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washington journal, we look at the latest on the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic with virginia ben clinen and thomas suozzi. ♪ good morning. thursday, may 28, 2020. the house returns at 9:00 a.m. totern to vote on renew federal surveillance powers. president trump will receive a briefing at the white house on the 2020 hurricane season after the first launch on u.s. soil was delayed due to the weather. on the death in minneapolis monday have an unarmed black man at the hands of police. after some protest turned violent overnight, we open our phones to hear from you about the state of race relations in

this country. if you think race relations are getting better, (202) 748-8000. if you think they are getting worse, (202) 748-8001. if you think they are staying about the same, (202) 748-8002. you can send us a text this morning. that number is (202) 748-8003. if you do include your name and where you're from. otherwise catch up with us on social media on c-span @cspanwj. on facebook, facebook.com/c-span. a very good thursday morning. you can start calling in as we show you the lead story on the website of the minneapolis star tribune with this headline from 5:30 a.m.. looting and flames erupted in minneapolis amid growing protests over george floyd's death. the mayor of minneapolis calling wednesday for criminal charges against the white police officer

seen in the video kneeling against the neck of a handcuffed black man who complained he couldn't breathe and died in police custody. the story from the associated press noting the statement from ,he mayor of minneapolis saying "i wrestled more than anything else over the last 36 hours one fundamental question. wise the man who killed george floyd not in jail?" he later added, "i saw no threat, nothing that would signal this kind of force was necessary." the widely seen video of george floyd in his final moments. members of the minneapolis delegation and state officials weighing in, including the governor of minnesota. saying our state watched george floyd's humanity get erased. our feelings of anger and disillusionment are justified. he went on to tweet that is why

i am pushing for a full and fair investigation. we must examine the systemic inequities and discrimination that led to this incident, and far too many that have come before. weighing in via twitter president trump. the president saying at my request the fbi and department of justice are well into an investigation as to the very sad and tragic death in minnesota of george floyd. the president going on to tweet, i have asked for this investigation to be expedited and greatly appreciate work done by local law enforcement. my heart goes out to george's family and friends. justice will be served is what the president promised. yesterday the topic of george floyd's desk taken up on the floor of the house of representatives by several members, including congressman greene of texas. [video clip] say mr. speaker that black lives do not matter

as much as white lives. if black lives matter as much as white lives, mr. george floyd breathing. be if black lives matter did as much as white lives, ahmaud arbery would have finished his jog. if black lives matter as much as white lives, christian cooper would not have been falsely accused. lack lives do not matter as much as white lives. why? because we tolerate hatred, bigotry, and discrimination. we tolerate it, and because we tolerate it we allow it to be perpetuated. we in this country have the power to do something about the racism that relates to black people. we have tolerated it since 1619 and the arrival of black people in the americas.

it's time for us to do something about it. we had the opportunity to do something about it when the chief operator of this country is a racist and a bigot. we should do something about that. we had the opportunity, but we did not. we tolerated it. some went so far as to almost with their commentary about the comments being made. oh, he's just a jerk. black lives matter and we ought not tolerate it to the extent that we have. thelieve that we in congress of the united states of america have a duty to do what has been done in the past. we declared a war on poverty. we declared a war on drugs. why not declare a war on racism? why not decide that here and now we are not going to allow racism to continue in this country to

the extent that people lose their lives? green,ongressman al democrat from texas on the floor of the house of representatives yesterday. we are asking about the state of race relations in the united states.do you think it's getting better, getting worse, or staying about the same? phone lines for each one of those answers for you to call in. from the new york times, fury in minneapolis over the latest in a long line of police killings. hundreds of people taking to the streets on tuesday. some of those protests turning violent and even deadly last night. gary is up first on the line for those who think it's getting worse in this country when it comes to race relations out of las vegas. caller: good morning to you. first time doing this. i am a black man, a very fair complected black man.

morning raised in new york city. 66 years old, seen a lot, and go. lived in chicago for 10 years and was almost assaulted and killed by 10 to 15 chicago police officers for nothing. this is a very serious situation. it is ongoing. i have been assaulted by many people of different complexions, white people, for no reason. even though you can't tell by looking at me, you can tell because i associate with darker complected black people. what is happening in minneapolis is happening all over the country. i sympathize with all these people, but race relations have gotten incredibly worse in my lifetime. so -- say "inlk about -- you lifetime."

what is your first memory of race relations as a national issue in your lifetime? you say you are 66 years old? caller: yes. i was of age during the civil rights, in the early 1960's, the boycotts, when blacks got the ability, the right to vote. the race riots in newark, new jersey, right across the water from where he lived in new york city. there was a lot going on back then, as i'm sure you know. from that point on, and with the advent of what is going on since this administration has taken power, everything has gone downhill to the point where i don't know what will be left if and when this situation is resolved and someone else takes over the administration. scary.

not for me, because i'm kind of on my way out of here, but for my children and grandchildren, i'm very concerned about race relations in america, as we all should be. this is an example of a bigger evil. institutional racism, it has existed since the beginning of and country, its origins, will be until the right people take a stand. host: first time calling in. the rule is you can call in once every 30 days. hope you call in later down the road. staten island, new york. saying race relations are staying about the same. caller: i am a big fan of c-span. i have an objection to how c-span has framed this question. host: what is the objection, kevin? haser: my question is, when race relations been good in america? have things changed?

yes. what specific era can we point to to say race relations have been good in this country? by and large the representation of black people in this country have been we have been enslaved, in servitude, or impoverished. seen.s how we are there are real divides in this country. however, there is progress. but that progress i just cannot point to a time when things have been good. it escapes me. host: if you can't point to a time when things have been good, what would you point to in terms of progress? obama, of course. representation of blacks in many different professional professions. era weseems like every are struggling to show we can do the job, that we are qualified.

i hear the comment a lot, qualified black. i never hear the comment followed by white. struggle.nstant it's the same struggle since 1619 of just proving that we can chance. theen a educational horrific in new york city. that is what is going to be advances us as we see with barack obama. i have trouble pointing to a time when things were good. host: out of north carolina on the line for those who say it's getting worse. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. are you there? great. andnt to commend mayor fry the governor. this morning, i watched a documentary on the underground

railroad. back when that was going on, white people couldn't come forward, they couldn't speak out, they were too busy hiding blacks, and if they were caught, they would have been hung as well. to speak out now means something. relations have gotten awfully worse if you ask me. people have no qualms about being rude, being disrespectful. -- i have experienced some awful things just in the last couple of years because, in my opinion only, donald trump as our leader has let it be known that it is ok to be rude, disrespectful regardless of color. added insult to everything else that's going on

in this country. as far as race relations, it hasn't improved. upt: one question that comes when we ask this question is, compared to when? you say things have gotten worse. compared to when to you? be 72 tomorrow. for me, you ask the other gentleman when was his first recall of race relations that was outstanding. remembers when i seeing on black-and-white tv. ugly. so stark and i sighed in a jet magazine. jet magazine. it started to perforate through the country. people started to talk about it. that is when it was "getting

better." as soon as we got the right to went downhill again. nobody wanted -- there were always reasons why you couldn't vote. workwere -- as far as i beside police. i know what they did. boston, the streets of the trauma district, shootings, stabbings, hangings. isil police, good and bad, who were very abusive unnecessarily. that is not the first time that a police officer has put his victim the neck of a already handcuffed. what could he possibly do? how could he be worried about his life? then you have people begging to get off? what could he have been thinking?

