your calls and comment on the news of the day. at 7:30, we talked to freshman representative stephanie bice about her legislative priorities and news of the day. then, representative nanette barragan on border security. ♪ host: the u.s. house begins its work today at 9:00 a.m. eastern, wrapping up their legislative week with a full agenda on tap for next week as well, but some fissures in democratic unity were in evidence yesterday as democratic leaders tamped down expectations to introduce a bill to expand the u.s. supreme court. it is friday, april 16, 2021. that is one of several issues we will explore this morning as we ask you about your top political news story of the week.

here is how to join the conversation. for republicans, call (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents and others, (202) 748-8002. you can send us a text, (202) 748-8003 and make sure you include your name and where you are texting from. on twitter, tweet us, @cspanwj. we will look for your facebook posts as well, facebook.com/cspan. more about the supreme court story. there are more issues we will look into and more, including the sanctions announced yesterday by the biden administration on russia and further news about russia and u.s. relations. the court barely mentioned a moment ago, more about that momentarily, and an update on the chauvin trial and other news on police shootings as well. first and overnight news, another mass shooting in the u.s., this time in indianapolis.

eight dead, more injured in shooting at fedex facility near the airport. eight people were killed during a mass shooting up the fedex ground field plane operations center late thursday. the victims were found dead at the scene. the spokesperson said the dead had injuries consistent with gunshot wounds. the gunman was found dead in what is believed to be a suicide nearby, but we are being made aware of multiple other people with injuries transported to local hospitals. four people were transported by ambulance, with one in critical condition with injuries consistent with gunshot wounds. we will keep an on that story as well. reaction from viewers already on twitter, @cspanwj, george tweet another mass shooting in indianapolis, america shrugs its shoulders.

marianne says time for an assault weapons ban. in congressman ted deutch tweeting again and again and again and again -- how many more? congress must take action. to the supreme court story. the roll call reporting on the announcement by several members of congress, supreme court expansion bill faces serious blocks across political spectrum. some from that article -- before democratic members could take to the steps of the supreme court to expand the supreme court from 9 to 13, leaders of the party were already deflating the effort. "i have no plans to bring it to the floor," the speaker said. "i'm not ready to sign on yet," said that majority whip, dick

durbin. so the first question to senator markey at thursday's news conference outside the high court was where exactly do you go from here? he was joined by three members of the house judiciary committee. here is senator markey of massachusetts. [video clip] >> republicans stole two seats on the supreme court, and now it is up to us to repair that damage. our democracy is in jeopardy today because the supreme court 's standing is sorely damaged. in the way we repair it is straightforward. we undo the damage republicans have done by restoring balance, and we do it by adding four seats to the court to create a 13 member supreme court. these four new seats, to be filled by president biden, will reconstitute the united states

supreme court. the bench will then rightly reflect the values of the majority of the american people on whose behalf they serve. expanding the court is constitutional. congress has done it before and congress must do it again. host: one of several stories we will talk about this first half-hour on the program, asking you your top lyrical news story of the week come of that the story about the administration with sanctions imposed on russia and also an update on the chauvin trial and other police shooting news. this is from foreign policy, the headline u.s. lapse wide-ranging sanctions on moscow but stopped short of killer blow. the biden administration announced a sweeping package of sanctions on russia, including further restrictions on moscow's ability to cap capital markets.

the new measure is the culmination of a broad review of nefarious russian activity that president biden launched his first day comes after the russian foreign minister warned that relations between moscow and washington have hit the bottom. in its review, the administration flagged several areas of russian malfeasance, including interference in u.s. elections, cyber attacks on u.s. federal agencies, and the poisoning and imprisonment of alexey navalny, and others. the new measures include the expulsion of 10 double mats and intelligence officers from russian -- the russian embassy in washington and sanctions on six technology companies that provide support to russia's foreign intelligence service. an update from the jerusalem

post in terms of the upcoming likely summit between president biden and president putin. this is from the jerusalem post. finland's president offered to host the summit -- the afp reporting this, that tweet from the jerusalem post. more on this from steve in san jose, california on the republican line. caller: i think the biggest story is the blatant power grab of the democrats since they have taken office. and this is no more evident than what we have heard that they are interested in doing. in regards to the supreme court, it was not stolen.

you democrat callers that are going to call in, please explain to the rest of america how it was stolen. what was done by the republicans was totally legal. you may not have liked it, but if you were in the same situation, you would have done the same. it was totally legal. the democrats, if they are allowed to do this to the supreme court, the supreme court will then become nothing more than a rubberstamp for whatever the democrats want to do. they will have control of the complete government at that time. and if they pass hr1, which has already gone through the house, that will change the way we vote. states will no longer be able to write their own laws regarding voting.

it will become a federal voting law throughout the united states. voting will be standardized. you will not need an id to vote, for instance. in regards to making d.c. and puerto rico a state, that will add four more democratic senators. what is taking place is what all evil governments do once they get in power. host: we will go to wilson, north carolina next. jim on the independent line. caller: yes, that last caller -- that is not what i am calling about, but that last caller, i want to let him know it is also legal for joe biden to add four more justices to the court. so let him think about that. but the main thing i wanted to call about this morning was the police thing, because this is what is going to tear america

apart. during the trump administration, we had a lot of bad policeman to get in there. they are not investigating the backgrounds of these people. we need to go through and investigate every cop, every policeman in this country, see the ones that have complaints against them -- not fire them but let them know they are on notice. let them know they are being watched. and we have to start hiring better people. if you look in the police department, you will see a lot of people with backgrounds tied to white supremacy and other groups and stuff like that. we have to clean the system up, and it is going to take some time, and we will have a lot more of these killings before we weed out these people, but that is a big thing we need to do. host: the main part of the chauvin trial came to a conclusion yesterday.

we have been covering the proceedings live on the c-span networks. this headline --chauvin opts not to testify in his defense. we will also -- we also want to show this opinion piece writing that vice president kamala h arris has the stature, expertise, and credibility -- each proposed long lists of police reform in their presidential campaigns. harris as point person would drive concrete action, improving policing such as limiting asset seizure, and they can set a good example for law enforcement at the federal level. read more at usatoday.com. next is james in atlanta, your top political news story. caller: my top one is the

constitution. the constitution is obsolete. you can have an abortion that is legal or they can ban abortions, it is legal. the drug scott -- the dred sco tt case -- mitch mcconnell, how they appointed those judges. the supreme court can have the power to overturn any law that is passed. that is how you can get minority rule forever and ever. if the democrats pass any laws, they can be overruled by the supreme court and mcconnell and republicans love the court. and they pack the courts. the democrats really do not. a lot of white democrats do not want to pass bills. we have two people stopping the whole country from falling from minimum wage for these reforms. two people can stop the whole

country. this is how white people maintain their privilege, and it is going to continue. joe manchin and the people in west virginia, they get everything they want. host: to north carolina, this is keith. good morning. caller: good morning. host: hey, keith. keith? caller: i'm sorry. my biggest issue right now is still the january 6 insurrection. host: tell a slow bit more, you're concerned in terms of the follow-up to it? in terms of the actual event itself? what more concerns you about that? caller: the event disgusts me and should disgust all americans, and the follow-up is we still have no clue why it happened, what happened when everything went crazy in the

congress. we have no answers to any of this. it is just an underlying situation that affects the future of this country, the way the republicans and democrats are so far apart. host: there was a hearing yesterday with the inspector general, i.g. faults capitol police training and order to hold -- orders to hold back -- the force's inspector general told lawmakers thursday as he urged an overhaul of campus security. the inspector general told the house administration committee that a deputy assistant chief of instruction instructed officers not to use weapons, including stingballs and 40 millimeter launchers out of concern they could potentially cause life altering injury or death if

