through. they are just politicians. host: what about in the senate? caller: the only thing the house is extremely good at is building new post offices. the senate is a little bit different, but, again, the same situation applies. they are politicians. they way the money, they way the votes -- they weigh everything. it is tough and these situations to get your way. you have got to be an independent president, a little bit from your party. you need your party, but you are going to set your mind and go your way. he is not going to be ever a popular president. my goodness. he has been impeached. going. this pandemic it looks like we are to have 100,000 deaths. what a thing he has had to handle with his hands literally

tied behind him with the media. you know, one of the papers that you people drag in every day is that "washington post." oh, my god, the only thing they seem to ever get thet other than opinions is weather and the lottery numbers. it is a terrible wreck. host: peter in west virginia. ray says i have total confidence administration. he was criticized for the travel ban and he saved many lives. ray texting us and you can do the same with your city and state. david in mexican. -- in connecticut. high, david -- hi high, david. ofler: with the majority

your callers and the majority of people in 10 states, i do not have confidence in president trump -- and the united states, i do not have confidence in president trump's handling, but my opinion could change if he would say -- sign a do not resuscitate order in the event he comes down with coronavirus. host: beverly. your turn. caller: good morning. how are you? confidence in this president -- zero. he lies. when somebody lies, you cannot believe him. it is just very simple. even the night that he spoke on tv, the state of the union he had, he actually said the highest economy in history. it was only 3% that very night. -- 2.3% that very night.

that was a lie. then he actually said they are going to see that the existing problems -- see that the pre-existing problems are going to be reinstated. they were in court that very day and night to get rid of it. lying since heen has gotten into the presidency. those who believed him, i don't know what to say about. i can't believe a liar. why he is saying now that he is medication, why? he doesn't have the virus, so what does he think this thing will do, keep him from having get? no. it is alive. there is a reason why he says things. i can't figure this one out. looking at your program, you told us that he is -- that's

newspaper told us he has a friend who is involved in the making of this. that is trump. he does it all the time. it is all about him and his rich friends. have a good day. host: beverly there. david in tyler, texas. welcome to the conversation. i have the utmost confidence in trump considering the most corrupt administration that was ever in the house, --sident obama, i have the confidence in him. he has done a wonderful job considering what he took over from the corrupt obama administration which is well known. [indiscernible] outstanding job. host: ok. aboutco has this headline

that fired watchdog from the state department, "according to the foreign affairs chair eliot was investigating an arms sale to saudi arabia. the president was asked yesterday why he decided to fire the watchdog." pres. trump: i have never even heard of him. i was asked to by the state department. i offered most of my people, i said these are obama appointees. if you would like to let them go, you should, but that is up to you. i understand he had a lot of problems with the dod. there was an investigation on him. i don't know anything about it. i don't know him. they asked me to terminate him. i have the right to terminate. appointed him?

they said obama. i said i will terminate him. you would have to ask mike pompeo. terminate right to the inspector general's. i would have suggested, and did suggest you get rid of the attorney general's because it happens to be political, whether you like it or not. many were obama appointments. i got rid of them. president -- the speaker of the house responded saying, "this removal is part of a pattern of undermining the integrity of the inspectors general. this may have been -- of an investigation into arms sales to saudi arabia. i am asking you provide details and substantial -- and for the removal of inspector general before the end of the 30 day period.

newspaper -- the hill newspaper has a story that republicans are asking for more information -- answers on the firing. this from the hill article, the quote from chuck grassley saying "removal of high gees could create a chilling effect in the oversight community and risks the quantity, quality and for a city of their reports." let's go to arthur in memphis, tennessee. good morning to you. caller: hello. i do not have no confidence in trump. he needs to resign. if he resigns, we will go back to normal. has a way out, nothing will be normal. massachusetts, independent. caller: i did not vote for the president. i did not even vote in the election.

i have confidence now that i have seen him in office. before that, i didn't think he had the ability but i have and surprised by the way he has been dealing with crises. ig, he wants to get , president obama appointed the ig's and he appointed them after he terminated those from the previous administration. i think trump should have done this. do you remember the resistance push to everything they could throw in front of the president? i look at that and i say these people more than likely are part of that. he has at that trouble before with the phone call to ukraine. -- i never at head would have went with the president, but the media has gone so crazy.

only because i have seen such errors. some of them they recanted, others they didn't. it made me throw sand all the info that comes from the media. not you guys, i respect you. i don't even know where you stand, and that is good. host: allen in washington state. sure, i've got confidence in him. foronly thing i blame him his he pays too much attention --that quack foot -- up with the six did he have a study? why not five feet? faras no stinking idea how -- how much you gotta -- but he put it in their because if you put six foot that makes it hard for restaurants and people and

stores. the guy is a quack and he is always on there. host: james in manhattan, kansas. caller: good. i don't have confidence in trump. to turn tells people bleach. i figure he is going to spend more time trying to break his arm patting himself on the back. have a good day. host: ken in pennsylvania. an independent. your confidence level in the administration's response to the pandemic echo caller: -- response to the pandemic? caller: my confidence in trump is high. i'm confident he will mislead people everyday. this whole idea that he is himselfydra chloroquin

i think is misleading. himself and i only bass what i say on what he came out of his mouth, he stated to the news that -- why didn't he say something sooner? because nobody asked him? that is a timely statement. the whistleblower just came out and the whole issue was hydroxychloroquine. i think he is just posturing. his shiny keys out for his base, trying to distract from what is going on, the fact that he has dropped to the ball with the whole issue. tried to micromanage the cdc, the fda, he micromanages everything and here we are months later and our hair is still on fire. that is what i have to say.

host: we go to warren, ohio. what is your confidence level? caller: three quarters. i have never gotten a tax cut before. especially democrats. host: confidence level? caller: i think host: brenda in indiana. inler: my confidence level trump is zero. he is now blaming china, that china misled everybody about the severity of the pandemic. if china misled everybody, why did we send 17 tons of ppe to china in february? becausepeo said it was we were being a good global

partner. if china downplayed it, why did they need it? that obama left the covered bear -- left the covered get the 17re did we tons to center china? the wii has flip-flop between the federal government or the governor's have to fend for themselves, he flip-flopped almost every day, saying all the white house if you need supplies . we are not a shipping facility, he has been flip-flopping so much. that is why everything is confused. host: frank in north charleston. caller: hello. i feel very confident in what he is doing and i look forward tomorrow foot he is doing.

i think he has done pretty good with this virus, containing it and providing everything to the states. more soery confident that the people around him are telling him things and he repeats it and everybody jumps on him for having an opinion like that. confident inery what he is doing and i look forward to him doing more if it is allowed. take -- you want him to pick back up those prefix he had been doing every day? did you watch those? caller: i have. not all of them. think some of them are quite lengthy and there are too many questions. important things under the bus. the things the minor things are iought up for discussion that

think this thing should be shortened by 20 minutes. far i feel so confident and satisfied with what has happened. thingsankful, also that are likely getting better. yesterday,resident during a meeting with restaurant executives was asked if he would be disappointed if there was not an investigation into the origins of the mueller investigation. here's what he had to say. i have no doubt that they were involved in this hoax. one of the worst things ever to before this country in terms of political scandal. i have no doubt that obama and biden were involved. as to whether or not it was

criminal, i think it would be very serious. presidentakedown of a , regardless of me. it happened to be me. it was an illegal takedown. i'm going to let the attorney general make all of those decisions. i have stayed out of it. i wouldn't have to stay out of it but i have decided to stay out of it. ago, i a little while will have to look into exactly what was said. we have an honorable attorney general. he's going to do an honorable job. surprised -- personally, i have no doubt that she may have another feeling. i have no doubt they were involved. it was a hoax. it started off with a russian hoax, went to a ukraine hoax, it

is a big disgrace. this country has better things to do. host: the president responding holdingttorney general a news conference where he was asked if he would be investigating the former president. barr vowed politics would not interfere with the department of justice's investigations and went on to talk about the durham investigation. i have a general idea of how mr. durham's investigation is going. some aspects of the matter are being examined as potential crimes. with theo bear in mind supreme court releasing -- the supreme court recently reminded us there is a difference between an abuse of power and a federal crime. not every abuse of power, no

matter how outrageous, is necessarily a federal crime. obama, and vice president biden, based on the information i have today, i do not expect mr. durham's work will lead to a criminal investigation of either man. our concern over potential criminality is focused on others. generale attorney talking about john durham, the u.s. attorney for connecticut who is investigating the origins of the mother report -- the mueller report. representative ron johnson of -- ron johnson of wisconsin has asked for declassification of a susan rice email to michael flynn. thechair has asked administration to fully declassify an unusual email a

top obama aide center yourself on the eve of her departure. in a letter reviewed by politico, ron johnson made the request of the attorney general. at issue was a meeting barack obama had with senior officials on january 5, 2017. president trump said the meeting may have involved problematic discussions of flynn, who was set to become trump's national security advisor. all discussions involving flynn were appropriate. go back to your confidence level in the trump administration's response. thomas in naperville, illinois. caller: [indiscernible] yes. host: thomas, you are on the air. caller: good morning.

i had lost confidence in president trump at one point. his handling of the coronavirus has been terrible. i am a health care worker, i am a co-emergency room nurse and i don't know any doctors or nurses that have taken hydroxychloroquine prophylactically. lies consistently have diminished my confidence level. ann from new york. caller: i would like to say that [no audio] a new situation. i feel the facts are changing every day. there is no playbook. a new situation. i think under the circumstances, he is handling it well.

