marijuana. at 8:00 a.m., florida representative stephanie murphy, cochair of the blue dog coalition on the future of the democratic party. congressmanifornia tom mcclintock on decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level. in theith a week left lame-duck session, the house returns this morning to vote on legalizing marijuana. with the covid-19 pandemic worsening by the day, congress is on track to take up another relief measure. night,nterview last president-elect joe biden and vice president-elect kamala harris laid out some of their. plans and addressing the pandemic as our number one priority. good morning, it is "washington journal." we will start the first hour asking you about the priorities for a biden administration in

addition to the pandemic relief and fighting the coronavirus, what else should be a priority. republicans, one line, democrats, one line, independents and others,. one line you can also send us a text. include your name and where you are texting from. and onter, @cspanwj facebook. we will hear from a couple of members of congress later in the program. we will ask them both about the status of a potential pandemic relief bill. we will also show you some of the highlights from last night's cnn interview. first, a piece from page of "washington journal" using data from johns hopkins. the whole front page, if you go online, you will see the interactive map showing the

spread of the virus across the country. the april 17 spring peak, july 25 at summer peak, the low point between the summer and fall of september 19. so far, in the fall, the fall peak to describe, two weeks in november, over 2 million cases. over 12 million cases. . the bottom line is how the surge engulfed. they write today," about that. they have a quote from a professor of epidemiology at boston university school of public health. he says it was inevitable it was going to get to the mountain states. son it got there, there were many susceptible people, it was ready to take off. this was matthew fox who said, we have learned this time and time again, it is early action that pays off. --you wait until the spread

he also said it would be foolish to try to pin widespread outbreaks on single events such as the sturgis motorcycle rally in south dakota. he said small get-togethers make the spread inevitable. "if you are not limiting the number of people you are having contact with indoors that are unmasked, we can say this is unlikely to change." that is from "usa today." i want to go back to the measure proposed earlier this week by a bipartisan group on capitol hill. this latest measure. piece from this morning. "lawmakers pressure leaders to reach covid-19 relief deal." he writes that lawmakers are putting pressure on mitch mcconnell, nancy pelosi and chuck schumer to reach a deal by christmas. senate republicans are putting the squeeze on mcconnell arguing he should agree to a deal even

if it means accepting a price tag higher than the $500 billion target he has set. four republican senators billiond the $908 compromise proposal to mcconnell in his capital office thursday. joe biden was asked about efforts on capitol hill to pass a new package of economic relief. here is what he said. [video clip] >> do you -- >> do you support that bill? >> i think if they can get the $900r -- i think it was billion -- that would be a good start. it is not enough. they should focus on the things that are immediately needed. what is immediately needed are -- is relief for people on their unemployment tax. there are people who are going to get thrown out of their apartments after christmas because they cannot afford their payments anymore.

relief on all the things that are in the original bill the house passed. changed again, today, i don't know, but the fact that the president said he would not sign such legislation. i am told, i may be mistaken because i'm not there ever in the senate anymore, but i'm told there is somewhere between 20 and 22 republican senators who say they won't vote for anything. here's the deal. if mitch mcconnell just brought the bill up, just put it on the , the formerieve senator believes it would pass. it is a start. people are really hurting. they are scared to death. teachers are prepared to go back if they know there is something where there is masking, testing. they are able to be in a smaller pod, they need more help. it is just not coming forward.

>> when you say it is a start, the compromise bill, do you mean it is a start for negotiations? >> no, no. i think it should be passed. i think that we are going to need more. i'm going to have to ask for more. >> bright, when you get there. -- right, when you get there. >> i have faith in chuck and nancy. i'm not doing the detailed negotiation. one of the people deeply involved is a guy that took my spot in the united states senate, chris coombs, brilliant guy. their judgment as what the most basic things that are needed now. host: asking you this first hour, your priorities of the biden administration. one line for republicans, one for democrats, and for all others. out of that interview also, this "biden to urge,"

wearing masks for the first 100 days in office." this entire week, the incoming administration has been announcing positions, nominees for their administration. "the washington post" with their taps murphyiden as top doctor." the country suffers from the surging pandemic. murthy has been asked to reprise his role in the new administration according to an individual familiar with the decision. let's hear from bob in duluth, minnesota. caller: morning, takes -- thanks for taking my call. they should make it a priority to repeal the tax scam and if

they don't, social security is not going to survive, and neither is medicare. the taxes of the average citizen is actually going to go up. that is my comments. host: ok, we will go to alabama. republican line. this is karen. priorities for the biden administration. caller: good morning. first of all, the priority should be that the economy needs to be opened up again by all the democrats that have it shut down so people can get a job. that is number one. number two, there is no biden administration. the election is not over. you guys need to cover the fraud election hearings going on in georgia, pennsylvania, michigan, arizona and nevada.

there was a hearing yesterday in nevada in front of a judge to decide whether illegal votes were going to be counted or not. that is the priority. host: ok, that is karen in alabama. one line for republicans, one for democrats and one for independents and others. on the election, wisconsin high court turns away the trump lawsuit. this is from "the wall street journal." wisconsin's high court dealt another setback. turning away a lawsuit challenging the validity of hundreds of thousands of male and ballots cast in the battleground state. two days after the trump campaign brought the lawsuit, the wisconsin court said state law required the case to start at a lower court. avoid -- itset to

claims the collection and counting of absentee ballots in two populous counties, milwaukee and dane, were marred by systemic violations of state election laws and that around 220,000 of the 3 million votes cast should have been excluded from the recount totals. let's go to joe in georgia. i love your show. i've been calling c-span for 30 years. i miss steve scully, but i wanted to comment on biden. as all ofgeorgia and these voting irregularities are being recounted, i think election is going to be overturned. there are hundreds of thousands of fraud, and i think the election is going to be overturned and given to president. host: in georgia, you have had to recounts right? so you think the results are going to be overturned yet

again? caller: yes, i do. they are filing a lawsuit today, and i think they found a lot of illegal votes in georgia and arizona and michigan and all of the other states. i think there is more than enough to overturn the election. i think that donald trump will be declared the winner. i like that because i think trump is the best leader in world history, but i think you will see that happen in the next -- i would say before december 14 because that is when they have the electoral college. i call a lot of talk shows, and i never see people so fired up and they think the election has been stolen from president trump and i concur with that. host: this is from "the atlanta journal-constitution." trump visiting valdosta. president trump could deliver the unifying boost republican incumbents have been dreaming about when he holds his first rally in georgia since losing the election, or he could deal

them lasting damage by intensifying his war with georgia republicans who refused his demands to overturn the election results, casting more doubt on the integrity of the states voting system. more of your calls coming up on the top priorities for the biden administration. we are joined next by natalie andig, who covers cannabis other related issues for "politico." billouse is taking up a that would legalize, to some degree, marijuana. tell us about that bill. guest: thanks for having me. the house is voting today on a pretty historic bill. it is the first time ever or in the last 50 years, that congress has taken up a bill on the floor of any chamber that would drastically change the way that marijuana laws are run in this country. host: what are some of the things this bill would do? guest: one thing to be clear about -- and i think there has been a lot of misconceptions --

it would not outright legalize marijuana. what the bill does is it removes federal penalties and states would still need to create their own marijuana systems, much in the way states also regulate alcohol. what it does do, it focuses on criminal justice reform. it removes those penalties, which would mean no one gets arrested for federal marijuana possession anymore. it would also expunge federal records and creates money for states to then go in and also do expungement. going through the expungement program is pretty expensive for states. host: so that money is created through attacks in the bill? guest: it is. 5% tax onutting a cannabis that then becomes an 8% tax over a couple of years. host: one of the issues for states, in terms of dealing with legalizing marijuana, is the whole financial transaction itself. being able to work with banks. is that addressed by this bill?

