journal," we are joined by republican representative glenn grothman of wisconsin to discuss immigration policy and border security. later, al green talks about texas voting laws and combating investigate extremism. -- combating domestic extremism. ♪ host: senators, democrats and republicans labeled centrists or moderates, were able to do something that has been a rarity on capitol hill, agree on a major bipartisan bill. in this case, $1 trillion in infrastructure spending, a key element of president biden's agenda. it is friday, june 25, 2021. this is "washington journal." we will ask you overall about partisanship on capitol hill and talk about the details of the presidents infrastructure plan and ask you what it means for

other key issues awaiting congressional action. here's how to join the conversation. for republicans, the line is (202)-748-8001. democrats, call (202)-748-8000. for independents and others, (202)-748-8002. we are available by text, you can send us your thought, (202)-748-8003, tell us your name and where you are texting from. and on facebook, facebook.com/c-span. you can send us a tweet at --@cspanwj. let me show you the comments of some of the senators and the president involved in negotiating that deal in a moment, but "npr" with the report on their website about the details on what is inside the bill, including elements for transportation, $312 billion, including public transit at $49 billion, passenger and freight train at $66 billion, and $7.5

billion for electric vehicles. water systems, $55 billion. broadband, 65 billion. the power grid authority, $73 billion. some of the goals reported by npr, improve healthy, sustainable transportation options for millions of americans by modernizing and expanding transit and rail networks across the country, repair and rebuild roads and bridges with a focus on climate change. build a network of electric vehicle charters along highways and in rural and disadvantaged communities, and they talk about broadband and updating the broadband across the country, the largest investment in legacy pollution in america, as well. that is from npr. one of those 10 senators involved is utah's mitt romney, republican of utah, let's hear what he had to say. [video clip] >> one of the big surprises i had coming to washington was the

sense that while everybody was fighting with each other, this group gets along well. my colleagues in the senate, we were together. it has been -- we work together. it has been years and years people have talked about the structure needs, we know that and denies the, infrastructure. this group came together and got a job done. we have got the president behind us, but we will keep working together. we are not finished. we have other projects to take on. but america works, the senate works, and we can work together. [end video clip] host: senator romney saying the senate works, we can work together. your thoughts on bipartisanship on capitol hill, (202)-748-8001 for republicans, (202)-748-8000 free democrats, all others, (202)-748-8002. this is the capital journal column, a piece in the wall street journal this morning, he writes that the picture that emerged thursday of the president walking out of the white house to stand with senators on both parties to announce an agreement on a big

piece of legislation should not be startling. it used to happen regularly. now it seldom does. mr. biden, as candidate and president, promised such scenes could reappear. if making that happen -- making that happen has been devilishly difficult, where partisan suspicions outstripped goodwill by a wide margin and where political penalty for compromise with the other side is a need to intense from within your own already -- from your own party. he writes that it could still bring the deal falling down like a rickety old bridge. getting the deal required jettisoning the spending on "human infrastructure, education, health care, childcare, antipoverty programs," that democrats demanded, and summing down the president's demands on physical infrastructure. many on the democratic left, especially in the house, will go along if there is a parallel, simultaneous bill with many of the health and family programs,

which can pass only with democratic votes under budget reconciliation roles. that is -- reconciliation rules. that is what mr. biden promised would happen and said he would not sign the bipartisan infrastructure bill without also getting a parallel bill containing democratic are your days, from the wall street journal. and on that dual track, planning ahead, this is susan davis, a tweet from npr's congressional reporter saying, "what democrats are trying to do with this infrastructure, plus reconciliation strategy, is going to be the most complicated legislative maneuvering since they past the affordable care act, and arguably even harder than the aca be as of smaller majorities." your thoughts on bipartisanship in congress. we will get to your calls momentarily, but i wanted to touch on the major national story leading all of the newspapers and news reports on the networks, this morning and last night. this is about the collapse at

the champlain towers south in surfside, florida. this is the headline in "usa today," "catastrophic," his or headline, a 12 story building sinking for years, a fort a high-rise that collapsed early thursday was determined to be unstable a year ago, according to a researcher at 40 university -- at florida international university. it had been sinking since 1990's at an alarming rate, according to a study in 2020 by a professor at the department of earth and environment, from "usa today" this morning. i will show one chart. they have watched this sync over the years, displacement rate, a study that has been done by this professor over the years from january 1993. they have been able to observe

the land displacement and by satellite imaging of the apartment complex, the condo complex in surfside. so far, one dead and 99 missing as we come to air this morning. we will keep you posted on further details and reporting from there as we get that. let's go to our topic and ask you about things on capitol hill with bipartisanship and the announcement yesterday of the infrastructure deal. we go to tennessee, good morning, teresa. caller: good morning. i do not understand what the republicans are doing, first of all. and joe biden come out yesterday and said he intends to go reconciliation on the second part, so why does he even need, that's or republicans -- need republicans to pass this infrastructure bill? it is going to be one and the same. republicans cannot claim only the infrastructure part of the bill and get away with saying, we had nothing to do with the

reconciliation. are they just doing this to give joe biden a pass of being over $4 trillion? i don't understand the endgame. he said he is not going to accept it. so why did they go through all of this trouble and this bipartisanship just for him to smack him in the face yesterday and say, well, thanks for your help, but, no, we are going to do this part? and he is so held hostage by the progressive party, he cannot do anything. they have him wrapped around their finger so much, he cannot do anything without the progressives writing a script and telling him what he is going to do. that is why he switched. in the morning he was on the television praising about bipartisanship and republicans, and then two hours later, after progressives yanked him a new one, he was on there saying, oh, but i will not do anything, i

have to do the reconciliation progressives one. the man is so owned. he cannot do nothing. i can we talk about his whispering yesterday, too? he looked like a darned fool. host: to robert needs to return and we need to state our progressive values, that i think there are some things we can work with republicans on. i want to complete banning

abortion and i think my party should stop children being killed. we need bipartisanship. host: this is "the washington times'" headline -- "pelosi gives ultimatum on infrastructure," she vowed thursday to block any infrastructure package until the senate passes along party lines, if necessary, a "human infrastructure package filled with bro priorities, such as job training for felons and lima change regulations." "let me be really clear on this, we will not take up a bill in the house until the senate passes the bipartisan bill and reconciliation bill. if there is a bipartisan bill, then we will just go in the senate passes a reconciliation bill." let's hear from sharon, hill to mark dependent line. go ahead. -- capitol hill? independent line. caller: i agree with the last caller, marsha blackburn should

do something about abortion in tennessee, but mitt romney is a rhino. where is sarah palin when you need her? newt gingrich -- she needs to go eat ice cream because it is dark because of her not anyone else. host: this is from "politico," reporting on how the deal got done. watermarks and a farmers knowledge and a farmers legend how the infrastructure deal got done. nearly every day over the last week, jon tester insisted the bipartisan alliance had the seal of infrastructure deal for the next morning. case managers paid off. -- his magic is paid off. -- his nudges paid off. he urged >> to publicly and privately wrap things up. you have to push positives -- "you have to push positive bobs if you get a positive result."

you have to talk about success if you're going to achieve success. they push forward the largest of the structure proposal in u.s. history, after helping quench $900 billion coronavirus package late last -- clinch $900 billion coronavirus package late last year. they try to make ambitious aisle crossing laws. here's part of the president's announcement yesterday in the driveway of the white house. [video clip] pres. biden: we had a really good meeting, and answer your question, we have a deal. i think it is really important. we have all agreed that none of us got all that we wanted. i clearly did not get what 18 -- i clearly do not get all that i wanted. this reminds me of the days that we used to get a lot done up in the united states congress. we had a bipartisan deal.

bipartisan deals mean compromise. one thing i made clear, i signed on, and i will let them give you the detail, and you can ask them, and i will talk to you all later in the next hour or two, but i promise i'm not going away, but one of the things that we agreed on infrastructure, we made serious compromises on both ends. they will give you the numbers. but we did not, they did not, and i understand their position, republicans and this group did not want to go along with my family plan issues and childcare tax credit, the human infrastructure are talk about. we will see what happens in the reconciliation bill in the budget process, if we get compromise there. if we cannot, see if i can attract other democrats to a position, but they will move on

the dual track. that is all to say, but i would like to thank each and every one of them. a lot of us go back a long way, where we are used to doing one thing. give each other our word, that is the end. no questions. they have my word, i will stick with what they propose, and they have given me their word, as well. right come from, that is good enough for me. [end video clip] host: you can text us your thoughts on the infrastructure deal and the overall issue of working the bipartisan way on capitol hill, that line, (202)-748-8003. we hear from pam in north dakota, "bipartisan conversation, negotiation unproductive debate ensures a range of perspectives are involved in the problem-solving allows for the next financially stronger problem for outcome. today, i am. set those strong leaders have connected their efforts? bipartisan cooperation offers much hope for democracy.

