>> c-span is your unfiltered view of government, funded by these television companies and more, including media,. >> the world changed in an instant, but mediacom was ready. we never slowed down. schools and businesses went virtual, and we powered a new reality, because that mediacom, we are built to keep you ahead. >> mediacom supports c-span as a public service, along with these other television providers, giving you a front proceed to democracy. coming up this morning on "washington journal," club for growth president david mcintosh talks about his organization's role in opposing president biden's economic and legislative agenda and also the 2022 midterm elections. then reverend william barber

will be on to talk about voting rights, $15 hour minimum wage, and ending the senate filibuster. be sure to join the discussion with your phone ♪ host: good morning. it is friday, july 16 20 drug one -- 2021. we are with you for the next three hours on the washington journal. we will start with the enhanced child tax credit checks that darted going out yesterday. we -- that started going out yesterday. we went to your from parents about how you will be using that money. if your family income is less than $50,000 a year, (202)

748-8000. if your income is $50,000 to $100,000 a year, (202) 748-8001 . if your household income is over $100,000 a year, (202) 748-8002. you can text comments to (202) 748-8003. you can go ahead and start calling you now as we show you president biden from yesterday talking about the enhanced child tax credit and the checks that started going out yesterday. [video clip] >> i believe this is a historic day in the sense that we continue to build an economy that respects and recognizes the dignity of working-class and middle-class families. it is historic and it is our

effort to make another giant step towards ending child poverty in america. this is what i will be most proud of when my term is up. all working families, people making under $100,000 as a family, who have children are going to receive their first monthly tax cut payment. that payment from the expanded child tax credit is going to be signed into law as part of our american rescue plan. it is one of the largest ever single tax cut for families with children. people in this country who need tax cuts are not the people at the top. it is the people in the middle,

the folks who are struggling for looking for a little bit of breathing room. host: president biden yesterday in washington. this is the lead story and the washington post on this topic -- " biden extols the initiative." some stats on it -- more than 35 million families are impacted. that impacts some 60 million children. the benefits are expected to cost $120 billion a year. it amounts to $300 for every child five and younger. we will dive more into the program itself. we mostly want to hear from parents and guardians asking how you will spend the child tax credit. will it impact your family

finances? (202) 748-8000 if your income is under $50,000 a year. if your income is between $50,000 and $100,000 a year, (202) 748-8001. and if your income is over $100,000 a year, (202) 748-8002. caller: thank you for having me this morning. i am not a parent. i have never been married, never had children. my gripe is they are giving this money to families who do not even pay taxes and may even be on welfare. here i am paying taxes. my mother just turned 85 and here we are having to pay taxes for school taxes, property

taxes, and these people are getting monthly payments to pay their property tax and school tax. host: we will try to keep it to parents and guardians only because we want to hear what this means for your family about these checks coming in and how you are using the. dana is -- how you are using them. dana is calling in on the line for those making over $100,000 a year. caller: i make over $100,000 a year, but i live in california. i do not like the idea at all. they're turning this country into a welfare country. we have a fella in california who posts on your facebook all the time. you read his quotes all the time. he is a proponent of all this welfare stuff.

host: how many kids do you have? caller: i have 4 kids. host: did you get a check? caller: we got $250. host: you say you do not like this program. have you considered opting out of the program? caller: you can't opt out of the program. we will send it to the salvation army or something. it is ridiculous. how many of those kids are going to get this money at the end of this year? people from all over the world coming here to collect free money. is there anyone in this country -- if everyone -- if anyone in this country is working for a living, they are screwed. host: this is charles in marion,

indiana on the line for those whose family income is under $50,000 a year. caller: i don't have no kids. host: we are trying to talk to parents this morning specifically about the impact this is going to have on families around the country. the universe we are -- universe of colors we are looking for is the 35 million parents -- the universe of callers we are looking for is the 35 million parents of 60 million children this morning. the american rescue plan was passed back in march. this expansion of the child tax credit was part of that plan. these checks are starting to hit on a monthly basis from july on

this year. that is the first half a year of payments. the second half will be applied when taxes are filed next year. that is how it works. we want to hear how it works on the ground. parents of families who make less than $50,000 a year, (202) 748-8000. families whose income is between $50,000 and $100,000, (202) 748-8001. mitch mcconnell said the thing really hurting families in this country is what he described as " runaway spending," by democrats. and inflation. this is senator mitch mcconnell from the senate floor. [video clip] >> new figures confirmed what

working families around america already know -- runaway costs are hitting america where it hurts. this was 100% predictable. even top democratic experts like larry summers warned that the job dropping $2 trillion that democrats -- jaw-dropping two minut -- jaw-dropping $2 trillion that democrats borrowed -- american families did not need a socialist experiment. they needed a government to finally let things get back to normal, but the president, speaker, and democratic leaders will slop another $2 trillion on the country's credit card and it has brought us a level of inflation unprecedented in

recent memory. costs have shot up, inflation is running so hot that event though american workers have seen a 3.6% pay increase on average since last year, it has been completely wiped out and then some by inflation. american workers' pay has actually gone down nearly 2% since last july. let me say that again -- on democrats' watch, inflation has turned a three point 6% annual pay raise for american into a nearly 2% pay cut -- 3.6% annual pay raise for americans into a nearly 2% pay cut. democrats used the same week to announce they want to tax and spend another $4 trillion in the

coming weeks, yet another budget busting socialist package, twice as big as the last one. host: that is $4 trillion made up and spending of two different packages democrats hope to move through they house and senate in the coming days. the infrastructure, to bipartisan infrastructure deal that totals $607 billion then a $3.5 trillion on what the biden administration calls a human infrastructure program. senate majority leader chuck schumer pressing democrats to wrap up their negotiations and get them moving ahead of the august recess. mr. schumer said thursday he is setting a hard deadline for next week of both deals so they can

be presented to the senate for consideration. the deadline adds pressure. the senators heckling over the bipartisan infrastructure deal and human infrastructure package, which includes health care, environmental spending as well. back to your phone calls as we are trying to talk to parents and guardians about this charlton tax credit. this is amin out of temple, texas, and come under $50,000 a year. caller: this is something important to me and my wife. we both have to work, and i have to work 2 jobs, and my wife have to give all the money she is working for to childcare. senator mcdonald has a lot of

nerve -- for the last 40 years the sudde -- republicans have been giving corporations money. they have not given us nothing. this is a blessing. people ought to show the president how much they appreciate this. host: do you mind saying how much the check was yesterday? how much more a month is your family getting? caller: we have two children, and we got $300 for each one. $600. host: what is $600 in your budget going to mean? caller: my wife can work without killing herself. when -- all these republicans culling in, you do not have any -- all these republicans

calling in, you do not have any bills. i do not have to slave at two jobs. i can take a break and take care of my family. host: this is john, nodding him, maryland -- nottingham, maryland. how many kids do you have? caller: i have four children. host: what does that mean for you? caller: i am a trump person and i love the idea of money going directly to families. so much money is spent on corporate welfare, and mitch mcconnell is all into that t oo. i know what it means to my family, but we were -- had much

less means at one point. any time we got a child tax credit, it made the difference between making it and not making it. money directly from the government directly to families is a very populist idea. i love that. you can call me a conservative, but i am more of a trump make america great again person. i love this idea. it is a democrat idea, but i think it is also a populist idea. host: what do you think of the likelihood that this is going to be a program that goes beyond just one year? the child tax credit has been around since 1997. people have been able to claim it on their taxes each year. this is just a different way of doing it, and more money. caller: it depends on who is in control. if the regular democrat

establishment -- republican establishment is in control, they will try to kill it. if the democratic establishment is in control, they will tie it into new bureaucracy. i think, if there is a populist movement in control, they can get the best of both worlds. they can get rid of the bureaucracy, and get the money directly to people who need it. host: who are the republicans you would like to see in control. what republicans do you see supporting this tax credit? caller: i see republicans -- i see trump republicans, and i also see the populist socialists and the populist democrats, but i see the establishment as something that has been holding us all down for time immemorial.

