voting rights experts and election administrators testified today before the house administration subcommittee on elections about voting restrictions. watch that live, starting at 11 a clock am eastern on c-span. you can also watch online at c-span.org or listen on the free c-span radio app. national security agency director general paul marcus soni is among the witnesses testifying today. watch that house arms services subcommittee hearing live at 11:00 a.m. eastern on c-span2, online at c-span.org, or listen live on the free c-span radio app. >> coming up in an hour, john hostettler on u.s. immigration policy and the situation at the u.s. mexico border.

at 8:45, people for the american way's ben jealous on his groups push for a federal voting rights legislation and abolishing the filibuster. ♪ host: yesterday, president johnson enforced -- president boris johnson -- they start focusing on the emerging threats of the 21st century. in the wake of that declaration, we spend our first hour of the "washington journal" talking about america's role in the world today. we want to know what you think u.s. priorities should be and where we should focus our foreign policy efforts. the lines are split as usual, republicans, (202) 748-8001, democrats, (202) 748-8000,

independents, (202) 748-8002. you can also send us a text, and that number is (202) 748-8003. if you do, please include your name and where you are from. catch up with us on social media, on twitter, @cspanwj. good friday morning to you. as we show you the headlines from "new york times," 80 years later, new york and britain provides an atlantic charter for that new era. we can show you what that charter looks like, a 600--- 604-word documents. new york times notes where the original charter first drafted by winston turtle and franklin roosevelt months before the united states entered world war ii. that contemplated the final destruction of the nazi regime, called for the freedom to traverse the high seas and oceans without hindrance. this new version focuses on the climate crisis and the need to protect biodiversity.

it is sprinkled with references to emerging technology, cyberspace, sustainable global development. in a direct rebuke to russia and china, the new agreement calls on western alliances to oppose interference to the disinformation or other malign influence, including in elections. it ranks the threat of democratic nations in a technological era. we affirm our shared responsibility for maintaining our collective security and international stability and resilience against the full spectrum of modern threats, including cyber threats. and valid as long as their nuclear weapons, nato will remain a nuclear lines. our partners will always be able to count on us, even as they continue to strengthen their own national forces. that is again from the new atlantic charter, signed by president biden and boris johnson yesterday in england. also during his first overseas visit yesterday in england, president biden announced the united states would be donating

some 500 million pfizer vaccine shots in an effort to help poor nations in the fight against covid. this was president biden yesterday. [video clip] pres. biden: america will bid the arsenal of vaccines -- will be the arsenal of vaccines in our fight against covid-19. just as america was in world war ii. over the last four months, with taken a number of steps toward this historic effort. we have contributed more than any nation to covax, a collective global advert delivering covid-19 vaccines across the world. we support the manufacturing efforts abroad through our partnerships with japan, india, and australia, known as the quad. we shared doses with our neighbors, canada and mexico, and in addition, three weeks ago , with america's vaccine supply secured and with the confidence we have enough vaccines to cover

every american who wants one, we announce we would donate 80 million doses of our own vaccine in-house now to supply the world by the end of june. many of these doses are shipping to countries around the world as we speak. today, we are taking a major step that will supercharge the global fight against this pandemic. my direction, the united states will purchase -- with my direction, the united states will purchase another 500 million doses of pfizer vaccine that will be donated to low and lower income countries. they will be the beneficiaries. host: president biden yesterday in england. he continues that trip today. he is expected to meet with great britain, leaders of great britain throughout this weekend, including the queen sunday. today this morning, expected to

meet with the duchess of cambridge, kate middleton. meeting expecting to happen within this hour. we may show you some of that if it does happen live. but this morning, we are asking in this hour, what do you think america's role is in the world today? republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. we will also for your social media comments as well and text messages, (202) 748-8003. as you continue to call in from the pew research center looking at the view countries have of america under president biden. they know the election of joe biden has led to a dramatic shift in america's shift of image. more than six and 10 say they have confidence in biden to do the right thing in world affairs. looking at 12 nations surveyed

this year and 2020. a median of 75% expressed confidence in biden compared to 17% last year in former president trump and some charts to go along with it. you can see the dramatic shift there from trump to biden in terms of confidence and no-confidence and favorability to un-favorability from 20 country to 2021. more from the pole as we go through the first hour, but we want to hear from you. what is america's role today? steve is up first, an independent -- an independent. good morning. caller: good morning. i think it is ridiculous what biden is doing. donald trump wanted to get out of germany. due to the pipeline, he is allowing the pipeline to go throughda in alabama.

caller: yes, sir. i've been trying to get on for two weeks. let's start from the beginning. host: reda, bring us to today, because that is our question, what is america's role in the world today? caller: is knocking that get any better. human beings are knocking to stop what's going on. it's going to take god or the

moon. like i said, everybody that hates biden should never have taken the stimulus checks. trump lovers are all over this world, but there is coming a time when we all gonna suffer for what's going on in this world. host: reda in alabama. from kentucky, this is mark, independent as well. what is america's role in the world today? caller: unfortunately, we have a negative role in the world. i'm not meaning that in a sort of bash america way, but we really have to understand and what we have -- understand what we have going on in the world. not, if we are not an imperial power to have 800 bases around the world, constantly provoking and acting

aggressive. we've got black site torture places around the world, guantanamo bay. we have prisoners around the world. we provide the world with more arms, the world's biggest arms dealer. trump, there was an article that came out, he try to withdraw all of our troops from all of the different places. it was talking about how he was foiled by the joint chiefs of staff. i thought how great that could have been. seems like the joint chiefs kicked against the military, any sort of coming home, not because they care about the soldiers. they had 20 of them kill themselves every day in a pile. we really just need to come home and focus on the country. host: market, one of the focuses on the biden administration,

they said, is to strengthen the nato alliance, to reassert american leadership in nato. it was yesterday on capitol hill that the defense secretary, general lloyd austin, was testifying about the pentagon's fiscal 2022 budget and talked about both nato funding and the overall funding for the u.s. military. this is what he said. [video clip] >> i would say, when you look at overall contributions to nato, we contribute a substantial amount to nato effort and continue to do so going forward. i think the budget gives us the right mix of capabilities and flexibility to be very effective in our efforts to deter china going forward, and russia, or anyone else that would want to take us on. i'm confident this budget will

allow us to match our resources to our strategy and strategy our policy. host: general lloyd austin, secretary austin yesterday on capitol hill. . those budget hearings continuing on a number of fronts this weekend next in the wake of the release of the biden administration's fiscal 2022 budget plan before the memorial day holiday. we are asking you what is america's role in the world today. and you're in massachusetts, republican, how do you answer that question? caller: firstly, we are pretty much a selfhood's orbed, pretentious policing country. i think the best way to port it -- self absorbed, pretentious, policing country of the world. i think -- host: what is america's role in the world today? caller: i think america's role is to -- we need to be the leader that is not so corrupt.

host: in what way, barney? what way do you see it as corrupt? that was barney. carl's in massachusetts. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for c-span. i think america, for one thing, should be less militaristic and should try to cooperate as far as not saying shaming countries, like china and russia i'm sure. i'm sure their governments are as bit corrupt as ours, but those people do not want war. they will do maneuvering as far as trade, and i'm sure we do the same. they don't want to war. they lost too many people during world war ii, tens of millions of people. we lost 400,000, and we should just stop being a bully.

and stop pointing a finger -- host: where have we been a bully, give me an example? caller: syria, libya, south america, just about every country in south america. i ran, going back to the 1950's, we toppled -- iran, going back to the 1950's, we toppled their government. as a result, they got ayatollah there because people revolted. all around, i agree with the previous caller, we got like, for example, russia and china, we have them surrounded, choking them with military bases. they don't have bases around here. if in the gulf -- in the middle east, in the gulf areas, if a foreign ship -- i'm sorry, i'm

getting tongue-tied here, if a chinese or russian ship came into the, you know, by our shores, we would be outraged. but we do the same thing over there. we interfere in other countries. host: that is carl in massachusetts. a few of your comments from social media and text messaging services. michael in organs, the only great power competition there should be would be to compete in aiding other countries in always possible and end -- a final end to militarism and a rise out of barbarism to uplift the whole world. that should be america's role. this from william in middletown, connecticut, america was a role is to protect american interests and show what democracy can bring to people around the globe. must have a border as well and

another says we were a world-class laughingstock under the corrupt trump administration, it was well documented. we are reclaiming our world respect under biden. we sure need it after being driven into the ground. i ask you, what is america was a in the world today? what should be our foreign policy priorities? where should we focus our attention in the world? the next caller, a republican from texas, how would you answer those questions? caller: it's nice to talk with you again. we have talked before. you know, there is a lot of people that like to be idealistic about this, and that would be nice. if this was a nice, peaceful, fun world to live in and no one was coming after one another, even out on the streets of america, it would be nice if we could walk down the street without having gangs or bad actors come at us. but it is like the border crisis

right now. kamala harris goes down to the triad and tries to figure out what is going on at the border down there. to me, that is naive. it is just as naive to think that china is going to just stay in their own little part of the world and not be aggressive. just yesterday, one of our military men warned us that china is building there armed forces at a rapid rate. you've got russia invading ukraine. so perfect world, we all get along. it's not. . host: what is a realistic world, and a realistic world, what is america's role? two remain the sole superpower? caller: somebody has to be.

we have kept world peace, you might say, for a long time because, as teddy roosevelt said, we want peace, but we carry a big stick. people have to respect the fact that if they come after us, they will get its in the backside. look, it is that simple, because you can't eliminate human nature. we could make -- if we can make everybody peaceful, that would be great. that does not mean if we are strong and have all of the guns in the world that we didn't go after people, we have never done that. name one land we put our name on after we rebuilt the country or sprung people from a bad situation. we have been sort of the policeman of the world, which i don't necessarily agree with. host: but what about sites that require collaborative effort, things like climate change, very much an issue with this atlantic charter talked about? how do you fight that with an

adversarial stance or at least -- caller: yeah, just because you have a strong stance militarily or in leading the world for freedom doesn't mean that you can do what biden is doing right now, provided he could get it done, go over there and talk with the prime minister of england, boris johnson, talk with our allies, with nato, gathered together our strengths, sit down and talk, let the world know that we are together, and that we will -- we will try to do what is best for the globe within the realm of thinking about freedom and democracy. all the big guys that want to be dictators be afraid of us. host: that is cliff in texas

this morning. the new atlantic charter, the signing of that was part of this conversation this morning. one of the thing that discusses the threat to democratic nations in technological era, and it was yesterday on capitol hill, during his confirmation hearing, that national cyber director -- the national cyber director spoke about preventing cyber wear and ransomware attacks against the united states today. this is what he had to say. [video clip] >> it will not stop on its own accord. it is not a fire raging that once it is consumed, the fuel will stop and we can wait for that moment. we must stand in. there is a range of activities we must undertake. we must create resilience not just in technology but people. we must align actions to consequences. there should be benefits for behaving well and consequences for badly. not such that it is a sibron cyber problem, we should bring all instruments of power across

not just the private and public sector but nations, like-minded nations to remove the sanctuary and bring the consequences on those that hold us at risk. >> you think it's doable? >> i do think it is doable. i think it must be doable. there's a good discussion that takes place in this community about whether deterrence is possible in cyberspace, whether we can impact the decision calculus of adversaries, and it often gets conflated with nuclear deterrence. the jobless to keep the nuclear weapon off of the field. thank goodness we have been successful in that. we will not be successful if that is the going cyber, but we need to make the systems defensible. that is a human endeavor, such that we can change the calculus of adversaries that we reduce it by 85% to 90 for p -- 90%. i understand if we did something like to factor authentication -- two factor authentication, networks, 85% of the problem goes away. if we train our people,

get it down to a reasonable fire so we can manage it, it will never go completely but we can bring into heal significantly. host: national cyber director nominee chris english yesterday on capitol hill -- inglis esther down capitol hill. you can watch that whole thing at c-span.org. we ask you what is america was a role in the world today as president biden takes his first -- america's role in the world today as president biden takes his first foreign trip. he is had to meet with vitamin prudent next wednesday. what is america's role? it is (202) 748-8001 for republicans. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. new stories from the domestic front to keep you apprised of, including movement yesterday on perhaps infrastructure deals.

