education, energy and the treasury department, along with other federal agencies. on c-span2 at 10:30, the senate continues work on the bipartisan infrastructure bill. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government, funded by these television companies and more, including charter communications. >> broadband is empowerment. charter has invested billions, upgrading technology, empowering opportunity in communities big and small. charter is connecting us. >> charter communications support c-span as a public service, along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> coming up on washington journal, we talk with drexel university law and public health

effects are robert field about the legality of vaccine mandates. also, a texas congressman joins us to discuss immigration and border security. washington journal is ♪ host: good morning from washington. here are your headlines from capitol hill. a bipartisan group of senators struck a deal on infrastructure yesterday, and last night, the senate overcame its first procedural hurdle on the deal to begin debate. more on that coming up on the program. also, tensions flare on capitol hill as the federal government says even if you are vaccinated you need to mask up again if you are indoors. we begin their this morning. will you follow the new cdc mask guidance.

if you say yes, 202-748-8000. if you say no, 202-748-8001. you can tell us by texting. you can also send us a tweet or post on instagram. let's begin with dr. anthony fauci explaining on pbs why the cdc made this new guidance. [video clip] dr. fauci: what has changed is the virus has changed. the recommendations we had a month ago with what the cdc was facing -- the recommendations were dealing with what is called the alpha variant, which is different than the delta variant. the delta has a very unusual capability to spread much more easily than the alpha did.

the other data we are doing with, when people get breakthrough infections, when they are vaccinated and get infected, even when they have a situation when they don't have advanced disease, they clearly can translate -- transmit it to other people. it is not a common event. i don't want people to be thinking all kinds of vaccinated people can be transmitting it. it is a rare event, but it occurs. we know as a scientific fact they can transmit the virus to an uninfected person. it is for that person that the cdc made the change in recommendation and did just as you correctly stated -- mainly that if you are vaccinated, unit and indoor setting, you should still wear a mask. host: the new mask mandate comes as the united states for the first time in a month marks 2000 covid-19 deaths in week.

that from "usa today" today. on capitol hill, back and forth between republicans and democrats about wearing a mask. again, if you are vaccinated, take a listen to republican congressman chip roy on the house floor yesterday protesting the re-imposition of the mask-wearing requirement in the house chamber. [video clip] representative roy: we have a crisis at the border and we are playing footsie with a mask mandate. it is absurd what we are doing in the people's house. the american people are fed up. they want to go back to life, to business, school, without their children being forced to wear masks, put in the corner with mental health issues. we have thousands of people crossing our border and democrats don't do a thing about

it, heavily infected with covid. we have "the new york times" today, what a mess -- cdc is going to reverse on indoor masking. this is some serious nanny state stuff that will breed resentment. no kidding. host: texas congressman chip roy on the floor yesterday. will you follow this guidance. william in orange park, florida. you say no. good morning to you. caller: me and my wife had their shots maybe 3, 4 months ago, so i am doing the right thing, but i cannot see wearing a mask. i have an idea for what is happening on the border. what if they just bus them all -- host: we will talk about the border coming up here, but let's stick to this topic -- you say

you will not follow the cdc mask guidance. tell me, why not? caller: i have had both shots. my wife is head shots. my kids have had both shots. they can take their masks and stick them. host: carolyn, alexandra, virginia. you say yes. caller: i'm going to stick to my mask spewed i never took a mask off. people need to stop acting like fools and realize this thing is not playing. i don't understand people. they see people getting sick, and they are still trying to find with the people are telling them. i say yes. host: do you have friends, family, people that you know who are not vaccinated? caller: all my family, friends are vaccinated.

my immediate family all are vaccinated. i really don't go out around other people. it doesn't matter. i don't go out too much. if my family comes over, i am all right with it because they have all been vaccinated. we don't really get up on top of each of the peer we stay apart when we are talking. so far, so good. host: carolyn says yes. jerry, you say no and broadway, virginia. tell us why. caller: well, if it wasn't for all of those illegals coming across, nobody would have to wear a mask. there is mass murder going on in the country and it needs to stop. people need to go to prison ford. host: why do you think the spread of the delta variant is only due to illegal immigration? caller: well we know it is. sure it is. it is mass murder. host: what evidence do you have of that? caller:? what?

host: what evidence do you have? caller: well, it is common sense, which is not too common in d.c. these days, is it? host: karl in alabama. good morning. why will you put the mask back on? caller: i wear the mask because it is a way of protecting yourself against, you know, catching the virus, but my bigger question is -- and i have been watching the news for -- ever since this thing started. my bigger question is the fda has not approved these vaccines. and for some reason, none of the news stations have ever came and asked dr. fauci or the cdc person in charge why hasn't the fda approved any of these

vaccines, and my belief is there is something wrong with the vaccine, but no news stories have ever covered and asked dr. fauci why -- or anybody else, all these other doctors, the surgeon general, dr. rochelle walensky, why hasn't the fda approved this stuff? host: ok, carl pitt we will leave it there. president joe biden today is expected to announce requirement for all federal workers to get vaccinated or face regular testing, similar to what the new york governor and the california governor has said about state workers in those states. coming up will talk about the legality of mandating a vaccine. we will have a guest who is an expert in health care public policy, and the legal aspects of it. we will talk about that coming up and take your questions and comments coming up as well. host: mike in cary, north

carolina. you say, no, i am not following this new vital -- guidance. caller: no. they have lost all credibility with me and they did a long time ago. remember what it was two weeks to flatten the curve? remember that? masks, no masks -- they are all over the place. the comments from the previous caller -- it is not a vaccine. it is an experimental serum. regards to all of that, for background, i am stage four cancer -- i have been for two years. covid it while i was just starting chemo treatments last year. basically, what i have done since then, i wear a mask when i go to the chemo center. again, that is a private business. they have a right to -- it is a very -- it is a place that has

sick people and immunocompromised people. i am one of them. i will wear a mask when i go to the supermarket if the supermarket mandates it. again, it is their business. they have a right to run it as they want. we eliminated pretty much all the mask mandates in north carolina many many months ago, so i don't know -- the only two places are -- i really go are the supermarket and the doctor. i never wore a mask outside appeared i never wore a mask where i didn't have to, and this was all during cancer treatment. i to get vacation in september after i wrapped up chemo treatments. ab i just lucky. maybe i am blessed put i took precaution. but in the beginning it was the latex gloves and the masks, and i don't fault them for that. it was probably good to be overly cautious. we got a little bit of a late

jump on the whole thing, but with regards to file g and his denial of gain of function and connections to the wu hand lab and the outright suppression of the exchange of information regarding whether or not the virus possibly came from the wu han law -- lab either accidentally or intentionally, but here we are a year and a half later and we don't have a clue and the chinese are denying any further investigation because they are the chinese. i will go about my life. i will take precautions where i have to. i will make my own decisions. if a private business asks me to wear a mask to come into their private business -- restaurant, market, store, because i'm a conservative. i believe a person has the right to run their business as they see fit. host: got it. let me read --

host: susan in milford, pennsylvania. good morning. caller: good morning. i do believe in wearing the mask. the viruses in mice with coptic -- microscopic organism that can harm people, kill people. it is changing. every day it seems to change. the cdc guidance changes according to what they find. so, you have to -- at least i realized i have to listen to what the scientists say and follow it. i want to protect myself and others, and i noticed a lot of people do not wear the masks because it has changed. it seemed like the virus was going away, but now it seems to be back, and i am wearing my mask. and in noticed a lot of people