i love this idea -- i just want to get it out there that i am a trump mag a person and i love the idea of money going to families. host: this from the new york times op-ed section -- and human app obama writing about this program saying -- applebaum writing about this program saying, " it was passed as an emergency aid program, ended ands in it -- ends in a year. they are gambling that the program will prove popular and

that republicans will then allow it to become permanent. until that happens the benefits of the aid are likely to be attenuated because families will not have confidence the money will keep coming." back to your phone calls. this is yaya out of chicago on the line for families making less than $50,000 a year. caller: i want to point out, this is not a freebie. this is the exact same child credit people get at the end of the year when they file their taxes, except this is coming to people in advance. half of it is coming in advance. host: it is also a little bit more as well. caller: it went from 2000 to -- $2000 to $1000.

this idea that it is free money -- it isn't. most of the parents are taxpayers. it is a tax credit against their tax obligation. this is a creative way to distribute it, especially since we are trying to come back from the pandemic and people need the cash now, not thinking about at the end of the year you will earn income credit and may be get back some of the taxes, your obligation will be lower. host: how will you use it, yaya? caller: this year i am not using it. i believe there is supposed to be a stipulation if this becomes permanent, if you have an elder as your dependent, which i have my elderly parents who live off of social security income, if i

started claiming them as a dependent, i believe i would be able to benefit from this, but i have not seen that yet. i have only seen it for the child tax credits. host: there was some debate about that last year when it came to stimulus payments for dependents, additional money for dependents in the stimulus payments. i have not heard that for the child tax credit though. that is not an aspect i have explored. caller: i think it is a great idea to creatively distribute tax credits. i just hope that -- i keep hearing people calling it a " freebie" when it is not. republicans should love tax credits! host: this is joe out of north carolina, the line for those who

make over $100,000 a year. how much was the check that came in yesterday or that could be coming in? caller: i do not know. i do not have any small children. my son does. i would like to wake up the maga caller who said that he is still way mag -- a maga caller. trump had the chance to do this and he didn't. not one republican voted for this. we are giving the tax bear bask some of -- ba -- taxpayer back some of his money. that is something republicans supposedly believe or do they? host: talk about your son.

how much does it cost you to raise your grandchild? caller: i have 2 sons, 14 and 10. i am well aware that this came from the biden administration, and that the republicans gave thair -- their tax alleviation to the wealthy. host: at the same event yesterday, vice president kamala harris spoke about this tax credit as well. [video clip] >> my mother worked hard whether it was waking up at the crack of dawn to pack our lunches or after we went to bed sitting

about the kitchen table trying to figure out how to make it all work. it was never easy, even though she never said that. my family's story is not remarkable. it is the story of the american family -- parents who will do anything for their children, parents who work so hard every day, parents deserve their government and leaders to really see them, to really understand them, as they juggle all their responsibilities every month, every month the rent comes due. every month the childcare providers need a check, check that could take half an income. every month, american families need gas, groceries, utilities and power loans. -- car loans.

even if they have enough to make ends meet, it is barely enough. when unexpected expense could mean the difference between taking on more debt or losing it all. in the wealthiest nation in the world, it should not be this way. host: in washington, we are getting your thoughts this morning, asking parents, how do you spend to the child tax credit? phone lines split up by income this morning. greg in cleveland, ohio -- " this month's check already spent. the money will be used to offset the rising prices of goods and services. this tax credit is a reverse republican tax credit policy and the republicans can't stand it." " my children are grown, but i

would probably spend it on childcare. if you don't like the tax credit, holiday subsidy." caller: i have two grandkids, and that is my concern for our future. i do not understand these people. because for the people, by the people -- we have been dealing with corporations for years, paying the corporations welfare, then people do not want to help each other. in my opinion, this information -- with the disinformation the democrats and republicans are

playing the population, the citizens, not realizing, thinking that everything that is being done is done for black people. is done -- it is being done for people. . host: this from man op-ed by senator marco rubio, we talked about how this program has been around, not in the format is now, but has been around since 1997. senator marco rubio writing, " for the next six months, the child tax credit claim to five families every year at tax time will be transformed into an anti-work welfare check. parents will receive monthly che

cks -- payments of $300 per child under six and $250 per child age 7 to 17. by next tax season -- this is laura in troy, michigan on the line for those who make over $100,000 a year. caller: i would like to make a comment about senator rubio's comment right now. he was complaining about people getting $10,000, but were nonworking. i wonder how these people support themselves? as a former republican, i am absolutely appalled at the treatment we have been showing these hard-working americans, people that were not able to

take time off to go to mexico on a little jaunt. i applaud the president. i think he is doing a grand job before and majority of the american populace. i am lucky enough to be making more than that amount. i have grandchildren who definitely do benefit from this 1 year gift -- well, not a gift. god bless joe biden, and the democrats. thank you. host: we are coming up on 7:30 on the east coast at the end of a very busy week here. we wanted to set aside some time to turn the phones over to you to ask why your top news story of the past week has been?

that is what we will turn to now. we will do our phone lines in this half-hour as usual -- democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. catch up with us on facebook, twitter and on messages -- text messages on that topic as well. one of those topics of discussion this week was the topic of inflation in this country. federal reserve chairman jerome powell on capitol hill both on the health side and senate side to discuss that issue. he is taking questions from members of congress on that issue as well. he spoke on the house side on wednesday and spoke on the senate side yesterday on this topic.

the headline from the wall street journal -- "powell seeds anxiety on inflation." [video clip] >> these kinds of across the board cost increases are unmanageable for many families. i know it is easy sitting here in washington dc getting a government salary to think that people can manage, but if you are a working family, particularly one coming off of layoffs or reduced hours, these are real, and they bite into the economics of these families. as bad as inflation is, it is only one part of our economic woes. we are also having trouble getting people to go back to work.

before the pandemic hit, the unemployment rate was 3.5%. within two months, unemployment went from 2.5% to 15%. since then, -- 3.5% to 15%. since then, we have made steady progress in getting workers back on the job but our democratic colleagues have seen fit to incentive five men and women to stay on the sidelines of the labor market. the partisan bill they passed extended, bolstered unemployment benefits through the end of september, long after we expected our economy to reopen. host: senator john cornyn on the senate floor yesterday. in her daily column on inside the beltway, jennifer harper looking at some of the inflation

and specific sectors that has been seen in the past year -- hope prices up 15%, rents rising at triple their normal rate, and hotel rooms up 36%. the cost of eating out has risen 4.1%. 48% of small businesses have been forced to raise their prices, the highest percentage in 4 decades. another topic this week -- unexpected until it ended up coming to the doorstep of washington dc -- that fight over the voting rights bill in texas. texas state house legislators left the state to avoid a quorum to avoid debating and voting on the topic of voting rights. the headline from rick green's

column in the washington times -- " run, hide, obstruct -- nothing new for texas democrats." " we do not have the votes to represent the government so we would rather break down the republic then do better at winning the support of the public." from rick green on the strategy pursued by texas tech gretz -- texas democrats. we are asking for your top news story of the week in this half-hour. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. (202) 748-8002 for independents. our next caller is from meant

victory, ohio -- mount victory, ohio. caller: i want to talk about censorship and they washington influence on facebook and its position -- the washington influence on facebook and its position. they intercepted through the nfa program journalists and things of this nature. it is disturbing to me, and it seems it is right in the constitution and should definitely be looked into. host: it was earlier this week that on washington journal we were joined by mep cough, -- by the chief media officer from parler to talk about this