this, from the hills morning report, at last, any infrastructure deal, kind of, is what they write. five members from each party announced yesterday they reached any infrastructure agreement, but many questions continue to swirl about details of the proposal, including the cost and how it would be paid for. the proposal is expected to total $1.2 trillion over eight years with 579 billion dollars in new funding for projects, according to the hills alexander bolton. senate democrats from the group briefed them on the plan but said some questions needed to be addressed on a number of topics including the pay-fors of the bill. we will continue to watch that group about this perhaps compromise bill on infrastructure. the lead story in today's "new york times," noting as the justice department investigates

who leaked classified information early in the trump administration, it took a highly unusual step, prosecutors subpoenaed apple for data from the accounts of at least two democrats on the house intelligence committee as well as aides and family members. one of which was a minor. the records of at least a dozen people tied to the committee were seized in 2017 and early 2018, including those representing adam schiff of california, the panel's top democrat and chairman. that is according to committee officials and other people briefed on the inquiry. highly unusual tactic is how the new york times describes it, that story. but that is also in several of he major national -- of the major national newspapers. rick in arkansas, independent, what is america's role in the world today? caller: hey. host: hey. caller: yeah, i'm calling about

the deficit going on in our business. host: ricky, we can talk about the deficit, and we do a lot here, but only what you think america was a role you -- role should be in the world? where should we focus? caller: our foreign policy should have less to do with domestic debt. do you agree? host: i'm not quite sure what you mean, rick. explain a little bit. caller: i am a vietnam veteran. so we spent a bunch of money to fight the war, and i understand that. but now, we are spending way more than that to find the world , and china is picking up the debt. host: so you think more focused

on america, less focused overseas? caller: ok, i will. host: that is rick in arkansas. that -- this is art in california. good morning. caller: hello. host: hi, art. how are you -- art. caller: how are you? host: i'm all right. caller: i think we need to do more about the border. he wants to give vaccines away and we should be vaccine in these people coming across or chipping them so we know where they're going and we need to do something about the water supply. we don't know how the virus got over here but if they hit our water supply, we are all in trouble, you know? host: arts, a focus on the border coming up in the 8:00 a.m. eastern our, we will be joined by john hostettler of the texas public policy foundation, former u.s. representative as well from indiana, but a focus

on border policies and immigration, so if you're interested, stick around for that discussion. tom is next i need you jersey, republican, -- next, in new jersey, republican, what should america's role be in the world? caller: back what it was before world war -- host: tom, can we cut it with the cursing? caller: i think we should just let europe fend for itself. if we are going to be united, we have to be united -- not every american taxpayer. pay their money out to give to other countries in order to support them when they are not willing to support themselves. i was in ireland back in the early 2000s, and with george bush, and a guy came out to me and said what is george bush going to do about this? i am in ireland, not the united states. why don't you take care of your own country. you understand what i'm saying?

host: that his tom in new jersey. this is nicole in new jersey, republican, good morning. caller: good morning. i would like to make a comment on the things they are talking about this morning. my comment is that, as long as biden and harris are in office in this country, there will continue to be danger all over the world, because they are danger in whatever they are doing, they are causing danger. host: that is nicole in new jersey. as we continue the show -- continue to show you coverage of biden's trip overseas, the trip there with the duchess of

cambridge, happening right now overseas. you can listen into perhaps the conversation. president biden expected to be in on the meeting as well, the g-7 summit happening throughout the weekend. then the biden's meeting with the queen on sunday. a very busy first overseas for the biden family. we will continue to show you coverage throughout the weekend as we wrap up that trip every morning and every day of the trip here on the "washington journal." our program, seven days per week, three hours per day. joe is in illinois, and democrats, good morning. caller: yes, i just got a question. why is it the rich feel they don't have to pay taxes when the poor people pay taxes? host: joe, what are your

thoughts the united states in the world today, our image in the world today, and how we should be leading the world if that is what you think we should be doing? caller: i think the rich ought to be paying taxes, just like the poor people. host: all right, that is joe in illinois. a few more comments from social media and from our text messaging service. "united states needs to abandon itself from the trilateral bowl -- trilateral commission which its mission is to bring the most prosperous and democratic nations as the same level as third world nations both politically and economically. that is -- we must first get our own democracy in order. currently about a third about of the american public no longer believes in free and fair elections, a core value. it's hard to convince people in

other countries that governments run by elected representatives are better than autocrats when they see american democracy in tatters. lola saying our biggest threat internationally is cybersecurity. just a few of your comments from social media. this is mark in washington, a democrat. good morning. caller: good morning, sir. i think the main problem is there is a three way competition for power, maybe four if you consider north korea. and that was the one thing i think trump did the best was having the courage to walk up and cross that line and shake hands with the north korean president. but it is between china, russia, and the u.s. right now, i would say china is ahead, but we will see what happens with putin and biden. host: mark, you say it was a

good thing for president trump to meets kim jong-un. do think it is a good thing for president biden to be meeting with vladimir putin? caller: i don't want to put good or bad, but it took a lot of courage for president trump, at that time, to cross that line where we lost a good amount of our men, some of our best men, including vietnam as well we lost a good chunk of our best men. the best men have already passed. host: that is mark in seattle, washington. this is lou in florida. a republican. in morning. caller: good morning -- good morning. caller: good morning, john, c-span. america was a role in the world today, we have to salt -- america's role in the world today, we have to solve the problem in the middle east with

the palestinians and israelis. they just had an election, and we have to have these people get together and find the solution, because that is where all the problems start, that is the key to peace in the middle east. we have to play a major role in taking care of that. thank you. host: on middle east politics, the topic very much in the headlines in the wake of some comments by congresswoman l han omar. here's the wrap ups from the new york times comments from congresswoman omar, seeming to compare israel and the united states to hamas and the taliban touched off an ugly showdown among democrats that pitted house leaders against progressive lawmakers of color who accused miss omar attractors of islamophobia and anti-blackness. it ended in a clarification from miss omar that minnesota

democrat and peace overtures from her colleagues. they write sharp divisions when the party needs unity. ms. omar wrote about a virtual exchange she had with antony blinken about the international criminal ward. here is from that exchange -- here's a little from that exchange this part discussions and outrage by some members. this is the congresswoman omar for monday. [video clip] he >> last time, i asked about the trump sanctions on the sec staff, so i wanted to thank you, publicly, for doing the right thing and listing them. i know you oppose the court's investigation in palestine and afghanistan. i've not seen evidence in either cases that domestic groups can

and will prosecute alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. i would emphasize in israel and palestine, this includes crime committed by israeli security forces and hamas, and afghanistan, it includes crimes committed by the afghan national government and the taliban. in both of these cases, if domestic courts can't or won't pursue justice, and we oppose the sec, where do we think the victims of these crimes can go for justice? host: that was the exchange with secretary of state antony blinken with congresswoman omar. she went on to write on twitter that we must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity. we have seen unmistakable -- unthinkable trusted these committed by the u.s. --

unthinkable atrocities committed by the u.s., afghanistan, hamas, and the taliban. democrats released a statement wednesday announcing her tweet and that statement, the jewish democrats statement equating jewish -- it is as offensive as misguided ignoring the differences between democracies governed by rule of law and organizations that engage in terrorism at best discredits one argument and at worst reflects a deep-seated prejudice. congresswoman omar going on to clarify her statements with another statement released yesterday, this was the statement to released yesterday. on monday, i asked the secretary of state about the ongoing investigations of the international criminal court. to be clear, she says, the conversation was about

accountability for specific incidents regarding the icc cases, not a comparison between hamas, the taliban, the u.s., and israel. it was no way equating terrorist organizations with democratic countries with well-established judicial systems. that statement from the congresswoman yesterday. then the new york times mentioned the response from democratic leadership. here is that statement from speaker nancy pelosi, the majority leader, james clyburn, and other members of leadership. they said, yesterday, legitimate criticism of the policies about the united states and israel is protected by the values of free speeds and indeed such criticism is essential to the strengthened health of our democracies, but drawing false equivalencies between democracies like the u.s. and israel and groups like hamas and the taliban undermines progress toward a future of peace and security for all. they end by saying we welcome

the clarification by congresswoman omar that there is no more a equivalency between u.s. and israel and hamas and the taliban. . that is the exchange -- taliban. that is the exchange happening over the course of this week. we will see if they say more today. back to your phone calls. this is hermit in florida. independent. good morning. caller: can you hear me ok? host: yes, sir. caller: i, self hermit because i'm kind of isolated. i'm like a hermit crab. i'm a catholic, judeo-christian values, and i believe america is supposed to be the guiding light for the rest of the world. in terms of living those values, and freedom, which we struggled with and america is the outcome -- which we struggled with in europe and america is the outcome of that struggles like so many other countries like to force their values on their people. i wish more people in the united states would use freedom as a

tool, use values of being a guiding light in the world. that is what we have to do. sometimes we get caught up in the struggles of the world because they become violent and they start to make it difficult for everybody to live on planet earth, so sometimes we get caught up in it, but i think we have been too caught up in it. we need to draw back and live our values as individuals and groups in america, and be a guiding light for the rest of the world. host: drawback where? caller: well yeah, we need to improve upon it. i'm not say we have been a perfect example. host: wears a place we have overextended, that we have been too caught up? caller: i think afghanistan, in terms of military. if that is what you're talking about, in terms of foreign affairs. host: yeah. you said we need to drawback, i'm just asking wherefrom. caller: i think we have been in

afghanistan for too long, put too much money into power since world war ii. i think we need to drawback here in our country domestically and start living the values we are's post to live by, judeo-christian values, as individuals, something we have to choose freely. i think there is an extreme left on the democratic side and extreme right on republican side that want to force their values. that's why used to be a democrat but i became an independent. i want to choose my values and not have a party choose for me. i think we need to drawback domestically and live the values we are supposed to -- that's we ideally wanted. host: got your point. our next caller is a democrats. good morning. caller: hello? host: go ahead, sir. caller: yes, my opinion, the

worldview of us around the world is totally messed up because donald trump made sure our image in this country looks murky. joe biden and kamala harris are the ones to rectify the wrongs trump has done to our country and our image all over the world. thank you. host: that his horse in philadelphia. this is lydia out of portland, oregon. good morning. caller: i am a republican, but i may never-trumper. i think america's role in the world is to stand up for freedom, wherever that is, whether it is congresswoman's on mars -- omar's right to express freedom, for congress to do

their jobs without being tracked by a vindictive president doj, whether it is muslims living in our country without fear, or jews living in their faith without fear. that is what i think our role in the world is, expanding freedom for everybody, not just people with color, we are saying judeo-christian. host: that is lydia in oregon, this is our next caller and a democrat, good morning. caller: i want to extend to armand on his idea on moral values. that is something we need to embrace. i think it is time for us to look at everything, from a centrist point of view more than

anything else. fairness and balance in a way that benefits everybody. and i think there needs to be stronger leadership, not in a to radical -- in a tyrannical way but in a fair way, like teddy roosevelt, which would be a good example of that. and we are too far divided. we might have the strongest military in the world, but when -- how much does it do us when you are so far divided? countries like china might be looking at us and licking their chops right now. so we need to try to think about what is most important and put a good emphasis on edge, come together as a team, work together, and emphasize fairness for everybody. host: gary, how do you emphasize

fairness for everybody on a global stage when, as you say, china is looking at us and licking his chops -- its chops? caller: that's a good question. to be honest with you, i wish -- we just need to be as strong as we can be, defensively, in case something happens. that is one answer. in the meantime, i say let's try to keep everything together in a peaceful manner and try to prevent that. if we get together in a balanced, partisan way to talk things over and try to decide what the best solutions are, it would be far better off. host: that is gary in indiana. the call or two before gary was talking about the image of the united -- caller two before gary was talking about the image of the united states on the global

stage. the image from pew showing western confidence in u.s. presidents, going back to 2001, george w. bush administration through 2008. you can see the jump during the obama administration, the fall again during the trump administration, then the surgeon again here at the beginning of the biden administration. those four lines there, the darkest line representing german citizens, the blue line representing french citizens, the red line representing spanish citizens, and green, u.k. speaking of the united kingdom, the first lady, kate middleton, there with that meeting in the united kingdom. we can listen in now. >> i know, i agree. >> how are you? >> i'm four. >> you are four?