around,others standing watching. camera -- itck the scares me. i know that i am on the way out, too. just like the last caller. i want to see things improve. to see education for people. you talk about reparations -- no, we talk about reparations. they don't. there is nothing in biden's agenda for black america. certainly not in donald trump's. cuomo, all of the wonderful things he did handling the pandemic because trump wouldn't talk back and says, you to trump and they are going to do things for infrastructure even though they have identified how the black and brown population have suffered, and

everything that's come out of it. i am at a loss for words. i'm scared for my people. host: a call from north carolina. a few comments that have come in via text message and twitter. carol in panama city says race worse. there getting cop should be charged with murder. the other threewho did nothing and watched are complicit in murderous actions and also guilty. race relations are worse in the trump era because trump himself is a racist and bigoted. rick says race is the same, just more cameras recording they hate that we knew and complained about for decades. trump emboldened the racists so they know they are protected. jeff from chicago, race relations have gotten worse. the stoking by accident of president trump saying there is no need to stop the race baiting from president trump president trump needs to be impeached or ousted from office. on the riots and violence that

we have seen in videos emerging overnight, every single rider and looter regardless of race should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. twitter ands via our text message service. talking about this for the next 15 minutes or so. we want to share with you some of the sound from the house floor yesterday on this topic, including from texas congresswoman sheila jackson lee. [video clip] >> now, brother george floyd, i was up until 2:00 in the morning with the pain of the video. george floyd, he was raised in houston, in my district, went to jack yates high school. he lived there for 40 years, a gentle giant. he was taken away from us by a knee on his neck crying for his mama. there must be charges.

they must be brought to justice even if they wear a uniform. in order for law & order to be upheld, everyone is watching. send mellow officers messages. outrageous. my heart is burning, my heart is hurting, i am crying will stop when i heard him say mama, mama, mama and his brothers and sisters have the pain of hearing that over and over. good samaritans were asking, take your knee off his neck, you are choking him, you are killing him. how can this be? godietly say, mr. speaker, is on our side. we are a nation of laws and the constitution. i ask for these things, all i justice,irness, simple and mercy for these families. may they rest in peace, those who have gone on and others at

the hands of those who should not have brought them down. god bless you. i yield back. the house coming in at 9:00 a.m. eastern this morning. we will take you there for gavel-to-gavel coverage. when they do a shorter to our washington journal this morning. our question is we are asking about race relations in the united states. are they getting better, worse, or staying the same? gary is on the line for those who think it's getting worse out of fletcher, north carolina. good morning. caller: i just picked the line because it is the one i was able to get through on. i am the one who made the prejudice caller call a few years back and had reviews on television. host: i remember.

you were talking about your views on race relations. i believe you said that you don't want to be racist? right? caller: i didn't say racist, i said prejudice. everybody gets the words mixed up. people don't know the definition between racism and prejudice. they shout it, but they don't know the difference. prejudice is when you assume you know what another person's thinking or how they will act before you had the chance to even meet them. racism is when you believe that a particular group of people has a certain presumption or way of being that is different from other races, but only inclusive to that race. that is racism. when you believe the whole group

interacts a certain way or has a way of being is only conclusive to that. that is racism. we are all racist and away way. prejudice is when you think you know what another person's thinking or how they will act before you know who they are. that is what's happening here. what is the difference between this man being a bad, abusive or being a racist? how do we know what is inside this man's head? he could be the world's most brutal -- what you call them? abusive cops. ok. he could have done that to a white person, any person, that could be his standard way of bringing down people. he could be the meanest person in the world. we decided we know what is in his head without knowing him,

because race relations are so bad we have been taught to think this way and head in this direction right away. we have been taught to be prejudice. host: what do you think should happen here? we have the headline from the associated press yesterday that the mayor of minneapolis said the police officer should be charged. caller: he is prejudice. he is claiming to know how this person thinks, acts. he is claiming to be inside this man's head. he should be arrested for police brutality right off the bat. if he wants to share what's in his head, or someone wants to hire a mindreader, we can add some kind of racial connotation to it. the fact is, he's a brutal, police brutality person that doesn't belong on the police force. over excessive, he couldn't

control his anger, he wasn't able to do his job diligently and keep his cool. other cops being abused, water dumped on them, and they kept their cool. this guy, it got personal. composure, his professionalism. he doesn't belong on the police force like that. how he got through -- maybe the job was too stressful for him. i don't know what he does when he goes to work every day. he deals with the black community. he finally lost his mind. he's a brutal police officer. host: to the original question, where do you think we are in race relations to this country? caller: terrible. terrible, and it's getting worse. the presumption of knowing what this man is thinking, not what he did, but the fact that we gr

americaeveloped into an that claims to know how he is thinking, what his political views are, what his ideology about other people, other races is. then to say he only did this because of that -- that he was -- he hated someone so much he was ready to give up his whole life, his family, his job, his career to murder someone in front of a camera. that sounds like a messy person to me. host: gilbert out of birmingham, alabama. the line for those who say it race relations are staying the same in this country. caller: good morning. fors for c-span -- thanks c-span. the reason i said things are

remaining the same is because everything has changed and nothing has changed. as a black man 70 years plus living most of my life in was about, the first institutional racism. when you've got the financial sector, the housing, and employment sector perpetuating racism, and most people of color who are supposed to be our leaders not consistently addressing this, this leads to this type of problem. i would say that we have the perfect storm in america today. this is all we needed for race relations the pop up with this with the social upheaval as if they were in 1969. you are familiar with the current commissioner report. why is it when we had a so-called black elected official of this country when trayvon martin was killed like a dog, what did the say about that?

brock obama on two occasions, when the lady was accused of wrongdoing in the agriculture sector of the country, the head of the agriculture admitted to wrongdoing. what did the president do about it? the window of opportunity was there for barack obama to address racism in america, not only him, but other black officials who want to sugarcoat and water it down. you cannot water racism down. host: this is randy in michigan who writes, when you see it on tv it looks like race relations are getting worse. i wonder if that's the same when person.in

when i was hired in the shop in 1976i worked with a black man on my right and a white college professor who quit the university of michigan on my left. we ate lunch together and worked side-by-side for 10 hours a day. maybe i was blessed to have that experience. i've never had trouble talking to anyone of the different race. westminster, maryland. you say it's getting worse? caller: i do. i've had the same experience. i worked in a bank where all of the tellers -- there were two girls and one boy -- they were all black. they were the nicest people i worked with. it was a very rotten branch because it was dirty and everything else, but just nice people. that is what happened to the black man in minnesota. i'm sorry, but that's the worst thing of ever seen. host: floyd in jonesville, virginia on the line for those who say it's getting better. caller: good morning, john.