issue of free speech and the role big tech plays in that. amy peikoff is her name if you want to search our site for that clip. caller: betrayal tax credit is a game changer -- the child tax credit is a game changer. child daycare is $150 a week for one child. it is going to help greatly. i think republicans are afraid. come november, they know this is a game changer for eyeliner families, and they know that for a lo -- a lot of families and they --

stick together. host: line for republicans, this is jerry out of council grove. caller: how are you? host: i am doing well. caller: my issue is the child tax credit. one, first thing of all, a person should evaluate their income before they start having children. if you cannot afford children, you should not be having children. two, where is the tax credit for those of us who are single people? we pay a higher tax percentage out of our income? i paid 32% of my income. i pay for all their schooling. now they are getting all this other money. that is coming out of my pay! i have already paid enough taxes

that has covered my schooling going through high school. where is my help? host: jerry, were you concerned about the child tax credit before this enhanced version of it? as we noted, it has been around for 25 years. caller: yes. i used to debate this with some friends of mine. they have kids,. i said " wait until your kids are out of your house. then you will find out what high taxes are." as soon as that happened, they cannot envision just how much in taxes they would not pay. now they are complaining because their kids are gone, and they no

longer get this benefit of all these kids. they are complaining because now they pay such high taxes. host: frank in pensacola, florida, independent. what is your top news story of the week? caller: i was started by the 46.1% increase in the price of gas. the price of gas has gone up. texas is trying to pay out its damage from the ice storm it had in january. when that happened, the price of gas went up 20. then all of a sudden they had the ransomware. they paid $47 million to them. the price has continued to go up. the money is going to texas --

it is not going to the federal government. the price on gas, federal taxes on gas have not changed. host: is your concern with refineries? the oil and gas companies? the state of texas? caller: i'm talking about the state of texas is trying to pay for the ice storm, and they want us to pay for it. host: this is horace out of philly. what is your top news story of the week? caller: my story of the week is that biden sent the childcare help through congress, and i think it was a beautiful thing. god bless him. i understand he did it without the republicans help. when are the republicans going to wake up and start working for the american people instead of donald trump?

thank you. host: on this topic of the enhanced a child tax credit, chuck schumer took to the senate floor yesterday to discuss the checks going out to millions of american families. this is what he had to say. [video clip] >> the cost of raising children in america has become ludicrously expensive. everything from diapers to college tuition has risen in price, some of it rather dramatically, and wages unfortunately have not kept pace, putting strain on american parents. the cost of childcare alone can be roughly equivalent to buying a new car every single year. that is a big burden for so many families. the pandemic, of course, made life even harder on americans' families. in the american rescue plan,

democrats make sure it included a dramatic expansion of the federal child tax credit to give families help during this once and a century crisis. today i am proud to announce that tens of millions of americans are going to see extra money land in their bank accounts, the first of monthly checks that will be dispersed through the expanded child tax credit. let me say that again -- because this law passed by senate democrats, unfortunately, not a single republican voted for this much-needed measure that will help the middle class and the poor. host: chuck schumer on the senate floor yesterday. we are talking about your top news story of the week, asking you to call lynn at the tail end of a very busy week -- call in

at the tail end of a very busy week. chuck schumer made news with a bill still being discussed legalizing marijuana. " proposals to legalize marijuana are nothing new. the majority leader became a sponsor of the effort this week. the measure would erode a central pillar of the decades long war on drugs. the bil woul treat th -- the bill would treat marijuana like alcohol. those under the age of 21 could not purchase it. it would make it illegal -- it would remain illegal to sell significant quantities without proper license thing and authorization much like looking alcohol.

kathy, what is your top news story of the week? caller: i was just talking to a neighbor about inflation. everyone should turn around and lock -- look and see where the inflation came from. when joe biden came in, he closed down everything trump had done. i'm sick of trump taking all the blame for everything. he is not to blame. it is the democrats. chuck schumer -- he is another one. look at what he has done. he stood up there. they got that bill out now. they are sending money to everybody. they want you to love the government, because they want your votes. they want to keep you a democrat as long as they can, because as

long as the democrats are in, they know that the republicans would never stand a chance. that is why we have to, so to speak, overthrow the democrats. in the upcoming election? no, we will not. host: the numbers we found out on tuesday every were out of the labor to meant as the consumer price index rose 4% in june from the previous year. that is the highest 12 month rate increase since august of 2008. sonja, independent, north carolina, you are next. caller: i am a janitor in our public schools. a top story in our area is now the school districts not only gives free lunch during the school year, now you get to get

free lunch and breakfast for your whole family. i am a conservative. i work my fingers to the bone, and i have not gotten one thing free because i am married and i had kids after i married. it is not fair. i am sick of paying for everybody else to write that free-trade. how many more freebies can we give out? we are free be poor. -- we are freebie poor., host: our next caller is from nebraska. caller: i hope c-span will cover it because no weather network will cover it except for fox and those are the 2 audits.

they are being completed as we speak. the one in georgia is unbelievable. , again, i hope c-span covers it. the one in arizona is being covered as -- completed as we speak. both of them show what a farce it was with these excess -- they are saying there were 250,000 illegal votes in arizona. this is a state audit. host: news from arizona central on this topic -- " arizona said that they need more material from maricopa county, suggesting that the senate's review may be nearing its end.

fann said during a hearing at the capital that she expects the demands for additional materials will end up in court, setting up another legal battle in the saga that has seen the country and state lawmakers spar over the scope of the legislature's subpoena power. also during the hearing the senate's top contractor on the review recommended reviving plans to go door-to-door to inquire about some residents' participation in last year's general election." caller: glad to talk to you. my concern is over black lives matter, what they had to say about the demonstrations in cuba the day before yesterday. i think it was around us. -- i think it was horrendous. host: how do you feel about the

demonstrations in cuba, bob? caller: i worked with a lot of cubans. i had a cuban neighbor in chicago. they are wonderful people. these people have condemned them. it is horrendous. host: is the u.s. government doing enough to support these protesters? would you like to see them do more? caller: there is something wrong there in cuba. they are destroying their right to live back there. host: what more can we do from here in the united states, bob? caller: more sanctions is about the only thing i can think of. host: this is bennett in maryland. your next.

-- you are next. caller: i got to say what is happening in south africa -- it is a treacherous and alarming -- atrocious and alarming to see a country teetering on the edge of becoming a failed state. the images and what is happening to the economy with the destruction from the protests -- it is amazing what can happen from the effects of unrest in a country, from just the people who live there. not counting any external forces on a country, the internal forces can be ravaging. it shows to me that racial issues extend far past the boundaries of the united states and elsewhere around the world in light of what we have seen

with the george floyd protests. there are complicated racial issues that exist all across the world unfortunately. host: from the new york post story on the latest backed of -- bout of south african sporadic violence. if former president refused to show up to a hearing on former corruption. -- " sporadic violence began last week in protest of former president jacob zuma." cory, what was you newr top news

story of the week? caller: they sell these tax breaks for -- we need a tax, no exemptions, no subsidies, everyone pays their fair share. the government would not be going bankrupt. we would have the money we need. the people would have an honest system. redo the tax code, make it fair. the republicans will not do this. they have to sell their tax breaks for campaign donations. that is all i can say. host: marie, san antonio, texas, democrat, your top news story of the week? caller: the top news story other than the mess in texas trying to restrict our votes, but the

infrastructure bill is what i am interested in. it is about time that some money came back to the people who need it. i came of age in the 70's. factories were booming. we had work, then our leaders allowed our industry to be outsourced. it has taken us 40 years for the middle class to disappear, but it has. what concerns me about the infrastructure bill -- i am 66 years old. my husband and i lost everything we have worked for in the financial collapse. he had a massive heart attack. we live off of social security. that is all the income we have. what about us seniors? can you imagine what an extra $300 a month to our social security checks would allow us to do something other than just

keep the roof over our heads? we have no disposable income. we can i do what really needs to be done. we see all this money going out, and no one is paying attention to us. i live in an area where the firm subsidies are everywhere. the people around me get thousands of dollars in firm subsidies. the people on welfare get money. they get food stamps, they get section eight. my husband and i make just enough where we cannot get any of the benefit you would see from lowering. we barely make $2000 a month, but that is too much. we sit here just the two of us with no health, no children, no grandchildren, and we suffer. i called the white house yesterday to try to express to president biden that we seniors need help and the comment line is not working and the switch board line is not working.

