>> mise today, the house returns at 9:00 a.m. eastern to prevent automatic cuts to medicare and other programs. a house foreign affairs subcommittee holds a hearing on asia with a focus on china and north korea. and on c-span.org, house armed services committee considers electromagnetic spectrum opportunities. in an hour, adam brandon,

president of freedom works, and their efforts on election integrity. at 8:30, the president of the brennan center on efforts in several states to restrict voting rights. ♪ host: good morning. it is friday, march 19. the house passed two immigration bills, providing a path for citizenship for young people known as dreamers, and the other did the same for farmworkers in the country illegally. the prospects of these bills in the senate is not good right now. all against the backdrop unaccompanied einar children at the u.s. border. -- minor children at the u.s. border. what is your message to congress

and the white house on the border? if you are a democrat, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independent, (202) 748-8002. you can also send us a text at (202) 748-8003. please give us the name and town you are calling from. you can post a comment on facebook.com/c-span. politico.com reported on the house action yesterday, house passes scaled-back immigration measures as gop support wanes. the house passed a pair of popular immigration bills that once seemed like the ticket to a cross i'll deal on one of washington's thorniest issues, but not lately. with the gop seizing on the migration crisis, even the measures to offer legal protections for farmworkers and dreamers have become intensely partisan.

the bills which taken together would offer a chance of citizenship for 3 million undocumented immigrants living in the u.s. for years did pick up some gop support. nine demo -- nine republicans offered support to provide citizenship for up to 2 million undocumented immigrants. the house passed the farmworker modernization act with 30 republicans crossing party lines to support the legislation, while one democrat, mein representative jared golden voted no. -- maine representative jared golden voted no. it would provide a pathway to citizenship for roughly one million farmworkers and broadly expand the h2 way temporary agriculture -- h2h -- h2a

immigration. one member of the house on the democratic side, rowel rees on dust in cap -- raul ruiz -- talked about these before the voting. [video clip] >> we are at the cusp of voting on two bills that i know will make an incredible positive difference for our nation. i know that personally. you see, due to a terrible tragedy in my family, i was brought to the united states from mexico as a baby. my parents were farmworkers. they worked tirelessly day in and day out with callused hands and tired back, with minimal rest, to give me and their children opportunities that they never had. farmworkers like my parents and

like many of my constituents back home in the coachella valley taught me the values of hard work, resiliency, and taking care of one another. why are these bills important right now? it is precisely now, during a pandemic when we need to pass these bills. dreamers are doctors, nurses, lab technicians, contact tracers, and job creators. farmworkers are getting infected and dying from covid at a much higher rate than the general public. they are literally dying to feed you, give you the nutrients you need to heal from covid. we must protect and secure our food supply chain. the congressional hispanic caucus has led efforts to fix our broken immigration system

and i'm very proud to say the cac -- chc enforces both of these bills to strengthen our economy, stabilize our food supply chain, and give people peace of mind. host: that was a democrat from california for the votes in the house yesterday. politico tells us neither bill passed in the house is likely to overcome the 60 vote threshold and the senate, especially with republicans pushing for border security measures to advance alongside these measures. this has intensified the discussion about the use of the filibuster. kevin mccarthy, the house republican leader on the floor yesterday, talking about border policy. [video clip] >> there is a crisis on our border, a national health,

security crisis. it is a biden border crisis and it is spiraling out of control with no signs of ending. when candidate biden told migrants in june, immediately surge to the border, i knew his immigration policies would be bad, but i did not think it would be this bad. i did not think that would mean 13,000 unaccompanied minors in the u.s. custody. i did not think it would mean moving them from border facilities across the country. 1000 of them to midland, texas, 3000 to dallas, and likely to more cities tomorrow. i didn't think the biden administration would require covid tests for american citizens entering the country, but not illegal immigrants. i did not think biden's dhs secretary would have to admit that we are, and i quote -- "on

pace to encounter more individuals on the southwest border than we have in the last 20 years," mr. speaker. i didn't think i would hear the president of mexico refers to our president joe biden as "the migrant president." and i did not think it would only take two months to create the worst border crisis in the history of america. host: congressman kevin mccarthy of california, republican leader in the house. president biden tweeted a lot yesterday about immigration. one of the tweets before these votes took place said -- we can't keep waiting. i urge congress to come together to find long-term solutions to our entire immigration system so we can create a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system, tackle the root causes of migration, and legalize the undocumented population in the united states.

first call this morning, message to congress and the white house, sarah, democratic line from washington, d.c. caller: good morning. i just wanted to say that i've worked with undocumented workers for years in the landscape, and we rely on their inexpensive, dependable, hard labor, businesses to, and all the resentment goes to the immigrant when i think if somebody has a problem with it, they have to blame the businesses that hired them and also understand that their strawberries are going to cost eight dollars a pint instead of four dollars, and their landscapes are going to be a lot more expensive. is this owners have enjoyed a compliant, hard-working -- business owners have enjoyed a compliant, hard-working source of labor for years, and also

usually here, this resentment towards the immigrant and not where i think it should be directed, toward the business owner. i hope that congress will deliver a clear bill that gives clear rules that protects these workers and give businesses some very clear guidance and hold their feet to the fire. i can't blame somebody for wanting a better life for their children. i don't believe that everybody crossing the border is doing so for political persecution reasons. i believe it is economic, and how can you blame them? everybody wants a better life for their children. i don't want people to be a great at the immigrants because that is where the anger seems to fall. host: belleville, new jersey, independent caller, michael. what is your message to congress and the white house on immigration? caller: i think they need to

pass something as soon as they can, especially while the democrats control the house, senate, and presidency. i think this is going to be an issue that the republicans are going to try and use for 2024 because i think that is what helped get trump elected in the first place. i would like to see them pass something as soon as possible. host: michael, a comprehensive immigration reform has been elusive for quite some time in washington. why do you think that is? caller: immigration, throughout the history of their country, has been a hot topic issue where people feel like their livelihoods are affected by people coming in making less than minimum wage. it is just a way to divide people and not actually look at what the previous caller said, the business owners who are hiring these employees and benefiting the most off their labor. host: thank you, michael.

another michael on the line from sterling, virginia, independent. caller: good morning. we traced our immigration problem back to the great migration the took place around 1740 onward to today. the migration drove native americans out of their native land south of the border. and they established central and south america. now, the u.s. is exploiting, has been for centuries, the people in south america for resources. and what are redoing? we trained -- what are we doing? we took source -- soil they were

driven from i-4's. -- by force. the root cause, we owe something to the people to bring them back to their native lands. host: here is a text from south carolina. this viewer says -- my message to congress is simple -- close the border. we have too many homeless americans, hungry children, and sick people who need our help now. how can we the taxpayers pay for the rest of the world? new york times follows up on these votes in the house, writing they were significant milestones for dreamers and other activists who have waged a decade-long campaign, often at great personal risk, to bring the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the u.s. out of the shadows. dreamers, the temporary status

and agricultural workers in many cases, i've lived in the u.s. for long periods and measures -- have lived in the u.s. for long periods and moving swiftly to consider both bills, house members wagered a narrow but popular immigration fix could shape up a deadline policy debate after years of failed attempts after -- of -- we have gerald on the line from monticello, minnesota. caller: good morning. yes, i am a 70-year-old veteran. i remember back in the 1970's listening to politicians talk about one of their greatest fears was not nuclear attack or troops on the ground from another country, but a biological attack.

