>> here's a look at were live coverage. the house appropriations committee considers legislation that would set 2021 spending levels for the department of housing and transportation. this followed by the coronavirus response. another house appropriations subcommittee meets at 9:00 a.m. eastern to consider spending for nasa. and1:00, the house energy commerce committee will be hearing on federal resources for tribal communities. coming up on "washington journal," republican representative tom reed of new

york joins us to discuss the response to their coronavirus. later, michelle moore talks more -- michelle ever talks about appointment assistance. ♪ in just over one month, school systems across the country will begin the new school year. that safely is still being developed and debated. good morning, welcome to "washington journal." we will start the program asking about should k12 schools open? if you are a parent of a student, that line is (202) 748-8000. if you are an educator, that

line (202) 748-8001. for all others, (202) 748-8002. look forward to your text, that is (202) 748-8003. tell us your name and where you are texting from. at c-span wj.are take a look at the other news. question after a conference at the white house attended by administration officials, educators, and others, and reported in the wall street journal. white house once glasses to reopen in the fall. the benefits of in person instruction for children. school officials say more federal funding is needed from congress to operate. they point out that mike pence, theled the task force for

coronavirus, said additional guidance would come next week, but it was not meant to replace local decisions. in april, the president said he would force states to reopen businesses before backing off the effort. betsy devos is the education secretary. she was there as well. reporting on that, this is a political headline. divorce blasts school districts that plan to delay reopen -- blasts -- betsy devos school districts that plan to delay reopening. the result was not intensifying teachers with teacher unions and leading school groups. the charge against the trump administration is a qom -- a

vacuum of leadership. the dispute leaves the white house deeply at audits with many involved in making decisions in the next few weeks about reopening schools. if you are a parent of a student, that line (202) 748-8000. .ducators, (202) 748-8001 others, (202) 748-8003. [video clip] >> we all want to reopen the schools. the mortality rate is at a level that people do not talk about. it is down tenfold, tenfold. you are looking at deaths way down from this horrible china virus and it is a disgrace that happened, but it did, and we hope most schools will be open.

we do not want people to make political statements or do it for political reasons. we are very much going to put pressure on governors and everyone else to open the schools, to get them open. it is very important for our country, for the well-being of the students and the parents, so we will be putting a lot of pressure on open schools in the fall. host: should those k-12 schools reopen this fall? (202) 748-8000 for parents, educators,001 for all others (202) 748-8003. the cdc director issue guidelines. "teachers and school staff, once your school reopens, clean

frequently, space desks, creating one-way routes, close communal shared spaces." that is from the cdc director. mike is first to calling from mike is first, calling from brooklyn. that opening the schools is irresponsible. i am a student myself. i believe if we open the schools, we are not thinking about those of us who live with people who have pre-existing conditions or elderly people. i think it is utterly irresponsible. host: how did you finish the spring semester? was that done online? caller: online. i am a law student. it made things more difficult, but we are in unprecedented times so it takes unprecedented measures.

to openthere was a rush things back up and now we are seeing the same thing with school. the thing about grade school, there is this new disease, i believe the name is called kawasaki disease seen in smaller children. i think it is irresponsible to open the schools backup. host: the washington post reporting yesterday. the quote from the president -- "we went to reopen the schools." k-12 school iny the united states closed this spring. the system worked reasonably well, but was a failure in other districts. colleges and universities also shut down, though their remote learning was generally seen as more successful. now schools are struggling to develop plans for the fall."

rachel is joining us from buffalo, new york. morning.ood i work with special needs students. one-on-one they need attention and a little bit more attention, specialized attention, then the mainstream students, but i think it should be delayed. the reason being is because when you're dealing with special -- i think it has to do with when you are dealing ash little kids, you cannot, it was stated before in the previous report, the idea of take king -- keeping a mask on

and other sanitary measures, if you will, it is difficult for the younger students to grasp that. i am probably not conveying my idea. host: sure. what is the age group you typically work with? ofler: kids between the ages four and 10. they are predominantly autistic. age, tryingd that to get them to line up straight is a challenge i suppose. caller: yes. i am also including transportation too. which a lotbuses, of kids do utilize, they are in confined spaces or whatever else and that can be a challenge as well. i do not think they are taking that into consideration. your area, when with

the schools open? i have no idea because the governor was very vague as to that issue. i just pay footnote attention to it and nothing is mentioned. in passing, yes, but nothing specific. i have been off since the 16th of march and i have no idea as to when. there is not even a tentative date. it rightpast years, is --er labor day coming before or before? usually goes until the last week of july and then it is the first week of september, right after labor day. host: thank you for your experience. we hear from a parent, t-shirt in seattle. in seattle.

here is my problem. datave been watching the on what is going on as far as the globally how many deaths there have been. we have seen how many people have been affected. not --same time, we are they are not telling us how many people have recovered. they are not telling us what they have used to recover. they shut down our whole economy. it is like, how many people actually die from the flu? the coronavirus, the coronavirus, the coronavirus. each symptom is also a symptom of a flu.

are not telling us how this is like allergy season also. how many other people would actually pass away during that time? 3 million people, out of that 100,000 have died. did they have conditions? where they are? any that. -- any of that. say peoplegoing to have died at of 11 million cases, that does not make any sense to me. nobody has a cure. host: the wall street journal reporting on the latest figures. ]cases s head a daily record in the hits a daily record in the u.s.

the question -- should k-12 schools reopen this fall? (202) 748-8000 for parents, educators,001 for (202) 748-8002 for all others. morning.ood thank you for taking my call. i do enjoy hearing. isant to say that i think it wonderful that they are can reopen schools -- that they are going to reopen schools. the media are finger mongers -- fear mongers. think about 100 years ago. we are all going to have situations. briefly thing is i watched something this morning with a man named danny.

he used to be in jail. journey is dueis to his higher power. those of us who believe god is positive, have a voice who say, i have got this. trying to control and saying these people are authority. i just want to say i hate the mask and if you think it is working, how do you tell us that the numbers are going up? it is insane. thank you. host: from the atlantic, professor of economics and columbia university professor writes a better fall is possible. persontes that in education is crucial for so many reasons. students attending virtual school have lower test scores and are less likely to graduate

high school. outcomes from emergency alike -- emergency online education could be worse. schools help detect child abuse and neglect. that is at the atlantic. california on our line for educators. good morning to ann. i am an adjunct math professor at a two-year college. experience, my classroom is packed in is tightly -- as tightly as possible and their students at every desk. intel schools can reorganize -- until schools can reorganize classrooms and take care of things and have the scientists

learn as much as they can about this virus, i think they need to weigh and do it and we can do it safely. did you do sue classes online -- did you do some classes online? caller: i have not done it in a while, but i have two high school students i am a parent of an they are chomping at the bit to go back to school. it is a mixed bag. the online can be done in the well. the teachers at their high school did not quite get the concept of online learning. online learning means you are teaching online. they just kind of gave assignments and let the kids do them. that is not distance-learning. that is not online learning. host: any idea for your two high schoolers if their high school will open up? caller: it looks like they will

do some type of hybrid opening. we are still waiting to hear the specifics. host: similar to your experience, a text from susan in new york. i feels, as a professor, large classes should be held online into small labs should be on site -- online and small labs should be on site. and from texas, will parents have to sign a waiver? another, my name is leroy. my grandchildren are in school. i think they open up school, i think it should be on alternate days. they should spread those kids out in class and practice social distancing. i am still worried, but it might work. governor fromhe

missouri spoke yesterday at the white house. [video clip] >> when the president said he was going to put pressure on governors to open the schools up, i will say he can put pressure on you. i will say that. sometimes we all need a little push to get things going. what the first lady said which he talked about the kids was so important to me as a grandparent, as a father. i think about all the kids that need to be in school. there some that have the privilege of going every day. for a lot of schoolkids, it is a safety blanket, a way to get nutrition, counseling, for someone to help them when they cry out for help. that is also why getting schools back open is so important. if you want to take that one step further, it is about making sure people will be qualified for the workforce of tomorrow. this virus cannot shut down our

country down or our states down. we have to deal with it as we would anything else we have dealt with in this country. we have to move forward. an economy and life goes on. education is part of who we are. host: checking social media. deborah from facebook says, kids can adapt -- older kids can adapt. bill says come of the safety of students and staff is number one. hoping to feed the ego of the president should be moot. another, children who do not contract covid-19 are less likely to transmit it. is important that children go back in school, but i must be a planned schedule. -- it must be a planned

schedule. and in ae well planned rotation cycle so they were not too close. cannot make up for the interaction that teachers need with students. important, very good planning should the schools open. host: here is scott in douglasville, georgia. caller: good morning. i appreciate the conversation. a greato say i agree deal with the comments of the governor of missouri. i live in the state with a republican governor. i think it is unfortunate that the response to this virus is divided down political lines, which does not seem to make a lot of sense when it is a medical issue, or should be. i firmly believe students should

go back to school on a regular schedule. i think one of the challenges guidance of six foot distancing, when you have 28 students in a room, is really not possible for most schools. you have more of a conservative republican school approach that says open schools, but you have morence that is giving liberal school boards and leadership the cover to choose not to bring kids back. i think kids need that personal accountability. host: scott, you are in douglasville, georgia on our parents line. what grade are your kids in? caller: elementary and middle school. middle school has done a better job of distance-learning. when you have more than one child and you are juggling laptop computers and time and

investment, even parents who are otherwise good struggle with giving the attention to their children. there is a reason that it is better to be in a classroom then to be home for most families. i think we will see a drop-off in performance for all of these kids if we do not get them back to school. host: thanks for calling. line for parents (202) 748-8000 , for educators (202) 748-800 2.02) 748-800 still talking about colleges are as well. the national education association testified on safely reopening schools. here's what she had to say. [video clip] >> it has been challenging. under the best of circumstances, it is frustrating. that is when mom and dad have a

laptop or a tablet and it is just kind of annoying. but it can be alarming when you get into communities of poverty where the only technology in some homes was mom's telephone and she took it with her to work because she stocked shelves in a grocery store. and the kids not even have adult supervision. our members, america's tocators, have said we had race out and do the best we could to have the meaningful educational experience for the students. now they are alarmed because they see politicians -- i know i am talking to some politicians to go- making decisions back into the school without the proper plan to distance, to disinfect, to have the ppe, to

how the health -- to have the health checks and testing. -- no, we have to warehouse those kids. they are not worried that somehow they will be at risk or put their own family of risks, put their teachers in the lunch lady in the gene ater -- and at the lunch lady and the janitor that risk. host: in the new york times, minimizing risk. they write that, in demanding the resumption of schools, mr. trump weighed in on one of the most fraught issues confronting the country as a grapples with the deadliest pandemic in a century. and doctorscators, have urged schools to reopen, that schools remain -- but concerns remain high.

the issuewrites come has enormous consequences for the country and the upcoming election. home,any children at parents are not able to resume work. masks, the issue of every opening schools has become more -- one more battleground in the ideological wars that divide america. on facebook. corey says, to reopen or not is not the issue because at some point in person education should resume. the issue is how do schools reopen. so far, there has not been a clear plan. sarah says, colleges need to open. they are businesses too. we cannot afford for a huge fraction of our colleges to close. from jude, no.