call.you for taking my i did see on tv where the policeman had his knee on the man's neck. what he did was absolutely wrong. it was murder, probably, but it's wrong. any kind of racism is wrong. but america needs to come together. we just had over 100,000 people killed by china i this virus. they turned this virus loose on us. if we don't come together and confront china, it is liable to happen again. we need to get together. i would like to give everyone a website, that i would like to say first couple of guys who called and said we don't worry about it because they are going out. in other words they are getting old and may die. they need to go to www. shepherd'schapel.com and learn

about all these things. learn about what it means to go to heaven. when you go to heaven there will be peace and no racism. china has absolutely attacked this country and we better be coming together to come against china and worry about those racists who killed all of our people, all colors, all races, and put a stop to them, and figure out where we are going when we leave this world. host: our last call her in this first segment out of detroit on the line for those who think race relations are getting worse in this country. caller: good morning, and greetings yet again from coronavirus-embattled motown. this is almost like deja vu all over again. first it was ahmaud arbery, now

it is george floyd. what kills me are the excuses some racist white people, particularly conservatives, are making to try to defend this. they will make black on black crime in chicago, which in my opinion has nothing to do with this -- this is about justice. i would like to make some suggestions if i could just do some form of law enforcement reform. host: we have less than one minute left. go ahead. do away with, to the grand jury system. second, to replace internal affairs with a police review board of civilian oversight, and as a mandatory part of police a racialfor sensitivity course for every white male who wants to become a police officer. caller in this

first segment. plenty more to talk about, including two members of congress to talk about the federal coronavirus response and this week's key votes on capitol hill. we will be joined by congressman ben cline, virginia republican, and later a democrat from new york, tom suozzi. ♪ and his new book talking to strangers, the author details why he thinks people make inaccurate judgments about people they don't know. >> stepped out of the car. >> i don't have to step out of my car. >> i'm going to drag you out of here. >> she is imprisoned for resisting arrest. two days later she hangs herself in her cell, a tragic and unexpected result. the whole exchange, which goes

on and on -- we saw a small snippet of it -- when i first saw that online, that is when i realized what i wanted to write about. if you break that exchange down moment by moment, you see multiple failures of understanding, empathy, of a million things. >> sunday at 8:00 eastern on c-span's q&a. ♪ >> the president, 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 nations chief executives and leadership styles. visit c-span.org/thepresidents

to learn more about each president and historian featured. get your copy today wherever books and e-books are sold. "washington journal" continues. now bye are joined virginia republican ben cline. congressman, good morning. with every state in some form of reopening, can you start explaining where virginia is in that process as we hear a little bit of background noise. the office building is also a bit of a construction zone this morning. guest: there is always something going on on capitol hill. i will try to talk over the noise. virginia is in a phase i situation where most of the state is beginning the process of opening back up. our governor has placed a large number of qualifications and conditions on things like

businesses and restaurants as they reopen. it is problematic for many small businesses and areas like mine, notl areas where we have had the degree of infection that northern virginia and richmond have had. we are hoping for a swifter opening where it can be regionally approached and areas like ours can open faster. we have to get people back to work. businesses are hanging on by a thread, and many have closed for good. we need to help businesses and their employees who are working hard every day. host: we will talk to her as much of the noise as we can this morning. you are trying to do that. trying to reopen. what do you and your constituents need in the next response bill that comes from capitol hill? guest: any small businesses are struggling. the cares act does help them by

implementing the forgivable loan program for small businesses. we are trying to make improvements to the program regarding the level of employment you have to have, whether it is 75%, whether that is a hard rule, or if there can certaingive and take as small businesses, retail especially, doesn't need as many employees now as they will in the holiday season and the third quarter. there is give-and-take. we will pass modified legislation, and hopefully that will help small businesses going forward. we would like to see reliability relief because there are hungry trial lawyers ready to pounce and start the lawsuits. -- the democrats on our side of

the aisle, on our side of the hill. hopefully it will pass. host: let me give you phone numbers as we hope some of the construction noise will pass. .emocrats, (202) 748-8000 republicans, (202) 748-8001. .ndependents, (202) 748-8002 we are talking with congressman ben cline, member of the judiciary committee. i want to come back to the last point you were making about liability protection. how would that work in practice? what should employees expect from their employer when they come back to work, and what should it they expect as we are trying to reopen amid a pandemic? >> employers are for the most part taking all necessary precautions to stay safe, keep

their employees safe, and keep the public safe. no one wants to go into a business establishment or they may come into contact with the virus or be at risk of contracting the virus. you will see employees wearing masks and maintaining social hands,ing, washing their and taking all necessary steps. what you will have is a little difference here and there depending on the establishment, what type of business it is. there are types of businesses where people have to come into close contact with each other, whether it is a hair or nail establishment, or something like that, where you will have some close contact. voluntarily goto into that establishment, knowing they will be in close contact, knowing that is in the normal course of business to have a person cutting hair over your shoulder, if that person comes

into contact with the virus or contracts the virus, you would have to have a higher standard legally before a lawsuit could be taken against that business establishment. it would require gross negligence on the part of the business owner before a customer or someone who is injured or contracts the virus over the course of normal business could receive compensation. host: we will try to get you on the phone. this is the beauty of live television. we will try to rejoin you in a second. we will talk to a few callers as we wait for you to get on the phone. we appreciate you working with us over the noise. warrenton, north carolina, a democrat. go ahead with your question or comment. caller: yes. antichristp is the

and we are going to die if we live with him and all his antics he is running, raising, and pping about. he is the antichrist. he has no consideration for any life except for his dollar bills. host: william out of houston, texas. good morning. caller: good morning, c-span. how is everybody today? the coronavirus is a system that exposes the weakness of the american system. needy is always the worst outcome of it. he needs to be stopped, and it will be stopped. but in the fourth quarter, my grandkids and great grandkids, eventually they will ass will be aen cl

past issue. we will all probably be gone, but i pray someday the people who are the most needy will never suffer again like this. host: one more call before we try to get back with the congressman on the phone. diane out of new jersey. a republican. good morning. atler: when i look everything that has happened with this epidemic, i am noticing a lot of people who are what you might say on medicaid, medicare, it seems they are dying at a higher rate. people, when i say poorer people a lot of them are disadvantaged african-americans and hispanic people who live on the fringes. it scares me because it seems

almost as if they want to get rid of the people who are poor, and i have to turn this television down. your pointnk we got and we have the congressman back. we can let him respond to that, and perhaps he might've heard one of the other callers as well. congressman, thank you for joining us by phone. guest: thank you for having me back on the phone. host: this is much better. guest: i'm glad there is work being done on capitol hill. all too often you see the elected officials, especially on the democrat side, nancy pelosi and others, pulling bills like the fisa bill from the floor so we aren't able to work today. many of my colleagues on the others giving their proxy vote to members, not even coming to washington today. over 70 members of the democratic party giving their votes -- they are supposed to be

representing their constituents, but they are home collecting a paycheck while others are voting for them. this is the first time proxy voting has been tried. it's a horrible precedent and has never been done in over 200 years in the house of representatives. i'm glad there is some work being done on the buildings, at least. there is construction going on if the legislation is not moving that we need to see happening. in response to the caller, prayer is important. we should all be praying during this time. we should be doing our part to help our neighbors. the last caller talking about folks in need. we need to reach out to our neighbors and make sure everybody is helped through this pandemic. renewthe fisa bill, to instead of expired domestic surveillance powers, president trump saying he would veto the bill last night. this is his tweet from yesterday evening. if the fisa bill is passed