-- i noticed a lot of people are not. but you have to keep listening. now the delta variant is stronger, more people are succumbing to it, and everybody should follow the same thing. host: let me add to that, this little tidbit from "usa today," that the texas children's hospital has seen several severe cases of covid-19 in children, in some cases requiring ventilators. that is what is happening in texas. 's georgia largest school district is saying they will institute masks in the fall. the arizona governor and the state department of health are urging residents to get vaccinated as the state sees its largest what i can do increasing hospitalizations since march, 2020. over 1400 people have been hospitalized. that is what is happening around the country.

here is a tweet from the viewer. absolutely, this viewer says. i am l2. we all want to get back to not -- i am elderly, and we all want to get back to normal, and i will follow dr. fauci completely. on capitol hill, a group of bipartisan senators announced they had forged a $1 trillion deal on infrastructure to pay for the nation's ridges, highways, and sandra. -- etc.. now, what is in the deal? 570,000,000,009 -- $579 billion in new spending, including $109 billion for new roads and bridges, $206 billion for water, broadband, and other non- transportation infrastructure. the senate passed a procedural hurdle with 67 votes last night. this allows them to now go to debate the bill.

they have to, after the debate, go to final passage, but it is a good sign for passage for those that want this, they were able to get 67 votes. bill cassidy with a conservator from the louisiana -- part of the group of senators, here's what he had to say on the floor yesterday. [video clip] senator cassidy: some people have confuse this bill with the democrat tax-and-spend extravaganza -- these are two different bills paid this bill is for broadband, flood control, and coastal restoration. the other is for who knows what. this bill, the infrastructure bill, has been judged by economists as to not contribute to inflation. the $3.5 trillion bill is going to make the inflation we have now worse. the bill we have does not raise taxes.

$3.5 trillion bill is estimated to raise hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes. one bill i love, the other bill i hate. the infrastructure bill that will shorten someone's commute time across a bridge, to make their home less likely to flood, to extend broadband in areas of our country that are not served at all or poorly served -- that is the bill i love, and i think that is to build the american people desperately need. -- bill the american people desperately need. host: senator cassidy on the four p on the bill that he says he hates, the $3.5 billion -- the $3.5 trillion package, it looks like democrats and the president will have a hard time getting that past. democratic cinema -- senator

sinema says she will not vote. joe. you will not put the mask back on. caller: there is no way. i don't trust anything the biden and harris administration has to say, or file g. i have had both of my shots. everyone i knows, has, too. it is unbelievable how we about immigrants across the border illegally. they have not been tested. they have now transported these people to different states, and they all have the covid virus. i just don't understand. host: how do you know they all have it? caller: excuse me. let's just say the vast majority does because it has been reported that they do have it? have i been down at the border to test each and everyone, no i haven't, and neither have you. how do i know they have all been inoculated? how do i know they don't have

it? that is the million-dollar question. caller: how do you know your neighbor doesn't have it? because he got inoculated. host: dr. fauci said even if you are vaccinated you can carry it. it is rare, but possible. caller: i have another question. a lady said covid is a microscopic virus. wearing a mask cannot even stop the common flu. host: if your local grocery store says you have to wear a mask to come in, what will you do? caller: i have to wear it because it is their policy, not mine, but it is not a law. host: got it. joe in ohio. forbes.com put together a list of cities that are saying they will require you to mask up

again, and we will start with kansas city will once again having a mask mandate starting at 12:0 1:00 a.m. on monday requiring all residents older than five to wear a mask indoors in public spaces. st. louis is instituting a similar mandate. nevada will have a new mandate to go in effect on friday. savannah, georgia put a mask mandate in effect this week requiring all residents to where it when they are indoors and not run immediate family. the cape cod community of provincetown, massachusetts, reinstated its mask mandate. los angeles county was the first major u.s. locality to institute a mask mandate. compare that with public and government -- with republican governors from national review.com, multiple rhythm of the governing -- governors are rejecting.

nebraska's pete ricketts publishing a statement saying iowa --nebraska's return to normal will not be interrupted by cdc guidance. as well as florida governor ron desantis. will in oklahoma. you say yes, well. thomas y. caller: i say yes -- tell us why. caller: if it saves lives i will do it. i am not so much thinking of myself. i'm thinking of the people around me. if it is going to save lives, why don't we just wear masks? i don't understand what people's complaint is. host: anne in dallas, texas, 63 years old, vaccinated, no, she won't wear a mask unless she says businesses require it, if my doctor tells me to where it

in a grocery store i will. caller: good morning. i will not wear masks. we are not looking at all the numbers, because there is a 98.9% survival rate without any complications. less than 1% of the american population has even died from this virus, and they are making it out to be -- they are trying to scare the american people. less than .01% of the world has died from covid. this is something else. this has to do with a type of control and scaring, and making people afraid. most people get the virus -- they talk about how many people are being infected, but they are alive and living.

a lot of the famous people we know like tom hanks and his wife, and some of the other famous people, cuomo on cnn -- all of those people survived and they are fine. most people survive it. i am not taking the vaccine or wearing a mask. i believe if i get it, and i believe i had it already. host: you did not get the vaccine. is that what you said, angela? caller: that is exactly right, and i don't trust it because i don't understand what this big push is about and why we don't have -- what is going on with our rights to not have to take this. this has never been done before with anything else. this sounds like something else is going on. host: what about the polio vaccine? caller: we you -- what do you say to this has never been done -- the government had a similar push to a polio vaccine?

when i look back at the polio vaccine because i was not old enough to look back -- it was widespread, and the numbers were completely different. the numbers are different here. host: ok. well, angela, you're questioning the experts. so are some others as well. "washington post" front page, experts are asking the cdc where is the data. back in may the president went to the rose garden to celebrate that folks who were vaccinated would no longer have to wear masks. here's what he had to say then. [video clip] president biden: a few hours ago, the centers for disease control and prevention, the cdc, announced that they are no longer recommending that fully vaccinated people need to wear masks.

this recommendation holds true whether you are inside or outside. i think it is a great milestone, a great day. it has been made possible by the extraordinary success we have had in vaccinating so many americans so quickly. to date, we have given out 250 million shots in 114 days, and we are seeing the results. cases are down and 49 of the 50 states. "new york times" has reported that hospitalizations are the lowest they have been since april, 2020, over a year ago, right after the start of the pandemic. deaths are down 80%. and also at their lowest level since april, 2020. as the virus tragically rages in other countries -- as other

nations, even wealthy nations are mired in the challenges of slow vaccine rollout and poor economic conditions as a result, things are very different here. host: that was the president on may 13, 2021. here we are, july 29, and the cdc is saying now even if you are vaccinated you need to be wearing -- put your mask back on if you are indoors. the cdc also yesterday saying that the coronavirus saying it could be just "a few mutations away" from evading the vaccine. here is jen psaki talking about responding to the cdc's new guidance. [video clip] >> when president biden was presented with this guidance from cdc, what was his reaction? he welcomed the guidance in may? what was his reaction this time?

how concerned was he when he was told about this? secretary sake: -- sec. sake: concerned in what way? the president has always said he would be guided by public health experts, the cdc, and what doctors are recommending. it has always been the case. there have been discussions for months now about what steps should be taken to protect from any evolving virus. >> he did not specifically talk about maybe the administration should start worrying about how this impacts messaging, the work you're doing on the ground -- did he have anything to say about that? sec. psaki: no. he looks at this as the president of the united states at a time we came in with a dangerous distrust in science, government, institutions, he

felt it was important to be led by data, scientists, and will be leading the efforts to implement this in federal government. host: the white house spokesperson yesterday. the scene and reporting the -- the white house -- cnn reporting the white house and president feel as if he has hit a brick wall. joe. you say you are going to put it on. caller: yes, i can. let's put it this way -- if it comes down to a choice between listening to the medical professionals like dr. fauci, dr. walensky, and all of the other doctors that have been telling me information about this, and fox noise, i am going to listen to the doctors and not the geniuses that fox news -- at fox news.