i have always been able to call and make my presence known and it bothers me that i cannot. i thank president biden and the people who may be listening to this to think about us seniors. we need help. do not assume that we have reached a certain age and we are set for life. it is not like that for millions of us. thank you for taking my call. think about us and pray for us here in texas, because we are being overrun by a fascist state government. host: marie in san antonio, texas. here are some of your comments from social media on your most important story of the week. this from stephen in michigan -- " my most important issue is the debt. the government must take in more money in taxes than it spends. we haven't done that since the tax breaks of 2001."

larry in new jersey -- " my most -- for me the top stories are the droughts in the southwest, the fires in california, the floods in europe. we cannot keep ignoring it, but it is not going away." " my top story is about the eight black women, including a congresswoman, who stood up and spoke up for voting rights and were arrested in the senate thing yesterday in washington dc. i want to thank them for standing to protect my voting rights and democracy." the photo therefrom cq roll call of her being arrested by easy capitol police. -- by capitol police. what was your top news story?

caller: this story i caught on c-span3 a couple days ago. it was from june 2021. it was the origin of coronavirus, and my chin was on my chest the entire time. i could not believe what i was hearing. supposedly, they do a man-made, 90%. china -- anyone who does on the research on the origin of the coronavirus, -- during the hearing, it was phenomenal what was coming out. our scientists are being threatened if they do any research on the origin. they are going to be an enemy of the state of china, if they do anything to look into it.

not just that, but it was going on and on. what do we do? how do we protect ourselves now from this country that has threatened our scientists? host: that is mike in illinois. it is c-span.org, the search engine is at the top of the page to find all of our coverage. you can also head to our special coronavirus page showing our coverage of events, talking about the pandemic. this is kathy in west virginia, republican, your top news story of the week? caller: i -- caller: i am calling about the unemployment i received. i received unemployment in the amount of $21,000 and some change. i received a letter from the unemployment portal that all my

weeks were disqualified. all my payments were canceled, jamie. i/od -- i owed them payments. host: who have you contacted about this issue beside c-span? caller: i just got the repayment papers here. i have where they canceled it for $9,000, for $4000. my accountant already did my taxes. host: kathy, have you tried the irs or unemployment? why are you calling c-span? caller: i thought it was some kind of news that had to be heard. they made payments on what they didn't even pay me. host: good luck. caller: i have the paperwork.

i just wanted to know who to contact. host: i don't have a number for you kathy. sound like you have an accountant. thanks for bringing it up. we have a couple minutes left in this segment of the washington journal asking people for their top news story of the week. next caller, it. caller: good morning. so the books that came out about the coup, about the possible coup that trump was convening and how close we came to a coup. i just want to say that, during his next presidency, it really opened my eyes as a formal government employee. it took two months for them to investigate my employment and

check my credit. it opened my eyes that a president could not even do a background check to be president. that was astounding to me. that was like a pet peeve of mine about opening my eyes about who we elect. host: the book you are talking about, "i alone can fix it," donald j. trump's catastrophic final year by two washington post reporters. the washington post has been printing eggs herbs of that book throughout the week, the release of that book, and several page spread with eggs herbs in today's washington post if you want to look at it. david in new york, republican, what was your top news story of this past week? caller: i feel a wash in the kool-aid, but my story was the

cuban people rising up against their communist leadership. i lived in south florida for 25 years, have many contacts with the good industrial hard-working cubans neighbors and friends. we celebrated cuba in the 1960's and that is time to do it now. but it won't be done by the biden and harris regime because they love [indiscernible] that is how it is from the road. host: if you are going to be on the road sunday morning from 8:45 to 9:30, a segment here on the "washington journal," we will be digging deep into the cuba issue. you can join us for that segment. that will do it for this first segment of the "washington journal," but plenty more to talk about this morning including up next we will be joined by david mcintosh president -- club for growth president david mcintosh to talk about the biden administration economic policy.

and later, the reverend william barber of the poor people's campaign will join us to talk about his groups push to protect voting rights. we will be right back. ♪ >> weekends on c-span to bring you the best of american history and nonfiction books. on saturdays, american history tv expose the nation's past. at 2:00 p.m. on the presidency, dwight eisenhower's grandson talks about like the man and his leadership during world war ii with brian howe and stein, whose grandfather served as the army's your -- in the army's european theater. then, 82-year-old wally funk

will go into space for the first time on july 20 with jeff bezos. she is far from a newcomer to the space program. hear her talk about being one of nasa's mercury 13, the women who trained to become astronauts in the early 1960's but, unlike their male counterparts, they never flew a nasa mission. book tv discusses -- has authors discuss their books. at sunday at 8:00 eastern, stacey abrams discusses her recent novel "while justice sleeps." antenna clock p.m. eastern on afterwards, woodson center founder and president robert woodson argues american history is being replaced with a polarizing version. in his book red, white, and black, rescuing american history from revisionists. he is interviewed by harvard law professor arnold kennedy. watch book tv every weekend on c-span two and find a full

schedule on your program guide or visit c-span.org. >> "washington journal" continues. host: former congressman and current club for growth president david mcintosh is here with us on set on "washington journal." first remind us what club for growth is in what you do there. guest: thank you. it is great to be back live with everybody. host: we like it as well. guest: club for growth is the largest conservative political organization in the country. we have got a couple different components. our nonprofit advocates for lower regulations and smaller government. and we have a pack where our members will bundle contributions to candidates the pack endorses, and that helps them enormously. we have about 10,000 members that will contribute -- they get to pick which candidates they want to support. then we have a super pac, a club for growth action that provides

independent expenditures. if we endorse a candidate, this cycle we endorsed ted budd for the senate, we sent out a letters to our members, they contribute to his campaign through our pack, and the super pac is raising money. we have $5.2 million raised already to help him in his primary. we will come in and run our own ads, telling the voters of north carolina he is the best pick for the next and arter -- next senator. host: you join us at the tail end of a week where senate democrats and the biden administration rolled out the $3.5 trillion package calling it human infrastructure, a variety of environmental, social, education programs. what was your reaction on tuesday night when senator schumer came out with that number? guest: what i realized is you have got, as the democrats are faced with a situation where they want to include tax

increases, that will be part of the bill, and they want to expand the welfare programs. they call it human infrastructure but there are no buildings, roads, no real physical infrastructure. it is being -- infrastructure that is being paid for with that. when they decided to go all democrats on the bill, they have to negotiate with moderate mainstream democrats, the radical left, bernie sanders, and get everyone on board. if they were to get a bipartisan bill, they would have to negotiate with republicans and probably a lot less spending and more deficit created. host: a bipartisan infrastructure framework is being worked on right now. senator schumer once to finalize the details by next week. do use apart -- do you support to that bill negotiated with a group of republicans and democrats. guest: we have not seen the details yet so we do not know when they say it is all paid for what that means.