tonight -- of course it did get pulled and we are expecting perhaps a vote today -- president trump says i will quickly veto it. our country just suffered through the against abuse of power, the fisa bill was part of it. would you expect the fate of the fisa bill to be on the floor? guest: ironically nancy pelosi has been twisting arms trying to get her side to vote for it. i didn't vote for the first time, i won't vote for today, because we have to have significant reforms to the fisa program. a horwitz report at the end of the year identified several problems with the current fisa process. we will have the senate judiciary committee bringing forward rod rosenstein next week to talk about reforms necessary to the fisa process. i think for the president to use this bill, which makes a change to the small segment of the fisa for larger leverage

reforms is entirely appropriate, and i support him. host: the investigation into the crossfire hurricane russia probe investigation by the senate judiciary committee beginning next week, you mentioned rob rosenstein is expected to testify. i know you aren't a senator, but if you had the chance to ask him a question, what would you ask? guest: we would definitely want to know about all of the violations that are going on. not just in the segment found in the horwitz report. additional inquiries have been made, and additional problems have been discovered in the program. i think rosenstein will have to justify are those of us who are skeptical of this program where the government can surveillance on citizens without a warrant. that strikes me as inherently

contradictory to the constitutional protections provided to every man, woman, and child in the country. i think we will have to start at the beginning and justify the program's existence, and why congress should not do a wholesale repeal or overhaul of what the fisa program has become. host: thank you for joining us by phone this morning. a few more colors for you. this is bobby out of west you.nia -- caller for this is bobby out of west virginia. good morning. my question is on this you with the liability, know, this is unforeseen territory us americans are entering into.

acan understand being liability on the coronavirus panic response, but in this bill on the liability aspect of it, i seem to be hearing -- i haven't ll -- but as it is when it comes down to liability these, if the law is on people's toes with a liability other than the fact of the disease itself and other areas on liability. in know, that is infringing a totally different aspect other than what it was designed for specifically. peopley do some harm to who work in different industries, or whatever, or

something or other and set us won throughts we the courts on liability, and everything like that. host: got your question. go ahead. .uest: he is absolutely right we have to maintain the system in place whereby those who are victims of gross negligence on the part of a business owner can get relief. bars would remain in place, those standards would remain in place for liability for businesses.they would still be liable in cases of gross negligence. it is that frivolous lawsuits the senate is trying to get after. those who just add cost to the bottom line for every small business, every mom-and-pop shop who has to pay, whether it is

liability insurance rates, general insurance rates, or the business.st of doing we want to make sure those costs are not artificially raised as a result of frivolous lawsuits unscrupulous trial lawyers as a result of this pandemic. that is what this bill is all about, and i hope the senate passes it and sends it to the house so we can consider it. virginia.ers from redford, is that in your district? guest: is to the south, but close enough. caller: i don't really have a question. i think we have to have the liability thing, take the fisa thing, and trump, given the situation and how it evolved, i don't think the federal response could have been much better. i just have to have a comment

after listening to the show. in the morning show it has become a rant and rave against donald trump show. it was really, really a good form and i would watch it constantly. sometimes i have to even switch to cbs or nbc because it's terrible. i think he's spot on on liability. i have a daughter who has a small business, and it does have to happen. i just wanted to leave my comment. host: what is her small business? we lost kenny. congressman, go ahead. think c-span does a great job of trying to be fair, balanced, and reach out to republicans, democrats, and independents when they want to get input. does come to work with a certain approach on thats, it is an approach

believes in small business, believes in hard-working americans who go to work every the world ato make better place, make their country a better place, trying to get through the pandemic for themselves, their country, their community, making sure our across.et i appreciate c-span having neon and letting me respond to the questions that folks have. host: harrisonburg i believe is in your district. guest: it is. caller: good morning. i have a question. i wanted to know what your ranks --were resending i was wondering her thoughts on that. guest: we are concerned about the rate of infection in our poultry processing facilities, and i have reached out to

agriculture to make sure workers are protected in that process. we want to make sure that all workers are protected and at the same time make sure there are protections from frivolous lawsuits that may be filed by trial lawyers against hard-working businessmen and women. achieving that balance is important step achieving the balance on fisa, making sure we don't sacrifice our constitutional freedoms and liberties in return for national security. the constitution, you know, it survived through the spanish flu in 1918. it survived different plagues and the civil war, and you name it. the constitution survived. it will survive this without needing proxy voting. it will survive without needing the heavy hand of fisa as is

currently constructed. we can reform and improve it so there are due process protections put in for american citizens, and the constitution will continue to survive and america will thrive and move forward. host: appreciate your time on the phone this morning. we are going to let you get your day on capitol hill. we are going to return to the question we started our program with on race relations in this country. just asking people if they are getting better, worse, or staying about the same. i wonder how you would weigh in on that question? guest: we are all concerned when we see examples on tv about excessive police violence, and in particularly in minority communities we have to make sure that our police receive the trust and support of the citizens, and it has to be -- through the work

that the police do in the communities. i think the more police and be in our communities working to help those communities address whether it is violence or property crimes or things like that, the better our communities be. i share the concerns with many about what i see on the news, and i hope we can move to a more equal and prosperous society together. host: ben cline from virginia, member of the house judiciary committee. thank you for working with us this morning. guest: thank you very much. host: we will return to the question we began our program with. the state of race relations in this country. if you think they are getting better, (202) 748-8000. if you think they are getting worse, (202) 748-8001. if you think they are staying the same, (202) 748-8002.

you can start calling in now. as we note the passing of a longtime member of congress. here's the headline from the washington post. texas, seven year pow in vietnam who became a texas congressman died at 89. it was announced yesterday. the washington post noting a former spokesperson for the congressman announced his death, not disclosing the cause except that it was not related to the coronavirus pandemic. the congressman died may 27 at a hospital in plano, texas at 89 years old. an airplane pilot held captive for almost seven years during war.ietnam he talked a little about that experience during his final speech on the floor of the house of representatives in december of 2018. here is the late congressman. [video clip] thank you, mr. chairman. thank you so much.

you know, this is going to be my last time up here. y'all are great, and it's a pleasure to talk to you. you know, someone once told me that the house of representatives, being there was a different kind of hell, you know? when i was sworn into the u.s. house 27 years ago i said i had survived hell on earth at the infamous hanoi hilton in the texas house, and i guess i had gone from hell to hell to hell. while there have been some hellish long nights here, and days, what i will remember is how thankful i am to have had the opportunity to serve america and defend freedom from the halls of congress.