it is about time some consensus is happening that it took so long. cooperation is key for lasting legislation on moving our country forward," says william in middletown, connecticut. b.c. tweets let's see if mcconnell kills t? kathy in georgia, "president biden has shown he will make concessions for the greater good, even when he does not get all that he wants." your thoughts, republicans, (202)-748-8001. democrats, (202)-748-8000. all others, (202)-748-8002. we go to the independent line and hear from joe in summit, new jersey, good morning. caller: all i have got to say is that all the democrats are trying to buy votes. that is all they do, try to buy votes. they are a bunch of crooks. i am on a whim that the democrat

people are going to get smart and vote them the heck out because they don't know what they are doing and have no common sense. and they talked about guns, heck, the guns don't kill people, people kill people. do not talk about guns. you have to get rid of crime, and you have to put some of them in jail and don't let them out, like all these democrats are doing. host: mariana in conroe, texas, hello. caller: hi. i am very much in love with our president biden. he is a wonderful man, he always has been. he has integrity and principal. not just a person who pretends to be religious. we have had enough of that through the christian organization. i have been a christian all my life. i had no idea that they hated other people and the bible really moves the truth. -- really lives the truth.

we are taught lies. the people who are holding up everything are the republicans, and i pray that god that they stop being afraid and hold onto life and start doing what we sent them there to do, and that is to help us. to help the people help themselves. we have enough money in this country for everybody to live well and not read is the worst thing we have. president biden is a magnificent, magnificent man, and god bless him. we pray for him every day, like the scripture says, and god is going to raise him up and raise us all up because the greedy people are theh ell people -- the hell people. host: on the independent line from new york. caller: good morning, c-span. i give kudos to the lady i just heard from texas. i agree with what she is saying.

as far as bipartisan, it is going to be good up until the end of the year because now democrats and republicans are going to go into the mode of the next election, 2022. i hope this continues, but it is very shaky at this moment. you will have mitch mcconnell mccarthy sitting in trying to map out from before, trump to get back into office. thank you. host: this is from the morning consult, a poll they did on bipartisanship that was released earlier in the month or early june, voters largely believe biden wants bipartisanship but they don't agree with the white house's new definition of the term. we have some of the takeaways, and they found 43% of voters say something needs to happen across the party, with party support from both parties in order to be considered bipartisan.

53% say biden cares about getting bipartisan support for major pieces of legislation more than any other leader in washington. 59% of republicans say no action in congress is better than action led by one party, compared with 37% of democrats. they say that the white house introduced a new definition of what the concept of bipartisanship means in washington during the first few months of joe biden's presidency. "if you looked up bipartisan in the dictionary, i think it would say support from republicans and democrats, it does not say the republicans have to be in congress." after the administration's covid-19 relief administration faced unified opposition from gop lawmakers, despite widespread support from democratic and republican voters. let's go to a republican line and hear from bob in texas, dallas. good morning. caller: good morning. i would like to speak about the

nice lady from south texas. she may, it's about mr. biden's religion. i am a roman catholic. joe biden is already excommunicated, not officially in the catholic church because four years as a senator and our president, he has supported abortion issues of and down across the board. -- issues up and down across the board. that in the catholic theology aborts in from the church, and from god and our thinking. how can you stand up there and say, i am a good roman catholic? it just drives us nuts. you know? i think in a lot of ways, he is a good man. there are a lot of issues, i don't think so. and i am a conservative republican and have no my life -- have been all my life. i am in my late 60's, and i would like to work with him, but there are some issues i cannot

and will not. and the same thing -- no, i am not when you say that. it is too controversial this morning. i like the bipartisan issue from thursday. i think it is great. i want to read more about it. it is an interesting idea. host: thanks, bob. this is the headlining "the new york times," "$1.2 trillion deal is reached to fix infrastructure, biting ties feet of compromise to a broader social programs plan." here is an announcement from senator rob portman and democratic senator kyrsten sinema of arizona. [video clip] >> we do not get everything we wanted, but we came up with a good compromise. this is about infrastructure. every president over the past four or five has talked about an infrastructure package. president trump proposed a $2 trillion structure package.

today we are announcing the framework for an historic infrastructure package. this is for roads, ridges, and others, including broadband, and our water system, all which is good for the economy. this will lead to more efficiency, higher productivity, higher growth, this is about the long-term. it is something that traditionally has been very bipartisan. i am pleased to see the day that we come together on a court of the structure package. these are nonofficial sure items, and without taxes, and with a commitment from republicans and democrats that we will get this across the finish line. i appreciate my colleagues behind me. this was a team effort. everyone was equally involved. kyrsten sinema did a great job leading the effort and now she was a few words. >> thank you, rob. there are many who say i partisanship is dead and washington, d.c., and around the country, but this historic agreement today between republicans and democrats within the senate and the president of the united states shows that

when a group of people committed to solving the problems our country faces, we can use bipartisanship to solve these challenges. [end video clip] host: eye-opening conversation is about bipartisanship in washington. rob portman, the ohio senator, is retiring after this term. thoughts on social media, send as a tweet at @cspanwj. this is from mlb who says "we see a government working for its citizens, the pandemic, a top of the neglect from the previous administration, made critical for many projects to be completed." this and says, "this is a biden bait and switch. sickening, congress can go home for the whole summer for all i care," vicki in wichita, kansas, and person birmingham, alabama, says "i guess the president was right when he recently told the press i know more about the house and senate then you guys, bipartisanship looks good on everyone." and this is from gainesville,

georgia, go ahead. gainesville, virginia, go ahead. caller: hi, good morning, c-span. my name is soca, for the last two or three decades, we have been talking about infrastructure, but no progress has been done, only because the republican party is a standing block. anytime we talk about infrastructure, republicans throw a wrench at it. when trump gave a tax cut to the $1.9 trillion, republicans jumped at it. and out of that $1.9 trillion, which is borrowed money we do not have, $1.2 trillion came from the richest americans, and the rest goes to trump. i do not understand why people cannot see the hypocrisy of the republican party. the second question i raise is for the last two decades or

three decades, the middle class and the poor have been stagnant. when the wall street is running $33,000 on the dow has not gone to the americans but to the very top. when someone tries to correct that anomaly, republicans want to say, no, no, no, i want people to understand the hypocrisy of the republican party, and biden, you can call it whatever you want, but the progressives are doing the right thing, why can't we give a little help to the mothers and their kids so they can go to work? what is wrong with that? if we are the richest country on earth, people should not have to work two jobs to make ends meet, that is the bottom line. thank you. host: to tulsa, oklahoma, good morning, frank, independent line.

caller: yeah, i thought this was about the subject was bipartisanship. you let these people come on here and they grouch and complain about this, that, and the other. here is my take on bipartisanship. the cameraman is pushing mitt romney out of the camera and all you see is susan collins. you get one or two people will and they call that bipartisan. i am sure it is because the senate is closely split, but this is pretty crazy. thank you, anyway. host: this is another story from this morning in "the washington times." the headline, "rudy giuliani

suspended from practicing law in new york." the former president's attorney has been suspended from practicing law new york, a 33 page order yesterday from the supreme of new york said mr. giuliani, a former prosecutor and mayor of new york, violated rules of professional conduct with his advocacy of claims of election fraud in the 2020 election for he was admitted to practice law since 1969 read "there is uncontroverted evidence that responded communicated demonstrably false and misleading statements to courts, lawmakers and the public at large in his capacity as lawyer for the former president donald j. trump, in connection with trump's failed different every election in 2020," the order read. "these false statements were made to improperly bolster respondent's narratives that due to widespread voter fraud, victory in the 2020 united states' presidential election was stolen from his client."