misused in any way. that hearing, we covered it yesterday on the c-span networks. you can find that c-span.org. one of the aftermaths of that attack is the necessity to replace and repair the damaged structures inside the u.s. capitol. this is about the wood they will need to do some of that. from roll call, this wood set in storage for 100 years is now being used to repair that damage. they say it only a few people know where to find the wood to repair the furnishings damaged by a pro-trump mob. one of those is the acting assistant director for the u.s. forest service's forest products laboratory in madison wisconsin -- madison, wisconsin, and he knew the exact location of a 3000 pound stack of wood collec

ting dust. the 78 mahogany boards were set in storage for a century, waiting for a purpose. we actually had an allocation from the war department to put together a propeller research laboratory, and i believe these specimens were used in the research. that wood is on its way to washington to be used in the repairs. your top political news stories of the week. doug in falls church, virginia. caller: first of all, great news about the wood. i wanted to comment on the supreme court expansion. i am god smacked by the democrat -- i am gobsmacked by the democrats' position. this whole thing was put into motion by harry reid, and his reduction in passing nominations

for appellate court. that is really where we are now. the whole thing is so clearly in the democrats' favor, i really do not know who they are trying to pull this over on. at the same time, they are talking about reducing the -- getting rid of the filibuster, which is another measurement to moderate congress. they are clearly talking out of both sides of their mouth, and this is really something meant to favor them, so i really do not know who they are fooling with all of this. i think biden's fairly shrewd, talking to his "bipartisan committee," but he will really move forward with this measure regardless, because it is clearly in his majority party's interest. i consider myself a fairly moderate person. i am actually a republican who

voted for biden for some hope of bipartisanship, but that is clearly not happening. host: the washington times reporting on that difference between democratic leaders and those supporting expanding the court. pelosi strategically delays court packing. the speaker spoke in her weekly briefing about the bill. [video clip] >> do you support the bill to expand the supreme court by four seats and would you commit to bringing that to the floor? >> no. i support the president's commission to study such a proposal. but frankly, i am not -- right now, our members, our committees are working, putting together the infrastructure bill and the rest. i think it is a tiny idea -- i think it is an idea that should

be considered and i think the president is taking the right approach to having a commission to study such a thing. it is not out of the question. it has been done before in the history of our country a long time ago. and the growth of our country, the size of our country, the growth of our challenges in terms of the economy, etc., might necessitate such a thing, but i have no plans to bring it to the floor. host: your top political story of the week, responses by twitter and text. this one says the top is the collusion between the trump campaign and russia, which should be pursued by the justice department to learn what russia received and continues to receive. packing this up in court, as president trump would, is my concern. on the police shooting front, saying police training, our police force our body slamming

74-year-old woman, reiterating police training. and this one says imagine how our partisan joke of the media would have reacted if trump had pushed for more seats on the supreme court, the outrage, solving, don lemon dialogues. add to our democrats line. caller: i think the biggest story is the voter suppression on georgia. c-span, you have a lot of these people reporting -- repeating these same lies, and then -- you can use student ids but not government or public housing id. what is more official than public housing id? these are voter suppression tactics meant to deeply disenfranchise poor voters who do not have a drivers license and voters who are people of color.

it is voter suppression tactics, and this is an obvious point about voter ids that people ignore and you never hear on c-span. in the last caller, democrats are attempting a power grab, when you have hundreds of republicans threatening not to certify election results. you have kevin brady in the house, one of the republican leaders, at a "stop the steal" rally. they have natural allies and people who are insurrectionists. they hate democracy. the republican party is a fascist party. host: let's hear from south carolina, independent line. caller: good morning. this is interesting. we are bickering amongst each other, constantly saying one side is evil, the other side is

evil. at the end of the day, with the bickering amongst ourselves, how do we expect our politicians to work any better, to work towards any type of common ground? here we go again. we will clamor about more training for police officers, yet i spent 10 years in the marines. my rules of engagement were far more stringent in iraq than what officers have to engage in stateside. derek chauvin was recently finished taste training, and look at how that end result happened. here we go again with indianapolis and another shooting. if we do not come together neighbor to neighbor, person-to-person, how are we going to expect anything else to? host: headline from reuters, bite into welcome -- biden to welcome japan's yoshihide suga.

the japanese prime minister to come for meetings with the president and vice president and will hold a news conference. we will have that live on c-span and streaming on c-span.org and on the free c-span radio app. jim on the republican line. caller: good morning. i welcome what that person from south carolina said. i do not know if people really caught this, but the dumbest thing that has ever happened in the history of the united states, in my opinion, has happened in the last couple of years. when george floyd was murdered, our nation was ready to come together and, in one voice, say this kind of thing has got to stop. but what happened? white people were castigated, as

a race. and white supremacy and structural racism became the order of the day. this was a gross failure of all of our politicians. they should be called out for it. we were ready to come together in one voice, but black lives matter allowed itself to be infiltrated by people who were radical and violent. this is the dumbest thing that has ever happened in our country, and we will really pay for it. let me tell you something. when i moved to florida in 1980, i welcomed black families into our neighborhood, and i was told i did not belong in that neighborhood, but it did not deter me one bit. my father's career in the military was halted because he tried to get the children of his black airmen into the schools of

warner robins georgia. white people have a history of bravery and standing up against racism, and this is never talked about. have you ever heard a single black person recognize the efforts of white people who argue against other white people in order to get rid of racism? not once. host: we will go to mike on the democrats line. caller: good morning. i would like to reply to that first caller from california saying something about biden and the democrats wanting to increase the number of people on the supreme court. he thinks that it is terrible. well, i think it is terrible that when president obama was in line to pick a supreme court justice, mitch mcconnell blocked

that effort. so i do not think what they are doing is wrong, our population is a heck of a lot bigger now than when it was set up originally. and another thing i am trying to follow is against -- lawsuits against fox news. they have several lawsuits amounting somewhere between 3 billion dollars to $5 billion. i am not sure how that will turn out, but it is pretty interesting. and i have another thing i think needs to be visited, the second amendment. if people would actually read that carefully, it does not guarantee the average citizen to own weapons. its time has come and gone, when

it was needed. that needs to be visited by our politicians. host: i will let you go there. president biden will speak to a joint session of congress on the 20th of april. -- 28th of april. politico says only 200 lawmakers, officials, and staff will likely be able to attend the president's distanced address april 28. eric next, breckenridge, michigan, independent line. caller: yeah. host: go ahead. caller: this is my question -- why is it so hard for a black or brown person to get an id? that is all i've got to say. host: syracuse, new york on our democrats line, this is al. hello. caller: yes, i have a few little

things i want to say. republicans complain so much about the border, but that has been happening ever since reagan's been there. they complain about the deficit when they are out of power, but when they are in power, they give away money and never pay for anything. and as far as the police, reality is coming and now, because people can put a vision on what is really happening. host: this is an update on the other move on the supreme court, the president's initiative. biden panel on supreme court said to have a broad portfolio. the commission to an overhaul would range far beyond the

proposal to expand the number of justices. the 36 member ideologically diverse commission is expected to meet today for private and in person planning sessions. rob. caller: hi. i like your green tie, looks good with your tan suit there. look, my biggest political story of the day is anthony fauci. worked with the lab in china, and with his other buddy, nih, and the biggest story is china did the release of the covid-19 virus on the world, and we have had 600,000 people die, and about 2 million worldwide, and