of -- i also feel your station is great because you give all sides of the story and you are an honest the network. i feel other networks never give situationve of the and some of the gains that he made. find yoursay i network refreshing because you give all sides of the issue. real problem did start with the chinese government. great,ple in china were but i feel the government of china has to be accountable to the world for their lack of transparency. trump hast president to deal unprecedentedly with an extremely hostile media. not c-span, i think your news is great.

i think you are fair and i enjoy watching your network. i wish everybody well and safety. i hope we come together as a nation to combat this illness. god bless everybody. host: ok. theall street yesterday, headline in the washington post, triple whammy of good news sent the market soaring. it was partly because of state economies opening up, but investors were buoyed by promising results of a vaccine trial. on top of that, they like with the federal reserve chair had to say in his 60 minutes interview where he said "we are not out of ammunition by a longshot." reserve chair jerome powell, with steven mnuchin will be testifying today remotely before the senate banking committee. we will have coverage of that starting at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span.

also, you can watch on our website, c-span.org, or download the free radio app. those officials are likely to be asked about what is next. the story in the front pages of the washington post, the $500 billion fund created during the first economic relief bill has been spent. there will be questions about that. you can watch it right here on c-span. the new york times frames it this way, "vaccine trial elevates hopes and stocks. trial appears safe but on only eight people." carmen in to northfield, new jersey. caller: good morning. host: good morning. your confidence level in president trump echo -- president trump?

caller: i do not have confidence in president trump. i did not vote for him. what i have learned about him from the briefings every day -- is when i really learned about president trump, the thing i have learned is that he is an egomaniac and he is childish. is adolescent and how he deals with questions from the press. in hisconfidence administration and the task force. he is not to head of the task force, yet takes on that role during the briefings. he is not a politician, he is a businessman. i do not expect anything different. he is not very political and that affect. been forced into it being the president, but he didn't commend there with that personality.

i see mike pence and the president together, sometimes they are asked the same question and they respond differently. it is the reason i have no confidence in him, he is not a politician. he says one thing one day and says something different the he has answered any kind of question about china, he goes on and on about how he closed the border. the specific question has nothing to do with that, and t-boned answer it. he goes on and on about closing the border. i do have confidence in the task force. think of what he has, other people. to tackle this problem. not just him. in cleveland, ohio. caller: good morning, thank you.

can you hear me? host: yes, we can. caller: i have no confidence in donald trump. donald trump should not be president. he is a liar. andepeats everything over over and all he want to do is blame someone other than donald trump. his administration, nobody has the quality to be there. all that's in there is his buddies. i pray to god he do not be president. an update for all of you on more economic aid, the house passed last week a $3 trillion aid bill. now, eyes turned to the senate. will they pass their own version and agree to some provisions put together by house democrats? sayh mcconnell had this to

about that. [video clip] democratstwo months have been away from their duties, they gave themselves one assignment. enormous political messaging bill and brand it as coronavirus relief. even on this basis, they failed. doorstop that speaker pelosi drop last week was appropriately greeted as the legislative equivalent of a stand-up comedy. there were tax hikes on small businesses amidst a small business crisis. there were targeted tax cuts for the wealthiest people in the bluest states. were two separate taxpayer-funded studies on diversity and inclusion in the market for marijuana.

sleptrillion wishlist together, a clumsy effort to never let a good crisis go to waste. senate,work on the partisan pointlessness in the house. host: that was the majority leader from kentucky, mitch mcconnell. schumer also on the senate floor yesterday. house have put together a major bill that would provide urgent relief to the american people. republicanes on the side don't have to like everything in it. they could easily say, let's negotiate. , leader mcconnell has said republicans have "yet to feel the urgency of acting immediately." redux. hoover

is slowly preparing legislation to give legal immunity to big corporations that put workers in danger. one problemnumber on everyone's mind? is that the number one problem on people who are losing jobs and can't feed their kids? protecting corporations from liability? this republican party is so out of touch with america, so sokilter, so an obeisance -- in obeisance to the hard right that they can't see a crisis when it their own eyes. host: that is what the senate said. today, jerome powell and steve mnuchin are likely to be asked about more stimulus. is? ? it needed? how come that money has not been spent?

those two will face questions at 10:00 a.m. eastern time here on c-span, on our website, and it radio app.our mobile your confidence level in the trump administration. michael in portland, oregon text us saying, "confidence -- hindsight is 20/20. i think the feds have at best earned a c grade. --." caller: good morning. mitzie, close to enough. [laughter] i have a lot of confidence in donald trump. i voted for him. i think if you can put aside your trump hatred and just look at facts, our military and foreign relations, unemployment,

financially things have been going pretty good. rough three or four months, but things are starting to open. the stock market is starting to climb. businesses are taking chances. adhering to the will of the people. much better this people could be if trump did not have the burden of hatred from ,he media and entertainment democrats and people. sometimes they just can't see the reality of what the first three years were like. that is even with the burden of impeachment and the mueller investigation. plus, we are learning more about the dishonest steps taken by our own government agencies. reason to haveof confidence in president trump.

believing people out there, there is a lot of people that pray for him. i ask for a hedge to be put around him by god. it is his job to do what is best for this country. i have another point i would like to make. opened up phone lines, you were talking about loro-nika.ch all these other forks -- folks that are negative. and then you open up the phone line for your competence in president trump, it seems slanted and unfair. it is not what you would like to see on c-span. i sure do appreciate you having the option of giving my opinion. host: thanks. just showing you the reaction to

with -- to what the president had to say and letting you react too. that is why we do what we do, is for your while to let washington and hear each other from across the country, get your chance to tell everybody who is debating these things what you think about it that doesn't happen on any other show. i wanted to have that conversation with all of you this morning. attentione turn our to low income workers and how they are being impacted. where going to talk to the center for law's olivia golden about social safety nets. later, french it'll -- french hill about federal funds. we read that headline earlier to you. first, as it uses governor charlie baker avnet -- announced yesterday.

are week from now, we permitting office space to reopen to 25% of its capacity, except in boston. on may 20 five, retail establishments may also offer curbside service, and some personal services such as barbershops and hair salons may reopen provided they follow the new rules in this report. beces of our trip will also -- places of worship will also be permitted to open with guidelines in place. facilitiesof outdoor and recreation activities may also resume a week from now, as well as in accordance with new rules. facilities will begin to be permitted to see more patients on an agreed-upon schedule. to make clear the reopening advisory board and the team made every effort to be as clear and direct as possible

when it comes to new requirements these businesses must follow. this is something no one has thandone before, shutter, reopen everything from the tochfront to a factory floor slow the spread of a contagious virus. i ask everyone to keep this in mind. tos guidance asks people change behaviors handed changes the way some of our favorite places look and feel. this is not permanent. at some point, there will be treatments and a vaccine. future, everyone needs to continue to do the right things to bring the fight to the virus so that we can move forward. today, the department of health up dated the say home advisory to reflect this stage of the reopening process. safer at home advisory instructs everyone to stay home unless they are headed to a newly opened facility or

activity and advises those over the age of 65 and those with underlying health conditions to stay home except for absolutely necessary trips to health care and groceries. this new advisory is important. reopening, this remember that everyone is safer at home. the fires will be with us throughout the process. everyone is required to cover their nose and mouth if you can't maintain six feet from those around you. "washington journal" continues. the executive director for law and social policy -- 1993-2001 -- what are you ofing the impact is coronavirus on low income americans in a nutshell. what has it been? guest: it is great to be here.

thank you for having me. in a nutshell, the impact has been devastation. the 90,000 people who have died and the illness, but on the economic side, we know at this point about 15% of americans are unemployed. think that is an underestimate. [no audio] inlower household income extremely large numbers. you know it has had children particularly because the net -- the economic destruction is with their parents are at almost one in five of parents with a child under 12 have not had enough to eat because they have not been able to make the food last. that is worse even then in the great recession. we are seeing real tragedy in

people's lives. a pew research poll found, they or someone in their household have lost a job or taken a pay cut. when you break it down by income, 53% of lower income people answered yes to that question. 53%. what does that mean? means this is very present in the lives of people watching and their communities. the person who works in the grocery store, works in retail, caring for the elderly, we looked at those unemployment numbers send our estimate is about one third of childcare workers have been laid off. anse are people doing incredibly important for the country. there are mostly women of color not being paid very much and now their lives have additional

uncertainty. people who are hungry and can't pay rent. and it meets the real urgency for the next action by congress to help. congress has taken action and that has been important, but their last steps were before we really saw the extent and the scale of the devastation and now we need to catch up. host: the pew research folks also found when they asked a question about that first round of legislation, how did you atnd, or will you spent stimulus check on essential needs? 71% of lower income people said they will use that check to pay bills or cover essential expenses. what does that say to you? guest: it says that because this has been going on a wildland numbers are not getting better, we need a next installment. to be fair, that first

installment included the initial $1200 checks that included some help for nutrition or health care. all of the pieces are extremely important, but they are not a fan do not last enough and tens of millions have been left out. what it says to me is that being able to pay a piece of rent for one month, but not feed your kids, not get rid the next month, not get health care, that is not enough. we need a next installment to be able to address the chatterjee -- the tragedy there. host: what should congress do? more direct payments? the build a house put together has important pieces that include more direct payments.