the gop refused to refund the money required to make it safer kids to return. our kids should be safe. loretta from cleveland. good morning. caller: good morning. good morning, america. theankly do not understand situation here. incident will not clear up until we do the testing, until we do the contact tracing, until we do all the things we need to do to control the virus. is itblem with this sounds like people are ready to send other people back into school so as to save the economy. do, inow that schools

essence, babysit during the day while parents are at work. backhe economy is on its we have gainedt more cases, more cases, more cases, and i have not seen a site in the inner-city yet. i am in cleveland. i think something needs to be done. how can we send it kids back into school and it is only to get people back to work? host: what is your sense of what the cleveland school system will do? caller: keep it closed. they need to keep it closed until they get the contact tracing, until they do all of the testing because it is only going to grow. go to harrisburg, pennsylvania and hear from dave

who is a parent. caller: i have to agree with the women here, with loretta. they hit the nail on the head. schoolsow we are making political. the failings of this administration. if we started in february when we should have instead of calling it a hoax, everyone would be further along when it comes to solutions. dear ability to cope is stagnated when you hear someone at the top -- your ability to cope is stagnated when you hear someone at the top who does not see reality. realize wenity to are in digital divides, haves

and have-nots. if the people who have to go to haveor the same people who gotten the virus. who will be there to take care of the kids? workers, frontline workers, and the same city environments that you went these kids to goings -- these kids to go to school in. t it andof looking a saying ok, these kids can go to school every other day and still .et their social interactions now these other children who have online learning, say, tuesday and thursday, will be digitally enhanced.

when something happens again, we will be prepared for it. we are getting the next generation of children the ability to get those jobs that they can for work -- that they can work from home in. the governor talks about the next generation of workers. you think the harrisburg schools did in their online learning? sporadic.e online was it was not satisfactory to me because i also have children in other districts that are much better off. involved with checking. we tried to bring this along years ago, to have children tech savvy, giving them a laptop. something like this happens, it is not a big leap from them to

just learn from home. some of my kids have had health issues where they have had to keep up with their classwork from a hospital bed. you saying kids should do part-time online, part-time in person? caller: exactly. make them two things, tech savvy and give teachers a smaller classroom. host: all right. we will hear from an educator. sheila from purcell, oklahoma. caller: thank you for taking my call. i work for a small school. when they closed the schools right before spring break, the had tod -- the teachers work around and do the best they could, but it was not the same as the kids being in the classroom because they were not set up for it. i do not believe we are still set up for it.

calls.listen to these it has been interesting. trump is wanting the schools to open to get the economy going. the kids need to learn. they need to be in a classroom to learn. the best way to learn is to be with that teacher. that one educator from the college saying it should not reopen or they should have the spacing. where is the money to do this? what,deral government is $23 trillion in debt? where's the money coming from? at some point it has to stop. i think they should be back in class, the handwashing. masks, have to wear face wear face masks. host: steve in oak ridge,

tennessee. caller: i am retired. this is a mixed bag. i believe the kids need to be in school somehow. i believe there is a lot of ways this could be accomplished. my concern is that you have a lot of teachers that have reached retirement age and our older. i really do not think a lot of these people want to go back into the classroom. you may have a huge number of retirees. that will create an issue finding teachers. if teachers start getting sick, you will not find substitutes willing to go into those classrooms. i am 71 years old. i taught for 30 years. i enjoyed every minute of it. host: what did you teach? inler: i taught science

charlotte. and i loved it. i taught a lot of minority kids. i love those kids. good kids when you get down to it. in schools, but the issue i am afraid will be teachers. i certainly would not go back to substitute. i worry about that. that is all about -- all i think. -- whole thing is a sad deal, but it is reality. we have got to start coping with this in other ways. said,ouple callers have this should not be a political issue, but unfortunately the president has made this a political issue and it is sad. anyway, i would like to see kids back in school. i think it could be done safely, but i think there will have to be a lot of tweaking done as this moves along. appreciate the time.

host: appreciate your perspective. this is from axios. reopening schools is a coronavirus wildcard. she writes, if you put to hear other -- if you put together people in a mixed environment, if you have a mass gathering of people with teachers. it is very wise in the current play withfor us to fire and open schools, said shaman.schaumann -- chicago heights, illinois. we hear from randy. good morning. kids need to be back in school, but let's be cautious.

i would believe in some kind of trial program. country waitsthis for disaster then fixes it. i would say put every kid and teacher. on the first day, have them all tested when they walk into the school. then, in three weeks or four weeks, have them all tested virusand see who has the or if there is none. anduld like to suggest this -- put in a trial period first. host: who pays for it? do you think there is money available at the state or federal level? caller: there is money. there has to be money for it. they have money for this. this would be a great thing to

trial first. host: all right. for parents,0 (202) 748-8001 for educators. should schools reopen in the fall? for all others (202) 748-8002. this morning, on the front page of the washington times, u.s. government reveals broad chinese spy campaign. areese intelligence pompeo that-- by they arei chief said part of large-scale spy activities by china to recruit spies. the latest long-term threat to our nation's economic felt tile isthe -- economic vitality

-- at the huston institute think from they write it ranges spying to data theft aimed at cutting u.s. technology. it has hit fortune 100 countries down to small start up businesses. this is some of what the fbi director had to say yesterday at the institute. [video clip] host: we need to be clear i did about the scope of the chinese government's ambition. the chinese communist party believes it is in a generational fight to suppress our country -- to surpass our country in economic and technological leadership. it is waging that fight not through legitimate innovation, fair and lawful competition, and not by giving citizens the freedom of thought and speech and creativity we treasure here in the united states. engaged in aa is

whole of state effort to become the only superpower by any means necessary. the americaning people need to understand is diverse ranges a of sophisticated techniques, everything from cyber intrusions to corrupting trusted insiders. they have even engaged in outright physical theft and pioneered an expansive approach actors,a wide range of including not just intelligence ownedes but state enterprises, certain kinds of private companies, graduate students and researchers, and other actors on their behalf. host: all the available at c-span.org. the question, schools should reopen in the fall? for parents (202) 748-8000, for

educators (202) 748-8001, (202) 748-8002 for all others. needitter, steve says we schools for socialization. we do not need a deadly virus either. morgan says, i am a college student. i think it is important for students to return, but we should prioritize safety and wait until it becomes safe. this one, my aunt is an early childhood teacher all teachers wear masks. wear masks.r two all good, but the school needs to be a max enrollment to survive. here, we need leadership. most of all, we need funds.

please do not make students provide it for themselves. back to your calls. in tennessee, this is janice. caller: i live here in tennessee. the rates of this virus is going real bad. how in the world can our governor say we can open this school -- open these schools safely? it is rising real bad. you are putting teachers and students at danger. what happens if a child gets that virus at school? who will be responsible? they need to think first. the schools need to be open. in other states, they are closing up. look who is running this country. people like trump. they do not care about people's lives. you can take this and make the stimulus package, put it out there, the parents can get it

again. teach the parents had to use those computers so they can stay at home and teachers can work online. host: to kathy in carlisle, pennsylvania, apparent. -- a parent. caller: i think we should handle the situation like we handled the economy. they had stages. they moved out slowly and i think the school should do the same thing. it should go back part days and then certain days of the week. i also feel like this is not a political situation. it should be apolitical. it is a discussion that needs to be had because the economy and the children should be kept in line. also, some of the students, even while they are in school, are having problems. so you can imagine what would occur out of school.

i really think they should go back in stages, small stages, and that would probably work. host: the washington post lead editorial this week called for schools to reopen. it is vital to return. bisque'se, weighing against benefit -- risks come against benefit. it has proved to be a mixed bag. more successful for students with resources. and it is no substitute for learning with peers. onnomic recovery depends schools reopening so parents can return to work, writes the post. they say it is unrealistic to meet these challenges without additional resources, much less with custom budgets -- with cuts to budgets.

about $13act included billion but schools need more. 100house included another 5800 -- another $58 billion. abouts are serious putting children back in the classroom, times are running short to provide the resources. gadsden,ustin in alabama. go ahead, welcome. ok.er: this is more of an economic issue it seems. you have business people trying to make decisions for america. new situationat a the same way you tree old ones. this is like a person with a radio that does not work, hitting it as hard is they can hoping to make it work again.

like the last lady that called said, do it in stages and it should be a comprehensive plan. when you just give generalities, you're not telling the people the whole truth about how this or that works, it is hard to have any continuity. we will see how works. at has been interesting to see how it all plays out -- it has been interesting to see how it all plays out. kids in school, but also safety measures in place, though. host: philip, an educator in orlando, florida. caller: good morning. experiencesay for my that you cannot bring people back to work under the conditions we are under with covid. people got to go online and look

up youtubes of people who had the virus to get a sense of what to expect. you will have to think outside the box. you will have to reinvent the idea of schools. they will have to be community oriented, small classrooms, places where kids can go maybe one or two times a week, get their instructions. but again, we will have to rethink the structure of what we are doing currently. it is not going to work. the indoorldings, sessions, all those things will have to be revamped to adapt to a pandemic. if we did not have the current medical skills and services, this thing would be in the millions. we are in a real pandemic and some people do not seem to get it. jeopardizing the

workers, the kids, the in the current situation. college, they talked about how we were going to have to reinvent a new village approached her education. -- to education. nothing changed. it got worse. making money off the kids, they are just interested in the same status quo concepts. that is my advice. host: appreciate your comments, philip. political news. there was a democratic primary in new jersey yesterday. amy kennedy to challenge jeff van drew. kennedy, they write, has won the democratic nomination to challenge representative jeff

van drew, who flipped new jersey's second district for democrats, but switched parties because he did not think donald trump should be impeached. kennedy lead a five candidate field with 55% of the vote. "when jeff van drew pledged to support to donald trump, i knew i had to step up and do something." another, "since he became a republican, he's choosing time and time again to serve donald trump instead of his community." rosa, georgia. studenti am a college and i feel the schools should not open because they have not given a comprehensive vaccine for covid. it is hard to go into a who hasm not knowing

been tested and who has not been tested. you do not know what teacher has been tested. you not know as far as cleaning. you just never know because this is a silent killer. i feel like the government really needs to get a comprehensive plan on how we are going to do this thing. i graduate in december. i am afraid to go to school right now. i am not comfortable with school. you never know who has what. government is just pressing, pressing, pressing to open. until they have a vaccine, comprehensive to set out, to say, each kid needs to be vaccinated. host: where are you going to school this fall? caller: i go to school right now online. four hours a day online. it is difficult for me as a

education, butmy we are figuring it out. i am attending is college and hands on. some of the education i need it, i actually need to be in the classroom.. they have supplied us with ipads and computers. as a student, it is difficult, but we are figuring it out. i am uncomfortable because we just do not know right now. i am in atlanta in the numbers are rising every day. practicingstill not social distancing, still not wearing masks. i really do not feel like the government is taking this thing as seriously as they should. that is my comment. god bliss -- bless every one. host: the cdc has reissued guidance for schools opening in the fall.

in mind,gs to keep they write, the more people a student or staff member interacts with, the longer the interaction, the higher the risk of spread. the risk increases as follows. lowest, students engage in virtual only classes. more risky, small, in person classes. students stay with the same teacher in groups do not mix. people remain six feet apart in do not share objects. for example, hybrid virtual or structures.ass highest risk, full-size come in person classes, activities, and events. students are not spaced, share classroom materials. brad in new york. go ahead.

caller: good morning, , a comments to the educator from florida. 's first impulse is to have the children back together socializing in school. many countries seem to have been able to do that. germany, denmark, canada. for some reason, the united states, whatever the differences are, we are not. having lived through the last three months of homeschooling my input from thel teachers, i am just wondering if whichld have some way in if the educators do not want to go back to the classroom, maybe it is time to think about not everyone should have their kids back in school. maybe we could have alternative arrangements.