for the people that say no, i want you to do the story. my wife is a cancer survivor, she is compromised. i am fully vaccinated, but i will wear the mask for her. i looked the caller that said we are all in this together and he is doing it for others as well as for himself. this mask -- it is a fact that mask will not protect me from covid. the vaccine, if i get it, it means i will get a mild case of it, but i could still bring it home to my wife, and like i said, she is compromised. i like all of these people out there that are saying no -- i would like them to have a little talk with their children, with their relatives, some of them they be also compromise like my wife. hear it from them whether they

want him or her to wear a mask or not. there is still -- too much mimi me -- me, me, me -- this is not a personal issue. it is a health issue. anyone should suck it up and mask up. host: here a headline from "kansas city start," the hospital morgue fills as the vaccination declines. danny says wearing a mask by those who are vaccinated is a considerate and nice thing that people are doing to save the lives of those that are not vaccinated. the unvaccinated should return the courtesy and get the shot so all of us can remove our masks once and for all. darrell in pasadena, california. darrell, why won't you wear the mask again? caller: darrell, -- yes, i am

not going to wear the mask, i am not going to where the -- be a lemming. and when the less time five chi or belinsky has seen a covid patient, and if everyone is so concerned about covid, they should stop all of the illegal immigrants coming across the border with covid and i don't know what the percentage is. i thought you were supposed to be on partial, by the way, with this program. caller: well, i ask people where they get their information to other others -- others can hear where it is coming from. or what evidence they have. caller: obviously you are not looking at the news or the cdc report. host: there is a cdc report about illegal immigration? caller: no.

they are too ignorant to report the fact. all you have to do is see what is across -- coming across the board -- almost one million people have come across the border and most of them have not been tested and if they are tested positive they are still testing them -- sending them across the border. host: let's go to rose marie, st. petersburg, florida. you say yes, rose marie. caller: yes, i said yes, because i trust and i respect dr. fauci and his colleagues, and i am sick and tired of people trying to put that man down. he is a scientist. i blame donald trump for many of this. as far as blaming people on the border, we always want to blame the less fortunate for what happens in america. i think america owes everybody. if they came up with a vaccine, it was fast, yes, because we have brilliant scientists, and they are trying to help us. then you have these people who

are so full of hate they just want to hate everything that is not their way. i believe -- let kick covid's ass, get vaccinated. we want to have our cake and eat it, too. i just think it is wrong. host: ok, rose marie. james clyburn, member of the house them a credit leadership tweeting out "i commend the cdc for upgrading the guidance on mask wearing two curves the highly infectious delta variant. this underscores we have the tools to protect americans against covid-19, safe and effective vaccines. get vaccinated to reduce the threat and move our country forward. michael in florida saying the delta variant is rising and following the mask recommendation will help reduce transmission and protect lives.

get vaccinated, he says. thomas mackey, republican -- queen of hypocrisy -- host: marco rubio saying if 90% of covid deaths are among the unvaccinated, how does wearing a mask for the vaccinated make sense? if you thought it was hard to convince people to get vaccinated before, how about now that it still means wearing a mask? caller: i think the very fact that biden is not serious about it, and if he was serious he would stop the flow from covid coming in from haiti, india, guatemala, everywhere. you heard him saying the virus is raging in other countries and

his solution is bringing it all here. he just dumped three plane loads of children in tennessee and school starts in a week. these kids have scabies, headlights, have not been treated or tested for covid, and he is dumping them on our kids, sitting next to them in school. he and harris said they did not trust the vaccine -- she said she would not trust anything trump said. these people that talk about hate, the woman from florida -- their hate is based on their hatred for donald trump and what he did to this -- 40 did for this country. host: let me read from "wall street journal" restrictions for migrant families at u.s.-mexico border won't be lifted as covid cases surge. the biden administration will continue to block migrant

families from seeking humanitarian protections at the southern border according to people familiar with the matter, reversing course after initially claiming to exempt families from the public health measure. the decision comes as large numbers of migrants including families and children crossing the mexican border daily. at the same time, cases among -- of covid-19 have been spiking, adding to concerns about easing border restrictions. earlier this month the administration extended the border closure until at least august 21, setting a rising infection rates. the department of homeland security did not immediately respond to a request for comment. the plan was initially driven by pressure from a federal lawsuit brought by the aclu. the lawsuit is before a judge who has previously ruled in the aclu's favor. even as the administration prepared to lift the order, officials warned that doing so

could result in a surge of migrant families crossing the border. hundreds of families and children are taken into the -- into custody each day. officials are trying to implement new measures to stop families from coming, but some worry that measures would be too harsh. that from "the wall street journal" yesterday. tricia from glendale, arizona. you said yes. why will you put the mask back on? caller: we don't have a playbook for this and i have to believe in what the scientists and educated individuals are saying about this. this could end very badly for mankind. i think we all have to put together, do what is right, and take the advice of the professionals. none of us are that smart. to make this a political issue is ridiculous. that is what it is turning into. it is going to be mankind's demise. this is nuts. host: ok.

we told you that tensions were rising on capitol hill yesterday between publicans and democrats over the new guidance from the cdc, but also the house and the senate chamber -- the house chamber at least requiring the masks go back on. kevin mccarthy, the republican leader of the house tweeting out at 10:29 on tuesday -- "make no mistake the threat of bringing masks back is not a decision based on science, but a decision conjured up by liberal government officials who want to continue to live in perpetual pandemic state. take a look at "political" headline, reaction from the speaker of the house, pelosi and mccarthy trade barbs over a return of the house mask made it. the speaker called the republican leader a more on after you put the tweed out. here is what she told reporters about her more on comment.

[video clip] >> just to clarify something from earlier, is kevin mccarthy a moron, and if so, why? speaker pelosi: i said before science, science, science -- on almost every subject you can name science is the answer -- whether it is the health crisis, our preeminence in the world in technology, science, science, science. to say that wearing a mask is not based on science i think is not wise, and that was my comment. that is all i am going to say about that. host: back to your calls. david and george appeared you say no to putting the mask back on. good one to you. caller: good morning. and thank you for "washington journal." i say no, but i am an elected official, so if our mitigation

team in our county decides to go to a mask mandate i will have to follow it in certain places. however, i come from an industry's whose main safety focus was breathing protection. most of our safety meetings, and i was a safety director, a-team safety captain for years and years. these masks do no good whatsoever. there is a reason there is a disclaimer on the mask boxes and boxes. not to be considered breathing protections. we try to them to americanize. it is a lot easier to wear a simple mask than to have a fresh air attachment to you or a charcoal-filtered respirator. we tried them all -- and 95 from every bit of them -- none of them work.

so, to actually tell people they have to have a vaccine in order to beat this thing and then tell them months later they have got to continue to wear masks is absolutely crazy. you have so many lives coming up. i said my local board of health committee, too. it is very disheartening to see the lies being spread. rochelle walensky, a few days ago, said that the seasonal flu didn't have near as many deaths in the car -- as covid deaths in children. that is not true. her own cdc data says that is completely opposite, what she said. mr. faucher, -- mr. faucher she, i cannot -- dr. fauci, i cannot take advice from him because he is complicitous.

i wear a mask when i have to. even though i said no, have to follow certain rules. host: david illinois says yes. the virus is dynamic, not static, and must be assessed as it changes. idell in springfield, illinois. you say yes as well. caller: let me get something straight here. kevin mccarthy is a moron. moron is a person who lacks good judgment. about 150 my people are vaccinated in this country. about 100 million people are not. those who are dying, 99.5 percent of them are the unvaccinated. what is happening now because of this delta variant, it is spreading amongst both the vaccinated and unvaccinated.