major investments on food and nutrition. i told you about those child hunger numbers and that is frightened. we are too rich a country for people to be unable to feed their kids. have seene watching or been in those enormous line of cars waiting at food banks. we need to enable people to get the food they need. we needto make sure -- to ensure public health. if anybody who is sick can get treatment they need. fixesuse proposal also some big holes in the previous bill, including some that were created by the administration in administering legislation. workers to stay home when they are sick, that is really important in a public health crisis. congress had put some emergency authority into the first bill

and the department of labor left out tens of millions of workers. help, supportt for nutrition and one other piece i want to highlight, help for state budgets. many states with their fiscal if they do not, get help they are going to be laying off a large number of people. host: without help for their state budgets, what could be people? for low income how could they see the ramifications of that? guest: i think there are different ways. most offication is that what state spend their money on his education and health care. ,ou can see cuts in clinics , whetherlaid off community colleges open in the fall, childcare centers.

the other big pieces so many people will be laid off if states have to make a slashing cuts to their budget. that effects both the person themselves, the teacher, but also has another round of effects on a community. somebody whose job depends on services, to provide they are in turn more likely to have their hours cut further were to be laid off if other people in the community don't have money in their pockets. , many peopleng watching this have been in those time or on hold for a long trying to get unemployment insurance. workers and computer systems that need to be delivered that out.

central to helping all of us, people with low incomes and our whole community make our way out of this. host: we are taking questions and comments on the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on low-wage workers. eastern central part of the country, (202) 748-8000. mountain or pacific, (202) 748-8001. george in madison, wisconsin. you are up first. caller: yes. host: hi george. caller: hello. believe this is going to devastate our economical peoples in poverty in the first place, he will be the biggest threat to the whole world if he is not removed from office. he is there -- and he should pull plate an actor.

about theare talking unemployment benefits, did the expanded unemployment benefits help low-wage workers? was that i could call by congress? guest: it was a good call. what is important is to continue the help. this is not about to be over quickly. i heard earlier the federal reserve chair said he thinks unemployment will be elevated at the end of 2021. we need to make sure we are relieving the immediate pain, making sure people can eat and pay rent. we need to be shoring up jobs did making sure people are able to work. to get some leave perhaps if they are sick. future to invest in the

coming out of this better. continuing some of the kinds of help that congress started but did not do at a big enough scale. host: richard in louisville, kentucky. caller: yes. has package that pelosi -- $3own to the senate trillion. of that $3 trillion, how much of it is actually going to the working men and women in this country? actually goingis to the people who need this money? the president has been onboard from day one of helping the workers. money should not be sent to the kennedy center. money should not be sent to the abortion clinics.

this money should go to the men and women of this country. the people oftil this country realize what the democrats are doing, it is a disgrace. get the money to the people. host: can you answer that? how much of this would go to the people? large share goes to individual people. a second large share go to states who will in turn give it to individuals. ,he highlight a few examples the unemployment insurance benefits, expanding those. nutrition, a big piece of this package is making sure that people can eat, increasing the amount of nutrition assistance and making sure it gets -- making sure it can get out the door. health care, another piece. paid leave and paid sick days,

--ing sure -- pride providing support from the federal government so that employers are able to provide paid leave for those who are ill or caring for someone ill. that is true for all workers. tens of millions were left out. and then cash stimulus payments. making sure people who were left out in the first bill are in that, doing a second installment in providing other key relief through the tax system. a large share of the dollars are meant to go to working people, young workers, children. and as i said, a second piece to not safely -- help people flash their own money for childhood in schools and community college. make sure they do not have to

lay off people. an exactthink there is number, but that is a large share. host: sabrina from north carolina. caller: good morning. the stimulus check is designed to help with emergency funds. i want to know why the child support system has been allowed to take these payments from these people? alreadythe low income have most of their income go to the child support system. i think it is unacceptable for them to be allowed to have access to emergency funds. not just health care, but back taxes and that stuff. owed acause you have debt before the academic, you should not be able to have money to some stain you through it. that is a good issue. i would suggest you look at the website of my organization

clasp.org. we have a piece on that issue and dollars should go to people in this moment. sure if thember for congressional package the house has put together solves that problem and whether -- and number of states have solved it, but it is right to highlight that issue. host: ron in west chesterfield new hampshire. caller: can you hear me? i would like to make a quick comment before i mention what i would like to say about this. a gentleman called a while ago saying the democrats were a disgrace. donald trump decided he was going to go up there to drain the swamp. he has been firing any watchdog to help with oversight.

he is the swamp. might be for his the cdc. they have been behind the curve every step. their guidance has conflicted with osha guidance to keep workers safe on the job. they were behind on everything. at oneple could gather time in one place, when they knew a pandemic was here in new york and california were already inundated. there were spots of it kicking up in other places, yet ron desantis of florida, his excuse for allowing spring break to continue was -- i was just following cdc guidance. host: to have any thoughts on the cdc's role in how it has impacted low-wage workers? guest: i am not a public health expert.

i have respect for experts. what i would draw on from that comment is that going forward, we have to vote -- we have to both solve the health crisis and the economic crisis and we have to be able to do both at the same time. that means, and i think the caller said, we have to make sure that workers can be safe without losing the ability to put food on the table. that is another important step. i gave the example of paid leave, which say right now most -- many people with high-paying jobs to have some access to paid leave. you can be sick without losing income. coming into this is a very large share of workers with low wages to just get by where would lose their income if they got sick. congress, for the first time in one of the early responses past

a national emergency paid family leave with some federal dollars so employers could afford to do it. laborhe department of drove a hole through the middle of it and left out tens of millions of people. one of the things we have to do is make sure -- i think the caller referenced someone in a meatpacking plant that doesn't ac, or somebody cleaning a hospital. what we need to make sure is that that person both can protect themselves and if they have to be out because they are real, they are not forced to go to work and spread the illness and make a terrible choice that should have to make between their own and their families work and income. i think there are lessons for the future in the public expertise. mary in oklahoma.

go ahead. caller: do you mean people who peopleft out, it will be who came to this country breaking the law to get here, to get checks? guest: let me tell you who is left out of the legislation. workers ofiece is all backgrounds in jobs with low wages. there were a huge number of exceptions. those are all kinds of people who worked in jobs with low wages. -- and did not have protection. that is a large group. second group is children. millions of children.

almost all of them u.s. citizens who live in families where the breadwinner is paying their taxes, working and paying taxes. they have lots of different immigration statuses. somebody who got protected status on an emergency basis because of the emergency in the country they came from. it could be a dreamer, someone who came in as a child. think the key thing i would highlight is the people who are left out our people whose safety , health and security is crucial to you and me. it is not just from my perspective wrong, it is children who are hungry because their parents do not have a specialty trading number. it is dangerous for all of us, the people providing the food

that we all depend on my working in a poultry or meat plant. the people who work in health care, doctors and nurses that people are carrying and supporting. crucial roleshese are not able to take care of their own health, their kids and to be economically mature, we will not get out of this as a country. we all depend on each other. ithink the pandemic has made who ishat's river it is putting on their protective equipment and going innocent nurse. dreamerthat person is a who came here as a child, and this is their country. with her that person has been here for 10 generations, does not matter. we all depend on that person to be able to provide here. we are not able to get out of this unless they are healthy and safe.

host: what is happening with the food stamp program? guest: food stamps, now called snap. importantncredibly support for people all the time, but in a crisis more so. what we have seen this big increases in family need for your snap. -- food prices are going up in families are desperate. in addition, we have almost one in five families with young kids reports that those kids are not getting enough to eat. this is a rich country. that has not happened for decades at that level including

the 2008 recession. people do everything they can to keep their fit -- keep their not having food pared one thing that is different is the scale of the devastation. people need more and better benefits. thesecond thing is that schools and childcare and head starts closed. children to use those to get meals are not getting meals. there are solutions there from the federal government and congress put in that are not reaching anyone. because the administration has been demonizing and threatening immigrant families, families who themselves are completely eligible are afraid to get some of the help. infix that, improvements snap and improvements in some of the surrounding nutrition programs and getting cash out the door to those citizens so

people can afford to pay for food. host: beth in montana, good morning. -- i was was calling , i have-paying earner been working through all of this but the prices of meat and everything has been going up. wages have not been going up. what are they going to do to help somebody in that situation? great question. thank you for sharing. you're right. of food is going up, and people's wages often are not. would highlight that the package the house of representatives passed and that the senate is saying, no hurry, we can wait includes an increase

in the level of nutrition assistance. the next installment of the supplemental dollars, the stimulus checks we talked about. both of which would help. thank you for the work you are doing. host: james in albuquerque, new mexico. caller: hello. thank you for taking my call. the -- fixese of we can put into places to have 50% labor representation on all corporate boards of directors. care, weversal health should have universal health care. there shouldn't be anybody having to go broke because of medical bills. right now, food is getting short too. with metal co., the first thing with health is proper nutrition.