guest: yes. if marijuana was removed from the federal drug law, it would no longer be hard for banks to service marijuana. there are a lot of other bills in congress that deal with parts of marijuana policy. this bill would deal with all of those problems. host: is this a bipartisan supported bill? guest: it is supported mostly by democrats, but there are a few republicans, some from legal marijuana states that support it, also, a couple of others like representative matt gaetz. that the indication senate will take it up if it passes the house? and i assume the house is voting on it today. guest: yes. everything i have heard, it is expected to pass the house. it will not come up in the senate. there is a week and a half left and mitch mcconnell has said that he is not in favor of any sort of comprehensive marijuana reform.

it would definitely be a miracle if it came up in the senate this session. host: so pushing this into the 170 of congress would result in the same result then? guest: a lot can happen in two years. i've been covering cannabis for two years, and two years ago, i probably would not have bet money on this bill coming up, but a lot has happened this year on criminal reform to states deciding cannabis was an essential business during the pandemic. that has also changed the minds any moderate democrats in the house. host: how many states in the u.s. allow for illegal sale of marijuana, either for recreational, medicinal or just medicinal purposes only? guest: there are 15 states that allow recreational marijuana. believe -- you might have to fact-check me on that because election they

changed it -- but there are 36 that allow medical and recreational marijuana. there were five new states on election day. it was a pretty big day -- year for marijuana this year. one state, mississippi, legalized medical. south dakota was the most interesting. it went from having no marijuana laws at all, not even allowing marijuana for childhood seizures, which the majority of the countrytates in allow at least a small amount of medical marijuana for some medical purposes. south dakota was one of the three that had nothing and it went and legalized medical and recreational on the same day. host: you mentioned you have been covering federal marijuana policy for two years. what has changed on capitol hill? and has the trump administration made any executive orders or regulatory changes to federal regulations on marijuana? guest: yeah.

the trump administration has done some pretty significant things, although they have not turned into actual changes on the ground. the trump administration, former attorney general jeff sessions, repealed what was called the cold memo, and obama era justice department memo that essentially said if states had created regulated cannabis systems, the justice department is not going to go after them. jeff sessions repealed that, but we have not seen the justice department go after any states that have legalized marijuana. on capitol hill, specifically, i think one of the biggest differences this year is how democrats, especially, have started talking about marijuana reform as a criminal justice issue. yesterday,hearing and the tone was quite different from hearings on this issue a year ago where criminal justice reform was part of the equation, but there were also a lot of discussions about the economic

benefits of marijuana, legalization about creating jobs and about the medical benefits, especially for kids. now, it is very focused on criminal justice reform. i think that has created more momentum and passion amongst democrats for the issue. federalr guest covers marijuana policy, cannabis policy for "politico." you can read her reporting, including for today's debate at politico.com. thanks so much. back to your calls on our first hour of questions. the top priorities for the biden demonstration. one line for republicans, one for democrats, and one for all others. the headline at does a written headline, "what joe biden wants to cover in his first days in office."

in michigan.om -- todd in michigan. thanks for waiting. caller: i think his top priority should be economic relief. sending them checks out. people need money in their pockets. you look at canada. canada has been giving their citizens $2000 a month since this began. here we are, the suppose it reaches country in the world, and the government doesn't even give a damn about us. 40% ofe the top 1% hold the nation's wealth. really? it is time for revolution. onto fairfax, south dakota on the democrats line. caller: morning. i think by the needs to raise the taxes on the rich and also

take the caps off social security. appearance south dakota, i don't know if you have ever been around cattle or not, this election reminds me like in the spring when you turn a bullet into a new spring pasture -- you turn a bull into a new spring pasture. that is how happy i am with this new election. you were just talking about marijuana, they did pass it on both deals. the pennington county sheriff is fighting it and the big dog in highway patrol is fighting it. know.t they need to start paying the debt down. people live on credit so much anymore. we are hurting now. you have food lines and all that stuff and everything else. a lot of us people getting old, like me, i am 66 years old, i don't need a handout. $26,000 or $26 trillion

in the hole. people nowadays, i don't even think they know -- i heard the other day, one third of the people still had not paid for christmas last year. all on credit card. have to get that straightened out someday. host: onto alabama. caller: good morning. thent to make a comment on economic fallout. with the recent cnn stories about china, we should hold china accountable for the economic devastation from covid. 1000 researchers recently left and so forth. is destroying our country. economically. from east to west. china, they are behind it.

which ever administration gets in, should put pressure on them and do whatever they can do and do it and get this thing handled. one of the richest countries in the world, we have done in the middle east, let's make them pay for it. the: john ratcliffe, national security director is writing about china this morning. the lead opinion piece in ," china is journal security threat number one. the intelligence is clear, beijing intends to dominate the u.s. and the rest of the planet economically, militarily and technologically. many of china's major initiatives only offer a layer of camouflage to the chinese communist party. i call its approach rob, replicate and replace.

china robs u.s. companies other intellectual property, replicate the technology and replaces the u.s. firms in the global marketplace. that is from inside the "washington journal." the front page with this dramatic photograph of a wildfire in orange county in southern california. indfires erupt anew california forcing evacuations. kamala harris, last my in the interview saying, climate change would be one of the administration's top priorities. [video clip] >> our agenda is pretty progressive. some might call ambitious, but the american people, and frankly, the world, can't afford anything less. the clock is ticking rapidly on this issue. president-elect has made it very clear that we are going to approach this in a way that we know the vast majority have so much more in common than what

separates us. we brought together, through policy and practice, everyone from labor groups to fortune 500 folks, who there is a consensus among on what needs to happen. the president-elect was talking with the head mgm, and days later, -- with gm, and days later, we see they are going to drop their resistance rules to electric vehicles. we have reasons to be optimistic about what is possible. it will not be easy. it will require a convening, but as the president-elect always says, as much as anything, this is also about investing in research and development, investing in the american worker with jobs that are well-paying jobs, good, union well-paying jobs. i think there is more consensus than one might think. top: back to your calls on priorities for the biden administrations. onto virginia, independent line. caller: thank you, c-span, for

trying to be unbiased. i wish you would do some basic check -- fact checking when you can when you start calling people racist and stuff. the hearings are eye-opening. the witnesses and videos of fraud are criminal. scary criminal. desks,uitcases under that is just on called for and scary. election,t an honest and the media not even covering it? really? somebody needs to go to jail. i appreciate you guys, c-span, and please cover the hearings. it needs covered bad. thank you guys. host: here is what tom hall reports on what he is talking about. "georgia governor changes tune after trump's lawyers present troubling video."

elizabethtown, kentucky on the democrats line. good morning. go ahead. we will go to jerry in houston, texas, republican line. caller: i would like to say i don't know how people can say that they know what is going on and are not ignorant when they have not watched what is going on in terms of evidence. i was watching c-span earlier, and the democrats are going, we need to count everybody, but they are representing what they see as a disenfranchised district. what they don't see is what the trump administration is doing and what congress was discussing was the fact that when you're talking about people who can vote and who should be representative vote, illegal migrants and foreign nationals were not about -- not allowed to vote in our elections, so why is it when they were talking about the senses and apportionment,

wire the including those in the vote? why are they wanting to include -- why is the congress has not passed any legislation that says, we are going to concern ourselves with people who can vote, legal citizens of the united states. you have a census in the total count, ok. what does that have to do with apportionment? nothing. host: to ray in aurora, colorado, independent line. caller: i'm actually a registered libertarian. this is the closest line i could think of calling. i'm actually listening to you through the c-span radio app. anyway, i know that covid-19 is going to be at the very top of the list, not just for the biden administration, but practically any government in the world. i think an issue that should also be a priority, something long-overdue, is immigration.