and i was just curious as to why 40 years ago they were talking about this and they were totally unprepared for this, completely unprepared. and then another thing about the border, is that americans are being tested for covid before they can cross back into their own country while illegal aliens are being actually walked across , shown the way to get to the camps. and then they are going to place them within american families and withdraw their country. i believe that it is exactly what they said, the worst nightmare was that if a global pandemic broke out, our country would be flooded with immigrants. with the disease, and it would

be pretty much game over. so that's just my comment. host: cheryl from vermont, democratic caller. caller: -- host: thank you for joining us. what is your message? caller: i would love to see joe biden coordinate a program that would involve safety and stability for the unaccompanied minors, and just to gather information from the children to understand why they are coming here so we could dispel some of the republican lies about the facts, because we don't really understand the history of u.s. intervention and central -- in central and south america where we destabilized democratically elected officials to install corrupt officials sympathetic

with our own interests. i would love to see just extensive information gathering and may be about this topic. host: thanks for calling. another text from virginia, a permanent democratic voter base is the goal. the party of despair and dependency has little else to offer other than racial division . citizen, kids dream too. if republicans will stop giving them jobs, they will stop coming. it started when reagan wanted to break the unions. this is gary from atlanta. there is the story about the number of migrant children in "the hill," 14,000 migrant children, says one official. the story says more than 14,000 minors who traveled to the u.s. without their families are

currently in federal custody. officials said hhs has more than 9500 child migrants in its care, while customs and border protection has about 4500. the administration is scrambling to deal with the swell of migrant children taking the dangerous journey to the southern border. most adults and families are being turned away, but the biden administration is allowing unaccompanied minors to stay in the u.s. while their immigration status is processed. the biden administration is trying to move these children quickly out of cbp's care and to homes and hhs facilities to have access to health and legal services. here is senator mitch mcconnell for thursday, talking about immigration. [video clip] >> democrats believe this influx is not because of their new administration. that would be news to the

migrants themselves. some of these people told reporters it was democrat rhetoric that led them to come. some have shown up rain t-shirts with the biden campaign logo on them. the administration keeps sending mixed messages. now is not the time to come. so there will be an appropriate time, sometime later, for people to enter our country illegally. speaking of mixed signals, the house is voting on immigration bills, but are they leading in action to repair the crisis? no. they are taking up an amnesty plan to create a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants working in certain industries. so to summarize, the administration cannot admit they have caused the crisis, have yet to address the crisis, and house democrats are backing policies that would only exacerbate the

wrong incentive. host: that was mitch mcconnell from the floor yesterday. a live look at the capitol, the house will be coming in at 9:00 for business. the senate is out and will be back monday with more nominees. lots of hearings next week on both sides of the hill, which we will tell people about. and he is calling from sandra seo, california, -- annie is calling from california, republican. caller: good morning. i kind of echo your caller from vermont that we destabilized the government's and people are so desperate, and then one of your texters saying about reagan, from what i know, that is correct that reagan was encouraging the immigrants to come up here.

so my message to you biden is, don't come, to people, and yet you are giving them all kinds of perks and things like that? i am not against it. i am kind of an unusual republican. immigration is a good thing for the country, but i'm wondering why biden has kind of been giving a mixed message of don't come and i don't know what your comment is on that, or you don't get to comment. host: we want to hear from you folks. let's move onto arthur in houghton lake, michigan, independent caller. what is your comment? caller: it is weird that americans are supposed to be christians. we need to be thankful from thomas jefferson -- for thomas

jefferson. as far as immigration, we need to get three of our big cruise ships to go to africa and get the ones in famine and the ones running from whatever crap is going on, and bring them back here to start a new life. all we need to do is get together to bring peace, black-and-white and all races. host: kimon inn -- iman in yonkers, new york, democrat. caller: people need to emigrate -- educate themselves. i am friends with a lot of immigrants. i think we need to focus on white terrorism because that is doing more damage to america. as you probably heard, the man who went on a rampage to kill asian women, we need to focus on that. immigration is not as much of a problem. -- problem that people make it seem to be, if that makes sense.

let's figure out a system for people to come here legally. most people don't even know what exactly the process is. it costs tens of thousands of dollars to do it the right way. most people who come here don't have that kind of money or support, so it would be nice of people educated themselves. host: thank you. we should have mentioned when we showed the shot of the capitol, the president issued a proclamation for all flags at federal buildings to be lowered to half staff through sunset monday to mark the massacre in georgia that the last caller was talking about. president biden will be in georgia today, has a number of events planned. we will look to show you some of that coverage later once we can determine what events will be open versus not open. we know he is visiting the cdc, meeting with the two senators

from georgia, meeting with families of the victims of the shooting in atlanta, and so perhaps he will be talking about immigration as well. one of the earlier callers mentioned the pandemic. "the wall street journal," writes that the coronavirus pandemic now in its second year, has given advocates a new way to talk about the migrant farmworkers and dreamers. agricultural department data shows nearly 50% of hired farm crop workers lack legal status and immigrants without legal authorization are also working on the front lines of the pandemic. "have packaged and stopped our food, taught our children," said the author of the american dream and practice -- promise act, one of the house democrats' top 10 legislative initiatives. "they will exemplify american values and a deep love for the

only nation they call home." "many republicans said, pushing legalization members just as a minor -- migrant surge at the border is straining resources would give the green light to immigrants to come to the u.s. illegally. brendan is calling from syracuse -- brenda is calling from syracuse on the republican line. caller: thank you for taking my call. my grandparents came here in 1938 from italy and fled an actual war. they went to ellis island, had to prove they could read, write, speak english, willing to assimilate to our culture, and had to find a sponsor because they were not allowed to be a burden. welfare needs to be abolished for everyone. 2021, children are a choice, and what is happening at the border is for welfare, not for dreaming, not for jobs. they want to beg like a dirty dog. host: brenda, are you still

there? i was going to ask her a question. jill is in newtown square, pennsylvania. what does your message to congress and the white house on immigration? caller: i look forward to those conversations around immigration. it is overdue. there is a humanitarian crisis down at the border and it is very simple to the influx of immigrants that came over 1850's to the 1870's. i think we need a comprehensive immigration reform. i look forward to a conversation based on fact, not based on words that just seem to inflame one party over the other. i think we have to take the larger democrat -- demographic shift that will happen in the u.s. into consideration. we are at a record rate. the number of baby boomers of dutch are retiring. we will need workers in the next 15 to 20 years and i think we

have to look at it where we need comprehensive reform. i am all foreign ellis island type of approach to this. i don't know why we are not talking about this. i look forward to it. host: you mentioned a comprehensive bill, everything where reading reminds us has been elusive for decades, why do you think that is and what if you get there? caller: i think we have politicized this to such an extreme that we can't even sit down and have a conversation about it, about the realities of what is happening down at the border, about that these aren't just murderers and rapists trying to come over. they are fleeing really horrible situations. i think it has to include aid to some of the countries that are in central america. it has to address some of the root causes.

i think we have to look at how people are immigrating over the border and i don't know all the answers because i think we are so polarized on this because of some of the language that we are using. i think we have to remember that these are humans that are coming over, but i think we have to do it in a way that is good for the united states, that respects people's dignity, and that hopefully well be a win-win situation. i don't know why we can talk about it. host: thank you for calling. shirley is in smith's growth, techie, democratic caller. -- kentucky, democratic caller. caller: if we don't mean what we say, we should take the wording off the statue of liberty. these are children, babies, young kids. why do you think they are leaving home?

would they be leaving home if everything was fine? these children are being traumatized. how would you like to be living somewhere where all around you constantly there is confusion, there is shooting, there is children, adults being terrorized. how would you like to live in that circumstance day in and day out? look at who is coming. why do you think they would be leaving home? leaving home means something. your comfort, the place where you were originally born and lived, why would you be going somewhere else if it was wonderland, if you were happy? do you leave your home when you are happy? you are leaving because you have been intimidated day in and day out. think about it. have you ever been intimidated where you are even scared to walk back in your home because

somebody is there waiting to harass you and apprehend you? think about it, people. these are children. little children coming without adults to supervise, care for them. why do you think they are doing that if their homeland was so wonderful and they were so happy? host: shirley from smith's grove in kentucky. sue texts -- i don't live in a border state so my perspective is different. human beings deserve a chance, yet we tout ourselves as a nation of laws. it stands to reason we cannot have it both ways. is it that bad in mexico that the masses want to leave? alfreda rates -- we need to do a study on why people migrate. who is exploiting their natural resources? by the way, immigration -- illegal immigration started in