we are throwing away 40% of the food we produce. now we are getting food shortages. maybe we should have another victory program and make a universal food program like universal health. thank you very much. i think you have some great ideas there. i want to underline one thing you said that is powerful, all of these pieces are related. workers, union representation, utility for workers to have say in their work, nutrition, eating right, begin to afford to eat right, and health care. i would add some others. theink childcare and ability for young people to go to college. all of those peoples are closely related and how people are doing. reason theref the

is not one single magic solution to get us out of this crisis. we need to focus on several basics at once. not an impossible number, but we have to -- i think your three abilities tokers have control of their jobs, nutrition and health care is a good place to start. host: let's go to kathleen in massachusetts. do to helpt can we people that can help your agency -- i have a comment. what can we do -- i am watching you here, what can we do to help advocate for the low-wage workers? this is my comment.

a lot of that depends upon your zip code. i'm very fortunate that the owner of the patriots, friends of donald trump, got a jet, went to china, and we benefited all our hospitals. that is comment number one. comment number 2 -- i know i am going to run out of time -- i wish the president would go to all the millionaires, billionaires got those tax cuts when he passed that tax thing, ask them to contribute -- we have people that are hungry. -- i mean, it just boggles -- i live in a very privileged area. there are a lot of people that are proactive. i believe there are people that are philanthropic that are doing their share. there are people that are like that. sometimes they do not brag about

what they are doing. now donald trump is wealthy. i am not saying he should donate his wealth, but he could set an example and call out to -- you know, i am not going to use -- you know, he has a big platform. we all need to step up to the plate. we can see everyday all these people. ok, back to my question. besides -- we dollars,zilion obviously -- what can the people do, like at my local church, they are very into helping communities that do not have it. host: we are running out of time. olivia golden, what can communities do? guest: i think that is a great question. first, which it sounds as though you are already doing, is inform yourself as a community and

speak out. i gave our website. there are a number of others. there are some great organizations in massachusetts and nationally. i think your church is a great organization to be able to speak to people in massachusetts, members of congress, your governor, and to say what has to happen publicly. second, you can give directly and contribute to funds, particularly for people left out of the federal legislation. for example, immigrant communities or workers who are not benefiting from some of the other solutions. i think speaking out nationally and supporting organizations that work nationally. we are an example. and i do not just mean financial support, i mean getting involved, signing up to get alerts, bringing other people and other networks together. but i think your instinct that

we really have to be in this together -- that is exactly right. that is the way we will get out of this. host: olivia golden, thank you very much for your time. guest: thanks so very much. host: coming up, arkansas republican congressman french hill will discuss the federal response to covid-19. he is also a member of the new commission looking at the funding for the coronavirus. we will ask about the headlines in the papers this morning. later, military times' leo shane on the impact the pandemic has had on the department of veterans affairs. first come on monday, governor cuomo addressed the states efforts for those in nursing homes. here is what he had to say. [video clip] >> we worked with the labs and identified tests for those in nursing homes, about 35,000 per day. we are sending 320,000 test kits

to the nursing homes today to help them do this. with everything we are doing, i know the nursing home operators are not happy about this. i get it. it is very hard to administer. the staff all have to be tested twice a week. andwe give them test kits set up lab capacity, but it is still an operational issue. i understand that. and i understand that no other state is doing this, and i hear that quite often from the nursing homes. no other state is requiring that the staff be tested twice a week. i understand that. i understand we have the most regressive standard in the nation -- most progress of standard in the nation. but i also know that it is necessary. one, we said this was going to be hard, and we in thisdrew bad cards

hand. new york did have the highest number of cases, not because we did anything wrong but because the virus fooled everyone and we were closing down china and the virus had already left china and had gone to europe. and by the time we closed europe, 3 million europeans had come from europe and landed in new york airports. and that was happening and we did not know -- close china, it we already gone by the time closed china. and it left europe by the time we closed europe. that is why new york had clusters, those flights from europe come here. they land in jfk and newark, people take connecting flights. they are coming here. that brought the virus here, and that is why we have the numbers we have. ok. but we said we are going to do what we have to do, and we're

going to do what we have to do to protect the lives of new yorkers. who is in a nursing home? this is your mother, your father, your sister, your brother. this is our family in nursing homes. that is who they are. and they are our senior family members who we owe nothing but gratitude and respect, and the one thing we need to be able to say at the end of this is, we did everything we could. >> sunday night on q&a, a historian discusses his book about the summer road trips taken by henry ford and thomas edison. >> they would take a little car trip into the everglades. exotic plants and animal life, and thought it would be an adventure. it was pointed out to them that there were not really any roads there and it is dangerous and there are alligators and people could die.

but they knew better. the trip lasted a day and a half. there was a one soon. there were snakes, alligators. they fled. but they liked the idea. and so it came about that they would take a trip once a year if they could but with a little better planning so disaster would be less looming. >> sunday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span's q&a. has unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court, and public policy events, from the presidential primaries through the impeachment process and now the federal response to the coronavirus peer you can watch all of c-span's public affairs programming on television, online, or listen on our free radio app. be part of the national conversation through c-span's

daily "washington journal" program or through our social media feeds. c-span, created by america's cable television companies as a public service and brought to you today by your television provider. "washington journal" continues. host: we want to welcome congressman french hill, a republican of arkansas and a financial service committee member, also serving on the covid-19 congressional oversight commission. the "washington post" front page has this headline about your first report as the white house pushes firms to reopen, much of the bailout stimulus money remains unspent. congressman, how much money, and what money are we talking about? guest: greta, good morning. glad to be with you. the federal reserve acted very quickly back in march and stood

up facilities with the u.s. treasury to calm the markets. this was even before they cares act passed. so most of the money the president and fed put up were in those facilities that calmed the money market in the corporate bond market and, as a response -- result, the bond market began functioning again and the stock market rebounded nicely. so the fed and the treasury's quick response during march was essential, in my view, to stabilizing the economy. caresn the post environment, they are standing up facilities to help the airlines, to help the municipal issuers in states and local governments, and to help main street businesses. those have just gotten organized and have just begun to put that money out. host: the "washington post" is that very little from a 500 billion dollar fund -- i think

you were alluding to that -- created in march to help businesses and local governments has and spent. why is it because they have had challenges standing it up or it just takes time? guest: one, the first priority was to meet with the airlines and get some of their payroll protection organized, and the treasury has done that. all the airlines have applied for those facilities, and that is underway. they have also a lending component that the airlines have not used yet. there is no money outstanding on the loan, but they have gone the payroll protection effort organized with the airlines. the municipal liquidity facility for state and local governments is accepting applications now. they just do not have anybody applying yet within measurable numbers. and then the corporate and primary debt markets, the primary and secondary corporate facilities, those have just gotten started, and there is a modest amount of money that was

invested last week in the corporate bond market by the treasury and the fed. and the last group, the main beeet fund is going to talked about, i am sure, by secretary mnuchin today, greta, because the vice chairman of the fed last week said it could be weeks before the main street facility is up and running. i bet they are going to move faster than that, because that would help our businesses ,etween 500 employees and, say 15,000 employees. that is badly needed. the term sheet is ready, but there has not been any lending extended yet. host: the treasury secretary, steven mnuchin, and the federal reserve chair will be testifying in a little over an hour before the senate banking committee, 10:00 a.m. eastern time, and we will have coverage of that right , andon c-span, c-span.org the free c-span radio app. you are not a member of the

senate banking committee, but what would you ask these two gentlemen? guest: number one, i would ask about the main street lending facility, shouldn't it be up and running? we know there are businesses that need the quiddity. we know there -- that need liquidity. we know there are businesses that need access to that capital to maintain their employment. these are businesses that did not receive a ppp loan, pay tech -- paycheck protection loan, it should their bank. these are much bigger businesses. i think it is important that that facility get up and running at a for that credit to those businesses across the country. so that would be my first question if i were on the panel today. a question you have for the federal reserve chair, and what would that be? guest: i would ask the federal reserve church qualify his remarks about how flexible he thinks he can be with the existing law on helping in this economic crisis -- i would ask

the federal reserve chair to qualify his remarks on how lexical he thinks he can be with how flexiblelaw -- he can be with the existing law. this was caused by coronavirus, and the fed and treasury are limited in what they can do in lending money. i would ask the fed chairman, jay powell, are there additional authorities you need, or do you believe you and the treasury secretary have the flexibility to craft facilities to get our economy back up? host: want to invite viewers to join in on the conversation with questions and comments to you, congressman, about the cares act, legislation that has been passed, and what is next. .emocrats, (202) 748-8000 republicans, (202) 748-8001. .ndependents, (202) 748-8002 text us with first name, city, and state, as well. congressman, how did you vote

last friday on this latest $3 billion -- $3 trillion economic aid package? and what do you think the senate should do? thet: i voted no on package last friday for an ad is no $3 trillion in taxpayer funds -- for an additional $3 trillion in taxpayer funds because it was not well thought out, was not bipartisan, did not contain work from the house republicans or the senate. i believe it was really just a from speakerground pelosi on her views around federal priorities, much of which did not have anything to do around coronavirus. i voted no, but with that said, the primary reason is because we put out $3 trillion that we passed in the care act and that money is just now being distributed to our families, to our hospitals, to our schools, to our public housing authorities, to our governors,

and that money is not even fully distributed yet. you combined that with we opening the economy across the country, state by state, i wanted to wait and see the impact of the cares act, the $3 trillion, plus what gaps are identified as the economy reopens. we just talked about the potential gaps with the fed and the treasury's work. same is true with the congress. if we need to take more action, we will work with the administration to do that. but let's narrow the issue and see where that money would be best if we need to appropriate additional funds. host: we heard from the federal reserve chair recently, and just before the house passed the bill and likely he will say again today that he thinks congress needs to do more. would you disagree with him? guest: no, i would not disagree with him. i think he ought to qualify those comments today before the senate mitty and give more direction to what that means. -- before the senate committee

and give more direction. if it means more liquidity and getting businesses moving faster and if that is something he and the fed can do with their ability to leverage $5 trillion -- that is the leverage ability of that $500 billion that you mentioned. the fed and treasury have the capacity to put $5 trillion into the american economy through liquidity lending facilities such as those we just talked about. as it relates to what they congress needs to do, that is why i think we should identify those gaps. for example, extending the paycheck protection program in some manner or extending the payments that individual families got from a tax rebate. but the real issue that i

the -- they tell you to mute your tv. they don't. that is another reason why people do not go to the hospital, because they are scared to death because the doctors are not listening.