if teachers are willing to work half-time, maybe they could give back cap their salaries and have that pool of funds who wish to teach their kids. that is what i was doing, and my wife. we were teaching my son and not being paid. host: what grade is your son in? caller: he was in fourth, going into fifth this year, obviously. host: how did that work out? burden.it was a it was not good. he got a lot of one-on-one teaching from us, which i am sure he got more attention that he would have at school. it was good, but not sustainable, especially without resources to pay for this. we are not being paid to perform the job that teachers are

required -- if the teachers do not want to go back to school because of health issues, fine, but they should scale back demands for compensation because they certainly are not working to the same degree they would be in a fully opened situation. host: we will hear from an educator on long island. good morning. caller: i am retired. i correspond with one of my colleagues. he sent me a letter. i would like to read a couple lines. it is not that long. he said, this past sunday, i turned in the final grades and the additional paperwork to conclude my third term, one of the worst of my life. i am six years past retirement age. this may be a sign that i need to hang up my slide rule once in a while. let's see. "i did not get any joy that this experience.

it is truly disappointing how many students took this ,pportunity to cheat on exams messaging classmates in the middle of the exam. the students who observed the honor code are suckers in this game. i regret deducting points on their work." this is the academy. this is what is going on with this online stuff. host: all right, jim in new york. -- abruptout florida reversal of fortunes as coronavirus to savaged other parts of the country, florida, but we buy low infection rates, seemed in ideal location for the republican national convention. it moved to jacksonville. millions packed

onto empty beaches. emerged as astays coronavirus epicenter. of 100one and -- one out residents is infected. big-name visitors who chose florida for their first post-isolation events are mired in questions and controversies about safety. raul, go ahead. good morning. caller: good morning. comment -- i am all for schools opening back up. i have my daughter in eighth grade. this rush to get everybody back in school, and i can see where the is going, it is great

kids socializing and all that, but my only concern is that we are not even -- we are barely in the middle of the first inning with this pandemic. i did not think this is going to go away anytime soon. we are just creating more problems. it, if a kidabout shows up sick to school and gets everybody else sick and the teacher gets sick, i do not think you're going to get any substitute teacher to go in knowingd substitute there is covid-19 in that classroom or at that school. think -- i think the online is probably what we need to do. keep them busy. but i just do not think it is

to get everybody back in school eating much together and all that stuff. that was my comment today. byt: questions raised zachary wolf, cnn commentator. -- can old buses be crammed full of kids? teachers are not kids. their unions have already plans to say about safety for adults. aftercare -- assuming school days are staggered, that will not help parents get back to work full time. in valley bend, west virginia. -- i think the kids should go back to school. at least they will get two good meals a day. i have not seen any statistics

about how the virus is affecting the various ages of kids. , in thes online goes appalachian mountains, a lot of do not get the computers and everything because of the mountain ranges. they cannot afford computers. parents are not there to supervise. it is hard to tell what to do with computers. aboutare the statistics if the parents get the virus? do their kids get the virus? statistics onn that. the kids need to go back to school because -- and then they

can study all the different supplements that maintain a good immunity system. host: back to your point about internet access in west virginia. dot did the school system their locally and how successful did the school system locally do there and how successful was it? caller: i do not know. i am retired and i do not know much detail. i know in various areas throughout the state, there are areas where there is no internet access at all. the people still maintain a andnt level of living commute and everything to the internet in the mountains is not a very good idea.

maybe it needs to be a flatland city that will work. host: appreciate you calling them. comments on facebook and twitter, as well. richard posts, yes, of course school should open in my opinion. anyone opposed opening schools and the economy and lives in fear should not be making these decisions for the rest of us. this and says, 3000 children and stop in our school. there is no way we can go back to our traditional way. charles says, the school should never have been shut down in the first place. the virus was never a real threat to kids. and from debbie, no one should be taking advice as when we should open schools from a man who is still insisting the pandemic is going to just disappear. of ais a hell responsibility to put on teachers. it is absolutely not their jobs to keep our children healthy or covid-free. next is marie in lancaster,

pennsylvania. good morning. caller: good morning. i cannot seem to forget a lot of children in the united states are being cared for by their grandparents, and these people are retired and have been out of school for years, and although they want to send the kids to gracious, goodness they expect to have a vaccine at the beginning of next year. placee vaccine take first. because i do not feel that the grandparents that have their kids going to school will be extremely at risk, and the kids diseaseng home with the and then giving it to their grandparents, and they are not getting at themselves.

however, it is also taking a toll on the kids' physical health because i know. my grandson sometimes has a fever and headache. i do not know what it is. i try to take care of it, but i do not know whether it is covid or not. host: to our parents' line in michigan, diane. hello. caller: yes, hello. the schools are trying so hard to open up, and work with all the children coming in and being in rooms together. they are taking every measure but whatfor cautions, does the school do when kids come in, look a teacher in the eye, and say, i am not wearing a mask because my parents say i do not have to. just the way people do when they come into stores.

these children pick up what they are taught at home, and what they are taught at home, they will practice in school, so how are the school supposed to protect students when so many people feel they are making a political statement by not wearing a mask? some advise their kids to do the same thing. host: a couple of final comments on text. divorcecago, miss is and her boss are asking americans to trust our children to their priorities and judgment, but 60,000 new covid infections pretty? not yet. in florida, there is scientific data from other countries that have opened up schools. how come citizens do not get to see that data? who keeps us in the dark? alabama,chris in hospitalizations and deaths are rising in the south, and unless there are adequate testing protocols, deep cleaning constantly, and ability to practice social distancing, good hygiene and mask swearing, that

school should not open. raymond in michigan, good morning. caller: good morning. how are you this morning? host: fine, thank you. caller: i have a couple of things here. in aboutmber i called .y daughter and my son-in-law they went down to florida for thanksgiving. and i came back here to outhborough and i found sick.ody was my granddaughter has the virus, and she is four, and then i

i went to had it, so the hospital here, and i had it and in therantined ,ospital for at least five days thisso i will say this, [indiscernible] that drug might be good for one person, but right now i take six different pills. but if one of these could kill me? you cannot just say this is good for this person. no. the scientists have to evaluate everything. host: raymond, we will let you go.

hope you feel better. ahead on caller," we will talk to congressman -- ahead on "washington journal," we will talk to congressman tom reed from new york, talking about what is happening in his district and more. later, we will talk to michelle ever more on federal -- michele evermore on people who recently lost their jobs amid the pandemic. ♪ president trump: america's future is in our hands, and ladies and gentlemen, the best is yet to come. is holding atrump rally in new hampshire. watch our live campaign 2020 coverage saturday at 8:00 p.m. c-span.org demand at or listen on the go with the free c-span radio app. the president, from public

affairs, available now in paperback and e-book. it 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 style. visit our website c-span.org /thepresident to learn more and order your copy today. wherever books and e-books are sold. "washington journal" continues. host: congressman tom reed represents the 23rd district in new york, including ithaca. joining us to talk about the federal response to the pandemic, congressman reed serves on the ways and means subcommittee and cochair of the problem solvers caucus.

good to have you back with us, congressman reed. guest: great to be with you, bill. thank you. host: let me pick up on where we picked up with our callers on schools in particular. in the 23rd district, what do you think the status is? more broadly, nationwide, what do you think the federal policy should help make happen involved for schools? -- happened in fall for schools? guest: i am a supporter of getting our schools open. there are so many direct and indirect reasons why our schools need to be in a position to take kids back in the classroom environment. there is a whole slew of issues if schools are not reopened what we are working on here locally is how to do that and have a healthy respect for the virus and make sure the environment is as safe as possible. you will never mitigate risk to zero, and that is about making sure we understand social distancing, the physical

restrictions schools race, so we are trying to coordinate with all the stakeholders for a plan that will achieve a safe and open school for our children in the fall. host: congress passed $2.6 trillion worth of economic response to the pandemic. in your opinion, is that enough and what else do think needs to be done? guest: i have always lived there is going to be another package we would have to do, and that was because we just did not know exactly what was going to be needed up front and we took aggressive action. i was glad to see bipartisan support for the bills that came through the system to date, and right now, as the dust continues to settle, you start to see where in the economy additional help is needed, so i think you will have a more targeted $1.5ge in the range of trillion to $2 trillion based on

conversations i am aware of, but the magnitude and the size and the details of where that money will go individually is really a dynamic that is too early to tell you the details on that. host: so the house passed that on a partisan basis, the democratic bill, the heroes act several weeks ago. you are thinking that will be set aside and this other package will take precedence? guest: it was clear, when they went down the partisan path for the heroes act, they disengaged from the process and the democratic majority in the house. that was the political exercise that was more about campaign fodder for november in my humble opinion. what i've heard over the last 30 days is what i believe is happening. you will see a package come out of the senate and will have probably 70 to 80 votes, and i will tell you i would be hard-pressed to see the house of

representatives reject such a bipartisan bill when it is negotiated by the end of the month. host: you and your colleagues do most of your work remotely. when is the next time the house returns physically to the capitol for a debate and votes? guest: july 20 is the schedule now. it is for the last two weeks of july and the first couple of days of august. host: i mentioned in your open that you are the cochair of the problem solvers caucus. have you seen a more bipartisan effort to get some of these response measures done? guest: yeah, the problem solvers caucus is the work i'm most proud of in washington, d.c. 25 democrats and republicans and we were founded 40 years ago. we came together and said, we are organizing to get the yes. if we can get 75% consensus, we will vote as a block of members. i cochaired on the republican side and the democratic side, and these are all about

governing area they are proud, kratz and republicans, but they understand compromise is not a dirty word. in america, there is much more we agree upon if we talk and listen to each other than we disagree. we can disagree at 100% of the time on 20% of the stuff we disagree upon, but if you take the time, you can find that 80% common ground. it is not about compromising the finding things you mutually agree are the right things to do for the american people, so that is what the problem solvers caucus is all about. we were the first ones. was onesident mike pence the situation room and debbie burks met with us in the situation room to send a message that we dealt with the national emergency, we have to be united as a country. i was glad to be part of that effort in the first three and a half bills that have come through and overwhelmingly in bipartisan passion. host: congressman tom reed is with us.

for democrats, (202)-748-8000. for republicans, (202)-748-8001. independents and all others, (202)-748-8002. i will take a look at an article from the "times herald." as new york nursing homes report gop renews calls for the probe, a picture of the state's governor, andrew cuomo, and you, congressman reed. what are your concerns over the way nursing her were handled -- nursing homes are handled in new york? guest: history will tell this was one of the most terrific decisions made by a public official during these times. in march, our governor ordered ,hat covid-19 positive people seniors, our parents and grandparents, had to be "into nursing homes." nursing homes could not reject those covid-19 positive patients. what happened is you through gasoline onto the fire.

