companies, but people, families, you know, faith institutions, schools, health care institutions, and it has just been extraordinary. we worked to scale up incredibly quickly to avoid disruptions and to be there for people. ceo today at 6:30 p.m. eastern on the communicators on c-span. listen to c-span's podcast the weekly. we are talking to purdue university political scientist robert browning, who directs the c-span archives about congress's increasing use of lame-duck sessions to tackle big-ticket legislation. klein c-span's the weekly where you get your podcasts. -- find c-span's the weekly where you get your podcasts. holder and is taking a leading role in education policy. she cannot be off-limits for commentary. we want to know of doubt what you think. callingart with horace,

on the democratic line. good morning. caller: good morning. know, i am a first-time caller. i appreciate everything you guys do. but wow. this woman earned her doctorate. people shows you how far .ill go to put you down oh how far they go to -- just to tell this woman that she needs to drop her doctorate, that is crazy, man. guys'm so glad that these will be in the white house, because we need some stability in this country. and her being the first lady, it is going to help joe biden out a whole lot.

let's go to bradenton, florida on the democratic line. good morning. caller: good morning. i want to say there are differences -- trump claims he is a stable genius. that trump knows best on controlling covid-19, asinfectant -- he is successful businessman -- he lost, like, $1 billion. he is a con artist, for god's sake. there is a big difference between jill and trump. jill is more successful than trump. trump, he's a loser. ,ost: let's go to monica calling from michigan on the independent line. monica has earned a doctorate herself. good morning.

caller: well, i have to say that i have not quite earned it yet. i am in the final stages of editing and finalizing it -- host: a.b.d., right? --2) 748-8002 caller: a.b.d. i have spent the last five years earning this. host: what is going to be in? interdisciplinary human services. i find it ironic that the person who wrote that op-ed does not have a doctorate, so they do not know how much work goes into it. if they had bothered to do it themselves, maybe they would not be denigrating the title themselves. it is an enormous amount of work to earn a doctorate, huge sacrifices by everyone in the family. and as a woman, an older woman as well, it makes a difference. when someone tells you just

ignore the last five years of your life, just put it down, it does not matter, it does not matter at all, just drop it -- highly insulted. host: how long have you been working on your doctorate? did i hear you say five years? caller: five years. it is not easy. it is horribly expensive and it is a lot of work. hours spent in the classroom and in research seminars, in research itself. of hundreds of hours just reading other people's research, so you can find an opportunity that has not been covered by someone else. it is an anonymous amount of work. and how anybody could say just drop the title, it is no big deal -- and the comment had to be made by someone who had not bothered to do the work themselves. host: let's go to ben, calling from louisiana on the republican line. caller: good morning.

i want to start by saying i want to make two quick points. i am an ardent president trump supporter. i did not vote for president-elect biden. but i do not think it is appropriate, i do not think it is necessary that people are already, nor should they ever, be attacking his wife's title. i got a bachelors of science degree at penn state university. that was enough work. i cannot imagine the work that goes into a doctorate degree. regardless if i agree with her husband's political policies or not, that has nothing to do with her educational achievements, in my opinion. host: let's go to joann, calling from nevada on the republican line. caller: i am so glad you said nevada right. host: i had to learn that during the presidential election this year. caller: i have been learning it for 40 years, let me tell you. i have no respect for her. absolutely not.

she will not be my first lady. what she has done to my first lady now -- she gets the same thing that my first lady got. be ready for the trumpsters, lady. to joe, calling from aurora, ohio. good morning. caller: good morning. you know, ito say, live with educators all around me. my daughter, my wife, my son. i have seen what it takes to be an educator. i know it takes to get a degree. my wife, at 48 years old, went back to school. i am so proud of the work she did to get her degree in education. -- tocational degrtee say an educational degree is not a doctorate or not representative of being a doctor -- i think that is ridiculous.