immigration reform, in particular. i am antioned, libertarian. i would like to see more legal opportunities for people to come into the country and work in the country and become a permanent resident or even a citizen. that is basically my general view. just increase our legal opportunities to come in. host: here is what "the washington post" is writing. the biden administration on dhaka is to protect dreamers, but challenges loom -- daca. created the program in 2012, allowing those who passed a background check to pursue their studies and paid fees to obtain work permits and stay in the united states. more than 640,000 immigrants are enrolled in the program. ill could citizenship b

be challenging. biden's opponents are using the federal reports to try to stop daca. attorney generals in several states are ordering a federal judge to declare daca unlawful and clear the way for an orderly wind down during the next two years. they said the program infuses the job market with workers who compete with americans for work and burden states with health and education costs. in california, democratic caller, anthony. go ahead. caller: i am in south dakota, sir. host: it says california, but i will take your word for it. either way, good morning. caller: i wasn't speaking loud enough to the guy. death -- youo don't know what it's like up here. those cheap sell drinks, that is why marijuana could not go through here for so

long and they are still going to fight it. you can put evidence right in front of these people's faces, and they will nullify it. they do not care. , just sosuch racist afraid of black and brown people --t host: how long have you lived in south dakota? caller: all my life. i am italian. i was up here before there were any blacks. to -- it was a pretty hard time. so you felt some of that discrimination yourself? like black people. not like that. but yes.

host: has it gotten worse during your life? yeah, when they talk about illegal voting in all these illegal votes, that is jim crow. they are talking about black folks. talkingwith them is about. they are just scared to death. that the country is changing. they don't want to dilute their gene pool. host: we will go to canyon, texas next. republican line. caller: good morning. can you hear me? host: you are on the air, go ahead. caller: my question this morning for all of you is, why aren't you showing the hearings and why aren't you showing us that video? host: which video are you referring to?

caller: the one that you just referenced that troubled the georgia governor. the one of the surveillance video of them counting illegal ballots taken from under the table. everyone knows about it, it is the elephant in the room. why aren't you showing it on air and why are you all ignoring these hearings? this is monumental. this is a constitutional crisis. and none of you seem to want to discuss it. this show is supposed to have some credibility. host: we have shown some of these states and here is a look at some of the georgia video, that again, we have no context for this video. caller: no context, are you not watching the hearings yourself? host: i'm not watching the hearing myself, no. i'm showing you the video that was part of that hearing. that is the only context i can give you on that hearing. we go to larry in franklin, north carolina. independent line.

caller: yes. i wanted to go back to the marijuana deal. 1932, when there was a deal against cannabis, there was no such thing as marijuana. inijuana was a slang word 1937, they came up with a tax stamp and called it something else. there is no such thing as a marijuana plant. it is a hemp can -- cannabis plants. if you look at the dictionary under grass, it says marijuana. you look under dell, under weed, it says marijuana. under pot, marijuana. i challenge anybody to show me a marijuana plant. it is a hemp cannabis plant and in the last 80 years, these lawyers have been putting people in prison and extorting money from them for something that does not exist. host: the house taking up that measure dealing with marijuana

coming up today. the house in at 9:00 eastern for legislative work on this friday morning. this is inside the help section at "usa today." virus and politicians taking their cues from president trump. republicans at every level of government have flouted public health guidelines to reduce risking and catching the coronavirus. they issued masks, attended large gatherings and failed to socially distance. infiltratespandemic the white house, republicans bear the brunt of those infections. at least 81 elected officials in state and local government roles have tested positive for coronavirus since september 1 just as the nation's case counts were about to rebound. nearly three out of four were republican." joe biden last night in their interview talked about vaccines and news about the vaccine development in use.

[video clip] >> the fact is, it is one thing to get the vaccine delivered in cases, some frozen, some not, and another thing to get the vaccine to move from a case to a vaccination in someone's arm. that is the really complicated piece. i met with republican and democratic governors and mayors and they said we need help on how to do that. one was certain. give me the vaccine, i can do it, but it is an incredibly expensive proposition. that is why we are continuing to hope that the senate does something and responds to the immediate need to provide dollars. we are going to need a lot more and it is going to cost billions of dollars to get this done. we could keep schools open, business is open, but you have to be able to get the vaccine distributed. the last thing, i think they started off based on my team that met with them, with focusing on first responders,

meaning doctors, nurses, focusing on nursing homes and nursing personnel. we also have to make sure that when the vaccine is distributed, it is accessible to people that have been hurt the most, the brown and black communities, which are not likely to be able to access walmarts -- we have to get to their neighborhoods. it is a really difficult, but doable project, but it has to be well-planned and that is what we are in the process of continuing to do now. >> i know it was just reported you are appointing someone in the white house to be in charge of and equities in the health care system. >> that is one of the primary responsibilities. african-american and latinos are the first ones hurt when something happens. last ones to recovery. you saw the statistics. some depend on which report you get and where you are talking about, from four to five times

-- three to four times more likely to die if they get covid. they need to help, and they need to get it in immediately. host: news this morning about what some of the former presidents are saying about vaccines. bush, clinton pushed safety of vaccine. they have said they are willing to get a coronavirus vaccine to prove the treatment is safe and effective. they may even film themselves getting injected." our first hour question, your top priorities for the biden administration. .n social media and by text some comments here. the top priority has to be the pandemic. the trump administration has been missing in action on this ever since the election and truck fusil to use science and expertise to address the problem has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths that would not have occurred if he had used science and expertise to guide response.

one says priorities should be vaccine distribution, mast mandate and then all the worthless global issues. making future elections conducted in a way both sides in is ae in -- faith priority or civil war follows. dan from michigan, biden should forgive student loans, bypass product -- congress and make the republicans even more irrelevant than they already are. on our democratic line in louisville, kentucky. caller: good morning. host: go ahead. has got a lot of repair work to do. he has got to repair our status around the world, the covid virus. anderday, you had a caller call in and say he had a lawsuit about kamala harris not being a naturalized citizen. the way you shut him down was

just perfect. . that is the way it should be done no one should be broadcasting conspiracy and lies on this show. it is too good, thank you. dan in georgetown, massachusetts on the independent line. caller: thank you for having me on. i am with a lot of callers here about highest priority. i think it has got to be right now is to figure out what happened in the election. i know it has not been getting any coverage. this stuff has been going on for four days. you have thousands of people with sworn affidavits. that means that if they get caught lying, they are facing prison time. that is called skin in the game. testimonies,ess

all these people have skin in the game. our media does not have skin in the game. in the game is whoever pays them. they are not telling the truth under perjury or if they live, there is no repercussions for them. american citizens are standing forward under risk of going to prison to tell the truth of what has happened over the last four days, what is so telling is our media has completely egg nor it. the president of the united states had a 45 minute speech about how the elections were a fraud. evenajor networks did not report it. to listen to people with skin in the game. we are being misled.

