affecting the mental health of children. then a preview of the rally in georgia today and his role in supporting republican senatorial candidates. we will take your calls and you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. --hington journal business next. ♪ and welcomeorning to washington journal. thousand representatives is voted to decriminalize hasjuana, the first time it been voted on the federal level. this is a major move on the federal level as 15 states say recreational marijuana is already legal log with many others that approved medical manyuana -- along with others that approved medical

marijuana. some are calling this a hollow gesture. what do you think about voting for decriminalization? a few support decriminalization we want to hear from you at 202-748-8000. decriminalization 202-748-8001. sure your opinion is going to be called in at 202-748-8002. us ater you can text (202) 748-8003. we are always reading on social media on twitter @cspanwj i had and on facebook on facebook.com/c-span. the house of representatives voted to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level.

all let's find out a little bit more about the bill from texas democratic representative sheila jackson lee. [video clip] >> to summarize the provisions, they fall into three categories. marijuana from the schedule of federally controlled substances. this means individuals can no longer be prosecuted federally for marijuana offenses. that does not mean it would be legal in the entire united states. it would remove the federal government from interfering with state laws and structures from the business of prosecuting marijuana cases. it would leave the question of legality to individual states. those states choosing to decriminalize can do so without interference from the federal government.

those that choose to continue to keep marijuana illegal, can do so. -- wouldwould extend establish a taxation structure to collect a sales tax on marijuana. which would increase from 5% to 8%. the funds would be able to use eight trust -- to fund a trust to do good to help communities ravaged by the war on drugs. i know it first hand living and growing up in those communities. the communities of color and beyond any. -- and beyond. business will come from this legislation will have the legal right and opportunity to secure legal banking relationships. the trust fund will be used for rehabilitation and reentry programs and department of justice and programs in the

small business administration to ensure the growing market is open and diverse. week in my community, a bright young individual was killed because of marijuana sale. extinguishedt was in a minute. this is what we want to see eliminated. entwant a governm structure that saves lives. it would seal and expunge several marijuana convictions and resentenced people as appropriate. i needed measure to undo the damage done to our communities since marijuana was arbitrarily placed on the list of controlled substances in 1970. the numbers are staggering with the imbalance of prosecution of

african and people of latinx heritage. host: let's see what you think about the house to federally decriminalize marijuana. james kelling from torture, supports decriminalization -- supportsrom georgia, decriminalization. caller: good morning, how are you? host: just fine. caller: it is not good for states to criminalize it if everybody is using it. i do not see the downfall of cocaine, heroin. marijuana is not in that category. for -- is usedna to treat patients. what is the point of criminalizing marijuana, when you can decriminalize?

you can have the jails reduce population. the state can also make taxes for money. it is not a hard drug. what is the point? tell me. maryland,ge from opposes decriminalization. good morning. caller: i am a recovering addictionsnd retired counselor. -- ie sworn he something have 20 something years of addictions counseling. my son was announced for possession, he did jail time. there's as much toying in a joint as a whole pack of cigarettes. -- it impacts the

brain, respiratory system and reproductive system of women. i have seen people so screwed up on marijuana they cannot function. it.pose is the oned alcohol drug that is legal. that creates devastation too. that not need another drug will create devastation. it is not harmless. it is far from harmless. there may be medical aspects but that has to be monitored. i am opposed. it is not right. host: what would you say to that say alcohol is just legal, if alcohol is marijuana should be. caller: there are a lot of

problems with alcohol and we do not need another addictive drug on the market. host: going along with what greg said. north carolina gop representative, a practicing physician explains his opposition to the decriminalization of marijuana. [video clip] collects as a practicing physician, this bill troubles me. especially with its research implications for the youth populations. marijuana is one of the most abused substances on the planet. i am sympathetic to those who use it for pain relief. proven ton clinically have activity in this area. a study from the national library of medicine, the thc component of cannabis can be the psychosis andn

schizophrenia. a study from duke university showed a five times increased in psychosis among chronic cannabis users. the u.s. surgeon general agreed there were serious health risks associated with the use of marijuana in adolescence and pregnancy. any fails to set requirements for products to keep from getting into the hands of teenagers and young adults whose brains are developing. the more act does not prevent the distribution of marijuana to againstdisk -- is states rights and allows for the potential of marijuana revenue to fund criminal organizations, gangs or cartels. operations smuggling this legislation might allow. legalizing weed would create revenue but at what cost?

do we legalize cocaine? marijuana is a gateway drug. it undoubtedly leads to further and more dangerous drug use. while i believe medical marijuana can have some activity in those with chronic pain or cancer, this goes too far. from paul calling minnesota, he supports decriminalization. i was involved with that from 1970 until about 15 years ago. businesses different and was the manager and owner of other businesses. marijuana never hurt anybody. people that like alcohol, drank alcohol do not like smoking pot. people smoking pot do not like

drinking. i see more deaths with alcohol. everybody i grew up with that did smoke either gave it up, never had no problems. deatht came to problem when it came to alcohol, my friend passed away from that -- when it came to alcohol, my friend passed away from that. i have never seen anybody go out and shoot somebody or run some of the over because they were smoking pot. when they were drinking, yes. host: that brings up the question. what controls should there be on people who are driving or operating heavy equipment like bulldozers and school does it -- and school buses when it comes to marijuana? should there still be penalties

for using heavy equipment or driving? be any there should not penalizing unless you are sloppy. vehicles.ven many i have never once had an accident in 40 years. host: you have never had an accident, but do you trust other people to control their composure? caller: over drinking and pills, yes. everybody else should be nailed to the wall. pot alone, no. i do not it affects people very much. there are some people who can, some people who cannot. it is up to those people that are going to be driving, that are going to be taking responsibility. if it does happen to be that way, many -- maybe we can talk

about something like that happening. maybe there should be a law against driving high. some over the road for many years. never came close to one accident. cambrah from oklahoma, she opposes decriminalization. yourr: i thank you for service here, giving the public a chance to speak. host: are you still there? caller: i am here. i just want to say thank you. i oppose it. enough not have regulation with it. host: what type of regulations do you think there should be?

caller: they should consider the age of a person. cigarettes and things of that nature. if the person has mental capacity. things of that nature. i just -- [inaudible] host: are you there? caller: i am here. -- ild like to say if you think the reason they said it was okay is because trump smokes it. host: let's see what the bill does. -- mooalled the more act re act.

is sponsored by vice president elect former senator kamala harris and democratic representative jerry nadler. fromuld remove marijuana the list of scheduled substances under the controlled substances act. it would eliminate from no penalties for individuals who manufacture, distribute or possess marijuana. and establish a process to expunge convictions and sentences review hearings related to federal cannabis offenses. tax ond impose a 5% cannabis products. be required revenues to deposited into a trust fund. passed the house of representatives. let's talk to renee from maryland who supports decriminalization. good morning. caller: good morning, good morning. wake and bake.

wonderful act is getting out there. i hope it passes. taking it out of the controlled substance list is major. expunging convictions is major. time has finally come and it is a wonderful thing. the effects of marijuana, that from marijuana the effects of marijuana are hunger, laughter and sleep. not necessarily in that order and all of the time. a very small amount of people who have anxiety or what do you call it when you are nervous? they do not smoke it anymore. i love that needs to stop. marijuana users are responsible and we have smokers -- more smokers than not.

this is the government is realizing what they know is right and making more money. they already made hundreds of millions of dollars off of prisons. now they are going to take 5% from the products. you have to be a government grower, seller they are going to take that 5% off of your sales. because if they're going to do what they're going to do what they are going to do, they're going to put it into programs, communities that are deserving. i am ind support -- support. regulations are going to be on the stores. you're going to need a medical marijuana store. that is going on. you white folks can make more money. host: edward calling from florida and opposes decriminalization.

good morning. caller: good morning. i think as far as the federal level should be opposed. --far as controlling the coming into our country -- our federal agents should be controlling trafficking of drugs. as far as the federal government , individual person there should be no law. -- resould resend that cind that. to lift all restrictions is ridiculous. marijuana, people can have it. smoking marijuana is a social thing. after long-term use you become isolated. engaged inu less

activities. -- people away from social communities as far as interacting with people. [cross chat] -- [indiscernible] host: diane calling from washington, indiana she supports decriminalization. caller: good morning and thank you for taking my call. and there are various reasons. whatast caller spoke about are we going to do in 20 years? ityears back we were smoking , it was not legal. it was recreational. and seriously, i did not

hear of any accidents or crazy things going on. , the moneyenefits schools,nded into so many different things. if they have the same kind of rules for drinking. you have underage drinking, alcoholism that is totally legal. you should not be able to operate a vehicle like that. pay there, you should penalties. i just feel -- one of the main

things i have found is that for it is better to at an option.that bad.ain pills that is so people are addicted to that. they will do anything to get them. difference inch -- in that drug as using marijuana. marijuana was put here by god. it is a natural substance. if people would be smart, there are a lot of benefits. host: that's look at a map of the united states. becomeces marijuana has

legal has changed significantly. you see on colors this map are states where marijuana has been legalized. the lightest colors, the great states are where marijuana is fully illegal. states like alabama, tennessee, south carolina. , then between states darkest greens are states where marijuana has been legalized for medical and decriminalized. , they states get lighter become the medical states and states.alized over the last 20 to 30 years, many states have moved toward some form of legalization. orther it is decriminalizing allowing medical marijuana or fully legalizing.

let's look at what social media followers are saying about the house vote to federally decriminalize marijuana. one post from facebook says good, it is passed time -- past time. says legalizing increased colorado revenue by $300 million. the cost of maintaining nonviolent mayor of -- marijuana offenders would save tax dollars and increased tax revenue in the u.s. by more than $15 billion per year. there is an advantage to legalizing and decriminalizing a damage free drug. itext says that i am 59th and have been smoking since i was 12 with no problems. alcohol ruined my life. marijuana should be treated similar to cigarettes and alcohol legally. cigarettes and alcohol have

killed more people. the federal, state governments should legalize it and tax it. democrats are willing to do anything to make a show out of our governmental institutions. it is a very sad day when there is a pandemic and democrats are worried about spending tax money on marijuana. allowinghe floodgates mark marijuana candy which can get in the hands of kids. what to do andde leave federal laws alone. decriminalize all things that grow in the earth marijuana, mushrooms. drugs from labs are another story. why do some the americans want to escape reality? let's see what you think about the house vote for decriminalization. let's talk to faye.

opposes decriminalization opposes decriminalization. caller: i agree with representative murphy. he made valid points. i am listening to the listeners, who say i. who say it does not affect me that way. when you are a professional and see the effects of this drug the lungs, psychosis, schizophrenia, the things that can happen to the mind. you will understand what this drug can do. notpose it and hope they do decriminalize. massachusetts and he supports decriminalization. comrade.ood morning will you please stop calling it marijuana?

theas a racist term used in beginning in the 30's to associated with mexicans. it is called cannabis. have beenown, i smoking it for 50 years. my circle of friends smoke cannabis. we are all productive citizens who have worked all our lives. from texas, calling he supports federal decriminalization. good morning. fromr: that woman louisiana, where did she get that from? i went to the doctor, the only time he would be able to eat is when he smoked cannabis. as that last gentleman called it. he can smoke it, if that is what is going to make him eat, by him

all of the cannabis he needs to eat. i listen to these people. -- smoking weed, cannabis, they sit around laugh, watch tv and talk. they will eat you out of house me. ho that is the majority of the people i know who smoke cannabis. i note nobody smoking cannabis going out with a gun -- know nobody smoking cannabis going out with a gun. alcohol harms more people. know where she gets that about the lungs. i do not know if you have been around people who smoke cannabis, all you were going to do is look at the --.