"the report concluded that his conduct written 'the public interest'". in fort lauderdale, good running to jim, republican line. caller: hi. i have to admit that today is the saddest clinical day in my life. the saddest day was the day that barack obama ran out on his own economic. -- his own economic mission. it showed promise for putting this nation on a path for prosperity. he ran as a bipartisan president , and he ended up being the most partisan president i have ever experienced in my life. so here we are again, given the hope of bipartisanship. and everyone has their hopes up that something bipartisan is happening, we can get together

the nation together, and what happens? joe biden says he isn't signing it unless the non-bipartisan part of the democratic party bill gets passed. so you talk about hypocrisy? how about just outright lying? how about bait and switch? how about going back how about -- going back? how about showing everybody kind the curtain? -- behind the curtain? that is what the democrats specialize in. i am bitter, very bitter. host: this is from "the washington post," president biden signed up thursday on a bipartisan agreement that would calm hundreds of billions of dollars into new infrastructure projects across the country, and if it passes congressional muster, handing him a significant cross party achievement in the top administration. but biden pledged to abandon the

compromise of democrats on capitol hill do not simultaneously send him a sweeping package of democratic spending priorities opposed by most republicans to shore up the nation's social safety net. "if this is the only thing that comes to me, i'm not signing it," says biden. he said it shortly after triumphantly announcing the deal with republican and democratic senators and said "it is in tandem." status from washington post -- that is from washingtonpost.com. thoughts from you on bipartisanship, (202)-748-8001 is a line for republicans. (202)-748-8000 free democrats -- for democrats. independents and others, (202)-748-8002. fayetteville, arkansas, brad and the independent line go ahead -- line. go ahead. caller: yes, bipartisanship is a joke.

tell me one time in the trump administration when republicans offered bipartisanship to democrats? it is a joke. they should overturn the electoral college, they should overturn the 60 vote majority and make something happen in this country. host: this is from "politico" this morning on another front in a rare bipartisan move, the senate approves a bill to help farmers profit on climate action. the senate overwhelmingly passed a bill on thursday, yesterday, to shore up private agriculture and forestry carbon markets, 92-8. they say it is a rare example of a partnership action on climate. asks the agriculture department to create a certification program to help farmers, ranchers, and foresters navigate a growing array of sector

programs and any by selling carbon credits. landowners can generate the edits by changing their operations to cutting emissions or more carbon dioxide from the air into soil or trees. just to show you it is not necessarily all kumbaya on capitol hill, yesterday, there was a hearing of the house oversight and reform committee looking at federal employees, and things got a bit testy. [video clip] >> if you do a study comparing the private sector to the public sector, the private sector is doing a much better job in adjusting and really doing work -family balance within their companies. most of them have paid leave. most of them have on-campus daycare. most of them have all kinds of services for their employees and the federal government needs to keep pace. we know that we cannot take the same stance as a private sector, we know that.

we have to find people who are committed to public service, but we also have to help them balance their family with the work that they have. i now recognize -- >> madam chair, with all due respect. >> this is my time. >> you went way over your time, way over your time. no, [indiscernible] >> [indiscernible] >> you don't understand! you are living in -- >> someone put the chair in order, please? lola chair get order, -- will the chair get order, please? >> we are sick of getting more benefits to federal employees because they have to pay for them! >> madame chairwoman -- >> you want to raise the taxes even lower! [end video clip] host: part of that house

oversight and reform hearing yesterday, so done virtually, all of that at c-span.org. happening on the same day, republican and democrat senators announcing a bipartisan deal on infrastructure with the white house. we are talking about bipartisanship on capitol hill. your thoughts, (202)-748-8001 for republicans. (202)-748-8000 for democrats. independents and others, (202)-748-8002. this is from bloomberg, they write that a bipartisan senate succeeded in finding $579 billion to pay for their infrastructure framework by relying on tried-and-true budget maneuvers that have yet to be scrutinized by congress' official scorekeepers. the spending on public transit and other items is offset by a hodgepodge of revenue raising measures, economic impact assumptions, and projected savings from illuminating waste. they write that it is the result of weeks of haggling over where

to find hundreds of billions of dollars without reversing the 2017 tax cuts, a redline for republicans, or increasing levies on households making less than a thousand dollars, democratic priority -- less than $400,000, a democratic priority. let's hear from aaron on the independent line in westminster, massachusetts, go ahead. westminster, massachusetts, hey, aaron, go ahead. make sure you mute -- mute your volume, and go ahead with your comment. erin, ensure you mute -- aaron, make sure you mute your volume and go ahead. this is getting a little confusing because i don't think you are hearing me that will. try to call back and see if we can fix that for you. liz on the democrat's line from new jersey. caller: thank you. i think it is hopeful we have a

bipartisan effort in the senate. i hope it reaches the finish line and does get signed into law. but, i understand, as a democrat, that it isn't the entire package that the president requested when he sent it to congress, so he is obviously going to try and get more of what he thinks is necessary for one of his programs. i am not opposed to him doing that either. one thing i think we have tolerated too long as americans is disability, especially by mr. mcconnell, to simply obstruct any and all legislation. i really do not know why we are funding his salary because he gets nothing accomplished consistently for over decades.

the country has needs. either we are going to meet those needs, or we are not, and we cannot have obstructing the progress for the people, united states of america, especially on infrastructure. we do not have to look any further than florida to see what happens when buildings fall down. bridges will be falling down, as well, if we spend 40 or 50 years not repairing anything or fixing anything. i think the bipartisan effort, you saw the republicans who care enough about america to want to make some progress. the ones you did not see there, they do not put the priorities of the american people first. they never have. thank you. host: the president schedule today includes meeting with the president of afghanistan as the

u.s. troop withdrawal continues. that is later this afternoon. the vice president is headed to the border. this is the "el paso times." the headline, "vp visit should put a spotlight on maurice covid-19 vaccine access and covid recovery." vice president harris' visit to el paso has focused the illegal -- attention on illegal crossings. some say the spotlight should be on how to help the regional economy recover from the pandemic. "we have to be talking more about vaccines and about a national solution to the pandemic so we can have a plan in place to safely open inland ports to non-essential travelers," says a senator of el paso. unfortunately, the border is used as a political punching bag and characterized as entries place. "i am hoping that the vice president understands the vibrant community we are." veronica escobar of el paso said she began calling for u.s.

vaccine assistance for cities on the mexican side of the border since the early days of the pandemic when donald trump was president, and that call has continued with a change of administrations. let's hear from diana on the independent line in halifax, pennsylvania. your thoughts on bipartisanship on capitol hill. caller: yes, thank you for taking my call. the lady that spoke earlier voiced some of my concerns, but the thing that is bothering me is that i am a 78-year-old woman, i have two daughters, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and i'm concerned about the way this country is going forward. if we do not start cooperating with each other, and when i sit and watch our congress behave the way that they do, it is all about power struggle in washington. we need to start calling our

congressman, calling our senators, telling them that we need to get some work done. thank you. host: thanks, diana. (202)-748-8001 the line for republicans. (202)-748-8000 for democrats. all others, (202)-748-8002. this is from "the washington post" on the infrastructure deal announced yesterday. it appeals to vindicate aydin's faith about -- biden's faith in bipartisanship and he is poised to deliver legislation that would rid the country of dangerous lead pipes carrying drinking water, fund thousands of construction jobs and pour money into translate, including his -- transit, including his beloved amtrak. he also pledged to sign a separate nature, like you be passed only with them attic support, including liberal priorities such as subsidizing health care workers, extending direct childcare payments to

families, and bringing down college costs. both measures would need to be passed provided's optimism -- for biden's optimism to be vindicated, but they savor the victory nonetheless. they rank that his tentativewin on infrastructure comes as progress on other priorities has stalled. the anniversary of george floyd's killing by a police officer in minneapolis came and went without tangible progress on a police reform measure that is bogged down in congress. gun control remains out of reach, even as the nation undergoes a wave of murders in mass shootings. the week began with a failure of the sweeping voting rights measure, billed by democrats as a way to shore up american democracy, gop efforts to limit access to voting. yet, brian fallon, executive director of the liberal group demand justice, who was worried biden maisel of the left for a gop compromise, sounded a note of optimism, "if they keep with this two track plan, i think

biden is going to be able to have his cake and eat it too." stephen atlanta on the republican line. caller: good morning. -- steve in atlanta on the republican line. caller: good morning. i think biden defines partisanship as republicans going along with the. there is no such thing as democrats going along with republicans. -- with the, kratz. there is no such thing as the ads going along with republicans. he does not have a deal. he stabbed them in the back two hours later. that is my comment. host: steve, do you think this allows republican senators, so they are able to say they reached a bipartisan compromise and can vote for the infrastructure bill but obviously would not support the budget a bill, the broader bill the president once fast with many social programs? caller: there is going to be in infrastructure bill that

republican support, and there's not going to be the other, so there is going to be nothing. that is what the president has said. he lied to us. it is that simple. host: let's go to larry in virginia, democrat line. go ahead. caller: hi. i feel it necessary to defend obama's comment, the comment about him being the least bipartisan president even though he ran on a platform of being very bipartisan. if anyone remembers, within the first few days in him taking office, mitch mcconnell got up and said, they were going to push back and deny everything obama tri-city from the get go. sharon -- obama tries to do from the get go. sure enough, they did. he received no support for his stimulus package. what did it do? it brought us out of the worst recession we have seen in our lifetimes.