i'm sorry, the media -- and i'm sorry to say, with c-span, what you are doing, sir, you are inciting violence by announcing who the president is when you well, things are very screwed up with the election. host: this is paul in pennsylvania. republican line. caller: good morning, thanks for c-span. is when paris will eligibility --er harris will be judged for her eligibility to be vice president. according to a supreme court case, there are a number of requirements, and she does not meet a bunch of them, and that being heard birth parents not being employed in an official

capacity. her father was a diplomat at the time for the jamaican government. host: she is a natural born citizen. to gary in connecticut. go ahead. caller: good morning. i wanted to address the issue of social security, how to make it not just solvent, but robust. currently, there is a cap on social security, which is certain -- shortly going to be increased. that is just payroll tax. i would like to see no caps on social security and social be applied to tax all income. not just payroll tax. what could be the result of this is that the actual tax rate could be lowered because the vast amount of money that is out there that is not being taxed, would be. would give hope to the younger generations, would allow

the social security administration, the genuine cost-of-living increases to people living on social security. i wish more people would pay attention to this because it is not a very difficult proposal. ofis just taking the cap off andal security payments including all income, not just payroll tax. host: here is a story from npr. the headline with "trump attacks are -- barr." an oval office appearance yesterday in presenting the metal of freeman -- freedom to lou holtz. here's what president trump had to say. "washington journal >> mitch mcconnell says covid relief may be insight. will you support this bill? >> i will, and i think they are getting very close and i want it to happen. i believe they are getting very

close to ideal. >> and you will support it? >> i will. >> can i ask you to respond to the comments by your attorney notral who indicated he has seen any evidence of fraud in order to overturn the election results? why is now not the time to concede? >> he has not done anything. when he looks, he will see the kind of evidence that right now, you are seeing in the georgia senate. they are going through hearings right now in georgia and finding tremendous volume. they have not looked very hard, which is a disappointment, to be honest with you. it is massive fraud, whether you go to wisconsin, where we just filed a case, or michigan, or if you look at what is happening in georgia, pennsylvania, if you look at nevada, which is moving along very rapidly, or arizona. you saw those numbers come out yesterday. we found massive fraud and in other states also. this is probably the most fraudulent election anyone has

ever seen. >> do still have confidence in bill barr? >> asked me that in a number of weeks from now. they should be looking at all of this fraud. this is not civil. this is criminal stuff. this is very bad criminal stuff. i say this, we went through an election. at 10:00, everybody said it was an easy victory for trump. all of a sudden, the votes started miraculously disappearing. we found much of it, but we found far more of our -- votes then we need in almost all of these states. i think i can say in all of these states, far more votes than we need to win every one of them. my team is doing an unbelievable job. more importantly, i want to thank the 74 million plus people that voted, which was the largest amount of people that a sitting president has ever had. 74 million plus.

of loyalty,level i've never seen anything like it. all over the country, they know it was affixed election. it was a rigged election, they know it, and i appreciate their support. thank you all very much. host: looking front page this morning of "the washington times" writing about the defense authorization bill. -- sets up major threat legal shield must pass legislation on the line." biden, the president-elect, asked about the justice department during his upcoming administration. [video clip] >> we will not tell the justice department how to do its job. i say this as a former attorney california,cted in and i ran the second largest department of justice in the united states, any decision coming out of the justice department, in particular, the

united states department of justice, to be based on fact, the law, it should not be enforced by politics, period. >> i guarantee you, that is how it will be run. host: back to your calls, we go to jay in wake forest, north carolina, priorities for the biden administration. caller: this is the first time i have ever called into anywhere. there was a guy that called in a little while ago and said he enjoyed watching cnn. guess what, they said [indiscernible] some people shouldn't be voting. number two, you need to stop saying that joe biden is the vice president-elect or whatever it is. nobody has elected him to anything. that is a fraud, you know it, everybody knows it. say this nicely -- host: we call him the president-elect because that is what we are referring to, he has votes6 of the electoral

so far. the will certify that when they meet on december 14. to grand rapids, michigan. caller: good morning, everybody. listening to these phone calls with these people who believe the internet is telling them the truth is diving me crazy -- driving me crazy. we need a democratic senate. we need to do something about making the internet tell the truth. c-span -- people call and complain, but all you guys do is repeat real news. watch youtimes when i guys and it seems like you are repeating conspiracy theories and it kinda bothers me when you show something like that tape from georgia where they are showing somebody taking votes out from under something to go to a counting machine. how is that a conspiracy? how does that show anything but

what you are showing? detroit. here in all they are trying to do is take away black people's votes because of some conspiracy stuff on the internet. the internet needs to be brought up to the level of the national media. i don't care if people call them fake news, they are not because if they do call them fake news, they get busted and punished for it. the real news is the real news. c-span, you tell us the real news. you do your best to not tell us conspiracy theories. they have to do something about this internet lies. thank you for listening to me. host: the u.s. house coming in at 9:00 eastern. a shorter program than usual. your calls on this topic up until 8:00 eastern. the marijuana bill coming up today in the house. the house and senate still have to deal with federal spending for fiscal year 2021. the temporary measure expires a week from today. this is the reporting of roll

call this morning. "senator appropriators have considered the need for another stopgap spending measure if they don't get this done. to majority leader telling fellow democrats he wants an omnibus spending bill reached by midnight saturday to avoid a partial government shutdown next week." that is from "roll call." "house passes "tiger king" bill to ban private ownership of big cats." the house passed a bill on thursday that could prevent the emergence of another "tiger king." joe exotic is in prison after serving a 22 year sentence for wildlife crimes and a murder for hire scheme, but some in

congress want to make sure no one else can ever allow the public to interact with cats like the "tiger king" did at the former wynnewood exotic animal park in oklahoma. they passed the bill yesterday legislation known as the big cat safety act which would ban private ownership of big cats such as lions, leopards, cheetahs, jaguars or cougars. good morning. priority should be with nato. we have to build our relationship with nato. helsinki ands at he took potent's word over our own u.s. intelligence -- putin 's word over our own u.s. intelligence and pulling out of afghanistan and iraq, these guys came to war with us when 9/11 happened. now, we are pulling out and

leaving our allies out? these elections with the agencies is saying there is no fraud. these trumpers better put on their big pans and move on because the new law and order president is in and there is no more riots, no more nothing. time to move on and get rid of this virus. host: jeff is in denver, indiana, republican line. good morning. caller: good morning. hoosier veterans for medical cannabis. this act coming up today is quite important. i think the momentum from that actually is coming from our veterans. yearsed for the past four on getting legislation passed here in indiana. unfortunately, we are not getting anything done because we are a non-reprimanding state. unlike the 36 states now that

have medical cannabis. we also had our hand in the world health organization's decision a couple of days ago in rescheduling cannabis. host: have you been involved in lobbying efforts there in indiana? either in indiana or here in the u.s. capital? caller: absolutely. in 2017, i put on a forum at the rayburn house federal building among senior members of our ba staff. and congressional leaders and staffers that were in attendance. medical cand what but -- cannabis would look like for our veterans. informative. i had doctors and other veterans organizations throughout the united states attend that. again, that is where the momentum is coming from. unfortunately, mcconnell, yesterday, on the floor, just kind of wrote it off as a joke.

really, we are going to listen to this? i know there are important issues that need to be taken care of with covid and the budget and everything else, but it'sve been fighting this time. indiana is not going to lose -- move without federal guidance or at least lifting the restrictions. here i am, a medical cannabis patient in indiana, and i run the risk of prosecution even though my local prosecutor is not going to touch me because obviously, he is afraid of a jury of no implication. host: so it is not legal on any level? caller: yes, we did successfully at a thc level of .03, which was great because the veterans were involved with that along with mothers with children with epilepsy. ms, at least with

cbd -- wanted at least cbd. again, we are fighting over how much thc is not a medicine. host: when did you serve? toler: i served from 1983 1994 and retired from the air 2014.in i was a federal employee up until 2018. i really have not used cannabis as medicine, but through the v.a. system, i was on oxycontin for almost 10 years, running the risk of accidentally overdosing. that is where you saw the problems and that is why the veterans are stepping up because so many of us are dying from pain medications. obviously, we have 22 veterans committing suicide. it is just an aftermath of the cocktail of abc medicines we were getting through the v.a. host: glad you checked in, we are going to continue with our calls on the priorities of the

biden prime minister and. -- bideneights, administration. capital heights, maryland. caller: our republican governor hogan and republican legislature withemocrats worked well the election. they allowed early voting to be counted. when the poll closed, they came out who won the state of maryland. comeld like to know, how wisconsin, michigan, georgia and pennsylvania's republican and democratic legislation do the same. and thanks for taking my comment. caller: president trump is scheduled saturday to hold a rally for senate cannot -- candidates in the runoff races in georgia. this, "trump and -- "formerigning for

president obama virtually and vice president pence in person in savannah both campaign today for u.s.. in georgia today -- today." [video clip] >> important only in one sense, important in the sense that we are able to demonstrate the end of this chaos that he has created. that there is peaceful transfer of power with the competing parties standing there, shaking hands and moving on. more than thebout impact on -- you have heard me say this a number of times, and i apologize for repeating it. they follow us not just because of an example of our power. it is a powerful example.