just appreciate everybody, whether -- i am definitely more for mr. biden and dr. biden, but what i would say is i am sure -- president trump did some nice things and good things. and i think dr. biden and president biden will do the same. i think we should stop being so defiant with each other. i thank you for the time to express my opinion. host: in an interview with abc news earlier this week, vice president elect kamala harris was asked about the op-ed on dr. jill biden. [video clip] indeeply disappointed that, 2020, that kind of approach would be given any legitimacy. let's be clear about it. she worked hard. she raised her kids, went to school, went to night school,

got degrees -- he earned everything she has. that is the american way, the american spirit. so when there is anyone who tries to diminish the significance of people who work hard, i think it is just not the american way, frankly. host: let's see what some of our social media followers are saying about the attacks on jill biden's doctorate degree. one post from facebook says republicans being mean-spirited and ugly again, will say anything they think fires up the idiots that vote for them. if mys a text that said husband was a senator of the iate and getting a phd in ed, would not have to go to class. another says dr. jill biden says she is more concerned with the tone of the article than the actual result. i have met a lot of them. another text says when you earn

your phd, that is the title they give you, a doctor. but nothing like nitpicking, right? when it comes to being a doctor, i did not even call myself doctor when i was a paramedic. i delivered four kids. another says my professors at engineering school insisted on being called doctor, the title doctor they thought belonged to professionals practicing medicine. i am with my colleagues. one last text says, when i heard dr. martin luther king, i did not think he was a medical doctor. we will go back to your calls and just a moment. before we do, we want to talk a little about the latest going on in congress with the covid-19 relief bill and the government funding bill. we will bring on mike lillis, a reporter with the hill newspaper. guest: thanks for having me.

host: tell us what the status is of the house and senate leader'' efforts to reach agreement on a funding bill? the congresshrew -- they do this year after year after year. congress was supposed to pass a short-term funding bill yesterday, known as a continuing resolution. you will hear that term a lot. a two day extension of government funding that would have prevented a shut down -- that prevented a shut down but would have happened at midnight last night. they have said they were close most of the last week, so we are not really sure what that means at this point. a lot of agreement has been made, but there is also a number of outstanding issues. today, theapitol be joined by house

leaders who will ira not the final details. then the half to get the , which is anext arduous undertaking, because it is $2 trillion here, then they have to pass it through the senate and house. or we will have another shut down monday morning. has been that has to wait and see. -- everybody has to wait and see. host: what are the major sticking points between now and sunday? guest: the contours are all kind of in place. concessions have greased the skids, and now they are tinkering at the edges. there is an issue over the direct checks -- back in march, they passed a $1200 check for

earning under $75,000. latestooking like the bill is going to be a $600 check, not a $1200 check. causing concern from those pressing for more. actually prevented the continuing resolution to pass, but they relented. but they want that $1200. and the unemployment insurance extension, the federal portion of that has been an additional $600 a week, back in march. it is looking more and more like that is going to be cut in half to about $300, but now we are hearing that republicans want that number down. there is talk of how long that

will last. we hear 10 weeks, but they are playing with that number. senator pat toomey from pushingania has been since july and insisting these would prohibit emergency lending programs created by the federal reserve that expire at the end of the year, and the provision would say you can continue the programs but they will require congressional approval to do so, which is a high barrier. democrats are saying this is a naked effort to hobble the incoming president, joe biden, reactt allow him to unilaterally to the ongoing crisis. if trump are saying

was able to do it unilaterally, why does biden have to get congressional approval? republicans are saying we do not need these programs anymore, and we have deficit spending concerns. the issue at the moment. likely is it that house and senate leaders will actually come to an agreement before sunday, or are they already preparing another short-term cr? guest: they made one, they can do it again. -- they can throw it together at the last minute, like yesterday. they are hoping that will not be the case. we are hoping it is not the case. everyone wants to get out of town. havers of the house

contracted covid-19 in the last week. there is a lot of frustration and agitation. it creates this urgency for them to get a deal. [indiscernible] a few years ago, we were here on new year's eve and again on new year's day while vice president joe biden and mitch mcconnell were fighting over a spending bill. it happened before that they would have to come back, but everybody is hoping that is not the case. host: we would like to think mike lillis, watching the hill for "the hill" newspaper for talking about the government funding bill and the covid-19 bill. thank you for your time. guest: thanks for having me.