as biden, he is sanctioning the russians, but the big thing is, and guess what -- his son got $1.5 million in a managed wealth fund from china, and we are not going to sanction them for releasing the covid-19 virus? so go stuff that. host: morehead here on "washington journal." we are joined next by their freshman rep is that of from oklahoma, representative stephanie bice. she will talk why she ran her -- for office and legislative priorities. and they did this morning, democratic representative nanette barragan discusses issues of border security. and for me yesterday, a tense exchange on the coronavirus crisis in which republican congressman jim jordan of ohio

asked dr. anthony fauci when the crisis will end. [video clip] >> this will end for sure when we get the level of infection very low. it is now such at -- at such a high level, it is at -- >> over the last year, americans first amendment rights have been completely attacked. you're right to go to church, assemble, petition the government, freedom of the press, freedom of speech have all assaulted. for a year, americans have not been able to go to church. even now, they have limited the size of people allowed to meet. the right to assemble -- we had a curfew in ohio, you had to be in your home at 10:00. when you are in your home, he had to wear a mask in pennsylvania. in vermont, you were not -- >> congressman jordan -- >> to petition the government for a year, american citizens have not been able to come to their capital to petition their

government, to talk to their representatives. and freedom of the press. see the pictures that representative scalise showed you and talked about? the press is not allowed in those facilities. certainly freedom of speech -- the governor of our third-largest state meets with physicians, and that video is censored because they dared to disagree with dr. fauci? i just want to know when will americans get their first amendment liberties back? >> i do not think anything was censored because they felt they could not disagree with me. i think you are making this a personal thing, and it is not. >> it is not a personal thing. >> you are, that is exactly what you are doing. >> your recommendations carry a lot of weight. you just had the chair of the financial services committee say it she love you -- loves you with what will the gentleman

yield? >> no, cannot answer the question? my recommendations are not a personal recommendation. it is based on the cdc guidance, which is -- >> what measures have to be attained before americans get their first amendment liberties back the clock i just told you that -- >> you have not given anything specific. tell me specifically, right -- >> right now, we have 60,000 infections a day, which is a very large risk for re-surge. we are not talking about liberties, we are talking about a pandemic that has killed 560,000 americans. that is what we are talking about. >> "washington journal" continues. host: joining us from capitol hill is congresswoman stephanie bice, newly elected member from the fifth district of oklahoma. thank you for joining us. guest: thank you for having me. host: tell me about your reasons

for running. why did you want to run for congress and tell me about your background in oklahoma? congresswoman bice? can you hear me? guest: i can hear you now. [laughter] host: good. i wanted to ask about your background from oklahoma and your reasons for running for office. guest: bill, it keeps cutting in and out a little bit. host: i am so sorry about that. is that better? guest: it is. host: i wanted to talk about your background and reasons for running for office. guest: i am a fourth-generation oklahoman. i married, have two children, and i was in the private sector for almost 20 years. owned my own business, worked for the family business for a must at decade.

i was approached about running for running for the state senate. having never thought about running for public office before, but one of the reasons i was approached was, at that time, there were not enough women serving in the oklahoma state legislature, and i thought it was a great opportunity for me to show my girls not to be afraid to be something big and bold and outside the box, so i ran for that senate seat, served in that capacity six years. when this congressional seat flipped to democrat, i was approached about running for this congressional seat, and made that decision back in 2019, and here we are today. host: and you mentioned talking to your daughters about running as a woman and the meaning of that. you yourself are part of a whole class of republican women, the freshman class, one of the largest in republican history. guest: it was really exciting. we now have 31 republican women serving.

20 of them are from the freshman class. it was a really great year for republican women. i also think the freshman class is such a diverse class. it is a reflection of america, and it is a great class to be part of. host: and correct me if i am wrong, you're the first iranian american serving in congress. guest: that is correct. i did not know that until after i was elected. my father immigrated, but i consider myself an american. i've never been, do not speak the language. for me, i'm just an og. host: do you think that gives you a perspective, filtering through your father's views? guest: it really does my father left, and there was a reason. it gives me a good perspective.

and one other note about the freshman class, i am also the first female republican freshman class president ever. i was honored to be selected by my class, and it is a real thrill to be leading this incredible class. host: was not a surprise to you when you were elected? guest: i did not know i was a first, so it was a surprise. i think whip scalise informed me i was the first female to ever be chosen. host: and you are part of congressman scalise's whip team. what does that involve? guest: i was in the whip position in the state legislature at one point. and really that is just conveying information, getting some feedback from them on what their position is on certain pieces of policy. host: congresswoman stephanie bice of oklahoma's with us. we welcome your calls and comments. for republicans, (202) 748-8001.

democratss, (202) 748-8000. independents and others, (202) 748-8002. we saw an interview with you that talked about the new leaders coming into congress, and a quote from you -- hopefully we will see, now the election is over, some coming together and trying to actually govern again. now, six months since the election, three months since being sworn in, how is that going? guest: i think there are bright spots, certainly challenges. the first piece of legislation i filed last week is a bipartisan piece with congresswoman sara jacobs from california, and has to do with military housing. it is protecting military families with disabilities act. housing contractors have been trying to charge military families to do upgrades to base housing, and we believe that is

on acceptable. so we joined together in really addressing this issue. i think you will see more bipartisanship as we move forward. that is what congress is all about. it is about compromise and negotiation. that does not me i have compromised my printable or morals, but we have to find ways to get along and move forward. that is what the american people are asking for. host: you voted against the legislation, the $1.9 trillion covid package called the american rescue plan. obviously, you posted at the time. give us specifics on why you were against it? guest: one of the reasons is that we have not spent all the money from previous covid relief packages. there were almost $1 trillion left on the table unspent. there were pieces of that package i felt were unnecessary. there are places that we

continue to support the economy to make sure businesses stay afloat, restaurants and entertainment venues have suffered. and i certainly see the help needed in those areas, but there were so many pieces that were really unnecessary. one of the things i learned very early on is we have, annually, congress appropriates 1.3 trillion dollars in discretionary spending. that one covid relief package was significantly more than an annual spending congress. i think it is too much right now. the economy is doing fantastic. we have seen incredible unemployment numbers, job growth. things are coming back. we should have waited a while and done targeted relief, not a blanket package. host: tell us about oklahoma, maybe in particular your district. how has fared during the pandemic and how is it going on vaccination in your state? guest: we have actually fared

incredibly well. our state, we certainly felt the impacts, especially in those areas i mentioned, restaurants, entertainment venues. but oklahoma is coming back. we have seen great employment numbers and growth. we have also seen vaccines, really great numbers on the vaccine front. we anticipate summer, fall, things are returning to some sort of normal. host: let's get to calls. michael first on our democrats line, on with congresswoman bice. caller: nice to meet you, so to speak, on the radio. my question for you is president trump won oklahoma, and he won ohio. but in your opinion, how do you feel about president biden bea ting him fair and square?