thank you and have a good day, and thank you very much for c-span. the first partt about bailing out large corporations. is a good question. i think the effort by the fed and treasury is to help americans get back to work in our economy to get back to work, and we are focused on finding jobs for those over 30 million .mericans we are working feverishly to get the economy be back up to capacity and stop the layoffs and encourage people to get back to work. so the airlines are an important situation. airline passengers disappeared starting march 15

weekend, and they have not come back. employee thousands of people. travel and leisure in this country represents about 5% of of all about 13% employment. our restaurants, our hotels, so these facilities are all about getting money to those businesses to rehire their employees and get through this virus crisis. so i do believe we have done a lot for families with unemployment insurance, the tax , thee check, free testing paid family leave related to the virus. we have tried to take a balanced approach in helping our families, as well as helping the employers who provide a lifetime of opportunity for all of our american workers. host: in new jersey, a democratic caller, you are next. caller: hello, representative

hill. i am a registered democrat. i support donald trump. i hope to god that you people stick together and support them also. you are doing the right thing. i love the democrats from listening to them, and they are talking about big businesses, but i am noticing walmart, home depot, target, all these big businesses open and all these states seeming to support that, but the little businesses, which the democrats are supposed to be for, it is breaking my heart to see that they are out of business and having a hard time opening up. and it is in the democrats' states. murphy's state, cuomo's state. so it is not the republicans, but it is the democrats hurting small businesses. the other thing is in new jersey, there are people who still have not received their unappointed checks. what the heck is going on in new jersey? where is the money? a lot of people suffering, so

please stick to your guns. you're doing the right thing. help the small businesses. donald trump is trying desperately to do that. i do not care what the democrats say. withe way, in new york these nursing homes, i heard cuomo,ay earlier, oh, with the nursing homes, he put people in the nursing home -- host: i will have the congressmen respond to your questions and -- questions about small businesses and -- i am blinking your congressmen, i hope you're a member. guest: let's talk about the small business issue and the opening of issue. really, she is right when you think about it. how theyamericans see can go saturday morning to home depot or go get their groceries at walmart, both great companies, both who have taken care of their employees, both are taking care of consumers with a good cdc standard in

their stores, yet many of our small businesses are not open by virtue of decisions taken by governors in some states. here in arkansas, we have let many of our businesses stay open. we have taken sort of a middle course here. we have not shut the whole state down. and while restaurants and bars and group meetings and conventions and things like that, church, and the faith community have not been open, they are now slowly opening. so i understand what she is talking about and how frustrating that is, but different states have opened in different ways, and i think that is going to affect, greta, your question about more resources and how the congress and the federal reserve and treasury are going to have to respond in the coming months. it is based on how ably they were able to safely open the

economy and get people back to work. host: our second question, congressman, was about not receiving unemployment benefits. guest: that is important. congress wanted to do something big and helpful to families confronted with unemployment. as we have said, over 30 million americans have filed for jobless claims. so we set up a pandemic unemployment insurance additional payment with additional weeks to what the states normally do for unemployment. unfortunately, the way that was structured in the cares act, it made it very difficult for the states to reprogram their computers and get that money out to people fast. so new jersey is not the only state struggling with trying to get the pandemic unemployment gompensation out to gi workers, self-employed,

independent contractors. about 18 states have successfully gotten that program working well, but the rest of the states have not. so that is frustrating to people. i encourage listeners to talk to their state workforce services folks and find out how they can best apply and best get that pandemic unemployment insurance payment. host: tom in new york, democratic caller. your next. caller: i appreciate you taking my call. first of all, i still have not received a stimulus check, and i have been on disability for 12 years. i am pretty sure social security have my address, and the only banking i use is a direct express card. file the too late to banking information and i cannot open a banking account if i wanted to. everything is closed. no matter where i go, i cannot get help. second, people on social security or disability are out of about -- under the poverty

line. i spent 18 and a half years working two full-time jobs, and i ended up with medicare and half the doctors will not accept it and you get really poor health care if you have medicare. so i would like to see what you have to say to that. and i tom, thanks, appreciate your question. i have concern about your situation. i would urge you to reach out to your member of congress and let them contact the irs on your behalf about your particular case. i think they will be able to help you get that payment in a more timely way. you are right, they should have your contact information through the social security disability system, so i would urge you to contact your local member of congress and let them help you get that payment. i know you need it, and you are owed it. so i hope that can be a solution to your immediate need. an independent in

california. good morning. caller: good morning. i have two questions first of all, i want to know, on the oversight, if you are getting a list of all the corporations that have been given money ,hrough these previous packages how many of them received money in the first place for previous bailouts? and how many of these corporations were given previous instead of bringing business and jobs and factories to the u.s. with the stock buybacks and gave bonuses to payingxecs and are dividends to their stockholders? how many of them are getting bailed out again? secondly, how many of these corporations are getting money not u.s. corporations?

for instance, the cruise lines, all who fly under foreign flags .nd have foreign employees are any of these companies thatng ale out -- bailouts do not pay taxes to the u.s. government? guest: those are good questions. thank you for those. let me take the corporation list first. jay powell, chairman of the federal reserve, is committed to transparency in publishing a list of the corporations that receive benefits from the facilities that are outlined in the cares act, so we will be seeing a list of those. that has not happened thus far in federal reserve and treasury work because, as greta noted, not a great deal of this money has been put out yet. all the airlines that are subject to the cares act,

paycheck protection program, that is out on the website, each airline and how much money they got for their payroll. if you take money from a fed or treasury facility, you may not pay dividends or do stock make significant connotation changes while that loan is outstanding. that is one of the provisions that the treasury and the fed have to live under through the cares act. that was a decision congress had made you also asked about foreign corporations. the cares act requires that businesses hitting a paycheck protection loan through the sba or through the and treasury facility be u.s. businesses. they can be a u.s. operation of business that

employees americans under certain conditions, and that is well-documented. so this is money that will employ americans working in companies in the united states, and some of those may have a foreign owner, a smaller business with a foreign owner, but that is all focused on getting americans back to work here. host: real quick, did the first cares act ban stock buybacks? guest: it did. the cares act, if you take money from one of the facilities in the treasury and the fed, it does ban stock buybacks during the period that that loan facility is outstanding. host: north carolina, republican. you are next. caller: i was wondering about the soldiers with that coronavirus and stuff, the money that goes to them. -- i wanted to know host: you have to turn down the

tv. you're getting confused by the feedback. being our for congressman, and i am a republican and i'm going to vote for y'all again. i think the whole staff. the republicans have worked hard. but what about our soldiers and people that got blowed up and everything over there and come home? and i ain'te first, heard nothing about our soldiers yet. host: ok, we will ask the congressman. guest: thank you for your question and concern about the men and women in uniform deployed all over the world. they are of a special care to all of us in congress and all americans that they be taken care of during the pandemic. the department of defense has taken many efforts to keep soldiers and sailors and marines and airmen safe during the

pandemic, such as when they transfer from one base to the other, they go through the 14-day quarantine. they have tried to get all the ppe necessary out to our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines. you have seen the challenging situation on the uss theodore roosevelt, which was the first, i think, case where a lot of americans saw the impact of covid-19 on our military. ourso you can imagine that structure, command structure, is working hard to care for those in the uniform. i have met with a lot of our young men and women who are getting ready to enlist here in june, and they are telling me about all the special care facilities that the military is taking to make sure that as they enlist and go to boot camp or head to one of the military academies, that they are healthy and well. thatappreciate the steps the defense department is taking

to care for our men and women in uniform. it is an important issue. we want to have a ready force no matter what happens, and they have to be ready to fight, ready to defend our country, even in the face of the pandemic. host: we will talk about our veterans coming up next. but i want to ask about the save act, legislation you have proposed to bring manufacturing back to the country. can you explain? guest: the safe act is a proposal to amend our defense production act, which was signed into law by harry truman. over the years, they have amended it for energy purposes, strategic mineral purposes, and i think we should amend the defense production act for our medical supply chain, our pharmaceutical supply chain, our medical device supply chain to get more of that manufacturing capacity here in the united states, make sure we have a strategy for a diverse supply chain, particularly for key pharmaceutical ingredients, and

that we are not dependent on foreign sources. i think we were caught at low tide with no bathing suits on when this pandemic rolled into the united states this winter, and we need to be better prepared in the future. i think the save act is one step in this direction. host: could your proposal be included in any senate legislation since republicans trolled that chamber? guest: -- since the republicans control that chamber? is partt has, and there of the save act in the heroes bill. so it has bipartisan support. it has been introduced in the senate. host: congressman french hill, more on that to come. thank you for your time this morning. we are going to take a short break. when we come back, we will talk to military times' leo shane about the impact of the pandemic on the department of veterans affairs and our veterans. first, texas governor greg abbott announced the state was moving -- is moving to further loosen restrictions on

businesses. this is part of his briefing from yesterday. [video clip] have made,cision i as well as every decision i will announce today, is it unanimously supported by our team of medical experts. from day one, our mission has doctors to data and open texas in a safe and responsible way that contains the spread of covid-19. to doctors, it underpins today's announcement. those doctors have provided safe standards, safe standards for businesses, for employees, as well as for customers, and those standards are contained in this book. and they apply to all business operations that open up in texas during the course of this pandemic. well, based on the advice of the best medical doctors, as well as

a team of outstanding business m proud to announce that businesses can open up today. as you know, barbershops, hair salons, and gyms are already opened. effective today, other personal service businesses will also be able to open. a list of these businesses, as well as their safety guidelines, can be found at gov.texas .gov/opentexas. additionally, beginning today, businesses located in office buildings, they are able to open. to be greater of 10 employees or 25% of the workforce, provided they do safe social distancing.