the next big thing he did was try to give us all health care. he received zero support for trying to get us health care. they push back on every single thing. the health care that he put out isn't the best in the world, but it was a very noble cause what he was trying to do. he received no support in doing so. i just felt it necessary to try and defend obama a little bit because he received zero support from the gop. host: ok, larry. similar sentiments on twitter. barbara tweets, "bipartisanship in any measurable way ended with the election of barack obama, when mitch mcconnell announced his job was to make it a one term presidency. he vowed to block every legislation put forth during those years, and he did that." michael says, "yesterday was a tale of media events, the first on the infrastructure deal, and the second with biden saying he would not sign it without a

human if the structure deal." and john, "only democracy can driver compromises the norm. we need to get back to the days when compromise wasn't a dirty word. we need more bipartisanship." there is a committee on the modernization account that has -- of congress that was established. the vice chair is william timmons of south carolina. he talked yesterday in a hearing yesterday on the culture in congress and what would make the institution more civil and work better. [video clip] >> i think this is the area that has the potential for the greatest impact to fix this dysfunctional institution. we have talked about it and thought about it a lot the past 2.5 years. currently, in my mind, i have put this conversation of civility into three categories. incentive structure, time, and relationship building. incentive structure, we have got

to facilitate the right objective, collaboration, policymaking. right now, the loudest voice is the one that is heard, and it is rewarded. the loudest voices never going to be the one that solves a problem. whether it is committee structure empowerment, that is the incentive structure, an important area. time is another. in 2019, we were here for 65 working days, 66 fly in, fly out days, we will never get anything done if we are only here 65 days a year. that is another important one. we talked about the calendar, de-conflicting are days when we are here because we have 12 members on the committee. they all went to be here, but they are all on other subcommittees or full committees, and we are constantly pulled in many directions. that is an important area. and then pricked ability for floor votes -- predictability for floor votes and the chaos and challenges on the floor. that is another.

the last one is building on the verse two relationship building. we have to facilitate collaboration. these are the things we are thinking about right now. [end video clip] host: that hearing was yesterday, available at c-span.org. we are talking about bipartisanship in congress. let's hear from bruce in east hampton, massachusetts. welcome. caller: yes, good morning. host: good morning. caller: all of the things you said, i have been watching c-span for quite a while. i watch it during the day. the bipartisanship, i believe, should be involved with teamwork. being a military person, it was talked to me at an early age that we really need to work as a team, otherwise, things fall apart and disasters can happen. i would really wish we could more bipartisanship, but i have a hard time believing that that is even possible with all the

republicans, i hate to say that, but all the republicans that fight everything that is good for the country. despite as far as bipartisan goes, i wonder why are left president who did warp speed and was very proud of that does not come on a national television program and push for everyone to take his vaccine. i guess that is it. host: here is wanda in lancaster, california. democrat line. caller: hi, yes. my problem is that every election -- i am 61 years old, and i keep hearing the same thing over and over and over about the same bills that they do not pass.

they wait until the next election, they keep saying the same thing, and they do not do anything. i mean nothing. do something. work together. host: does this feel like they are doing something? i optimistic? -- are you optimistic? caller: no, they are saying the same. this bipartisan means to me that that is the reason they don't do a damn thing, i will vote for this, disagree, and then nothing gets done. that is very bipartisan. host: thanks for the call, wanda. this is from the opinion page of "the washington post." this is the proper sentence for george floyd's murder, 18 years, rights paul butler, that would be the most appropriate sentence for derek chauvin, convicted of second-degree murder in the death of george floyd, and one

of the most high-profile criminal cases and history. he writes, i would not be too that if the judge throws the book at derek chauvin. he is not exactly the face of sentencing reform, where principles are best demonstrated hard cases. 18 years is a very long time in prison. chauvin would not be getting away with anything. it is the best in the long-term interest in racial justice in america punishment is based less on a motion and more unreason. paul butler concludes his opinion with this, in 18 years, derek chauvin will be 63 years old. the united states in 2039 will be a different place and a population close to a majority nonwhite. if american cops are still killing about 1000 people a year, as they have, george floyd will have died in vain. whether chauvin gets 16 years or 40 years does not change that. the most important change in our country should be on transforming the institution of policing rather than on one bad

rotten cop. dear children will be sentenced today in minneapolis. we will have coverage from the courtroom beginning at two -- derek chauvin will be sentenced today in minneapolis. we will have coverage from the courtroom beginning at 2:30. our democrat's line, maryland. go ahead. caller: thanks for taking my call. the american people want congress to work in a bipartisan way. we all realized the problem, but the matter of solving the problem is where they are different. profit cannot be the enemy of the good. the most consistent politician in washington, d.c., is mitch mcconnell. it would be really good if he

just changed and try to work in a bipartisan way. bipartisanship is very good. the most success in a bipartisan way, people like to do it, but i think mitch mcconnell is the problem. senator mitch mcconnell is the problem in washington, d.c., when it comes to bipartisanship. what is good for democrats is bad for republicans. what is good for republicans is bad for democrats. it should not work that way. we are the united states of america. if we work together, there is nothing we cannot do. host: all right, this is cory. thanks for the call. cory in illinois, go ahead. republican line. caller: this is the question i would ask all of these democrats calling, when did pelosi and the democrats ever work with

president trump? why did they ever do that? this idea of bipartisanship needs to go one way, where the republicans and mitch mcconnell are supposed to work with the democrats, but i never see pelosi and schumer, they never worked with from on his agenda. host: what do you think held that? why don't you think the house speaker and chuck schumer and democrats in general did not work with president trump? caller: here is what i always say, there is a reason we have two parties, one party sees things totally different. now, if the base of the democrats, if they would have gone nuts if pelosi and schumer would have worked with trump, ok? so don't expect mcconnell and republicans to work with biden. they see things totally different, and there's nothing wrong with that. this idea that we are supposed to just hold hands and come up

with something that is bad for the country as stupid! you look at a lot of these leftist policies, they are horrible. mcconnell should be pushing back. he should be pushing back against obama. host: i will let you go, cory. the beeping is getting a little loud. we got your point. this is about the house speaker from "wall street journal" this morning, the lucido form select committee to probe pro-trump assault on the u.s. capitol january 6. house speaker pelosi said she will establish a select committee to investigate the attack on the u.s. capitol. senate republicans blocked the earlier effort to establish a bipartisan independent commission. the committee writes the wall street journal will investigate and report on the facts and causes of the attack by farmers of -- by former supporters of president trump, and recommendations for future attacks, this is pelosi said. in terms of -- pelosi said. in terms of bipartisanship on capitol hill, we should do the hearing earlier in the house.

we wanted to show you the comments of marjorie taylor greene, who said she would like to debate her democratic colleague, representative alexandria ocasio-cortez. here is part of a quick interview with "the hill" from last month. [video clip] >> aoc should be able to debate her policy because i am a successful business owner. she has never done that. i know for a fact what it will do to our country, the american people know it. the american people want a debate on the green new deal, which is written into all of these garbage bills we have to vote on every single day. >> you had one conversation with alexandria ocasio-cortez on the floor. >> that was me asking her to debate the green new deal. you know what she said? she said, this is [indiscernible] and she said on c-span. i said great, i will set it up. >> that was it? >> that was basically it>>, other than me telling her you have never done this before, so

you have no idea what the policies are going to do, to businesses and our country, and then she told me, i have watched restaurants. i said you never owned one. [end video clip] host: part of that deal announced yesterday includes strengthening the u.s. power grid. here is the reporting of reuters this morning about the heat wave at west and the power grid in texas. texas power grid has changed little from the texas freeze. they write that the grid operator frightened residents last week when they said they had little reserves to cover demand spiking as temperature soared. this summer could produce more scary times. in february, the texas grade, run by the electric reliability council of texas, nearly collapsed after several days of frigid weather, exposing its vulnerabilities as weather grows more extreme and power demand rises. ercot is warning there customers to conserve energy. experts say people should brace for rolling blackouts made

drought and extreme heat. let's hear from louise on our democrat's line. louise in north carolina, go ahead. caller: good morning, how are you? host: i am fine, thank you. caller: yes, i wanted to say what is wrong with our congress? our old leaders are gone, the most powerful ones, kennedy, mccain, and all of those others are gone, and mitch mcconnell has too much power to try and help this country. it is all a power grab. i with the former president -- and with the former president, he talked about infrastructure, but when nancy pelosi and chuck schumer went to his office -- i