guest: president biden is the president peered at a challenge the certification, but not for the reasons people think. i was in a situation last year in the oklahoma state legislature where the supreme court had shut down the notary requirement for absentee ballots in oklahoma, and we had no other way to verify absentee ballots, so we would have been in a situation where, by judicial decree or executive decree, the process of the election was changed. fortunately, oklahoma happened to be in session last year when the supreme court ruling came down, and we were able to put the notary requirement back in place, with some health emergency caveats, which were important to ensure the election was secure and safe in oklahoma. my state has one of the most effective, secure elections in the entire country. i believe in the process, and i

want others to believe in the process, too. making sure there is confidence in the elections system is really important. host: we are nearly 100 days from the tumultuous day january 6. what were your thoughts that day and now, 100 days since? guest: i was this appointed. i never, in my wildest dreams, thoughts and thing like that would occur. certainly eye-opening. really tragic for the loss-of-life. but i also think that it was a wake-up call for people, to understand there are challenges, there's dissent, and we had to figure out how do we move forward and restore faith in democracy? host: danny, in farmington. caller: good morning. hey, ms. bice, i just wonder, do

you endorse the other half of representatives criticizing scientists on their opinion on this coronavirus? we are trying to persevere through this. i just want to wonder what your mindset is, on getting children back to school and the impact it is going to take on losing basically a year of elder -- a year of education on these people? thank you for your time. guest: thank you for the question. it is a challenge right now. we have seen educational challenges this last year, kids not being in classrooms, and for oklahoma, we had a couple school districts who have just recently gone back to four days a week, and i think the concerns we have for the future are trying to get children back on grade level, because they have really missed

a significant amount of time in the classroom. there's also the social-emotional piece of that not being talked about right now. there are additional health challenges because of isolation kids have felt. it is important. my sister-in-law is a teacher in my congressional district, so i hear first-hand the challenges she is facing, and i want to do what i can to make sure we are supporting kids across the country. host: jay on the republican line, wake forest, north carolina. caller: good morning. thank you for running and trying to stop the national socialist democratic party from destroying this country. my question for you is why would you put yourself through a show like this that hates you? guest: i do not think it is -- it is an opportunity to share my side of the story.

i do not think it is good to sit back and let others dictate the narrative. i want to talk about what is important to me, what is important to the republican party, and what we can do for this country. host: a question from connecticut -- you can send a text to us at (202) 748-8003, talking about the oklahoma city bombing, saying since your district suffered one of the worst domestic terrorism attacks in america, what would you do to address that issue now? guest: that is a really interesting question. the oklahoma city bombing was an incredible impact on our community. we really came together to help those impacted. i think it takes soul-searching to figure out why people have an antigovernment belief or feeling and figure out how do we connect with them and change hearts and minds. host: here is wisconsin, michelle on our democrats line.

caller: good morning. i am watching your show, and representative stephanie bice, i was wondering what you brought up about absentee ballots and the rules you want to put in place, are those rules that you want to be put in place, is that something that was still in place while president trump was still president but nobody worried about absentee ballots? or did this come up because of president biden winning? thank you. guest: thank you for the question. the notary requirement for absentee ballots in oklahoma had been in place for over 50 years. when it was challenged in the supreme court, it was sort of left-leaning groups saying that

the notary requirement was an onus on individuals that wanted to absentee ballot, they wanted it struck down. they sued and did that very thing. as legislators, we were shocked. we mentioned earlier that sort of my reasons -- one of the things that struck me was had we not been in session, oklahoma had a citizen legislature, had we not been in session when that ruling came down, we would have been in the same situation other states where with no verification of absentee ballots. we are not a universal mail-in ballot state, so you have to request your ballot, but we do not do signature verification or any other form, so i think it puts the integrity of the election in question. as state legislator, it was our

responsibility to ensure the security of elections. host: how did you vote on hr1, the election bill post -- passed in march? guest: firmly opposed. there were some of the pieces that were problematic. same-day registration, which complicates the security of the election itself. the head of the election board wrote a letter to congressional members expressing opposition to hr1. it was not something i would support. not only were there concerns about how the election process is being federalized, but you also have the provision that matched small dollar donations up to $200 with federal taxpayer money. i think that is completely counter to everything that oklahomans and taxpayers would want, a funded taxpayer

campaigns. host: steve in fort pierce. caller: glad to hear from you. three points. understanding that a compromise between two things are diametrically opposed, both sides do not win, especially when they are diametrically opposed. the united states, we are diametrically opposing areas. the second point being that science is the study to know, not to assume to know, and as our society grows closer to science, science has grown more to knowing. host: any comments? guest: that is great, his opinion, and certainly i respect that. host: to livingston, texas,

donald on the republican line. caller: i want to address something that i do not think anybody addresses much, and that is called hatred. -- is one of the greatest game show hosts in the world, and as a christian, we love everyone, and the ask her question, why do you hate donald trump? and she says because of the things he stands for. not because of the man. and we know the lifestyle she lives, and we love her to death, but that is not the correct lifestyle, i do not believe. also with abortion, that is a baby in there he had i just wanted to make that comment. guest: thank you for that. i will comment on the abortion position.

i was happy to sign on to the born alive act this week. we have over 200 members of congress who have already signed onto that. i think that is a position where a lot of people can agree, if a child is born alive from an unsuccessful abortion, physician should should do everything in their power to keep the child alive. host: in addition to being the freshman class president, it is also unusual for the freshman member to be a ranking member on a subcommittee. you are on the science-based subcommittee on the environment. guest: we will have our first hearing in a couple of weeks. we will be talking i think later today about the focus of the committee. i was thrilled to be asked to be ranking member on that. and with congressman frank lucas

being on the committee, looking forward to talking about environmental issues. oklahoma is an energy state. we produce a significant portion of oil and natural gas. those companies are focused on environmental policy to make sure they are doing the right thing for our lands, and i want to talk through those policy issues with my democrat colleagues. host: has oklahoma been affected at all by some of the pipeline decisions and other energy decisions? executive actions announced so far? guest: they really have. maybe it is somewhat surprising to people. maybe the pipeline does not run through oklahoma and we do not necessarily have a federal lands to drill on, many of the companies that operate in oklahoma have been affected by the executive order. and the executive orders have caused a huge increase in the

price of gasoline over the last 90 days or so. we have seen a 6% increase in the price of gasoline since january. host: from arlington, virginia, democrats line. caller: thank you for taking my call. i've heard a lot of what you are saying, and it looks as though you are moving towards working in a bipartisan manner. two things, and you can answer them in any order -- number one, what is your stance on assault weapons, as there was another mass shooting yesterday, and what is your stance on d.c. statehood? guest: i am firmly against d.c. statehood. i think the founding fathers never imagined the seat of government would also have representation, so that is not something i would be willing to support at all. as far as the assault -- there are laws in place to ban these

are entirely -- these certain types of military weapons. the second amendment says "thou shall not infringe," and i think law-abiding citizens should have the ability to own firearms. you have seen a significant increase over the last several months of firearms purchases across this country, and i think part of the reason is people are concerned that their second amendment rights will be infringed upon, so in some ways, it is counter to what the biden administration wants. less guns, but they are selling more because of this policy position. host: mark in westwood, new jersey. caller: good morning. thank you for c-span. congresswoman bice, you seem like a reasonable person, but i consider the republican party in washington as an extremist right-wing party that follows

the policies of trump. i have a question, but first i want to say most republicans, voters, support joe biden and many of his policies. are you going to go the way of most of your party and just oppose everything for the sake of opposing it, or are you actually going to work to help the american people? thank you. guest: thank you for the question. i've been looking at every policy position to see what the benefits are. that outweighs the good, so i am not willing to support something i have no say in. republicans, for the first three months in congress, had virtually no input on any of the things being put forward. democrats had run bills through to the floor that did not go through committee because they passed in the 116th congress, so as a freshman, i had no input to be able to provide amendments or any feedback on the policies

being put forward. as far as most are republican supporting biden, i would disagree with that. in oklahoma, trump won all 77 counties. although people may not have liked all of the rhetoric, they supported the policies, and it was evident by the votes. host: what do you think the role of the former president will continue to be over the next two and four years? guest: i think that remains to be seen. host: tim in california on the republican party -- republican line. caller: best u.s. candidate tim kallem, best major candidate -- host: we will let you go there. on the democrats line. dave, good morning. caller: yes, thank you.