two, i think it will be hard to keep them on separate tracks. in the end, that infrastructure bill could be motor fuel for the larger tax increase spending bill. nancy pelosi has basically said that. she will not consider any infrastructure bill until she gets the tax increases and everything on reconciliation. host: and that reconciliation process, how hard is that to move something through reconciliation, and when you are in congress, where big bills like this moved through a reconciliation process? how often was that used? guest: we used a much more regular budget process when i was in congress. most of the times, we would do all 10 or 11 of the spending bills separately. they would pass, be signed, vetoed, negotiated back and forth between the house and senate. then for a while, both sides threw up their hands when they had these big bills. now they try to put it into reconciliation, which is code word for 50 votes rather than 60

votes. there are rules limiting what you can do in that bill, but they are putting all sorts of spending through it. we never used to do that. we put the spending separately. reconciliation was for things like social security, medicare, taxes. host: david mcintosh with the club for growth with us until 8:40 a.m. eastern so go ahead and call with your questions or comments. we begin our program today talking about the enhanced child tax credit checks that started hitting bank accounts yesterday. part of that $1.9 trillion american rescue plan passed in march. were you in support of expanding the child tax cut it -- tax credit program? guest: no. affectively that his welfare run through the tax code. that is refundable and people get it whether they pay taxes or not. they run it through the tax code because it sounds like a tax cut when it really is just another payment program.

i think what we have got to be careful with and we were against the covid relief bill because of the huge debt it increased, but it also disrupted the market. you see all of these extra payments create a huge incentive for people not to go back to work. if you have eaten in a restaurant recently, you know maybe they don't have as many servers as they used to, and this is a result as -- result of this covid bill playing out. host: the enhanced child tax credit was a program -- the child tax credit was a program back in 1997. this just adds more money to it and a different way of getting the money out. the program started in 1997. were you in congress for the debates over those original tax credits? do you remember the idea? guest: no i don't, when they made it a refundable tax credit. it was probably wrapped up in a package i did support, so i may

have ended up voting for the bigger bill, but i think it was a bad -- host: back then it was not a refundable tax credit, it was a credit you got on your tax bill. guest: which that make sense to me if you're going -- makes sense to me if you're going to do a child tax credit as a reduction in your taxes. that is like the child exemption, only through a credit. we have always had that as a way of recognizing families with middle income have extra expenses when they have children. but when you start turning it into a "refundable," then it becomes more like a welfare program. host: john is out of clifton, parks new york, an independent. good morning. you are on with of the -- you are on with david mcintosh from the david mcintosh. caller: thank you for what c-span does. -- from the club for growth. caller: thank you for what c-span does.

this trickle down economics, which you base your stances on and everything, how is that putting these billions of dollars into space instead of improving the conditions of the workers that make these people the richest man on earth? i would like a better understanding. you are talking about welfare and everything else, but yet at the same token you ignore these stances where these billionaires are pouring money into space, the people able to fly with them are also billionaires and millionaires. guest: first of all, i am happy it is not a government program where they are forcing taxpayers to spend the millions of dollars on something like that. my view is if somebody has been successful in creating a business and making money and the customers have rewarded them so become -- so they become a

billionaire, if they want to spend it on a rocket out of space, that is their choice. if they want to spend it on building mansions, they can do that. i do not think it is the right role of government to tell people how to spend their money. host: maximus on twitter with this question, why is the club for growth anti-trump and pro liz cheney? is that a correct description? guest: no. that is an interesting question. we have not endorsed in the primary but we are looking for a challenger in liz cheney because she voted for a lot of compromises on the democrats on a lot of the big spending bills. down in texas right now, there is a special election going on in texas six. ron white and his now widow susan was down there. often times we will align with trump's alignments but other times we make our own choices. we look at where they stand on

limited government, lower taxes, less regulation, growing the economy and pick candidates that way. host: who is jake elsie? guest: he is her opponent. the two interestingly about this race, they call this a jungle primary, democrats and republicans vote together. the democrats were -- they did not turn out so two republicans ended up being the final two choices, susan wright and jake elsie. host: giving a flavor on what that does in getting involved in races. we want to show one of your ads in the texas six race against jacobs he -- jake. here's the ad [video clip] >> bill crystal bakhtin publicans -- backed republicans who tried to -- maybe the most vicious never trump hitman said he was impressed and gave him a campaign contribution.

he trashed conservatives and bashed ted cruz. jake elsie is wrong about trump and bad for office. host: how many congressional races do you plan on getting involved in or a better question, how much money do plan on spending in the 2022 cycle. guest: last cycle we raised $103 million, it was a record for us. we are hoping to increase that and have even more funds available in the next cycle. host: in a midterm? guest: in a midterm. we have a progressive -- and republicans are ready to give and support candidates because they see taking back the congress as a huge mission in order to create balance. part of that is driven by the biden, pelosi, and schumer going so far left, having to appease their far-left, and that will give republicans a lot of momentum in this election.

we will probably endorse about 30 to 35 candidates. we do not endorse all of the republican candidates. we have in the past endorsed democrats who voted for the bush tax cuts. it really is on the philosophy we look at. host: club for grillo --club for growth has gotten this in the past, but why get involved in primary races? there's criticism that why not say that money for the general election to elect conservatives as opposed to interparty fights? guest: it is our view the primaries determine the heart and soul of the party. forever, the republicans have run on less spending, lower taxes, but when they get into government in washington, voters seem to think they forgot the campaign pledge. we look for people who are committed to that, they have a record of working for that in the past, and they will be champions for conservative principles, lower government. i think when we help them get through the primary, then they can affect the party once they

are here. host: what is the clubs relationship like with the party committee, the national republican congressional committee and the other committee as well? guest: both committees have said they will stay out of the primaries. so we do not run into them -- speaker maccarthy has said similar things, though if one of your people can't win in the general or we think they are a bad candidate, we may oppose you. for the most part, we work in the primary space, raise money for the general. once our candidates when the primary, our interests are aligned, so we can work together with them. host: sounds like you think kevin mccarthy will be speaker again. guest: that is certainly what he is pushing for. he is the leader now and i do not see the reason why that would not happen. we will have to see. politics is a lifetime and a year. host: evansville, indiana is next. this is deborah, a democrat. caller: good morning.

how are you this morning? host: doing well. you are on with david mcintosh. guest: hi, deborah. caller: hey. i was wondering if in biden's economic plan for families if he plans to include anything s forsi recipients -- anything for ssi recipients. we worked and we live on 799 dollars per month. we barely make it now, so i'm wondering if he is looking at any recurring payments for us for help. guest: first of all, it is good to hear from a fellow hoosier. i represented muncie in the middle part of the state. i have not seen anything in the biden plan that directly would do that. there are several, vega, general provisions, including one that talks about maybe on the revenue saving they will look at health care. i do not know what they mean by that.

if they're trying to have savings, that means they might try to cut back on some of that. we will have to wait and see what the details are before we know for sure. host: anita in missouri saying the club for growth, for whom did david mcintosh complain when trump increased the deficit with tax cuts for the rich? guest: so the tax cuts for the rich did not increase the deficit. brought in more revenue during the periods after they were enacted. the real deficit increase was the spending that was also done. and yes, that happened during the trump presidency as well as now during the biden presidency. we have a long record of opposing both. we do not think the big spending bills are good for the economy, and they expand government in areas that interfere with economic growth. guest: where do you think you have butted heads with the trump administration the most? guest: most things we objected to where the spending bills. their trade, we are very much committed to free-trade.