nice to meet you. >> thank you very much. >> this is my wonderful teaching assistant. >> nice to meet you. >> hi, how are you. >> there is a whole group sat right here, too. how are you? good to see you? -- you. >> we are absolutely overjoyed to host you both here today. this is an inspirational opportunity for us all. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> so our earliest provision is completely and continually evolving with our children. we understand like your royal highness the first five hears of a child life is more pivotal than any other moment in our lifetime and we chairs and embrace the opportunity to grow and develop with our children.

we are so excited to share our learning with you today. we have fantastic activities prepared. i'm sure you will be so impressed in our wonderful children. >> i'm already impressed. [laughter] >> do you have some good teachers? is it fun coming to school? that is the most import thing. yeah? [laughter] >> so what are they doing now? >> we are going to show you some of our fantastic writing skills, thinking about our phonics. can you explain to our special guest who is the main character in our book? >> greta. >> greta. we have been learning about how to make the world a better place, which is what we know the g7 is all about. we are thinking about what we can do helping make the world greener. our children are going to be writing fantastic letters. off you go, children.

fantastic. >> [indiscernible] >> of course, make yourselves at home. host: early afternoon in england. the duchess of cambridge and the first lady of the united states meeting with students tracking the biden's trip overseas. we will be doing so throughout this weekend. we will be doing that to the g7 and the meeting between joe biden and president vladimir pridgen the last part of this trip. back to your phone calls. speaking about overseas, we are talking about america's role in the world today. what should it be? getting your thoughts. as usual, for republicans, democrats, and independents. this is david in new york, independent. caller: good morning. the long term strategic plan for foreign policy should be at the

national level so we do not have the foreign policy that is dependent on a political party or individual serving as president. really, that goes back to the basics, fairness, equal treatment, equal opportunity, and level the playing field, with respect to expecting human rights and justice for establishing peace and tranquility, that not only keeps us competitive as the number want to look up to, but also to our own action, domestic and internationally, to be able to have that emulated for other countries and for us to learn from other countries with respect to their experiences as well. host: david, do other countries emulate us right now? caller: quite a few.

ironically, as odd as it may seem, the 85 million people in iran are grappling with another fake election with electing another president, they have for the past 100 years looking -- years been looking up. we have not enabled to see that emulated and channeled to ensure they are looking for a secular government and can be realized. giving mixed signals from one president to the other, we have made them disappointed in us. they are still looking forward to look up to us as a model of success. host: david in new york. speaking of iran and the irani and regime -- iranian regime,

this from the washington post, russia is going to supply iran with an advanced headlight system giving an unprecedented ability to track military targets across the middle east and beyond according to officials briefed on the details. the plan would deliver the iranians a russian-made satellite with a high-resolution camera, a satellite that would greatly enhance iran's spying activities, allowing continuous monitoring of activities including oil refineries, to iraq's barest that house -- barracks that house u.s. troops. that is by a former u.s. official and senior middle eastern government official briefed on that. all three speaking to the washington post for this story on the front page of today's paper. bill from new jersey, republican, good morning. caller: how are you doing? good morning. i oppose [indiscernible]

i don't believe in peace, so before you hang up, my grandfather served in the first world war, my father served in the korean war, and my grandfather brought me up. he told me charity starts at home, after you help your family, then you help your neighbors. what this administration is helping everybody but the people of the united states. we need to be building our military up. the chinese are going to destroy the united states. i don't care if you like it or not. host: how do you feel about president biden announcing yesterday that the united states is going to buy 500 million shots of the pfizer vaccine, to donate to poor countries? caller: i believe he should give the vaccine to anybody that needs it.

we can afford that, but we can't afford the chinese to eat us alive or the russians. host: that is built in new jersey. yesterday in the floor of the senate, senator john kennedy, the republican from louisiana, praising the biden administration for its vaccine diplomacy. it's donations of these doses. this is what he had to say. [video clip] >> americans to the rest of the world, it is unconditional, firm, categorical. it is the moral thing to do, the smart thing to do in terms of our own national security. we cannot completly -- completely recover until the world recovers. it makes perfect sense, in my judgment, in explaining to the rest of the world the difference between communism and the free enterprise system and the hearts

that lie behind both of those systems. i will close on this point, it is necessary. there are few countries in the world -- we are blessed to be one of them --that have the ability to manufacture, to store and distribute the vaccine. and yes, it is wonderful to talk about we are going to help other countries with let's say their manufacturing needs. we should do that, but we don't have enough time. we just don't have enough time, because in the developing world, when time is of the essence, they don't have the ability we have manufacture a vaccine, which is only part of it. to store the vaccine, many of the vaccines require careful protocol in terms of storage, and authority to distribute. we can do all of it. president biden, over the last

several days, along with secretary of state blinken, we are about to show the world what american leadership looks like. host: senator john kennedy, the republican from louisiana on the floor of the senate yesterday. this is brian out of new york, a democrat. we are discussing what america's role should be in the world today. caller: thanks. this question reminds me of when i was teaching english in china, many years ago, and i was struck by, even the worst of my students seemed to know one word in english beyond a lot of their vocabularies which was a gemini -- it came up in their articles and classes. part of the reason was they

wanted their students to understand what that meant but also what it meant for china's future, because they wanted a greater role in not just -- having chinese hegemony across the world. i think america's role in the world now has become somewhat muffled. we haven't really been able to get a clear focus, because we have seemed so diametrically opposed from administration to administration on where we stand , what our morals are, or what have you. when i see something like increasing the amount of vaccinations weird giving to the rest of the world, -- we are giving to the rest of the world, that is something that makes sense and makes american leadership seem like the right direction. and it makes other countries, i think, more trusting in us and

helps us promote that vision that america is a place for opportunity and genuine leadership. host: before you go, when and why did you decide to teach english in china? caller: i took classes in high school in college. after i graduated, i wanted to go there and immerse myself in the language a little bit and experience something new. also, you know, to challenge myself. i don't know. host: what do you do now? are you still a teacher? caller: no, i work for a financial firm now, but it was still a very valuable experience in my life. host: is knowing the chinese language valuable in your current profession? caller: it certainly helps, it helps to learn customs. host: thanks for the call. from brooklyn, this is frank in philly, independent, good morning.

frank, go ahead. stick by your phone, a couple minutes left for this conversation. time for just one or two more phone calls. we also want to keep you updated on what is happening on the c-span networks today, including a hearing on voting restrictions before the house administration subcommittee on election. that hearing taking place at 11:00 a.m. eastern with experts on voting rights and election administration officials from various states. you can watch on c-span, c-span.org, listen on the free c-span radio app. additionally today, the nsa while director will be among the witt -- n.s.a.'s director will be among those testifying regarding the 2022 defense posture and budget. watch live at 11:00 a.m. on c-span2, online at c-span.org, list on the free c-span radio

app, eastern of course. gail is waiting in independent. -- waiting, an independent. what should america's role be in the world today? caller: they should always be a leader in the world, but we are not leaving now. like a pta mother who comes in and is the best pta mother ever, she is doing everything for everybody, everything is going great, everything is wonderful. but you go home, her house is a rat, children are running wild, a southern border that is chaotic, a vice president that things it's funny we have an open borders policy. you think the world likes us, they won our vaccination, they want our money, they got $400 billion in our tax relief. joe biden is not leading, he is like the pta mother that comes into do everything for everybody else. host: got your point. that is gail in florida.

tom in connecticut, independent, go ahead. caller: thanks so much. the covid vaccine, i just of the live feed with dr. jill biden and kate middleton in a little school, and i was appalled dr. jill is wearing a mask. that shows she does not believe the vaccine works. also, kate was masked. that is all i have to say. the last caller that talked about kamala harris, that she has not been to europe yet, they are incompetent. host: i'm not sure what the mask mandates are where they are, but there is the live shot. caller: if you are giving away vaccines, giving away vaccines, that means -- and is more than two weeks according to the best experts, you cannot get it and

can't give it. host: that is tom in connecticut as we continue to show you the scene in west cornwall, england. the duchess of cambridge, and jill biden, meeting students there. we will continue to keep track of the biden's trip overseas. we will continue on the "washington journal." more to come. up next, we turn our attention to the search at the u.s. mexico border. vice president harris's trip to latin america this week. that conversation with former republican congressman john hostettler, now vice president at the texas public policy foundation. later, progressive groups continue their push on voting rights legislation. we talked to the leader of one of those groups, the president of people for the american way. stick around. we will be right back. ♪ announcer: landmark cases

explores the stories behind supreme court decisions, and for the next several weeks watch key episodes on sundays on c-span. new york times v. the united states, where president nixon used authority to prevent the new york times from publishing top-secret documents. the ruling protected the times' first amendment rights for freedom of the press. watch on c-span, c-span.org or listen on the radio app. ♪ >> liz carpenter was a high profile aid to lyndon johnson and his wife. she was born in texas in 1920, came to washington in 1942 as a reporter.