everything is funny, everything on tv is relaxing. you want to keep them away from your kitchen. host: let's talk to matt calling from louisiana. he opposes decriminalization. caller: good morning. a cigaretteike except it does not have a filter. as long as you keep inhaling you're going to hurt yourself long-term. said, we sitt guy around, drink some beer, smoke some pot, everything is funny. the government wants you to do that so you are not paying attention. which is hurting our country. they know it is not helping them, it dumps them down so they are not seeing what the true

essence of what our government is trying to do. host: before i let you go. what do you say to the previous alcohol andays cigarettes do more damage? why should marijuana be illegal while those are legal? caller: i was in the marine corps for 20 years. in new orleans, certain parts of town, covers the spectrums of race, recruiters cannot get these kids into the military because they dropped out of high school. they are getting in to trouble -- into trouble with a lot, nothing major. they are in and out of court. i am watching them at the liquor store down the street, while they are smoking pot in the car, one of the bodies goes in and gets a bunch of beer and alcohol. call that safe, i do not think

so. what do think about the house's vote to decriminalize everyone? on can take part in our poll twitter right now. ofyou can see, almost 80% our viewers following us on twitter support federal decriminalization of marijuana. if you want to take part, find it on our twitter page under c-span washington journal. let your voices be known by taking part talking about the houseboat to decriminalize marijuana. lawrence from st. paul, minnesota. lawrence is unsure. what do you think about the vote to decriminalize marijuana? caller: a couple of quick points. thanks for the opportunity.

at the beginning of the program, she talked about turning decisions over to the states. i guarantee people would bring that into the same discussion. i never found the need for it. i don't drink either. it is not a religious thing. it is how i conduct my life. criminalization but people who believe this is a transition need to consider the law of unintended consequences. this is not going to be a smooth transition. it is like playing with a deck of cards. you reshuffle it but there are going to be other ramifications, particularly in the criminal element. people make money off some marijuana. when you pull that source away from them, there will be a huge

transition of other vices that will come into play. -- asng term representative murphy talked about, there are long-term consequences that are not being taken into account. criminalization has done harm. thank you for the time. pennsylvania.om vicki is supposed. good morning. caller: thank you for inviting us to have our opinions. i oppose it. for many, many reasons. when it comes to the government, they say it can help with moneys going to different things and helping. as far ash that but

using this to do it, i don't agree with it. there will be a lot of people that are going to want to sell it. they won't want to give the government a piece of money and selling it illegally. we will see kids getting their hands on this. i myself have kids that have used it. i see the effects on them. start with the health issues of it. it's almost the same thing as smoking cigarettes. when you smoke marijuana you are inhaling, holding it longer, and it's causing the tar buildup in the lungs. it is not good. it,ar as the mentality of we can't -- i hear people saying you have to be smart. you have to be, you know, using wisdom.

who is going to be there to say this person is in his right mind, using good judgment, we will let him go to a traffic stop? i don't see he will be there to say who is being responsible and who is not. thingsre just too many wrong with this. i definitely oppose it. i've seen too many bad things. they say alcoholism is worse. this may not be the same affect but it is just as bad. it causes you not to think properly and i have great judgment. host: missouri republican representative vicky hartzler, a mother and public-school teacher, went to the house floor to explain her opposition to the act. here is what she had to say. [video]

>> hi rise in opposition to the moore act that legalizes marijuana across the united states. as a mother and public former schoolteacher i am appalled this legislation -- by this legislation's disregard for schools and families. i'm shocked and appalled by the previous speaker's claim this legislation is good for children and using children as an excuse to pass this will and legalize it across this country. this act would grant the marijuana industry unfettered access to our nation's youth by allowing the sale of edibles and flavored marijuana vapes, and permitting businesses to be located within 1000 feet of schools, day cares, private kindergartens, public arcs and recreational facilities. it opens the floodgates for advertising high potency and action be dangerous products on tv and social media.

a place for our kids are spending countless hours every day. we need to consider three critical points before voting. first, research has shown people who use marijuana at a young age are more prone to addictive habits later in life as it activates the leisure center receptors of the brain. second, long term use has been linked by research to mental illness such as hallucinations, temporary paranoia, depression, suicidal thoughts, violet behavior, -- violent behavior and schizophrenia. the u.s. surgeon general declared an advisory emphasizing, "a recent increase in access to marijuana and its potency and misperceptions of safety is danger. -- dangerous to our most precious resource, our youth."

my colleagues on the others of the aisle are focusing on legalizing marijuana. where are our priorities? host: let's see what some social media followers are saying about the houseboat on federal marijuana decriminalization. . "100% yes. they need to get this passed and fast." most people who support have smoked all their lives. people who oppose have never smoked before. the government should make sure it is as safe as possible because it ain't going nowhere." another says, "as a chronic insomniac over two years i applaud the legalization of cannabis. insomnia caused me to have an accident that totaled my auto.

this might have been avoided if marijuana was legal." another says, "senator mcconnell's bill allows cannabis grown by farmers. what is the cause to arrest and jail?" "i trust legal marijuana not to hurt me that a lot more than that warp speed covid-19 vaccine." ashion.alk to c you support decriminalization. caller: how are you doing? i have a couple of points. i am a veteran. there are multiple ways it helps veterans with depression, eating disorders. you can regulate cannabis and treat it like alcohol or cigarettes because, honestly, let's be real, cigarettes and alcohol are not for everybody.

everybody is not going to use it. everybody knows what they can do and what they can't do. we also have big pharmacy companies making synthetic drugs that have all types of side effects. marijuana has side effects but at the same time the history is behind it. with the synthetic drugs you can hear on the commercials. they have all the side effects. you have cannabis where it can help with kids with seizures, all types of different things. the money can be used and put it many different uses. used toalization can be basically help free so many people of color, everybody because we already know what the jails are doing and what the jails are making off of it.

you have people selling drugs and not doing anything about it. there are plenty of ways. host: jeff from auburn, new york. jeff supports marijuana decriminalization. good morning. caller: good morning. i will come at this from a couple of different angles. i live in a prison city. also i am a former employee of the county jail. i live in farm country. there are a couple of different areas of interest. to keep one prisoner in auburn prison, the home of the first takes $70,000, it of taxpayer money to put one person in prison for one year. is $700,000.tence

in the county jail it is a little less but the county taxpayers are paying for this. i worked in the county jail for five years. to cost $60,000 to keep someone in prison in the county jail for one year. the max is two years. after that they have to send you to a state prison. i am 62 years old. i admit i smoked marijuana in the 1970's. i started probably when i was 15. abusiveas an alcoholic, mentally, physically and emotionally. he was the gateway to my marijuana use. it was a release, a psychological release. i had my first beer at 11 because my old man wouldn't buy soda for when we went fishing. he would go have a beer.

, are they the gateway drug to marijuana? i didn't try marijuana until 15. i was in the dean's list -- on the dean's list for four semesters in a row smoking marijuana every day. i was on the honor society in high school and graduated 11th in my class and i was down every day as a sophomore, junior and stoned every day as a sophomore, junior and senior. if it is decriminalized, i can foresee hundred-acre farms with 20 different strains of marijuana and prices will go down from $300 to $400 an ounce down to the 1970's prices of $20 an ounce. i can remember the days. --how to marijuana was $150 a pound of marijuana was $150.

you people want states rights for some things, like the republican party. i had a comment on that republican congresswoman that was on a minute ago. if you want states rights and you want lower taxes and all this, the republicans support police unions in the prison unions but you oppose the teachers unions. i was a great student. socially, marijuana is nothing more than having a sixpack on a friday night. host: the vote in the house was not actually down party lines. even though the majority came from democrats, there were some republicans who supported the federal marijuana decriminalization. let's hear from florida republican representative matt gaetz, one of the few republicans to support the act.

he is a cosponsor of the bill. he came to talk about why he supported it. [video] >> the act is flawed. did uses cannabis policy to do a great deal of social engineering, to create new taxes and new programs and redistribution of assets. but i am here is the only republican cosponsor of the more ore act. the government has lied to the people about marijuana for a generation. we have seen a generation, particularly of black and brown youth locked up for offenses that should have not resulted in any incarceration whatsoever. i am deeply troubled the current policy of the federal government inhibits research into cannabis. research that could unlock here's and help you -- unlock cures and help people live better lives. my republican colleagues will argue against this bill, but

those arguments are overwhelmingly losing with the american people. in every state where cannabis reform is on the ballot in this country it passed with overwhelming support. the only thing i know more popular than getting of the war on drugs is getting out of the war in afghanistan. if we were measuring the success in the war on drugs, it would be hard to conclude anything other than the fact drugs won because the mega people do not support the policies of incarceration, limited research, limited choice, and particularly constraining medical application. we are in a time when many people are suffering. they are in pain. it is documented that cannabis -- states with medical cannabis programs see a reduction in the prescribing of opioids and the number of opioids abuses and deaths. we have held hearings for people in our government confess this

is in fact true. the more we give people access, blunting ofsee a this horrible scourge of opioid abuse. host: there is a political divide on support for legalizing marijuana. -- october 30ber -- september 30 to october 15 poll, gallup found 40% of -- 48% ofs support republicans support legalization. 72% of independents and 83% of democrats support legalizing marijuana. americans right now say they support the legalization of marijuana. we have seen that go up since

12% backe it was only in 1982. now it is up to 68%. this is when people were asked the question, do you think the use of marijuana should be made legal or not? 68% of americans right now think marijuana should be made legal. let's go back to the phone lines and talk to henry calling from spring hill, florida. henry is unsure if it should be decriminalized or not. basically -- ist don't know if it is along political lines. i don't know why we are talking about this subject now when we are facing a pandemic. i say follow the money. i enjoy listening to the commentary by everybody with their experiences. a billfear i can't trust

thrown through until someday our andrnment comes together does things in not a bipartisan way. that's all. i am just afraid we are not following the money. what are we not paying attention to? host: patty from houston. patty opposes decriminalization. good morning. caller: thanks for taking my call. ways i support. i worked for the customs service. i worked on the border. i saw these people come across the border who were out of control on marijuana. somewhere fine and some were out of control. i worked in anti-air smuggling.

we arrested people. they were shooting. totally out of control. -- we heard for us people say people who smoke pot are not violent. define what you mean by out-of-control. caller: they come across the border. they want to fight with you. we had to do searches on these people. they want to hate you. they want to kill you. tohad dogs we would use check out vehicles and stuff. they would try to go after the dogs. they were totally out of control. . made many arrests people flying airplanes. i do believe it is good for medical. i really believe that. my father joked and said he

could prescribe it when we were in california. i believe in it for medical purposes. if you're going to have it, you will have to have laws. should note that be driving vehicles flying an airplane and that really upsets me. host: let's go to dan from independence, oregon. dan supports decriminalization. caller: good morning. i do support legalization. a little history about myself. i started smoking in 1972. i went into the military in 1971. i was in until 1991. i have two national defense medal, desert storm metal, and -- medal, and quite a few more. i have spoke continuously. i also worked at the post office for 15 years as a letter carrier. they say you can do that and smoke marijuana?