nursing homes are the homes of our parents and grandparents, the most susceptible people to the virus, and the governor ordered they could not deny admission into the nursing homes and those patients they knew were covid-19 positive, so you sent coronavirus right smack into the nursing home facilities and that ignited a fire and there is a lot more to be done here and two of the iceberg moment. i believe the number is going to be 12,000 to 50,000 at the end of the day of our parents and grandparents that died in the nursing homes because of that order. host: congressman tom reed with us until a little past 8:30 or so. let's get to your college comments. doug is in fairfax, south dakota. caller: good morning. i would like to start out and say i can stand to listen to you

talk, tom. i think he has some common sense. i'm not sure if you have drink the trump kool-aid yet or not, but a couple of questions. the republicans are trying to downplay the virus. same? trump do the and explain the difference, please. number two, if you take obamacare away from the poor, who pays for their covert care bills? or do you just let them die on the street? number three real quick, trump says bubba owes an apology. do you think trump owes an apology to central park five? host: several items, tom reed. any of them you like to respond to. guest: when it comes to china, and it was amazing, i was in japan meeting with the prime minister back in january. there obviously very close to

the chinese situation in the first virus went off in china and came through in america and they were not even talking about the virus. when you look i can history, i think there will be culpability all the way around. i think there will always be the armchair quarterback affect where could we have done things better? could china have done things better? the fundamental difference between america and china is china is a government based on a policy where information is not shared. it is not a democratic country. it is not about sharing information freely and openly. i think that is the fundamental flaw that china embraced as a result of this crisis and the virus that went off, in my humble opinion, without a doubt in its country, and they could have been much open and transparent, but the government itself is designed not to do that. putting billions of

people at risk. go to theis going to next level and be one of the world superpowers that it has come, and it must adhere to new policies and government standards and philosophies. i do not think it has the capability to do that. that is where this conflict between u.s. and china is going to be rooted for the foreseeable future, and it is a challenge and it is going to be an issue that we have to confront as a nation because the threats of china is something we have to recognize. it is a threat. good or bad, it is a threat to our future as a nation. on that issue, i will let history be the judge. but there were two other issues on there. host: if you would like to respond, or otherwise we will hear from mary lou in maple shade, new jersey. caller: good morning, bill and congressman reed. i wish that president trump was able to do more about these

democratic governors and mayors who are crippling their states all across the country. i live in the state of new jersey, congressman. i would not want to tell you what i had to go through last week to get my car inspected it, what i had to go through yesterday just to vote in my primary in person because i do not believe in mail-in voting. these governors have gone way out of trouble. and all i am asking is for the american people to use their common sense when it comes to these issues involving coronavirus. we are being told a lot of things that are not true. they not really explaining the performance of this virus in terms of hospitalizations and deaths. they are frightening people. people are walking around like sheep being led to the slaughter. please, people, use the brain god gave you because if we do not careful, we are going to

lose our country. host: mary lou, thank you. congressman reed? guest: well said. i agree wholeheartedly with the heart of what you are saying in that we have to member we are americans. in america, freedom is one of our core beliefs and court structures as a nation. what we are talking about is people kind of giving up freedom and not standing up for that freedom. you see government than potentially creeping in and doing things that become excessive and unreasonable. i do believe there is a role for government. i do believe there is a -- reasonableness that they should exercise in these times. i trust people and believe in the collective wisdom. once they are given the information and warmth, people want to do the right thing. we should trust people more

rather than this idea that some government leader is going to be able to wave a magic wand and keep everybody safe and mitigate the risk of the virus to zero. that is not the reality. that is not how mother nature works. that is not how it works in the real world. mary lou, i applaud your effort. i applaud your belief structure, and i stand with it. host: on government regulation, melissa asked, does the congressman believe all cdc guidelines should be followed or is it ok to pick and choose? guest: cdc guidelines are just that, the best information we have and they should be followed because that is the best science , in my humble opinion, that is out there, but you also need common sense. view,ry lou's point of when you see guidance, when i see guidance such as when i saw with governor cuomo ordering covid-19 positive grandparents in nursing homes, in real time, our office was screaming from

the mountaintops, you are going to kill people. he had a written letter from the national association representing the nursing homes. the day he signed the letter, they wrote him a letter saying you are going to kill people if you do this. that was a government edict and order, a guidance document, if you would, from the governor of new york. are you just supposed to follow that blindly? many of us rejected it, but most followed it. now you have 10,000 seniors that died as a result of it. that is the kind of common sense the american people have, and the common sense of the american people say that type of guidance should be rejected and challenged. the scrutiny of the public should make sure it gets changed, just as it got changed 46 days later in new york state after the public scrutiny force the governor to change that edict. host: let's hear from michael in texarkana, texas. caller: good morning, congressman. thank you for coming on. i have a question trying to connect the dots.

, newse of the virus tele-television you want kids to go back to school in spite of the virus. can you connect those dots? thank you. guest: i can. it is recognition of where we are with the virus. this is a virus caused by mother nature, and you are never going to mitigate the risks of the virus to zero. life is always going to have risks when you deal with things such as coronavirus and things like this. so do we live in a state of fear and lockdown? to be going to some save bunker in our rooms, our panic rooms, our homes and our places where we are at? or do continue to live? i have of the mindset that you continue to live. how you do that is you use the best information, you use social distancing, masks, physical separation, making sure the teachers are properly trained, making sure they have resources,

with gloves and personal protective equipment, and it will be a different environment. what you do is connect the dots by saying, we are going to go forward with our life when it comes to schools, and we are going to do it in a way that mitigates the risk to zero. or do our best to mitigate the risk to zero but you will never achieve it. host: the government accountability just came out with their first significant report on the $2.6 trillion in federal spending. we had a guest on the program talking about that yesterday. in particular on the payroll protection program, number of articles out there. you have probably seen one this is from "usa today," wineries, resorts have ppp lows. what are some of your concerns in terms of the oversight of the spending and who may have gotten some of those ppp loans? guest: this is something we will be dealing with.

obviously, we did the paycheck protection program and result of a crisis. it was not something that was designed years ago and rolled out. we were in the middle of doing this. remember what the heart of the program is about, paychecks. it is about protecting paychecks. you are going to see headlines and wineries yacht clubs. you are going to see folks that hit that type of headline metric. but the people who have gotten the money behind those are generally the paycheck of the people who work there. to employees working there make sure they continue to get paychecks week after week in order to cover their bills, their food, the groceries, take care of their children, to make sure they have the resources necessary. i agree with the oversight. i agree with accountability, and that is where as we go into phase four and we have taken a little more time because we have a little more time, hopefully,

we will get a design program that really buttresses the economy are necessary, fields of and stabilizes the economy because the threats are still there. this ripple effect of freezing up the u.s. economy with a $22 trillion cash flow economy overnight is having huge ripple effects when it comes to multiple industries. tourism, in particular, in our been at has significant economic engine for our area, so you will see these headlines. my hope is that you will see more people stop forward and say, you know what? i did not need this ppp. i do not know exactly what is going to happen. the dust seems to be settling. we have gone through the crisis. hopefully they pay it back and do not pocketed into their own orsonal pockets, the owners operators of this business is, and use the money for where it is to go. the people working in those businesses. host: you are also developing

the smart act. tell us about that. it is directed towards localities and states, anticipating a significant loss of revenue as the country. guest: about 60 days ago, it was clear to me that arlo municipalities in particular because of the cash flow impact and tourism dollars not coming into the community and people not buying or going out to the economy, you saw this ripple effect. packages, i was a big advocate of making sure our state and local governments get assistance. , statesackages today got $150 billion of statuses and communities with 500,000 people or more had gotten relief from the federal government. any community lower than $500,000 did not. than 500,000 did not. so i am a big proponent in working with senate partners to

make sure there is direct local government aid to smalling municipalities in particular, and that we make sure the impact of the virus, plus the loss of revenue, that comes from things like the sales tax not coming in, the room tax at your hotel's not coming in, there is some assistance for local governments to make sure they continue to employ firefighters and police officers, and they continue to function because if they do not get direct assistance, we will be in a crisis mode as they put their budgets together going into next year. that is what this component of the next phase for packages is all about. it is $500 million that with direct local government aid and state assistance, to make sure the state governors do not take the money away that is meant to go to the local government, like we have seen to a large degree with a $150 billion states

already got. host: we have two more calls, duane in jamaica queens, new york. caller: good morning, bill and congressman read. my question is when the pandemic hit new york state, you're representing state, why is it do sorump decided not to much for new york state? he was kind of reserved and giving us the help we needed, and then when florida and texas were in their demise, they were rushing pants down there to help them quicker than he would help along the northern border, where the guy whoedly lived in the northeast. i am not sure if you support though he is doing this, but it is ridiculous. the federal government, when you have mcconnell and trump not doing enough, it is boggling to

me. host: congressman reed? guest: i can tell you in the middle of the crisis when i was doing daily calls with our health networks for seven days a week, we talked to state officials and federal officials delivering protective equipment and we were right in the middle of delivering these resources to the front lines, so that trump administration worked hand-in-hand with us. we were delivering these resources, and i think the best example of where the president stepped up for new york is you look at the uss comfort in what he did at the jacob center with the corps of engineers. they retrofitted both of those facilities in order to make sure that there was health resources and to help care facilities for new york to address whatever it needed to have done. i do not know where you are referring to, on where the administration cut out support to new york state.

i even think the governor said he publicly recognized what the president did and to what they had. i will tell you what i hear out of the governor right now is billionly he needed $6 in assistance to take care of the crisis. then four days later with a $13 billion and then two days after that, it is up to $61 million of federal-aid. so i will not play the game with the governor and i will fold him accountable and say you cannot move the goalpost that much in five days and say, this is what the federal government needs to do for the state of new york when you go to $61 billion from $6 billion seven days before. that makes no sense to me. that tells me what the governor is doing is trying to take care of some problems they created in albany for a long term duration for the extremism that has taken over our state and has put our budget into a dire set of

consequences, and he is trying to use this crisis. as the old adage goes on the other side of the aisle, do not let a crisis go to waste. use it as an opportunity. so we will make sure they get the resources because this is governor.the the only ones who get hurt are the new york citizens. that is why $500 billion was put into this heart act, and when you do the calculations under what we drafted and authored, that would result in making sure the citizens of new york were protected. thanks for being with us. stay safe. guest: thank you so much. over the next 15 or 20 minutes or so, we will go back to our opening questions about reopening k-12 schools and colleges this year. if you are a parent, (202)-748-8000. educators, (202)-748-8001.

and all others, (202)-748-8002. announcer: watch tv this summer, saturday at 8:00 p.m. eastern, watch several hours of your favorite authors. saturday we are featuring commentator and author and founder of national review william buckley, author of over 50 books, including "flying high," "and the reagan i knew," and watch saturday, july 18, as we feature malcolm gladwell. binge watch book tv all summer on c-span2. host: we will get to your calls shortly on our question about reopening schools k-12 and colleges this fall. parents, (202)-748-8000 .educators (202)-748-8001.

and for all others, (202)-748-8002. from "the washington times," "trump calls for classrooms to open as usual." president trump declared k-12 schools should move. my head toward reopening in the fall, despite concerns from local leaders and educator groups on exposing teachers and students to coronavirus. another administration officials -- other administration officials said they should have every effort to get classes back up and running for as soon as next month for many. they write the president said "no way" to local leaders who proposed to keep schools closed and described it as a way to damage and politically before the end of the november election. that is in "the washington times." we cover to house hearing yesterday on reopening colleges. one of those testifying was the chancellor at california state university on the financial costs connected to the pandemic. here is what he had to say.