there, we reached a middle ground. we were very laissez-faire if you will for open markets. the president made a peer space of -- a persuasive case that it is not a level playing field and he wanted to use the tariffs to force them back to the negotiating table. our view was if the goal is in the end to reduce tariffs, we can understand what you are doing tactically to use them in the short-term. host: maryland, this is jackie, an independent. good morning. caller: how are you? host: doing well. you are on with mr. mcintosh. caller: hey, mr. mcintosh. really interested. it is -- i am a history buff and i remember southern strategy. it sounds to me your organization is really a cover for the racist beliefs and actions of any party that would

seek to help african-americans. the southern strategy said we can no longer use the and word but if we use lower the taxes, smaller government, all of those things, he said it will hurt blacks more than whites. guest: i could not disagree more, jackie. our policy helps blacks and other minorities. we saw that during the trump years where they had record unemployment -- low unemployment for blacks and other minorities. we are for an economic policy that helps everybody, and frankly that is better than a big government policy that tends to help the rich and elite. that is why you see a lot of these alien and send millionaires supporting the democrats in the last election. they liked big government because they can afford to pay for it and they get all of the benefits. whereas a lot of times minority families need those entry-level

jobs that lower taxes create. host: andrew in houston, texas, a democrat, good morning. caller: good morning, gentlemen. thank you for taking my call and thank you for being with us today, mr. mcintosh. i wanted to echo some of the sentiments a cute -- sentiments issued earlier. first question, growth for who? shouldn't be club for conservative growth? secondly, if you are against big government, why did you work for the government? you are an elected official, or you were an elected official. for years, we have heard from the conservatives about big government, how terrible big government is, but why would they run for office? isn't that kind of like a vegetarian wanting to be a butcher? guest: no, i don't think it is. people in indiana elected me to go and fight for those principles, and i took a term limit pledge, went for six

years, got a lot done i think and fought for them and went back into the private sector. let me address one of the concerns, growth only for republicans or businesses. often times the club for growth finds itself opposed to the chamber of commerce, for example, where they want to use special benefits for certain businesses but keep taxes high so they can pay for benefits. i think we call it corporate welfare or crony capitalism. the club for growth has staked out a strong opposition to that. there was a bill and it still exists, a program that corporate america loves because it would help finance deals they would make with china and countries all over the world at taxpayer expense. we oppose that because companies can get their own financing, they do not need the government side cities -- government

subsidies. we need to look out for the taxpayers and working families of the country. host: what did you do before going to congress? guest: i had worked with president reagan and vice president quayle. right before i was in congress, i was in a think tank, at the hudson institute, based in indianapolis at the time. host: any regrets with that term limits pledge? guest: no, no. i actually ran and tried to go back to congress, and i am thankful i lost that primary. [laughter] i think it -- i can do more now helping other people run as head of the club for growth. host: don't think you would have the itch again sometime? guest: no. my faith is very important to me and i sometimes think of it as a spiritual matter that god had to ring out of me the desire to get elected and now i can help other people. it is helping the country get the next generation of leaders. host: how long have you been at the club for growth? guest: six years now. host: and you've been on c-span

several times in those six years. just about 15 minutes left if you want to chat with david mcintosh from the club for growth. democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. we had to the buckeye state, caroline in alliance. good morning. caller: good morning. mr. mcintosh, i have a couple quick questions. do you believe the government should support research and science. also -- science? also, do you yourself and club for growth believe in the science of climate change and the government needs to put money into preparing for climate change? those are my questions. thank you. guest: thank you, jackie. one, i think the government -- purely approach would say the private sector will take care of all of the research spending we need.

i think our culture and country benefits from greater research and technology. i worry sometimes it gets politicized. you saw that with the science around dealing with covid in an election year, and that was unfortunate. my view has always been get to the facts, let the truth come out and make decisions based on that. to answer your questions, i do think there is a role for helping to make sure we have research looking to the future, building for the future. on climate, i think we should have science looking at that, but i don't think it should be as politicized science. as it says, we will only look at your data if it proves our theory. if it questions the theory, we don't want to look at it. to me, that is bad science. you should always be open for challenges, let the facts fit for themselves. one of the things on the climate agenda is that it has been a stalking horse of government

control of the energy industry. i think i would be terrible because it ends up affecting lower income, poor people, middle income families who a large part of their budget is on energy, gas prices, electricity, and those will be driven skyhigh if you see a lot of these climate change policies go into effect. host: another issue that has been politicized, critical race theory. a headline from the recent cpac attendees weighing in, what should parents do about critical race theory in schools? you spoke about this? guest: i did. i'm troubled by what i see on the critical race theory front. i think we should step back. i did at cpac and said, what is the value we should embrace in this country? to me, it is what martin luther king said, in his i have a dream speech, we should not judge each other based on the color of our skin but on the quality of our character. that should be our national

goal. we should recognize that we have fallen short in the past, and honestly that there is more to do. that part of the recent critical race theory agenda is a good part, where we are more conscious of are we treating our brothers and sisters the way we want to and aspire to, not based on the color of their skin? unfortunately, what the radicals in the critical race theory movement have done is transform that into a fundamental critique of american culture, our government, our capitalist system, and because there is old and past racism, we are inherently evil -- they are inherently evil and have to be thrown away. they say it rid of it all and move it to a socialist, communist type regime. we are very imposed to that. what you are sorting -- starting to see around the country, the radical approach being taught in school.

sadly, what they're doing in most programs often is to divide people by race. they are pulling out the minority students and saying to the white students you are guilty of because your ancestors were racist and you need to become aware of that and be treated differently than minority students. that violates the principle that we do not treat people differently based on the color of their skin. so it encourages a kind of racist approach to this. so we are very much opposed to that radical critical race theory approach. i tell everybody we have got to embrace martin luther king. both republicans and democrats should stand and say that is our vision for america. it has not always been but it has been, in my lifetime, and we need to make sure it continues to be. host: on the line for republicans, joseph out of florida. good morning. caller: good morning. how are you today? host: doing well.

go ahead. caller: basically, i really enjoyed c-span because you get to see the news and interviews live in person. i have been listening to everything and what everybody is saying. it's like everybody wants what they want and they want it now. i'm just as human as anybody else but i know that will not work. it reminds me of the story when i was a child and i read it to my children and grandchildren at bedtime, the story about goldilocks and the three bears. goldilocks stumbled into this little college -- cottage, and she went ahead and looked the chair was either too hard or too soft but the baby chair was just right for her. the porridge was either too hot or too cold -- host: i think we all are never the story. caller: the thing about it is, everybody is living in that goldilocks mentality, i want what i want and i don't want anything to be too hard and i

don't want anything to be too soft. i just want what i want. even today, when the college football players are demanding a salary, they are running around catching a football, there is something wrong when college students are saying i can't pay my debt. i'm just wondering where we are really going besides downhill. host: where we going? guest: that's a great question, joseph. where are we going? unfortunately, what we see is a lot of times the goldilocks says, "ok i didn't get what i want so i want government to come in and make everybody, the porridge, the temperature i wanted or all of them to be small chairs." that's one of the reasons we are big advocate for less government and more of the civil society, private sector. all of us as individuals working, giving, creating things so each can pursue what we want but we do not have to conform to a government one-size-fits-all, lukewarm porridge and hard chairs. host: less than 10 minutes left

with david mcintosh. diane is waiting in tucker, new jersey. good morning. caller: good morning. you mentioned because of the unemployment that people were having a hard time finding workers. i have been to restaurants since then and there workers are hand over fist. they are tripping over each other. they have plenty of people in these restaurants. what troubles me is the fact that the politicians think people can live off of an entry-level job. they are getting this little bit of unemployment, which in this country is making that so they could live and buy food at the supermarket rather than going to the -- where you get the free food and get in food lines. you cannot live off an entry-level job.