i want to thank you to the constituents of my third district of texas, thank you to my colleagues and friends in this room, and thank you to my country. serving in congress has been one of the highest honors of my life. we live in the greatest country in the world, and don't forget it. any legacy behind, i hope it's one of service above self. god bless you. god bless america. and i salute you in this great nation. [applause] >> "washington journal" continues. host: continuing our conversation asking you about the state of race relations in this country. a few headlines, the front page of usa today. another american city reels at

death at the hands of police. a memorial here wednesday. in chicago, that memorial for george floyd who is killed in minneapolis on monday. another headline from the new york times, fury in minneapolis over the latest in a long line of police killings, the headline saying a troubled force tries to overcome the past. that is the front page of the new york times. we will show you a few pictures from the minneapolis star tribune. this is their photographer, oflos gonzalez's pictures the protest. some of them turning violent and even deadly, clashes with police throughout the night in minneapolis. taking your phone calls as we show you some of the images. we want to hear from you about if you think race relations are getting better, worse, or staying the same. woodmere, new york.

it's getting worse in this country. why is that? caller: if you include everything, how we are treating how people of asian descent are being attacked, and how the police seem never to learn that all citizens deserve equal treatment -- just like the virus that's going around -- and every other pandemic of social ill, like mental illness or get out -- we will not of this until we have a president who can actually unite america, and make them americans, make them feel we are part of one country. if you look at the way other on andes all put a mask said we are in this together,

you have people sitting in pools with no masks of foot away from the next person thinking as long as that person is the same color as me, and ofi have got nothingy about. -- they talk about non-college-educated whites, non-college-educated women, when are we going to have a country rake i can hold his hands up and say to i want to own guns or send my kids to college? which is more important to me? we are going nowhere right now intellectually. host: we showed you some of those pictures from the minneapolis star tribune. this picture from the pages of the washington times today. press photograph that has been making the rounds. protesters and police facing each other at a rally in

minneapolis over the death of george floyd. the four police officers involved in that arrest were fired hours after the bystander video surfaced and began making the rounds. one defense attorney confirmed officerpresenting the seen with his knee on george floyd's neck. the story on the front pages of most major newspapers today. frome seeing images protesters and asking you to weigh in this morning. if you think race relations are .etting better, (202) 748-8000 if you think they are getting worse, (202) 748-8001. if you think they are about the same, (202) 748-8002. maryland.sington, good morning. caller: how are you doing? good.

i am a naturalized immigrant. i have an interracial daughter. these instances of police brutality are disgusting. i think there needs to be a system overhaul. when we get evidence of wrongdoing, we swiftly get rid of bad officers. example withor central park. i think those are a little bit rare. as interactions between white and black people have increased. thanks for the call. clarence in washington, d.c. says race relations are staying about the same. caller: good morning. arelieve race relations pretty much the same. that we differences now

have phones that can record events, we can see what has been going on historically. systemic.cism is police relations to black people -- remember the slave catchers? they were chase slaves during slavery? has always been contentious between black people and the police. there is a pattern. day withw the other the lady in the park in new york with the gentleman telling her her dog should be on a leash, she knew the system would support her when she threatened the guy saying if i call the

i am going to tell them you are african-american. she knew that system has a callrn that if white women on a black person, they know the police would come. they would come with a threat of possibly killing that person. system -- the the system is the same. host: that is clarence and washington, d.c. here are comments from our tweet messaging service. many of you tweeting this morning, although the death of george floyd was a despicable act, it does not justify rioting and looting. lack leadership needs to convey that message -- black leadership needs to convey that message. from buffalo, new york,

minneapolis is disgusting and those x cops should be in jail. this has got to stop eared one more from fred in texas, "i do not think it is about race, it is an improperly trained police force. using illegal force against a citizen." some of the comments from text messaging. at can also sent a tweet c-spanwj. here is one more, speaker nancy pelosi asked about the killing of george floyd at her weekly press conference yesterday. [video clip] >> this is a tragedy. this is a crime. i feel bad for the family, but also the community.

thisd conversations about on our caucus call earlier today. forms and the rest -- to continue the conversation. there is a commission on the status of young african-american men. it is a bill in the judiciary committee we have been talking about. sudden, all the more necessary -- fredricka wilson has been talking about that for a while including yesterday and this morning. it breaks her heart. -- it breaks your heart. host: ansi pelosi on capitol hill. members of congress tweeting about this. this is independent congressman justin amash, "george floyd was

murdered callously and casually as if his life had no meaning. there must be justice." cicilline, "this picture -- this picture of the police officer there on george floyd's neck, "-- line sayinghe congressman george floyd did not deserve to die. freddie gray did not deserve to die. black and brown americans deserve justice. our country has to do better. if you more for you. -- a few more for you. val demings of florida. black should not be a death sentence in america. everyone deserves justice. we must demand a swift and complete investigation into the death of george floyd. one more.

omar -- sharing a letter she sent to the u.s. attorney alongside amy klobuchar, betty mccollum calling for the investigation into the death of george floyd. -- we must pursue answers. from a republican congressman rob portman saying "the tragic death of george floyd warrants immediate and thorough investigation." that is a bit of what congress has been tweeting. phones are open to you. we are asking what you think the status of race relations are. better, worse, staying the same. this is kent in washington, d.c.. caller: good morning to you.

one of the earlier callers mentioned it is a fallacy calling it relations. this is not a marriage. the united states has been built -- [indiscernible] the way you explain race is as though there are two equal sides. even though you hear "riots." d'etat of over 2000 white people who decided to overthrow the government. [indiscernible] this has become second nature. we learn about the constitution, but not the truth of them. why would we call george washington anything but a slaveowner? the first 10 out of 12 presidents were slaveowners?

former supreme court justices owned slaves. no more apologies, it is time for policy. i am a black man first and foremost, all of those police officers involved, each one should do the amount of years in prison of mr. floyd's life. then, the person that actually did it needs to be on the electric chair. they need to pass electricity through his body. host: this is charlene out of california. she says race relations are about the same. has been the same since they arrived at the shores. there is no respect for african-americans in this country. stopan-americans need to thinking the constitution is for them. it is not for them. knees,ed to get on their falter christ and allow other countries that have that same

mentality, allow them to intervene and correct this country. that is the only way this country is going to be corrected. christ is going to have to show his face and he will. african-americans should not fear and they should not help protect the people. put down the weaponry on the military, put down the weaponry on the police force, and don't think the second amendment is for you. host: spring hill, florida. race relations getting worse. i have served in the military for 30 years. i am a disabled veteran. i know that this is biblical. chronicles,second my people who are called by my

name shall humble themselves and and turnseek my face from their wicked ways. heavenill i hear from and forgive their sins. in this day and age, god is wearing a mask for a reason. that trying to show us behind that mask we are all the same. you cannot see faith in color. realize we are not the same. host: we have been showing you some images of the protests last night. these are images from early this morning. the minneapolis star tribune with the reporters and videographers in the streets showing some of the scenes this morning.

wanda is next out of chattanooga, tennessee on the line for those who say race relations are getting better. caller: i was saying it is getting better because i remember when rodney king was killed, there was a helicopter in the air and it was being videoed from the air. now the video is coming from people crying out to stop police brutality. i heard the people saying please get off of that man. to me, the video and the people let me know that there is change, even though it is not with the law because when i saw the video, i kept saying i think i witnessed a murder. i could not stop saying it.