no. i am proof you can. bye. host: ross from yorkville, california. good morning. caller: how are you doing? it would be interesting to see what dr. fauci thinks about using cannabis for covid symptoms. i suspect that people tried it that have symptoms, they would probably really help them a lot. that it wouldg is be interesting to see if c-span went back to 1936, the people that lobbied to bring these laws into fruition, how they actually benefited. people that was the are beginning to operate prisons and the attorneys that wanted to get these laws on the books so they could use that to make money. the other thing is that there is

a lot of southern states that benefit hugely from production r industrial usage. they can be used for clothing, paper, medicines. thateople against it know and they lobbied in a different direction. in my early 20's i probably angola prison in in louisiana for marijuana. fortunately we were able to stash some stuff and i did not get arrested. if i had been arrested in 1973, it probably would have cost a , by anotherate person's admission earlier, over $2 million. think about that. these are poor people that are taxpayers. all their money is going for something as dumb as this. the people that might be getting

-- ask dr. fauci what he thinks about that. jeffries, the house democratic caucus chair, came to the floor and explain his support for federal marijuana decriminalization. here is what he had to say. [video] >> the failed war on drugs began almost 50 years ago when richard nixon declared drug abuse public enemy number one. at the time they were less than 200,000 people incarcerated in america. today there are 2.3 million. disproportionately black and latino. many of those incarcerated over the years, in prison nonviolent drug offenses including possession of marijuana. the united states incarcerates more people than any other country in the world. families,ined lives,

and communities. it is a stain on our democracy. marijuana isn of done in equal if not greater numbers by white americans when compared to black americans. yet in community after community blacks and latinos make up approximately 75 percent to 80% of the arrests and prosecutions. how can that be? marijuana use is either socially acceptable behavior or it is criminal conduct. but it can't be socially acceptable behavior in some neighborhoods and criminal conduct in other neighborhoods when the dividing line is race. that is why we must pass the thee act and bring to life principles of liberty and justice for all. host: let's get a few more

calls. joey from las vegas, nevada. joey supports marijuana decriminalization. good morning. caller: a miracle drug to me. cheaper because they would be more competition. i have a bad back. we used to watch football in the casino. at halftime we would go to the car and smoke. one sunday i could not walk. i had to put my arm over his shoulder to walk to the car. we were listening to the radio waiting for the second have to start so we could go in. we were smoking and laughing. i jumped out of the car like i was 16 years old. i had no pain in my back. i didn't smoke pot into lead was 36 years old. i was in prison. you know who the first person who offered me a joint in prison? you saw him in the movies.

you saw the movie "goodfellas." host: go ahead, join. caller: you saw the movie "goodfellas?" the guy joe pesci played. his real name was tommy simone. i refused it. about three months later they said joey, you have to smoke pot. i said i don't need it. they said it makes your high enhanced. they talked me into it. they were right. host: linda kelling from staten island, new york. good morning -- calling from staten island, new york. have beenople i around smoking indoors, i don't know what they are smoking but it is not cannabis or marijuana. whatever they are smoking gives me a headache. it's either poison weed or poison ivy.

their behavior is kind of hostile. i want to ask the real marijuana smokers, isn't it supposed to relax you instead of causing a hostile behavior? in addition to that, cannabis is a plant. it should not be smoked as if it is a forest fire. it is an herb. i think we have to educate our children of the younger generation. there is a better way to ingest the medicine instead of smoking it and causing lung problems in the future. host: diane calling from tucker town, new jersey. diane supports legalization. caller: good morning, sir. i have to look at the racial component. the crime bill, the more people they arrest in the crime bill,

the more money the police received. this would make it a problem for people who already don't have lawyers and already downtrodden, for them to easily grab them for marijuana -- sorry, for cannabis or any other drugs because of the racial component. we know in this country african-americans and people of color do not make as much money as are other components in this country. so when this crime bill was put in place, it was put in place for a reason. this is why they want to decriminalize it. we have to look at the reasons the crime bill was put in place and washington think god is looking at it. the law was -- washington, thank god, is looking at it.

the law was put in place to hurt black and brown people. this was a wrong thing to do. it was a wrong thing to do to us as a people. how theee washington, republicans were fighting against it after they said they are filling up the jails with black people, why don't they open their eyes and see that is wrong? host: we would like to thank all of our caller for that great segments. atnext, dr. helen boucher tufts medical center will be here to discuss the u.s. coronavirus pandemic response and preparedness. later, st. john's university psychology professor elissa brown will be here to discuss the mental health impact of the coronavirus pandemic on children. we will be right back. ♪ >> president trump is

questioning the result and not conceded the election. atsunday night, we look back two of the most contentious presidential transitions in history. in 1861, between james buchanan and abraham lincoln. can 1933 between herbert hoover and frank than roosevelt with historians. states didsouthern not recognize the election of abraham lincoln as legitimate. they considered him a sectional president for the fact by lr to support came from non-slave states. no sooner had he been elected in south carolina makes good on its promise to proceed towards seceding from the union. >> hoover conceded the election. he had no choice given the resounding nature of the vote in they way it was recorded in the press. it was clear he lost the election but he never conceded the substance of the argument. he believed the new deal, has

roosevelt framed it during the campaign and working towards it after the election presented a fundamental threat to the american way of life. he devoted himself to preventing roosevelt from being able to enact it. >> contentious transitions, sunday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span's q&a. washington journal continues. host: we are back with dr. helen boucher, chief of the division of geographic medicines and infectious diseases at tufts medical center. she is here to talk about the u.s. coronavirus pandemic response and preparedness. dr. boucher, good morning. guest: thank you for having me. host: what have we learned about covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic? what do we know now we did not know last year? guest: in just 10 months we have

learned a great deal about this little virus that has wreaked havoc on society. it can be transmitted when people don't have symptoms. we learned how to prevent the transmission by doing the very hard work of masking up, maintaining distance, washing hands, avoiding crowds, staying home when sick. we have a couple of medicines that work for the virus. probably we have learned we can make a vaccine very quickly and hopefully we will see a vaccine authorized in the next couple of weeks and start to help people see the light at the end of the tunnel. host: that is what we have learned. what is still unknown about covid-19? what is it we still don't know about this disease? guest: there is a lot we don't know about the. nine months is not a long time to learn about a new disease. we need to learn about the long-term consequences. we need to learn how to best prevent it.

we believe the vaccine will be the answer to prevention but there is much to learn about optimal ways of prevention. we need to learn how to make sure it does not come back. host: you are working at tufts medical center. what is it -- what is the timetable you see for a vaccine actually making it to medical centers and the people who need it most right now? the front line workers dealing with this everyday. are we talking this month, january, spring? when do you see having a vaccine available for doctors to continue their work? guest: we hope we will see the vaccine before the end of the year. it's important to remember we will start vaccinating but it will take several months until we vaccinate enough people to immunity to allow us

to go back to life as we used to know what. that will probably be the middle of 2021. host: we have turned th -- heard the term herd immunity thrown around a lot. can you explain what that is and how it helps? is enoughd immunity people immunized in a population that the spread of the virus. . in our case we hope to vaccinate about 60% to 70% of the population so enough people will be immune and the virus will stop spreading. that is what we can go back to more normal life. they let me remind viewers can take part in this conversation. we will open up regional lines for the conversation about the coronavirus pandemic. if you are in the eastern or central time zones, your number is (202) 748-8000. if you are in the mountain and

pacific time zones, your number is (202) 748-8001. linell open up a special for medical professionals. you are the people on the front lines. we want to know what you are seeing out there right now. medical professionals, your line is (202) 748-8002. you can always text us at (202) 748-8003. we are always reading on social media, on twitter and on facebook. , what are you seeing in boston right now as opposed to what was called the first wave? when it comes to hospitals, we are seeing more states talking about icu's being filled. what are you seeing right now in boston? guest: sadly we are seeing a

surge like the rest of the country and we are all in a red zone. we are seeing the predominance of infections in younger people. we are seeing more people coming to the hospital and being treated on the floor as opposed to the icu. about 35% of where we were in the spring in terms of total hospital admissions. more like 20% in the icu. we are bracing ourselves because we fear we are going to see more in the wake of thanksgiving. we hope people will all work together to double down on the mitigation measures to prevent the spread as much as possible. host: you say you are seeing younger people show up in hospitals? is that different from what you saw before? when you say younger people, are childreng 25 to 40 or 18 and under? guest: we are seeing infections

in younger people. the group that comes to the hospital is still older. we see people more in their 60's coming to the hospital in their 80's when they pass away from the virus. that is in line with what we saw on the spring. we are seeing very little disease in children. the schools continue to do quite well. that is very encouraging and important for childrens development and mental health. host: let's go to the phone lines. linda is coming from cromwell, connecticut. good morning. caller: hi. i have a question. if someone had a reaction, talking beret -- myelitis or a natural infection like lyme disease or even a rabies vaccine or another vaccine, not the flu vaccine, is this dangerous to be

thinking about taking the covid vaccine? when i mentioned this to my regular physician he said he can't have a flu vaccine. i do think he understood the whole story. he just heard transfers myelitis and said you can't have that. outn't know if the jury is or if nobody really knows. i have been trying to get this question asked a lot. i have not been able to. i will hang up now and listen to your answer. thank you. guest: that's a very interesting question. it brings us back to the fact we are still very early in learning about these vaccines. all we have seen so far is press release data. this week's data will be released on december 8 in advance of the fda advisory meeting on december 10. let's stay tuned for the data to see what they show and the cdc's

will make -- the cdc will make recommendations about he was eligible. is important to work with your doctor for recommendations for your particular care. host: dr. boucher, we heard from the cdc and a lot of doctors earlier about the fact we should not socially gather for thanksgiving. that people should keep their distance. they should wear masks. if they could at all possible stay away from their elderly parents and not gather in groups. are we already seeing cases showing up in hospitals from people gathering over thanksgiving? are those cases still in the pipeline and we have not seen that yet? guest: i'm afraid we may be seeing only the tip of the iceberg from the impact of thanksgiving. it is more like two to four weeks after thanksgiving we will

see the full impact in the hospitals. that is why we are bracing ourselves. we are afraid it will be closer to christmas before we see the impact of the travel and socialization that occurred over thanks giving. -- thanksgiving. host: when you tell people they can safely gather and travel for christmas this year? would you go back to the things said by the cdc for thanksgiving? don't travel. social distance. wear a mask. guest: i would say the best gift you can give your family for hanukkah and christmas is to not and save the socialization until we are out of the woods sometime next year. we need to double down even more than ever. we have parts of our country for the hospitals are being overwhelmed trying to care for covid patients. that is the last thing we want to happen. we know when that happens the patients are more likely to die

because they cannot get the care they need. very important to make that sacrifice and double down on the mitigation metrics that work. host: dr. boucher, we have a question from a social media follower. they want to ask about the quality of masks people should be using. "why is the government and mainstream media pushing 10 sent masks instead of pushing social distance as number one, and then -100 mask if we approach people?" what kind of masks should we be looking for? there is ao know difference in the quality of masks. the data suggests wearing a mask protects both you and me. kindng a mask of any is the most important thing. ist said, a surgical mask

more effective than a cloth mask. if you have access and availability of something like a surgical mask, that's great. masks we wear in the hospital when caring for patients. those really are uncomfortable and difficult to work correctly. we recommend saving those for people in the health care environment. they are expensive. important to where the best -- wear the best mask you can get. we have data showing cloth masks are effective, in addition to other mitigation measures. thinkyou said something i maybe a bit of a change from what the advice was earlier. you said wearing a mask protects other people and yourself. earlier in the year, we were told masks are best to protect other people.