vaccinated people are not dying. like with the new york yankees baseball team, a bunch of them got it. none of them got sick to the point they have to go to the hospital. what is the recommendation -- everybody wears a mask -- let's contain it so that we do not keep repeating the same virus amongst each other. internationally we have this data from the u.k., even belgian -- the delta variant was in both places, but what did they do -- they started putting the masks back on. the u.k. has now opened up, and so is israel. this is the precaution so the virus does not spread again and again. the whole point of wearing the mask is to prevent the spread of the virus. those who are vaccinated are protected both by having the vaccine and the mask. that is my point. host: before you go.

are you still there? caller: i am, and i have a second point. host: listen to this, get your thoughts on this and our other viewers. here is the opinion section of today's "usa today," they say "so much for carrots on vaccination, time for sticks. the president should order airlines require passengers to show proof of vaccination to fly, citing his authority over the faa interstate commerce and similar restrictions on interstate bus and air service. airlines process nearly 2 million passengers a day. the president must act to increase the number of young adults vaccinated, only about 30% of whom have received a shot. hundreds of colleges are requiring in-person attendees to be vaccinated and he could boost this but we do see loans and proof of inoculation. private companies must make that -

equal opportunity commission says the federal law require -- allow such restrictions. take a look this headline in wall street journal -- google, facebook, they are going to require -- there it is. they are going to require shots as well. do you think it is time for sticks? caller: i think private companies have their own liabilities they are protecting. the federal government, we have been this for one and a half years. i think we have another booster shot going. we have to encourage the unvaccinated to get vaccinated. my nephew is just going to high school. he got his chickenpox, mmr,

hepatitis. that is a public high school. that is what they recommend, what they require in order to enter. you can slowly go in the direction of what new york is doing, and mandate certain people get it, and if they don't, they must show that they are not going to be present with the virus and spreading the virus. my other point was going to be -- i think i took too much of your time, but i do believe we need to bring out those people who were against the vaccine, like alabama, missouri, arkansas governors, sean hannity, and some of these people that were against the vaccine. if you put them together and said this is going to save your life, and vaccines are saving lives. 99.5% of the people that are dying today in this country are the unvaccinated. it is a protection for yourself, but you cannot convince people

against their will. caller: i will leave it there. senator ted cruz of texas reacting to the cdc's new guidance and opposing it. pres. trump: -- [video clip] senator cruz: i think the guidance by the cdc to reverse guidance and mandate masks for vaccinated people is the kind of decision infuriating people across the country. i believe the cdc's decision yesterday was politics. it was not science. it was a decision that somehow pretense vaccines don't work the cdc months -- work. the cdc once ago rightly concluded vaccinated people do not need to wear masks because the whole purpose of the vaccine is not to get the disease. that was right. the science has not changed.

the only thing that changed is the politics. a year and a half ago the cdc was one of the most respected executions in the country. today it is in tatters because leadership of the cdc has been willing to allow science to become politicized. host: senator ted cruz yesterday. teresa in bloomington, indiana. good morning to you? caller: hello. i will not take the coronavirus. i was exposed to it the first february when donald trump put a stop to everybody going. he was a xenophobic. the most hatred spewed out of the democratic party and adam kinzinger of illinois.

why don't we look into the corruption of illinois. you have open borders. when we live our kids everywhere, we go to jail. if you are illegal, you get rewarded -- education, free schooling and -- on taxpayers. you want me to take a coronavirus shot when they want all the side effects like a woman losing her legs, being paralyzed on the right side -- why aren't we being told the side effects. everyone is saying they are not -- they are dying because there unvaccinated. there are underlying issues. we are never going to know the proper status and people's death if we always tag it with corona. my mother passed away with cervical cancer, it was breast cancer. if we say everyone has died from

coronavirus, we will never get a proper number. host: all right, teresa. you are looking at headlines from across the country on the new cdc guidance and the latest on the coronavirus pandemic. that one right there from "hartford current." we will continue to show you those as we go to shirley in ohio. you say you're going to put the mask back on. caller: yes, ma'am. i have never taken my not good i have common sense. i have worn my mask since it started. i did not stop when they told me i could take my mask off and go around other people. i see people that have had -- haven't had the shot, and ohio, not going to take the shot, and our hospitals are filling up. i live in a small place in our hospital is filling up with people that are getting a second

variant, and i don't know how anyone can look at that ugly ball on tv day after day and not think maybe i will go get one of those sticky looking things on me. i support the scientists, the doctors -- i do not believe the likes of ted cruz, marco rubio -- florida is overflowing with covid patients, and marco rubio is preaching against wearing a mask. my grandkids, they are 17, 15, 16 -- they go to a private school. they said we where i -- our masks to school whether they tell us to wear our masks or not. too wet so much, greta. you're such a beautiful lady, and i love you and i love c-span. caller: you too, shirley. have a good day. this is from the alabama website -- more than 900 people are in hospitals because of covid.

it is a number the state has not seen since february as the state sees a surgeon virus cases. there were 947 covid 19 patients in state hospitals monday, up from 204 at the beginning of july. the latest number is about one third of where the state was at the peak of the pandemic when there were 3000 virus patients in state hospitals. james. walden, new york. you say no. welcome to the conversation. tell us why. caller: i am not going to wear a mask anymore because it just came out in the news this morning that biden told the border patrol to not say anything about the surge of the covid -- 900% surge in the covid cases came out this morning. host: where did you see that this morning? caller: it was on the news this morning. host: can you tell me the

source? caller: fox news. biden covered it up just like cuomo did in new york. the other person in new york said let's not make this political. it is political now. i will never wear a mask again. i was wearing mask spirit i will never do it again. not with illegals pouring through that have the covid. look at that in texas -- they are in the restaurant, sneezing, coughing, and a person called the cops, and they had the covid. so, no, sorry. host: here is the fox headline -- covid cases in the rio grande valley surge not had percent as covid cases -- 900% as covid cases continue to rise. host: patty and mechanicsburg, pennsylvania. you say yes. caller: yes, i am basically

going to repeat the ohio caller and i never took the mask off. i think probably only 50% of the population is vaccinated, and when you walk into lowe's for a grocery store, 90% of the people in their, customers, do not have a mask on, so just do the math. people are not using the honor system -- at least 60% of those people are not vaccinated. i think you need to think of others. you need to think of the health care workers that have been working in hospitals, and also what is this going to cost our health care system? lastly, this is a mean thing to say, but i am to the point where i really have no compassion for the unvaccinated. if that is the path you have

chosen to go, if you get sick or die, i say that is a good way to thin the herd. host: kenyatta. buckeye, iowa. you say no. caller: i am actually kenyatta calling from los angeles. host: those two places are very far apart. caller: yeah, they are. a little bit. i say no, greta, and this is a deeper issue than the politicizing -- the crux of this, i think, is that the american people have totally lost faith in the media and the government, and people don't know what to believe, and trying to implement things and calling people names only sharpens the resolve of those that are reluctant to take the vaccine in the first place, and it is really ironic, anecdotal, and

public 10 gentle, but right now after 20 years plus in afghanistan, the united states is pulling out, and our number one the war started one of the things that started, the freedom of women because they were wearing burqas and so forth, and here we are in the united states having to wear the equivalent -- not really the equivalent, i am being satirical, but to go to the grocery store. the irony is breathtaking. host: tim in kentucky says my wife and i were vaccinated in the spring and -- and it never stopped wearing a mask because those that refuse to be vaccinated must take care of ourselves. caller: good morning. my question is what is the really big deal about wearing a mask if it saves one kids life -- one grandparent's life,

whoever? what is the big deal about wearing a mask? give me a break. host: andy in california. bill from vermont. he says no mask mandate here. we have 80% vaccinated. david and french lick, indiana. you say no. welcome. we lost david. jim, stanton, michigan. jim. hello? caller: good morning. i've taken both of the pfizer vaccinations, but i did not take it for the so-called patriotic reasons. i am the president and founder of the trident group, and intelligent agency, the trident center for oppositional research, the independent news agency. we go and confront in the public