[video clip] >> i am extremely grateful for the financial relief provided to our students and campuses for the cares act because education department guidance limited emergency grants, and we had out bend and those funds with campus resources, so that all of our students in need do covid-19, including international and dhaka students could receive much-needed financial emergency support. informed by the guidance of scientific and medical experts, along with health officials, we are planning for a primarily virtual fall with exceptions for critical and in person experiences that can be conducted within rigorous standards and safety. as we plan for the fall and beyond, the csu confronts a new grim physical reality. our campus is face soaring cost and revenue losses associated with the pandemic, putting our students well-being and success at significant risk.

the recently passed california budget cuts are appropriation by $299 million, 4.2% of our operating budget, and additional federal relief funds are forthcoming. i ask for additional support and adjustment during this is sort public health crisis. i do so on behalf of the nation's m largest and mo diverse student body, keeping students enrolled in graduating with a high-quality degree. it not only benefits them, their families and communities, it is also a vital public good for the nation. host: as always, we welcome your comments by text, (202)-748-8003 . ine is one from deb columbia, missouri, who says this is the chance to rethink how schools operate. teacher-student ratio should be 1:10 in elementary. more charter schools and school choice and high school level online teaching can augment with higher level teachers and

discussion groups with older students need to be small and interactive. better, smaller schools. kathleen first up in chestnut hill, massachusetts. caller: regarding children from i have friends who teach speciali ed. abouteally concerned teachers involved. i believe she advocated for private schools getting some of that money, and i don't think that is appropriate. i really wanted to speak to the republican from new york. i wanted him to confirm if that was correct. if parents cane afford to send their kids to private school, my son went to private school, it cost a fortune, and they need to get the money, you know, these rural

communities in west virginia and -- so, they need to be safe. number one. the teachers need to be safe, the parents, the grandparents. i really wanted to confirm, if you can find it in a newspaper there, i believe part of that many of the care act was allotted by the secretary of education, betsy devos, that private schools receive money. before the show is over, i would love to have an answer to that, please. host: ok, to our parents' line in saratoga, california, gretchen. caller: i am very concerned about sending children back to school because i think people are losing sight of the bigger picture. we are forgetting to look at our loss of population. the loss of wealth. everything that is going to happen as a follow-up not only

with loss of jobs in the economy, but what happened to our population, we are going to throw kids back in school before we know it is safe. that is crazy. they are our future. we cannot protect our teachers. we have already sacrificed our medical professionals by refusing to properly equip them, which is insane. and now we are going to say, ok, now that we have lost the knowledge base in the medical community, let us also sacrifice our entire teacher population. it is knowledge base. that is ridiculous, and also, our children, this is applaudhted and and point for donald trump. he is looking for the applause line. this is not the answer. do not pull it aside like you did masks. host: this is a response to a caller in massachusetts who asked about secretary devos, issues rules to ensure cares act

has funding for all students, issued in late june, a rule that would ensure all students whose money was impacted by covid-19 are served equitably by emergency funding, authorized the cares act, no matter where they attend school. wade,nt pleasant beach, morning. is that new jersey? caller: i hope you are doing well. host: you are in new jersey, right? caller: yes, sir. host: ok, go ahead. caller: i have a sort of simple solution. as far as i'm concerned, teachers are essential workers. if grocery store clerks and garbage men can do their jobs, i think our society should also call on teachers to do their job. in terms of children, i think they should have the option to go to school or to stay home. we have the tech knology where -- we have the technology where a student who has to stay home because of the comorbidity or a vulnerable family member, that children can be set up with a

computer and have a camera in the back of the classroom, and it will be like they are sitting in the classroom. they can follow along in real-time time, and then they can handed assignments over email. so give the option to parents and students whether they want to risk going back to school or whether or not to stay home. thank you. host: tracy is a teacher in virginia. good morning. caller: good morning. i am actually not a teacher but not keep a therapist, -- align host: educator. caller: yes, i am an educator.i work with children with disabilities, and just a comment on what the gentleman said previously, i always felt really bad for the essential workers going to work without protection , the grocery workers, sanitation workers. i thought that was very unfair. i also worry about my students, my coworkers, and myself and my partner, and my mother who is in

her 80's, and my brand-new grandson. i know children, especially children with disabilities. it is very hard for them to social distance. it is hard for them to learn without hands-on help, and they will not wear masks definitely, so i do not think you're ready -- i do not feel ready to go to work in the fall, and, unfortunately, i am seriously considering retiring early as a result to protect my family and myself. so that is how i feel. host: thanks for calling in, tracy. this was on facebook. james says, until there is a vaccine, opening the schools will work out as well as what florida and texas are currently going through on florida. the is from "usa today," in nation's help section, "florida reopening schools disputed as educators puzzle over how to start the new academic year."

on instate edict called person classes five days a week. the emergency order issued by the state education commission appeared at first to undermine the push by many teachers and some school board members to keep classes online when the school year begins. the order says schools can remained close if county health officials see reopening too dangerous. a corporate spokeswoman on that possibility, "logically, i do not think he could say schools are not safe if they are not allowing people out in public," said the department of education spokeswoman. to lewis in salisbury, north carolina, good morning. caller: top of the morning to you. look, i hear a lot of people talking about let's open up the schools and don't even have a vaccine, but the ones who are really actually talking about opening up the schools, they really don't have skin in the

game. i don't listen to all of that. i kids are grown now. they went through school when there was a time of a lot of school shootings, and with the racial thing going on now, they should keep schools closed for a while until we get a handle on things going on. if you want to see your kids in the classroom and these teachers go in the classroom, they should get hazard pay. they should go on with hazmat suits and everything, and let the kids go on without the mask whatever, but the teachers had specked down. i think it is ridiculous. i think the president is doing the same thing he did a reopening early and you see the way we are getting now. i would say it is ridiculous and the parents would be fools to do so. host: house committees will continue to work, although the house will not be back until july 20. open the washington times'" thatines is written

democrats call to defund the police with a nearly $1 million increase for law enforcement and the annual justice department spending bill. the appropriations subcommittees are meeting this week and we will have more coverage this morning on that, considering the 2021 spending measures. the subcommittee is looking at the commerce and justice department's and related agencies. packets way in under 15 minutes on c-span [applause] 9:0000 a.m. -- c-span2 at a.m., and the later, spending bills for the transportation department and housing and urban development at 11:00 a.m. eastern, live on c-span. a couple of more calls. harryl go to ct -- susan, and connecticut -- excuse me, harry in connecticut. good morning to you. caller: hello. kids,n put a mask on the and everybody can be wearing a mask, but this thing with the

mask, what about your eyes? your eyes also need to be protected, and nobody seems to even go with that, and as far as educating the kids, all you have andto do is do like trump pay someone to take all of your tests and that is how you get to be president. you are. host: there is more ahead on open washington journal." "washington on journal." we will speak to michele evermore, talking about those who recently lost their jobs under the pandemic. that is ahead on "washington journal." > during the summer months, reach out to your elected officials with c-span's congressional directory. it contains the contact information you need to stay in touch with was of congress, federal agencies and state governors.

order your copy online today at c-spanstore.org. "u.n. day,"ght on ," we discuss "the thank you for voting." >> there has been a massive impact on voting rights, and there are no voting rights advocates or attorneys that does not see it as just a ground shaking impact. while of course the voting laws that are discriminatory are still illegal, there is not federal oversight of states with a history of discrimination, the kind of stopgap where they need your approval to any changes. >> watched sunday night at 8:00 "q&a."astern on c-span's "washington journal" continues.

host: next, we are joined by michele evermore with the national employment law project to talk about the government's response to unemployment. guest: good morning. thank you for having me. host: give us an idea of the size of the response in terms of the unemployment aid offered by the federal government with all of the measures that have passed congress. what have they provided? guest: real economic stability. it is shocking the stock it did not completely crash and that unemployment continues to decline since the initial large increase attributable to the pandemic. i think in terms of unemployment insurance specifically, the insurance covered a lot of people would not have normally had access to unemployment insurance and the extra $600 a week. it allowed people to have money

to spend to keep the economy and themselves afloat. host: michele evermore's at the nalp.org, unemployment insurance has been a critical lifeline during the pandemic. typically, how much extra money is this providing for the unemployed? guest: the pandemic unemployment assistance provides an extra $600. where that came from is congress decided if the economy was going to be deliberately shut down to prevent the spread of the virus, then 100% of income should be replaced, but that 100% is hard to calculate with state computers, so what they figured was the average weekly benefit for unemployment insurance is $370 a week, and the average weekly wage is 900 and $70, so the difference is $600, -- $970, so give them the difference of

what they were making before. host: when is that insurance had to expire? expires julyy, it 31, but impracticality, it will end on july 25 or july 26, because that is the benefit and the before july 31. host: what do we know about how the pandemic has affected state unemployment budgets? the amount that states pay to unemployed? guest: going into the recession, a 14 states were in slightly better shapes than they were going into the great recession. however, so many people applied to ugly that it was at an evencedented level, that over 10 states have applied for federal loans because funding has either run out or they are close to running out. i anticipate that will be the case in most states, but fortunately, if your state trust fund runs out, do not worry. you still get a benefit that

they have to borrow from the federal government. host: michele evermore is here to talk about the response to unemployment in the pandemic. if you are recently unemployed, that line is (202)-748-8000. all others, (202)-748-8001. at can send us a text (202)-748-8003 and we will get to your calls and comments momentarily. you mentioned july 31 as the date. is there any anticipation of extending that date and adding additional federal funding? guest: yes. i think there is a strong chance congress will pass something to extend the benefit at some level. if congress does not act, several serious economists have said the economy really does stand a chance of faltering ones people are suddenly falling out this clifford collecting the extra $600 to whatever the regular unemployment benefits

is. the thing people do not realize is over the last decade, states have really eroded regular unemployment insurance benefits to the point where they are not sufficient to keep people afloat at all. in some states, like louisiana and mississippi, people will week tom making $813 a $213 a week. that is going to be a real shock. host: market watch is reporting the jobless numbers and claims continuing a slow and steady tocent in late june, falling 1.4 3 million and the unemployment rate falling further month of june. for the month of june. because of the resurgence of the virus in some states, is it too early to tell about additional layoffs and unemployment claims filed because of the additional

resurgence in states across the country? guest: we are certainly not out of the woods yet. i fear as states have had to reclose because they reopen too early in the virus started spreading again, we will see additional claims. to put the numbers in perspective, between the regular unemployment insurance claims and pandemic unemployment insurance claims, that is still and $200 million a week, historically, the highest week on average before the pandemic, it was 695,000 claims. host: we have calls waiting. first, tom in saint albans, new york. go ahead. caller: i was going to say that thepeople that do not have ability to work from home or locked out of earning an income, unemployment is parroted. if you look at the depression in

1929 with the soup lines, what is the alternative if we did not continue supporting? outlook forch a far a vaccine being ready by the end of this year or next year. it seems like they need to provide support for the populace until the vaccine is ready. thank you. guest: absolutely. i totally agree with you that without employment insurance, unemployment insurance was established in 1935 as a response to the great depression. not just to give people a benefit when they become voluntarily unemployed but as an economic stabilizer to keep one sector in the economy from crashing to spreading to other sectors. host: on our line for recently unemployed, jamie, tell us your story. unemployedh, i got

because of the coronavirus is so bad. in birmingham, we don't have nothing. i mean, alabama, we don't have becauseuch nothing everything is going down. the people are moving away. and that causes no jobs. and i have been going through this for a long time. i am wondering what happened with our economy? jamie, are you currently getting unemployment benefits? caller: no, sir, i am not getting it. [indiscernible] host: michele evermore?

guest: i am so glad you have been able to get your disability benefits. i amabama, it is a state particularly concerned about because the average weekly benefit is only $230 a week, so it is another state where people will not be able to afford to live in the city. when people lose the ability to pay their rent, that starts to spiral out of control. as rents defaults, foreclosures happen and the economy gets much worse in many ways. it is a real pain for people to wagesd exist at poverty when they are out of work for something that is totally not their fault. host: how important do you think the payroll protection program, the ppp, has been in all of this in trying to keep people employed and continue to pay employees? guest: the ppp program is important keeping people connected to work.