1492. your message to congress and the white house on immigration, two bills passed in the house today. one was called the american dream and promise act and would create a pathway to citizenship for those with temporary protected status, the folks known as dreamers. it is also the farm workforce modernization act to provide a pathway for illegal farmworkers to secure legal status. that second bill got 30 republicans crossing party lines. depending on what you read, the status in the senate these bills is anywhere from uncertain to pretty impossible right now just based on the dynamics at hand. we will see what happens in the weeks and months ahead. steve from roscoe, pennsylvania, republican. thanks for waiting. caller: i think all of our relatives are immigrants.

i believe -- they built the wall, but every mexican i've met in pennsylvania, they are very hard workers. they do jobs that a lot of people don't want to do in the united states. i think they should come in the legal, right ways. host: thank you. jay in reno, nevada, on the democrats line. your comments on immigration? caller: brenda from york wants to do away -- new york wants to do away with borders. i wonder if she will be cashing the stimulus check. under obama, when you had john boehner in the office too, he stopped a bill that was agreed

upon from both republicans and democrats that would help dhaka and immigration, sat on his desk -- daca , and immigration, sat on his desk for 500 day. trump wanted billions of dollars for a wall and unless they got it, would not do anything with immigration. republicans have been stopping any type of bill to help the immigration issue. they don't want to do anything in regards to it. and now you have this with biden. we can only do so much. the thing is this, with the republicans in 43 states trying to take away voter right, if they are in charge of everything, this issue is never going to go away because they won't address it except for putting up a wall, which doesn't stop people. like your last caller just said, the immigrants, immigration, do jobs that american people, white

people and others here do not want to do. they do not want to work in farms or do dishes or landscape. they are here and they help us. you cannot go out to dinner without having somebody in the back cooking your meals, washing the dishes and so on. immigration helps america, and we are a nation of immigrants. host: there is much more advanced talk these days about the filibuster in the senate by making changes to it. especially with this issue on the table, is that something you would support? caller: mitch mcconnell did it and the republicans played that card. the democrats need to do the same thing. he took away garland's supreme court nomination. they used the filibuster to get their stuff tasked. we need to do the same thing. you have got to play just like it's mcconnell did, take advantage of the power now because in two years, the

democrats may not have the house and senate. we need to take advantage of everything to get everything passed we can to help american people. for the past four years, american people, other than the tax-cut, have been basically ramrod it, and now we have 540,000 people dead. host: thanks for checking in. lots of texts, from pam in burlington, north carolina -- we are all immigrants and i would like to know when people became so selfish and cruel. biden should continue his humane policies and hopefully we can be more accepting and tolerant. migrants have been traveling to our borders every year, rights stephen from lexington, kentucky. we need to find a solution and not just sweep it under the rug and forget they are human beings who need assistance, and the u.s. is that help. we have lots more calls coming

in as well. this text from randy, millington, michigan -- i am not comfortable with all these migrants coming to the border. they are not as much of a threat to the country as the republicans who stormed capitol are. here is the u.s. press secretary yesterday with reporters when asked about the situation at the border. [video clip] -- host: we will get to that clip in just a moment. let's hear from lanita in fort payne, alabama. caller: first of all, i want to address the lady from kentucky. yes, i have been fearful of my life and yes, i have been afraid of going home. yes, i have hidden outside to keep from getting killed. yes, i know what it is like. you had a guy that called in and brought up the christian way of life.

let me tell you, my bible says if you don't take care of your own household, you are worse than an infidel. i believe we should be taking care of our people first because there are children here that are barefooted and hungry and don't have a place to live. we have senior citizens here that are 90 and 95 years old that need help. second of all, or third of all, where i live used to be called the sock capital of the world. i worked there, worked like a man. let me tell you something. around 2009, my job left ear and went to these people trying -- left here and went to people trying to do my job. do you think that these children are being treated right on their journey here? no, they are not. i can answer that myself.

ok. these young children are being sent over here by god only knows who, and i believe with all my heart that these children are being railroaded over here in order to get the cartel and all these bad people over here. let me tell you something, when this does happen, don't complain about it. don't complain about it. host: here is that clip now with jen psaki. [video clip] >> the president has made it clear that the border is not open, it is closed, except for unaccompanied minors under humanitarian grounds are being welcomed. as we see crews from multiple asked let -- outlets at the borders, you are seeing migrant families being accepted, young families being accepted into the country right now. can you square those two when

the message was that families and individuals were being sent home but unaccompanied minors were being capped, why young families are being kept in the u.s. and detained? >> we have talked about this a little bit, but we are still applying section 42 with the exception, unaccompanied minors. there are a limited scenario, limited circumstances, very limited, i should say, where families are coming across, going through proper protocols, being tested, and having their cases adjudicated. part of the reasoning is that of course, we've closed matamoros and there has been some -- less participation keeping some of these families in mexico than the past. many of these policies we have supported, but the vast majority of people who come to the border are turned away. the border is not open.

these are limited scenarios. host: "the washington post, co-a little bit about the political play. they write that senate republicans have made it clear in early private conversations that any measure that includes legalization would be difficult absent measures to bolster border enforcement and titan u.s. asylum -- titan -- tigh ten u.s. asylum laws -- reversed donald trump's most restrictive immigration orders and a liberal democratic caucus calling for more generous treatment of the young fleeing from primarily central america. louis is on the line from londonderry, new hampshire. caller: hi, how are you? host: doing well, sir.

what is your message? caller: i would like to break this border issue down and immigration down to its core. basically, it is separation, divide, a wall, a symbol of not in my back yard. maybe it can be capped into this problem that sponsorships are not happening, but those are more widespread. you have real estate moguls to make room for dreamers coming across here, escaping horrible abuse and dictatorship in their homeland. whatever happened to the land of opportunity? our country's leaders from the republican side post about the usa being the leader in military force -- about about -- boast

about the usa being the leader in military force and the space program, yet we struggle at the border. if this country wants to be inclusive instead of exclusive, it is congress, the president, countless human rights and commerce agencies that would make the border problem the highest priority besides this coronavirus. in terms of the dangers of allowing disease, crime, or weapons into this country by opening up the borders to those who are vetted there, look no further than the border states themselves here in the usa to find that kind of risky and unprotected behavior. unproductive behavior, i'm sorry. host: there is plenty of other news on this friday morning including this story at npr.org and everywhere else. biden administration to meet

goal of 100 million vaccine doses on friday. the president said on thursday his administration would reach that goal of 100 million shots well ahead of his 100 day benchmark. that is that npr.org. if you look at the front page of "the new york times," they talk about mexico. the u.s. to ship doses south of the border in a strategic step. the u.s. plans to send millions of doses of the astrazeneca vaccine to mexico. a notable step into vaccine diplomacy as the biden administration is quietly pressing mexico to curb the stream of immigrants coming to the border. rich is on the line from racine, wisconsin. caller: how are you doing? host: find. caller: the person talking about merrick garland. he is the one that did away with filibuster on judges. don't get me wrong.