are you saying masks also now will protect the person actually wearing it? guest: we have emerging evidence that wearing a mask will protect ourselves in the exposure we would get if we had one would be less. that would potentially lead to less disease. we have had a number of studies suggesting there is protection for ourselves wearing a mask. we have no there is a lot of protection for others -- we have known there is a lot of protection for others. host: alen from hawaii. -- alan from hawaii. caller: it's interesting. the last thing you mentioned was not what i was going to bring up initially. getve been asking c-span to dr. monica gandhi on about her paper that you discussed about

viral inoculum and efficacy of masks and preventing high dosages, which is the effect of protecting the wearer of the mask. i wanted to discuss michael mina. i have seen his name on interviews with you. regarding the importance of using large-scale antigen test. until vaccines are completely up limited, to actually mitigate contagiousness. even antigen tests, though they are thousands of times less sensitive than pcr, the nitrocellulose strips can be , tens or dozens per month. they could take them twice a week, screened themselves, and have the confirmatory test if they do test positive. used tot would be basically help people

self-determined they may need to go to a doctor and verify. therefore out of the transmission cycle. can you discussed that a little bit if you would? they don't have -- they have not had dr. mina on yet and they need someone like you to explain it the public forum. ofst: i'm a big fan of both them. antigen testing continues to evolve. so far it has not been quite ready for prime time but we are testing them. the idea is that a less sensitive test still may be sensitive enough to tell if you are infectious and dangerous to be around others. if we could take it at home every day, that could help us protect ourselves, our family and others. i think we will see this and it will add another layer of

protection to the mitigation measures we were discussing until we have heard immunity -- herd immunity. i will mention tests represent a point in time. wewe are negative today, could be incubating and become positive tomorrow or the next day. . important to remember the other mitigation measures are vitally important in addition to testing. host: you were talking about herd immunity. we have another question from a social media follower. show theeports threshold for herd immunity may be much higher than previously supposed. the penalty for not reaching that higher threshold are catastrophic fatality numbers. can you comment on this?"

what is the threshold? guest: it's an important point we don't know. we are basing estimates at 60% to 70% they sent other viruses. we will not know until we have more data. the consequences are catastrophic. we have seen 3000 deaths a day. that is more than 9/11 a day in our country. gary important -- very important we do what we can to reach the threshold we need to reach. one thing encouraging his we have seen preliminary estimates of efficacy with the vaccine of 5%. this will be helpful to getting us to herd immunity faster. host: we have now seen at least three companies say they have a vaccine in the pipeline, ready for usage sometime in the near future. is there a preferred vaccine

over people get a choice of which vaccine they get to take? guest: so far we have no vaccine . we might have won by the end of next week. our advice is that you should accept the vaccine offered. no vaccine will be offered until proven safe and effective by the d by their advisory committees. that's also happening at the state levels. peer review. our advice is to accept the vaccine when offered to you. that will be the best thing available at the time. we are in the middle of an epidemic with urgent need. host: let's go back to the phone and talk to beulah from clarksville, tennessee. caller: good morning. you said what i was going to ask. , is itmical structure

the same? one in place. are there brand names and generics? is anyone looking at how the polio vaccine was given to crowds? i remember taking the shot and taking that little sugar cube at school. question.g that at the end is the possibility hospitals that are using some of the situations where the nurses send people to the pit, and then they don't come out. ken they have criminal liability? -- ken they have criminal liability? -- can they have criminal liability? guest: the vaccines closest to

-- attack despite protein of the virus. we have two based on mrna technology. they are getting the genetic thatto get the protein would cause us to produce antibodies when exposed to the virus. the pfizer, during a vaccine are similar in the way they are developed -- and modernity vaccine areoderna similar in the way they are developed. we will see how the data bears out. your question about vaccination. so far the government's plan is to ship the vaccine to hospitals and other -- to the state who will ship them the hospitals and other regions in the state to vaccinate. the first recommended group are health-care workers and people living in long-term care facilities like nursing homes.

it will be sometime before we get to things like schools but i would not be surprised if there are campaigns to focus on schoolchildren ultimately. i remember polio as well. your last question has to do with the notion of whether vaccinations will be mandatory or there will be a consequence for health-care workers not getting vaccinated. so far the plan is vaccination will be voluntary. we very much hope everyone for want to get the vaccine. host: speaking of rolling out the vaccine, you mentioned this earlier. the plan would be for first responders and hospitals, doctors and nurses to be the first in line. then people in nursing homes, which is in extreme people have a population. it was next in line after those major populations? how many people need to get a vaccine before herd immunity works?

500,000, one million? do we know the number? guest: the first group is health-care workers. that includes everyone who is a health care worker. the people who make the food in the hospitals, who take care of the environment. it is quite a large group. then the nursing home patients and workers. after that comes vulnerable patients, people over 65, obesity, heart disease and other conditions that put them at risk. that is almost half the u.s. population. it will take a while to get through all that group and then we get into the rest of the groups. to come back to the second part of your question about how many people it will take, we have to get to about 70% of the population either vaccinated or having had the infection to get the herd immunity. we think about 10% of the five mission has had the action. -- of the population has had the

infection. we will have to see how things bear out. host: another question about the type of masks people should be wearing from one of our social media followers. follower wantsia to know the difference between n masks.kn95 the difference between them has to do with the regulation and the authority given to the amount of filtering done by the mask. standard. highest kn95 is typically manufactured in a different part of the world, although we are making some now in the united states. they are less effective than an n95. in many cases more effective

than a surgical mask. there is a gradation. it would go something like n95.cal mask, kn95, host: the n95 to give you more protection? guest: correct. it is certified to get more production. -- give more protection. bandanas andd that single-plyhe other masks were better than nothing but they weren't really effective. which should the ordinary person who has to buy a mask out of the store be looking for in an effective mask to wear? guest: great question. two ply fabric mask is standard. some of the two ply masks have a filter apparatus in between.

in general the two ply fabric masks, cotton, nylon, or other fabric is more effective than a single layer gator or bandana. from let's talk to teresa hurst, texas. caller: good morning to both of you. i appreciate you being on c-span. -- i have heard of the telephone listening. i work for a school district. last week, the nurse at the district, that the school where i'm working has the covid. we have about 400 students. mighty, the teachers and everybody working at the school are not doing our job because we don't have this work on campus because a lot of people are not coming. they are using their time, which is understandable. we had to first grade classrooms

that were on the -- before the week of thanksgiving and two fourth grade classrooms that have the covid. i goingion is how was to make it better for the school districts going everyday, putting our life on the line, but nobody is there to give us testing on campus? -- most parents know to get the children motrin or tylenol before they come to campus because that is how you stop a fever. that is all you're doing, is checking temperature. what are they going to do to make it better for teachers and help working on campus to teach the children when really we don't know if they have it or if everybody in the whole building hasn't?

-- has it? guest: thank you for what you are doing. teachers are frontline workers in this epidemic. very, very important to keeping our kids safe and educated and developing. it's important to remember the virus is transmitted even before people have symptoms. we have to act as if anybody we encounter could be infectious. that is why wearing the mask all the time at school, keeping physical distance, maintaining three to six feet of distance at all times, washing your hands frequently and not coming to school when sick, those of the important things that will keep you safe and all teachers safe. setting up the classroom so there is a good circle of distance around the teacher and working to maintain that, that's the best way to keep you and everybody safe. host: bill is calling from new

jersey. bill is a medical professional. doctor.good morning, i'm a retired nurse. i'm 67 years old. i'm also an emt. i volunteer on our local first-aid school in town. since the coronavirus hit i stopped participating because of my age. although the units are taking precautions as far as masks and sanitizing vehicles and so on , my chief asked me if i would start participating again. i was hesitant. now i will not participate anymore. with the vaccine coming out would you consider it safer me

to start participating again? guest: that's a really good question and it's wonderful you are considering participating again. our advice is not to change behavior after being vaccinated until we get to a place of herd immunity. 94% effective is not 100% effective. you should base your decision on i think you should base your decision on that data. as things change, the cdc and your local health department will make other recommendations. but for now, the same measures are in play. i don't think you should consider yourself not at risk just because you have been vaccinated. host: dr. boucher, i want to read you a paragraph from the "new york" magazine report and then ask a question from one of our social media followers. no serious safety concerns were

revealed in the three vaccines' testing trials according to the companies that made them. although no vaccine has ever been developed this fast and the safety data has not been released in full, there does not seem to be much concern about them among vaccine experts. one of our social media followers wants to know, what is the legal remedy for people that may be harmed by the approved vaccines? is there any legal recourse if you take the vaccine and suffer some harm? guest: a couple of things packed in there. first and foremost, the impression from the data we have seen is that the vaccine appear not to be associated with any significant safety effects. we know some people get mild effects after the second dose. we will learn more about that this week. we also have to acknowledge that it is relatively early and these

vaccines were developed in the face of an epidemic. we will have two months safety data for the vaccines. we know that most serious incidents after a vaccine happen within two weeks. that window will provide us good information about safety. that said, nothing is risk-free. we have 3000 people dying a day. that is the equation we are looking at with the vaccines. it is important to know the cdc has a very aggressive plan for monitoring adverse effects and you will hear more about that on december 10 at the fda advisory discussion and the day after from the cdc. i would say stay tuned for how the adverse effects will be monitored and for the kind of support offered. host: let's go to rose calling from westfield, new jersey. good morning. caller: good morning. i have two questions for the doctor. on page six of today's "new york

had a they said moderna test group of 34 healthy adults and they were shown to have immunity for 90 days. but they don't make clear whether they have any immunity after 90 days. and also, the company is going to be charging $25 to $37 a shot. i wonder how good of a product this is. the second thing is i would like her to comment on the person to replace dr. birx. his name is jeff simpson. he is with barack's national economic council. he is not a doctor or health official. i would like her to comment on that. thank you. guest: the data under duration of immunity, how long you are protected after the vaccine, is something we are still learning about. you cite one study that has come out. another study shows the immunity lasts longer.

we will have to learn more about this. that is how the science is evolving. much more to come on the duration of immunity. but there was a study this week that suggested immunity might last well over a year. there is some hope there, but we will keep an open mind. in terms of charging, part of operation warp speed was the government and our taxpayer dollars went to manufacturing all of this vaccine, so it is going to be free of charge for the foreseeable future. that is good news on the payment front. lastly on the obama transition plan, the covid task force is an incredible group of individuals who have been assembled, all of whom have public health and infectious disease expertise. so, we are in very good hands there. i think incoming president biden is maybe structuring some of his other teams a little bit differently. but from the health standpoint,

he has a really class a list of people who will manage the covid pandemic for us. have whatboucher, we might seem to be a basic question for you, but i'm interested in the answer as well. one of our social media followers wants to know, is it permissible to jerk my mask down when i sneeze? i saw someone do that the other day and got worried i was doing something wrong. i have seen people do that as well. they have to cough or sneeze, they pulled her mask down and pull it back up after they finish. should they be doing that? >> guest: ideally, we would not do that. we want to cover the cough or sneeze with the mask. try to avoid doing that. especially try to avoid getting your hands near it because that is how things are transmitted. if you do that, wash your hands carefully.