look where we are now in the world, look how we are viewed. lord, theseng, my things happen in dictatorships. this is not the united states. in that sense, the protocol of the transfer of power is important. this is totally his decision and is of no personal consequence to me, but i do think it is for the country. host: on the possible biden priorities for the new administration, priorities with congress, anyway, the headline from "the associated press," "b iden adjusting the scope of his agenda to meet the challenges of governing with a narrowly divided congress and complications of legislating during a raging pandemic." diane is next in illinois on the independent line. caller: hello. host: good morning. that joe biden

should legalize marijuana across the board. this is ridiculous. we have so many problems with opioids and alcohol. alcohol is legal and it kills millions of people, but marijuana has never killed anyone. host: next is glenn on the democrats line. caller: hey, bill. we need to get this virus under control to start with. is on the thing selection. the election is over. -- this election. the election is over. people learn to split their ballot. the republicans went democrat came down the ballot with the republicans. that is how lindsay got back in.

another thing, if you look at the videos the night of the election, you can't tell me that those were all democrats out there dancing in the street. there just as happy as the democrats. floridaxt up, democratic representative talking abouthy, the future of the democratic party and the priorities of the democratic caucus. later, tom mcclintock on the houseboat today on decriminalizing federal level marijuana. ♪ peaceful: with a presidential transition of power in question following the q&a,ion, sunday night, historians talk about two of the

most contentious presidential betweenons in 1861, james buchanan and abraham lincoln and in 1933 between herbert hoover and franklin roosevelt. >> several southern states did not recognize the election of abraham lincoln is legitimate. they considered him a sectional large, hisby and support came from non-slave states. south carolina makes good on its tomise toward proceeding seceding from the union. >> given the resounding nature of the vote, it was clear he had lost. he never conceded to the substance of the argument, continuing to believe the new , began to work toward it after the election, represented a fundamental threat to the american way of life.

contentious presidential transitions, sunday night, 8 p.m. eastern, q&a, c-span. announcer: washington journal continues. host: early start to business today on capitol hill, we are joined by stephanie murphy, congresswoman, co-chair of the blue dog coalition in the u.s. house, joining for the first time on washington journal, glad to have you with us. guest: so great to be with you, bill. momentum building. the headline in the washington post. a new bipartisan stimulus tuesday by aunced bipartisan group of senators and others. what is your view on the possibility? critical weutely

get another passed. over thanksgiving, i worked with food banks. the lines were long. people showed up and said, i am embarrassed and humbled to be here because i never imagined i would be in this place. these are middle-class people who never touched the safety net before but through the pandemic have found themselves in dire straits. federal and state level, we have got to provide relief and support for those struggling through the pandemic and economic crisis. the end of this is on the horizon. we need to give a little more support for the american people. i am hopeful this bill will get across the finish line and deliver dollars to small businesses and families across the country. a $3 the house passed trillion measure back in summer.

thatrustrating was that, it could not move and no action was done? guest: it has been frustrating. a long list of things the house passed on a bipartisan basis, then it goes to sit on mitch mcconnell's desk and his refusal to do anything. he has proudly said he is in the business of personnel opposed to policy, appointing judges not doing policy that could help the american people. that is criminal in a pandemic/economic crisis. very frustrating he did not come to the table and have discussions. look. if he is willing to talk today, next week and we get something done for the american people, i will take it. host: earlier this week, "unacceptable millions of americans lose access to relief they desperately need.

problem solvers and senators introduced a bicameral relief bill." mitch mcconnell would like to see a smaller relief. guest: -- among the american people. look. we shoulderspective, give whatever we can in this moment as a down payment. in the new year, provide more and real assistance when we have a cooperative white house and hopefully a cooperative senate. host: stephanie murphy with us until 8:30 a.m. eastern, cochair

of the blue dog coalition, representing orlando and the surrounding area, the seventh district of florida. (202)-748-8000 for democrats, (202)-748-8001 for republicans, (202)-748-8002 for independents. 117th congress. representative, you have been named the chief deputy whip. jim clyburn, the majority whip, naming you the other day. you will be busy with a larger number of republicans, house members in opposition to democrats in the next congress. guest: i certainly hope your premise of opposition is not true. given the crises, that we have a larger group of republicans willing to work with democrats so we can get things done for the american people. thelooking forward to

opportunity to shape policy and work with colleagues in the democratic house as well as the republicans to get things across the finish line, into law, that have impact on the lives of my constituents. host: did you get a chance to meet some of the new incoming members, republican included, and get a sense of whether these things might be possible? guest: the sad thing about the pandemic is it has been difficult for us together, whether the existing or new members. unfortunately, i have not had a chance to meet them. i am looking forward to a time when i meet my new colleagues. i am worried, given the pandemic and our inability together as we do normally, on the house, it will further create division/partisan rhetoric. if you cannot look someone in the eye and see them as human and understand their doing the best to represent their

district, even though it is different than yours, it is very hard. it makes it easier to resort to rhetoric. i am looking forward to meeting my colleagues. i have not yet. host: the next congress and beyond. headline from roll call, the representative chosen to chair the democratic congressional campaign committee going into a "choppy election cycle." the democrats lost seats going in. what do the house democrats have to do to strengthen their hold on the house in 2022? guest: we need to lead with values and policy ideas and deliver for the people. democrats need to be vocal. we have been seeing a transition, who gets focused on within the house. this is true on both sides of the aisle. it is the louder, more extreme

voices that get news coverage. the majority of my colleagues, democrats and republicans are focused on getting things done. you do not see them on tv as much as you should. it is a wake-up call for everyone who is serious about their job, who cares about delivering for the american people, that we also have to, not just to our business of writing laws, we have to get on the various platforms and explain what our vision is and what it is we are trying to do on behalf of the american people. host: congresswoman murphy, third term, november, first elected, 2016. thegot into that after nightclub shooting in orlando. guest: i am someone who is a refugee, emigrant to this country. i feel an incredible sense of gratitude and debt to all i have been able to achieve in this i received the

generosity of america. after 9/11, i left my job and worked at dod. i have always believed public service mattered. after the shooting, i fell if we wanted to change washington, we had to change the kinds of people we were sending there. i launched a short, longshot campaign. i unseated a 24 year incumbent who had taken a check from the nra days after the nightclub shooting. we were still mourning the loss. that did not reflect the values of my community. run.ided to campaign.ur-month host: former incumbent john

mica, republican of florida. let's hear from the viewers. pompano beach, florida, sergio. caller: good morning. good morning, representative. how are you? guest: doing great. caller: it is an honor to speak to you. florida,on is this for how would this stimulus program help people in florida and how would you help bring in jobs in florida? democrats and republicans. i would love to see you guys control the senate. how can you make that happen? next package has a ; state androvisions

local aid, resources to help with our health care system to make sure we have resources to respond to the pandemic today and distribute the vaccine. there is unemployment additional benefits. in florida, we have some of the lowest unemployment benefits across the country. federal augmentation will be significant and helpful. we will getoping provisions i care about and have been championing. one is the expansion of the employee retention tax credit allowing businesses to keep furloughed status tethered to health insurance. it has the ability to help 6 million businesses, employ 60 million workers, not only as a retention incentive, it is also a rehiring incentive. this will help us pull out of the recession.