i have no love lost for mitch mcconnell. paul ryan was my representative. they are all useless. president trump was weeding them out. anybody who is against a wall needs to take off his front door and screen and say all are welcome. we have an immigration system for reason. we talk about they are being vetted. nobody is being vetted. for every two they catch, one gets across i believe it is 19 they said, -- host: let me throw the 14,000 figure of migrant children breaching the u.s.. what should happen? caller: they should be reunited with their family. if i had drugged my children somewhere and left them alone, i would be away -- arrested for child abuse. these children are being sold in

mexico for $3200 a head and being trafficked by ngos working in the triangle countries. i have a question, if they are so oppressed, how are they showing up with cell phones our borders? how do they get cell service, for god sake? i can't get it in racine. it is astonishing, the degree of just blatant ignorance that we as american citizens don't get. you are going to overwhelm our system. we have children here, veterans here, homeless here. i am all for the land of opportunity. immigration, my children wouldn't be here if it wasn't for legal immigration. my father-in-law came from russia, my mother-in-law from armenia. host:prince . is on the democrats line. caller: thank you for taking my

call i am new subscribing to xm radio so i was just listening and scanning the channels. i was stunned by some of the comments. everyone seems to know everything about everything, but they don't know. here is my take on this. where is diplomacy? if the problem at the border is where it is, then why can't america and mexico get together and address the situation like two countries should? it is everyone's problem. and then the people that come here, they are brick masons, electricians, doctors. they own restaurants. how can you tell me they can't be a part of america by giving to the dreamer program? we need to enact laws that can help the country with immigration, not everybody,

democrat, republican fighting, because you are killing america. it is not america or democrat. it is about people. host: thanks for calling. more about our live coverage on c-span two, we will hear from foreign policy experts as they talk about u.s. policy toward china and north korea and other countries that are referred to as indo pacific countries. this is before the house foreign affairs subcommittee. 10:00 a.m. see stem to -- c-span2. "u.s. and china clash in first meeting of biden's term. officials squared off against chinese counterparts in alaska thursday with two trading sides of global coercion and undermining international order. antony blinken bluntly told the group led by senior chinese officials that the u.s. will

confront growing chinese expansionism and authoritarianism in places like south china sea, while punishing cyber attacks on u.s. companies. they warned at one point " washington would not be able to "strangle china." on the front page of "the washington times, a story about vladimir putin and joe biden. the already chilly relationship descended into a rhetorical and diplomatic deep-freeze thursday when vladimir putin bristled at president biden's claim that he is "a killer or coat president -- "a killer." in a stunning broadside against

america as a whole, and they talk about mr. putin pulling the u.s. ambassador in moscow. we have albert in sag harbor, new york, republican caller. caller: i am a republican. i am concerned about americans who need it, versus people who come to the country with little utility for the future. as far as the economy, the integrity of the dollar will be diminished by the amount of debt we will not be able to pay to foreign countries. have a great day. host: david is on the line from new york, democrat. what is your message to congress and the white house on immigration? caller: yes, good morning. i am a naturalized u.s. citizen having come to the country over 40 years ago from iran where i

had my baccalaureate and phd and masters here. i have been a university president -- professor and senior scientist. one thing the public does not have a full comprehension of is the issue of immigration is politicized to the point of self-defeating the need and merit for immigrants on three levels come immigrants with advanced degrees and skills to revitalize this country and contribute immensely, immigrants with substantial capital to invest in our economy, and also as equally important, the mass immigrants at the unskilled level to do jobs that most americans would not any longer do, and if they did it, it would cost the consumer many times more in terms of the products that such immigrant groups would provide. having said that, the way to

deal with immigration, especially from latin america, is to really -- micro see and political prop -- democracy and political progress so these people have no reason at the unskilled level to come across the border and enter this country. that is the way to deal with it at the roots rather than trying to put a wall or deal with it. so we do have as americans a love hate relationship, and always we use immigrants when something hits the fan, as a scapegoat. that is unconscionable with respect to american ideals. host: 10 minutes left in this program. if you haven't heard, the senate has confirmed herve or becerra, former congressman for the head of health and human services, a 50-49 vote. senator susan collins voted with

the democrats in support of the nomination. in the washington post, the senate has confirmed career diplomat william burns as the next director of the cia, placing one of the country most experienced -- country's most experienced lemat's. -- diplomats. bill nelson is a likelihood for nasa chief, a former astronaut and senator from florida. he is expected to be nominated for the best administered -- next administrator. he would be the second consecutive nasa chief to come from congress and a leader with close ties to the white house. he was a key biden supporter and has a long personal relationship with the president. bill nelson is the likely new head of nasa. ghana -- donna is calling from michigan heights.

caller: good morning. just want to give my -- i'm an immigrant -- and how we came to be in america. we had to have a sponsor who had to show that we have -- that he has money to support us for a year, a family of four. my father had a trade. he was a carpenter by trade and a cabinetmaker. we came here from the former country of yugoslavia. and the whole thing was, it took us two years living abroad in france, who took us as refugees, and after the u.s. investigating who we are and what we were, they then allowed us to come to

america to join my uncle, who was here from the 1950's. one thing bothers me when i watch a lot of these young people coming to america over the border. somebody who is fleeing their country because they are being prosecuted -- persecuted, sorry, and they are waving flags from mexico or the other latin countries, coming over here with their flags, those people, it is kind of hard to believe that they are being so, being persecuted when they want their own flag and want to come to america. most of it i think is just, let me gather my thoughts, most of it, i think is just for the families and getting these

people to come over here. young people would let their young kids of 12 or 10 travel all those miles by themselves, that is unbelievable to me as a parent that you would let that happen. host: thank you for calling. down to our last couple of calls. i want to take you to a hearing yesterday that you can find on our website it was on the house side about violence and discrimination against asians in this country. one of the headlines out of "the texas tribune" -- after a hearing on violence on asian americans to attack china and others on the coronavirus. [video clip] >> we know full well, i've got a bill i introduced to award the posthumous gold-medal for coming

out and exposing with the chinese communist government had done to hide the virus. the doctor was a 34-year-old ophthalmologist in wu hand, china who died from the coronavirus after he sought to draw attention. the first patient infected exhibited symptoms early december 2019. after raising concerns about the spread, he and other doctors were detained and forced to sign a statement retracting the warnings. that is the reality and he ended up dying because he was beaten. they were targeted for engaging in free-speech. for trying to bring to light what was happening. that's the reality of what i tend to refer to as the chi -coms. i am not ashamed to say i oppose the chinese communist party, and when we say things like that and

are talking about that, we shouldn't be worried about having a committee of members of congress policing our rhetoric because some evildoers go engage in some people activity as occurred -- people activity as occurred in atlanta. -- evil activity as occurred in atlanta. this is the road this wants to head down. and nothing could be more dangerous than going down that road because who decides what is hate? who decides what is the kind of speech that deserves policing? host: chip roy at the house judiciary hearing yesterday. also a picture of grace meng, the democrat from new york. she responded to what chip roy had to say.

[video clip] >> during this last year, it became painfully apparent we need a comprehensive effort from our local communities to the federal level. that's why i support bills like the no hate act and that is why the senator and i introduced the hate crimes act which would assign a point person at the department of justice to review hate crimes and make it easier for people to report these incidents. my bill also builds on president biden's presidential memorandum by directing relevant federal agencies to work with community-based organizations to find ways to talk about the virus in a way that is not racist. i urge my colleagues on this committee for consideration of these bills. we cannot turn a blind eye to people living in fear. i want to go back to something that mr. roy said earlier. your president and your party and your colleagues can talk

about issues with any other country that you want, but you don't have to do it by putting a bull's-eye on the back of asian americans across the country, on our grandparents, on our kids. this hearing was to address the hurt and pain of our community and to find solutions, and we will not let you take our voice away from us. host: democratic representative grace meng of new york. the headline about the killings of georgia, killings may test hate crimes law made last year after the arbery case. a clash over anti-asian rhetoric. running just toward the end of our segment on immigration. susan, monroe township, new jersey, democrat. welcome to the program. caller: you've been going back and forth with different subjects. i just want to make this one statement about chip roy. he is unfit to represent any

state in this country. as far as the immigrants go, i do not believe president biden is sending mixed messages. his administration is overwhelmed from the mess that was left by the prior administration. i think what we need to do as the wealthiest country, we need to build temporary housing for these children and get them up off the floors, put some decent bedding, mattress, blankets, sheets, temporary housing, and go in with doctors, nurses, and social workers to oversee what is going on. we don't know what abuse these children are receiving. i agree with several of the states that called in, from nevada, kentucky. it is amazing how they were from all over the country, pennsylvania, new york, south carolina, new hampshire, wisconsin. these immigrants are the one who pick our fruits and vegetables, they work in the hotels, they do all the landscaping now.