hopefully, you are not near anybody when you call the mask down. host: let's go to rick calling from idaho. good morning. caller: i am a retired marine. november 17, the weather appears between 19 and 29 degrees as i speak, but it is very wet. 21st, the new team released a notice that they will be 100 citizens in idaho that take a test coming up positive. in texas at 60 degrees, they have a dry cold, for every 100, there are only 30 people coming up positive. my question is, does covid have a direct relationships to moisture in the air? moisture is water. does covid attach itself to moist air? and seeexpand the idea

what the moisture content is in each state and see if we can track or trace covid that way? common sense says you don't need a stay-at-home order when it is 29 degrees. we naturally stay indoors. it is an honest question. it is an idea. i appreciate everything you're doing. god bless president trump with work -- warp speed and c-span. i will hang up and wait for your response. tor.k you, doco guest: we are still learning a lot about the covid virus. what we know so far as it likes cold, dry air. there are a lot of studies looking at this. we have a lot of experience with other coronaviruses. the common cold is a coronavirus. most of us get three or four a year. the transmission we have been

seeing, sadly, is related to people getting close to each other and the virus making its .ay to mucous membranes the nose and the mouth of the main places. it is sharing air indoors with others that seems to be the biggest risk factor. in our state, all of our contact tracing is showing a disproportionate amount of transmission in that way. people getting together indoors letting their guard down. much to learn. great ideas. i think we will learn more about specifics. host: here is another question from a social media follower. given all the knowledge of medical professionals, why were we caught off guard and so underprepared for this pandemic? there was a lot of fear and panic early on. will we be better prepared next time? guest: this is a really important message and one of the things i thought about with your opening question on what have we

learned. we have learned the importance of being prepared for a pandemic. we were not adequately prepared for this pandemic. that means to have the systems in place around the world to know what is happening with viruses and bacteria and to know early when something pops up, when the virus moves from animals to humans for example. it means having a health care system that allows care of all people with the disease of the epidemic as well as with chronic conditions. it means being prepared for the endemic -- pandemics with us now. antibiotic resistance is even worse now. it means having local capacity to care for people in isolation. finally, it means having a communication strategy, to get your comments about panic. we need a national communication

strategy with clear, consistent, and credible so that people will believe what they are hearing. let's talk to susan calling from revere, massachusetts. good morning. caller: good morning. i'm am a longtime tufts patient, a big fan of their institution. anyway. . have a question i know several people in the hospital with covid, some at the point maybe a potential death about to be intubated. a colleague just lost his grandfather on monday. i have a question. when any progression of the covid illness is it most optimum to receive plasma derived therapy with the covid antibodies? when cannot be interjected into a person's care to keep them from going to that dire state

where they are facing death? how does that work? at what point will your medical person ifals say this they get a plasma derived therapy now, it could save their life? as a layperson, i would love to know when in the course of the illness that is most optimum. guest: first, let me say i'm sorry for your friend and everybody going through this terrible illness. our knowledge about antibodies is evolving. now we have two monoclonal antibodies authorized for use in treating covid. the plan is to use them early in the disease. we are using them outside the hospital. people who are sick but not sick enough to be in the hospital, so it is really catching early. it is a one-infusion therapy. getting that in time to hopefully cut off the bad effects of covid that would make

you sick enough to come to the hospital. these were authorized about 10 days ago. we received them in massachusetts. i think hospitals will have them in the next week, so we will be able to start administering the antibodies. we will be administering them at tufts as early as next week. so, that is some hope. host: another social media follower with a question about how you count the deaths of people who died from covid-19. my daughter is a nurse practitioner who works with hospice patients in nursing homes. this means they are deemed by doctors to die within six months. while all deaths are terrible, those who are terminal who contracted covid and died would have died anyway within those six months. are they considered covid deaths? guest: the way we categorize and count deaths in the united states is by death certificate. when someone passes away, the

doctor who cared for them attests to the causes of death. covid, thaties of is only death certificate. that data is sent to the cdc who reports the data we have seen. we know the numbers of deaths we see reported everyday are underestimates because there are people who die at home of covid who never made it to the hospital to get a diagnosis. we know we have an underestimate. when covid is only death certificate, we know the patient had covid. to the question about the impact, that is a much broader discussion and probably the subject of further study. host: let's talk to steve calling from clarksville. good morning. and have am a veteran had biological and chemical

warfare training. ratings ares, the quite deceiving. rating is only for a certain amount of time for particles. it is not certified for any biological source to protect you from. maybe for a short time. i have been wearing the same n95 mask since i found out about has been around military community quickly back in january. i have a question about the vaccine. they are talking about dna, altering it. i would like more information on that. studies are short to find out long-term ramifications on that. i heard another call talk about vaccine liability.

in 1986, congress passed a law that prohibits any lawsuits for vaccinations. one final thing. i thinkpkins university in 2017 put out that over 400,000 people a year die due to medical error. now, i am in risk management as an insurance adjuster. the death rates are usually more for people with pre-existing additions and above the age of 74. i find this a bit oppressive on our freedoms and rights. i think i speak for a lot of people in the military community as a fellow veteran. host: go ahead and respond, dr. boucher. guest: thank you for your comments. expertn95, i am not an

on the ratings. i know from a health care perspective, the n95 is the safest mass we can use and that it works. we have not seen exposure to our health care workers caring for covid patients for 10 months while wearing n95's, so that is good. on the vaccine front, the data that will be reviewed this week is looking at safety for two months after vaccination and all of the patients in the trials. we know most adverse events with vaccines happen within a few weeks, so that two months will give us a good safety window for review in the setting of a pandemic. that will be the subject this coming thursday. as to the cost in terms of what we have all had to endure and will have to endure during this dark winter to combat this virus and save as many lives as we can, i hear you. it is a great cost to all of us, to our physical, mental, and

emotional health. i am very grateful there is a light at the end of the tunnel. but know that we have eight to 12 weeks of very hard-working front of us. to claude. go can you get one quick question in before we have to let the doctor go? caller: thank you for taking my call. i am wondering why they are toes -- always talking about the masks. i am sure it does a lot of good. this is an airborne disease. why don't they ever talk about covering up your hair? that is the biggest air filter in the world. you see the doctors and nurses sitting around flipping their hair and flipping that disease all over and filling the air with it. i am just wondering why that is never mentioned. guest: such a great question. the place of infection is the

mouth, the nose, and the eyes. covering those things is the most important to prevent infection. that is why we focus our efforts on the mask. host: glad to know that hair is not a problem because i would have a problem. we would like to thank dr. helen boucher of tufts medical center for being with us today and talking us through the coronavirus pandemic and the emergency response. dr. boucher, thank you so much for your help. guest: thanks for having me. host: next, psychology professor elissa brown joins us to discuss the mental health impacts the coronavirus pandemic is having on our children. stick around. we will be right back. book tv has taught nonfiction books and authors every weekend.

coveraget 8:15 easter, of the national book awards. sunday come alive, at noon eastern, a conversation with the author and chair of african americans studies at princeton university. he is the author of several books. >> here we are in this moment, after electing the first black president in 2008, the country responded by voter suppression laws, the tea party, and then we elected donald trump. we are at a crossroads. who are we going to be? at the heart of it all has always been this moral question, who do we take ourselves to be? >> join the conversation with your calls, tweets, texts, and facebook messages. at 9:00 eastern, national review

correspondent kevin williamson in his book on the politics in everyday lives of white working class americans in appalachia. tv on c-span2 this weekend. >> "washington journal" continues. host: we are back with st. john's university psychology professor elisabeth, -- elissa brown, who is to talk to us about the mental health impact the coronavirus pandemic is having on children. professor brown, good morning. what of all, tell us disaster mental health is and then tell us how that is related to what is going on with our children during the coronavirus pandemic. guest: disaster mental health is an area of trauma work in mental health, psychology,

social work, psychiatry, where we focus on the emotional and behavioral sponsors of children and adults from what could be a sudden or unpredictable human made disaster or natural disaster. obviously, that is very much what we are dealing with right now. i do want to highlight that there is a difference between the normal work we draw from in terms of hurricanes and earthquakes and those kinds of disasters and covid-19. covid-19 husband this chronic event. everything about it feels unpredictable. the experience itself, how long it will last, what the aftermath will be. it has impacted the entire world for the first time. it has really affected everyone with devastation that is higher for certain subgroups. i wanted to talk about that

today. the threat of death is pervasive. people are quarantining, which removes that social connection that children need so badly. and other sources of support have been disrupted, obviously. large consequences, lots of media coverage, and the stigma and racism. ,hat we are seeing in children as we see before when trauma isikes or disaster strikes, not being able to pick what is happening and not feeling like they have a lot of choices. that is resulting in a lot of fighting and depression. children, this has been like a slow-motion disaster. when it first started, they were only supposed to be out of school for a couple of days.

that became's weeks, and now it is almost permanently for everybody. social did not really happen until it finally happened -- socially distancing did not really happen until it finally happened. now we have kids who have been sitting in front of screens and have not had the socialization they would have had in a normal year. how has all of that made things different in terms of mental health for children right now? guest: i am going to give you what i think is knowledge we have right now, but i also want to acknowledge there is not nearly enough work going on to try to understand the impact on children. there have been some wonderful studies looking at adults. there was a great cdc study that compared the rates of anxiety , in theession in adults spring of 2019 versus the spring of 2020.

what they found is that the percentage of adults who had anxiety in 2019 was about 8%. and the percentage with adults with a symptom of depression was 6.5%. in 2020, that jumped up. 25% of adults are experiencing a symptom of anxiety. 24% experiencing a symptom of depression. i think those rates are probably similar for children, but we don't have enough of an understanding of that. we are doing a study right now in queens to look at kids' mental health responses to covid and other things they are dealing with, including the black lives matter movement and interpersonal violence that goes on for families around new york city. we have found 20% of children in queens are experiencing post-traumatic stress right now.

24% are reporting significant symptoms of depression. of kids,e seeing 1/3 parents are reporting serious behavior problems in those kids. your question is, how is that happening and what we can do about it? the social connections that kids have typically are so important, not only to their general but they protect kids from developing mental health problems after a disaster or any crisis. i think that speaks to what you are saying. the lack of connection in the traditional ways is having an impact. host: you just brought it up. i was just going to ask you about it. you have been doing a survey of children and parents in queens, which is a borough of new york. can you tell us what you found in your survey so far?

guest: what we are seeing is the majority of children, almost all of them, have had some impact of covid. that means having traditional schooling, not being able to see their friends the way they normally would, not being able to engage in extracurricular activities the way they normally would. and then, there is a significant subset of new york city children who have additional stressors related to parents not being at work and theng to kids being worried about it. we have a significant subset of kids where the family is concerned about finances, and the children know it. one other thing i want to mention that is really important because in the context of disaster mental health, we can forget about bereavement which

is such a critical issue here. in a typical year in new york city, about 5% of children have a significant person die. in the data we have collected 17% of the children reported that someone significant had died. host: that was going to be my next question. what is the biggest concern that you have seen in your data that you have collected? i would say that is a pretty big concern you just brought up. guest: it is a very big concern. challenges, and dr. goodman and i did a project years ago to understand what services were available to children to process their grief after a significant death, and we found a real problem with the amount of services available.