remember it -- he slammed the door on them. were not even talk to them. but we need this bipartisanship, but i will believe it when i see it. the senate has to change. we have to do infrastructure in this country. thank you. host: ok, louise. a couple of final thoughts and tweets on the topic, senator mark warner treating yesterday after the white house --tweeting yesterday after the white house "you have a deal." negotiations across the aisle in the senate and with the white house, we kept talking, working, we found common ground, this is how government can and should function, we have more work to do, let's keep it going, from senator jeanne shaheen. from the house, they said the bipartisan deal will only pass with an agreement that we will

not leave green infrastructure behind. no climate, no deal. ahead on "washington journal," two members of congress will join us in the next hour. next, congressman glenn grothman of wisconsin, will join us to talk about immigration and security. we will be joined later by texas representative al green focusing on border security and texas voting laws. ♪ >> coming up today on c-span, the house is back at 9:00 a.m. to consider turning over a trump rule limiting the epa's ability to regulate gas emissions. 2:30 p.m. we will be live for the sentencing of former police officer derek chauvin who was found guilty in the murder of george floyd. on c-span2 at 10:00 a.m., a hearing on brain health research. at noon, the manhattan institute has a discussion at -- of -- on

crime and policing with senator tom cotton. >> saturday on "the communicators," the chief security officer of hauwei technology usa on possible new tech -- opportunities. >> we also have to look locally on what is necessary and possible to make for greater security, greater privacy, globally. and we need to think outside the box and not just go with the same stuff that is working. accountability and transparency are the key. and germany is doing important things to try and make sure that the operator and equipment suppliers have good visibility and very strong requirements. that is what has been missing in the united states. senator king was on asa -- autoshow in the recent attacks are like a wake-up show -- a wake-up. congress has dropped the ball

and not exercised their oversight. there needs to be acquirements -- requirements, objectives, and heads need to roll if we do not make -- do not do what is necessary. >> watch it at 6:30 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> "washington journal" continues. host: joining us is glen grothman. he has on the budget committee and ranking member on the house oversight reforms committee on national security. to have you here at "washington journal." let us start with news that we mentioned earlier about the vice president's trip to the border today, to el paso. i wanted to see if you were among the house republicans in this fox news article pointing out that they are asking the president to remove vice president harris from that role

in the migration crisis. guest: that was my letter and i organize that. absolutely i think the biggest crisis in the country is not the southern border, and the fact that the vice president did not go down there for 12 weeks after she was appointed indicates that her heart is not in it. that president biden, and he has to make a lot of decisions, that he bid -- he made a big mistake and assigning it to kamala harris. not only did it show that she did not care about the border or border patrol who puts their lives on the line every day by not being down there, but i think it also shows she was a little bit insubordinate. nobody can tell me that the vice president expected to stay away from the border for 12 weeks while she was not down there. so, it is of great concern. even to this day i wish he would appoint somebody else for his point person on the border. host: she went down to guatemala and mexico to meet with leaders

there. what do you think came out of that? guest: i do not know. one thing she is going to find is that people are coming from a lot of places other than guatemala and mexico. the last time i was down there, significant numbers from russia, cuba, brazil, and haiti. so the idea that the -- that we can solve the problem, she will find an awful lot of countries that people want to come here from. host: those people from other countries, you mention from russia and cuba, are they the problem? or is it the number of kids being -- coming across unaccompanied minors at the border? guest: they are all a problem because we are winding up getting new residents of america who we are not taking. this time last year we were getting about 6000 people crossing the border and we did not necessarily want them or take them. now we are about 70,000.

i think 14,000 our kids, but there are a lot of kids not coming across. we should vet the people who wind up becoming citizens. host: are we betting them less than during the trump administration? guest: we have a lot more people coming across so in that regard. when we go from 6000 to 70,000, a lot less people are being vetted. host: the congressman is with us until 8:30 eastern and we welcome your calls and comments at 202-748-8000 for republicans. -- free democrats. 202-748-8001 for republicans. for independents, 202-748-8002. i know it is fresh news, the senators announcing an infrastructure deal to be passed in parallel with a budget reconciliation piece for the things that democrats would like to see passed. what is your initial reaction? guest: it is nice to see people

work together. the reconciliation will add other things that that is the key. like everything else the devil is in the details. host: in terms of the back to the border, the president or the head of the national border patrol council and a former supporter of president trump said that the harris trip is aimed at taking a look at some solutions and that it was worthwhile. do you agree with that? guest: it is a good thing that she is going down there, and i hope that she stays down there. on the southern border you have nine separate regions. you learn a little from every different region. it is important to talk to local law enforcement to see what their view of the world is. it is important to look at places where they have built the wall and they start that up again. and it is important to talk to the average agent, like everything else sometimes you get a different span from the

person on top and the person who is really getting their fingernails dirty and finding out what is going on. host: the biden administration is redirecting the wall spending and the governor of texas is announcing that they will put money towards wall construction. what is your take on that? guest: every border control agents that i talked to feels that the wall is a good thing. some people are skeptical. when you get down there and look at the wall and you see 30 feet high and the eight feet under the ground. you hear how much more difficult it makes it for people to come into the country and how much easier it makes the job of the border patrol. you wind up being in favor of it. host: do you think the biden administration has under resourced the border? guest: no question. particularly as more people come across the border. these border patrol agents are spending so much time processing people including the children

that they cannot guard the border. that is why we have gone and have got aways, people who are sneaking across the border has gone from 6000 the month to about 30,000 month, because we do not have the agents down here. not only do we need more agents right away, but another thing we need is more dogs. one of the stories that has been under publicized is a huge amount of fentanyl that is coming across the border. i hope they give kamala harris a demonstration. when you see what the dogs are capable of and you think of all of the americans dying of fentanyl overdose, not only do they need more border patrol agents, they need more dogs. host: i want to ask you about the announcement of the creation of the committee to investigate the capitol riot after the failure of passing an independent panel that the senate refused to take that up? what were your thoughts about the announcement? guest: i hope they put

republicans on the panel. it is better to look forward and not back. i always thing to a certain degree when people are looking back it is to divert the attention of the american public from the disaster at the border. host: let us hear from our callers. we will go to christine in rhode island. democrats line. no ahead. christine, you are on the air. christine, one more time. are you there? to the independent line, melt -- maryellen, hello there. caller: good morning. listen, i feel that president trump is the first president that actually tried to secure the borders and protect the american people. at least since eisenhower. the biden administration and the democrats have abandoned the

american people. we have all been on lockdown, and our economy is in shambles. for working people, for minimum wage working people. and yet the biden administration does not care and is letting people into this country without proper screening, we are supposed to wear masks and get vaccinated, and yet there is no protection for the hundreds of thousands of people that are coming across the border, legally and illegally. and i do think it is wrong that they put the needs of foreign citizens above the american citizen. and that is really all i have to say about it. host: congressman, your thoughts. guest: it was nice to hear from an independent listener. i agree in the sense that right now we are making a priority of people trying to come here

illegally over the native born. if you show up at the border, and many americans have high deductible plans that is an example. we have so many people coming across the border and all of the efforts to get americans vaccinated -- i know in my district all the way up in wisconsin we had a surge of covid from people who are here illegally. so, i do agree with the caller and that we have to pay more attention -- in that we had to pay to more attention to the border. president trump got down to 6000 people a month and did start building the wall, and i agree with you. it is the number one crisis in the country. host: what areas do you cover? guest: oshkosh and support -- sheboygan and along lake michigan. host: he has with us until 8:30. stephen from the republican line in aberdeen, washington.

caller: good morning. i just wanted to ask a couple of questions. one, in terms of the way that we house these migrant children that are coming over, as well as others, do you think that the trump administration did a better job at housing these children? or do you think that biden is doing a better job to house these children? as well as verse is -- the trump administration versus the biden administration getting them housed, fostered, fed, educated, health-care, and dealing with the root causes. my second question is how do you feel about the language that trump used against these children such as milani a going down there -- melania going down there with a coat saying i do

not care and from calling them criminals and other such names including racist things. did you get vaccinated, and forth question do you believe biden was actually elected as president legally? host: several questions. guest: quite a few. when i was down on the border it was very difficult for the young kids. they were stacked in a long line on mattresses. it did not look that good to me, although the major region that we are unable to care for all of the children, and i was down there under president trump, we were giving classes in english to all of the young people coming across the border. they were segregated by sex so i saw classes for young girls. but, that worked out very well. and it looked very good. rooms, so i think president

trump did a good job. i do not recall him using racist language to describe people coming across the border. there is no question they do background checks and there are people coming across the border with a criminal background, and that is just the checks we have on american criminal records. we do not know if somebody is coming here from cuba or guatemala or someone else, whether you had a criminal record there or not. but, i think the major way to keep young kids from coming here is to secure the border. if the word is out that you can come into the united states, people will come here. and, that is the major reason why we have gone up from 6000 to 70,000. host: some of the figures for may. there figures all migrants detained on the u.s. mexico border, 180,000. 38% were repeat detainees. teens and children and that