hotel workers, food servers, hospital workers, we need these people. there should be a process, and we need to put our prejudices aside because as another gentleman stated, we are all all immigrants at one time. our grandparents or great-grandparents. the first immigrants here murdered and stole from the indians. we are no better. they are accusing these people of doing horrible crimes. in fact, we are all guilty. we are all immigrants. we need to have these people. host: thank you. you get the last word for this hour. this is "the washington journal" for friday, march 19. we will turn our election to elections and the process of voting. we will talk to freedomworks president adam brandon. his group launched an integrity

push in the wake of the 2020 elections. and later we will talk with michael waldman on the effort of several states to restrict voting rights. we will be right back. announcer: cohost of the history chicks podcast talk about the podcast origins and growing popularity covering women in u.s. history. >> women and girls are hungry for role models. we keep hearing representation is important. the amount of emails and messages we get from very young girls, the subject we cover, or the fact that they hear two

women speaking in that format, how it has affected them. throughout history women have typically been the woman behind the man. what we get to do here is we get to talk about the man behind the woman, but focus on her life and tell the story from her point of view. the fact that we get to do that, i hope it inspires people to do the same. and we know it does. announcer: the history chicks on c-span's q&a. you can also listen as a podcast, where you get your podcasts. announcer: "washington journal" continues. host: our guest is adam brandon, president of freedomworks. thank you for joining us. remind viewers what freedomworks is and what its mission is. guest: it is a national

grassroots group. we work with activists across the country on economic issues. you mentioned we are engaging on election integrity. host: how are you folks funded? guest: we have over 50,000 funders last year and we are structured as a 501 c3, 501(c)4, and we also have a pac. host: you have a push for what you are calling election integrity. you have a website. what are you proposing, and why are you doing it? ? guest: it wasn't just reaction to the last election. if you go back to 2016 65% of democrats did not believe the

election was fear. -- was fair. this cycle, the same number of republicans. 65%. we have a crisis in believing that our system is accurately counting the votes. i believe both parties, everyone should take the rhetoric down a little bit, and what are the commonsense sense reforms that we can have that no matter the result people believe that the process was free and fair. host: what do you see? tell us about the forms that you see in in -- see in play? guest: 67% of americans believe you should have voter id. another 18%, while not thinking that you should absolutely have it, think that it's a good idea. that is 85%. this may be the one issue that americans agree on most.

that we should have voter id so that people understand when the ballots go to the ballot box that these are ballots illegally cast by real american -- legally cast by real american citizens. host: democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. mr. brandon is president of freedomworks. question, take us back to the 2020 election. we know former president trump is still saying this, but do you think any of the issues that you are bringing to the table had to do with the results of 2020? take us back to that election and give us a sense of what happened.

mr. brandon, can you hear us? i don't think we have adam brandon. we will give it a shot and see what is going on here. in the meantime, raphael warnock gave his main speech on the floor earlier this week. he talked about voting rights and the effort in his state, georgia, and others to enact restrictions. here's a portion of what he had to say. [video clip] >> we are witnessing a massive and unabashed assault on voting rights unlike anything we have seen since the jim crow era. this is jim crow in new clothes. since the january elections, some 250 voter suppression bills have been introduced by state legislatures all across the country from georgia to arizona,

from new hampshire to florida. using the big lie of voter fraud. as a pretext for voter suppression. the same big lie that led to a violent insurrection on this very capital. -- very capitol the day after my election. within 24 hours of the election of george's first jewish and african-american senator the capitol was assaulted. we see in a few precious hours the tension very much alive in the soul of america. the question before all of us at every moment is what will we do to push us in the right direction?

and so, politicians driven by that big lie aim to severely limit and in some cases eliminate automatic and same-day voter registration, mail income absentee voting, weekend voting, they want to make it easier to purge voters altogether. as a voting rights activist, i have seen up close how draconian these measures can be. i hail from a state that purged 200,000 voters from the roll one saturday night, in the middle of the night. we know what is happening here. some people don't want some people to vote. host: you can watch the full speech by senator raphael warnock, the democrat from georgia. that is what they call his maiden speech in the senate.

watch it at c-span.org. we are trying to get adam brandon back with us, the president of freedom works. we are talking about election administration and voting across elections. mr. brandon had been talking about what he is referring to as election integrity moves. politico has this headline after trump lost and fraud claims. gop eyes voter restrictions in-state houses around the country. it would make it a lot harder to vote. that is one perspective, politico. let's take some calls. isaac from willingham, washington. caller: thank you for c-span. it's an honor. i wanted to say this is an incredibly important subject. especially since the 2013 shelby

county decision which gutted provisions. i have to shout out justice ginsburg's dissent. she said doing this is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet. it doesn't make sense. voter id laws and all of these restrictions are basically solutions in search of a problem. i would ask people, it sounds like a good idea, you should have your id to vote, but it's a constitutional right. you need an id to buy liquor. that is not a constitutional right. to board a plane. that is not a constitutional right. a thumbprint, if that can convict you for murder that should be fine for some kind of identification to the counter crossly the signature, or something. it is very upsetting to me that we are having this massive wave of voter restriction laws. i really hope hr one four the

people act and hr 4, the john lewis, may he rest in peace, voting rights advancement act go to the senate without the filibuster. it is an essential part of our democracy, the right to vote. i hope we protect that for everyone. all people have a right to vote. we should be expanding that and making participation more encouraged and more inclusive in a democracy, because that is the heart of democracy. sen. booker: isaac mentioning -- host: isaac mentioning hr one, for the people act passed in the house. coming up in the senate, not on the floor yet, but there will be a senate hearing next week. some provisions include automatic voter registration and strengthening early and absentee voter rights, creating a small dollar non-taxpayer public

financing system for federal offices. the hr one for the people act requires states to use independent redistricting commissions. some of the criticism of hr one suggests the federal government should not be doing all of this. this is up to the individual states, which we will continue to talk about this hour. let's hear from john in texas on a republican line. caller: good, c-span. you guys are our last great hope. i am 60 years old. i have been showing my id since i was 18. i did a search on google the other day, and in the majority of western industrial nations around the world require a form of id. i cannot understand how we have the right to vote, but when that

right becomes a responsibility -- if you are too lazy to get registered before -- same-day registration is an invitation for fraud. hr one would be a disaster because the democrats would cheat like they have been cheating for the last 20 years. we need to go back to the old-fashioned way of voting on the same day in person with the voter id. i lived in mexico for five years. in mexico you need a federal id with your fingerprint and a picture. is that racist? no. the constitution says voting day is the same one day. it ends at midnight. hr one would count votes up to 10 days later. that is insane. all i ask is to go back to do normal things like our grandparents used to do. show up to vote on one day with an id. if you can't do that, don't complain.

it is that simple. host: john from texas. on to georgia, democrat, chris. hello, chris. caller: good morning. host: good morning, how are you? caller: good, good. i want to comment on voter repression. i live in georgia appeared replying to john from texas, i am all about voter id, but it's not even about voter id. i live in georgia and we are facing some of the greatest voter suppression since the jim crow era. i say the national laws are making it illegal to give water or refreshments to people who are standing in line. who came to vote. i agree with the democratic caller a couple of times ago. it is about election integrity. it has been the republicans who have been cheating. that is my comment. host: we are talking again with

adam brandon of freedomworks, the president. can you hear us? guest: i can. i will blame covid for the issue. host:host: we can hear you and see you. we have been talking while you were away for those few minutes about hr one, the for the people act. this has been passed in the house and is coming up in the senate. what is your critique of this bill? guest: as i was saying before i cut out, i would like to have a bipartisan approach. you start with issues you all agree on. how about voter id? try to make reforms that encourage people to vote in person on election day. there was something about when i was a little boy the first time that i went into an election booth with my mom i remember that she shut the curtain behind her, and it was her and her ballot. you further -- the further you

remove us from that process, it opens us up to questions. a real issue, and i heard the last few callers, was republicans are about voter fraud. no, democrats are about voter fraud. if we both feel that way we won't get anywhere. we need a system we can both agree upon. host: before we go to calls let me get you to react something written by sylvia albert, the director of voting and elections at common cause. we will get your reaction. from cutting early voting to increasing purges of voter registration lists to limiting absentee voting options, these bills are shameless. talking about the various bills in the country right now. shameless, partisan attempts to silence us. it is not a coincidence these bills are being introduced after a free, fair, and secure election with record turnout. voters exercise the right to vote and politicians responded, we don't want you to vote. many of these bills target

voters of color and young voters who already face many barriers to the ballot box. they have nothing to do with election integrity and are simply an attack on our integrity to vote. guest: i think that is kind of silly. this has nothing to do with race. this is about making sure that everyone's ballot is treated the same. everyone goes through the same process, has the same access, voting on the same day, hopefully. that is what you're really looking for. host: taking calls for mr. brandon. john, brooklyn, new york, democratic caller. caller: thank you, c-span. i am going back to what you said about 65% of republicans this time and 65% of democrats last time did not trust these elections. but, i go back to the most recent time, and how much of the distrust of the elections was

from the person in the election months before saying that the elections were not going to be fair? and then from month after not admitting -- for months after not admitting that the elections were correct. when his own justice department said they were the safest -- they were the most secure elections ever. it is kind of weird to draw that difference between 2016 and 2020 when you have one person who was actually undermining the trust in the elections before the elections even take place. also, in terms of your suggestions, what part of for an interference do you propose is a problem in our elections?