listen, one thing we all know, an important part of reopening is access to childcare. childrting immediately, care services are able to open. that also includes programs like boys and girls club's, as well as ymca programs. then, beginning this friday, may 22, a long list of businesses can now reopen or expand capacity. a 50%rants can open to capacity. bars, wine tasting rooms, craft breweries, and soon more businesses can open at a 25% capacity. >> "washington journal" continues. host: leo shane is deputy editor of the military times and joins us to talk about veterans' health and the coronavirus pandemic. we saw the numbers this past weekend go to 1000 veterans that

have died from this disease. where is this happening? what is this trend about? guest: this is spread out all over the country. as of this morning, it is actually around 1060. about a quarter of those deaths are in the new york city area, the hardest hit region of this virus in this country, so four --centers have 260 deaths deaths centers have 260 there. but it is all over the country. in some cases, it is just one or two deaths. in other cases, philadelphia has been hit hard, new orleans, chicago was somewhere around 60 deaths. so this is not a regional problem, not just one area. it is really a nationwide issue. host: if you look at the overall numbers, and these have probably

changed since we put this together, but cumulative cases, talking over 12,000 active cases over 2000. deaths come as you mentioned, up to 1060 now. an employee deaths, around 30. so how have the va hospital's responded -- how have the va hospitals responded? do they have the equipment and personnel to respond to those with covid-19? guest: that has been the source of a lot of frustration and finding within the va. the leadership officially said they had accurate resources and had a plan, and they are seeing numbers go down, the number of active cases as of this morning dropped under 2000. it was as high as 3000 at the beginning of this month. that is a positive trend. a third fewer active coronavirus cases. what we saw the last two months were a lot of fights over just how much personal protective equipment was available, whether

or not facilities were reporting accurate numbers, or how much of a like time there was. the folks i have talked to say they have been generally pleased with the care they have received. time.hear from va all the but employees have been frustrated that there were not protections i hoped would be in place. we heard from dr. stone, head of the veterans health administration, and the secretary of veterans affairs, and both said that they believe the supplies were adequate, that they had enough, but they acknowledge that they did not necessarily have everything that they wanted, did not have all of the equipment, all of the protective things, all of the masks, all of the gowns. one thing they have insisted that they have had plenty of is beds. ofmarch, they changed some the rules for elective procedures for nonemergency procedures and opened up some beds by moving some things around, shifting some arrangements within hospitals.

they have said they have maintained an adequate reserve of critical care beds through this whole thing, so many that they have been able to accept some members of the community who are not veterans. it is an important mission of the va, to serve as a sort of backup systems for general radical population in the country -- backup systems for general medical populations in the country. they have provided some care that way, too. it is interesting. there will be a lot written when this is over about what the response was. we are talking about a population that was more vulnerable than the rest of the country to this virus because most the folks who use the va health system are generally older, and these are folks who could have comorbidities, other health issues to deal with, so they are more likely to suffer worse and even diane from this

virus. host: we want to invite our veterans to call in. our line for you is (202) 748-8000. all others, (202) 748-8001. we are talking about the impact of the pandemic on our nation's veterans with leo shane of the military times. how much money or resources were denoted to our nation;s veteran -- our nation's veterans in the first cares act passed by congress? guest: a little more than $19 billion. a question on the hill right now is, how is that money spent and where did it go? no accusations of impropriety or waste, but we have heard some saying it is a pretty hefty sum and we need to know you spend it wisely and it is still being used. a lot of that money was just designed for the immediate need, the idea of more protective equipment, more equipment coming in, and just a rush of new patients.

and for that fourth mission, for outside folks. we have not gotten for accounting yet. there have been some reports of problems with getting masks, with getting those gowns. we will see how that shakes out in the next few months, but i know that folks on capitol hill are already talking about the next round and the continued need for va to be able to stand up and be ready to take on additional patients, be able to take on that threat if there is a second surge. host: the v.a. sec. is supposed to testify on capitol hill and probably would have been asked about that money. why isn't he testifying? guest: i do not think it is anything insidious, just got postponed for a week or two. with the holiday and scheduling issues -- i know the sec. is supposed to appear at a cabinet meeting with the president later this afternoon i think it might just be a conflictthere. -- i think it might just be a

conflict there. i reached out to the committee to talk to them about what preparations they would take, and it was to be the highest ranking official up on capitol penceand vice president has been speaking at some of the republican lunches. but holding hearings on capital here right now -- capitol hill right now is a whole different adventure. it involves the number of staff and rearranging hearing rooms. has threee secretary or more people by his side and toe or six people behind him address things that might be brought up on a host of funding issues, program issues, local and district issues. logisticsay be some stuff, maybe some other things, but i know the secretary is expected to be at the white house to talk about coronavirus later today. so that might be why there is a

slight delay on that. your connie in marilyn, question or comment about veterans and the coronavirus pandemic? caller: hi. crisisin, like, response, and we answer calls from the whole population. with veterans in particular, i am concerned that the isolation for some of the veterans that it is pts diagnosis, really hurting them. do you have a number for how many veterans have died in the va hospital from conditions not alated to coronavirus and total number of deaths from the time, say, the same the month of april versus the month of april from 2019?

, what services might you put in place for veterans that suffer from mental health that have not had access that they useds to get because of the virus? thank you. so we do not have those numbers. that has been an issue, and i have seen a few places do a really nice job looking at the overall deaths and looking at if they are attributed to coronavirus or not. v.a. has been pretty good over the last few weeks about putting out a lot of coronavirus numbers been problematic with releasing other information in recent years, especially when it comes to suicide. there is a two-year lag on the v.a. suicide numbers, so it is difficult to track in real time.

we know that a number of calls to someone in the veterans crisis center and for mental health services have increased significantly, and that has been a concern from lawmakers, from officials, from veteran advocates, that some of this isolation and self distancing is going to put more strain on veterans who need the community, who need to reach out and be seen by the folks and need to see other folks. we know there has been an increase, and some of that increase is just folks trying to figure out where they should go. some have called the veterans crisis line, which is meant for folks in distress or in emotional need. some have called asking about general benefits. when will i get my g.i. bill check? but there is also an uptick in folks who need those services and need that outreach. in terms of specifics of what v.a. offers, a variety of mental

health programs. they are trying to increase all of their telehealth, telemedicine issues, some more appointments with doctors and psychiatrists online, just more available resources. congress has purged them to go even further. not criticizing but saying this is important, something going into the future, so please expand this as much as possible. host: when the v.a. secretary testifies next week, what questions should he expect to get from members of congress? guest: first and foremost, this is going to be in front of the house appropriations committee. so it is a budget hearing, and it will have to justify the president's budget from earlier this year, $240 billion, a pretty substantial increase from last year, but also have to justify additional money on top of that. talking about what we just talked about, how much money is needing moving ahead. talking about a reset and

repositioning of v.a. resources that will be needed over the next few months, possibly next few years, over this coronavirus threats. typically, there is a broad array of various issues in these hearings, so some local questions about how specific facilities have dealt with this. there will be some questions about whether or not specific resources have been set aside for women veterans, for homeless veterans, for various subgroups of veterans. one thing that i am going to be looking for now, v.a. announced just yesterday afternoon that they are, to a certain extent, reopening 20 facilities spread out across the country. these will be the first test sites for post coronavirus care and will start allowing some non-emergency treatments, some face-to-face appointments that had been closed for the last two months because of the potential spread of coronavirus. so i imagine that any lawmakers

who have those in their state will be very interested to see what that means. precautions are being taken. of the 26th the v.a. announced, 16 of -- of the 26 the v.a. announced, 16 of them still have active coronavirus. so that means they will reopen with patients still under treatment for coronavirus. we will see what that means. we will see if v.a. plans to keep them sequestered in an area to make sure it does not spread. v.a. says they're confident they are ready to take the next step and get back to normal operations, help more veterans, but that will be a concern for every community where they are located. host: louisville, kentucky, dean, welcome to the conversation. caller: i tell you, i am a --eran, and all v.a. is health care. host: you said what? did you hear that? guest: i believe he said all

v.a. is is health care, and that is what a lot of folks think about. there are quite a few benefits, and there is also the national cemetery administration which will get extra attention this weekend with memorial day. they have announced that they will open v.a. cemeteries this weekend, but they are asking folks not to congregate in big groups, but individuals, americans, will be able to commemorate memorial day. the traditional wreath layings, but those will be closed to the public. i got a chance just last week to speak to the head of the veterans benefits administration about some of what they have been doing as all of this is going on. disabled veterans, veterans who are going to school, they still need those benefits checks to come out, still need those to go through. vba is very confident that they have handled this well. they said they have been setting up for more remote work, more

telehealth work, more teleworking resources for the last several years as they try and broaden out the number of places they can send cases or the way they process cases. they feel like they have not missed a beat. a few folks have had concerns but not major problems. we will see in the coming months, when we get into the fall semester, for g.i. bill benefits. what changes will happen? will student veterans get problems with classes or are they being categorized or will they get the same benefits that they had? will they see changes in housing statements? maybe not intentional but because the way the colleges have rearranged that. we have got to cross fingers as there is still a lot of uncertainty in the months to come. host: virginia in florida, good morning. caller: i have a statement concerning my son who is a veteran. he had three seizures several weeks ago.