2020, where before a lot of finances are going to making sure people are physically healthy. mental health services are down. we have a dire need for them, especially for the 17% of children who really need that extra care. it is so important. host: let me take a second to remind our viewers that they can take part in this conversation. we are going to open up special lines. our first line is going to be for parents. parents are concerned about what we are seeing in our children in this unprecedented year. that is your number. the other group we know have been dealing with children this year are educators, teachers, mental health professionals, who have been taking care of our children during the daytime

weather virtually or in person. i want to see what you have seen in the mental health of your students. educators, this is your number. if you don't fit into either one of those categories, we still have a number for you as well. the number for everyone else. keep in mind you can noise text us. and we are always reading on social media on twitter and facebook. have aor brown, i 13-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old son. how can i tell the difference between normal teenage moodiness and depression setting in on your children? we spend a lot of time with our children because of the pandemic. but how can parents tell whether this is something they need extra help on or if this is something normal from being stuck in the house? guest: a really important

question. i am going to give the best advice i can. right now, it is really hard. it is not as if parents are not dealing with their own struggles in their own struggles in their relationship with the child and the child's independent functioning. those are three different things but also connected right now. one message i really want to get across is good enough parenting is good enough in my opinion in 2020. we are all doing our best. we are all trying to do right by ourselves and our children. i think there's a lot of judgment i am hearing from parents in my private practice, in my life out in the world. i really want to emphasize how important it is to accept the reality of where we are as parents and go easy on ourselves. that said, you are asking a very

important question. what we know about teenagers is that they do get moody. they have mood swings. they want our attention when they want it. they don't want it when they don't want it. there really is in ebb and flow to that, even though it does not seem logical to any parent necessarily living with a teenager. what we see was a depressed kid is that all of that is much more pervasive. even when they are with their friends, they are still withdrawn and sad. sometimes, you cannot even get them to be with their friends when they are depressed. they do not want to participate in activities they used to enjoy. it goes to that more extreme place where it does not feel like the unpredictable moodiness. it is much more pervasive and has a much bigger impact on the areas of life where children are expected to succeed, whether

that is school, friendships, family relationships, whatever it might be. then at the extreme end, we have to be really careful about children who are so distressed that they start hurting themselves in some way or they are thinking about ending their lives. that is a much more extreme part of being depressed, as opposed to being a typical teenager. host: let's let some of our viewers take part in this conversation. we will start with angelica calling from florida. angelica is a parent. good morning. caller: good morning. i was going to ask. i am a grandparent, actually. i have my grandson. he is 10. i got him four years ago when my daughter -- am i on? host: we lost you for a second, but go ahead. caller: my name is angelica.

i am raising my 10-year-old grandson. my daughter died a pretty brutal death a few years back. him, two years after i got we were doing pretty good. we could see the sunshine still. the birds were still singing. i was so proud of us. then i got sick out of nowhere. i have a heart aneurysm, and i lost my ability to walk. but we still tried. then comes covid. host: go ahead, angelica. caller: trapped in the house with a cripple, literally, maybe that is not the proper word anymore, but that is the way i feel. and we were not able to get out and see all the things and do all the things. he is finally back in school, but he seems to be having a harder time adjusting. i just want people to know that

it is not as easy as just covid for all of us and getting kids back to school. it is the social. it is so hard. i don't have any family anymore. it is he and i. i really don't know if there is something else i can do maybe. i can't get out in the yard and play ball with him anymore, you know. sometimes, i feel like with everything we have been through, the last thing we needed was this covid, but here we are. host: go ahead. guest: let me start by saying you sound an incredible person with much love for your grandson. he is so lucky to have you. i have to acknowledge what you have said because we are seeing it with our kids, ttoo. covid has been so hard on so many families.

it is just another layer to problems people were experiencing prior. i do think you could use some support and resources. if there is somebody at the school who could help you get /bigected to a big brother sister program or other kinds of programs, i don't know if you are connected to a religious organization, but right now, we cannot do it ourselves as single parents. it is just too much. i think accessing other resources and getting that connectedness that jesse highlighted earlier is so important. host: let's talk to lynn calling from washington, d.c. lynn is also a parent. caller: i am a parent. i have a teenager and middle school are. for my teenager, there has been great concern because he has not seen a single classmate since march when school was dismissed.

popularery social, very . i was very social at his age. i am definitely concerned it is weighing on him far more than he realizes, and he is concerned about going outside because of covid. i think that is far more trying on children's mental health than they realize. they are watching social media. they are fearful of going out. i do have a concern as a parent for those reasons because they are at an age when they are seeing more social media than a parent who is saying let's go because theycise are old enough to see the numbers are going up and they say i need to stay in, even though the risks for people in that age group are not as great.

and gaining the weight that comes from staying inside is probably more damaging and detrimental than getting outside with face coverings. guest: you highlighted three really important points. one is this role of exercise. if we are going to try to fight depression, and again, this is as much for the parents as for the children, and you are absolutely right. for teenagers, it is so important. there are very clear studies showing exercise is a wonderful intervention against oppression. it has to be done in a way that is safe. whether you are doing jumping jacks in your living room or going out to take a walk with your mask and keeping the six-foot distance, the exercise is key for everyone. everything i talk about has to be done in this new, flexible way. we are not going to the gym. we are not getting on the field. it is a different way of doing

exercise. the second point you made is the social connections. that has come up now two or three times in this interview because everyone knows how important it is. we have to think about flexibility in our definition of socialization. one of the things i think in 2020 is the hardest for a parent is managing a teenager's technology. ofget into this rigid view you can have your phone or you can't. there are things in technology that are more social and healthy and connecting. facetime, certain video games i know teenaged boys and girls engender non-binary pay to -- play together in a very social

way that has been shown to be quite healthy. using your phone to look at social media is not always so healthy. that is the thing that has to be limited. that is what makes the kids feel like they are missing out. that is what exposes a child to this dramatic media. this is my third point. media exposure has been associated to be shown with stress, anxiety, and depression. it is hard. we are home. we want to know what is going on. parents and children, it has to be minimized, how much exposure we are getting to the information about covid and the other crises going on right now. think about limiting media yourure, being flexible in definition of social interaction, and then exercise anyway that you can. i want toessor brown,

point out this survey and then ask you a question. the nationwide children's hospital did a survey of parents. they said 66% of parents are worried that their children's mental health will suffer as the pandemic continues. and 57% say they are running out of ways to keep their kids positive. at what point does the social distancing and isolation do more harm than good to our children? guest: jesse, i think that is the question and one i have been struggling with since march. we have to balance three things. we have a physical health issue that is primary and critical. we have an economic issue, which is not my area of expertise but i am aware enough of the importance of keeping businesses and the impact they recession has on the mental health health of adults and children. and then, we have the mental

health impact of covid. i really believe since march, we are struggling to balance all three of those simultaneously. i think we prioritize the physical health. i totally understand that. i do think the mental health stuff has gotten lost. i do appreciate what all of those parents are saying, that they are worried about the children. i think one of the things we whatto remember is that makes a traumatic event, a disaster, what makes it traumatic is two things really. it is the lack of control that we have and the lack of predictability that we have. so, information being given to us that is clear and accurate is so important. just the communication piece is so important. you had on earlier

would say the same thing. communication is key. predictability is also incredibly helpful in building our resilience so that we know that the immunization, the vaccine, is coming. and we have a sense of how that is going to unfold. that is going to help to get adults and children settled down a bit. we know children are so impacted by how their parents are functioning. to do well.at times at times, we fake it so our kids feel we are ok. i think the acceptance has to be there, although it is so hard. and promoting gratitude. there is a lot of research telling us how important gratitude is inviting anxiety and depression. we don't have to be thankful every moment of every day. that is just not a reasonable expectation right now.

but every day to sort of take a moment as a family and talk about what you do have, what you are thankful for, that actually does make a difference in protecting against depression and anxiety. host: let's talk to karen calling from youngstown, ohio. good morning. caller: good morning. hello? host: go ahead, karen. caller: she just said so many things i would like to agree with and say that they are all so important. the grandmother raising her so much of there is that out there right now. there are many families that look like that where grandparents have stepped in. but all families and parents, you need to get help and support for yourself, too, if you are a caregiver, if you are a parent. make sure you are taking breaks

and getting help and support. ask someone in the family to take over for you. make sure if you go to a drive-thru, sit and drink a cup of hot chocolate. take a break for 20 minutes, a half-hour. take a break just to let go of your stressors for a short time and say i am not going to think about it for 15 minutes. i'm going to try to have some more centered thoughts. i'm going to look outside. the few can't go outside, you can still look outside. notice the color of the sky. notice something that is pleasurable to your five senses. kids, if they can get outside and play right now, it is more important than it ever was. a lot of the kids i work with are really getting burned out on technology and using and playing

video games and always looking at a blue screen. too much of that has a negative effect on the brain. get affect sleep -- it affects sleep. we know a little bit about that. i would like to add those couple of suggestions. also, if you're dealing with teenagers, remind them this is a short period in their life. it will not be forever. host: go ahead and respond. guest: i agree. i am sorry, jesse. i was listening. it is great to learn from someone else as well. i think the highlighting of what is called mindfulness is really wonderful because we can get so overwhelmed by the thoughts and feelings we are having. what she describes is taking a moment, taking out a piece of candy, and just for a minute, literally a minute, describing the sound of the wrapper, smelling the candy and

describing to yourself what it smells like, what it tastes like, really grounding yourself in one moment can stop the spinning going on and a lot of our minds right now. host: i want to talk about the opening and closing of the schools for children. earlier this week, dr. redfield at the chamber of commerce talked about the damage school closures have done to children and the most vulnerable. i want you to hear what he said. [video clip] >> i think one of the greatest tragedies early on was when , was the social disadvantaged individuals or the individuals in workforces that did not have the luxury to telework because they were in some service industry. these mothers, single mothers, how they had to deal with it is they had their kids go stay

with their mothers, which is the opposite of what i want to do protecting the vulnerable. i do not want to see asymptomatic children go stay with grandma who might have diabetes. is that at point least we have the data now. applaud thet to teachers who took a chance on the public advice given knowing that we would be monitoring this very carefully. also, the parents that had the courage to take the risk. in the absence of data, it was all opinion. but that is what i am saying now. that is what i said in the new york situation. look at your data. i'm glad to see they are

reconsidering opening at least the elementary schools. the truth is we have enough data now to show elementary schools are not a source of transmission. i think when the careful studies are done, you will see kids in virtual learning probably have a higher infection rate than kids that do face-to-face learning. you, havent to ask you done any study of the impacts of school closings on children? and if so, what did you find? thesecond part of this is impact of using virtual school for children. so, the studies on the mental health side are not out yet, jesse. we are just beginning to understand what is going on there.

we ask some questions in our study. but the majority of new york city kids have not been in school much since march, so i do not know that we will have wide enough variability to look at the impact of being in school versus not. my team at st. john's university is dedicated not just to studying these kids and understanding what is happening, but we provide services as well. in our clinical work, every week, i do supervision with my team of therapists who are doing grief counseling groups. they are doing individual therapy with parents and children. every week, i ask them, what is going on with school? what is the impact on the child? what are we learning? how can we support them? i will say this one group i am particularly concerned about is the kindergarten through second or third grade group. these are kids who should never be asked to sit all day whether

in a classroom or at a screen. that is not what you do with that age group. they are allowed to move. they are allowed to engage. they need to learn with their hands, not just with their eyes and ears. there are many communities in new york city where i live who have decided the kindergarten through second grade group is the one group that goes to school every day because educators are trying their best and recognize that group in particular could lose some learning if they are asked to sit in front of a computer. host: how important do you think it is to get children back into school now, even before the mass vaccinations take place? guest: i think there has been some interesting messaging of prioritizing schools over businesses. i know people feel strongly about both sides. i can appreciate it.