like russia, or other people hacking into our election? guest: that's a great point about foreign interference. i can guarantee that every election we've had in the last decade foreign countries have tried to interfere. that is why common sense reforms we should have, like a paper back up, so that when someone casts their vote on a machine they can look at the vote and say, yes this is how i voted. it also provides an audit trail. this is things we all agree on. voter id, moving things to a process everyone can agree upon. with the rhetoric today, if you drop ballots in the middle of the street and you say that's not a good idea, you get called someone who is trying to fight for voter suppression. we need to figure out what areas we agree on, what makes a good, clean ballot, what systems are reported to work? this isn't hard.

i look around the world and people are doing a pretty fine job. the netherlands are going to open their elections this someone who is elderly to vote absentee for the first time. i was reading how the netherlands were approaching things, and it is about the sanctity. it is a safer process when you get people to the ballot box and we have lists we can agree on. i am big fan of having the results of the elections that night, not waiting for weeks and weeks for voters to figure out if this is legal or not. rules that everyone can abide by. one of the questions the caller brought up about the last election, a lot of gop concerns was about covid. we started changing election law in the middle of the election. votes were being cast at the same time that courts were getting involved saying this was a ballot and this wasn't. maybe you need a signature, maybe you don't. there was confusion in the system. moving forward we can do better as a country.

host: stephen, new york. welcome. caller: my thing is if we do work the h.r.1, it says you can have plane loads of people come from china and russia and actually be able to vote in our elections, which undermines the entire process. we may as well open our elections to the entire world and let them tell us what to do. we are saying we want the rest of the world to tell america what to do and our presidents are not our leaders. this is why we need some sort of voter id law, whether we like it or not. otherwise the question should be do you want your vote account or not? i leave it with that. host: adam brandon, aside from coming on programs like this, how does freedomworks plan to push this issue? how much money will you spend? who will you be meeting with in the weeks and months to come? guest: we will look at different legislation to see if there are things that we can support.

there is also basic education. what are some of these issues? we have been doing polling showing things like 85 percent of americans support voter id in some way. what else do americans agree on 85 percent these days? let's take those steps so both republicans and democrats can agree on the sanctity of our elections. let's start with those reforms to bring us together, not the ones that people will say that is a partisan attack. this will be a massive education effort. $2 million to $3 million is what we have budgeted to this point. it will be on the ground in different states. we will be training people to get involved in the election process so they can be a part of the count and watching what is going on so there's more trust and transparency. finally, we will register people to vote. how can you do anything voter integrity and not to get people involved in the process? host: from michigan, democratic

caller for adam brandon. caller: how are you doing? i just want to say in my eyes every election in this country, it only makes sense really to have uniform voting laws to call the election process. host: in a reaction? guest: i am a federalist. i grew up thinking that states should administer their own elections. i mentioned earlier paper ballot backing. i believe there are things the federal government can do to help local officials make sure that they have the best technology available. i believe it's pretty hard for a local board of elections to fight back against russian and chinese interference. there are things the federal government can do that way, but overall it should be up to the states. this is me and my understanding as we live in a republic and not

a direct democracy. in the republic you trust states to get these things done. host: the 2020 election, something i was looking to ask you earlier, what do you see at the national level and around the country that leads into the efforts you are putting out now? guest: i grew up in ohio, and i thought ohio did an excellent job in the elections. you didn't have that much controversy. they had their vote tallied quickly. there weren't a lot of questions going back and forth of who should vote and who shouldn't. our next-door neighbor, pennsylvania, it was unclear what a ballot was, when it should be counted, if it was mailed the day of, does that count? it is such a stark contrast between elections to me. we should have known when we went to bed who won the election. knowing that the washington post said there are only 90,000 votes

that were cast differently the republicans would have the house, the senate, and the white house. that is how closely divided the united states are. there was one processed by the end of the evening we knew with the results were. i would rather going forward as part of bringing the country together we have a clear process similar to ohio we should look at at the end of the day and say this is our result. i believe with h.r.1 and some other changes future elections will get murkier. weeks and months afterwards we will be figuring out who won, and i don't think that is healthy for our system. host: harvey, south carolina, democrats line. caller: how are you doing? i want to point this out. between 1865 when the emancipation took place until 1960, large numbers of african-americans left the south

and moved to new york in pennsylvania and ohio. a lot of them went to connecticut. in recent years those people have moved back to the south with their children, their grandchildren. they have reversed the number of voters, african-americans, in the south. that trend is changing the demographic nationally. that is why you see so many states who are trying to go back to the jim crow era of denying african-americans the opportunity to vote. clearly, we recognize and listen to your guest talk about one day voting the way we used to do things. things can be done the way we use to. in south africa they bowed over several days to make sure every vote is counted. if we cannot count every vote we are not living in a democratic society.

guest: i agree 100%. you need a system where every single person who is eligible to vote, it can be very easy for them to register to vote and cast a vote. my concern about when you start moving to a system where people are voting in august and september, the election has not played itself out yet. i also don't like that that derives partisanship. you are not getting to know the candidates, you're picking the ticket to go straight republican or straight to mccracken. i don't -- straight republican or straight democrat. if you have an issue come your elderly or can't get to the ballot on election day, we should be making accommodations. if we make accommodations for everyone makes the system murkier and murkier. south africa's different than the united states. i think it is one thing we can all agree on, no one wants to come close to returning to the jim crow era. going forward one way you look

at that is let's find basic things we agree on, like voter id. it's have voter rules we can all agree on when it comes to the concept of purging. if you are dead, you should not be on a voting roll.let's make sure there's a clear process so someone knows someone has passed, they are off the voting roll. i think these are reforms we can all agree on. host: your group has been active on the topic of the filibuster in the senate. you wrote a piece on realclearpolitics.com saying there is no mandate for democrats to new the filibuster. what are you saying come and why do you feel the way you do? guest: i feel strongly. this goes back to the 90,000 votes that could have flipped the outcome of the entire election. this is not a mandate to blow up our entire system. we were set out to be a republic.we are not a democracy. a democracy is 51% says and go es.

if you are in the minority you still have rights and privileges. the senate is part of that. the idea that you would have the house, the people's body, and the senate that would represent the states. we change how the senate works, but the filibuster is to push debate. we have the filibuster so we make sure even if you are in the minority party you still acquire a lot of protections in the senate. if you do away with that you end up with two houses of representatives. without the filibuster there is no reason to have the senate. i think we should pause and have a long think for we do away with the branch of our government. host: auburn, washington, good morning. caller: good morning. my question regarding the state voting, is there a way that automatically when a person does die we automatically put it in

social security -- is there a way to find out if they have been taken off the registration on voting? guest: this is up to the states to figure out. what i don't like about h.r.1 is six months before an election you cannot challenge any voter on the roll. six months before an election, if you know people should not be on the ballot because they moved, because they passed away -- for whatever reason you can't remove them. i think that is a major problem with h.r.1. i think it is basic common sense. if you are not eligible to vote, you shouldn't be on the voting roll. host: democrat, new york. caller: what a coincidence. two auburns. i have to disagree with this guy 100%. i'm a veteran. i voted absentee when i was a veteran. i don't believe you should count the vote the night of the election. it should be a week long process.