i've been listening for years to it, and they are always wondering about who to tax and who not to tax. you can start with my seven percent and the rest of the retirees that pay, again, on our retirement and our pensions. please stop the 7% tax. you're killing us. guest: thanks for that feedback. that is something that has not been brought up before, so i will look into it. host: one more call from laura on the independent line. caller: hello. how are you this morning. i am just calling to point out that the second amendment, when it was written, there was no such thing as a semi automatic gun. host: more on the second

amendment, any final thoughts on that? guest: i just go back to it as part of the constitution. i think the founding fathers were smart in making sure that people had the ability to protect and defend themselves. host: congresswoman stephanie bice of oklahoma, the fifth district, freshman representative and president of the freshman class. guest: thank you for having me. host: next up, we will ask you your top political news stories of the week. republicans, your line is (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents and others, (202) 748-8002. he started the program asking about a number of issues, the packing of the supreme court, a plan announced by democrats yesterday, some democrats yesterday, biden's imposition of sanctions on russia, and also an update on the chauvin trial and

more about police shootings and protests in the u.s. we will be back in a moment. ♪ >> coming up live friday the house returns to debate a bill aimed at preventing workplace violence. that is at 9:00 a.m. on c-span. president biden holds a press conference with the prime minister of japan at 4:00 p.m. eastern. on c-span two at 11:00 -- the current state of white supremacist groups. at noon the washington post talks with roy blunt about why he wants president biden to slash two thirds of his infrastructure bill, capital security, and his decision not to seek reelection. c-span's long-running series "book notes" is back as a podcast. here compelling in-depth

interviews with authors and historians. new episodes available every tuesday morning. on the latest episode the best and worst writings by u.s. presidents. journalist and historian sharing selections from his book "the best presidential writing." subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and get all the information at c-span.org/podcast. >> c-spanshop.org is c-span's online store. go there to order a copy of the congressional directory, a compact spiral-bound book with contact information for every member of congress, including bios and committee assignments, also contact information for governors and the biden administration cabinet. order your copy at c-spanshop.org. every purchase helps support c-span's nonprofit organization.

>> "washington journal" continues. host: the political story of the week, (202) 748-8001 for republicans. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. for independents and others, (202) 748-8002. on the bill announced yesterday on a number of democrats, several from the house judiciary committee and senator markey eden, democratic leaders hit the brakes on court expansion plans. democratic leaders on thursday expressed opposition to a proposal from a group of liberal lawmakers that would expand the supreme court nine to 13 justice is underscoring tensions within the party over how to address concerns. the nation's highest court will remain reliably conservative for years to come. congressman mccarthy reacted to the introduction of that bill. [video clip] >> the legislation aims to

expand the supreme court by four seats. that makes a real difference. ironically it's the same number to give democrats a one seat edge and president biden the power to appoint four judges. never in my time and politics that i believe it would go this far. never did i think, even if my disagreements with democrats did i question, is there a moderate democrat left in the party? does power mean so much to you that absolute power corrupts absolutely? you will change the course to capture another form of judicial power simply to control more. they proudly put it forth as their agenda. host: the new york times this morning with an update on the

derek chauvin trial charged on the death of george floyd. derek chauvin passes his chance to address the jury. the defense rested its case in the murder trial of the former police officer after 13 days of testimony. the jury was offered no glimpse behind the impassive expression maintained by derek chauvin, hands in his pockets and sunglasses on his head as he knelt on the neck of george floyd for nine minutes. the jury will hear closing arguments on monday and deliberate diverting next week. that is from the new york times. the house is in at 9:00 eastern. our capitol hill producer is craig kaplan telling this about that. a similar bill passed the house 251-one 58 in 2019 with 32 republicans voting yes, but it was never considered by the gop-led senate. your top political story of the

week. bill and ohio. good morning. caller: good morning. it doesn't happen with the jim jordan embarrassing ohio like you did, that would be my story. i am sick of that guy. and his hatefulness. he is so angry all the time. for him to go after dr. fauci like that was embarrassing, and it was pathetic. on behalf of everyone in ohio i would like to apologize to dr. fauci. on a lighter note, when i was younger police were our friends. i depended on them. i was a young man going to school in a city in toledo. my mom works downtown and i had to get there. i had an officer who worked by my school. officer broadway is what i called him. that wasn't his name, that was the road he worked on. he helped me get on the bus, he gave me money when i didn't have

it to get on the bus. they were our friends, i don't know when that changed. i'm 62. i've been around a little while. i just -- i'm not afraid of cops, but yet i still have a fear even when i'm stopped. believe me, i've had bad experiences. i just don't know what to say. i've had good experiences and bad experiences, but overall we need our policeman. host: nico on the republican line in crown point, indiana. caller: how are you doing? so, i think, first and foremost, i want to thank c-span for giving a nonbiased point of news that is actually information that is given. a lot of people are allowed to voice their own opinions instead of the new stations giving what

we should think and say. and that's all. thank you. host: patrick in carnegie, pennsylvania on the democrats line. caller: how are you? host: fine, thank you. caller: when i saw in the washington journal critics have been saying that the government was going to change its relationship with the american people via social media essentially create a new reality which is so disturbing, because you've essentially allowed -- america has essentially allowed the entire media system to a social media oligarchy. they are not even planning when it comes to the dystopian

measures that are going to turn our country into a deranged version of china. banks are going to be used on social media platforms to establish what your social network score is. we are seeing racial tensions intentionally inflamed. this cannot continue. the american people need to demand a breakup of these tech companies, otherwise our country will not exist any longer. host: this is a story about twitter, james o'keefe banned by twitter. james o'keefe, the founder of project veritas was permanently suspended from twitter on thursday when reach for a comet

ment the account was permanently banned for platform manipulation and spam. in georgia we hear from william, independent line. hi, there. caller: how are you doing? feedback on what the last caller was talking about, social media, facebook, google, all of the airwaves as far social media goes, they can pick and choose which voice gets hurt and which doesn't, who gets deplatform to. i have been deplatformed like james o'keefe had. that is an instant ban and you cannot appeal. we are moving into an era of the fourth industrial revolution when the -- with the internet of things. it will change our very economy, it will change the fabric of our cultural interaction, our money generation will change and data will be the new currency fully.

the way that that will work is you will no longer have to use your cell phone or computer to interact with the internet. it will be a persistent present thing in your environment, in your reality, augmented and virtual reality overlaid over the physical environment, and nothing you do or say will be secret again. everything will be monitored via biometrics, sensors, and cameras. all of the data you create via this system will generate you a currency you can use in our social society. host: william, this vision of the future you are talking about, how many years away do you think that is? caller: the military has been postulating 2030 or 2040, 2035, in that timeframe. it seems to me no matter what party is in power, the party agenda coupled with world government planning the great

reset of society, look it up, charles schwab world economic forum, you have a catalyst of covid-19, and the next catalyst will be the shutting down of the internet temporarily in the bringing up of the new internet. host: thanks for explaining that. this is a story about the data that was stolen by the russians according to u.s. administrations. they obama administration says the russians obtained a trump campaign data. biden revealed an associate of trump campaign in 2016 provided polling data to russian services, the strongest evidence to date that russian spies penetrated the inner workings of the trump campaign. the revelation made public in a treasury department document announcing new sanctions against russia, established for the first time that private meetings between campaign officials and their business associates were a direct pipeline from the

campaign to russian spies at a time when the kremlin was engaged in a covert effort to sabotage the 2016 presidential election. previous government investigations have identified the trump associate as an and russian -- as a russian intelligence operator.

i don't have time to convince anybody that i am aware of all the other advantages people have. just live your life. host: to greenville, south carolina, independent line. this is greg.