if i can speak for just 30 seconds about research on teaching methods, which i know about as a professor. the best kind of teaching is not the lecture. i speak, my students listen. that actually results in only about 5% or 10% of retention of knowledge. the more interactive teaching is , the more interactive learning is, the more somebody retains information. that is almost impossible if you are online with a group of 27 children in a classroom. you cannot have the same interactions, breakout groups, especially with the younger kids. what can i say? as long as it is safe for everyone, and i mean the administrators, the custodians, the teachers, and the children,

the benefits of being back in the classroom are going to be tremendous. host: let's talk to a couple of educators waiting to talk to you right now. let's start with pamela calling from new jersey. good morning. caller: good morning, everyone. can you hear me? host: yes, go ahead. caller: i do work with kindergartners. have and i heard miss brown talk about this, i do mindfulness breaks. i do yoga, breathing. but what else can i do while we are all virtual right now to help them deal with the situation? i don't always know how they feel. what signs do you look for in a five-year-old or six-year-old that they may be experiencing some stress about what is going on? even when i mentioned that santa

claus was ok and did not have the virus and would be visiting them, they looked so relieved. i don't usually see any signs from them. they seem fine online. but i would like some more strategies and more ways to pick up how they may be feeling. guest: pamela, let me start by saying nobody knows how a six-year-old thinks and feels better than someone like you. it is so smart that you knew to talk to them about santa claus. and that is something most other people will not think about. keep being you. littleowing what those ones think about and worry about. if you feel comfortable, i would maybe 20 minutes once a week where you ask them what is on their minds related to the holidays. i think that is brilliant.

i also want to say that i love you are doing the relaxation and mindfulness. the challenge for anybody is that when we are dealing with anxiety, we want to calm the body down. but when we are dealing with depression, we want to energize the body. so, that leaves you a little bit of a struggle because you want to do both the relaxation skills but you also want to do some activation skills. when we are doing our therapy online, we are having challenges but six-year-old for sure, we are starting almost every session with jumping jacks or sit ups. in the middle of the session, we will do a five-minute dance party because it is just as important to get them activated. host: let's talk to laura, who is also an educator, from baltimore, maryland. good morning. caller: good morning. i would like to comment -- i

like the comments i'm hearing. everybody is really concerned right now, obviously. one thing i am not hearing is the problem with financial hardship and frankly financial ruin for a lot of people. i had a job where i had to work in the school building. obviously, that is not happening now. i am looking at our unemployment running out. i talked to people facing the same situation. it is very terrifying for a lot of people looking at losing their money. that is really the bottom line for a lot of people. you talk about anxiety and depression. as far as being online, they if't have electricity --

they don't have electricity, they cannot do that. a lot of people are really money is just the not going to last. if you can comment on that, i would appreciate it. i will listen off the air. guest: thank you for that comment. i could not agree with you more. the majority of families i have the pleasure of working with do not have a lot of resources. and it requires not only being creative and using things like jumping jacks as a coping tool, but it also requires talking to the parents about what they are going through, what their concerns are, how does that get conveyed to the children? it is much harder to keep things from your children when you are all stuck in the apartment together and the adult conversations are happening. so, finding language to be able to explain to the children what

the concerns are but not in a way that is too scary, i could not agree more. i also think it is devastating ,ducationally for children whether it is in new york city or other inner-city environments. i have colleagues who work in rural areas where there is no wi-fi, let alone the equipment you mentioned. those kids are not getting educated fairly at all. host: you had started in disaster meant health after the terrorist attacks on the world trade center on september 11, 2001. you started your work with children back then. what helped those children back then and what did not? how can we apply that to what they are going through now? work -- my work when i started as a psychologist and even before as an

undergraduate, my work focused on trauma and interpersonal violence. i have grown tremendously over the years and expended the work. when september 11 happened, it was a call to arms for those of us who were psychologists working in new york city. i think some really important points that came out of 9/11, which was a unique event, but there were pieces that came afterwards that were very frightening to many folks. ways not like covid in that . it was not a single event. the children looked to the parents. we did a similar study of kids throughout schools in new york city after 9/11. and then, we did some work at child health with the

firefighters, police, and e.m.s. we found a few things. one is that oftentimes parents were having a much harder time than the children. that is a really important thing for us to remember. the kids were looking to us for guidance of how to manage and cope. we really have to pull out our coping strategies. we have to fight our negative thoughts. we have to activate our bodies. we have to engage in social connection in any way that we can. and one of the most powerful things we learned after 9/11, and it holds true in our grief work today, is giving to others is a wonderful way of managing your own anxiety and depression. it really helps to help somebody else. to john calling from jamaica, new york.

john is also an educator. good morning. caller: good morning? how you doing? i wanted to ask professor brown this morning that we are really having some issues in the south jamaica area because of a lack of mental resources. opportunitiesthe for mental resources in the south jamaica/southeast queens area. ofm seeing a lot opportunities, i call it a cocktail issue, high graphic video games, high sugar intake, and the deprivation of sleep. these things are really having an effect on our children. it is highly concerning regarding the anger related to a lot of these things.

i just wanted to hear from the professor in this regard because we are having serious issues. guest: first, thank you for calling in. i'm so dedicated to the community. part of the reason i chose to work as a john's university, which is the university that is my mission, dedicated to serving the families. i couldn't agree with you more, due to a lack of services available over the last 10 years, we have had more drops in programealth services than services added. we are in bit of a crisis there. and i guess that's true for other areas of new york city and across the country. we have spent decades identifying therapies we know work from post-traumatic stress, direction -- for post-traumatic

stress, anxiety, behavior problems, and our problem right now is access. making sure families have access to them. though the study results i shared earlier are interesting in and of itself, the point of to study is to be able makeze the information and specific recommendations to the leadership of queens and throughout new york city. we are working with the president of queens, the head of the county, and we are -- and our plan is to make recommendations on different levels of intervention that can be given to families. we want those interventions to be available in places where families go. we want to make it easy for them. online interventions, working with clergy's, working with their mental health knowledge, educators to support their mental health knowledge, and

traders -- training more mental in theprofessionals evidence-based strategies that we know help with trauma. host: we would like to thank the founder and executive director of the children -- child health partnership and psychology brown, forelissa coming on and talking to us about the mental health aspect of the coronavirus pandemic. professor brown, thank you for taking time out to talk to us this morning. guest: thank you. host: next, we will open our phone lines and let you call in on your top public policy issues. you see the numbers on screen. we are waiting for your calls and will be right back. ♪ >> listen to c-span's podcast, " the weekly." wheatley, whoon

joins us to discuss the constitutional steps that need to be finalized apart president-elect joe biden is signed and -- is elected in. -- is sworn in. american history tv, the events and history that tell the american story. at 10:00 p.m. eastern on reel america, as health officials roll out a vaccine against the coronavirus, we take you back in time with five films about vaccine and the fight against disease. sunday, at 6:00 p.m. eastern on american artifacts, new york city's lower east side museum with reconstructive dwellings that show how families cope with poverty and crowded conditions in the 19th century and early 20th century. then a look at presidential leadership with william hiscock

and the age of eisenhower, america and the world of the 1950's. at 9:00 p.m., a u.s. constitutional debate hosted by the colonial williamsburg foundation. featuring a reenactment from a founding father and -- from founding fathers on issues from the third rights to slavery. watch american history tv, this weekend on c-span three. ♪ "washington journal" continues. host: we want to hear from you on your top public policy issue to close the show. before we get into that, let's talk about the news happening right now. one of the news topics we will talk about is the current jobs report. here's a couple paragraphs from nbc news on the current jobs report. the u.s. economy added 245,000 jobs in november as the on the -- theto 6.7%

un-employment rate fell to six point 7%. the economists predict the economy would gain around 4400 jobs -- 44 -- 440,000 jobs. sorry. fresh surge in coronavirus cases and a new round of shutdowns, friday's figure represents a fifth straight month of decelerating gob -- job gains and is the lowest total since the economy started its halting recovery. biden camelect joe out and spoke about the job report yesterday, and here are the portions of what he had to say. >> it was grim. it shows an economy that is and we remain in the midst of one of the worst economic and job crises in modern history. but it does not have to stay that way. if we act now, now i mean now,

we can begin to regain momentum and start to build back a better future. there is no time to lose. millions of people have lost their jobs or have their hours slashed, lost their health insurance, or in danger of losing their -- or are in danger of losing it. one in six renters is behind in rent, one in four small businesses cannot keep the doors open. there is a growing gap in black and latino unemployment, and the gap remains much too large. it is deeply troubling that's a last month's drop in overall unemployment was driven by people who were dropping out of the job market, not because more people were being hired. host: we want to know what your top public policy issue is. let's start with susan calling from michigan on the independent line. susan, good morning. caller: good morning. , after listening

about the homeschooling thing, and i did it with my granddaughter, is that the parents have to start getting better nutrition for their children, more exercise in the house. it is up to you to make your kids stronger, not weaker, during this time. i know it's hard doing the online. she's only in second grade and is back in school now. our high school is closed, well six through 12 is closed, but kindergarten through fifth are going to school now. it was hard doing that with her as a second-grader online, but i taught her how to play tennis, we were fishing, and the parents and grandparents, you've got to get involved and get those kids moving. feed them properly. it is up to us, not schools, to make these kids stronger. not weaker. host: susan, we know that data has shown that children are not getting sick or dying as much as

older people from covid-19. caller: correct. host: are you seeing any evidence that the teachers of these younger children are being affected by the children who can still carry the virus being at school? well -- ok'd, the kids went back. they were in year-round school but i got held up this year. it was supposed to start in july but she did not go until october. the first week of school, her husband was out because she had to -- so she had to stay home. but i'm not seeing that's where teachers -- well there have been some reports of teachers getting it and cases are up here, but i have not heard of -- my granddaughter has class if someone in the gets it or whatever, they all have to quarantine or whatever,

we have not done any of that here in michigan -- lapeer, michigan. host: let's go to charlie calling from trenton, florida. morning. democratic line. -- on the democratic line, good morning. caller: i wanted to make a comment on the balance of power in the senate and the election in georgia. the consideration has to be made that there is so much fear mongering by the republicans about of the democrats come in power in the senate that there will be all of this socialism and this that in the other thing. you have to realize that once it is 50-50, joe mansion becomes a bellwether of any issues that get passed or not. before, kamala harris would even make it -- before kamala harris would make a vote, he would side with -- she would -- he would side with democrats or

republicans sometimes. ofhave to take the power out the hands of mitch mcconnell and put it with joe mansion. he has always been involved in bipartisanship. it might lead to mending of the atmosphere in the senate. it might be really good for this country. host: speaking of the georgia senate runoff, let's take a couple minutes and talk to greg bluestein, a political reporter at the olanta journal-constitution, about what is going on in that senate race and president from going down to campaign there. greg, good morning. guest: thanks for having me. host: good to talk to you again. greg, what do we expect to see from president trump tonight when he goes down to support senators david perdue and kelly laughlin? guest: there are very distinct paths he could take. i think we will see a blend of

these two. republicans hope and pray that he does not go down there and say a vote for those two senators is a vote for him. no one can rally the republican base for quite like him. they need every republican they can muster to represent. what their fear -- they fear will also happen is that he continues his grievances about november, his defeat in november, and he will intensify his attacks on republican officials like bride raffensperger. -- brad raffensperger. host: what are georgia republicans thinking about this rally? are they asking republicans to show up? are they saying we need to -- keep in mind we are still in the middle of a coronavirus pandemic. what are georgia republicans telling their own party members? guest: they are encouraging a huge crowd. we are expecting thousands. the estimate i had yesterday from the campaign officials was between 3000 and 20,000 people.