it is not certified until december. secondly, at least one third of the eligible voters did not vote. trump got less than 33% and biden got 34%. we are ruling with a minority majority. i think you should be required to vote by law and fined for not voting, and everyone should be registered at birth. my final point is poll workers are background checked. they have to go through a criminal background check as if you're going to be a civil servant. we are not committing fraud. one man, one vote. thank you very much. guest: i agree, one man, one vote. i think that's the system are looking for. where i disagree, to me what's most important is you have a voting system where everyone

agrees, but i don't believe the state should have the power to say you have to vote. i don't think that's healthy. i think people that want to vote should have zero barriers for going to vote. they should have a clean system. we play by the same rules and i'm for that. am i for making it by penalty if you don't vote? i think that's a massive overreach. i used to live in eastern europe and they were required to vote. it is an authoritarian thing when the state tells you what your behavior should be. host: freedomworks.org is the website and adam brandon is the president of the organization known as freedomworks. we will take a short timeout and talk with michael waldman, the president of the brennan center on efforts in several states on what he sees as restricting voting rights. we will get his input and see you in a few minutes.

♪ announcer: american history tv on c-span3, exploring the people and events that tell the american story every weekend. coming up this weekend, saturday at six :00 p.m. eastern on the civil war, a discussion on sheridan's ride. the arrival of john phillips sheridan's arrival ending the confederate resistance in the shenandoah valley. at 6:00 p.m. eastern on american artifacts, re-creation of the events on the assassination attempt on ronald reagan by john hinckley junior. on the presidency, author of what jefferson redd, mike watched, and obama tweeted, talking about how popular culture influences presidents. watch american history tv this

weekend on c-span3. announcer: "washington journal" continues. host: our guest is michael waldman with the new york university law school and president of the brennan center for justice. good morning mr. waldman. what is the brennan center for justice? how are you organized and funded? guest:guest: we are a nonpartisan law institute that works to re-strengthen the systems of democracy and justice in the united states. we think they often urgently need repair so they work for all americans. we are funded not by the university, but by private supporters. 14,000 at last count. we are deeply concerned about the assault on voting that is taking place across the country right now. host: your website says america

is facing an overwhelming legislative assault. those are the words you use on voting rights. explain what you are seeing, sir. guest: think about for starters what we had last year. it was something of a civic miracle. despite the pandemic and despite voter suppression, and despite lies of the election it was the highest voter turnout since 1900. 100 one million people voted early or by mail. it was actually a huge success. as president trump's own security experts confirmed, it was the most secure election in memory. all of the courts who looked at this rejected notions of fraud affected the election. we should be celebrating that. instead, what we see in states across the country is a tidal wave of new efforts to restrict the vote.the brennan center 's research showed 200 55 proposed laws at last count in

four out of five states that would cut back on voting. this is the biggest push like this since the jim crow era. don't make any mistake. so many of these proposals are aimed squarely at a black voters, brown voters, young people, and poor people. it would be a terrible thing to see this kind of assault succeed on our democracy. host: i will put the phone numbers on the bottom of the screen for our newest guest. separate lines for democrats, republicans, and independents. we will talk for a few minutes then get you back into the conversation. tell us about your thoughts on h.r.1, the for the people act. the house passed this bill. the senate is going into the hearing process on this. what do you like about this bill? what are the provisions that appeal to you most? guest: i think it is a very

important and positive bill. i strongly supported. -- support it. for starters, it's important to understand for people who are worried about the attack on voting rights happening in the states right now, it would stop that cold. congress has the power to do that constitutionally and legally. what it needs is the political will to do it. it goes beyond that. this would modernize and strengthen the institutions of our elections and democracy. it would take automatic voter registration, which is the law in 19 states unless they opt out they are automatically registered to vote. make that the law of the land. it would set a national floor so that everyone has access to early voting. everyone has access if they want it to vote by mail. not required, but if they want it no matter what state they live in.

it was strengthen our elections in a way that's important. we would ban partisan gerrymandering, which believe me, both political parties eagerly gerrymander when they can. we are about to enter into the redistricting cycle where politicians draw the lines for their election district. that can last for a decade and would reform the role of money in politics. which we know has brought so much corruption and so much of an extra voice for big money in our system. it does these things, which are urgent and vital under any circumstances, but especially right now witnessing what's going on in the states. witnessing the big lie that president trump foot forward -- put forward that the election was stolen in our democracy is illegitimate, and the insurrection. this is not just a good thing to do, it is something that i would suggest congress has to do. host: annandale, virginia, democratic line. caller: good morning.

thank you for having the show. i am a supporter of h.r.1. i thank the brennan center for their support. i would like you address what you just said. there is a self narrative that there was election fraud, but really the issue is voter suppression. we have a history of restricting voting. women didn't get to vote until 1920 and people of color didn't get the right to vote until really the late 1960's. what we have seen is really trying to restrict voting and the false narrative that the trump administration and his allies have created that we are all trying to argue election fraud when the real issue is voter suppression. the commission collapsed in 2018. it was supposed to investigate voter fraud. then it installed the narrative that i would like you to address. and also what we saw, polls be moved away from people. in rural areas people have to

have access to the ballots and they have to drive long distances. i would like for you to address those and point out that the issue is voter suppression and really strengthening our democracy. i thank you. guest: i agree with the caller. we have had to fight through our country's history to make sure that everyone gets their voice heard and their seat at the table. when we started as a country we didn't have what any of us would regard as a democracy. only white men who owned property could vote. we have worked hard to expand that. just as often people have been pushing to roll it back. that is unfortunate in what we are seeing today. we are looking for the real threats to our democracy, which is efforts that would make it harder for many people to vote. as a statistical matter, and i know a lot of people are worried about this, as a statistical matter you are more likely to be

struck by lightning then commit voter fraud in the united states. that was confirmed repeatedly in the last election by president trump's own security experts, 60 courts who looked at this. even when the lawyers for trump went to court and were under oath, they actually actually had to say the truth or get in trouble, they said we're not talking about fraud. this is just a tactic used to create concern and fear to justify rolling back vital voting rights and voter protections. i think we all have an interest in election security and integrity, but making sure eligible voters have the right to vote unimpeded is one of the most important concerns we can push. host: maryland, the republican line. hello. caller: thank you for the show.

this is a real hot button issue for me. it has driven me absolutely insane. i watched every state legislature hearing on voter irregularity, and i was shocked and heartbroken at what i saw. hundreds of my fellow americans testified under oath with sworn affidavits on their own time and their own dime. the media will not cover it, no judge had the balls to hear the evidence. is it acceptable to have more ballots cast then registered voters? is it acceptable for democrats to cheer when republican poll workers are forced out of polling locations? i don't understand why we can't ask the questions. host: let's get a response from

our guest. guest: i hear the concern from the caller and the sincerity of her concern, and that makes me doubly angry at the politicians who simply lied to her and others about what has gone on. again, it was republican and democratic judges, judges appointed by president trump and others, who said in 60 cases, you know what, this election was strong and secure. it was the federal government, the trump administration's own security experts, who said it was secure. it was attorney general barr who used a barnyard epithet to describe misconduct. i would say we should hold accountable those politicians who knowingly peddled the big lie to sincere americans, like the caller, and to others who attacked our capitol and democracy. for americans, to be truly

patriotic, we have to pull together and say what can we do to strengthen our democracy? not to make it harder for other people to vote, but to make it sure we all in the modern age have the ability to truly participate in our democracy. vote by mail is something tens of millions people have used and something that republicans, as well as democrats, supported and used until the recent election. it has been done with very smooth and encouraging results. we ought to be looking at what has worked well and making sure that is available to everybody. again, i hear the caller, and it makes me all the more unhappy with those politicians, who for their own personal reasons, lie to sincere people about what happened in the election. host: our guest is michael waldman with the university of new york law school and the brennan center.