the other thing i am hopeful will get in is the clean start act, providing a tax credit to businesses/entities that have had to spend more money on sanitation to provide safe workplaces. as we look at trying to survive the pandemic, we want to make sure people feel comfortable oraging in their workplace in consumption. this helps to not only get through the tough part of the pandemic but also as we look to recover, it helps to stimulate our economy. i am hopeful those provisions will get in and it will get across the finish line so we can get much needed assistance to floridians. host: the newspapers said that legislative language is still being written? guest: it is. things are still in flux. people are writing the bill. there is still an opportunity to

get good ideas into the bill across the finish line. host: keith, ohio, independent line. caller: good morning. good people are getting help, the smaller businesses and stuff. i have not been hearing anything about people on social security getting help with the stimulus bill whatsoever. guest: keith, thank you for your question. in my district, we have been helping folks on social security and otherwise, receive benefits out of the cares package. people are receiving those benefits. if you are not seeing that, i recommend you reach out to your representative and make sure they help you receive the benefits you have earned. host: question from john in st. louis. "what is your position on the

inclusion of covid liability protections for the absence in the upcoming $900 billion proposal in congress? what is better? the liability issue is something the senate is keen on seeing as part of the next covid bill and it is part of negotiations. we need to prevent people from having spurious kind of legal action against places of businesses as they try to do their best to open in an uncertain and evolving scientific environment. we also have to protect the people against actors who willingly endanger people's lives. host: georgia, republican line, tennessee. caller: hello. stephanie, i would like to know are you in favor of the repeal of president trump's tax cuts?

if that happens, my pay will be decreased. guest: george, i can understand how you and americans across the country, as well as businesses are concerned about what happens on the tax front. here's what i would say, whether health care or taxes, when a bill is passed on a purely partisan basis, what you introduce, the certainty is uncertainty. in the next political pendulum swing, there will be changes. that is what people are fearful of. the pendulum swing. made will bey within the context of our current economic environment. what we are currently dealing with is a recession. any will define changes, if or any new proposals as relates to taxes. line,anthony, democrats sierra vista, arizona. caller: thank you.

i have a question and comment. called nine months ago. things were getting bad. i referenced that we need operational pause. you can take operational out of it. let's look at the word, pause. what is the definition of a pause? when you pause, you say ok this is where we are, if you are watching a movie, you hit the restart button, the movie moves forward from where you currently are in life. same in sports. the referee calls timeout. meansinition of a pause when we have had such a historic 100 year event and we start to move forward, why isn't our government, just like the world

governments, should be moving people forward from where they were? not sending them back? when you hit restart, you find yearslf 6, 8, months behind where we were when we hit the pause. the bottom line says if you are don'tlling to work, expect others to. service.anks for your i really appreciate that. someonene's family, whose family was recognized, rescued by the u.s. navy, i appreciate about that. we had an historic collection. we have a new incoming administration in the white house. it is an opportunity to relook at the different policies,

whether economic, military or foreign policy and an opportunity to reassess what is working and what is not. double down on the things that are working, so we continue to move forward and build in , a prosperous future for our children. host: states grapple with shortfalls as aid expires. coronavirus has inflicted economic battering on state and local governments shrinking tax receipts by billions of dollars. devastating budget cuts loom, threatening to cripple public services. package in this current or future packages/measures, that would benefit states and localities? guest: the stats you gave are dire. this is the reason why democrats have been fighting so hard for

state and local funding. we recognize in this economic revenuesn, the governments can receive have been lowered because of lowered economic activity. we need to support state and local governments. they are funding our first responders. they are funding law enforcement, fire departments, teachers. this is not the moment to lay those people off or put their jobs in jeopardy. we need to support state and local governments. unfortunately, senator mcconnell does not share our perspective on this. senate republicans don't localtand states and governments are having a real revenue issue at a time when they have higher responsibilities. in this current package, proposals include state and local aid. it is a down payment on what needs to happen on a broader scale. host: kurt, bart well, south

carolina, republican line. the support y'all are talking about giving to the u.s. -- if you do with the democratic way, they will take huge chunks of it and put it in the democratic cities. not taking care of their own people. not controlling the riots going on. that money should be used to help covid patients. thank you. host: congresswoman? guest: state and local assistance will treat all states as american states, not as red or blue states. that is the way it should be. this virus is not discriminating between red and blue states. it has affected the united states of america. levelsponse at federal needs to treat all the states equally. all americans deserve access to

resources to get through this pandemic and the economic crisis. if you care about our law enforcement, about the safety and security of cities, states across this country, you want to see state and local assistance. that money will fund police departments, teachers, all the people on the frontlines lines of this fight in the midst of this and who we rely on so heavily to help us get through this crisis. host: question from john and virginia, comment. "i am somewhat concerned about the future of the democratic party. i think their messaging on energy is out of touch. i have not been convinced we can completely get rid of fossil fuels in nine years, which is what the green new deal calls for." guest: i think we can acknowledge climate change is a thing, which is in contrast to

our colleagues across the aisle, denying the science. in florida, it is something we deal with on a daily basis, whether hurricane stronger than they have ever been before, almost unclassifiable or sunny day flooding, roads and homes on the coast, green algae that prevents people from going to the beach and enjoying our natural environment in florida. florida is ground zero for climate change. it is also a place of opportunity, where if we invest in green energy and understand it is a transition, a slow transition but that we have the and they and innovation american can-do approach as it relates to combating climate change and we work together to do this in a way pragmatic, i think it will make a real difference in the future of this country. host:, carol, paul's valley,

oklahoma, democrats line. caller: i have a question about the paycheck protection act. listerstand they put out a of the businesses that received money from the paycheck protection act. peopleority of those that received it were big companies and corporations, just like what is proposed in the new stimulus package. there is not a bond that is proposed for individuals. business got $100,000 loan and had one employee. employee did not get the $100,000. hadd kushner, trump received loans while he is walking around talking about he is a billionaire.

are they going to be subject to paying that money back? are you guys going to provide oversight to make sure the paycheck protection program is going toward paycheck protection and not a slush fund set up so itple who don't even need can get fiscal money out of it? for, why didn't you fight individuals to have a stimulus check? host: thanks, carol. guest: carol, i agree with you, small businesses are the core of whate makes the american economy tick. they are struggling now. small businesses are struggling they are doing with reduced revenues as a result of the pandemic. the paycheck protection program,

my employee retention tax credit, they are trying to provide lifelines to small they cans and ensure keep their workers employed and tethered to health insurance in this moment of crisis. when the government spends money, it is critically important we provide oversight so there is no fraud, waste or abuse and that the money goes to the entities we intended it to do. that is what congress is working on. i am proud to say we had oversight legislation that passed as a part of the cares package. hopefully,t package, we get this soon for the next covid relief, we will continue to try to help those who need it the most. individual families as well as small businesses, all of us in the country. host: you were talking about this before we went on air.

briefly tell us about how you first heard about c-span. guest: i was in elementary school student when c-span started their bus tour. i just remember this novel concept of having a window into the way the government works and having escaped a country that did not believe int democracy. i escaped a communist country with my parents when i was very young. it was so novel c-span would provide the transparency and oversight, so critical in a democracy. i am excited to be on the show today. so grateful to be a part of this democracy and to participate in the media's role in it. host: we are glad you got on the bus way back when. [laughter] guest: way back when. host: hubert, deerfield beach,

florida, independent line. caller: good morning. [indiscernible] i have always voted democrat. i believe the democrat offers a lot more to the american people. [indiscernible] i wasn't able to contribute anymore. i tried on many occasions. i was not able to do so. [indiscernible] time and wente down there to see if i could reestablish contact with them. unfortunately, because of covid, the office was closed. i am a composer.