i have a really good example. i watch fox news sometimes, i watch all news stations, and the girl who sits in the middle said when we went to a restaurant, it took a long time for them to serve us. we were like, oh my god, how bougie was a. you would think people -- do you think anybody who could make enough would ever go to work in a restaurant? guest: i know a lot of people who decide to work in a restaurant. i think in many ways it is a noble calling. they are serving people, making their day better. i really appreciate the men and women who do that for a living. a lot of times, people may, like you said, it's might be entry-level or their first job, like if they are in the entertainment industry, hoping to become a movie star but they need to pay the bills so they work as a waitress or waiter.

my daughter just graduated from college, and a lot of her friends are really smart and waiting to find the right job after the covid shut down opens backup, and some of them have decided i can go into the service industry and pay my bills for now and i will pursue my dreams after that. i give them full credit for that. i think it is a great job and it helps people and makes life better for all of us. host: what does she want to do? go ahead and brag on your daughter. guest: thank you. she is studying art history and i -- and my friend said that that is a hard career to find a job. she found a job in new york and she called me and said i will find a job and they will pay me. she is a go-getter. host: our next caller is an independent. good morning. caller: i have a couple words.

one for the commentator and two for the guests. how do you people maintain your tax-exempt status when you have these endless lines of topic and like your current guest comes on and spews out a lot of nonsense? and this is to the guest now. you claim to be safe is an important thing in your life and you cite martin luther king. then several times during this conversation, you had said the other side is socialist, every evil thing under the sun, and all you are concerned about is less government. i want you to explain to me, i'm retired, i'm disabled, i was in the service during the vietnam war. i pay income tax on the pension that i get because i get social

security, which i pay taxes for. jeff bezos pays no taxes, donald trump paid $750 in taxes. explain to me why this is so fair. host: we will take the point, michael. guest: first of all, thank you also for your service to the country. i appreciate that, michael. look, let me just say two things from that. one, our ideal version of a tax code would be a flat tax where everybody would pay the same. that would take care of these anomalies like bezos and others. he is following the law and taking full advantage of every little tax deduction he can do, but i think a flat tax that got rid of those and charged everybody the same lower rate would be the best for all of us. but let me address your point

about disagreeing with people. one, what i was trying to say is i think the democrat party has a dilemma right now in that today have the far left socialists and the more moderate democrats that the republicans have been able to make compromises and work with. when they decide to go all democrats, it is a negotiation between the moderates and socialists, and they move further to the left. that will hurt them in the elections. people did not vote for a radical left agenda for this country. that is my main point. as a person, i kind of like the approach of having friends that disagree with me. so that i am able to talk about what i believe but also listen to what they believe. it changes what i think, because sometimes they are right about things and i hope i have any impact on them. one of my best friends is in fact a democrat, a guy who does not agree with donald trump ever , and we get to talk and debates

and agree to disagree and have the time he convinces me that i should listen carefully to what he has to say. host: still in touch with any of your former congressional colleagues on the others the aisle? guest: still run into them from time to time. i do not see many of the retired members anymore, but one of my favorite members on the others was dennis kucinich who was very much on the far-left. we liked each other because we were both principal, different principles but we stood for principles, and we liked to debate. host: time for one more call, and appreciate you joining the debates, the discussion this morning. we will try to get in kim who is waiting in north carolina, a republican. good morning. caller: good morning. i appreciate what everybody has done. however, as a republican for my entire lifetime, i look at what the republican party did in the last election, and if trump

supports any republicans, i will not vote for those republicans because he is not a conservative christian ike i am. -- like i am? so i just -- am. i just wanted to say that and i think you for my time. host: mr. mcintosh, i will give you the final minute of your time. guest: thank you for doing that. look at each of the candidates, pick men and women, more than who endorses them or not, and that will be the best way to make a decision. one thing i see up there -- we talk about the infrastructure bill and budget bill -- i think republicans are hoping they could be for one of them, the infrastructure bill, but not the other. in the end, because i think they will be combined, politically, they will find themselves in a situation like john kerry was. "i voted for it before i voted against it." that's a disaster politically because voters want you to take a stand. i think what republicans will

have to do at this point is recognize the two are linked and say to the democrats, we will work with you but not in any way that drives through a big huge spending bill of tax increases that we are not for by trying to separate the two out. host: even if it is on two tracks, even if there are two different votes on the bill? guest: in the end, i think the voters will see them all as one and nancy pelosi said basically they are one because i will not do the other one until i get my tax increases. guest: four republicans to vote for -- host: for republicans who vote for the bill, should they expect to hear from club for growth? guest: yes. i think we will push -- we could hold back and not do it. i know jerry moran is having second thoughts. i think that's an indicator that politically he realizes this could be a bad bill. he might draw a primary challenge if viewed as going along with the liberal democrats. guest: david mcintosh, the president -- host: david mcintosh, the

president for club for growth. thank you for your time. about 20 minutes before the house comes in for a brief session and before that time, we open our phones to you, an open form to call about any public policy, any issue you want to talk about. the phone lines are on your screen for democrats, republicans, and independents. call in and we will get your calls after the break. ♪ >> coming up today on c-span, the acting assisting homeland security secretary testifies on how the agency counters weapons of mass destruction before a house subcommittee live at 10:00 i am eastern -- 10:00 am eastern. then, senator jeanne shaheen and others discolored -- discuss a special immigrant visas for afghan allies. on c-span2, the house task force

on artificial intelligence looks at ways to verify identity online while protecting digital privacy. live coverage begins at noon eastern. ♪ weekends on c-span two are an intellectual feast. every saturday, you will find events and people that explore our nation's past on american history tv. on sundays, book tv brings you the latest in nonfiction books and authors and on a tablet -- in television for serious readers. discover and explore weekends on c-span2. ♪ >> "washington journal" continues. host: here's the schedule on capitol hill today. the senate is in at 10:00 a.m. eastern to continue their work this week. the house is officially on its july 4 work recess still, going to come back monday for legislative business. but there will be a brief pro forma session at 9:00 a.m.

eastern coming up in 20 minutes, and we will take you there live when they do for gavel-to-gavel coverage. it will be a pretty quickie gavel-to-gavel, and we will be back on the others that to continue our discussion this morning on the "washington journal." until that pro forma session, we are going to do it we often do here, turn the phone lines to you and let you leave the discussion, what topics you want to talk about, public policy, political issues on your mind. here are the phone numbers. democrats (202) 748-8000, republicans (202) 748-8001, independents (202) 748-8002. fran on our democrat line. you are up first. caller: good morning. i called in because this keeps coming to my mind about the united states, about america, and now it says it is supposed

to be a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. what that means to me that it is other people, meaning those people in washington, are supposed to be not just representing us but are to be representatives of the nation, meaning all kinds of people, small walks of life -- from all walks of life. because we are multinational or racial country, that should be of the people. and when it says by the people, to me, that means one vote for every citizen that is of age that qualifies. that is by the people, not from some group of people somewhere that will put in who they want. host: i will take the point on the voting rights issue. i did want to let you know that's coming up in about 15

minutes or so, after that pro forma session in the house, we will be joined by reverend william barber who chairs poor people's campaign, and voting rights is very much going to be part of that discussion. that is from 9:00 a.m. eastern to 9:40. a stick around for that discussion. in the meantime, we open our phones up. it is the open form to hear what is on your mind. this is teresa out of illinois. a republican. good morning. caller: good morning. first of all, i was born in the former soviet union, i grew up in kansas, -- i grew up there, migrated to the united states. i migrated at the age of nine. right now, i am so disgusted to watch those poor people in cuba. this is allowing all of these drug smugglers and bandits coming in through the southern border, and he refuses to allow

any of these refugees, political refugees from cuba into united states. i think this is a communist regime and i think they should be impeached. host: that is teresa in illinois. al is in georgia, independent, good morning. caller: good morning. i just listened to your previous guest. i am very much opposed to the idea that limited government should take precedence over the real problems that we have. what we actually have that is the problem is we have dysfunctional government and we need to have the recognition of the real problems facing us today. we do have crumbling infrastructure.