town hall and the only way to be able to confront town hall with candidates is to have your vaccine because they will be limiting you and that faction. we supposedly got a president elected to resume campaign, and i see that on the agenda right now. host: a we will go to gregory -- we will go to gregory in a text from california -- yes, we have to follow the latest science. it is selfish to not want to save a life and arrogant to think we know better than the medical committee. marshall. no. caller: yes. good morning my question is they want us to get the vaccine, yet they are letting all of these immigrants come across the board or don't have it. that doesn't make no sense at all. why should we get a vaccine if they are letting all of these immigrants come across that they

are sending out all over the place and spreading it. something has to be done there. host: ok. we have heard several calls on this this morning. later on at 8:30 a.m. eastern time, we will talk to rep. cuellar:, democrat -- henry cuellae, and wer will talk about this issue. brenda in madison, illinois. you say yes. caller: yes, i am going to wear the mask to protect myself because the people that get the vaccines are probably the ones that are giving it that don't have the vaccine. i am not vaccinated, but i am wearing the mask to protect myself. host: ok. we are going to keep talking

about this issue this morning -- up next, drexel university's robert field will discuss the legality of vaccine magnets, and as he said, texas democrat henry cuellar will talk about the latest concerns on ♪ ♪ announcer: sunday night, gary ginsberg, author of "first friends." >> i have been fascinated by the presidents since i was a kid. and as i grew, i worked with campaigns and i noticed a dynamic between the leader's best friend and the leader

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close friends on u.s. presidents, sunday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern. you can listen wherever you get your podcasts. announcer: "washington journal" continues. host: robert field is here to talk about the legality of vaccine mandates. professor, first, let's talk about the word mandate. what does it legally mean? guest: what you want it to mean. it means different things in different contexts. a community government directive that you have to have a vaccine or pay penalty. it can mean a private business saying you have to have the vaccine to work there or enter the premises, without a legal remedy. so, it really means different things in different contexts.

overall it means you have to be vaccinated or pay some price. host: is it constitutional? guest: again, it depends who is doing it. the basic answer is yes. if a private business does it, it is absolutely constitutional. if the government does it, then they have to deal with equal protection and due process, if they are taking away a right. but right now, we are not talking about government mandates for the general population, we are talking about some states mandating it for certain types of workers and the federal government mandating it for certain types of workers, but we are not talking about the general population. host: google and facebook, those companies are going to require shots. guest: right, those are private employers. a private employer can decide whether terms of employment are

-- what the terms of employment are, as long as it is not discriminatory based on race, religion or disability status. you can set the terms, you can say people have to wear jackets and ties to work. you can say that men have the come in clean-shaven. you can set any reasonable terms you want. any court would say requiring vaccinations is reasonable. host: can you penalize workers? vaccine skippers face work penalties, this is the headline in russia. but apply that to the u.s., can you penalize a worker? guest: you can tell them they are not with a job anymore. you could say, if you come into the office, you have to be vaccinated or else you are not allowed to work here, the same as any other condition. you have to show it by 9:00 a.m. or you will lose your job. you have to dress appropriately,

or you will lose your job. that is the penalty in most cases. it's not really a penalty, but it is more an accommodation to say if you have not been vaccinated, then you have to wear a mask or put up with regular testing. that would be another consequence, but i would not call it a penalty. host: has there ever been a vaccine mandate from this country across the board from our government? guest: there has been for schoolchildren. there is. there have been for more than 100 years. to attend school in every state, you have to have a series of vaccines, including polio, measles, there are about 10 or 15. now different states have different rules. some have opt out for religious objections, some do not, some for philosophical objections, but every state has an opt out for medical contraindication if

you are potentially at risk, but aside from that, and they vary quite a bit. states and cities have had mandates, not federally through the whole country. famously, cambridge, massachusetts had a mandate around 1900 during a smallpox epidemic that all adults be vaccinated, that led to a supreme court case in 1905 that upheld the ability of governments at various levels the mandate vaccinations. host: since we are looking at headlines, this one says get vaccinated, or get out, mandating shots in corporate america. if you have religious the reasons -- religious reasons, what legal recourse do you have? guest: religiously, there's a federal law that prohibits the ability of governments to impair your religious practices. there is the american

disabilities act, which says that actions by private employers, or private businesses, cannot discriminate based on your disability. but there really is no legal argument against it. the one exception would be states like florida, which have banned private businesses from requiring proof of vaccination. but in other states, if your employer says you have to be vaccinated, or if a business says you cannot shop here for you cannot watch a movie in our theater, then you really have to either put up with it or take your business elsewhere. host: let's go to billy in brooklyn, he is joining us for the conversation. what do you think? caller: what conservative or party in the world, apart from the american gop, has party

members that openly trash vaccines? you can name dozens of gop officials who openly trash the vaccine, like rand paul -- who else? a number of politicians. and, look, the mainstream media will never point out the genocide-like strategy to destabilize the economy and make sure biden cannot open the economy to its full extent, therefore sabotage his chances at reelection. so, i am wondering why mainstream media will never point this out. host: what are your thoughts, professor field? guest: there is resistance and other countries. we have seen that in england and in france, resistance to lockdowns and mass mandates. i am not aware of other politicians or other countries

who have been questioning the vaccines themselves. i think that that is uniquely american. and particularly echoing politicians -- the politicians echoing conspiracy theories about how vaccines can hurt you, how they do not really help. i think that is distinctively american. host: i want to point out this headline, to that caller, the leader of the republican party in the senate is blaming bad advice for lower vaccination rates, and he has said repeatedly that he is encouraging people to be vaccinated. did you have a thought? guest: i was going to say that recently we have seen many republican politicians come around. the governor of alabama, even, is blaming unvaccinated people for the recent surge in cases,

so the tide is beginning to change. but i think that some politicians will not accept vaccines no matter what. host: this is from the usa today, they say, so much for carrots on vaccinations, it is time for sticks. is this legal for the president to do? they suggest he should order airlines require passengers to show proof of vaccination to fly, citing his authority over the federal aviation administration. they note he could also do this for a bus and rail service because of the interstate commerce aspect of our country. 2 million passengers go through the airports every single day, does he have the legal authority to do that? guest: he does. there's a question as to whether he would have the authority to have a general mandate, that all u.s. citizens have to be vaccinated or pay a kind of

penalty. but in specific areas, the president does have authority. interstate commerce is one of them, and the other is over aviation. and just as the federal government can require that you go through a security check and that you refrain from bringing certain items on board, the government can say, well, you have to show you are not a disease threat. so it would be in his authority. it probably would be for cruises and for interstate trains and buses. and for other specific areas. but, again, if it were a general mandate for the whole population, that would be a different story. host: richard, south carolina, you are next. caller: professor, you said that -- yeah, you said he has the

authority to do that, except for a mandate for the public? guest: he does not for the general public, but he would for specific areas. the federal government has authority, generally, over activities at that cross state lines. and the president has authority, executive authority, over certain activities like civil aviation. so, just as the federal government, by regulation, can say that you cannot carry a pocket knife on board an airplane. they can say you cannot carry your unvaccinated breath onto an airplane. host: richard? what's your question. caller: my question was -- uh,

do -- i forgot what i was going to ask. host: we will go to ike in north charleston, south carolina. caller: good morning. i would like to point out to the listeners, the republicans are so big on their right to work law, that your employer can fire you for anything, so you got what you wanted. also, i want to ask, can you expand on the idea of the macro picture of this whole thing? i know people are concerned about inflationa nd shortage of goods -- and shortage of goods, etc. people worldwide do not have access to the vaccine, or their infection rate is so high that our supply chains have been disrupted, including in this country, and i want to point out to the people listening the more of you that do not get the vaccine and do not wear a mask, you are responsible for everything hitting the fan in