support ofong in president-elect joe biden and the vp, kamala harris. i would like to start a contribution. host: we don't have time for the song but we haven't talked about the incoming administration. what are some early things he would like to see the administration tackle? guest: i am hopeful the administration will address the covid pandemic and get us through this moment by having a coordinated, national response to the pandemic. when i worked at dod, i worked on pandemics. we were preparing for the avian flu. we dodged the bullet at the time. i know how important it is to having a governmental approach

in courting nation across the country to a pandemic, not just in response but also in distribution of vaccine. i am looking forward to seeing the administration provide that. beyond that, we are going to have to pull out of this recession. it is going to take investments. this is the moment to have a big infrastructure bill. the pandemic has revealed there are places where we could do better in this country, where we are in need of investments, in need of a refresh. effectll have the double of not just addressing the shortcomings that currently exist but also being a stimulus effect and helping our economy recover after the pandemic. host: stephanie murphy, representative, seventh district, florida, we elected for a third term, thank you for being with us. guest: great to be with you. host: the house comes in at 9:00

eastern but we hear from tom mcclintock, republican of california, supporting the marijuana measure coming up today. we will talk about that and more, with more of your calls. ♪ american history tv, c-span3, exploring people and events that tell the american story, every weekend. coming up this weekend, saturday, 10 p.m. eastern, health officials prepare to roll out a vaccine against coronavirus, we take you back in time with five archival films about vaccines in the fight against disease. sunday, 6 p.m. eastern, american artifacts, touring new york city's lower east side tenement museum with reconstructed drawings that show how immigrant families coped with poverty and crowded conditions in the 19th and early 20th centuries. 6:30 p.m., a look at presidential leadership during

the cold war with historian william hitchcock. also the author of the age of eisenhower. 9:00 p.m., u.s. constitutional debate hosted by the colonial williamsburg foundation featuring a reenactment from founding fathers james madison and george mason on issues from the bill of rights to slavery. watch american history tv, this weekend, c-span3. ♪ washington journal continues. host: good morning to congressman tom mcclintock, the fifth district of california, northern california, joining us to talk about a number of things including a measure in the u.s. house today, debated yesterday, more today on decriminalizing marijuana. congressman mcclintock, tell us about the measure and your support. guest: it decriminalizing marijuana at federal level and

leaves the issue to the states to decide. i am an unlikely supporter. marijuana use is a pretty bad idea. my wife and i raised our kids successfully to never go near the stuff. we have to recognize the prohibition laws have done far more harm. they have spawned a violent, underground economy that has had a major impact on crime. paradoxically, made it easier for children to obtain marijuana than they could if it was legalized and regulated. host: this measure, if passed through the senate, with that help some of those issues? -- would that help some of those issues? radish farmers don't kill each other. it is the prohibition laws that created violent, underground

economy. we had the same experience trying to prohibit liquor in the 1930's. legislate against a product. you cannot legislate against demand. the result, naturally, is underground economy. criminals move in to fill the vacuum. you end up with a great deal of violence and crime as a result. legalization will stop. host: you mentioned your personal concerns over marijuana use. you don't use it. your family does not use it. it to get behind a measure like this? guest: a deputy sheriff put it this way to me -- i can take any two children from a local school

at random, give them each a $20 bill, tell one to buy pot and the other to buy food, the first one back every time will be the one i send to go buy pot. they don't know where to get it. the dealer depends on ignoring the law. no compunction against selling it to them. to go by booze, will go to one store after another, get carded and get kicked out. the headline "third gop congressman pledges to vote for marijuana legalization on the house floor this month." the houses gaveling in at 9:00 eastern. what is the general sense of the conference on this measure? guest: most republicans are opposed to legalization.

sympathy withf their concerns over marijuana use. ultimately, that needs to be a decision they invite every grown-up to make. i have enough trouble running my own life without trying to run everyone else's. host: there is a tax attached to the measure. how much is it and what would it be used for? guest: 5% tax. i am concerned about overtaxing this product. if you overtax anything, it would drive it underground and defeat the purpose of the measure. those thatd states, have legalized marijuana on some level, be delighted or concerned about the potential passage of the measure? would supporttes the passage. that restores them the decisions

about how to regulate in their own state borders. host: tom mcclintock, republican, california, talking about the marijuana measure coming up in the house today and other issues. (202)-748-8000 for democrats, (202)-748-8001 for republicans, (202)-748-8002 for independents. other issue i want to ask you about, congressman, the apparent agreement over pandemic relief/ support from the house speaker on a bipartisan measure introduced by senators and members of the house on tuesday. what are your thoughts? reliefthe only genuine from the economic destruction of the lockdowns is to end the lockdowns. they have not save lives. they have cost lives. you can see they have not saved because keeping the state open versus lockdowns, overall, the

states that state open have a lower covid mortality rate. look at sweden. they never issued an order. they never closed schools or issued a mask mandate. the mortality rate from covid's 160 per million less than the united states. that would translate to 52,000 american deaths over sweden's mortality rate. they state open. we closed. that, the lives impacted by the lockdowns, increased suicides, alcoholic/drug abuse, domestic violence, deferred health screenings and treatments. of economicwarning devastation globally from the lockdowns will cost 130 million

lives due to starvation. this nonsense has to stop. in thencillary issue pandemic related to dealing with the first amendment, the headline in the washington post "supreme sides with california church protesting virus restrictions." the challenge was filed by the pasadena based harvest rock church and ministry which has churches across the state. guest: i very strongly support that decision, and ultimately deriving from the supreme court, the first amendment is sacred. there is no suspension provision for whatever a public official decides to call an emergency.

that applies to freedom of religion, freedom of assembly peaceable, freedom of speech. the implied freedom, frankly, to go about your daily life as long as you are not hurting anyone else. that is an assertion that has to be left individuals. the cdc, the current best estimate, above 50 years old, if you get covid, your chance of recovering is 99.98%. covid the people who get don't even know they have it. for the most vulnerable group, those over 70, the recovery rate is 94.5%. we have got to restore the byedom stripped from us these unconstitutional edicts by autocrats like gavin newsom and andrew cuomo, gretchen whitmer,

the laundry list. such autocrats. host: quick headline. "support for legal marijuana inches to a new high from 68%" our first caller in albany, new york, democrats line. make sure you mute your volume or you will feed back. go ahead. caller: i have a comment about decriminalizing marijuana. your volume is too loud. host: your volume is too loud. you have to call back. okeechobee, florida, republican line, dee. caller: i have a question and comment. it is about the fda. federal drug ok who oks these drugs and the marijuana. i have always been against marijuana ok.

my kids growing up, they are all adults, but over the years, i have noticed marijuana doesn't really harm anyone in the good lord put it on this earth. fda, say ient, the have one illness, i am in my 80's, say i have high blood --ssure, i have to get medication, fda ok, by the time the fda is done with you, instead of curing your blood pressure, you may have a heart problem, kidney problems, liver problems, death. all kinds of stuff goes along with our government giving us this garbage. they care one thing and give us 10 more, those 10 more gives us 10 more with their side effects. next thing you know, from one pill, we are taking handfuls of

pills to counteract the one pill we took in the first place. what are you going to do about the fda? thank you. there is a great the fdat who has stated has claimed more lives by bureaucratic delays in approving drugs than it has saved lives by stopping the release of bad drugs. u.k. is just on releasing vaccinations for use, several weeks ahead of the u.s., because of our bureaucracy. we should note this administration cut through enormous redtape in order to get us to this point. too much government tends to produce far more problems than it solves.

often, government is not the solution to the problem, government is the problem. the governments advice on any range of personal choice, i will be dammed if i take its orders. host: monthly employment numbers. november, unemployment rate, 6.7% with employers adding 245,000 jobs in november. your thoughts on where things are with the economy in terms of the jobs issues? guest: our economy is springing back. we have got a long way to go. we hadan one year ago, the lowest unemployment rate in 50 years. the income gap was narrower. wages were growing faster than they had any time in the past 40 years.