figure, 14,000. the former president is reportedly headed to the border next week. will you join him there? guest: i would love to, and i will get down to the border in the next two months. i think sometimes those map -- those numbers are confusing. when they say detained they do not mean in the country. you have to break it into three different groups. the people who got away, the children, and you have the families who are being left in and other people who are turned around and sent back in. so if you add up the three groups coming into the country you are a lot about 70,000. host: this is ashley on the democrats line. caller: hello. my question is what is harris going to be able to do if she goes down to the border that she cannot do from wherever she is now? like, plenty of people have gone to the border and observe what

is happening, what are they doing? nothing has changed? i do not know how physically being there can change things. guest: she has to educate herself as why she has gone to 6000 people to 70,000. the first thing she will find is that they should not have gotten rid of the migrant protection protocol or the agreement in mexico where the mexican government was holding people south of the border pending the hearings for asylum-seekers. the second thing she will find out that it was a big mistake to get rid of the agreements with the central american countries where they were holding people south of the mexico-guatemala border. the third thing is she is going to find if she talks to border patrol is to the degree to which by building the wall they were making it more difficult for people to come here. the fourth thing that she will find that her own words and president biden's own words if

they indicate they do not care about illegal immigration they are inviting people from all over the world, the drug cartels that control so much educate people from around the world come here and they frequently charge people to come across our border. so, the sum of this is being driven by the drug cartels who are charging people $3000 for a mexican to come across, a be 5000 for a central american, a be 8000 or 9000 for a brazilian to come across the board. this is what she should find and that is when she should turn around and beg mexico and the central american countries to reinstate the deals that were cut by president trump. host: your congressional district is closer to the u.s.-canada border than the u.s.-mexico border. but things did you learn from your visits to the border that you would have never known had you not gone down physically to the border?

guest: how difficult it is for people to come here, the degree to which the drug cartels are involved in this. all the countries that people are coming from. when i was down there we stopped to see about 40 people being detained by border patrol, trying to get across. they were not from ed kraus -- mexico or central america, they were from russia, romania, or cuba. if you come across a random group of 40 people that it would be from these three countries? host: oakland, michigan. christina on the independence line. hello there. caller: thank you for having me on. i want to voice my opinion. i have been a c-span watcher for decades. it is where i get the best information, and usually from the horse's mouth. there are many things i could ask you about but we are talking immigration. i want to know why the

republicans have used it as an issue for so long. if you recall, back in i believe it was 2014, and i could be wrong on the year, the senate passed a bipartisan immigration reform and it was passed by the entire senate. it was sent to the house where john boehner was speaker. he would not put it up for a vote because of the hosta rule. he went to jail because of -- the republicans needed a republican majority group -- but -- a majority vote for it. you call yourselves really christians, and is this the way christ would treat people? host: we will hear from the congressman. guest: another great independent listener. i think the problem in

negotiating the immigration deal is any immigration deal starts with the idea that the administration will enforce the laws in the deal. we have a situation now where the administration is doing very little to enforce the border and allowing so many people to come across. you have to wonder when you cut the deal can you trust the deal to be executed at the current administration, and that is a big problem. i will say that congress gets a long on a bipartisan fashion on so many issues. on immigration, if you have one side who does not seem to believe that it is necessary to enforce the border and has no problem with tens of thousands of people coming here every month it is tough negotiate. host: you have proposed legislation, the ending sanctuary sitting is -- cities act. guest: obviously it is difficult

to enforce educate -- immigration laws and we do not want people coming here if there are counties and cities that are saying we are not going to ask your immigration status. it is an invitation for people to come here, and know that they will not be deported but it is a caret to say that you might get welfare as well once you come here. i wish we would take up the bill. it prevents federal funds from going to cities who are really not obeying american law and seem to encourage illegal immigration. host: let us hear from michael, and albuquerque. go ahead. guest: i have a question for the congressman. i have long thought that until you get to the source of the problem, which is mexico. and to get tough with mexico, perhaps with economic sanctions or trade reduction. i do not think you will ever solve the problem.

i appreciate your time. guest: i have to say, this time last year only 6000 people were getting across largely because we had a good relationship with mexico. the mexican military worked with us. and we did largely close the border. now we have a president who is getting along well with mexico. you can hold people down here. the big carrot that brings people here is that you can have asylum that you can hang around for three or four years first before the hearing. obviously then people disappear. if you have to wait on the mexican side of the border, which mexico was causing people to do, i can get rid of the carrot. host: what held that agreement together, the agreement with mexico? was that economic?

guest: there were rumors that he was able to negotiate the agreement because of some economic code aeration -- coerision. host: west palm beach florida, on the independent line. caller: thank you for taking my call. i just wanted to comment because i used to work for an immigration attorney, an attorney advocating for immigrants. and one of the things that i observed was how the asylum program is rife with problems, and some of the things that have been mentioned as far as the carrot. i was seeing that first hand and seeing that our government was inadvertently incentivizing negative behaviors because people at least the clients where we had were mostly appearing in court, and they got the due process that they deserved if they wanted to request asylum, but then

subsequent to getting a decision there was no more due process. i just felt like i was seeing -- due process was not going both ways. it was going in a one-sided fashion. at the end, even though someone was denied their application maybe they would appeal or board not, but regardless if they had a final order they were not leaving and nobody was making them. that is sending a message that do the asylum thing, maybe borrow you -- borrow money from a loan shark, that is bringing into questions of extortion and creating more violence because people who do not pay back loan sharks, their family may be threatened. but, at the end, there is no real consequence. and people are allowed to stay, and even though their work authorizations will no longer be valid in their application is denied they are still working

under the table and making cash and not contributing to social security. and then, it is with impunity, which is what they have in their country, so a great deal about their problems is about impunity and nobody talks about how the asylum program is supported by taxpayers. it is a free program. i -- unlike a leather -- other immigration where you have to pay a fee, the asylum program has no fee because it is a well-intentioned program where we are trying to help people. it results in cases that are taking forever, and the immigration court system is getting paid for by taxpayers. host: thank you for your experience. any comments. guest: great caller. she brought up an interesting point. when people come here they have to make a deal with a mexican drug cartel and they have to make payments back to them. and if they do not make the payments what happens is their

family is threatened, so it is almost exploited eight -- exultation. you come here but you have to give money to the cartels or your family is in danger. she is right. the asylum program is kind of a joke. a lot of people do not show up for their hearings. i think most people do. and secondly, there are so few deportations. the problem at the border is that people do not believe we are enforcing the current law. once word gets out be it central america, asia, eastern europe, and africa, once word gets out we are not enforcing the law people will come here, that is a big driver. caller: let me ask you about -- host: let me ask you another topic. "wisconsin gop congressman pushes bill to ban critical race theory and d.c. schools. what do you consider critical race theory and what is behind

your effort to do it and d.c. schools. caller: we are aiming with dz schools, but a fort -- of course we believe in local control, and it would not be right to say here in washington what they should teach in illinois. it is a divisive theory that blames your lot on life and race. if i am successful and i became successful, i am not successful because of hard work or intelligence, but because of my race. if things do not work out for me where i do not have a nice house, if i wind out in the criminal justice system it is not my fault, it is determined by race, obviously designed to divide america and have americans dislike america, and it is so frustrating because as we talked about, everybody wants to get here. we do not -- we are not a racist country because everybody wants to come here. but the schools are teaching people -- for example in my

district i came across a teacher who i think is trying to educate kids that if they are arrested it is because the local police department is racist. it is not because you got in a fight or because you did drugs it is because police are racist and it is obviously divisive and creates racial divide. it creates people who do not want america to continue the way that it is. they think we fundamentally have to change it. so critical race theory is a very very -- is a very dangerous thing. host: "education week" read about the first moment implications. "as of mid-may legislation is passed in idaho, oklahoma, and tennessee and has been proposed and various other statehouses. the bill is so vaguely written that it is unclear what they will affirmatively cover. the teacher who wants to talk about a factual instance of state-sponsored racialism like the established end of jim crow,

the series of laws that prevented black americans from voting or holding office and separated them from white people in public spaces the data be considered in violation? it is unclear whether these are constitutional or impermissibly restrict free speech." guest:guest: if you are a teacher, there are certain things that you can or cannot say. if i work for a ford dealership i cannot have people say chevy is the greatest car in the world. if i am a high school social studies teacher, you have to give an honest assessment of american history. you should not get the idea that your lot in life is predetermined by your race. and that is the goal of critical race theory. i think anybody who says one of those things i will know it when i see it, it is that sort of language and that you are trying to set one race against the other and imply that you will not succeed in america when the