we had to put him into a hospital. now we are trying to get him into the bay pines v.a. center to get a primary care doctor. we have been up --we have been unable to do so. host: is that because of the pandemic? caller: yes. host: leo shane? guest: i do not think bay pines is one of those 20, although i do think one in florida will start resuming. the idea is in the next few weeks, maybe months, a lot more v.a. facilities will be able to open. it sounds like her son is in some sort of care. that may be a factor. i cannot speak directly to what is going on, but v.a. is making some tough decisions right now of, is it worth bringing individuals into the v.a. medical environment, which there is a lot of confidence in but also a lot of active coronavirus cases, or is it better to have folks stay-at-home or stay in

another facility? what is the risk-benefit analysis of all that? i would encourage virginia to, if she feels like she is getting the runaround from v.a., commager called call local veterans organizations like the -- to call some of the local veterans organizations like the vfw. these groups have history working these things, and locally they will know the administrators. they can at least get a better answer sometimes than to navigatewho have some of these hotlines in frustration of just offices that are closed. host: next to james in oregon. veteran.ure, i am a i have served in iraq and afghanistan. why thelike to know

v.a. hospital and the medical center of portland, oregon, which is a regional center, why they are handling this the same ?ay they handle the h1n1 what i mean is this, if you are sick, don't come in, we do not want you here. just call. and if we determine, we will plan out a safe way for you to come in. ok? second off, the biggest serious problem you have with that facility, sir, you know that new rule that came out where if there is a certain name that is doing certain things and it comes up enough times, that people can be fired? well, at portland, if they cannot get you into the clinics, they will set you up to outside appointments. you go to those appointments. then the v.a. denies the claims.

when they send the denial, the only phone number is two call centers, the national call centers. no names on them. no way to contact the office where the denials come from. and you spend three days trying to track down a name. you finally get upset and blow up because you have severe ptsd, i,pression, and you have a tb traumatic brain injury. i have been blown up a few times. so then you are not allowed to have any names, so when you go to the ig, you cannot report anybody. so you go to report it and the ig blows you off. and then they tell you there is no oig in portland. when you go to -- they tell you there is no ig in portland. on the website, it tells you there is an office in portland. why is the v.a. still, in portland, attacking veterans?

guest: so a handful of different questions there. to the first part, talking about the phone calls for admitting 's decision right now has been to have patients call ahead of time to see if it is safe to come in and speak to doctors. i know that is frustrating for some folks who want to come see a doctor right away. v.a. has said it is for the safety of employees, other patients, and for veterans who want to come in. this speaks to the larger issue in the country about how quickly we are testing folks, how we are diagnosing this, and if we're missing cases because we're letting people just stay at home and not answer that. i wish i had a better answer than what v.a.'s protocol is right now, still the call ahead and see, trying to convince someone you are in a situation where you have to do this. i do know that v.a. has increased a lot of their anyoneicine options for

with ptsd, tbi, any of those issues. they should be able to get some sort of conference just like this, you computer, through their phones, be able to talk to someone, they have promised to make that available. if folks are not getting that, i encourage you to contact me, contact your local veterans groups, see what you can find out, why that is not being taken care of. ,n the benefits issue, v.a. with the telework issue i spoke of before, v.a. has shifted to a more national model on processing benefits. just because someone is in portland and files benefits there, doesn't mean that that case will be worked on in portland. when veterans get their disability claims denied or not a terribly is frustrating process to go through, a lot of unanswered

questions, problems figuring out who you can talk to and how to appeal. v.a. has tried to fast-track a lot of this, which means getting decisions quicker, getting things resolved quicker. for those that are not happy with that resolution, it can be incredibly frustrating. it is not being processed in portland does not mean that it is not an issue there. i know that the veterans service vfw ination, the particular, have been sounding the alarm about the changes that have been made, separate from coronavirus, from the benefits review process, how they look at problems. they are trying to stay on top of this, so i would encourage the caller, if you cannot get the right people at the v.a. , call the vfw and see if you can get a better answer. host: a question from one of our

viewers. what is the navy doing about the 13 naval members who retested positive? what is the current number? i don't have the current number, i have to give a call to my pentagon reporter. she has been on top of that for us. i know the navy is watching that closely, trying to figure out what that means. we have seen inflicting reports, whether -- conflicting reports, whether that is folks that have not recovered, a second diagnosis. you saw what happened with some of the other ships in the navy. those are great breeding grounds for a virus like this, living in close quarters, where it is impossible to isolate. that will be an area that the military is focused on, and needs to be extra focused on. we still don't know.

it's a major concern, problem. fingers crossed there is another solution to it. we know that there are another 13 sailors who are facing serious health problems. that is terrible news. host: let's go to larry and illinois. caller: good morning. g filed a lawsuit against the v.a. over saturday premium pay. i wonder if you have any information on where that case stands after resolution? thank you. guest: not familiar specifically with that case. not sure if you are referring to one ofue of hazard pay, the largest federal government employee unions, represents employees.e v.a. several other unions have been pushing for hazard pay for these front-line employees at v.a.

hospital doing that this. v.a. has provided adequate equipment, protections, adequate gowns, masks. the union has said that is crazy. they have had to recycle masks in the past few weeks, recycle find ways to protect themselves because equipment was limited. v.a. is insisting now they have enough. acknowledge over the past few months, some employees in nonemergency positions but still interacting with patients did not necessarily have all the masks and gowns and gloves that were needed. they said there were some adequate supplies, and rationing covered that. have nots and the v.a. had a great relationship over the last three years since the

trump administration began. there have been a lot of fights over union time, how much time can be spent on the clock versus doing v.a. jobs. the amount of space allocated in facilities for union officials to be able to work with employees, troubleshoot their concerns. union officials say they are under attack. saying theyls are are making sure that efforts are not being wasted by the unions. that has come to a head with this situation. v.a. has said they are doing everything they can to keep employees safe. the unions say we do not see it. not much of a change there. i believe that will continue, and we will continue to see reports of how union officials have been crying as loud as they can, saying someone has to listen to us, someone has to focus on keeping the employees safe.

you mentioned before, we have employees who have contracted the virus, some who have died. many of those in nonclinical roles, but still, some interaction with the v.a. system. covers thesene issues and more for military times, a deputy editor. you can go to militarytimes.com. thank you. we will take a short break. when we come back, we are talking to seniors only. how are you responding to the covid-19 pandemic? if you live in eastern part of the (202) 748-8000. mountain pacific, (202) 748-8001 . we will be right back. ♪ ♪ c-span has unfiltered coverage of congress, the white

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life, it would be an adventure. thats pointed out to them there are not any roads there, it is dangerous, there are alligators and worse, and people could die. but they knew better. the trip lasted a day and a half, there was a monsoon, there were snakes, alligators. they fled, but they liked the idea. it came about that they would take a trip once a year if they could, but with better planning. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern on c-span's q&a. ♪ >> the presidents, from public affairs. available now in paperback and e-book. presents biographies of every president, organized by their ranking by noted historians, from best to worst. and features perspectives into the lives of our nation's chief executives and leadership

styles. visit our website c-span.org/ thepresidents to learn more, and order your copy today, wherever books and e-books are sold. >> washington journal continues. host: we will spend the remainder of today's washington journal talking to seniors only. how are you responding to the covid-19 pandemic? what are you doing to keep yourself safe, how are you coping with isolation? --why has covid-19 hit seniors so hard? it is a complicated situation for older people. not only at they aren't higher risk of contracting the disease, and more likely to develop severe infections and die from it, but they are also the most likely to struggle with and suffer from the consequences of prevention strategies like social distancing. for people with dementia, alzheimer's disease, or reduced

mobility, social distancing can be impractical and nearly impossible to follow, making prevention and treatment even more complicated. let's go to david in albuquerque, new mexico. what are you doing to keep yourself safe? well, we have a small little business. we go out and we cover ourselves up. fromay pretty distanced our customers and clients, right? even though we are doing this, we are feeling kind of natural going back into society, wanting to go back into life, so on and so forth, working, trying to get ourselves back in order. another thing i want to say to stimulus,, about the the bill they are passing here, i can understand they are wanting to give money to the

american citizens to get through this coronavirus, which is the best thing there is in this bill. but i don't understand why the democrats want to put in the voting, mail thing? that has nothing to do with coronavirus. host: how old are you? caller: 55 years old. the coronavirus doesn't have a limit. it affects everybody. it doesn't matter what age you are. the relief in the law should be just coronavirus relief. understood. we are talking with seniors only this morning. forbes magazine has this headline. poll, u.s.o a harris seniors are least worried and least informed about covid-19 but most at risk. bill in evansville, tennessee. how old are you? caller: 83. host: are you worried about

coronavirus? caller: i am worried about it, naturally, i don't want to catch it, but i think the directions given by our state governor and local officials have not been out of reason and are easy to comply with. i do understand people with dementia and alzheimer's might have some problems with it. but other seniors should not have any problems. complexn an apartment that has nothing but seniors. most of them that i know should coping with what has been asked to protect themselves. what i cannot understand about the american people -- they must not be concerned about themselves at all. most of them are not too smart. i guess that is why.