was at its rate lowest point since 1959. we took a wrecking ball to the costmy, closed businesses, people millions of jobs, we still have 4 million people unemployed directly because of lockdowns. covid did not cause that damage. government did. host: randy, democrats line, iron river, michigan. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i have talked about this with you. i would like to ask tom, through the 1980's, we used the system of throw the bag of dope on the backseat of the car, creates a felon, now we get to take their land, their children, hand it to the white drunks, push out the black and brown people, and then

we get to steal their homes. i want to know how many elections have been won by republicans because we took 8000 potheads votes in one year? [indiscernible] -- on this bill and not one single republican voted for it. i want you to explain this to me! how you take children away -- they don't do nothing? throw people in jail for pot and have -- [indiscernible] -- host: you are breaking up, randy. congressman? guest: i am having a little trouble parsing out the question. essentially, i believe it has done enormous harm to a lot of people who were convicted of minor possession with marijuana , to they were in college have that conviction follow them around the rest of their lives. i don't recommend marijuana use.

people should decide for themselves, adults. we, as a society, have the responsibility to keep it out of the hands of children. there is plenty of evidence it does cause damage, neurological damage in adolescence. legalizeway to do is it and regulate it as we do with alcohol. host: the gist of the legislation proposed, you will debate on the floor today, the moore act would remove marijuana from the controlled substances list, thereby decriminalizing? guest: correct. host: michael, brooklyn, new york, independent. caller: my question is into parts. you mentioned 5% tax on marijuana sales. is that on top of state taxes or --? guest: that would be federal, yes.

caller: with the passage of this bill coincide with a mass amnesty for people in prison with charges related to marijuana? guest: i believe there is such a provision. mentioned --lso host: we lost michael. gretchen, wisconsin, roy, republican. caller: thank you. veteran, serving in bosnia when i got a long illness that progressed to the point where i was told i was terminal, 27% lung capacity, given a couple years to live. i was seeing seven specialists, taking 13 different medications when one of my doctors in

wisconsin suggested i try cannabis therapy. since i have gone on the cannabis therapy, 18 months it has been, my lung capacity has gone from 27% to 43% and i am 100% off all pharmaceuticals. i was in the newspaper over this in wisconsin, which led to the police coming to my house and arresting me and try to take my kid away and everything, just for trying to stay alive. v.a. is some way the going to be able to start prescribing it so i don't have to be a felon? guest: good question. i don't know the answer. they should. your point is perfect. people should make their own decisions. government has a responsibility to give the best advice it can but it is up to the individual to decide how to run their life.

i have enough trouble running mine. the folks in washington, who seem so intent on trying to run everybody else's lives, we know they are not good at running their own. georgia,id, atlanta, democrat. caller: good morning. there were a lot of things i was hearing this morning. i have a few comments. mcclintock,, mr. thank you for taking this. republicans and other people in your party -- of the made mention underground economy created, yet you did not speak of the prisons making money -- making money off the individuals being arrested for marijuana or for law enforcement, marijuana

arrests, comparatively, are more easier than other drug arrests because most marijuana arrests, they are not violent. the other thing i think is a problem is that marijuana and how it is looked at for research should not be in the hands of the dea. it never should have been in the hands of the dea. it should be in the hands of the fda. one of the other things that got me is our country always says there is no research. in israel, they have been researching this plant since 1968. we have taken data from other countries on different things, yet we cannot look at these people who have done it since 1968 and also, they have proven dna,hown, and human beings

there is a cannabinoid that is only there for cannabis. it has been in the human body since -- host: lost you, david but you put things on the table. congressman? guest: the points are well taken. we know a great deal more about bad, as wegood and have researched it. bottom line. it was perfectly legal until 1937. it is when we adopted rigid prohibition laws all the trouble started. when laws have utterly failed to achieve the desired goals and at the same time have created a great deal of additional problems, it is time to revisit them. that case is long overdue with marijuana. host: you touched on this. i want to redo the comments of an editorial by the cofounder of

smart approaches to marijuana. "no state presents a better example than california. the marijuana industry is facing extinction due to its failure to compete with the illicit market. the governor has resorted to sending in the national guard to combat illegal growing operations. a foreign cartel was found running a trafficking organization out of suburbs. if the threat is not enough to convince lawmakers commercialization is not the way forward, perhaps the potential loss of life will." that is an overstatement of what is going on in california. there is still an illicit market because the product is so heavily taxed. it has made the illicit market profitable. it, said, if you overtax

you will drive it underground, which defeats the purpose of the bill. radish growers do not kill each other over territory. you don't have these kinds of problems where products are legalized and treated uniformly. cannabis should be treated no differently than any other product, taxed at the same rate. that takes the profit out of the illegal market. host: ginger, pinehurst, north carolina, independent. caller: good morning. how are you? guest: good. i wouldfirst of all, like to second what the gentleman from georgia said, putting the dea in charge of scheduling cannabis is like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse. should never have been in the hands of an enforcement agency

as opposed to a drug regulatory agency. question for representative mcclintock. the moore acte of is anything more than a symbolic gesture given that senator mcconnell has made it crystal clear he does not bring any bills to the floor of the house which he does not agree and he is on record as categorically opposed to any marijuana reform? the houses are supposed to disagree. it is designed that way. even when they are controlled by the same party, they tend to disagree. that is a safeguard of the system. that is no argument for one house not passing legislation.

it is up to the other to propose alternatives and act. both sides ultimately get together in agreement. it is important the bill passes the house. disappointing is the only small business the house seems to be interested in is the cannabis business, when we have countless small businesses being closed by these devastating lockdown orders in various states. host: jackie, california, republican. is, my son problem was a marine and my other son, a police officer. my son went undercover across the border to find out about this marijuana drug. my son, was discovered. they executed him, those darn cartels!

those cartels are going to take over our country! my son. as soon as i found out my son was dead, they knew who i was and extorted me for over $50,000! it was supposed to be hush-hush. i finally got washington involved. man, after i sent them the $50,000, they demanded more money! when washington, i get so upset about this, washington to get involved, they immediately sent my son back. i am hoping it was my son they sent back because those cartels are going to take over our country just like they took over mexico and the latin countries! i hope and pray for you people. i am 82 years old. i am sure glad i am going to be dead soon! this was hard to understand. farms hot springs have full of marijuana plants! does legalization help us

fight cartels? guest: i believe it does. cartels get their power from the same source. prohibition. if it is illegal and there is demand, you will have violent elements get involved because their entire success depends on breaking the law. when products are regulated, legalized, you take that illicit profit out of the market and take away the power of these violent parties, whether it was al capone in the 1930's with the prohibition of alcohol or the cartels today with the prohibition of marijuana. host: before we wrap up, i want to read you a tweet by president trump and ask your thoughts on the efforts to contest the vote. revealed usps is

responsible for tampering with thousands of ballots. this longtime democrat stronghold got bit of massive numbers especially in swing states. well documented evidence!" vote.use will be the 117thl congress in january. those ballots will be cast by the electoral college december 14. challenges, including some with serious evidence behind them -- i was looking at the evidence with the report yesterday documenting 1500 deceased people who had voted in the election, 20,000 nonresidents of nevada voted, evidence of 40,000 duplicate -- webeing cast in nevada

have a system of justice pretty well designed to determine what is true and not. content to allow that process to unfold. we have the judicial process as well as the administrative process conducting audits and recounts in close regions. ultimately, those issues will be decided before the electoral college. host: congressman tom mcclintock, thank you for joining washington journal. guest: my pleasure. thanks for having me, bill. host: that will wrap up today. we will be back tomorrow at 7 a.m.. the house coming in next. the legislative session getting underway, gaveling and shortly, live coverage next on c-span. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2020] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accu