>> i was going to comment on russian sanctions being the top political story. your piece was very timely. now we know that the trump campaign did have a direct compassion -- connection to russia. and trump was just a lawless president with no respect for the law whatsoever. i also found the piece by mccarthy, gas lighting the public about not a moderate democrat left. we also know there are no moderate republicans left either. there is no compromise. and how will we ever get anything done if it is all political posturing 24/7 in washington, d.c. on both sides? host: one more note out of the intelligence agencies that are testifying on threats from russia and other countries, this

is from the washington times. the white house acknowledged that intelligence agencies found low to moderate confidence and reports that russian agents offered bounties to u.s. soldiers in afghanistan, a story democrats used the club president trump. a senior administration official said it was spread widely in liberal media outlets sometimes on unreliable detainees. it challenged and made the reports less reliable. the u.s. intelligence community agencies have low to moderate confidence in this judgment a senior official said. barbara next in gainesville, florida. the democrats line. >> good morning. my top priority is gun control. i don't know if you've heard, but there was another mass

shooting in indianapolis. five on the way to the hospital, ate dead. one of which is critical. i swear, i think this is as bad as covid. what are we going to do? people are being slaughtered. i don't understand people against banning the ak-47 style guns. i don't understand. host: online at indystar.com, they are showing the 3:00 a.m. news conference. eight people data, several injured, and we will get more updates from the officials in indianapolis later in the day.

larry is next in gaetz, north carolina. caller: thank you for taking my call. i wanted to go back to the unfortunate police interactions in our society. there was a saying in the 70's from the tv show. and it stated, if you can't do the time, don't do the crime. but today, it seems like the resistance people put up and the unfortunate noncompliance is what is causing most of these incidents to go south. i wish there would be some campaign to say, look, just do what they are asking you to do. host: chicago tribune this morning. as chicago mayor maury lightfoot

makes an emotional call for peace, other politicians say you did not have to shoot that kid. in ohio, we hear from tom. caller: how are you this morning? thanks for taking my call. if they don't get the money out of it, nothing is ever going to happen. it just makes more crooks. crooks, politicians, and the three ring circus. just like the russian investigation. it all ties back to trump hotels and motels in new york. they have 90% russians living in his estates. and it is a shame that people keep putting these idiots like

jim jordan. thank you. host: teresa is next in savannah, georgia. caller: thank you for taking my call. i wanted to address this. it's related to twitter. how has cable tv been an equal platform for americans to be able to get our voices out there when it is limited under certain conditions? why are parties forcing basic american civil rights issues. corporations should provide base acumen rights benefits. i know i don't have health care. health care does not carry over. and i have several years before

i am eligible for retirement. i still don't have human rights watch to that of an american veteran. that is all i have to say. thank you for taking my call. >> 100 days ago, a trump let insurrection and no official announcement has been made as to how and why this happened. a 9/11 commission is overdue. this is a headline in the washington post this morning. the white house set to change by the administration appeared to announce today that will alter trump error restrictions on federal funding of research is -- research that uses fetal tissue, allowing a resumption of thwarted scientific studies into covid-19 treatments, hiv, and

other diseases. the health and human services secretary xavier becerra told capitol hill lawmakers yesterday at the national institutes of health would make an announcement about what he would characterize as a fetal tissue ban. up next is karen in leesburg, virginia. >> i think that the greatest political story in the last decade has been the desecration of the media. i remember when the internet first came on board and we saw the social media and cable news pundits. people can say what they want, do what they want, not be held accountable. there is no political correctness and no respect for christianity and religion. and i think that is what is causing the problems here. if we can't have an honest

debate about gun violence because it is political, we can't talk about voting rights because it is political. and i think that is what the problem is. outside of c-span, i would love to see a form that every media outlet it's down and comes together and finds a way to communicate effectively. this information is rampant. it is bleeding into americans, and there is no respect for any of us because we can't get around the truth, what story is right, what story is real. host: when you say this information is rampant, there is more information available than ever. is that part of the problem, there are too many outlets and

messages get twisted and lost? >> i think it is a combination of both. it's the spin. i watch you, i watch fox, i go to newsmax, i come back to cnn. it is amazing how two weeks ago, fox was running on the cuomo story but you hear nothing about the matt gaetz story. on msnbc, they run the virus but oann is talking about under bite and. -- hunter biden. they are picking and choosing what they want their audience to hear. they are not talking about anything good or foz it is -- good or positive. on fox, they say nothing good about biden, and cnn has a totally different spin.

if you're are watching russian television or rushing -- russian tv, it is a madness about what to believe and that is how you end up with qanon. people are just a total wreck. host: appreciate your input. betsy klein from cnn about the indianapolis shooting. president biden will be reeves this morning. at least eight people dead after another mass shooting at a fedex facility where the story is taking place momentarily. caller: good morning. my main concern -- well, there are a lot of concerns.

but with covid, i was concerned when i saw the masses coming from the border. i thought, one out of every 10 has covid? that is what the border patrol said. at least 200 people come across the border every day since january. the rise of covid in my town cities around here in central illinois, covid is on the rise. host: have you been vaccinated yet? caller: oh, yeah. i am a health care worker. host: great, glad you got through.

what we covered yesterday, the headline, the inquiry on the j&j vaccine. that she urges americans to still get shots. we have a lot of angry people calling in going by their tone. my concern, i have several, i am concerned about the continuation of these mass shootings. i am concerned about the increase in racial tension. i heard one of your callers say black people should consider leaving the country. i am concerned about the voter -- the voter laws that was signed here in georgia. i think that voter fraud was

explained in detail here, what happened here. there is a segment on 60 minutes and roethlisberger and sterling talked about the suitcases that were under the table. they said giuliani had edited that video. they did show the entire video and they explained what happened about those ballots that were in the suitcases. for people harping on that, you can go out and watch that on google or youtube, one of those. i think we could solve this if our 46th president would admit that he lost the elections and tell people honestly he lost the election. had he won the election i know for a fact that we would not have had that in georgia by

brian kemp. host: appreciate you, terri in georgia. morehead on "washington journal." the house is coming in at 9:00 eastern. next we will be joined by representative nanette barragan on the biden administration's climate change proposals. >> sunday on q&a a conversation on the book "the triumph of nancy reagan." on the strength and tenacity of the former first lady that helped shape the reagan presidency. >> she had one agenda, ronald reagan's well-being and success. she had better instincts about people than he did and a better

nose for trouble than he did. the people in the administration who understood all this, who recognized her power, people like the secretary of state or the white house chief of staff later treasury secretary james baker, really understood that she was very important, a crucial ally to have if you were trying to get ronald reagan on board. >> the biography "the triumph of nancy reagan" sunday on c-span's mandate. you can also listen as a podcast where you get your podcasts. >> monday, the closing arguments in the derek chauvin trial. watch our live coverage at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span two, c-span.org, or listen with the c-span radio app. if you watch live coverage, 11:00 a.m. eastern on c-span 2.