host: once again, we are talking to you about the attack on jill biden's doctorate degree. let's go back to our phone lines. we start with susan, calling from germantown, maryland on the democratic line. caller: good morning. i want to say this is the old a dr. standard -- we had kissinger, no one is saying anything about him. but now we have a new first lady, dr. biden, and she has worked hard and has warned her doctorate with a great deal of pride. it cannot go back to the way it was. conservatives and right-wingers would love to have women as wives, a compass and nothing. the modern women can accomplish anything she wants. it comes down to 2040. in 2040, according to the census, minorities will be the

new majority. that includes women. white men will be the minority. i will say get over it, it is the way it is today. host: let's go to fred, calling from kentucky on the republican line. caller: good morning. -- women areler already the majority. --way, if somebody wants somebody who earns a doctorate wants to be called doctor, there's no problem. i notice people who earn a doctorate degree are very insistent of being called doctor . i see no problem with that. however, i am kind of disappointed in your topics lately. with thekind of soft important things going on, like this problem with the election,

bill that isd this being passed that you just had a little bit on. really moremany important topics than how somebody is going to spend their money or whether somebody should be called doctor or not. keep watching. we will talk about all those things you talked about later on in the show. in fact, we have had issue on some of those topics yesterday. let's go to bill, calling from augusta, georgia. bill has earned a doctorate as well. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. really love the show, been watching it for years. thank you very much. i want to talk a little bit degree.e e.b.d. i earned my doctorate back in may.

degree listeners, that actually addresses a problem and practice and help solve problems, and one of the most pressing problems is education in this country. i can think of no more important then and field of study how do we educate our young population to become better citizens and really productive members of society. host: you said you earned your doctorate back in may. was yours one? caller: it was. host: where did you get it from? caller: augusta university. host: do you want people to call you doctor? caller: i can go either way with it, but sure. --t: anti-referred to other and do you refer to other people -- caller: i think it is appropriate to be called doctor. host: do you call people with phd's and dvds doctor as well?

caller: absolutely. host: anne, calling from erie,. . pennsylvania caller: good morning. longtime listener, first time caller. a little disappointed in the caller you had a couple calls ago saying, complaining about this being a softball issue. if he was a woman in today's world, he obviously would not feel that way. what i wanted to say about this is i think that epstein's editor, the person who gave the ok for his piece to be printed, i think that person should be revealed, because that person and the wall street journal, in general, and epstein, should be ashamed of themselves. like that one caller said, you would never have epstein disregard dr. kissinger's title

the way he did jill biden. by the way, you know what? she did deliver a baby. so there. [laughter] hopefully, jill biden, the next four years, will do more for this country than just giving a "be best" slogan. host: there are some people still criticizing the degree that jill biden earned. i want to read a little bit from criticism of her degree from the national review. this comes from the national review's article on jill biden, which is titled jill biden's doctorate is garbage because her dissertation is garbage. here is a little from that article. jill biden's doctorate -- dissertation is not an addition to the sum total of human knowledge. fraila gasping, wheezing,

disney forest creature that exceeded and noticed that for it makes to be the thing it is imitating while failing so pathetically that any witnesses to its an attitude must feel compelled come out of manners alone, to drag it to the nearest podium and give it a participation trophy. which is more or less what an ed.d. is. it is a degree that only deeply unimpressive people feel confers honorific of doctor. people who are actually smart understand that being in possession of a credential is no proof of intelligence. former first lady michelle obama responded to this type of criticism as well. this comes from former first lady michelle obama. we are all seeing what happens to so many professional women, whether their titles are dr., ms even first lady, all too often, our accomplishments are met with skepticism, even