whole rest of the world is coming here and succeeding in america. host: let me see if we can get deborah, ohio. republican line. caller: good morning and thank you for taking my call. i am interested in looking back at during the 80's when the reagan administration allowed 4 million people who were here for a long time to become citizens, and i think at the time it was the right thing to do, and the democratic congress and senate had said more security, and that was the deal made in the 80's. when jefferson was the first secretary of state, and we did the first census there were only 16 states in the southwest territories. today my concern is that our elected officials understand that representation in congress is based on population. i am afraid that in states like

california where there are 25% noncitizens and in las vegas county has 279,000 noncitizens that the elected officials are realizing that if they do not repopulate their state they are going to lose representation. host: congressman. your response. guest: i guess we can tell your listeners realize what is true, immigration is the most important issue facing the country today, and it should not be. if we were enforcing the laws it would not be a problem. she raised an interesting point in that is the current census that she is trying to point out, encouraging localities to have illegal immigrants come in and not enforce the law so they keep high representation in congress. that is not something i thought of but you are probably right. host: congressman glen grothman, glad to have you with us. guest: honored to be on the

show. host: the houses coming in at 9:00 eastern, but next we are joined by congressman al green of texas. we will talk about border issues and then we will talk about voting laws in states including his own state, texas. ♪ >> this saturday, donald trump holds a rally in wellington, ohio to support max miller, a republican running against anthony gonzalez in the 16th congressional district. that is live at 7:00 p.m. eastern on c-span, online at, -- c-span.org or on the free radio app. >> in his latest book "drunk" edward looks at the role that drinking has played throughout history. >> alcohol makes it harder to lie, it paralyzes the prefrontal

cortex, and also, more surprising, it makes us better at detecting lies. humans are not when we are focusing conscience leon detecting lies we do not way good job, but if we relax and take in a variety of cues we do a better job, so, alcohol and the same way that when we meet we shake hands to show that we are not holding a weapon in our right hand, cultures use intoxicants not treating meetings or business meetings, anything were potentially hostile people need to figure out a way to cooperate as a cognitive disarmament. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern on q&a. you can also listen to it as a podcast wherever you get your podcasts. >> "washington journal" continues. host: congressman al green

represents the ninth district of texas including houston, the house coming in at 9:00. good morning. guest: it is an honor to be with you. and if i may say so i would like to just extend my sympathies to my friends in florida, i went to florida a&m university and the loss of lives that we all treasure, and of course the persons who are missing that they may be accounted for. so i send my sympathies. host: the latest on that is that 150 nine still unaccounted for, four reported dead. caitlin collins from cnn saying that the president approved an emergency declaration for federal assistance. which kind of leads us into our first conversation piece this morning about infrastructure and the deal that was reached

yesterday at least on the senate for bipartisan infrastructure bill along with the passage and the speaker is calling for this, this reconciliation package including many of the social programs that you and your democratic colleagues are calling for. guest: yes. yesterday it was announced that a deal had been reached for a hundred $70 billion and that was initially. and over a period of eight years it would be $1.2 trillion. it is something that would run in tandem with the reconciliation package that has been proposed. president biden proposed earlier that he would want to do some sort of reconciliation and i am proud of the persons who work together to reach this compromise legislation. i support compromise, i do not support capitulation and i hope that we can continue to compromise. i think it files the concerns of most of us.

it will not completely satisfy anyone, that is what compromise is about. host: we will pick up where we left off with the u.s.-mexico border with kamala harris heading to the border and her first trip since becoming vice president. what are your hopes that she hears down there the border and what comes out of her visit? guest: let me thank her for all that she is doing. prior to making this trip, she went into some of the countries that are south of the border, and i thought it was most appropriate because she needed to see the conditions in the countries. i have been to el salvador to bring home one of my constituents. and, it is very sad. people are living under circumstances that caused him want to migrate towards the united states or a better life. with reference to her going, i would like to see her have the

opportunity to talk to people on the ground, to see some of the facilities where people are being held, and to just get a sense of firsthand knowledge about what is happening out there. it is important to get this knowledge. but i also want to say that the wall will not solve a real problem. she is talking about the root causes and i appreciate that. but, we also have to talk about the root cause of the root cause, and that is the fact that we have treated persons south of the border as the part of a labor force and persons to our north are our trading partners. we had a program in the 1940's that allowed us to bring people in, they were abused and paid minimum wage or less, $.50 an hour at the time. and they were eventually pushed around and pushed back and the program was terminated because

of the be abuse -- of the abuse. i think we have to realize that when we have done this over decades, that we create a circumstance that is going to require more than awol to repair. and i am prepared to do this because i care about people, i care about the babies who are coming and anyone who says that she sees a baby dropped over the wall and says we need to do something, i do not trust anyone who say toss the baby back over the wall. the mothers and fathers understand the perils and hazards that their children will encounter and may still will send their children because they know that the danger there is greater than the horror that they might suffer along the way. i do not agree with it and i do not want them to do it, but i cannot understand how i must say

you must keep your child under dangerous circumstances so that your child might be killed where the child is. people always want to extricate their children from harm. host: your calls are welcome. 202-748-8001 for republicans. 202-748-8000 for democrats. independence and others -- independent t and others, 202-748-8002. the senate moved -- failed to move forward on voting reform legislation which came out of the u.s. house as hr one. your thoughts on that and the efforts and texas to change the voting laws. what is the status of that? guest: well, in the state of texas we had legislature who have courage. they decided that they would not participate in the demise of the system. and that is what is happening. texas is on the road to

transforming a system that has had none of the faults being alleged but they want to transform it into a system that makes it more difficult for poor people and people of color to vote. let me give you an example. we have 24 hour voting in houston texas. i went out to see and experience it. shift workers came in, they voted late at night, and they were very excited about the opportunity to vote at a time that was convenient for them. they have eliminated the possibility in doing that in harris county. we had ballot boxes that were stationed so that you could cast your absentee ballot in a place that was safe and secure, but not necessarily in one place, hopefully, but that has been eliminated. we have to do all that we can to give people the opportunity to

vote, understanding that not everybody is doing as well in life as some abuzz. not everybody could afford to pay for an id, and there are those who say you do not have to pay for it because the state will give you an idea -- nid. i tested the system i tried to vote with my congressional card the one that i vote with on issues of war and peace and i could not use that card. i decided to go through the system as presented. to get that id you have to have a birth certificate. i am from louisiana, so i do not get a free birth certificate from the state of texas, i have to pay for it. i sent my money to louisiana and i still do not have my birth certificate. i was born in turkey hospital. getting my birth certificate might not be as easy for some others. this process that they are putting people through, many at home have been voting for years, going to the -- known to the

poll watchers and known to the people. they cannot vote if they do not have the special id. i think that senator manchin has given ground. i was with him and he indicated in his statement that you can vote with your light or gas bill , something that identifies you as a person who lives at a given address. host: and he would support that. guest: i would. we could do that once in texas but texas change the laws so you can no longer do this. you cannot use your current address or proof that you live at the current address, and i support having people sign an affidavit if you have to. such a thing would be prosecuted under the law if they are giving you false information. there are many ways for us to accomplish this without becoming draconian with it. the state of texas has a horrible history. it was the state of texas that

had, in 1944, a dentist in texas challenged the white primary system that went all the way to this up important said they cannot have primaries that exclude persons of color, so right after that, they went to a right -- white cream -- pre-primary system. i love my country, i respect the people in the state, but i dislike the way people are being treated when it comes to voting. everyone should have easy access and it should be a free and fair election. host: we have comments and questions. we go to oklahoma city on our democrat line with barbara. good morning. caller: good morning. it is so frustrating, c-span, that you do not fact-check these people. that last one you had on, every

time the republicans get on you should have a democrat and vice versa, this is ridiculous. i have never heard c-span have any program about this, when we talk about the border and how wonderful trump stopped and did -- trump hires illegals every day of his life. he has for 50 years. he has paid three court cases, one while he was president to them that he did not pay their wages and they had to sue him. and this is going on. he has thousands of cases in court. how can this be ok? why aren't we doing anything about that? and why aren't we stopping him from hiring these illegals? host: congressman, any comments? guest: the former president expressed himself in a way that

i find him -- quite offensive when he announced that he was running for president. he talked about persons as being persons who were rapists. it was in ways that weaponize tate. this president should have been impeached for weaponizing hate. we could have and should have, and i think we are going to continue to see some of the residue from our failure to do so. i respect what the lady had said. the president has not been kind to many of his workers and he is infamously known for not paying what has been agreed to be paid at the end of the day and forcing people to accept less. i do not have a lot of respect from the president. i have an affinity towards humanity, but his behavior has been unacceptable. caller: albert, new jersey. republican line.