after i had calm down, i realized i had witnessed a murder when a young lady was in policeith the mr., the would not take the gun of the man they just shot and the little girl was in the backseat. i didn't know i was in shock but i think i am still in shock but i feel better knowing it is getting to people knowing that people are understanding what is in the dark is in the light. on my last point, i am not for sure but i think there is a young man running around here killing people because of injustice for other people. man are saying this young is insane and has a mental problem. that a local story in chattanooga? host: -- caller: no. this story where a young man

killed his friend and two white men. they are saying on his computer they found him speaking out for justice. if i am not but stake in. -- if i am not mistaken. i look at black people killing black people, i look at it as black kkk. when i look at this young man trying to fight for the rights of people with no rights, i look at this as an advocate. lookshough everything messed up, i have to be optimistic and say it is getting better. host: wanda in tennessee. join us inng you to this conversation, the morning ,fter protests in minneapolis

asking you to weigh in. [no audio] there's a couple things nobody is mentioning. number one, they are not protest. , asking you to weigh in. are losing tv's. is a black cop doing this to a white man there would not be protests. they would go to trial and go to jail and that would be the end of it. six blackshowed the kids beating up the white kid on a bus. this is the same city last year were gangs of blacks were stomping on white people. country --te in this i am called a white supremacist. that is not racist. i have got white privilege, is

that racist? you have the same people -- these black people blaming trump. he did more for black people in this country in three years than obama did in eight, or anybody else. he got rid of harsh prison sentences, he make sure they got jobs. these black people call him racist. the real racists in this country are the black people. host: got your point. this is drawn in stockton, alabama. -- john in alabama. the thing is, i live in southern alabama. the black people down here are good people. them.ed to it is about respecting each other. black people have just as much right to be in this country as

anybody else. slave washington had a that was in every battle at the beginning of this country. are killing black and white people. sonod friend of mine, his got shot. he was not armed or anything. in his house. know if it is because they are not being trained right. when i was a kid, the cop was supposed to be your friend. there are a lot of good cops out there but a few of them need to be took out and fired. host: let me bounce this off you. this is a text from pamela in michigan saying this is about abuse of power, not racism. the media is about dividing people to make things about racism.

abuse of power is seen on every level. what would you say to that? caller: i know these cops got a tough job. they put their lives on the line every day. this young man -- there is no a man down like that when you have got a bunch of cops around. they go too far. arrest somebody, stick them in a car and take them to jail, not kill them. a friend of mine's kid was shot in the face in front of his six-year-old kid. he didn't have a weapon or nothing. men killedhree young within a month down here by cops. shot. they didn't have no weapons on

them or nothing. lines, (202) 748-8000 if you think race relations in this country are getting better. (202) 748-8001 if you think it is getting worse. think it-8002 if you is staying about the same. this is the front page of usa today, "another american city reels at death. memorial for george floyd who died monday." rocking ham north carolina is next. caller: good morning. it is getting worse. i don't think they're doing anything about these police doing these crimes. ship them off to another state to commit the same thing.

that racismto think and injustice is not a part of the fabric of this country, they are blind. host: when you say it is getting worse, compared to what? 10 years ago, 60 years ago? caller: it started with the first one. it should have been taken care of than. it wasn't. host: how do we take care of it? caller: make those who -- if someone kills another person, the law says that's wrong. they should be reprimanded. that is not happening. everybody in this country should take notice. it is enough. we don't need to be killing anybody. twitter, "i think diversity and inclusion is getting worse. if someone isn't like us or have

the same belief, that person is a "them." host: the proof is the fact that the charge of racism is so powerful and can be used nullify an opponent. dallas, texas is next. relations staying the same. caller: i think they are exactly the same. america's original viruses racism. the supreme court justice in the dred scott decision said there are no rights that a black man has that any white man has to respect. of that supreme court decision has lived on. we experience that daily. black people experience that opinion, the spirit of that opinion. we have to change that.

it is a living hell for black people in this country. unity is the key. unity can be the antidote. for black people, we have to understand and redefine unity not as something we have to all agree or even like each other. unity is a vehicle that can be used to get somewhere. we want full citizenship, full freedom, we want to be safe, we want to stop being killed. in order to do that, we have to inject some real unity. host: charles in dallas, texas. their poll. these two lines here, the percentage of people who said very good or somewhat good. you can see how about the light green line, non-hispanic whites,

has been dipping down since 2013. some 72% in 2013 saying it was either very good or somewhat good, relations between whites and blacks. today, they don't have the latest numbers but as latest 2018, 54% of whites saying it is good or very good. here, percent of african-americans who said relations between whites and blacks is very good or somewhat good, you can see that dipping down since 2013. dr. -- that polling is a little bit old but you can see the trend over time. next on the ohio is line for those who think race relations are getting worse. think they are getting better. host: go ahead.

i am listening. caller: i think they are getting better. , we have many blacks who have middle-class, even affluent jobs. a lot of the problem comes with the economy. people -- i have a college degree but a lot of white people do not. they are not faring as well as they used to economically. scapegoatoking for a to blame, chinese, mexicans. i think the rhetoric of president trump -- though i do agree with some fiscal policies -- the rhetoric is very divisive. i believe for that reason he should be taken out. the presidenthink

will be defeated in 2020? caller: i don't know. most of my bible study people and the people in my position are for president trump. i think that is another problem. i am not an evangelist, but some bible study people are. i don't know. his base is very strong. republican, but his base is very strong. even calling this the chinese u, the chinese government, the people on the upper echelons, the dictators but you can't generalize or make stereotypes. i know black people do the same thing. i have heard comments on this show.

changed theirve views of -- i am sure it is rougher in the towns. i don't know if he will be defeated. i hope he is because he acts like a dictator. divisionis rhetoric of is not helpful in an enlightened age. host: that astana out of ohio. onsident trump did weigh-in twitter, this was the president my request,ying "at the fbi and department of justice are well into an investigation as to the sad and tragic death of george floyd. i have asked for this investigation to be expedited and appreciate all the work done by law enforcement. my heart goes out to george's family.

" that was the president yesterday on twitter. several members of congress twitterweighing in via on the floor of the house as well. time for a few more of your calls. waiting in north carolina on the line for those who think race relations are getting worse. caller: good morning. i would like to make a couple points without you cutting me off. that was a tragedy. that was ridiculous what that officer done to that man. the wronging into house and killing the suspect. the white police officer shooting the black man in his apartment. is the racism and these riots

always going on if it is a white man that kills a black man? or a cop? don'tn't -- how come you see these protesters like in chicago. you see chicago had the most shooting since 2015? how come these civil rights activists are not in these cities like baltimore, chicago, doing protests? is it different if a black man kills another black man? is it so much different that a white man kills a black guy. -- or a cop. i don't understand that. host: that is mike from north carolina. minneapolis has been weighing in on this throughout the week. yesterday, he posted his brief statement to the cameras. i will read it.

this is what mayor jacob frey said yesterday to the residents of his city. "being black in america should not be a death sentence. we watched a white officer pressed his knee into a black man's neck. five minutes. when you hear someone call for help, you are supposed to get help. what happened last night is awful. it was traumatic. it serves as a reminder of how far we have to go. i fed -- i have been trying to i comee words, all back to is this man should not have died. up."we saw was messed "he was someone's son, someone's friend, a human being and his life mattered. -- investigation does not the simple truth, he should still be alive. what i saw was wrong on every level.