after her white house years, liz carpenter continued her career in d.c. as an activist, humorist and public relations expert. >> on this episode, hear our conversation with their late lives carpenter. subscriber you get your podcasts. -- subscribe where you get your podcasts. announcer: we continue with "washington journal." host: we continue with john hostettler, vice president of federal affairs for state trust at the texas public policy foundation. what does the organization do? guest: it is the largest date based think tank foundation, and a couple years ago the foundation decided to bring the idea of states having more control over their political destiny to washington, bringing

some of that common sense, state oriented policy to washington, d.c., so they stood up an organization at states' trust, and we are dealing with issues like health care policy, election integrity policy, and immigration, energy and or the like. at the moment, front and center is the border, especially the border between texas and mexico. host: you were recently at the border. what is the common sense solution to this surge we have seen, over 100 80,000 interactions between the border agents and migrants just last month. guest: the common sense approach is to simply return to the policy that was in place actually before january 20 of this year. from that point, biden's

administration terminated enrollments in a program called the migrant prediction protocols, otherwise the remain in mexico policy. what the policies that is if you come into the united states, and make a claim for asylum and you are not a mexican national, then you will be returned to mexico while your claim is being processed here. so, what that did is it took a spike and -- in may of over 140,000 apprehensions at the border to a little over 23,000, less than a year later. so, that protocol, the remain in mexico policy, has been the most successful at reducing the surge or crisis at the border. that was in place under the trump administration. and what we see today is the

results of effectively terminating that policy, because if he will not enroll people in the program than the program is essentially nonexistent. and we heard from folks from del rio mpp, the protocol there has been the most successful program they have experienced and they want it back. host: explain the part of the border you saw. guest: in del rio, texas, that sector of the border has historically been one of the lowest areas with regard to experiencing illegal encounters, illegal alien encounters at the border, but year over year, from may of 2020 to 2021, there has been a 400% increase. del rio is a relatively small city. it's not the size of mcallen, where the rgb sector

headquarters are, or el paso, it's basically in the center of the southern border between texas and mexico. so it has not seen an unprecedented crush of illegal migration across the border. only in 2019 committed -- in 20, did del rio get an organization to deal with the crisis. so this is something they are unfamiliar with, and understandably unprepared for, and is crushing the county. host: a lot of questions this week about vice president kamala harris and her efforts on migration. when she will go to the border, if you are advising her, where would you tell her to go? guest: i would definitely tell

her to go to del rio, because it was eye-opening. we had a townhall meeting hosted by some local officials there, and we were able to hear firsthand from people living in the area and how it is affecting them, their businesses, their personal lives, families, ranges and properties. and -- ranges and properties. and one thing i didn't do, i wish i could have taken a poll -- i have been out of office for several years, so i am rusty on these things, but thee secretary there has said that the border -- but the secretary there has said that the border is closed. but i wish i could've asked of those folks there if the border was closed. i think i know what the unanimous opinion of that would have been. host: the vice president did travel to mexico and guatemala

this week, addressing the root causes of migration. this was her speaking on monday at a news conference about the message to migrants. this is what she had to say. [video clip] vice president harris: the goal of our work is to help guatemalans find work -- hope at home. at the same time, i want to be clear to folks in this region that are thinking about making that dangerous trek to the u.s.-mexico border, do not come. do not come. the united states will continue to enforce our laws and secure our border. there are legal methods by which migration can and should occur. but we, as one of our priorities, will discourage illegal migration. and i believe if you come to our

border, you will be turned back. so let's discourage our friends, neighbors, family members from embarking on what is otherwise an extremely dangerous journey, where in large part the only people who benefit are coyotes. host: the vice president on monday. did she send the right message? guest: she sent the right message in words, but i can tell her from firsthand experience, from what i heard from local officials and people in del rio especially, and that is if she believes, as she said, that they will be turned back, that is not a very strong belief because it is not happening. i can tell you firsthand it is not happening because we saw people who had come to the border the very day that were

going to be released into the interior. this idea of telling the people of the northern triangle countries, and elsewhere, not to come is something that biden did in an interview in the middle of march, and on the first day of his administration, when the department of homeland security issued that notice to terminate enrollment for the remain in mexico policy, they had in the same announcement a statement for people not to come to the southwest border to try to cross illegally because the immigration bill that the president would send the capital hill would not cover them. so, from the very beginning, literally from the beginning of this administration, they have known that this is going to be the result of these policies that they put in place. and they should realize actions

speak louder than words. it doesn't matter how many times you admonish foreign nationals not to come, they will come, they are coming and there is nothing that says they will stop coming. host: john hostettler served in congress and the 90's and early 2000's, now with the public -- texas public policy foundation, and here with us on "washington journal." we are taking your phone calls about immigration issues. 202-748-8001 for republicans. 202-748-8000 for democrats. for independents, 202-748-8002. this is fortune out of new york, an independent. good morning. are you with us? caller: yes, good morning. i am appalled by the

congressman. if he was in congress, why didn't he do something to actually fix these problems when there was a republican majority in congress? guest: we took several measures in the 12 years i was in congress. we passed the illegal immigration reform act to put in place many provisions that would strengthen, at that time, what was the ims. and then the department of homeland security was created, where we consolidated the immigration customs under the department of homeland security. and we enacted the secure fence act, which would have established defense along 750 miles of the southern border. so, we did take measures in that timeframe, in the 12 years i was

in congress, but to your point that has been a problem for decades. previous administrations on the republican side, and the democrat side, have been slow to aggressively enforce the border. it's something that we are still dealing with today. host: greg, republican in new carlisle, ohio. caller: how were you? host: doing well. caller: i believe it is time to talk about impeachment of the biden administration because two migrants went to my best friend's home down in texas and killed the family. now, you do not hear nothing about that.

they are covering it up. and i am tired of biden. it's time to renounce. guest: impeachment would be a measure to potentially addresses, but unfortunately what we need to do is put in policies -- put in place policies now that would provide for strengthening the border now. if you look at the makeup of congress at this time it would be unlikely that articles of impeachment would be considered in the democratically controlled house, much less tried in the senate, so what we are concentrating on at the texas public policy foundation is more reinstating policy that we know has worked and putting in place new policy we believe will enhance even further the situation on the border. host: arlington, washington, this is jeff, a democrat. caller: good morning.

i think it needs to be pointed out that nobody in the biden administration has talked about that we have open borders. the only people saying that is idiots on fox news and the trump-eteers. how much of that stuff has caused immigrants to want to -- cause a surge in illegal immigration. host: go ahead and give us your second question. caller: come again? host: what is your second question? caller: that is the other thing. i never heard anybody talk about this, my comment about how much of the influx of people coming across the border have been caused by these idiots on fox

news? guest: to my point earlier, actions speak louder than words. so, whether it is the biden administration saying the borders are closed or fox news, as you say, might be saying that the borders are open, the fact of the matter is is the processes and policy in place will determine the surge at the border. good policy will cause people to stay-at-home, stay out of the u.s. and bad policy, or no policy, will simply invite more people into the country. host: a couple questions from social media. jen wants to know if you are advocating impeaching biden over the border policy? guest: no, i am not advocating for that. host: mark from florida, how

could four years of republicans not have fixed the problem? guest: actually, four years of republicans did fix the problem. his name was donald trump, quite honestly. his administration put in policies, whether it was the remain in mexico policy for asylum claims, dealing with mexico or the asylum cooperative agreements that were signed by el salvador, honduras and guatemala. that administration put in place policies, some of them ultimately overturned, but many of the strong ones were in place and they did significantly reduce the illegal encounters at the border. so, four years of a republican did make a difference. host: 180,000 encounters reported by customs and border control last month, the numbers

included less children, but more single adults, the vast majority of them under title 42, trying to prevent the spread of covid. how long it title 42 around four? do we know if -- for? do we know if that is something that will be rescinded as we move out of the covid crisis? how long do you expected to be around? guest: i expect title 42 not to be around much longer as the rest of the world continues to get vaccinated. i think that this administration will have the excuse to relax it, they already have with regard to unaccompanied alien children. and so, i think that they are quite desirous to terminate title 42 altogether. and i will say this, that while

that will cause an increase in illegal entry into the united states, there's the other side of this, and that is because of title 42, those restrictions, individuals from mexico who are legally allowed, and have documentation to come into the u.s., are being prohibited from doing so. so, some of them are actually finding it easier to come into the united states illegally. so, there's all kinds of problems with the seen and unseen happening with this administration's lack of policy. host: the texas policy foundation, i wonder if you can explain the texas news. this from dallas morning news, the governor says texas will begin building a barrier along

the border, offering few details, but saying that texas will arrest those that try to breach the barrier. construction starting immediately, according to the article. guest: continuing the building of the wall in texas has been something that the public policy foundation, our ceo, has been putting in place or has been talking about for quite a long time. and so, this is something that we think needs to take place. so, we have admonished the governor to do this admonished the governor to do this. -- the federal government has stopped construction, unfortunately, leaving holes in the construction. in del rio, for example, they

have been able to get under temporary fencing and get over the temporary fencing, as a result of the holes in the wall or fencing. so texas is doing what texas does, they will fix their own problems and we think that is a good place to go. and the governor also said he's going to look into individuals. he will take applications from individuals who have had property damage and try to obtain reimbursement from the federal government as a result of the biden administration not executing the laws of the united states. creating a task force of officials in texas to address of the border crisis. so, we think that these are all very good measures that the governor is putting forward. host: more from that dallas news story, the texas legislature passed a budget that ups

spending on security. it remains to be seen whether that will be taxed for this new initiative. lupe is waiting in california on the independents line. good morning. caller: good morning. what i can't understand -- i'm 75, i have been in my apartment for 21 years, and there's only three other people who have been here since i have been here. everybody else has six or seven people living in a one-bedroom or two-bedroom apartment. and this happened during the trump administration. and they keep coming in. what i am saying is what is better than a video, other than words -- if you can't see it or touch it, take videos of what is

going on at the border. in california, we put everything on video. here, everybody is coming in, and they wake me up. last night, somebody ring my doorbell at 11:30 p.m. and i said, who is there? i wouldn't open it. guest: i think that we are hearing the frustration all along the border, and it is a good idea to take video, if this all falls on deaf ears in the biden administration, which at this point that seems to be the case. at least the american people will know and see what is happening as a result of the lack of policy on the part of the biden administration, but to another point, the folks in del rio wanted us to talk about -- as you mentioned, i served in the house from the state of indiana -- what's happening and

del rio is a transient situation. they do not have the capacity or authorization for an overnight accommodation for the people that they serve. so, what is coming into del rio or passing through del rio -- they are passing through quickly. the volunteer that spoke to us from the coalition at the ngo said that they are going to florida, utah, and indiana. she didn't know that i was from indiana, but indiana and all over the country, so what begins on the border does not end at the border. it is coming to the rest of the country, and that is why we need good policy at the border. host: do you know if customs or border patrol agents wear body cameras, and if so is that viewable? can media get access to that?