>> c-span is your unfiltered view of government, created by america's cable television companies in 1979. today we are brought to you by these television companies who provide c-span to viewers as a public service. >> "washington journal" continues. host: representative barragan nanette -- representative nanette barragan joins us. she is on the homeland committee. good morning. let's start on the homeland security issue. you are from california, a border state. what is your view on what we've seen over the last few months, the rise of migrants at the u.s. border? guest: i am headed to the u.s. border today to check out the situation in the rio grande valley. we have seen an increase in

migration to the united states. it started in the prior administration and continued into this administration. i will be going to check out the situation. we have a difference, one with care and compassion and one closing off the border to anybody, even those who qualify under our immigration asylum laws to apply for asylum. host: we have seen reporting on some of the impacts of that at the texas-mexico border and the new mexico-mexico border. have about south of los angeles? what has been the impact in your area? have you felt it yet? guest: i was able to go to san diego on the border when the administration started to process those waiting in mexico under the weight in mexico program. that was very orderly, people were tested, people were told when to come to the border. it is great to see these families who have been waiting

for a long time to finally set foot on american soil, to be reunited with their families. that was great to see. in the los angeles area in particular, right in my district, adjacent, is the long beach convention center where we will be housing migrant children who are temporarily being placed there as we try to find their family members and sponsors to place them and get them into a family home as quickly as possible. that has not started, but there has been conversation, and that is getting ready to go. host: the president has tapped vice president harris to spearhead some of the administration's efforts in relations with neighboring countries on the border. the hill reporting that the vice president will head to mexico and guatemala soon, possibly as soon as next week. what do you think the message from the biden administration should be to those countries?

guest: well, at the top of the agenda should be addressing the poverty level, the corruption in those countries, and really the disaster and conditions causing the migration patterns to increase. we've seen corruption, poverty, gang violence, gun violence, and of course the recent natural disasters, covid, and deaths. there have been so many circumstances and situations there causing people to feel the desperation, to come to the united states to be with family here. if he can start by addressing the root causes of migration, something the prior administration ignored in cutting humanitarian aid to that region, i think that would be a good start. something that has been done under prior administrations is something that former secretary john kelly mentioned needed to be done.

hopefully that can be top of the agenda with the vice president and those in the northern triangle. host: what is the status of the legislation proposed by president biden come the u.s. citizenship act. guest: it is getting a hearing this month and the judiciary committee. the congressional hispanic caucus, we are speaking to every single member of the house and senate and addressing concerns people might have and addressing what is and is not covered. it really is a comprehensive bill that we need to get done. ou image -- our immigration system is broken. this would be an immigration bill that is comprehensive in addressing the immigration system and making sure that the 11 million undocumented in this country have a pathway to citizenship. i think that's something that we have heard on a bipartisan basis

across the country, providing a pathway to citizenship. that's what this bill does. host: you are on the energy and commerce committee, central in taking up the infrastructure proposal coming from the administration. the wall street journal says that mr. biden is pitching his plan as a big economic return on federal investment, that roads, bridges, and ports could increase productivity. but more than half of his plan is dedicated to reducing carbon dioxide with the goal of eliminating fossil fuels with a mix of federal spending, subsidies, and regulations. this is a political program with questionable returns. guest: this is a jobs plan. it is about the future of this country and its infrastructure. it is investing in this planet and creating clean jobs will put people to work. i respectfully disagree with

that analysis of the wall street journal, but people are hurting in this country. they want to see our roads and bridges fixed.they want to see broadband, especially in rural areas. that's something this legislation will do. it will invest in clean energy. we have seen the distraction from a climate event, and we are seeing the rise in emissions, something that needs to be addressed for us to continue. we are also seeing the impacts of air pollution and the respiratory illnesses caused by that to front-line communities, low income communities, communities of color are dying at higher rates. we have to address the air pollution issues. it's the future. we are moving towards this clean energy economy and this bill puts us on the path to get there. it is a good start, let me say that, and we need to still do more.

there is a lot for us to do to address climate change. host: we have calls waiting, but a quick question for you on climate legislation that you have. grants act -- the climate justice grants act that would create a 10-year grant program at the epa, $1 billion a year, so recipients can use the grants for clean energy projects, weatherization, homebuilding electrification, and other related projects. when you talk about climate justice, what does that mean? and is this part of the total package of infrastructure proposals that would be included in the president's plan? guest: we have several bills. another one is green the ports across the country. almost a quarter of americans live within three miles of a port. they are great for the economy. i had the los angeles port in my district that brings a lot of import, export, brings a lot of

jobs, but is also a big polluter. climate justice is taking care of frontline communities, communities of color, those on the front lines of being disproportionately impacted by air pollution, emissions, and being next to oil refineries. again, i will keep going back to covid because we've seen them hit hard by covid. you have seen higher deaths. we have to invest in these communities to make sure that they are first in line to get access to funding and dollars to address the disparities that they are facing in pollution. the easiest way to explain this is if you look at communities, say beverly hills, malibu, you don't see these projects going to those communities. they are going to the communities who are low income, communities of color where maybe people are working two jobs, they don't have as much success

as finding some of these projects. we have to make sure we are treating people equally and they have access to clean air and clean water. that is not happening across this country, and that's an injustice we need to fix. host: the lines for callers. for republicans, (202) 748-8001. free democrats, (202) 748-8000. for independents and others, (202) 748-8002. we start in lakeland, florida with peter on the independent line. caller: goodcaller: morning, people, thank you for taking my call. just a suggestion. the immigration crisis we have on the border, you guys got an outfit in people in d.c., the gray zone, they will tell you about the decades of bipartisanship, foreign policy that has been a mess with sanctions and coups in south america. that's why were dealing with this mess. the other thing is for the

congressperson from california. when are you going to take care of california's homeless?there are tens of thousands of homeless. do we need the u.n. because you have failed so bad? we are talking about the border, you have a crisis that has been ignored by the u.s. media in california on homeless people. what are you doing to help them and solve this crisis that has been going on for years? guest: thank you for raising this issue. the homeless issue has been rising across this country. number one we need to make sure we have affordable housing, something we have proposed legislation in congress on. sometimes trying to get these through has been more challenging. we need to make sure housing is affordable, that we are taking care of our veterans, and we need to invest in mental health services, substance abuse has a lot to do with the homeless issue. my colleague mentioned water

cuts in california we will work to get through. it is an issue we are continuing to work on. this is a situation where we have to take care of security in this country. in charge of, a committee i'm on, it is something that we are putting money into making sure people have resources so we can get folks into housing. it has to start with affordable housing. host: let's hear from tim and -- in toledo ohio on the democrats line. caller: i lived in california from 1980 to 1986 in the navy and i thought it was a beautiful state. i am from toledo, ohio, a very mixed community. black, white, hispanic. my wife is american-mexican.

a wonderful family. when i went to san diego i had one guy say a common sense thing 40 years ago. if you want to stop the illegal immigrants from coming across the border, go after the people who hire them. as long as people are hiring them they will keep coming. on the flipside as a christian, they are coming over here because where they are at is horrible. they are trying to get a better life. as a christian i can't help but think -- that's why i am a democrat. 30% of the time i support democrats because they support what jesus says. if you turn away a refugee, i was once a refugee too. i don't know why republicans hammer the christian thing against democrats when democratic policies follow more the teachings of jesus.the other

thing is, if you have a problem with illegal immigrants when they come over here and get better jobs, maybe the problem is the people who hire them not the people coming over here. guest: let me start by saying my parents are immigrants. they came from mexico. they did come here for a better life. you can imagine, i know my parents never imagined that their child would be able to grow up in this country and become a member of the united states congress. there is a lot of value in our immigrant community. we see it day in and day out. i want to remind people that come into the united states and applying for asylum is legal. it is not illegal. it is very frustrating for me when i hear conger station -- hear conversations around the terms illegal alien or illegal immigrant. these are humans looking for a better life trying to utilize the laws we have in the united states, which provides for people to be able to present themselves at a port of entry and apply for asylum.or if

you are in this country already to apply for asylum. that is what is happening. this is something we hear from border patrol. people will present themselves to an agent so they can get into the immigration system, which has a backlog. that is something we need to address in making sure we have enough immigration judges to address these cases. the value of immigrants now in covid, these are our essential workers on the front lines. our doctors, those taking care of our loved ones in the hospital, putting food on the shelves, and picking the food on the farms. we should take a moment to recognize the value immigrants play in this country and are currently playing in this country and have been for decades. host: would do you think the administration should do on the number of refugees allowed into the united states?