this country because we do not have the workers. by the way, does the international commerce -- or the interstate commerce thing, would he not have the ability under national security to say to the truck drivers transporting fuel and food that they have to be vaccinated? guest: the president does have national security authority. i think it would be politically very contentious for him to use that to expand mandates beyond and like interstate travel to interstate trucking, but potentially he could use that authority and require interstate truck drivers to be vaccinated. i wanted to pick up on a point you mentioned about other countries that do not have access to the vaccine and have high case rates, and the u.s. until recently had seen a decline in case rates.w

we have strong evidence that vaccines work. the high vaccination rate that we have, it is not perfect, but it is almost at 70%, like we wanted. it did correlate with a dramatic declines in case rates, hospitalizations and a deaths during the past -- and deaths during the past six month or so, so we know it works on an individual level and for the overall population. in terms of how far the president can go, as i said, legally there are many activities and business activities that he does have authority on through regulation or executive order, but there is also political pushback. even though i think the vaccine doubters are a small minority, if the government became too intrusive, you could risk strong political pushback, and that could then jeopardize more of

the activities. host: could a state legislature ban a vaccine mandate? guest: they could not ban an action of the federal government. the federal government, under the constitution, is supreme over the states. so they could not ban a mandate order airplanes -- for airplanes. we have an interesting case in florida regarding cruise lines, where the cdc has advised that before people can get on a cruise ship, they should have to show that they are vaccinated and the legislature of florida, with the governor's concurrence, has passed a law that says that private businesses cannot do that. and that case is currently in litigation. for the most part, though, a state could not supersede the federal government. it could, however, if the

federal government has not entered that turf, ban mandates, passports, which florida and several states have done. there's an interesting twist to that in that a cruise line, an airline, private business -- an airline are private businesses, so the anti-mandate laws are infringing on the ability of businesses to businesses as -- to do business as they think best. but some states have done that. and as long as they are not interfering with the federal government, yes, they can do that. host: another headline from florida says, one of the school districts says, the kids, when they come back in the fall, have to wear a mask. guest: yes, all of this litigation is going to play out

and it will help to define the different responsibilities. i would guess, and this is just a guess, that in florida the state would have precedents over -- over local school boards, but we will see as that goes through the courts. i think the most significant windows involve the cruise ships. and -- most significant one does involve the cruise ships. host: bernie in -- ernie in pennsylvania, question or comment? caller: both. i have a comment and two questions. let me complete my thoughts. host: hurry up. caller: everybody jumps on board with the same message. at no time have i seen an

alternative doctor to get onto challenge -- they do not have anyone challenge the official narrative. and my two questions, one, would you take a vaccine if -- do you know what the ingredients are? and why would you take it if y ou do not know what you are putting in your body? women's rights say my choice, my body -- where are they at? whatt happened to hooters and people -- host: what about a person's choice? guest: you raise a good point. we have a general rule in the

world of ethics, and in most legal settings, that your personal autonomy reigns supreme. as a general manner, you are free to turn down any medical intervention that you do not want, even if it is lifesaving. for example, we have had a few cases where somebody has gangrene and if their limb is not amputated they will die and they have the legal right to not have that amputation, even though their life is at stake. that right, that respect for liberty and freedom, which we all hold dear, is not universal. it can bump up against the rights of others, to be safe. so we see that with the school mandates, telling children that you cannot attend school until you have this 10 or 15 different

vaccines, because if you are not immunized against polio, measles and various conditions, you are a threat to your fellow students, your teachers and the general community. covid is, as we know, a very serious disease. over 600,000 americans have died, millions have died worldwide. so, we have a classic conflict between everyone's freedom and liberty, but our right to not be threatened, to not be put at risk by someone. if someone has active tuberculosis, they cannot get on an airplane. i imagine it would be the same on a cruise line. so, there is a balance. if covid was not as severe as it is, then the balance would go the other way, towards liberty. in terms of all the ingredients in the vaccines, i agree. it gives me pause, and i work in

public health. but i cannot know the ingredients in everything i adjust. do you know the ingredients -- ingest. do you know the ingredients in every drug you take? even something as benign as tylenol as all sorts of fillers. most of them are --, but it has many of those. if you take a statin, there's many additional ingredients, and unless you are a pharmacologist, you probably would not be able to make sense of the ingredient list. so for me, and i think for most people, it is also a balance. there's ingredients there that could present a long-term risk. we have studied these drugs carefully and we know the risks that exist are pretty unlikely, and most of the side effects are fairly benign, a sore arm,

feeling feverish for a day or two. and we know that covid kills people. and we know that even for people who do not die from it, it can be debilitating and cause long-term devastating effects. so for me, just as i would take an antibiotic, a statin, tylenol, without knowing the ingredients, i would take the vaccine because i know that it has been tested, the fda has reviewed it, and the risk of covid is so severe. host: tricia in michigan, good morning to you. caller: i want to know why -- or is it even legal for them to mandate, because it is still under emergency use -- guest: i'm sorry, are you finished with the question? host: go ahead, that is a good

question. guest: that has generated a lot of legal discussion. the statute that permits the fda to issue emergency authorizations is unclear about it, but the general thinking has been confirmed by the eeoc, the department of justice and other agencies, is that it is legal. that we have seen a sufficient level of federal oversight. this whole issue may go away in the next few months, because pfizer and moderna have applied for full fda approval, so within the next several months it's likely that that no longer will be a concern. host: ashley in new york. caller: good morning, i would like to preface my remarks by saying i am vaccinated. i was in a risk group. and i was a health care field provider for almost 44 years.

my first comment is about your comments saying other countries, how they have responded and other vaccination rates. in australia, they have a population of 25 million, and they have chosen to lock down. only 14% of the people in australia have gotten vaccinated. they are what you would consider and have access. -- anti-vaxxers.i am not that way but i am pro information. i think that there are many cases of reactions and we should look at the fact that there are people who have natural immunity because they had covid. and making people who have had covid, that have antibodies, take the vaccine is -- it goes against all the things i know from health care. why put those people at risk,

especially if they are young, healthy people? for example, young women trying to get pregnant, why should they be mandated by their jobs and outside agencies without all the information that we need, number one? and two, when they are at the least risk? the numbers do not support in young age groups, children, dying and having terrible experiences. the children that did die died as a result, most often, because they had underlying illnesses. the whole concept of mandating and forcing people to do this, without providing appropriate information -- every drug, you talked about ingredients in drugs, but you take any kind of drug, including talent all as you mentioned, and you can see a list as long as your arm about

everything in it and what will happen. every side effect ever reported to the fda is absolutely listed. so you need to make sure that before we do all of this mandating -- host: we understood the point. go ahead. guest: if you want to go to the fda or manufacturer's website, the differences we have decades of experience with tylenol, but less than a year experience with the vaccines. if there are long-term side effects, all we can do is see what we know as of six months or however long it has been, this is the situation. so, unfortunately, we have to balance a lot of unknowns. it's not always possible to have perfect information. the other point i would make is we are not mandating this for your benefit, we are mandating this for the benefit of the rest of us.