guest: that is a good question. i'm not sure of that, but that is something we need to ask. we'll look into that. host: richard in maryland, a democrat. caller: good morning. a couple of callers referenced the lackluster performance when it comes to immigration policy. i want to expand on that, that this influx of illegal immigrants really started under the george bush administration. he met with president fox five plus times, and you can believe me, they were not talking about guacamole. right after that, hordes of people came over the border and it was national policy to fill the corporate interest for chief employment and another thing for that was it gave them the opportunity to supplant the the largest minority groups jobs,

housing and everything else, by allowing them to come work for cheap labor, construction, food service and of the whole bit. -- and the whole bit. the only time the republicans get involved in this is when they can weaponize or to possibly use this to get back into power. george bush -- there's a great story of a young reporter that -- this is a great story to dig out. host: got your point. congressman? guest: what is happening now is probably what is more pertinent to the folks living now, but i will respond that in 2006, the republican-controlled senate passed an amnesty. it was a republican -- so, if you think it is something now,

you would have to understand that the first amnesty passed in 1986 created the wave that would come to us 20 years later and it was a republican controlled hou of representativesse -- house of representatives that did not pass the amnesty in 2006. so, republicans have been somewhat of two minds on this issue, but as i mentioned earlier, and i know the caller probably does not want to talk about the trump administration, but we know that the remain in mexico policy, the agreements with the northern triangle countries like condor's, el salvador and guatemala, showed a significant reduction in encounters at the southern border. so if we want to fix this thing, and cannot talk a lot about history -- i love history -- but

we need to return to the policies we know have worked. host: steve saying, e-verify is not enforced. who's obstructing? guest: it is to a great extent voluntary on the part of employers. and for several years, when i was in congress and my colleague from texas was there, basically the author of the system there, we worked to try to get it mandatory but as is the case, there are a lot of vested interest in washington that did not want to that to happen. host: who specifically? guest: various employers. not all employers, but there were many industries that did not want to take this on. host: because of the cost or

because of the concern that they would have to lose workers? guest: they would lose workers. they would lose workers and they would have to pay higher wages in order to retain workers to replace them. when i was in congress, we attempted to make that mandatory on several occasions, on multiple occasions, but we were not able to. so the caller does have an important point. host: industries do not get a vote in congress, so was it republicans that pushed back against you making that mandatory, or was that the democrats? when you tried to move it to the floor, where was the pushback? guest: across the board. it was bicameral and bipartisan. when the democrats had control of both chambers of congress, and the white house, they could've put e-verify as

mandatory. they could do it today. they have not done it today. it republicans did not make it. we created it, but we didn't make it mandatory. like i said, there are both sides of a coin to this. host: we are with john hostettler of the texas public policy foundation, working on the state trust initiative there. check them out at statest rust.com. easy enough to find. tony in connecticut, democrat. caller: good morning. i'm a lifelong democrat in a blue state, and my senators and aoc, a couple years ago, went down and showed the dying kids in the water, the kids in the

cages, and i do not see them anymore. and i am tired of seeing the poo r people dying in the rivers. and there seems to be a divide, certain parties, certain sides will call this a crisis. others do not quality crisis. cnn does not quality crisis. c-span, i have watched the last few weeks, you have had the border crisis and with all this stuff going on you have not used the word crisis yet. pedro called it an issue. is it a crisis or not? please, start making this a partisan -- stop making this a partisan thing. the silence is deafening. host: did you vote for joe biden? caller: yes, i did. and i am very disappointed. my gas has gone up, my food has

gone up. this is craziness. host: do you think that joe biden has a stronger border policy than donald trump? caller: what concerns me is we paid for the wall and biden stopped the wall. why would you leave holes in the wall? host: my question is, why did you vote for joe biden? caller: i voted for him because i thought we needed a change, i thought we needed a change. the country was too divided. i did not mind donald trump's policies, but what i saw on tv, including this station, was too much hatred. you hear the people on tv, there is hatred. you see this thing on the g7 summit, these people are meeting with joe biden and they did not give maloney other time of day.

when -- melania the time of day. you couldn't get anything done. host: congressman? guest: there is an issue at the border, and in my opinion, as a result of hearing all of the other stories from the border, as well as what is potentially happening within the interior, i do believe there is a crisis. and i think it is important for folks like tony to know that everything going on now under the biden administration, the candidate joe biden said in a very lengthy campaign website dissertation on what was going to happen, all of this we knew. the texas public policy foundation, after the election in november of 2020, basically wargamed joe biden doing what he

said he was going to do during the campaign. and we predicted this crisis at the border. so, this is not really news. it's newsworthy as it is today, but what is happening is not really news. i will address also a very troubling aspect of our visit to the border, and that was the sheriff mentioned that in 2020, they unfortunately pulled either three or four individuals from the water who had drowned as a result of trying to cross illegally. this year, they have already taken nine individuals out of various bodies of water that have tried to cross, including a haitian woman who was expecting

twins. the sheriff said they claimed all three souls in their statistics, which i think is appropriate. so, this lack of a policy, the factors drawing hundreds of thousands, and will likely be millions by the end of the calendar year, to the border, are causing widespread catastrophe upon humanity in all various aspects of this endeavor. and we hope the biden administration will take another look at policy. host: you have talked about your trip to del rio, what is on the other side of the break -- of the border there? guest: it is a much larger city than del rio. it's about five or six times the size of del rio. and many people there can cross

into mexico to work in mexico. we had one tragic account from one of the attendees of our town hall meeting who says she has a friend that lives in mexico, that she works with, that was raped by -- she alleged it was an illegal alien making their way through mexico into the united states. so this tragedy is on both sides of the border, both with the citizens of the u.s. and citizens of mexico. and those people in that mexican city are frustrated and furious about what is happening at the border, as much as the folks in del rio. it's just that the reason this is happening is because of a lack of policy and changes in policy by the biden administration. host: we have 10 minutes left with john hostettler.

blake in mississippi, good morning. caller: i want to let the congressman know that what's important is i'm tired of them playing around when black people are the foundation of this country. you can't just tell people to send us our huddled masses when you have your photo my neck, with policies from jim crow -- there's discrimination on every end. to have these people coming into my neighborhood -- when people come to this country, they come to take out of the black man's mouth. they don't upset people, white people, for a generation or so. but when they come here they have to have a job, and the first person they step on --

with immigration the unemployment is double. and they are impacting african-americans in our country. one race has 30 times the wealth of another race in this country. guest: when i was chairman of the committee on immigration security, we dealt with this issue and of the impact of illegal migration into the u.s. on the black community. and it is a significant issue. it's a significant problem. and that is an issue lost in many situations. we've got to address it. to the gentleman's point, we have to address what is happening in this country, and it will be hard to do as long as there is this mass influx of illegals coming into the country. to a point you mentioned, the

idea of turning people back on title 42, we just learned in the middle of last month that while the administration has been saying this same thing for their entire tenure, that they are turning people away, that in february through april they released a 61,000 individuals into the interior. so, much of what we are being told is happening, we're learning through reports after the fact that that is probably not the case. host: carol in royal oak, michigan, a republican. caller: good morning. i have two comments. one, do you think our country will ever have the courage to do away with the anchor baby law? and two, i live in michigan and i can't imagine an influx from

canada, which borders us, with what you are dealing with in texas. i will hang up and listen to your answer on the anchor baby. thank you. guest: the so-called anchor baby situation is is situation that arises as a result of the 14th amendment, section i, saying citizens born in the u.s. shall be citizens of the united states. so, that has been interpreted since the ratification of that amendment to say that if an individual is born in the united states, then they are a citizen of the united states. so, there is ongoing debate, especially within conservative circles, and think tanks, as to whether that is actually the case. that if the wording of that

amendment ratified -- i think it was in 1868 -- is that still true today and does it apply today, or did it apply to freed slaves as an extension of the 13th amendment. that's an ongoing debate. it's being handled in the courts as saying if a person is born in the united states, they are a citizen of the united states. host: 1868 is the year for that amendment. do you want to do away with first right citizenship? guest: the texas public policy foundation has taken no position on this and we are more concentrated on the policy at the border. so, i would love to return to you at some time in the future to talk more about birthright citizenship and the 14th amendment. host: we will have you back on.

a couple more minutes and a couple more callers. cheryl in kansas city, kansas. caller: i want to know wha aret we for the border? the economy, is it getting back on track? host: two big questions. guest: with regard to the border, i can tell you that -- and i should've said this at the offset -- the border patrol, customs, they are stretched to their limits. they are true heroes in this crisis. and they are literally keeping people alive. they are lives at the border. they are executing the policy that this administration has put in place, as agents of the executive branch. and -- but i can tell you

without reservation that, that i believe that they are frustrated because they see what is happening and they understand that, as i mentioned, 61,000 released over three months, that we know of, that have been officially reported. and that is very different from the previous administration . so what is happening at the border is effectively an open border to a large section of those who come to the border. so, i will say that that is the situation that we have. the second question, i cannot remember that one. host: you have the final minute to wrap up here. guest: our border security coalition of the texas public policy foundation, we have about 12 or 14 members who went to del rio recently and what we learned

there was that the border is stressed. and as i mentioned, border patrol and customs border protection are stretched to the limit. they are doing the best job they can under the policy constraints that they have been put under. and what is happening at the border is ultimately going to come to the places i mentioned that the folks at the ngo said at the border, and that is they are going to come to utah, florida, indiana. we know of oe particular group of migrants -- one particular group of migrants going to portland, oregon, as a result of interaction we had with folks at an airport. this crisis is going to come to the rest of the country, it's just a matter of time. that's why we need to return to the policies that have worked and have demonstrated that they are working.

host: former congressman john hostettler with the texas public policy foundation where he works with the state's trust initiative. come back and see us. next, we will return to the issue of voting rights legislation, groups pushing for that legislation, despite setbacks this week. we will talk to one of the leaders of one of those groups, ben jealous, president for the people for the american way. stick around. announcer: national security agency director general paul micah sony is among the witnesses testifying today on the defense intelligence enterprise posture and long-range emerging threats. what that subcommittee hearing live at 11:00 a.m. eastern on c-span2, online at c-span.org or listen on the free c-span radio app.

voting rights experts testify today before the house administration subcommittee on voting resurgence. we'll watch that live starting at 11:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. can also watch at c-span.org or listen on the free c-span radio app. announcer: book tv has top nonfiction books and authors every weekend. on saturday, author john grisham, author of "the innocent man," on his work with the innocence project and wrongful convictions. on sunday, a former police commissioner on his book "the profession," in my more of the art of policing in america, interviewed by charles ramsey, former philadelphia police commissioner and metropolitan

police chief in d.c. an thend a yale professor with her but, " -- book. once book tv on c-span -- watch book tv on c-span2 this weekend. "washington journal" continues. host: ben jealous joins us for a conversation on voting rights. he serves as president of the people for the american way. remind us what your group's vision is and how you carry it out. guest: we believe that freedom, justice and opportunity and equality is what creates democracy. we were founded 40 years ago by congressman jordan and norman lear, the man who brought us "good times" and "all in the

family." what we focus on is empowering the people of this country to have their voices heard on the future of our democracy, and on key issues like public safety. host: what with the enactment of the for the people act, what would that mean for people's empowerment tos have their voices heard? guest: it is about making it easier for working people to vote and harder for billionaires to buy elections. that is why the u.s. chamber, who represents corporations, has become such an obstacle and that is where the koch industries has become such an obstacle. they like it when billionaires or billion-dollar corporations can buy elections. but the people of this country support the for the people act. host: what is the path forward

for the act in the wake of what we have talked about this week, senator joe manchin saying he is not in favor of that legislation or ending the filibuster to move toward other legislation? guest: his statements were unfortunate. it's hard to believe that a democratic senator would want to go down as a person to hold important protections of our neighbors' rights. with that said committee 3% of the people support the bill because it is about making it easier for working people to vote and harder for billionaires to buy elections. it is not just democrats, it is the majority of independents, republicans and the majority of west virginia. the people of west virginia and the people of this country will make sure that joe manchin knows how they feel. it's important to say that not

every republican has closed the door to the act, so we are in a full-court press. the president and a chuck schumer have said that failure is not an option. and the people of this country are clear that these are the types of things we value. host: you mentioned republicans on the act, you do have a voice there in mitch mcconnell. this is what he had to say. [video clip] >> would you be willing to support the act? >> the voting rights bill is intact. the law extends well into the future. what this rewrite of it does is grant to the justice department almost total ability to determine the voting systems of every state in america, that

they are trying to do directly through hr-1, they would try to achieve indirectly through this rewrite of the voting rights act. the supreme court did not strike down the voting rights act. it's still alive and still a law, but they struck down the preclearance part of it that applied only to the southern part of the united states because the supreme court concluded the conditions that existed in 1965 no longer exist. so, there is no threat to the voting rights law. it's against the law to discriminate when voting on the basis of race already, so i think it is unnecessary. host: mitch mcconnell this week. ben jealous on those comments. can you explain the difference between the voting rights act and hr-1. ? guest: the john lewis voting rights act is hr-4 and for the