interstate 16 in georgia just got close down on about a 20 mile stretch because someone hit a bridge. we have issues of infrastructure all over the country. we also have a never before in history problem we confront an climate change, and these are not simple problems, not problems that can be solved by just saving money. it is like if we are in a war, we have to do things to support the troops on the ground regardless of what it costs. the same thing is here. we need to move, as they say, boldly and put enough money into our system so we can address climate change and address the crumbling infrastructure so our children have a decent place to live.

host: is $4 trillion enough or too much to do that? guest: i don't know the right answer to that. i will answer that this way, i am a strong believing christian and i believe the statement that christ made about the love of money is the root of all evil. so when you put the value of money ahead of the real needs, then you are just causing the real problems that people will triumph. host: that is al in georgia. joe is in iowa, democrats, good morning. what is on your mind? caller: hello. just to address first of all your first in person guest there after a while. i wanted to say it seems like he gives a little more sense of accountability when someone is in the studio. so thank goodness for that. host: and there will be more

that's going forward. we are glad to have folks in the studio too. it helps us get to some more callers as well when they're in the studio. we can wave them down or have callers waiting period so we are glad to have folks back in studio. caller: yes. and thank you. i mainly wanted to add from the first segment, i apologize missing getting in the call there, regarding the child tax credit. i wish everybody who is listening, part of congress, and i've heard nancy does listen to these calls, that they would consider the people that fall within the cracks, for example. all of the republican governors have stopped the unemployment. so the democratic governor-ran states are still receiving it, i believe. with that tax credits, if you have children that just turned 18, you do not see that. if you are already in massive

debt for years before, it is like we are climbing out of the rabbit hole again. i want them to consider that and possibly in the future what could be done for those people. host: so before you go, this child, this enhanced child tax credit is different from the one that has been around since 1997. one of the big differences is the old credits only parents who owed the federal government taxes could qualify for its full payments. that is no longer the case now. more than 35 million american families impacted by the checks that started going out yesterday at, -- yesterday, accounting for some 60 million children in this company, the monthly payments amount to about $300 per child. $250 per month between the age of five and 17. guest: correct -- caller: correct. we have paid in our taxes for at least that last two years.

so where not only not climbing out of the rabbit hole but we are still paying taxes. we are in the loophole or we don't receive something that benefits us as we should because we are in the middle again. host: joe in iowa. this is margaret in kansas, a republican. good morning. caller: good morning. how are you doing? host: i'm doing all right. caller: i have nothing negative to say, but it is what it is. i want to shout out to the people of cuba who are protesting for freedom. not for the covid shot but for freedom. and they are carrying american flags. i wish the young people in this country would stop burning american flags and start carrying american flags. the people of cuba are what we were back in the revolution, and that is really all i have to say. how about some good news for a change? host: fred in denver, colorado,

you are next. caller: good morning. last sunday, 60 minutes had an expose of what was going on and is going on in syria. there were photographs and movies of people being mutilated, tortured, and starved from these photos that were seen and smuggled out. the images were too difficult to even watch. yet, after that 60 minutes presentation, there was nothing in the news about that. there was someone flying to the edge of space, but i think the news media, the major trends in news media are taking their eye off the ball of serious to thick ozone in the middle east. they will drone on and on about the palestinian/israeli conflict , but yet the real torture and

problems in the middle east and other places in the world where people are being starved or mutilated is just that nothing has happened. i'm amazed major broadcast networks don't even educate the american public as to what is really going on. host: you mean besides the 60 minutes story that you saw? caller: that was just last sunday. those on -- that was on cbs. but those videos and photographs were smuggled out at great peril to the people exposed. host: this is randall in washington, d.c. good morning. caller: good morning. i like how you guys, and i'm not an expert either, go through people -- go to these people about critical race theory that are not experts.

it seems like what it basically is is not being taught. it's not being taught in k-12. i think it has something to do with law schools. i think it's kind of like a false -- it is willie horton in 2020. moving on from that -- host: before we move onto that, let me point you to a discussion that we had just recently here on the "washington journal" on the issue of critical race theory. we had it earlier this week about critical race theory and we were joined by schnelle wilson and ian rowe of the american institute. they have been on this, two times, each coming on for an hour and -- each time coming on for an hour and taking calls for it. if you didn't get the last news

on that, i would point you to the roundtables we have done in the last month or so. caller: i saw it. that is why i called. i tried to get in on that show. i was raised in america and i went through school where you are indoctrinated into this narrow view that breeds patriotism only and this religious blindness. what happens is you have to go out on your own and read and get a broader view. artan luther king was not the only black person -- martin luther king was not the only black person, there are many of them. they just want to teach a narrow view that is acceptable to make whites comfortable. but if they read themselves, they would understand america

also a little better and not this narrow, christianized view. the other part of that is that narrow view has put us in these extremes we are in today. all i'm saying is having read smithsonian articles where in this place, a plantation, they are teaching people today that slavery was ok, that blacks liked being slaves. this is why you have to have a counter view in 2020. host: that's randall in washington, d.c. time for a couple more calls before the house comes in for a brief pro forma session. i hope you stay with us on the other side of that. plenty more that to talk about on the "washington journal" afterwards. patrick from fort lauderdale, florida, independent, you are

next. caller: good morning. host: go ahead, patrick. caller: well i was listening to the former congressman earlier and i kind of get a kick out of, first of all what everybody refers to the government in third person, which is crazy because i am the government. secondly, it is ironic that you always hear about people, worker bees, the average worker that is -- that does not recognize that the company they work for, private industry in general, all industry in general, has their own governance and that is contrary to our belief in the united states. i hear all the time that industries should -- that the trickle down does not work

without a doubt. the other thing is everything is consumer driven. it is not the other way around. what creates all of this industry in this country in particular is a consumer. if there was not a need for it, then the industry that supplies that need would not exist. host: what kind of work do you do, patrick? guest: i am a retired -- caller: i'm a retired firefighter. so i worked for the government. quite frankly, which by the way i guess you could call it a social program ironically enough. most social programs like mine were started out as private industry, but industries kicked it out. it all comes down to who pays for the road for workers to get to your business so they can work, the people or the industry? host: that is paul from florida.

viola is in texas, it. we will try to get in a couple more calls as we wait for the house to gavel in. go ahead. caller: yes, i was concerned about the credit for the kids, the $300. i think that is good because with that we can raise a generation of children that could be more equipped to deal with america. on the flat taxpaying, we do not need the same flat tax as everyone. we need a graduated flat tax. we need if you make more money you should pay a higher graduated flat tax. i think a disrespect for the way women private parts are treated on tv, that bothers me a lot. i think about not even watching tv because of that. also, black women need a perm with light in it for their hair,

i'm talking to oprah, one with lie in it so black women can have straight hair. host: this is on twitter, backup folks because one third of us won't do the right thing. frank from north carolina, can you make it quick? i think the house is about to gavel in? frank, are you with us? caller: yes. host: go ahead with your comments. caller: i was thinking about the debating in the previous program stated that everybody wanted what they want. well, that is what is wrong with the house and senate.

everybody wants what they want. host: the house is coming in for a brief pro forma session, and they are standing at the doors, ready to come in, so we will take you there now live for gavel-to-gavel coverage. we will be with you right after the gavel out. -- right after the gavel out.