derision. we are guided by those who choose the weakness of ridicule over the strength of respect. and yet, somehow, their words can stick. after decades of work, we are forced to prove ourselves all over again. is this really the example we want to set for the next generation? once again, that comes from former first lady michelle obama. we want to hear what you think. let's go back to our phone lines and talk to david, calling from texas on the democratic line. good morning. caller: good morning. i do not have a doctor's degree, but i have a masters degree. i think, from now on, i will require everyone to call me master. how do you think that will go over? host: i do not think that will go over well at all. [laughter] not at all. let's go to dorothy.

dorothy is calling from florida on the democratic line. good morning. caller: yes, i would like to say that i am appalled about these people calling in and thinking that getting a doctor's degree is nothing. , workinge 20 years full-time, raising two children, going to night school to get my bachelors degree. and it was one of the proudest moments i had, walking across that stage and getting that diploma. i cannot believe people are so uneducated and so stupid that they do not realize what goes into getting an education. and i wanted to go for my masters, but i was so burned out, after almost 20 years of going part-time to get a bachelors degree. she is a well educated women, and people like the one that called, i think from georgia or whoda -- that is the one,

probably does not even have a college degree, is so stupid that she would say "she's not going to be my first lady" -- give me a break. i would rather have a well educated first lady in the white house rather than a former -- host: let's go to rich, calling from tennessee on the independent line. good morning. caller: good morning. this is much ado about nothing. op-eds are written daily on every conceivable topic. it was a snarky piece. the tone --i think jill biden was correct, the tone was pretty insulting. but basically, i think the point was -- and look. i am a retired teacher. i have a masters degree plus 45 hours. i could have easily gotten my doctor, had i chosen to do so.

-- kind of wish i did, because my dad wanted me to. he did not graduate high school, and it would have made him proud. it was an endurance contest. i only know a few people who have their doctorate in education who really referred to themselves as doctor. of anhonestly a sign inferiority complex, in my view. we regard that as kind of silly, to be honest -- host: who is the "we" in that sentence? other teachers? caller: yes -- i agree with what the national review said. it does not necessarily imply intelligence, other than just being able to grind it out. i will say this, too. listen to joe biden. when het just joking said it was about getting a

raise. the more degrees you have, that is an incentive to do that. that is why i did it, really. it did not make me a better teacher. and i did not go around bragging about any advanced degrees or anything or even let people know. it was just a way of boosting your pay. also, he said, and there was a good quote from him, who said, again -- you never know when the guy is joking or not, but he said the reason she did it was she was tired of all the mail coming addressed to senator joe biden, and she wanted a title, too. there's is probably some truth to that. host: are you saying your masters degree did not help your career in teaching at all, did not make you a better teacher? caller: probably no, to be honest. i picked up -- i actually got --

what made me a better teacher doinging to workshops and continuing education, that type of thing that all teachers were required to do. there masters degree, honestly -- and the doctorate -- i wrote three designated papers and put a lot of research and time into it and thought there was some value into them. i could have done a thesis. i finished college in less than three years. and i majored in english and journalism. so i can write, and i can do research. i found very little -- and that was the consensus of my fellow teachers. was we really did not get that much value, as far as translating to the classroom. honestly, i think it really is -- what we call putting on airs, around here, when you insist. -- fine, i am glad

she has got a doctorate. more power to her. but it is deceptive to call yourself doctor. the new york times does not always refer to ben carson as dr. ben carson. and senator paul, ron paul, he is a doctor, medical doctor. all my friends who are doctors and all, they're jim, doug, s arah, joy -- they do not go around insisting people stick title in front of their names. catherine, go to calling from illinois on the democrat line. caller: good morning. ph.dsband is a physicist, in nuclear chemistry. after he got his doctorate, he dr..roud to be called >>