people act is the voting rights act would restore the victory he won when he was young, that has been gutted. but hr-1, s-1, is what john lewis spent the rest of his life fighting for. he was a good friend. and he came to the realization that billionaires are buying our elections, they are buying our politicians, too. mitch mcconnell is a subsidiary of coke industries -- koch

industries. a majority of independents and republicans do support it. you will see in an expose the fact that republicans do not want, not mitch mcconnell, but republican voters do not want billionaires buying their elections either. but do not worry, mitch mcconnell will kill it for us. that is what we are trying to deal with, is we have to have greater transparency. if billionaires, if billion-dollar corporations are seeking to buy our elections, or buy our politicians, and they own some light mitch mcconnell, we should know. it should be easy. host: ben jealous is with us until the bottom of the hour at 9:30 a.m. eastern, taking our

phone calls as we talk about the issue of voting rights legislation, the path forward and what has happened at week on that front. 202-748-8001 for republicans. democrats at 202-748-8000. independents at 202-748-8002. robert is in pennsylvania, an independent. caller: good morning. thank you. this is a terrific program, fair for both sides. let me ask one question first. you are so critical to identify the coke brothers -- koch brothers. maybe you are right, may be wrong. what about the other billionaires? i do not see you being critical about them. doesn't this country and almost everything we do, don't we have to identify ourselves that we are the people assigning for let's say licenses, going to

drug companies and the pharmacy? if do you people were really fair, i mean people that you support, were fair, then let's change everything. let's have it be -- we should have to do it for everything, not just voting rights or what you support, which is understandable. guest: i appreciate the spirit of your comments. the transparency we are talking about would affect both sides. what is different by our organization -- what is different with our organization, which was founded by democrats, is that we -- the transparency we support would be for everybody. recently i was in a back and forth with ted cruz in the senate subcommittee and he asked that we disclose our top five

funders. we did that. but the conservative groups did not do that. when we disclosed our top funders, three of them had an average gift of less than a thousand dollars, then gave part of their estate or part of the value of their house when they passed away to our organization. we are regular folks who believe in transparency for both sides, who would like to see a return to the bipartisanship that was there at our founding. when i was young in 1989. the reality is you are right, transparency should be on both sides. this would impact the billionaires on both sides. what is different about the koch brothers as they have been waging a war on this bill and all voting rights for more than 10 years. the reality is if you go back in

the history of our country and you look at voter suppression, it's been targeted historically on black people, and women. and for those that fought in the massachusetts regiment of their revolutionary war, the private in the colonial army, the white men who did not own land were forbidden from voting, too. so when you see this attack on voting rights, it disproportionately impacts black people and working women because they are disproportionately poor, but they also impact working-class white people, regardless of party, so the koch brothers war on voting rights will affect many different people. our push for transparency will require democratic and republican billionaires to be transparent about their efforts to influence our elections. host: you mentioned your group

is looking for a returned bipartisanship. joe manchin, and part of his reasoning for not supporting s-1, said he wouldn't want to embrace election reforms solely supported by one party, that he is looking for bipartisanship when it comes to election reforms, that is the only way they will be embraced by the country. so why isn't he right? guest: he is, but part of the problem with redistricting is it has made the congress more extreme. as president of the naacp, we would sit down with republicans, and there are people who had a c who now have an f. 25 years ago, 20% of my -- was blacks, 30% was democrat, and i could say to the entire district, sometimes we have to support black folks, sometimes

we have to support things the democrats are interested in. but now, my entire district is white republicans. like 94% of it. and it is very hard for me to explain to the district why i should be more inclusive in my voting pattern. so we have got to -- to reform redistricting. partisan redistricting is a huge problem. what happens is as the congress takes in more because they have been gerrymandered, when they are promoted to the senate, they show that they are more extreme as well. host: how would s-1 help they gerrymandering issue, talk about what it does for redistricting in this country. guest: it would create incentives for the states to finally move beyond redistricting, just as it would make it harder for the states to eliminate early voting, it would

make it hard for the states to continue to from voting. they are rebuilding their lives and should be able to vote. it is dealing with these obstacles that disproportionately makes it harder for working-class people to vote. at the same time, requiring folks to be transparent. host: ruth in florida, republican. caller: good morning. thank you for your show. i have a couple of things to say about the bill the democrats are trying to pass. first of all, it gives politicians contributions from the taxpayers. like a six to one ratio. secondly, they want to do it with voter signature.

-- do away with voter signature. voter id. we need id's to do almost anything. i do not understand why they want to do away with that. states like florida -- a lot of the states have early voting which gives people the opportunity not just a vote on election day, but some as much as three weeks or a month before the election. i do not understand. the constitution gives the power to the state legislators to determine the voting requirements for their states. if people don't -- delaware. biden's home state. they don't have early voting. i don't understand why they think this is voter suppression when they changed all the laws

in the swing states, not by the legislatures, but by judges and secretaries of state. host: can i ask you one question, ruth? how do you feel about mail-in voting? there are some states that have all mail-in voting. what are your thoughts on voting that way? caller: i think absentee voting is fine. where you contact, you know, your precinct and ask for a vote -- a ballot to be mailed to you. they identify you by your signature. i don't think that just mailing out votes to everybody on the voting list -- some of those people are not even alive. a lot of people have moved. the names have not been deleted from the roles. -- rolls.

it would eliminate anybody removed from voter rolls. it's -- i'm glad manchin, who represents a republican state, is against it. host: ben jealous, bringing you back into the conversation. guest: let's talk about that for a second. she talked about early voting. my cousins in southern virginia, those cousins are long-distance truckers. they go for 2, 3, 4 weeks at a time. a lot of contracts for the u.s. military. that is why early voting is important. working people can't always show up on a tuesday. some of them can be out of their state for weeks at a time. early voting makes it easier for them to vote. i also have cousin to work in

places where the schedule is always changing. again, they will not know the tuesday before election day what their schedule is going to be the next tuesday and if they can show up to vote. if they do show up, that means they are not at work and they can lose their job. having early voting is about making it easier, whether you work at the mall, drive a truck, for working people to vote. we believe you should not have to pay money in order to vote. you have to pay money to get ids. sometimes it can be quite arduous. there are older folks in the country whose birth records frankly were lost when old courthouses burned down before everything was digitized. you can find it extremely hard. rural doctors have made it their business to help their elderly patients get ids. they can cost hundreds of dollars and take months.

we believe voting should -- americans of all colors and parties believe voting should be safe. it should be easy. it should be accurate. we do not need to make people buy ids to do it. the republican party, in a state like texas, you can vote with a good idea but not your student id. that is just -- gun id but not your student id. that is just partisan mischief. the bill would make it easier for working people to vote. make it harder for billionaires to buy elections. point by point, 83 percent of americans agree. let's be clear here. we talk about public financing of the elections. it makes it easier for people who are not rich devote. when i ran for governor, you know, i would not have been able

to do it if i couldn't afford to not work full-time for two years. when i ran for governor, i was told we could not raise within $10 million of what it would take to get name recognition up to 100%. most of the time the parties will not recruit somebody for senate who does not have a net worth of over $1 million. that is why we need public financing in elections. i would like folks like the caller to feel confident they can run. they will be no wealth requirement, implicit or exquisite. making it possible for all of us to run. host: we have been talking about two voting rights bills, the expansive for the people act, and the narrower john lewis voting rights act. i wonder your thoughts on how to

move forward. if you can get the john lewis voting rights act, bipartisan support for that, and joe manchin indicated there is. lisa murkowski is on that bill. is that a steppingstone to the for the people act, or does the passage of that sort of shut off the interest in passing another voting rights bill on top of it? guest: no. there is a massive demand for both of these bills. before the bill act is supported by 83% of people. the voting rights restoration act is urgently needed. politicians in more than 40 states put in more than 300 bills to make it harder for working americans devote. we act like voter suppression measures will only affect lack people. that's not true. in 1902, there was the jim crow

constitutional convention. in that state, senator glass in 1902 put up five voter suppression measures. a ban on incarcerated people voting still is in place. it explains very plainly the purpose of the bill is to "restore white supremacy of the law -- white supremacy of the law of the land in every county in virginia." he explains it will impact a lot of white people, but in his eyes they would impact more black people so it's ok. that is what we have to be clear about. these voter suppression bills are being passed, 300 bills that would limit early voting. that impacts long-distance truckers whether they are black or white. it requires people to buy expensive ids and that impacts

americans who may have lost their driver's license or lost their id or have a student id but don't have a gun license. pay money so they can qualify devote. all they are trying to do is make it harder for working people to vote. whenever you hear someone talking about -- it's usually an apologia, a sense of why they are for voter suppression. we have seen republican politicians, governors, presidents, for 20 years talking of voter fraud, voter fraud, voter fraud. they find statistically almost nobody. you have a better chance of knowing somebody who truly believes they have been abductive a ufo then finding a prosecutable case of voter fraud. for better chance of finding someone who was been bitten by a

shark then finding a prosecutable case of voter fraud, actual voter fraud. there is a consisten -- if you look at why they said my ancestors should not be able to vote, black folks should not be able to vote, they made it clear they thought we were softheaded and other folks could influence the election and making sure people who lacked mental faculty to understand politics could vote. we were too uneducated and too slow. women. go back to the attacks on the women's voting rights in the 19th century and 18th century. they argued a man with a wife would have two votes. honestly, try that at home. tell your wife out of vote and see how it turns out for you. that was the argument. going back to working-class

white men, the privates and the revolutionary army who could not vote until the 1840's. they said a man who owned no land was not tied to anyplace and therefore could hop on horseback or run on foot and steal the elections from town to town on election day. it was a lie. they used the specter of voter fraud in the wake of the make and revolution to ultimately justify attacking working peoples ability to vote. they did it to the privates in the revolutionary army. white men could have voted this country until i was the middle of the 19th century if they did not own land. they told the light about women into the 20 century, and black folks as well. it is time for us to embrace the fact that every american has the right to vote. we are the country they give the world the notion of one person, one vote in the modern era. it is critical that we truly

live up to that and stop cynical politicians who would put politicians before principal, extreme partisanship before principal and finally past the act that 83% of people support. host: ben jealous, former democratic nominee for maryland governor. former president of the naacp. taking your phone calls for the lines for democrats, republicans and independents. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i would like to point out that my daughter is extremely mentally handicapped in her 40's. we have to have a government issued identification card for her for her to be able to do just about anything. health care, you name it. we have to prove who she is. your position that getting an

identification card is difficult has some merit to it. yeah, you have to go to a government center. you have to pay a few dollars. you have to wait in line. you have to get your photograph taken, etc., etc. there is no reason if my daughter needs a government id card for basic services why someone should not be able to get an identification card to prove who they are and prove they are an american citizen before they vote. that is reasonable. it is not unreasonable. i would like to point out that george soros is very much a liberal -- a liberal. he gives millions, perhaps aliens of dollars t -- billions of dollars to the kind of individuals you would vote for. with all the respect, sir, you

seem like a decent guy. i take exception to your positions. i think they are a little misled. probably due to your personal biases. host: let me give ben jealous a chance to respond. guest: thank you, sir. thank you for being the committed parent you are. it is impressive to see parents stick with their kids through everything. it is what we do as parents. it is what is expected from us. yet it deserves commendation. i really respect you for caring for your daughter. there is a -- this is a big country. we have to make sure our voting laws fit all of us. i have sat with elderly women whose only copy of the birth certificate was lost in a fire in a courthouse 60, 70 years

ago. the state said you had to have an original copy in order to get the id they need to vote. they are pulling their hair out. we have to go to judges, fella affidavits. -- fill out affidavits. a doctor took up the cause of egging sure all the patients at the practice, a remote practice, poor people in elderly could vote. she was shocked new laws in her state -- this was 10 years ago. that they were keeping her elderly clients from voting because of a piece of paper. everybody knew it had been burned up and it could not be produced. we have to make sure it fits everyone. i support transparency for every billionaire. my family, both sides, goes way back in building this democracy. the whiteside in new england. the black side and virginia.