continually that there are some sort of disadvantages to work and unemployment insurance benefits, but we have seen people really do want to get back to work and they are looking hardest to their jobs and more likely to take jobs. to the extent that people can remain attached to work, that is wonderful. host: here is joe, calling from ash, north carolina. caller: good morning. i live about eight miles away from myrtle beach, the grand strand, and if you drive up and down 17, highway 17, all the restaurants are breaking for people. all the retail stores are begging for people. but you cannot fault these people sitting on their backside when their average wage would be taking home about $400 a week when they can make right hundred dollars a week -- when they can

make $800 a week from the $600 extra you are giving them. who would want to do that? that is called unjust enrichment. and these people who you say, they want to go to work -- no, they don't. this is so terrible that you go along with this nonsense. the unemployment bureau should go ahead and say, call them up, i have a job for you. if you do not come in, you get no unemployment, no welfare, nothing. host: michele evermore, you touched on that briefly. do you want to expand your thoughts on what the caller said? guest: actually, what you said about if somebody gets called back to work and refuses, they should not get in unemployment insurance benefit, that is law. so people cannot refuse a job that is suitable if they are offered it. however, one important thing to keep in mind is a job offer of suitable work has to be safe

work. so if people are called back to work where they will be exposed to the virus and may have reason to refuse that work, but only in that circumstance. and the other thing is, there definitely is more to a job than a paycheck. people want stability right now. everybody knows after the pandemic ends, the economy will not magically get better overnight, so the promise of long-term stable work is important to a lot of people. the chicago fed did a study and and they are more likely to look for work because they have access to unemployment services and they have support to look for work. over 45 million people filed a claim but the unemployment rate is only at 11%. i remember the first week in june, everybody was shocked the unemployment rate was not over 20% based on initial claims.

so the numbers are there showing people are going back to work. host: you mentioned that you number, 11.1%. when the numbers were announced last thursday, vice president mike pence on cnbc talked about that and the idea of expanding those unemployment benefits under the coronavirus response. here is what he said. [video clip] clear thatdlow make the administration position has been that you do not want to extend the extra $600 of unemployment benefit that expires the end of this month. is that position changing at all? does the strong number today cement the position? >> well, i think you have heard the president say we have a real concern about creating an unintended incentive for people to stay on the sideline in this economy, and that $600 plus up in unemployment, many believe

contributed to that, and you see the numbers today and people are coming out the sideline with the recent labor participation is encouraging. the next package, president trump has made clear that it really needs to focus on growth and getting people back in the work force also growing the economy. that is why we went to deal with issues like a payroll tax cut which will put money in the pockets of those working immediately and make capital available for those on an ongoing basis, and we think it is critical as is this is adhere to state, local and cdc guidance that they would be able to do that without fear of an avalanche of lawsuits that would stifle our economy, and all of those policies would be what we look at. the most important thing is if the next -- is that the next rescue package creates the incentives to keep this economy growing strong, as evidenced in the job numbers today. host: michele evermore, your

theghts on the key issues, payroll tax cut, and the business liability protection, as mentioned by the vice president? guest: neither of those are the kind of stimulus measures that really help economy in the way it needs assistance right now. it creates problems for future policy, social security and medicare, and liability protection against employers that could pose serious, serious problems for workers. right now it is imperative we keep work is safe. if we do not, we see the coronavirus spread out of control. we are already seeing bigger increases in the spread that we had in the past. that is because people are being asked to go back to unsafe work. anything we do to make it easier for employers to require workers to do work that is not safe for them imperils them and us all.

it imperils the economy. host: question from kevin who texted the question, michele evermore, will the self-employed be able to continue the standard unemployment after july 31, especially those who earn a lot of your income at fairs and festivals but most have been canceled? guest: yes, the pandemic unemployment assistance will remain in effect until december 31. we have also worked with congress to make sure those benefits are excited as long as the economy needs it. we hope to see in the next package automatic extenders for all of the programs. beyond even the december 31 date and pandemic unemployment assistance. host: just another check of the unemployment rate, it was 11.1% for june overall, 10.1% for ande, 14.5% for hispanics 15.4% for blacks, according to

the bureau of labor statistics. that's your next term susan in jamestown, new york -- let's hear from susan in jamestown, new york. caller: i have a concern on the $600 unemployment a week. people are also getting hundreds and stamps, the free lunch program is wonderful for the children. there's money is being wasted like there is no tomorrow, but people do not want to go back to work. the stores are hurting. they cannot even get the proper change to give their customers because the banks do not have it because the transactions and according to the bank because is this is are not open. host: susan in new york. michele, any response? guest: one thing to keep in mind about unemployment insurance, it is not just a benefit for those who are getting it but an economic stabilizer. right now we have not seen the crash. ---

we looked at what the prospects are we do not continue the benefit, and for the whole economy it is gloomy. unemployment insurance spending generates local spending, so during the height of the section, every dollar spent generated the economy, and that is why you have not seen consumer spending drop or the housing market crash. that is why states are still collecting tax revenues and they have not had to lay off as many people as they could have ended up having to lay off. the $600 is not just helping people getting that benefit but everyone. host: here is wade in edgefield, south carolina, recently unemployed. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i think these people are calling in and saying the unemployment help is nonsense are probably

already retired and do not need assistance whatsoever. lee, myself, i have been self-employed all my life. i have never had any government assistance of any kind up until now. luckily, i did get the unemployment, and it is so much help. without it, i would have done lost my home and probably pretty much everything i have worked for. my work is in home repair, and i have stayed busy all my life doing it, but in the last four months, i had to have two calls. without it, i will surely lose everything i worked for, and i am so appreciative of having it. i am hoping it extends police until we can get a vaccine or something so my phone will start reading and i can go back to work. i do have underlying health issues, but if my phone is ringing, i will be going back to work.

i have a heart aneurysm and high blood pressure. host: you said you had never gotten government assistance before. how hard was it to apply through south carolina for unemployment and the pandemic unemployment? well i applied with the state first and it took four i had been paid then, and then it automatically kicked me over to the federal and i applied for it, and it took about three weeks or four more weeks, but two weeks ago, i did start to see the benefits, and i was so glad because i was far from being actually out of money, unfortunately. host: thanks for your experience. michele evermore? caller: thank you for calling in -- guest: thank you for calling him. some people are hesitant to apply because they think of it

as something that maybe they did not earn, but actually it is an earned benefit based on how much you have earned before. it is like saying you have gotten into a car crash and you will not use auto insurance because it is free money. it is not really. it is something we all pay into. i am glad you got your benefits and it is helping you out. host: also in south carolina is john in florence. good morning. caller: good morning. can you hear me? host: yes, we can. caller: i am from south carolina , and i am a union worker. i have worked all over the country, shaken, and i have unemployment out of illinois. last year alone i worked in alabama, new york, and with this corona, maybe a week before i was scheduled to go on a job in

atlanta, due to corona, the job was canceled. onlying a union worker, i work periods through the year, so the money i would have made on the job is the money that would have took me through the summer time to winter and then i would go to work. that $600 bonus that they just gave, if it was not for that, i would be on the streets, because even though i make decent money with things being so high, you still need to make money regularly to have a life. i am from south carolina. i am all around the state and all around a lot of states and i heard a gentleman call in and say there are jobs everywhere and people are begging you to come in, and that is not true. i have been through it three times at this month, and i definitely have not seen signs holding up a sign saying, please, come in and work.

i make a certain pay scale, but if it came down to it, i would have worked a job lower than i would be willing to, but as far as people begging you to come in, come in and there are jobs everywhere, that is in true. and that money is -- that is not true. and that money is helping people survive until he can get a hold of what is going on. i have one question, also. as of right now, i have two checks left in my unemployment. and i know they are supposed to be making a decision in the next week or two. i really want to know what they are going to do because i deal with all walks of life with people and i'm in the union, so i work with people from different states, ages and races. i have made a lot of friends over the last six years, and i have been contacting them through facebook. they have all been telling me, man, i'm going to lose this and that because this unemployment is not even getting some of those guys for what they make, they may make $78,000 a year and

i make less at $60,000 a year, but even with unemployment, they're not making enough pay their bills. if you take that away, what are they going to do? that is my question. host: appreciate you calling in, john. guest: i think there is a strong chance congress will extend the benefit. there are couple of proposals out there right now. in the house, they are supposed to extend the $600 through the end of january 2021. in the senate, senator schumer and why didn't have proposed a step down approach to the $600. employment gets below 11%, than the $600 becomes $500 and so forth, as a compromise to start backing down from the extra benefit as jobs become available. in terms of your experience, i would say that it is really important for people to know that if somebody belongs to a

union, they are twice as likely to apply for and receive unemployment insurance benefits. what that says to me is they are telling you that what your rights are, so i think one take away from that is that people who have not applied because they do not think you are eligible should definitely rethink that in this period. a lot more people are eligible. host: a comment more "the real numbers will not be seen until august. ppp funding for the most, finished by june 30. without additional unemployment support we will see major problem starting in august. congress did extend the ppp until the end of august, correct? guest: i believe so. i am not an expert on tpp.

-- ppp. one thing i will point out, it is great attorney called worksharing. they have the option to apply for short-time compensation or worksharing which would spread the work longer cross the workforce and those workers would also get an unemployment insurance benefit and the additional pandemic unemployment compensation, which is currently $600 and hopefully will remain through the end of the year, until the public health crisis passes. host: finish your thought. guest: short-term compensation is an underutilized program from what everyone should know about it. host: we live from janet in cincinnati. caller: hello. i am a school bus driver and the first week i started drawing unemployment i did not receive

$600 could i have been unemployed since march 16. i had unemployment last week, now it is $400. i don't know where they get that we were getting $600 a week. moreyself, and a couple of bus drivers were not receiving the full amount. ours has been reduced ever since we started doing unemployment with one of the weeks being omitted when i first started unemployment which was march 30, 2020. guest: that is interesting. she is in illinois? host: she is in ohio. she is still with us. ohio.: i am in when i first filed for unemployment, they skipped the week of march 30. i never got the $600. the second week i applied it was only $500 and i received that until last week, so it was only

$400. i do not know what people get that we make $600 a week. i'm a school bus driver and i make more money driving a school bus than i do with unemployment. host: ok, janet. we will hear from michele evermore. sure: i am not exactly what is going on can i know the week of march 30 you would not have gotten the $600 because that did not pass congress until the end of march and did not take effect until early april. in terms of getting 500 or 400 instead of $600, i'm wondering if at any point in the past you are somehow accidentally overpaid unemployment insurance. sometimes that may take -- play a factor. i am not really sure why you wouldn't get the $600. i'm happy to look into it. host: just a follow-up on the ppp we were talking about -- "

wall street journal," "what you need to know about the latest small business owners now have until august 8 to apply for ppp loans. the small business administration will begin accepting loan applications on monday. that was this past week. the original deadline was june 30. let's hear from daisy in yonkers, new york. good morning. also unemployed. caller: good morning, everybody. i happen to agree with the two previous gentlemen from georgia that the government has to extend this $600 benefit. i cannot believe the number of people calling thinking that $600 is better than nothing -- here in new york, it is barely keeping us a float. we have to pay medicine, bills thend when you see

billionaires -- they released a list of the billionaires that got millions of dollars in loans and bailouts and these people are complaining over $600. it definitely vexes me. it is not that people don't want to go back to work. people are afraid to catch something, bring something back. what about people that cannot work safely from home? a lot of the people calling up are probably ensconced in their home, working from home on a computer, and they are ok, but the rest of us have to be out there working, catching a virus, and bringing it home to our loved ones? the government is going to have to do better than the $1200 and they gave, which, to me, was an insult, and basically extend the unemployment, at least until the end of the year. i do not see myself heading out to golf, going on a cruise, getting on an airline, or anything.

the money is to give us afloat, school shopping, and may be some of our local businesses. host: daisy in new york. michele evermore. guest: you raise that important. one of the key goals of unemployment insurance is to provide a "reservation wage," people fromures having to take a job that pays a lot less than they had before, so that people when they do their best work, find a job that suits them, which is good for their -- them and their employer, and they will be able to stick with it longer debt right now that concept is totally different because there is a virus out there that is deadly. it is also providing a workersion, a power for to truly have the choice to say no to something that is truly unsafe. i think that $600 is just a really powerful way to give workers a little bit of choice rather than having to take the

first thing that comes along that is either low-pay or unsafe. host: from your experience the last couple of months with the pandemic and the government's response to it and with what you are hearing from viewers this morning, how easy do you think the process has been to apply for unemployment aid? guest: it has not been easy at all. even in states that are doing their best to process claims quickly, the reality is administrative funding for unemployment insurance is lower now than it was in 2001, and that does not account for inflation or population growth. fact that thee highest number of claims in history -- 695,000 in october of 1982, and we started this recession with an initial claims week of 3.3 million, and then 6.6 million, 6.6 million -- nobody had any ability to prepare for anything like this.