this does not reflect the values of the chief of police in minneapolis that has worked tirelessly to fulfill our black community." mayor jacob frey posting his statement he made yesterday via twitter. mayorfrey. this is james out of new york city for those who say race relations are staying the same. nothing has really changed. on the lower east side, in those days because i was younger -- i am 62 now -- my friends were of every that i'm in a, every race you could imagine. spanish,romanian, puerto rican, no problem.

irish, wefriends was used to go to his mother's house and she would make pancakes. 10, a kidt nine or said what are you doing with that white boy? i didn't understand it. was racism around? yeah. have i been pulled over? i have never had a record. i have had guns drawn on me. nothing is going to change and nothing has changed because policy. until the day a police officer any race unarmed they know that they are either going to jail, they will lose their pension, no more administrative leave, nothing will change. the problem is this is legislated through the state, not the federal government. calle gentleman who called

-- about blacks against blacks, i just watched a documentary about ulysses s grant. you want to talk about people killing each other? the union and the confederates? grant, blacklysses people were not considered human beings. the emancipation proclamation, you could fight. this is as clarence thomas said -- who i can't stand -- a high-tech lynching. blake, the tennis player who was on 42nd street -- [no audio] caller: it took 73 days blake, e anything was said.

look, if the roles were changed and this was a black officer doing this to a caucasian blackman, i guarantee the police officer would be put in jail. host: last caller in this segment. the house is expected to come in at 9:00 a.m. eastern. until then, we will talk with congressman tom suozzi of new york to focus on the coronavirus response. stick around for that. we will be right back. ♪ announcer: sign-up for c-span's "word for word." governors,om state the white house on the reopening of the economy, and updates from congress. senate today.

it is easy. c-span.org/connect and enter your email address in the sign-up box. having lived through a loss of confidence, a wave of citizen trust anyone to who calls themselves an expert, it becomes difficult to rise to a challenge like this. when the first reaction is to say no, they are lying, a lot of national institutions have got to take on the challenge of persuading people that they are here for the country. announcer: sunday at noon eastern, a live conversation levin.val "the greats include debate," and "the factored -- the fractured republic."

"in-depth," on book tv on c-span2. announcer: "washington journal" continues. host: tom suozzi joins us from his congressional office. good morning. i want to talk about coronavirus, but if you could answer the question we have been asking viewers throughout the morning, the state of race relations. are they getting better, worse, or staying the same? caller: there is ebbs and flows. it is still bad, a question. we had a -- it is still bad, no question. we had a hearing about the effect of coronavirus on persons of color. haveos, african-americans a higher incidence of infection and death.

back in 2002, the fact that in the united states, the representation of african-american doctors, latino doctors is so small in comparison to the overall size of the population. of culturalack confidence. you could have two people with the same health insurance, an african-american and caucasian, exact same insurance, exact same disease and the outcomes for the african-american will always be worse. a lot of problems related to race lend to politics. understanding of what people's lives are like four different from ourselves. we have a lot on common -- we have a lot in common, but pretending that color of your skin, there is a lack of understanding. work on isd to

figuring out how we can understand each other better. reason a man should be dead for an alleged crime of passing it -- passing a $20 bill. host: your quality called for a war on racism, something akin to the war on poverty. how do you do that from capitol hill? --ler: guest: it is difficult when there are so many messages around, getting to focus on a particular message. there are people that will try to insight unrest. we saw that in 2016 where the russians were using social media to sewivil unrest -- civil unrest.

to try and disrupt our democracy. to address any real problem, and race issues are a real problem, is to have hearings. regular order. have democrats and republicans listen to the same information and having conversations to find common ground. when we are operating out of fear and anger, which is justified in many situations, but when we operate out of fear and anger it is hard to solve problems. everybody is blowing up right now, which is understandable, i am not condemning that. people should be blowing up. but, it is hard to have a conversation when people are yelling at each other. how to getfigure out people to sit down and have conversations and debates how to solve problems that are in the

interest of the common good. figuring out race issues is a problem that needs to be addressed. we need to find a common solution. ,ost: congressman tom suozzi phone lines split up. democrats (202) 748-8000. republicans (202) 748-8001. independent (202) 748-8002. you can start calling in. , queens andstrict parts of long island. where is your district when it comes to reopening? i represent -- caller: i represent three of the hardest hit counties in the united states. -- portion of myland district is in phase one of reopening. it started yesterday. , bytruction, manufacturing appointment only curbside pickup and retail. yet met city has not

the metrics. there is a lot of anxiety about urning's health, mo the people who have died. my father-in-law died. mourning, so much grief in so many families. you add to that anxiety about finances. people who are unemployed or have small businesses that have not reopened. , people anxiety to open are uneasy, and there are other people anxious about reopening. they are scared. we are having conversations in washington, it is so different from place to place. hadew york, we tractor-trailers refrigerated with bodies inside. hey,her places it's like

time to spend time in the countryside. we have to figure out the problems we are facing and how they are different from place to place. we need to be empathetic and understand how it is different for different folks. it goes back to your first question, we need to understand the differences we have. right now, new york remains the epicenter. our overall percentage is going down. some states are going up. i read a report it is going up dramatically in arkansas. it is going up modestly in georgia and one of the carolinas. address the problems of all the different states, people throughout the country and do something responsible. host: let's chat with some viewers. up in west bloomfield, michigan. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call.

ago, talkinginutes about race relations, i have got to admit i deleted my facebook account last night because of the vitriol from people on both sides. it is not helping. a lot of people want to play judge, jury and executioner. back andould just sit wait. i am nobody special, but if i am not for a dime against it and that is not fair for a lot of people that could say ok, what happened to george floyd was unfortunate. it was avoidable, but for a lot of people that side with black philosophyr, the that guides their utterances is the same we have seen throughout history. if you are not with us, you are

against us. that means you are racist. that's not right, you can't say that to somebody. host: congressman? i am thettom line is, vice chairman of the problem solvers caucus. 25 democrats, 25 republicans. we meet to find common ground. there are people that are very upset about this incident. how we canfigure out get people working together in good faith to address the real problem. .his is not a new phenomenon why is it blowing up six months before an election? thatnk there are people want to insight civil unrest, they go out of their way to do it and they are taking legitimate differences people have and trying to insight people to fight with each other.

we have to be cautious of falling into that trap. it can't be we write people off because they disagree with us. together toto work address the real problems. host: in terms of understanding others, yesterday on the house floor, nancy pelosi singled you out, calling you a champion for religious rights. explain the bill that was being debated yesterday. muslim sect in china, the chinese communist party is trained to eliminate. there are over one million people in labor camps going through systemized brainwashing under big brother type surveillance. porkre being forced to eat during wall might -- during ramadan.