it is a broad range, but they have to. republicans in georgia, both senators have run so close to president trump it's not like they could distance themselves from him even if they wanted to, and they don't want to, because they have to turn out the base. there is no republican in georgia more popular than donald trump. what better event could they have than having him come down and make that message personal. host: we know there are people in president trump's camper say thevote was rigged during presidential election. are there republicans in georgia who are actually saying the same thing, that his last election was rigged, or is that all coming from out of state? has.: no, it -- has seeped into georgia. notion has hit the

ground in a major way. going to beere was just a handful of people and there was more than 1000 people. it was the biggest republican rally i had been to all year. that is saying something. i interviewed dozens of people at that rally, and other events afterwards. most republicans plan to vote still, but some told me point blank they are considering weighing their options and believe the system is flawed, and they are worried about wasting the vote. host: i saw and reported earlier this week that democrats are pushing mail-in ballots for this election. i thought i read earlier that more than one -- more than one million people had requested mail-in ballots for the runoff election. are you saying that pushes only on the democratic side, or are

republicans now pushing mail-in ballots for this trough election? guest: that's a great point. -- runoff election? guest: that's a great point. more than one million absentee ballots have been returned, a huge number in georgia compared to pre-pandemic times, when you had a fraction of those. democrats won the absentee ballot in georgia by a wide majority, like many other states around the nation. republicans won the election day vote in georgia, but the difference here is that with january 5, the weather could be rainy, could bic, could be miserable -- could be ic, could be miserable -- icy, could be miserable. republicans are worried that if they rely only on election day votes, then it could come back to haunt them. now they are trying to push absentee balloting in more forceful way, but they have to go against years of denigration from president trump and allies

about theast out efficiency of absentee ballots. host: let's talk about fraud relationships we talked about -- we started out with in this conversation. you expect republican governor brian kemp to be at the rally? what is the latest with president trump, given the president trump has started the tactic a little bit? guest: that's an open question on whether or not the governor will go to this rally. my hunch is no, not just because of that relationship but unfortunately yesterday, there was a tragedy involving a young staffer who is very close to the governor, who died in a traffic accident. a poll onnd of cast events over the weekend. this, it was in doubt on whether the governor would show up because the president has continued to attack him for not playing a

more forceful role and essentially blocking the certification of georgia's vote. he has called on the governor to use emergency powers to do so, but state law does not allow for him to use emergency powers. there is a provision in state law. the governor said i'm following state law. -- law by taking the steps he is taking. he wassident also said ashamed to have endorsed brian kemp two years ago. it is intensifying the civil war inside -- at a time when republicans can ill afford it. theyions are as close as have ever been in georgia. host: we can pretty much assume that secretary of state brad raffensperger will not be there, given the back and forth between washington and himself over the counting and certifications of the votes in georgia. what is his state within the republican in georgia right now? guest: it is interesting,

because while governor kemp has avoided firing back at president trump, secretary raffensperger has had a different angle. he has had president trump has offered his own defeat in georgia. by denigrating the absentee ballot. there's about 24,000 or so republicans who voted by absentee in the primary back in june in georgia, and they did not vote in the november election. that is double the margin of joe biden victory -- joe biden's victory. he has taken a much more forceful tone. if he runs for reelection, which is office may say he is placed to do, he will almost certainly face a republican challenger in georgia in 2022. host: a final question for you, you have a senate debate coming up between kelly loeffler and reverie -- and a reverend. how close is that race and what you expect from the debate? guest: this will be the sole

debate of this runoff cycle, unless something dramatically changes. we are expecting them to hit all of the major issues fueling georgia voters, their top priorities were georgia voters, the pandemic, health care, and the economy. it will be a major moment in the campaign, and we are all looking fortunate here -- forward here. host: we would like to thank greg, a political reporter for the atlanta journal-constitution, doing great work in georgia. thank you for coming on with us this morning. guest: thanks for having me. host: we will get back to the phone lines in just a second. first, i want to remind you you can see president trump's rally in georgia here on c-span later on today, live at 7:00 p.m. eastern. you can see it here on c-span, c-span.org, and the free c-span radio app. then on january 5, you can also

on -- you can also see sunday, not january 5, the is januarysult 5, you can see the discussion between them live on sunday at 7:00 p.m. eastern on c-span, c-span.org, and on the free c-span radio app. let's go back to the phone lines and talk to terry calling from michigan on the independent line. terry, good morning. guest: how are you doing -- caller: how are you doing, sir? host: just fine. go ahead, terry. caller: i have a few comments. number one, the chief republican running for senate in georgia, both of them have made stacked trades because they got information, intel about the coronavirus and made a lot of money, especially that perdue. .hey got a lot of baggage

if i was joe biden and i would happen to win the two senate seats in georgia, i would get rid of the filibuster so that mcconnell, the grim reaper, can't kill everything the democrats are doing, climates, health insurance, and i get everything on the wish list. at least we would have it for two years when they have the election again for house representatives, and get everything we need. once people see life can be beautiful in this world, when people get along, and also pass these police reforms. a policeman, you can't shoot somebody in the late, you gotta shoot them in the back 16 times, i tell you what, you got anger problems. number three, and i know i'm taking time appear, -- time up

here, what is happening is that he has brainwashed these christians. to back him up and is 28,000 lies. theworst ones are on network, they pushed ferry and i don't know how they could have attacked events when they have a two hour show and one hour 45 minutes is about politics and bashing gay and lesbian people. host: let's go to christian calling from woodbridge, connecticut on the democratic line. christian, good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. if i could get a couple points i wanted to talk about, -- points, i wanted to talk about unemployment numbers and income inequality.

during the great financial crisis, at the worst time in the great financial crisis, and this only lasted about a week or two weeks, we got unemployment .laims of 740,000 or above we are on week 30 -- it might be 40 weeks now where we are getting numbers over 700,000. when this covid epidemic first started, it was in the millions. now, there is no way the unemployment number is 6.7%. there's only 100 million working people in this country, so something has to be done about these numbers the government is giving us. if i could say a few things about income inequality. during this covid epidemic, the federal reserve has pumped in $4.3 trillion that we know about into the wall street complex. they are buying bonds of

companies like apple so that apple could buy back their stock . this is one of the greatest wealth transfers going on right now, and is being done through this stock market. schiller predicted several bubbles, the housing bubble, his metric p/e ratio puts the value of stocks right now higher than 1929, and this is during a pandemic. joe callinggo to from cape canaveral, florida on the independent line. joe, good morning. caller: good morning. thank you very much for taking my call. i have heard a lot of talk about immigration and people wanting to tear down the wall and letting everybody in. if that is the case, i think, personally, every gated walled in community

in the united states of america, those gates and fences and walls have to be torn down. if you are going to let everybody in across the world, then you can't protect your own you're not allowed to protect the community when you can't protect the united states. host: in other news that happened recently, the federal judge -- a federal judge ordered the trump administration to dacare some of the mda -- applications. a federal judge in new york or to the trump administration to begin accepting new applications for the deferred action for child arrivals program. the obama era initiative that provides legal status to immigrants that enter the u.s. illegally as children. u.s. district judge nicholas garaufis issued an order friday

directing the department of homeland security to announce theay that it is resuming approval of new dhaka -- dacaions -- cdac applications and work permits. let's see if we can get a few more calls in for the end of the show. john is calling from cincinnati, ohio on the independent line. good morning. caller: good morning. i just want to say we really have to be considered about how those who are working in our government and in positions of authority who are denying us our grievances in the first amendment, where congress shall make no law infringing the right of people to petition the government for grievance. when you don't get your grievance addressed, they are committing fraud against you,

done eyeing your due process rights in good faith bargaining, negotiations, and you are -- and your pursuit of happiness with freedom of contract and freedom of association, freedom of conscience. therefore, they are violating the constitution under article four of section two of the united states constitution. it states citizens of each state should be entitled to the same privileges and immunities as citizens of the cell states. when you use the government as a weapon -- host: let's go to stephen calling from fort lauderdale, florida. caller: good morning morning and happy holidays to you and happy holidays to all of my american friends, whether that be republican or democrat. i hope president-elect biden is listening and as well as president trump, i have some advice to maybe cure our country of this hatred going on between our country, between democrats and republicans. are you there?

host: yes, make it quick, stephen, we are running out of time. caller: i will make it quick. i think president-elect biden should offer a deal to president trump, to pardon him and his family against any crimes, federal or otherwise, as long as president trump tells his coat the crimese -- all he committed during his presidency and they should come together and there was no rigging of our election. if they do that with president trump, he is the only one that can cure this. they will not listen to anyone else. thank you. host: let's go to mary calling from ohio on the republican line. good morning. caller: hi. i'm calling in regards to the campaign going on right now. i believe president trump will go there to georgia, and he will do the right thing for perdue. this election has gone on.

i think that will be cured, and i also think, you know, this whole world needs to come together as one. host: mary, let me interrupt you quickly. what is the right thing for president trump to do for the georgia republican senate race? what is the right thing he should be doing? guest: he will go down there and campaign for them and will tell the world this is what we need for the senate race. then, he may say a few things about himself, but i think he has that right. i think you will mostly concentrate on wexler and purdue , and will bring them through. host: do you think he will repudiate trump followers telling georgia republicans not to vote at all? upler: i think he will come against that too. he will say we need this vote, and they will win the senate

vote. host: we would like to thank all of our guests, callers, and all of our viewers for today's addition of "washington journal." stick around for another "washington journal" tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. that's right here on c-span. everybody, have a great saturday and continue to wash her hands. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2017] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> with coronavirus cases increasing across the country, use our website, c-span.org/coronavirus, to follow the trends, track the spread with interactive maps, and watch updates, on demand,

any at c-span.org/coronavirus. president trump will be in georgia tonight, speaking at a ally in support republican senators both in runoff elections against democratic challengers. you can watch the rally live on c-span at 7:00 p.m. eastern. on sunday, a senator and her democratic challenger will hold a debate against -- ahead of the elections on january 5. we will have live debate yourage at 7:00 eastern and can watch these events online at c-span.org or listen with the free c-span radio app. former president obama joins a virtual event in georgia supporting jon ossoff's and rafael. -- rafael warnock. the gop only has to win one of the runoffs to keep control of the senate.

nate. >> good afternoon, georgia. i am the congresswoman elect. it is great to be with so many georgians who are ready to send my friends to the united states senate. ,e have come so far together and at georgia democrats have done what others thought was impossible. we flipped georgia blue. georgians already knew it, but we proved to the entire nation that georgia is ready for big change. last month, we delivered our 16 electoral college votes to president-elect joe biden and vice president-elect kamala harris. and we are about to deliver not one, but two georgia democrats to the united states senate in