nothing we have ever seen in history. even states that had plans in place for recession readiness were not doing well. then there are states that have deliberately sabotaged their systems and made it harder for workers to get benefits. going into the last recession, only 9% of people in north carolina were getting a benefit. it is so hard to get benefits there. only 11% of people in florida were getting the benefit, who were unemployed. improving access in good times makes the system impenetrable in bad times. -- whyne tweet for you can't all expenses be canceled for someone that becomes unemployed. some people getting $600 a week do not have expenses. why would a college student that lives at their parents and has no real monthly expenses,

deserve to get $1000 a week in an apartment benefits? guest: unemployment insurance is the system we have two dealing with recessions is the answer. to try to figure out person by person what their expenses are, for the government to decide what is a legitimate expense, that is not legitimate, would be very difficult. who is it that is giving the --ense -- the grocery store what are the expenses and who was on the hook for that? i am not sure how that would work. we have this system that has been designed to get benefits out to put people among relatively quickly, not as quickly during this recession as we had hoped, but it is what we have. dawn, also hear from unemployed, calling from beckley, west virginia. caller: i am calling in regards to my husband. i have been a stay-at-home

mother for the past several years. here in west virginia, you know, coldf our biggest jobs is mining, and that is, like, an obvious. my husband's 30 tool, and ever since he graduated high school in to thought -- 32, and ever since he graduated high school in 2006, he has been a call minor. the extra $600 -- even that doesn't even match. he was recently laid off. even that does not match what he was making prior to. if it was not for the covid payments, we would be getting $400, you know, a week, as opposed to -- so that would be $1600 a month, as opposed to $2600 every two weeks. -- there isa thing not a lot of opportunities here in west virginia, and recently

the pipeline that was going to go on here in west virginia, you know, that was recently scrapped , so there are more people that are going to have to go from having the potential to learn all of this money and having to a $400. i know a lot of people are frustrated about people that are making more money with the covid payments on unemployment, but it is a vast majority here in west virginia, especially with the call minor's and the pipe liners -- call minors and pipe liners who are not even close to making what they were. host: and done, when was your husband laid off? you said it was recently. caller: yes, he was laid off a month ago. we have five kids. the call mine is so up and -- the cold mine is so up and down.

about one month prior from being laid off he was transferred from working 15 minutes from home to an hour away from home and he took a five dollar pay cut at that time. host: we will hear from michele evermore. to her for calling in. for that to that is an important point that a lot of people are not making as much with the extra $600 they were making before. the other thing to keep in mind is we cannot tell people to go back to jobs that do not exist. routinely, whenever there is a recession, congress tends to extend the number of weeks available to get benefits and there are a number of benefits in place for workers to get benefits, additional weeks of benefits when times are hard. it is true -- you cannot tell someone to take a job that does not exist. that is a really important point. thank you. michigan nexte, up. timothy, good morning. caller: good morning.

make sure you meet your audio. you will get feedback and confuse yourself. go ahead with your comment. caller: what i wanted to say is all of this could have been avoided if the president would have, you know, taken action when it first happened. all of these people complaining about unemployment and stuff like that, all of that could have been unavoidably -- could have been avoided if he took the appropriate steps to stop it in its tracks. what you tell the people out there complaining about the and that the economy is crashing -- what do you tell people like that if it all started in the president's hands? that is my comment. host: michele evermore, you worked in the labor department for the obama administration for a time. what is your observation of the response of the labor department

under president trump and his labor secretary, eugene scalia? caller: this -- guest: the safety standards coming out of the department of and that nonexistent is a real problem. the response in terms of unemployment insurance has been positive. i think in general, a lot of guidance came out very quickly, but we still not have seen anything about refusal of suitable work, we have not seen anything to protect public health, and we have not seen any safety guidelines. at a hearing when i testified in the senate finance committee, only one citation had been issued on health and safety in response to the tens of thousands of complaints coming in in response to the pandemic. we have to keep the virus from spreading. that is what is going to save the economy. without basic health and safety standards, i do not understand how that gets accomplished. on twitter from

diana who says this -- my unemployed 27-year-old daughter lives at home's has a covid payment that has to be paid, car insurance, cell phone, gas, etc.. let's get to tom who is in ohio. caller: hello. host: you are on the air, tom. go ahead. caller: good morning. first, i want to say that trump had stopped all visitors coming from out of the country in here as soon as he heard about the pandemic, first off. second off, i am retired, 73 years old and i have been working two jobs since 1983. i go out and i look for work, and i right now have been working through the pandemic as a cleaner, and the companies i strict., they are very they take your temperature before you even enter the

process. we have everything done 3, 4 times a day in lunch rooms, offices -- we wipe down everything. there are companies that are and allg with the cdc, of this other stuff -- these people who are unemployed, i heard walmart is looking for help. tons of jobs out there. you are not going to make the money -- i am working for a dollars an hour, and just making my ends meet. during the obama administration, my investments were down in the dumps. so that is why i kept working ever since i was retired, and since trump got in, my 401(k) and my investments have gone up a little bit until the pandemic, but even still i'm still working. there is opportunity. it was just have to go out and look for it. host: tom, tell us how old you are. caller: 73. host: appreciate your call. michele evermore, your thought?5

guest: one thing i would say in response to that is if he has been working that hard, that long, it is really unfortunate shiftedsociety we have from a defined benefit pension to a defined contribution model where a drop in investment returns in your defined contribution plan means you have to continue to work past 73. once this pandemic is over, we should start to have a more robust conversation about why retirement security isn't where it should be. host: let's get one more call here. anna. south windsor, connecticut. also recently unemployed. you're on the air. caller: yes, i am. thank you. my comment is to the young lady there. emotion -- for the

you can see the emotion in her face that she is concerned, she cares, and she knows what she is talking about, and i just quickly want to say i love her, i don't even who she is, but she knows what she is talking about, and she is concerned for all of us. , c-span.t to thank you i would like to know -- i just thought of something else -- what happens to all of the social security money when people die? where does that money go. host: ok, anna. .ichelle --michele evermore caller: thank you for that, much less in the nutmeg state. social security -- people paying in pay the current benefits. it is not like an account that has your name on it. untillly, people can draw they are 120, or they may not return if-- as big a

they pass away right after they retire. basically that is how it works -- it is an insurance program, not necessarily a savings vehicle. host: michele evermore with us this morning. she is a senior policy analyst with the national employment law project. the white. guest: thank you. host: next we will ask about your top policy issues. -748-8001.s, tool to >> on thursday, secretary of defense mark esper and chairman's of the joint chiefs of staff testified before the house armed services committee on the authority and roles of the defense department related to civilian law enforcement. watch live coverage beginning at 1:00 p.m. eastern on c-span,

on-demand on c-span.org, or listen live wherever you are on the free c-span radio app. president trump: america's future is in our hands, and ladies and gentlemen, the best is yet to come. >> president trump is hosting a rally in portsmouth, new hampshire. campaign 2020s coverage saturday at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span on demand at c-span.org, or listen on the go with the free c-span radio app. >> >> "washington journal" continues. host: we have 30 minutes or so of your phone calls. we look forward to hearing your top policy issues. , 202-7e for democrats 48-8000. others, -- and

text.n also send us a on the topic we started with about reopening schools, president trump tweeting about that this morning -- in germany, denmark, norway, sweden, schools are open with no problems. s think it would be bad for them politically if u.s. schools open before the november election, but it is important for children and families. may cut off funding if not open. on schools reopening, a couple of college-related stories here -- this is from the boston globe -- harvard and m.i.t. ask president trump to block ad -- immigration ban on -- administration ban on foreign students on campus. the headline at cbs -- john hopkins university in maryland announced plans for the false

arrest appeared here's what they write about the university of maryland. marylandrsity of college park notified students tuesday to hold only about 20% of college courses partially in person this fall because of the pandemic. let's go to calls and hear from lily firstt up in -- up in orlando, florida. caller: good morning. my comment is i don't think either candidate is really going to help america. i don't know which way america is going, but it is very concerning. concerning to me that neither candidate is going to really do anything for america. thank you. host: ok. williamsburg, virginia. top public policy issue. olivia, good morning. caller: good morning cat i'm a 21-year-old female student in virginia and i have recently become aware of how terrifying life is for women my age and

other countries and there has been a lot of discussion about privilege today and the data is outstanding -- confounding. it is estimated by 2030 more than 150 million will be married with children and there is a piece of legislation called the girls lead act and it targets one of the factors such as violence, poverty, hunger, that acts as a barrier to girls taking an active role in politics and education in other countries. it is important that people educate themselves on legislation that is available and reach out to congress leaders and representatives and try to get themselves more representative and act more as advocates for these people who are struggling. host: president trump today meeting with the president of mexico at the white house -- day-long meetings and a joint news conference -- a new statement at the white house later today. look for coverage later on the c-span networks.

a story here on the brazilian president in "the washington times," "pandemic skeptic bolsonaro tests positive for the virus." "he says he has tested positive after downplaying its severity well deaths mounted rapidly inside the country." donna is next in vero beach, florida. good morning. zero -- vero beach, florida. ladonna, are you there? yes, i was just wondering i could not get on my connect system down in florida -- today is the third day. i called the career center and they said it had to do something with using my tablet. i went on the computer today and it said technical difficulties. . host: is this to get unemployment, what is this for?

caller: to claim my weeks. can login cup of my social security number, my pin number, play my weeks, look for work and all of this, and then agree, agree, agree, and when i it says technical difficulties. i get it 100 times. host: have you had problems with the system before? caller: oh, no. host: ok. keep trying, i guess. denise in college park, maryland. democrats line. several positive the first is how we got where we are now. i am 67 years old and i am sitting here remembering when i first saw on the news almost every single person in china walking around with masks. that was scary. i thought to myself what is going on over there, and what really got me was when it started hitting home how our take -- howfused to

he called it a hoax from day one. to this day, he is still calling it a hoax. people having trouble with people being admitted, tests, dying, hospitalized, if he had never called it a hoax and had acted then and there we would have been in the same situation we would have been in with president obama with only two deaths in america. second of all, school -- i have no children in school. i have a granddaughter that will be going to college this first year. the sad thing about that is i have nothing against going back to school, but i just heard on the news that he will not even fund the schools to give them their covid money to do the appropriate distancing they need to attend schools.