-- in virginia. we have always fought to ensure our democracy works for all of us. it is set to me we have -- we are back in the days of extreme partisanship. the reality is the leaders of today's republican party looks like the democrat party 100 years ago. the leaders of the republican party makes the democrat party looks like the republican party after the civil war. i can't put a lot of stock in parties but i do care about people. i care about your daughter. i care about this country, just like you care about this country. i ask we make it easy for every american to vote. we did for centuries. it is only been here the last 10 years as the coke brothers --

koch brothers pile their money into attacking early voting and attacking voting on sunday, requiring government ids. things that libertarians have had an issue with historically. we have got to get back to first principles. voting should be accurate. voting should be easy. host: this is glen, a republican. good morning. caller: good morning. guest: good morning. caller: yeah. mr. ben jealous has his talking points. he's got a script. host: what is your question? caller: talking about the koch brothers. in georgia, they will take you to get an id. the lady and the fire, she is alive. she can get an id.

see how he skipped over the george soros billionaire with a left-wing. i don't believe you have him on here. host: that is glen from pennsylvania. do you want to respond? guest: george soros, charles koch, anybody writing big checks in the election, there should be transparency. it's a basic fact. i will point out ted cruz only challenged us to disclose our top five donors. we were happy to do it. i asked ted cruz to join me. they all declined. we are truly people for the american way. we are not a subsidiary the way mitch mcconnell has become for the koch brothers.

barbara, california, democrat. caller: good morning. good morning, mr. jealous. it is in order to speak to you. the democrats need to get rid of the filibuster. we are not getting nothing done. i'm really frustrated. these callers are calling about the left-wing. all i can say is wow. i want the debra katz to start fighting harder -- democrats to start fighting harder. we need to state elections. get rid of these people and get our people in there. host: ben jealous? guest: i will say one thing as an american. i'm worried we start typecasting each other as people. -- evil. some of the callers today, you can kind of feel that sort of venom. my uncle works in a lumberyard

in northern even would. i'm pretty sure he voted for trump and 2016. i love him. most of my family voted for bernie or hilary. i love all of them to. -- too. the reality is i thank god for c-span everyday. it allows us to talk along format in a way that gets back to the old conversations before the time of social media and everything being a zinger. i appreciate that caller. high priest she ate all the callers. -- i appreciate all the callers. it has got to be up to the people of the country to do it. we were talking about senator manchin and some people have lost hope. my faith is always in the people of this country. we agree on a lot. politicians want to pit us against each other all day long. we have a bill that has already

passed the house. 83% of the american people support it. generally speaking, if you are rich and you want to have outside influence in our election, we better know who you are and what you are trying to do. if you are a working person and want to vote, you are an american, it should be easy to vote. that is all the bill is about. i would encourage anybody who wants 10, mitch mcconnell operates, look at the -- who wants to know how mitch mcconnell operates, look at the expose. it is shocking. their faith is in using mitch mcconnell as a shield against the will of the people of the country. host: if returning to bipartisanship is the goal, is getting rid of the filibuster the answer? getting rid of the mechanism that forces one party not to be able to move things on a party

line unless they have more than 60 members in the senate? wouldn't help bipartisanship to get rid of the filibuster? host: in this case it would. the bipartisanship we are talking about is the american people coming together. when you see bills that 83% of americans support being stopped by 40 senators, a minority of the u.s. senate, it does not make sense. we believe in majority rule. we believe in that in so many aspects of the government. who becomes mayor, congressman, senator. all of a sudden, in the u.s. senate they cannot operate by the rules that your city council does. we have a majority of votes, it passes. franklin roosevelt's agenda, the core of his economic agenda would not have passed with the filibuster. key voting rights protections have been held back.

if mitch mcconnell has shown he is ramming through judges, showing his hypocrisy around the supreme court, that he has no principles. his only principle is power. honestly the power to run the government should belonged to the murky people. 83% of us supported bill. how dare a minority of senators getting in the way -- get in the way of the building passed? host: norman, good morning. caller: i'm in the green party. i agree with you on stopping the filibuster. it is patently unfair. i agree with most of the things you have set the right your career. i do have a big problem with hr-1. even though it does contain things that hopefully -- that might help, it has a vicious

crackdown against the green party and left-wing parties by increasing the amount of funds from $5,000 to $25,000. it also crackdown against the poor in several positions -- provisions. one increases donations for the party committees from $5,000 to $100 million. there are three party committees with $100 million, which helps the idea of billionaires buying the election. guest: thank you. i will look into all of that. feel free to reach out to me. you can reach out on twitter. that is probably the easiest way. what i would say is no bill is perfect. every bill is a start.

when you look at this bill, it's a good start. quite frankly, there was no way to improve it if we don't pass it. host: bob in stockton, california. republican. just about five minutes left with ben jealous. good morning. caller: hello. can you hear me? guest: good morning, sir. caller: i first want to say there is nothing wrong with our voting systems. you and your organization want to throw everything upside down and tear it up. i will tell you what. the constitution and our forefathers are much more than you. they said the legislature shall have jurisdiction on how voting goes down. you can't help stupid. i don't feel sorry for people who don't go down and get and i did vacation -- an identification. your organization is for the american way. i think it is for the illegal

person's way to vote. they don't have a right to vote in this country until they are in americans it is. our constitution is to protect the american citizens. not the federalists of america. this is not a federalist country. it is a united states country. that is why legislatures have jurisdiction. guest: my childhood was flipped between northern california and west baltimore. i spent a lot of time in stockton. it's a beautiful place. what i would say is that california is different than virginia. california's history and virginia's is very different. i have had folks in poverty for generations. it is easy to find folks who are 80, 90 years old. my grandmother is about to turn 105.

they have serious issues getting documents because they did not need their birth certificate when they were 30 years old and the court house burned down. the records were lost. they eventually lost their driver's license, their id they were using. they went back and were told we passed a voting law and 2010 or 2012. now you have to have an original copy of your birth certificate to get this id. they are flummoxed. they are americans and they voted in every election or every election they have been allowed since the voting rights act. they can't -- i sat with these folks. they are easy to find out here on the east coast. again, our voting laws have to work for all of us. there is a lot of great things about the u.s. constitution. the u.s. constitution also made it possible for states at that

time to bar women from voting, bar black folks from voting, and bar white men who did not own land from voting. none of that was right. we have all benefited from the evolution of the protection of rights as americans in our elections. that is what we are doing now. it is clear that the gap has become so massive that we have billionaires trying to buy elections. all need to be held to a high level of transparency and that is what this bill would do. host: cornell from new jersey, democrats. caller: i will make a quick. they keep talking about the voter id. i see bigger problems such as, why is it that only in democratic precincts people are waiting hours in line to vote?

6, 7, 8 hours to vote. why is it they have closed a lot of polling places?/ -- places? why did they come up with over 300 new bills to -- definitely trying to make it harder for people to vote? it is just like in the last election. there was a massive amount of people voting because with the pandemic it was easier for people to vote when they mailed it in. that is what you had such an enormous turnout. when people vote, republicans can't win. the filibuster should be demolished because nothing is getting done. host: mr. jealous, giving you the final minute. guest: absolutely right. this is about making it harder for people to vote in every way .

we have not gotten into the fact that they have been pulling away polling places. all sorts of things. they are simply trying to make it harder to vote. i believe a lot of statewide elections -- it's about suppressing the vote. demographic changes are not in their favor. there is another option. they can seek to appeal to more black folks, more working women, to more brown folks. that would moderate politics. i am all for a two-party system or multiparty system. all parties have to compete for the vote of every voter. we should not allow people to bend the rules when they can't win. we should require them to listen to the people of this country to

figure out how they actually earn their votes. the vote is about stopping buying elections. host: ben jealous, president for people for the american way. come back and talk to us again. guest: thank you very much. host: in the last half-hour, we bring you live coverage of the g7 summit. the photo opportunity with all the leaders of the countries in the g7 just wrapping up. they are walking away from the podium after the many photographers taking pictures of them on the beaches in west cornwall. we will talk with you in this last half-hour about the top public policies and political issues on your mind. it is an open forum for republicans, democrats and independents. phone lines are on the screen. let us know what is on your mind this friday morning.

we will take your calls right after the break. ♪ >> american history tv on c-span3, exploring the people and events that tell the american story. saturday at 5:00 p.m. eastern, a look at controversies over free-speech three political cartoons. "free-speech and why you should give a damn." on the civil war, a conversation with the author of "grants last battle." and saturday at 8:00 p.m. eastern on lectures in history, johns hopkins professor nathan connolly on the promise of

suburbia after the civil rights movement and how local governments impeded desegregation of neighborhoods. sunday at 8:00 p.m. on the presidency, first ladies with scholars discussing why first ladies have such powerful voices and how they wield power. exploring the american story. watch american history tv this weekend on c-span3. ♪

>> washington journal continues. host: an open forum to end today's washington journal. public policy, politics, what's happening in your state, let us know. republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. a couple of stories we have been tracking for the past several days. keeping you updated on the latest. the infrastructure deal that might be coming together after a group of 10 senators, five republicans and five democrats, reaching a possible agreement. many questions continue about details, including the cost and how it would be paid for. c-span's capitol hill producer with a series of tweets. a statement from the senate group of 10.

the group comprised of 10 senators has worked in good faith and restate bipartisan agreement on a realistic compromise framework to modernize our nation's infrastructure and energy technologies. investments will be fully paid for and not included -- not include tax increases. we are discussing a reproach with a respective colleagues in the white house and remain optimistic this can lay the groundwork to garner broad support from both parties and meet america's infrastructure needs. the reporting on the package totaling $1.2 trillion over eight years. the white house with their statement about it. the white house sang the president -- sank the president appreciates the senators' work. we need to create jobs and prepare for the clean energy future to compete in the global economy. the white house statement saying, "questions need to be addressed."

more from the white house statement, senior white house staff and the jobs cabinet working with the senate group in the days ahead to get answers for those questions as we consult with other members in both the house and senate on the path forward. we will keep you updated on this continuing development when it comes to the infrastructure package. as we hear from you this morning about what is on your mind in terms of politics or policy. jeff out of montgomery, illinois, a republican. good morning. caller: thank you for the service c-span provides. my topic is regarding the covid-19 pandemic and what will happen in the future. what has our government officials done to start planning for the next pandemic? you know it is going to happen. are we going to have medical supplies on hand? can we react proactively if something happens again? host: you might be interested in

a column in today's new york times. she led the immunization and repertory efforts at the centers for disease control and prevention for a decade before becoming its top career employee back in 2015. she writes, "public service is difficult. many are exhausted. threatened, saddened and sometimes sidelined. covid-19 is not the first time the health system had to search beyond capacity. with the worst pandemic in a century and a heavy partisan political context, that i was collided with a system suffering from decades of underinvestment. a recent report revealed state and local health departments have lost an estimated 66,000 jobs in's 2008. the cdc and public health departments are receiving financial resources on an emergency basis. those investments must be

sustained. long-term commitments to resources and animation are essential. the pandemic will not be the last major threat our nation will face." that column in today's new york times. "what i learned in 33 years at the cdc." james out of georgia, democrat. good morning. caller: hello? yes. my question is -- fox news and newsmax are always talking about the democrats. joe biden not doing this and this. they talk about this country needing unity. how was it going to happen with that attitude? host: when do you think was the last time we were united in this country? are you still with us? we will go to arlington, virginia. independent. caller: good morning.