i understand that number has not been held in place since the trump administration. what do you think resident biden should do? guest: i've joined my colleagues and asking for the cap to be lifted. the prior administration did everything in their power to stop any migrants from coming into this country, to stop refugees from coming to this country. lowered the number greater than i believe any other administration. so we have been calling on that number to be lifted. that is something we will continue to work on. host: helen in california. republican line. caller: i grew up in the los angeles county, orange county area, in l.a., and i lived across the street from the world's largest -- not the world but the largest port in the western hemisphere, l.a. and long beach. talking about migration, migration historically, that is

what people do. they migrate because that is necessity. they need to go to a place where they can have a better life. i don't have a problem. my best friend was born in tijuana, came here, got amnesty. we have had this discussion before. funny, we had it yesterday, about there is a new -- not political shift. boundaries are political. human nature is political. but the boundaries we have now are artificial. but i think people are failing to see is we are changing our shape out here. my friend and i are thinking, why don't we have a cooperation? this idea of mexico versus the united states? this isn't happening anymore. i've grown about here. the majority of the population in california is hispanic.

when i call the police it is a hispanic police officer. when i go to the doctor, it is a hispanic doctor. my boss is a hispanic woman. to me, it is kind of a fact but not a determining factor to me. my friend too. what we are saying is why is it these artificial boundaries between mexico and central america and california -- it doesn't really exist anymore it's gone. if you look at society in california where i live, it is pretty much hispanic, korean, vietnamese, chinese, white and european. it is an amalgam of what i think is best about the world and civilization. we are a pacific rim civilization, and i think washington, d.c. cannot understand that the world is not center on the east coast. we are the power structure out here.

host: helen in california, fullerton. response? guest: thank you for recognizing this country as a nation of immigrants and there is value in that. i was happy to hear her thoughts on how diverse we are. i think this country is diverse is something we take great pride on end value. host: she is calling nearby the port of los angeles and the port of long beach. i wanted to ask you. the report yesterday, ship logjam in california ports is easing after march imports deluge. the traffic jam, part of a broader gridlock and supply chains around the world admitted disruptions from the coronavirus pandemic, record cargo volumes landing in the u.s.. what has that meant locally in l.a. with the ships waiting outside of the port of los angeles and long beach? guest: it is a concern. you want to have goods moving as quickly as possible.

the goods are moving as well to sustain jobs at the ports, which are huge. the los angeles port, which we call america's port, touches every congressional district in this country, and we need to do what we can to fix the logjam. one of the things the port of los angeles has been good at doing is developing a technology system to have these ships inspected beforehand. they were able to go to a portal and get cleared in advance. there is a lot of work to be done. it eased certainly the logjam. it's not good for our economy, not good for workers. we are continuing to work on making sure we do everything we can to support the port. host: this is tina from alabama on the independent line. caller: good morning, congresswoman, thank you for serving. i disagree with your politics

and i think they are horrible to americans. especially the policies on pollution. when it comes to climate change, you talk about a scientific consensus. i was always taught a scientific message. when i look at the size of the atmosphere and i see the warming , the sun, the interaction, i don't see how man's creation of things comes even close to the numbers you are talking about. unless the climate warms one degree there is no way the catastrophic scam hungering is going to happen. what i see this is all about is a global government to collect a global tax to rule over the people so the liberties are not allowed to be -- there are no more rights given. this is purely political, and we

see it already that americans have been harmed by the biden administration with the closing down of the pipelines. i'm disappointed you are part of that and i hope you will reconsider using real science. host: your thoughts? guest: we definitely disagree here. i am looking at the science, i'm looking at the experts on climate and scientists. i would invite your caller to come to my congressional district or to cancer alley in this country and see with the health impacts are. it's devastating. when communities are subject to dirty air and water. i believe that their rights, the right to clean air, the clean water, and the right to be able to live like others who have access to that, that is something i will continue to fight for. we have seen the devastation across the globe of what's

happening because of climate change, and certainly we've seen weather disasters. just take a look at what happened in texas recently, the wildfires, hurricanes. i do believe that each and every one of us has a role to play. it is a global crisis. if we don't each do our part and we say well, it is a big atmospheric planet we are all in, this is not going to make a difference, then it will never be addressed. we each have to do our part and i respectfully disagree. i will continue to follow science because climate change is a crisis and we need to address it. now. host: on the democrats line next. in west virginia. caller: good morning, bill, and representative. i just want to have a little talk amano amano -- oval talk

-- a little talk mano o mano. here we have you, which i understand, and i am a democrat, and i know what we are trying to do but did you ever talk to that lady and get a conversation with her, trying to make things that you agree on that you could actually be friends and talk like mano mano? that is a question i would like to know from you. host: i think he is referring to our previous guest, congresswoman brice? -- congresswoman bice? guest: and have not met congresswoman bice, but i do everything i can to work across the aisle. this week the house passed one of my bills, a bipartisan bill, that i worked on with congressman carter of georgia on

making sure that we renewed an endowment fund to address the issues of disparities of health across the country. my relationships with our colleagues on the republican side is something that i continue to value so we can work together on issues. my making sure the funding of parks has also been a bipartisan bill. there are lots of memories i have good relationships with across the aisle. i think it's important to do that. i think it's important for our country. despite what you might see on television, many of us have friends across the aisle, we are friendly to. one thing i learned as a lawyer is you get more done when you are friendly with the opposing counsel. in this case you get more done when you have relationships. it is something that i value and i do on the hill. host: scott and sherwood,

arkansas, republican caller. caller: yes, i lived in california, the northern area, sacramento area. i grew up there for three years in the 1970's and it was a wonderful place. i recently went back there, also visited l.a., and i can't believe how it has degraded so much. also, touching on immigration. we take in roughly 900,000 to one million people per year legally. we are a very, very giving country. we are probably one of the best of the world. how can you justify taking in all of these illegals, and i will say illegals when they cross our border and every one of them claims asylum, why do you think so many people are leaving your state? that is the thing you should be worried about. host: the u.s. house is about to

come in. congresswoman barragan, final thoughts on his question or things you would like to say? guest: immigration in this country is law and asylum is legal and this is the values we have in this country. something i completely support in that when you have migrants who are in difficult circumstances and qualified under one of the qualified protections we have to apply for asylum, that is what we are doing. we are following the law, something that unfortunately the prior administration was not doing and tried to shut down. as someone who lives in a diverse economy, who is the daughter of immigrants, who sees the value and immigrants, and that this country is a nation of immigrants, i will make sure we are following the law and we do it we can to up hold those values. i hope that at some point some of our callers will see that value. host: it is great to have you, congresswoman nanette barragan

from california. thank you for being on "washington journal" see you here tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. eastern. the house is coming in next for legislative business. live coverage on c-span. pray with me. holy god, in you we live and breathe and have our being. we pause to acknowledge that nothing will take place today that isn't under your authority, subject to your decrees, or reliant on your sustaining word. bless us then at the start of this legislative day as we have made the first item on the agenda to orient ourselves to you, the giver of our lives, the creator of the universe, the author of our faith so may our priorities throughout this day and in our lives be thus aligned to your will. call us to yield to your leadership that you would direct our words and