he talked about this morning -- that little tweet about other countries and their children -- yet, they are in school, but if you're not stupid and you have at howsense, you look they are in school with social distancing, masks on, screens and plastic dividers between them. we're not going to have that. he wants to send our kids to school and kill them. that does not make any sense. then he had that bogus roundtable. he is all about politics. those people don't know anything about whether or not -- how to keep children safe. host: denise in college park. thank you for your comment. we will hear from nicholas next -- i'm sorry about that. in kentucky pckie go ahead. democrats line. jackie in kentucky, you are on the air. yes, i would just like

to know why don't they take some of the funds from that wall and send it out to the people because it is not our fault that income right now? host: ok. "wall street journal," this is about the removal of yet another statute. this as richmond removes a third major statue. workman in richmond took down a monument to a confederate general on tuesday, the third major statute to be removed as the confederacy's former capital rushes to remove symbols of oppression in response to protest against racism and police brutality. issue.p public policy

the supreme court in today. they are wrapping up their session. we expect some decisions as early as 10:00 this morning. a live look at the u.s. supreme court. our cameras are up for any reaction. we will bring that to you. a story in the washington post and elsewhere about the chief justice. john roberts was hospitalized last month after injuring his head in a fall. the chief justice suffered a fall at a maryland country club last month or required an overnight stay at a hospital. a spokeswoman confirmed the 65-year-old chief justice was taken by an balance to a hospital after the incident june 20 1 -- june 21 at chevy chase club. he stayed for observation. the post writes the chief justice roberts has experienced butures in 1993 and 2007,

supreme court spokeswoman said the doctors ruled out any possibility in the latest incident. doctors believe he was dehydrated. let's go to branch fill, new jersey, and hear from ed. good morning. caller: i am a conservative republican and i do not like the idea of people getting money they don't earn, on the other hand you cannot let anyone starve. we are human before the republicans are conservatives. host: say that again. i did not hear you caller:. i said i am a conservative public and at i did not believe people should not get money they don't earn, but on the other hand they cannot be allowed to starve. you have to understand those who need it and those who don't in programs like this. it was done far too hastily. host: all right. next up in verona, missouri. go ahead.

caller: i am an older person and i wear a mask everywhere i go, and i don't see what the big deal is. if it could save other people's lives -- i know they talk about the freedom of speech and all of this type of stuff, but you have to put your pants on every day. you cannot go downtown without your clothes on. what is the big deal about putting on a mask? you are going to say people's lives -- that is a small thing to do. that is all i have to say. thereinat is the story or rauner -- is it required when you go into a store? caller: no. we are a strong republican area here, and we just don't believe in doing something sissified like wearing a mask. we are tough people here. host: do people give you a hard time, funny looks for wearing your mask? they just don't wear masks. they figure we are ignorant i

guess because we wear masks. would likeife and i to keep going a little while longer. host: thank you for calling. mary ellen. sarasota, florida. good morning. caller: good morning. i am 70. i think the only people that really need to shelter in place, where masks, you know, practice all of the precautions are people that are high risk, people my age, people with medical conditions that predispose them to die from the covid virus. i think the younger people and the healthy people and the children need to be in school, and i think everybody needs to stop being distracted about masks and statues and all of these other things that have no importance. it is the older people and the people at risk would shelter in

place, than the rest of the country could get on with it, get back to work, get our children back in school. i just think there are too many distractions and divisions going on. i don't care whether the president wears a mask. he is tested. everyone that comes in contact with him is tested. the older people and the at risk people are the ones that should be at home sheltering in place, not the young people. host: all right. florida.n in president trump yesterday holding a conference on reopening schools -- part of it daylong discussion at the white house. the president taking part in that. here is what he had to say. [video clip] we want torump: reopen the schools. anybody wants it. the moms want it, the dads want it, the kids wanted. it is time to do it. our mortality rate is right now at a level that people don't talk about -- it is down tenfold

, tenfold. wayyou look at deaths are down from this horrible china virus, and it is a disgrace that it happened, it shouldn't have happened, but it did, and we hope most schools should be open. we don't want people to make political statements, they think it will be good for them politically so they keep schools closed. no way. we will keep pressure on governors and everyone else to open the schools, get them open. it is very up for our country, for the well-being of the student and the parents. so, we will be putting a lot of pressure on opening schools in the fall. --t: in all of that event get all of that event -- your tub -- top public policy issues, -- 202-7, two of two

48-8000. lee in florida says immigration is her top policy. views, but opposing as a noncitizen residing in the u.s. without proper paperwork breaking the law, thank you. policy issue is vaccine choice and freedom for all. maria new jersey. john and missouri says the tremendous waste of money the defense department spends each year -- we should cut the $750 billion down to, like, $600 billion. this is the latest from president trump on cdc guidance. --sident trump reading this "i disagree with the cdc on their top deadlines for opening schools per while they want them open, they are asking schools to do very impractical things. ."will be meeting with them

jerry is next. muncie, indiana. caller: my top issue is president of demanding that the schools open or he will withhold money from the. -- from them. i have always been a lifelong republican, and i have had to change parties this year because the republicans are doing absolutely nothing to get this man out of their. nea president -- i saw her on tv. maybe schools could be open when president trump sits in the back of the classroom and lets the kids sneeze all over him and takes it home. i thought that was a very good suggestion, and i would send him to the principal for not wearing his mask at school.

thank you. host: ok. aaron in massachusetts. republican line. good morning. caller: hey, brother, what's up? can you hear me? host: yes, we can. caller: what is your name, brad? host: go ahead with your comment or question. caller: i didn't catch your name, sir. host: my name is bill. y, bill.he i would like to send out a prayer for how do you say, justice chief john roberts. host: and what about him? would like to send out a prayer for everyone suffering from what president trump would call the china virus. i have a big concern.

there are a lot of us suffering here are not getting help with a lot of issues. for example, i have a voucher from the state to get housing and since the virus has come around, we have been shut down. we cannot get any help with anything, literally. we do not have enough money to get things we need. we're are not getting the assistance. i got a one-time payment and i paid in for insurance benefits all my life and still haven't got no help, and a lot of people are becoming homeless out here because the housing voucher program is shutting down facilities that are holding older people -- they are putting them on the street, literally, and it is ridiculous. housingd teresa, that voucher program -- that is a state-run program in alabama? caller: yes, sir. and you have not been able to get additional assistance? caller: no, sir. i have been sitting here for six

months, locked down, and finally got into a hotel because i could not stay there because their capacity was full. clear of the virus, however the housing assistance program will not help anyone. they have shut down assistance since this started and i am losing my voucher and sitting here homeless since this started. host: theresa in alabama. story from the texas tribune -- south texas land owners are hoping to use president trump's own words against him in a lawsuit, alleging construction of the barrier is driven by little more than racism in politics and is unconstitutional. they write landowners in south texas are launching another front about efforts to build a his on the border, using own words against them. in a federal lawsuit filed monday in laredo, is a potter county and two border landowners are alleging the construction of the barrier is driven by little more than racism and politics, and is therefore

unconstitutional. "the action of the government is based on animus toward a group, and that is unconstitutional. in can make policy governmental action based on animus toward a group," said attorney carlos flores. this is some in hasn't really been brought up before as a tool to fight the wall, floors said. host: teri. go ahead. caller: we -- yes. i am a old southern boy and we are losing all of our statues, yet why can't we put -- full -- pull theirs down? ay -- two wrongs don't make right. if there was stop hiring these illegals, i think that would slow it down a little more. thank you. host: louisiana. good morning. caller: my interest this morning is the women's vote. four hours of the

women suffered jack over the last tonight on pbs, every woman in this country should go to vote if she has to crawl to get there. those women, for 72 years where richard, put in jail, forced fed -- tortured, put in jail, force felt -- force-fed with a tube and any woman that does not vote should be ashamed of herself. host: thanks for calling in on that. your top public policy issue for the next 10 minutes ago. another view on president trump from "washington times," 100% american mainstream media might beat up on trump, but he cuts -- and theilt greater the courts and rebuilt the military. i have come to believe the president is a practical american who understands how to get things done. he is neither conservative nor a leftist. i wish i could report he is a

hard-core conservative, but he is not. he trusts capitalism, though he is aware of its vulnerability to access. he trusts government, though he wants to keep it limited. he believes in the american spirit at work and at play. towould not be embarrassed admit that he loves america and he hates those that would be little america. most of us americans, due to -- most of us americans do, too. jim is next up. hastings, nebraska. caller: good morning. . have a couple of things since i am near medicare age, the first one is -- i do not know who is footing the bill that will temporarily eliminate the payroll tax, but that, to me, is not a good idea because that is actually being funded through social security disability programs.

we don't need to be taking away from there. it seems like we can print money from the treasury to take care of what we would be saving on a payroll tax cut. we need to fund social security. ok. the other thing is the health, basically, in america. year -- tooklast me out of work, took my wife out of work to care for me. she was a school nurse. it put us into a little bit of trouble there with maintaining , and nowh care costs it is up to about $2000 a month. i have been trying to get other sources out there, but i needed to go up to the mayo clinic in minnesota to get treatments and continuing treatments from it, but the only thing offered in nebraska was a policy that i

could only use in the state borders. you noticewhen did your health care costs going up so significantly? plan withll, we had a wasschool system, and it basically taking the cobra policy, but we had to start paying the amounts she was receiving -- you know, the premiums the school system would pay. tripled , it them near tripled.ar we have to have the health-care coverage otherwise the cost would have been prohibitive, meeting the expense of the charges, you know? host: right. her agesee, in between and her retirement, she is still

four years behind me, and i will be eligible for medicare in october, and it still leaves me in the quandary of what we deal becauseh the she still has to take care of me, you know, and she just cannot go out and get a full-time job. host: right. caller: so there is a quandary in the health-care system. we need to, i believe, finally get together and figure out what kind of system we are going to what wed quit attacking have, but improve on it. that is all i have to say. thank you very much. host: thank you. president trump tweeting about the economy this morning saying this, "the economy and jobs growing much faster than anyone except me expected. is theirus mortality lowest among any country. shaping up for a good

third-quarter, and a great next year, nasdaq at new record high and 401(k)s way up. book that will be published next week -- "for most of her life mary trump was shuttered. president trump looked down on her father, who died when she was a teenager. her grandmother hated her mother, who he blamed for fred trump junior's drinking. mr. trumpnce accused and -- mr. trump and her brother of being absentee grandchildren. her grandfather was often -- what shehat she said was -- behavior.

she discovered she and her brother had been cut out of his will, depriving them of what they believed was their rightful share of untold millions. a dispute over the will devolve into a court fight. details shielded by a confidentiality reality mr. trump has adhered to for 20 years, but the story of that fight another new allegations has been thrust into the spotlight with the publication which memoir, a copy of "the new york times" obtained on tuesday. the book, not a -- along with a number of court documents that have never been reported shares -- sheds new light of a don agreed, betrayal, and lays described --has her book which is set to be released next week has ended up in court itself pivot trump family has saw to stop its publication. florida. we hear from geraldine p good

morning on our republican line. caller: yes, sir. good morning. it is so heartbreaking watching a lady having to call the fire department in order to lift her up to see her mother in a nursing home. thank god her mother is still alive. or about those almost 700 70,000 old folks who have died were inbecause they those nursing homes because president trump decided that it was a hoax in january when he was first told there was an epidemic coming. about talkingd that is a very smart woman who is 68 years old. i am 69. my children, around me and i for them-sown masks because when they come in i have

to protect myself. if this president had only done something from earlier and stop talking lies, we would not have to be so afraid today. we would be like all the other foreign countries right now who can open up our schools, open up our homes, enjoy our life. right now we are dying, especially seniors like myself, because we are afraid to be around our own family and have to be shown up by the fire department to see parents. does not belong enough. as a republican, i will never vote for him again. host: that will wrap it up for the program. thanks for being here. we look forward to you joining us tomorrow morning, thursday morning, 7:00 a.m. eastern for "washington journal." have a good day. ♪

[captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2020] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> here's what we have coming up a lot today on c-span starting at 11 a.m. eastern, a briefing with members of the white house coronavirus task force addressing students heading back to school. at about noon, we are live with a homeland security hearing on the federal response to covid-19. about 3:35 p.m., present drums meeting with the mexican president. watch live coverage of all these events right here on c-span. next, a look at russia under the leadership of president vladimir putin. the atlantic council discusses foreign policy agenda, new opinion polls on his popularity in the recent approval of a referendum