take a deeper look around the country. these 200 plus laws either on the books are being pursued. if you could pick one or two that concern you the most, what are they and where are they? guest:guest: in a lot of places this very normal thing of absentee balloting, or voting by mail, which most of the country did already, there is an attempt to roll it back. let's look in particular at georgia. georgia is a place where these new proposed voting laws are very carefully and rather obviously targeted at black voters for partisan advantage. in georgia you had bipartisan support for vote by mail. no excuse absentee balloting. not that you had to, but you could. it went in to vote by mail, and no excuse -- it would end vote

by mail and end no excuse balloting. it would repeal automatic voter registration, which was a very successful program put in place by governor kemp when he was the secretary of state of georgia, and of course a republican. it would end early voting on the sunday before election day, the day that black churches typically have souls to the polls organizing. it would make it a crime to hand out water to someone in line to vote. those long lines are unfortunately often in minority communities other than other communities. that is a petri dish of all of the things being done in the laws that don't have a justification but would have a significant impact, especially on voters of color. there was a state legislator in

arizona, one of the people pushing these laws, who kinda said it out loud. he said democrats, some people want everyone to be able to vote. what matters is not the quantity of voters but the quality of voters. not everyone should be able to vote. that is not the attitude we in 2021 as americans really truly want to embrace. host: what legal challenges are you seeing or expecting on some of the laws? guest: now the effort is to stop these legislatures from passing them. there is mounting growing public concern and anger. the politics is such we have seen this in georgia, north carolina, and other places that people do not like it when you try to take away their right to vote or make it harder for them to vote and it can often lead to political backlash. there will be lawsuits. there may well be challenges to

these laws from the justice department. one of the things that can be done that i am most focused on, as we discussed a little bit, is congress can pass the for the people act as h.r.1 which would stop these laws in their tracks. they would say everyone, wherever you live, should have enough right and ability to vote by mail if you want to, to have early voting. it shouldn't matter which political party controls the state legislature at any moment and some state to determine your right to vote in a basic and fundamental way. host: annie, independent voter. caller: please give me a moment. i am the daughter of a civics teacher, and my late father is spinning in his urn. they also include the hispanic

population. a lot of them are very devout catholics and i think they also have the souls to the polls. two more points. the late justice william rehnquist used to intimidate voters in arizona. he was a big bully. the main comment that i want to make is, why won't you play paul wyrich where he was giving a talk at the heritage foundation, which i think he found it. " how many of you good christians have the good government syndrome? they want everyone to vote. i don't want everyone to vote." please play that video. host: thanks a lot for calling. guest: annie is exactly right.

that was a speech given in august of 1980 who is introducing ronald reagan at an important meeting with clergy in houston. he said exactly what annie described. he wasn't some pundit malls -- pundit mouthing off. the heritage foundation to this day continues to agitate for laws to make it harder for other americans to vote. this has been a great fight, a great push and pull throughout american history. we know we made it impossible in the south for black people to vote for a century. how hard we make it for immigrants to vote. we really have a consensus that everybody who is eligible should have the ability to vote. one person, one vote. that was something that republicans and democrats

together agreed on. the last time the voting rights act was reauthorized by congress, the senate passed it 98-zero. george w. bush proudly signed it. it is only recently that it has become a mobilizing and organizing issue for politicians. i would just say that when politicians have to make their efforts based on trying to restrict the vote by the other side, rather than taking arguments to the public, that is the sign of a long-term weak hand. host: back to h.r.1, georgia congressman barry loudermilk explained his opposition. let's look and then get your response. [video clip] >> i rise not only in opposition, but in strong opposition. especially to the attempt to nationalize our federal elections, and the notion that

people like joseph kirk of bartow county, georgia, the election superintendent who has done a phenomenal job administering our elections, is not as qualified as people in this room as to how to run an election. more and portly bureaucrats in washington, d.c., they can administer an election in bartow county better than our election supervisor can and has. it's a notion beyond compare. this flies in the face of our founders, especially those at the constitutional convention. there were arguments against article one section four, the elections clause, because the fear stated was that those in power could use that power to manipulate elections to keep them in power. that one day someone would use this authority to manipulate the elections so they can maintain power. madam speaker, i believe we have arrived at that.

alexander hamilton argued the opposite. he said it's important institutions of government be able to preserve themselves, that this was a backup. it was a backup that the states have the priority to run their own elections. he said it should only be used when extraordinary circumstances might render it safety. we are not in that extraordinary circumstance. the extraordinary circumstance that will be stated over and over is how we ran the election in 2020 under covid. many of the provisions in this legislation, including universal mail-in ballots, a ban on voter id laws, and mandated ballot harvesting were changes made by states illegally in 2020 that caused a lot of the problem we saw. host: michael waldman of the brennan center for justice. your reaction? guest: there are so many misrepresentations per sentence

that it's hard to choose, but i would make a few points. yes, counties and states run elections in our country, and local election officials of both parties did a tremendous job under difficult circumstances. but congress does have the power to set national standards to make sure that people's rights are protected and that when states run their elections that they do not do it in a way that is unfair, that is cutting people out, or that is not reflecting the best of how we run modern elections. that this legislation does not have the elections run by bureaucrats in washington, they are run by states and counties, but with national standards to make sure we all have a full opportunity to participate. the gentleman, the congressman, i'm afraid misread the constitutional convention and the story of our constitution. james madison insisted on having what is called the elections clause in the constitution,

which gives states initially the ability, the power to set time, place, and manner of elections, but gives congress the power to override that because james madison and others felt state legislatures would be captured by what they called their faction and would pass things that we now call voter suppression laws and gerrymandering. they didn't call it that then, but that's what they're talking about. that there needs to be checks and balances. our national government needed to make sure that people had the effective right to vote. that is what this legislation would do. it would set national standards and modernize our elections in a way that is fair to everyone. what we see with our naked eyes, right in front of us, the racially driven and partisan efforts to restrict the vote

across the country. if we aren't happy with that, if we aren't satisfied that's the way to go, sometimes there is a need for action. that is what the bill would do. host: we take a call from miami, florida, democrat, dorothy. caller: i haven't heard anyone talk about the politician from miami, his name was rodriguez. he paid somebody to get on the ballot, another rodriguez. he paid them to get on the ballot so he could take votes away from another senator. they took the votes away from another senator because we thought this rodriguez was the one that was running. they arrested him yesterday. nobody has said anything about that. they haven't said anything about politicians paying people to run for election, get on the ballot

and run for election so that the votes would be scattered all over the place. you think this is fair? why hasn't anyone address this? host: can you fill in some gaps for us? guest: i'm afraid i'm not familiar with that story and situation. that thing has been known to happen. it is an example of where sometimes we forget to really look at the politicians who do their best to manipulate things and instead take it out on the voters. i can't offer much background or comment on the situation described, except to say that kind of thing is pretty rare these days. american elections used to be a lot dirtier and rambunctious, but we have worked over many decades to make our elections more secure than they have been. we have real things to worry

about. we saw it in 2016 certainly where russia did its best to interfere in our elections. we wanted more from the intelligence community this past week about russia and iran trying to influence our elections in different ways. that is the security concern we ought to be working on. the for the people act includes important bipartisan legislation that would make sure that states and counties have the most secure voter registration list and voting rolls and voting machines they can have. host: the headline says ex florida senator paid candidate to siphon votes. a race that the gop narrowly won. you can read more about that at the washington post. we are just about out of time. tell us more about your efforts moving forward at the 200 plus

bills in progress around the country and how you plan to fight them. guest: first off, we are working to expose them to make sure people know about them. folks can certainly read or work -- read our work at www. brennancentre.org. we have newsletters and ways to stay in touch. we have groups on the ground in georgia, like the new georgia project or fair fight led by stacey abrams and others who are working to fight the laws. and we are working to fight the for the people act and the john lewis voting rights advancement act, which would restore the strength of the voting rights act. again, the answer in the end is to make sure that we have one national standard so that it doesn't matter who you are, black or