host: in this apartment complex, or people practicing social distancing, how are you getting your groceries, coming in and out of your apartment? groceries,rder my and it comes through a company called instacart. and, my son lives in town, the things that i cannot get, he gets for me. as far as the people living in this apartment complex, from what i have seen, for example, i have never seen anyone wear a mask. i will wear one, but i have not seen anyone wear a mask. sub-government agency that prepares lunches for us -- we pay for them. i have gone over to pick up my lunch, and i have never seen anybody with a mask.

they sit within six feet of each other, they don't seem to care. host: have you had any cases in your apartment complex? o, but in the part of town of evansville that i live in, almost all the cases have been within approximately a one-mile radius of where i live. almost every case in this county. host: ok. curtis in south carolina. good morning to you. caller: good morning. m a 75-year-old senior, i have social security, a fairly decent tension, so i am not hurting as far as impact on my income. i live in my own house in a cul-de-sac. i don't think the people in this

cul-de-sac really take the virus seriously because there are five families on the end of the street -- i know the parents are going out to work. their kids are all playing together, about 11 or 12 children that play together. i am concerned about the state reopening their businesses too soon. but that seems to be the popular thing around here. host: will you, as a senior, patronize these businesses when they opened back up? movie go out to eat at restaurants, go in stores? girlfriend and i are very doubtful that this will be over with. plan, when the whole state opens up, we don't really plan to go out and do much with restaurants.

we might go to a movie theater. no, we don't think this virus will ease up anytime soon. host: frank in clarksburg, west virginia. hi, frank. your turn to tell your story. you?r: hi, greta, how are it is pretty rough. i had a heart attack february 13. then they found a blood clot. it has been tough. justmune system is now trying to catch up with everything. it scares me to death, and i am in west virginia. i don't trust this administration. i cannot help that. it has been proven it is hard to. c-span is great. c-span --een watching i have been watching c-span.

you all need to take part of your show and get a hold of seniors 65 and older. 8 dollars a month and i have a mortgage. it is tough. i have been out of the house since february four times. gloves, because i am scared of this. i don't trust the tests. you don't know how it is now. you don't really see any end in sight. it is pretty tough. host: you have left the house four times, to do what? caller: just to go to the store. host: are you not seeing your doctor for your heart condition at this time? caller: no, ma'am.

that is a luxury. luxury. doctor is a it is not like it is when you reach a certain time in your life. i am on medicare. especially with this, you are really not going to go to a hospital, dr. when i had a heart attack, i was there at 3:00 in the morning, i called the emergency squad, and they had to come out and carry me. tough getting in and out of here. i have a pastor friend that comes over every once in a while that will help the. i'm telling you, when you have a place that you are living in, you cannot keep up with the things going wrong with it. i cook my own food. that is tough. i usually eat once a day.

help,t ask anybody for never had to all my life. worked like a dog. been through some tough jobs. c-span should take a part of their segments to talk to people over 65. i am 73. i have said, especially now, because i have blood clots. host: frank, what did you do for a living? caller: i have been in coal, gl ass. there used to be all kinds of factories around here. anybody that has worked any kind i physical work, back when was working, that is what you did, physical work. computers, you never heard of a computer. of any kind, you wrote it down on a piece of paper. [laughter]

that is what you kept it on. --re have been times on jobs there have been jobs where i have no statistics and figures that you did. now, it's been made simpler. i think it is bad for the younger generation. younger, you need to be out there and be more physically active. i just don't trust tests. paranoid about this stuff. host: how are you coping with isolation then? caller: that is a real good question. i listen to music a lot to get my mind off of the stuff going on around me, you know? it just seems like there is nothing i can do about what is going on. but it seems like those that

are in control, there is always an excuse for not doing something. all.'t understand that at you know? if it is hard for us people, seniors, elderly, living on i just don'tty, understand -- here is one thing that gets me. in the beginning of this administration, when they controlled all parts of congress, they passed a billion dollars over to the millionaires. now, we cannot give people on a fixed income or the poor any money, because we had to give it to the millionaires. they have no problem with that. host: appreciate your call. erica is next in san diego. good morning to you. caller: good morning. host: how are you coping and

responding to the pandemic? what are you doing to keep yourself safe? caller: i am doing well, actually. i am 78, i live in my own house, no debt. now i have a dog walker. but i'm doing ok. what i am thinking about all the time is all of that money that people. to where does it come from? we are broke. we have trillions of dollars in deficits. it is crazy. iam not rich or anything, but am independent, i am taking care of myself, except for my dog walking. i just wonder where all of that money is coming from when this country is broke? ok, excepts kind of for my back. i appreciate you taking my call.

host: thank you for the call. steve in bloomington, illinois. what is life like for you? caller: i called last month, my mother died in a nursing home, so i have been taking everything serious. putting on a mask and gloves when i leave the house. i am 67. i live in south chicago. when i am watching all of the information coming in -- i watched c-span. then i go back between msnbc and fox news to see what they are leading with every day. now they are doing the obamagate, when everyone else is covering the pandemic. i respect dr. birx, dr. fauci, but when i see trunk him on, i change the channel, i cannot stand watching him lie about this stuff. host: carla in missouri.

good morning to you. caller: hi, greta. [indiscernible] host: i'm having a hard time hearing you. can you start over? caller: i said i may c-span junkie. [laughter] host: good. caller: i have been with you since brian lamb started c-span. i'm going to be 88 years old, i live in northeast missouri. we have not had a single case of covid in our community. i have only been out four times in the last three months. for myit to get gas motorhome. i have one acre of lawn. ofan into a motorcycle club 60-year-olds. nobody wears a mask here. i am the only one that wears one. host: of 60-year-olds.

why is it, do you think? you have seen your peers not wearing a mask. have you talked to them, have they told you why? caller: i don't go to the grocery store. i have a housekeeper that helps with my gardening. i have a flower garden where i have all kinds of help. but i don't go out. people here act that there is nothing going on, they just go about their business. closed, which bothers me, but they deliver books to people. so i keep busy. i don't mind being alone. books, as i have c-span, solitaire on my ipad, i am fine. i talk to people on the phone, text, keep in touch with my children and family.

i don't mind staying at home at all. , the countrys me cannot understand, one size does not fit all when it comes to getting back into a regular situation. that bothers me a great deal. why people think everyone has to do the same thing. host: thank you for watching c-span all these years. we appreciate it. stella and falling waters, west virginia. caller: hi. too.e c-span, i am 88 years old. years whenck in the the wages were not so high. i was so glad when they said we would get a stimulus check, which would come in handy paying my bills. i am stressed out. i called everybody i know.

i even called social security, the number that was supposed to be on the trump letter. i cannot get any answer about when i'm supposed to get it. social security told me about two or three months. that is not going to help me at 88 years old. you never know what will come the next day. i just thought maybe you could help me. i'm sorry. i cannot. i think you are doing what you're supposed to do by contacting the agency. how are you able to pay bills right now? i'm sorry. i cannot. caller: robbing peter to pay paul. my light bill is so high, i pay for my trash pickup, all my other household bills. i have a couple credit cards. i cannot get them paid down because i'm constantly adding to

it. i cannot get medicaid because they say i make too much. $15 a month in food stamps. now they are talking about cutting that out. i just don't have enough money to go around. that is why i was so happy when i heard they would give me a stimulus, even though it is not a lot of money. i started out at $.50 an hour. these people working, getting the checks -- what did you do later on in life, what was your career? caller: i was a sewing machine operator. back then, gas was only $.28 a gallon for your car, if you had one. now everything is so high, and we don't get great social security. nu rajuona roger -- ma

tweeting out that the capital is getting word that president trump is coming to the senate today. as gop debates whether to pass another emergency package or continue to hit pause. also happening today, the federal reserve chair and the treasury secretary, steve mnuchin, will be testifying remotely before the senate banking committee about that very issue, whether or not to pass another economic stimulus bill, and about the previous ones that have passed and where the money has gone. you'll be able to watch them here when it gets underway any moment now on c-span, c-span.org , or if you have to get out of the house right now, you can download the free c-span radio app.

caller: how are you, greta? host: i am well. how are you? caller: i have been sick. the virus is another thing to me. since last september to january 28, i had two or three heart attacks. i got copd. they were able to balance the medications with the kidney. have arthritis in my right on so i cannot drive. -- right arm. i am pretty isolated. i live in the woods. host: how are you getting groceries and how are you coping with the isolation? caller: the best thing i have, i have four cats. they are everything to me.