if it is a matter of the individual being saved from the disease, then the mandates are rarely justified. the issue is, even for children, can they spread covid? that is the reason for the mandate, to protect everyone else. host: going back to usa today, they say the president must act to increase the number of young people, young adults, only about 30% of whom have received their shots. hundreds of colleges are requiring in person students to be vaccinated and he could have an effect on student loans as a way of promoting covid-19 and alkylation. -- covid inoculation. can he do that? guest: legally. my school, drexel, has a mandate. but i think that that would be a

major step politically. i think that biden has been trying to soft sell this as much as he could, using carrots instead of sticks. the delta variant, i think, has changed the equation. withdrawing federal support from schools that do not mandate would be a major step, bu incrementally he ist upping the ante. host: rose in huntington beach, california. caller: good morning. first of all, i have been vaccinated. but my comment is, in california, i know for a fact you are not allowed to go anywhere if you smoke. you cannot smoke indoors. the reason, i'm sure, is because secondhand smoke harms other people. we've all accepted it. so, mandating -- you have to mandate some things if you want

things to get better. that is the way i think of it. as far as employers mandating vaccines, they could fire because it would be the at will employer act. guest: at will is a doctrine in almost every state and it says you are working at your will and the employer's will, and as long as they do not fire you for disability, they can decide they no longer need your services and that is the end of it. smoking is a good analogy. private businesses have been able to tell people you cannot come on our premises if you smoke. employees in almost every workplace are prohibited from smoking. also, if you go in a store near the beach that says no shoes, no shirt, no service, that is perfectly legal to say we do not want people bringing saltwater on our premises.

the same is you can say, we do not want them coming in and possibly exhaling covid particles. so we do have those. host: we saw tensions on capitol hill over the cdc's new guidance on masks. we are expecting the president today to require federal workers to be vaccinated or go about weekly tests, does that man lawmakers on capitol hill, the members of congress, have to prove that they have been vaccinated? guest: potentially, yes. congress sets its own rules, so the president does not have authority over that, but nancy has mandated masks on the house floor. she says that three republicans are suing her for that. that would be up to congress, since congress sets its own rules. it could impose on itself a vaccine mandate. host: we will leave it there,

professor robert field from drexel university, thank you for the conversation. come back again. next, the discussion on issues along the border between the u.s. and mexico with texas democrat henry cuellar. we'll be right back. ♪ announcer: on saturday, technology reporters discuss the future of the tech industry and congress's tech agenda. >> you look at the priorities dominating congress, you have seen the pandemic take over, and for structure taking over now, but there are big tech topics that have attracted interest that are not front and center. that includes a section 230 debate, data privacy is something that was hugely front and center in the tech space in 2019 to 2020, initially. but those things are off to the side right now.

they are important, but there is not a consensus proposal out there in either chamber that has -- is going to move. announcer: the future of the tech industry, saturday at 6:30 p.m. eastern on "the communicators." announcer: weekends on c-span2 bring you the best of nonfiction books in american history. on saturday, at 1:00 p.m. eastern, parents, educators and dependents have long discussed how history should be taught in schools. this week, harvard university's daniel allen and mark powerline debate annuity sheet of -- to be a new initiative that was funded by private foundations and the federal government. at 5:00 p.m. eastern, an iraq war veteran talks about his service in the u.s. army

national guard during operation iraqi freedom, as well as his time in afghanistan. watch american history tv every saturday on c-span2, and find a full schedule on your program guide, or visit c-span.org/history. ♪ announcer: we continue with "washington journal." host: we are back with congressman henry cuellar, a member of the appropriations committee. you represent the border area of laredo in texas. we always appreciate your time. we've had many calls this morning about the surge of immigrants coming to the southern border with covid. what can you tell us about that? guest: we are seeing record numbers coming to the border. in the lower rio grande, the southern part of my area, we saw just last week over 20,000 individuals that came in.

the border patrol are at capacity, there are just so many people coming in at the same time. the ngo's are overcapacity. the catholic charities and other groups have too many people. and, certainly, there are people who have tested positive and there has to be a better way in how we look at this situation. i've been asking the administration, but with all due respect, they have to prioritize the border communities because they are facing the brunt of what is happening, and the men and women who work at the border. host: would you agree that covid cases among migrants surged 900% in the rio valley? guest: i do not know if it is 900%, but i can tell you that there are larger percentages of immigrants coming in with covid,

that have tested positive for covid. keep in mind, the majority of the folks coming in are mexicans, but usually they return. and then central americans. if you look at the top 10 countries of people coming in, you will see people from romania, cuba, ecuador and other places. the majority are still mexicans and central americans, but the ones staying are mainly central americans. host: if you cross the border and you are apprehended, does the government testing for covid? guest: the government does not do that. they send them over to the ngo's, the nongovernmental organizations, and they will test them at that time, but the u.s. border patrol will take all the precautions to make sure that those men and women are safe, tell immigrants to wear

masks. but i have to say this, even with precautions in the valley, we had 70 last week, edie this -- 80 this week of border patrol men and women who have tested positive. they are self-isolating. so even with precautions, they are getting the covid-19. host: we have also heard from viewers that these people that are apprehended, they are then let go and allowed to travel in the united states until their court date. even if they have covid. is that the case? guest: the ngo's are supposed to test them. if there is a problem, they isolate them. they are supposed to follow that process. they are supposed to follow that process. and, again, if a place is -- d

oes not have the capacity. i know in the past the border patrol would drop them off at bus stations and, um, but now they try to work with the local communities, the ngo's, to get them tested. or even with the city to get them tested. they are trying to do that, but if there is overcapacity, large numbers of people coming in, you could see how difficult it is for the communities that i serve . there are three actors at the border -- you have the immigrants, the border community, then the men and women from homeland. and i think the administration needs to prioritize the border communities and men and women in the green and blue, who work at the border. host: this is a headline from a local cbs station, a south texas police department issues a public health announcement after covid migrants are seen coughing

and sneezing at a local restaurant. the charity groups housing them. they were asked to leave, they were not wearing masks. so what is your reaction to that? guest: i am not happy about that. that happened in my district. and what happened was the catholic charities sent them over to a hotel, the texas inn, did not tell -- or did not communicate with the local officials, the police department, put them there. there was nobody to watch them, so they were dropped off to self-isolate through the honor system. and then they started walking the streets and going in, and this caused great concern. yesterday i was on the phone with the county judge, the county commissioner from that area, and the local officials

from la jolla. they are not happy. i keep telling the administration, there are people who are not happy there because of this policy that the administration is allowing to happen. there's too many people. we believe in illegal migration. we do not believe -- in legal migration. we do not believe in illegal migration. what happened was the ngo dropped them off, no communication, and i can tell you i had a phone call with them yesterday. they were not happy campers. an i have a phone call with thed chief of border patrol and local officials from different counties, including that city, la jolla. so, we can talk about the situation. but again, the administration needs to prioritize border communities and men and women from dhs. someone needs to have their back. we cannot give priority to the migrants.

we cannot just listen to the activists. we need to start listening to the border communities and armed men and women on the ground. host: wall street journal yesterday, restrictions for migrant families at the border will not be lifted, as covid cases search. what is title 42? guest: it is a law that originated in 1893, codified around 1904. it's the reason for expelling people. when something comes in, you use title 8. you process them, then deport them. title 42 is a health reason that you have people and you can expel them. they do not come in, you do all the paperwork. there are two different ones. people say it is a trump policy, no, it is in 1893 law. so the cdc uses, that for

health. either the cdc has been at the border, or they will be down on the border to look at what is happening. in my opinion, we should keep title 42 because right now, we are getting this overflow. imagine if you took out title 42, where you cannot quickly expel people back. we would have a much more serious problem at the border. host: virginia in full or a republican. -- in florida, a republican. caller: yes, i have some questions. i had questions for the earlier person and i could not get through. i will state my questions anyway. why these vaccines, when we know that a court can works -- pr esident trump had it and he is fine.