democrats and republicans theing together to say to communist party we will hold you accountable and sanction you. this is something i started working on when i first arrived in congress, i worked on a bipartisan bill in 2018. it has finally come to the floor. it has taken a long time. there is a real problem that exists in the world with religious freedom. that is a real problem exists in china with human rights overall. not only the uyghurs, but the tibetan buddhists. we see hong kong protesters being jailed. human rights is antithetical to what we believe in america. without when nixon went to china, the more china was exposed to our way of life and democracy, they would be more like us. that has not happened. they have not embraced

democracy. they have become more authoritarian. host: suozzi suozzi tom -- tom suozzi joining us via zoom. the house floor, the house is expected to come in at 9:00 a.m. we will take you there live for gavel to gavel coverage. until then, call in and join the conversation. eddie from saginaw, michigan. democrat. caller: how are you all doing? host: question or comment? caller: my question is to the congressman speaking about race relations. comment saying it can andhe white and the black they can have the same situations. they can have the same everything -- the only

difference is the race. always gonnawhite stand out. we all know this. race situation is real bad. it always has been and might continue on. i do know things have gotten just a little better, but we know it can get better. my question to you is, since you know all this, and since --gress people snow all this congress people know all this, what can you do? guest: the issue i was talking about was health care. i was speaking yesterday at a hearing with ways and means about the outcomes for african-americans being much worse.

the same for latinos and other persons of color. i was speaking specifically with the president of an historically black college about the fact that there are not enough african-american doctors, dentists, not enough latino doctors or dentists. this lack of cultural confidence i think is a major issue. how we canfigure out encourage more african-americans and latinos to become health care professionals and scientists so they have a seat at the table and a direct influence on health care outcomes. it is important to encourage african-americans and latinos to have a seat at the table for so many issues, but this was specifically related to health care. that is going to require scholarships. you get an african-american doctor, and they are settled with humongous debt.

instead of going back to serve their community, they will try to go somewhere to make more money. we have to figure out how to encourage more primary care physicians, dentists, other professionals. same thing goes for nurses and other health care professionals. we need to encourage that. host: not too far from your district is keyport, new jersey. this is edwards, an independent. caller: [indiscernible] to try tore going boost your volume. caller: from day one, i have been hearing about the economy but i have not heard anything about covering expenses for covid related medical. how do they expect people to be confident when you get settled with debt?

most people don't have health insurance. one of the first bills provide -- all testing would be covered -- no one should have to pay for testing. it would be covered by insurance, any kind of plan. there needs to be more done, new question. i am glad you brought us back to health care. i want to talk about this a little bit. clear what ie it am saying about new york. new york is the epicenter. major expenses, major problems related to treating coronavirus and the impact on our economy. focus since i have been working on this issue over the past several months is to bring money back to new york.

we first delivered money to the hospitals throughout america , hospitals in texas with only 2.5% of cases that more money than hospitals in new york which at the time had 35%. every democrat and republican in new york to sign a letter to the secretary of health and others saying we need a special fund distributed based on the rate of infection. senator schumer helped, every democrat and republican in new york state. new york got $12 billion that helped address many of the problems hospitals face. same problem in state hardest hit i have advocated for the heroes bill and succeeded. i hope we will be able to get mitch mcconnell and the republicans to negotiate a resolution for local governments.

fund should be created and distributed to states faced upon the rate of infection. i got every democrat and republican in new york and new jersey to support it. we signed a letter saying they would support a $49 billion fund. can be debated between the republicans in the senate and democrats in the house, but one thing that is nonnegotiable is we need to make sure that money distributed based upon the rate of infection must be in these bills. it is essential people recognize that certain places have been much harder hit than others. , so viewers know, is the largest net donor of income taxes to the federal government. we send more to the federal government then we get back, more than any other state.

for five years, new york state has set 120 billion dollars more to the federal government then we have received back. mitch mcconnell said we don't want to do a blue state bailout. mitch mcconnell, the ultimate height of hypocrisy, his state is one of the largest takers from the federal government. we understand that, it is more impoverished, but don't make new york sacrifice. we need the help. $120 billionent more, kentucky has received $150 billion more than they paid. new york needs help and we need it during this difficult time. 20 minutes ago, the new weekly unemployment numbers came out. aser than the week before,

expected, but still 2.1 million americans filed in employment claims. overashington post noting 40 million americans have now filed, the u.s. unemployment rate is about 25%. guest: it is overwhelming. we have to get the economy reopened, no question. we have to do it as safely as possible. plan toed a $50 billion reopen america. i tried to put it in a clear document that says we should spend $30 billion on testing. we need to test one million people every day. test people with symptoms, test people who have been exposed who are a center medic -- who are asymptomatic. we need to test people to see if they have antibodies. sure we know

exactly where this problem is every day so that we do not see it spike again. [indiscernible] test one million people a day, i would argue. sure we know exactly where this problem is everysecondly, we need tracers. we need 200,000 contact tracers. medical detectives. when someone is infected, we need to find out who they have been exposed to that they could possibly have infected as well. they should be younger people. older people should be americorps volunteers. anybody who wants to do community service. $30,000 salary plus benefits. 30 billion for testing, 10 billion for contact tracers. another $10 billion for hotel rooms. it will help hotels but also provide places for people to

isolate if they have been infected and can't safely isolate at home because they don't have the space. it will be a stimulant for the economy. billion to make people feel confident and safe they can go back out there. reopen,ay reopen, reopen, but if people are afraid to go out, it is not going to work. isolation areng, the keys to making sure people feel safe and we don't see another spike. it is essential to reopen, but it has got to be done safely. i don't know why the president does not agree to the idea of the federal government taking on the role of purchasing tests. when pricesth masks went up to eight dollars apiece because every state was competing against each other.

we need the federal government to take a bigger role purchasing tests on behalf of states. need to make sure we have the supply necessary to meet demand. we need to be testing people every day not only to find out who is sick, but to prevent it from spreading. host: just a couple minutes before the house comes in. republican.ssee caller: how are you? host: what is your question? has anybody ever heard of herd immunity? inst: they are trying it sweden and it is not working out too well. over time, the idea of trying to get more people immune who have been sick, there is no guarantee

yet that people who have been sick and recovered are in fact immune. it is less likely they will get sick, but that has not happened yet. we have not figured that out. it is different in different parts of the country. tennessee, the rate is going up. remember the pictures you saw on worried thate were they couldn't get a hospital room were ventilator, people ,ined up in the rain and cold coughing and long lines trying to get tested. there were refrigerator trucks stacked high with bodies. every single one of those 100,000 people is a story. one of them is my father-in-law. people died because we don't know what the treatment is yet. we have to be careful. say, talk in abstract terms.

what is everybody so worried about? i am not going to wear a mask. well, there's people dying. it, itu have been around is serious stuff. you don't want to be the one with relatives in the hospital without a ventilator available. let's all be more empathetic and compassionate. paramedicsrses and have a lower incidence of infection than the general public. why? they wear masks. masks, gloves, distancing, washing hands. let's be responsible. let's reopen the economy and be empathetic to each other and try and learn the lessons we have gotten from this harsh lesson. host: we are going to have to end it there.

busy day on the floor of the house of representatives. tom suozzi, thanks for joining us. caller: thanks very much. host: that is going to do it for our program. we will be back tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. we now take you live to the floor of the house the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the speaker's rooms, washington, d.c. may 28, 2020. i hereby appoint the honorable andre carson to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, nancy pelosi, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father conroy.