when are they going to do something specifically for black people? i'm talking about descendants of american slaves. they have done something for asian americans. they have done something for latino immigrants. they have done something for lgbtq. when are they going to do something specifically for descendants of slaves? foundational black americans. host: what is something you want done? caller: i want cash tangibles to redress the wrongs. like in tulsa. they talk about cash tangibles. they never talk about restoring what was in tulsa. is that clear to you? do you have a cash tangibles mean? a clear, definable thing they can do to redress the wrongs. host: are we talking reparations? caller: you can call it what you want. they need to cut the checks. when they went to tulsa, they

did not say anything about cash tangibles. i know for other groups, the so-called jews, they get it. the asians got it. when it comes to black americans they have to have a study, they have to do this, do that. i'm a black american. we don't live in a democracy. host: arlington, virginia. this is indianapolis. jack, democrat. caller: good morning, sir. i wanted to call and discuss how the republicans are obstructing the joe biden agenda on infrastructure. anything that comes up seems like mitch mcconnell and his followers, the republican senators, block anything stop -- block anything. i think the filibuster needs to be abolished and president biden can get his agenda through and get this country back on track.

also, the republicans keep hollering about the democrats wanting to stack the courts. that is all they did for four years under trump. every senate session they had there were judges coming up for confirmation. yet the democrats -- the republicans say the democrats want to stack the court. they are the ones stacking the courts. they have supreme -- three supreme court justices under trump. that's a record. they are standing in the way of everything we are trying to get done. i think manchin needs to let the filibuster be abolished and make d.c. statehood and puerto rican statehood and get this country back together. host: you might be interested in a story in the washington times. we talked about the potential deal on infrastructure. this is what the washington times writes. of account republican lawmakers are beginning to fret a bipartisan group of senators attempting to resuscitate

infrastructure talks is giving a facade of bipartisanship for president biden's plan to force through massive spending and tax hikes. " i don't know why any republican put want to help democrats further mortgage our childrens' future in this manner," said ron johnson who is skeptical of the dealmaking underway. that is why it is unclear of the new negotiations will draw enough republicans of were to overcome a likely filibuster in the senate." wilhelm in missouri, republican. caller: good morning. i want --they should do away with the filibuster. do away with it, because that will get more votes. then you were doing with her.

they can sleep with the devil with trump. i don't stand up for liars. host: you are calling it on the republican line. who did you support in 2016 and 2020? caller: in 2016, our state went red. he went from red, republican. there is cheating going on. something is going on. host: darnell in philadelphia, democrat. caller: good morning. civilization is the word i wish democrats would reclaim. not just claim the word for america but reclaim the word civilization for the world to

counter the republican theory of every man for himself, which they so successfully promote the john wayne world of every man for himself. i wish immigrants could reclaim their franklin roosevelt theory of civilization. even if they don't claim franklin roosevelt, just reclaim the word civilization. people not just in america but around the world are still in love with the john wayne concept of every man for himself. i wish democrats would reclaim the word. host: linda in houston, texas. republican. caller: how are you today? host: i am doing well, linda. caller: i wanted to say i was listening to the last segment, the last half-hour. i think if we are going to make changes to the way we do voting, the way we operate in united states, it should be done

through our constitution. if there is 84% of the people who want to change, the right way to do it is to make, as the women got their vote, we went ahead and changed the constitution. the constitution is the basis for our country. that is what i have to say today. host: not legislatively or through an act of congress? caller: exactly. exactly. host: i wonder why you think that route -- is because you think there will be more buy-in for the rest of the country as opposed to one piece of legislation that can be argued over in the years to come? caller: i think the constitution establishes a framework for our overall policy thinking. if we are going to change the overall policy forever, like

women getting the right to vote, or anybody else, any major change to the way the constitution works should be decided in that manner. host: what else qualifies as a major change in your mind? the voting rights issue qualifies. what else? caller: the idea that we have three branches of the government and the clarity of what their roles are. if we are going to redefine those, it has to be done through the constitution. host: linda in the lone star state, to the land of lincoln. joe in bellevue. good morning, independent. caller: good morning. good morning, c-span. i don't know if you covered it this morning, how the previous administration had accused the

government of deep state trying to investigate them. apparently the last president was using the justice department as a deep state to undermine the legislative branch by seizing their records through apple. host: we talked about it. delete story in today's new york times. -- the lead story in today's new york times. the justice department investigating leaks early in the trumpet administration. they took i had the step, subpoenaing apple for the data on at least two democrats on the house intelligence committee, and family members. one member, adam schiff. now it's chairman. caller: that is a clear definition of deep state with what the justice department did under the previous

administration. i think they all swear an oath to the constitution, but i'm thinking the previous administration and the people standing up for him and blocking everything going through sore and allegiance to the constitution of the union of socialist soviet republics and vladimir putin. they are certainly not interested in the safety of our country. host: that is joe in illinois. a few minutes left in the program. we noted the photo op for the start of the g7 summit. but officer over in the meetings are now beginning. boris johnson addressing the leaders. we will dip into that for a little bit. >> prime minister johnson: a cleaner, greener world. a solution to the problem of climate change. it is ideas, in those

technologies, which we are all addressing together i think there is the potential to generate many millions of high wage, high skilled jobs. i think that is what the people of our countries now want us to focus on. they want us to be sure we are beating the pandemic together and discussing how we will never have a repeatable we have seen, and also building back better together. building back greener. building back fairer. building back more equal. in a more gender-neutral, more perhaps feminine way. those are some of the objectives we have before us today. thank you all very much. i am now going to ask our friends for the media very kindly to leave us to our

deliberations, which by tradition this is meant to be a fireside chat between the great democracies of the world. it has turned into a gigantic media circus but we have to greet each other several times. host: boris johnson kicking off the official proceedings of the g7 summit. the president seated directly to boris johnson's left. you heard boris johnson using the build back better tagline that joe biden often uses. the news this morning, even as the g7 summit is happening, future meetings president biden is having with world leaders. one of those in the room with them, president biden hosting german chancellor angela merkel at the white house on july 15, according to a white house announcement. it comes during president biden's first overseas trip as president.

the summit this weekend. the meeting in geneva with vladimir putin is set for next wednesday. your phone calls in this open forum, talking about any political issue you want to talk about. tony from cleveland, ohio. democrat. caller: good morning. i am calling to make a few comments. i don't know why people can't open their eyes and see as well as they did for george floyd's killing. if you can see that, you can see that donald trump has been systematically demolishing our democracy. host: you think that is still happening now that the president is the former president? now that donald trump is no longer the president? caller: exactly. he did what he needed to do. that is what the republicans are

doing things now. he put everybody in place that he wanted. the day he was nominated to be there, he had an intention. donald trump is a mob boss. host: toni in cleveland. this is landon in west olive, a republican. caller: that lady just on is the actual problem. the problem is we cannot unite as a country if we have a one-sided media. she is watching cnn or c-span. my question for you is how come all your topics are democrat-driven? if i turn on cnn, msnbc, abc, cbs, because they own it all -- it's a communist country with one voice media. i will turn on cnn and see what

they are talking about. i will turn on your program and you are talking about the same thing. host: have you heard of the media -- would you let me talk? i've heard of the media research center? caller: yeah. democrats have taken over every institution. that is the problem with the republicans. host: i encourage you to go back and watch yesterday's program. we talked about this issue. we had two guests, one from cnn and one from cnn and one for the media research center to talk about liberal bias in the media. do me a favor. watch the shows. we do our best to invite guests they give you a diverse opinion. you and i have had this conversation before, landon. i appreciate that you keep calling in. we will talk down the road. john and chicago, independent. -- in chicago, independent. caller: i would like to say one

thing. i agree with the last caller and i disagree with the caller before. if you ask me, the problem is the democrats control everything since the kennedy assassination and the martin luther king assassination. they have been putting all their ducks in order since then. they get the right people to say the right things. host: you think that happens when republicans are elected president or control the house and senate, a republican appointment are made to the supreme court? caller: it goes both sides but it depends on who is running the show. do we want the same old, or do we want something fresh and vibrant? something that will bring our country up and sit at keeping us down? host: who is somebody right now that represents fresh and vibrant and will bring our country up?

is there a politician of any party he would point to as someone doing that? caller: you know, as much as half the population would disagree with me, i would have to say donald trump. he is a businessman. we voted him in. he did what he said he was going to do. if you ask me, this virus was a plant epidemic to remove him from office. host: this is fred in camp hill, pennsylvania. caller: good morning. i'm extremely outraged the people involved in january 6 being sent home with ankle bracelets and things of that nature when all of them who attack our police officers at the capitol and tore up the building should be getting 25 to 35 years in prison on bread and water. and president trump and donald

trump, jr. and rudy giuliani who sent them down there should get 50 years on bread and water. we need an independent counsel to investigate, then we should put all these criminals, like the boogaloo boys and the proud boys and the neo-nazis and all these trump supporters in jail for the rest of their lives. host: barry in north carolina, republican. caller: good morning, sir. i [indiscernible] about the last time -- host: yes, the less time we were united. caller: obviously 9/11. when we took down obama. maybe at the beginning of this last 14 to 16 months of terror. more than that, the issue is of lost opportunities.

when you look at -- when president obama came to office there was such a success for the country to show finally we had overstepped the color boundary. instead of taking that and using that as a positive step, i think he sort of lead us astray. he took us back down. i feel we lost a generation's worth of progress just because he did not take that and say you can achieve in this country if you put your head down, if you work hard, you can achieve in this country. now we have what they call the squad. people that are, to me, slowly breaking the country apart. they try to find these fracture lines and exploit them. host: you said you thought we were united at the outset of the pandemic? caller: we all had different

opinions but i think we realized it was a common goal that we had to come together in some manner as a group. i think warp speed was a great thing. i think congress realized we had to fund the issue. we had to provide money to businesses. there was policies on both sides of the aisle, bipartisan support. i will not say that exists today. it has certainly become controversial since then. especially among -- i've said this before on your show -- $30 trillion of debt. i worry about tomorrow as much as i worry about today. host: james, newark, new jersey. democrat. caller: hi. how are you doing, c-span? janet yellen.

she said 15% for all companies. what's happening right now is 94% of companies make over -- are paying 2% contact. -- in tax. i care more as a caregiver than they do. including those making over $1 million a year. host: you are talking about a global minimum tax? caller: yes. i agree with janet yellen. i love her. she is doing a good thing. host: that is james a new jersey. the last caller, and we will be back tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern, 4:00 a.m. pacific time, but in the meantime have a great friday.

[captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2021] ♪ >> taking a look at live programming today. in about an hour, election administrators will testify about voting restrictions. they will appear before the election -- how select -- elections administration subcommittee. we will break away from that briefly at 11:30 for the pro forma session in the house. on c-span two, witnesses will testify on the 2022 strategic security environment on

long-range emerging threats. the house armed service committee will post that. it is online at c-span.org or listen live on the c-span radio app. >> c-span's landmark cases explores the cases behind significant supreme court decisions. watch key episodes from our series sunday at 9:45 eastern, the other states, better known as the pentagon papers which -- where president nixon used presidential authority