caller: good morning. i just wanted to say to congressman greene, if president biden change the policy of coming into the border and immigration, i know he cannot be happy about all that is going on, all of these deaths and 70,000 people coming across the border. how come nobody did nothing about president biden, the democrat party trying to change him letting all of these people come in? all of these people unvaccinated , it is a terrible mess. i do not see it being resolved fast or quick. it is a big problem and i do not know how to slow it down because everybody is coming in unchecked. and coronavirus, it sounds like a big problem. have a good day. guest: thank you for your call. and, i do confess that at the border we have a humanitarian crisis.

i have said this for many years now. i do believe that the children who are coming our children who cannot be turned away. i would not want my child turned away in similar circumstances, in dire straits. i think that comprehensive immigration reform is still the solution. i do not think you can take a piece of it and solve the problem, just construct a wall. we find that people get around and over. but i do think that it will include making sure that we do something for other people who are already here, we do not want third class citizens in this country. we want people to be responsible and those who been here have been responsible and have abided by our laws, but perhaps they can be given a consideration. i do believe that we can do something to make sure that the

border is secure. i am an open borders guy, i think that the border should be secure. i think there are ways to do it and to do it in tandem with some aid to countries that for a long time became h source of cheap labor for us. we have a stained history when it came to labor in this country. our initial labor force were slaves, and then we went to convict leasing. if you trace the him story, servitude was imposed on people coming from south of the border. we have to do something about that, because it is the decent thing to do given that we had a hand in the circumstances that they have to indoor currently. when you abuse people, that abuse lasts for decades and years. at some point it comes back to haunt you, and that is what we

are experiencing, some of the things that have been poured -- perpetrated by us. i love our country, but i speak truth to power, and we have to atone for our transgressions. i pray that we will and i suggested to the president that we have a department of reconciliation so that we can resolve some of these long-standing issues that plague us. we have not atone for slavery, or when the original people, the way the native americans were treated. all of these things have to be dealt with. we are a great country but we will be a greater country once we atone for transgressions. host: next from maryland on the democrat line. this is jen. caller: good morning. my question is that when the census is taken and the supreme court has said that undocumented must be included in the

population, because representatives in districts are drawn, doesn't that compromise elections? guest: thank you for the question. the census count has to include people. it does not say citizens in the constitution. people have to be counted and those people, if they are there, they will be represented. and we distribute our resources based upon that count. i think we have done well in doing this. i want to see everyone who happens to be here and in my district, i want them to be in a district with good roads all over the district and good schools and where we have the resources necessary for persons who need hospitals, so this is what i think we can do with a good census count, and i support

counting people and not citizens only. host: a comment from georgia who says "can you talk about critical race theory and what it really does, what it really is and does because we heard the previous congressman's talking points about it. thank you dear service of texas. i am a native texan who lives in georgia." i will show a headline from "the washington post," "critical race theory is the hottest topic on fox news and it is only getting hotter." guest: i am old enough to remember harvey, somebody will not. he was known from the rest of the story. he would tell us the story and he was a great storyteller. and then he would give us the part of it that was unknown to us. critical race is about the side of history that was not made known to the public that we do

not teach in our schools. slaves were not happy people. we should not in any way glamorize slavery. we should not sanitize it. we should tell the truth about what happened in 1619 and thereafter. that is what it is all about. it is the rest of the story and all about history. and history can be unpleasant. i do not know that some of my and -- i do not know -- i do not enjoy knowing that my ancestors sold people into slavery and they benefited from it. it is the truth. the truth can set you free, but only if you allow it to. you have to be willing to accept the truth. and critical race is about telling the truth. it is how there is still systemic racism in the country today. and we have to deal with it and how it impacts the lives of people. anyone who denies systemic

racism and racism exists has to deny that there were people in charlottesville screaming blood and soil, jews will not replace us. you have to deny kkk and skinheads and other groups that extol the virtues of being superior to others. this is something that we have to address in this country, and again i say we need a department of reconciliation with a secretary of reconciliation with undersecretary's because one president and one term of office or multiple terms is not going to solve this problem. systemic problems require a systemic solution. that is why we need a department just like we have a department of labor to deal with labor issues, the defense department we need a department of reconciliation to help us reconcile so that we can be a greater country as i believe we

are destined to be. host: kevin in michigan, independent line. caller: hello, thank you for taking my call. i have been hearing rumors that with these children that have been coming in from the border, that we are flying and their parents at taxpayer expense. i do not have a problem with helping people out, but when is enough enough? we cannot take everybody in this world. there are a lot of places that people do not like to live. so are we going to take everybody in and then we do not have in america anymore. we have to be some kind of compromise. you were talking about reparations, there are a lot of people here who were never around during slavery. i am one of them. my family was never here. do i have to take taxpayer

dollars and pay reparations that i had nothing to do about? guest: thank you very much. i did not mention reparations, i said department of reconciliation. i do desire to address the question and i thank you for it. the fact that you were not there is something that i take notice of. but there are privileges that people enjoy because of what happens when you were not there. and because of these privileges that you enjoy, that some of us do not because of the way history has been and the way people were treated in the past, those privileges do require that we atone, we have to atone for the things that have happened, and part of atonement i do believe his reparations, i do not know exactly how that would

take place. there is a way to get it done. congresswoman jackson lee has legislation that calls for a study. but i do believe that even those who were not there, we all have some duty to correct the injustice that still manifests itself in today's economy in terms of lending. we find that there is still discrimination in lending. there is discrimination in housing, so we have to correct these things and that is our responsibility. and it is just a matter of having the will to do it. host: jay, republican line, in maryland. go ahead. caller: please do not cut me off, i have two comments and one question. thoughts and prayers go out to the people in florida with the condo, but i have to be honest. i saw the picture i was like are they bombing the west bank again.

that was my first thought. you want to talk about central america, all you have to go back to the reagan ministration and how he was destabilizing those governments. these are the children who at the time we were trying to get in the country. my question is, the covid asian-american hate bill that got passed, and the anti-lynching bill is sitting on the side. i want to know why the congressional black caucus has 60 plus votes and the freedom caucus has 50 plus votes. if the senate wants to pass something or if it wants to come through the house, address that first. why did the congressional black caucus demand that the anti-lynching bill attached to the asian-american pacific islander hate crime bill. after one year they got a hate

crime bill and black people have been suffering for hundreds of years. host: we will hear from the congressman. guest: it does not allow us to pass a law specifically for any particular group of persons out there, that is something that requires equality under the law. hate crime bill would apply to me if someone tried to harm me because of covid-19. just as it would apply to you. it does not -- it just means that people of asian heritage were attacked. we are dealing with antilynching and my hope is that we will get it done. i do not know that i will decide not to vote for anything because i cannot get that done. i know that there are various views on this and there is a time where we might have to push so far as to do exactly what you said, but i do not think we are there yet.

host: is their actual legislation pending? guest: reverend jesse jackson came to us and indicated that lynching had never been made a crime, and there is some legislation pending to make it a crime. the fact that lynching a person is are horrific enough to be a crime, we punish you for killing a person but not calling it lynching. host: he represents the ninth district of texas, including houston, joining us this morning from capitol hill. the house is about to come in for it session. we thank you for joining us. guest: always an honor. look forward to seeing you again. host: thank you. just to let you know about our coverage plans coming up today and over the weekend. first of all this afternoon at 2:30 eastern we take you live the hennepin county courthouse. the sentencing is set for derek

chauvin in the murder of george floyd coming this afternoon at 2:30 eastern and you can follow that here on c-span and online at c-span.org or on the c-span radio app. we will be covering the former president as he heads to ohio, wellington, ohio for a rally. we will have that live beginning at 7:00 eastern on c-span tomorrow night. on c-span.org cut c-span.org c-span.org -- c-span.org,. that will do it for this morning's program. u.s. houses coming in. a point of personal privilege if i can, after 30 plus years with c-span, our esteemed director is wrapping up his career next week. this is my final program with him. i would like to wish you many more miles downstream, paddling and many more laps around the proverbial nascar of life. thank you for all of your service and the many hours of

programs you have directed on the networks. thank you again. we will see you at 7:00. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2021] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] the speaker: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, chaplain kibben. chaplain kibben: would you pray with me. o lord our lord, how majestic is your name and all the earth. your glory fills the earth and is exalted above the heavens. all we need do is look around us, at the intry kate details in the artistry of nature, at the handiwork that has woven the tapestry of the stars arraigned above us at night, at the perfect order of the rising and setting of the sun and the orbit of the moon. to ponder the complex it of your creation is overwhelming, who are we, o god, that you should even ta