why -- the labs and warehouses, wherever it is, and are they investigating? just before the vaccine broke -- or the covid broke out. why can't we have alternatives to these vaccines? why these vaccines? host: i will ask the congressman, do you think the president needs to do more, under his authority, whether it is using the interstate commerce or his authority over travel in this country, to boost vaccinations? guest: the president has done a good job in moving the vaccines to the arms of the individuals. the number of vaccinations and people vaccinated has been raised, but there are still people who have not been vaccinated and we need to get to that herd immunity. areas like the border areas, we have, for example, we have

higher percentages than the state or national average, so there are areas that do a better job of getting people vaccinated. but, you saw the president say that federal employees should have the vaccine or get tested. so, we have got to tell people get vaccinated, because on this recent surge, most of the people that end up in the hospital are the people who have not been vaccinated. if you ask for a vaccine when you are in critical care, it does not help you at that time. host: an independent caller from staten island. caller: my question was for the last guest. my question is i understand you cannot sue vaccine companies for an adverse reaction. if your employer mandates you to get a vaccine, can you sue your employer if you have an adverse reaction?

thank you. host: congressman? guest: i think that that professor would have been in a better situation. i know that one of the things that, you know, under the pandemic there's sometimes things taken into consideration because of the emergency. but i will leave that to your former professor, the law professor, to answer that. host: bruce in michigan, a republican. caller: how are you doing? first of all, i will say that i think the forrester vaccination and vaccine passports being rolled out in europe are turning us into slaves. and i recommend everybody to read "moss and the iron lung." it is not the virus, it is things like gmo foods that are

ruining our gut. host: a question or, about immigration on the southern border -- or comment about immigration on the southern border? caller: i do have one. the open border policy has put u.s. citizens last. and i've made it clear i have nothing against illegal immigrants, but we have 35 million american citizens unemployed right now and my conclusion was every illegal immigrant needs to be sent back. right after i wrote that article -- set up that video, youtube tore it down. there's been protests in europe, hundreds of thousands to millions of people in london saying they do not want to the vaccine. and we do not want -- need these illegal immigrants. host: the white house, the

president has availed their immigration strategy. what do you like about it, what do you not like about it? guest: i have looked over it. there's a lot of long-term good things there, working with central american countries like we do starting in 2014, trying to get people to apply over there. there's a part about accelerated deportation. but again, if somebody asks for asylum or they claim credible fear, they can go through the process. keep in mind, if you have 100 people that ask for asylum in front of an immigration judge, 88% to 90% will be rejected. so my question is why are we allowing people to come in, when only 10% to 12% will ultimately be allowed to stay? we have to change the process.

i've told the administration over and over, look at what president obama and jeh johnson did. jeh johnson did it in a good way. he was compassionate, but he followed the law. if somebody had to be returned, they showed that deportation. if i asked any of your viewers now, you have seen people come into the united states. have you seen one single person be deported? no, even though we expelled hundreds of thousands of people. you have got to say it and show it to get that message to the drug cartels that are charging $8,000 a person to get them here. they are being enriched right now. and you pick about the immigrants and what they go through, think about what happens on their routes -- there's horrible things that happened to them on the way

here. so, we have got to have a good policy. it's a good step, what the white house is doing. but i think we need to do more. host: lies their resistance to showing deportations -- why is there resistance to showing deportations? guest: they do not to offend the left or the activists. i tell them, you cannot only think about them, you have to think about the border communities, the people i represent. you have to think about the men and women at the border in dhs. somebody has to have their backs, the backs of dhs employees and also the border communities. you cannot prioritize the immigration activists, they do not want to offend them. but if you look at the national polls on how the administration is doing on immigration, it. is a high negative -- it is a high negative. they need to listen to the

people at the border, who have seen like i have, a surge. the surge of 2019. now the surge of 2021. we will have over one million people we have encountered at the border. host: how many people come to the border a day trying to get apprehended, or not? and how many people are deported every day? guest: it depends on what area. i'm talking about the lower rio grande, which is the epicenter of texas. there you could have 2000 or 3000 people a day. last week, we had over 20,000 people. now, the majority of them will be returned under title 42 or title 8, the laws that expel and deport people. a lot of people are deported, but they do not show a single image. they are afraid to show a single image of somebody being deported.

you have to show that, so people know we do not have a speed bump at the border. we have people who will follow the law. somebody needs to be returned, they are returned. host: tell us what it looks like when they are deported? what do they do? guest: there are two ways, either you work with mexico, or if they are from another country you have to coordinate with those countries and they will be returned. many are just returned to mexico, so our relationship has to be very clear with mexico. if we cannot send people back, it will make it difficult to expel people. it that relationship with central america and mexico is so key. host: judy, a democratic caller. caller: good morning, my question is the 20,000 people

that you said just came in, are they considered legal or illegal? documented or undocumented? what is the difference? do you have any idea how many illegal people are coming that are not detected, that have covid? thank you very much. guest: well, thank you so much. there are three profiles of individuals and that come to the border. if you are an unaccompanied kid outside a border country like mexico or canada, border patrol will hold them for 72 hours or so, then they are given over to the office of refugee resettlement, which is with health and human services. then they will be taken and they

will find a sponsor or family member. mexicans and canadians are treated differently. the whole world is treated where they basically come in. then you have single adults, they are usually returned back quickly. then you have family units. that's what we are seeing now. somebody figured out if you bring a child from somewhere else, you will be allowed in. they found a loophole, if i can use that term, to come in. they are processed by border patrol, they are important to -- they are put into an ngo, then they are taken to a bus station or airport and in the fly or get in a greyhound bus and they go to all parts of the united states. those are the three different profiles. and if i can give you another characteristic, you have people that turn themselves in.

they are not trying to escape from border patrol. they will say, take me, here i am. then they are processed as they come into the united states. then you have mexican adults that are trying to evade and trying to get away from border patrol, that's the other profile. so, every border patrol sector has different areas. some have haitians and cubans. in the radio area, is mostly mexican -- laredo, it is mostly mexican single adults. so, it depends. when they come in, they are undocumented. once they go through the process, they have to go in front of an immigration judge and the judge will say, go or stay. remember, if you have 100 people asking for asylum, most of them will be rejected.

about 88% to 90% will be rejected. but why are we allowing 100% in, then we have to find those people? one last point. what's happening because of the overcapacity, border patrol is using a control discretion. they are not given a notice to appear, but told on the honor system to go before an i.c.e. office, then they are supposed to be given a notice to appear. if you use the honor system in the immigration system, it usually does not work out. and many people are not even showing up. host: patricia in california, texting a question, "ask if it is true that border patrol agents have died of covid due to close contact with those at the border?" guest: some have.

some have died because of covid-19. we do not know if it was because of covid-19 because of immigrants or from somewhere else, but have we lost men and women because of covid-19? absolutely. host: leslie in virginia, a democratic caller. caller: good morning my think you for taking my call. -- mo rning, thank you for taking my call. is there some reason we would not mandate a johnson & johnson vaccine for these folks that want to come into our country? that would be one-shot. they do not have to get the second. that would be helpful. guest: as you know, right now our first priority is to make sure all americans have the vaccine. the u.s. has worked with mexico and central america, and they have sent millions of vaccines to those countries. when an ngo, when somebody

crosses over the border, the border patrol does not provide vaccines, but you do have a some of the ngos that will help with testing and possibly the vaccines, also. there's a percentage of those immigrants that do not want to take vaccines, like we have americans that do not want to take vaccines for several reasons. mandated, that might have to be considered, but like we do not mandate the whole u.s. population for vaccines, that has not happened. but the ngos work very hard. they are overworked. but they help on the health side. host: rick, savannah, a republican. caller: good morning. it's good to see you, greta. i just need to ask this gentle man.

we had a stay in mexico policy that was taken away, and that really hurt. my question is, you have an administration that really hurts your credibility down there, letting everybody in. it looks like in chicago, washington -- it looks like a war zone. and i wonder why anybody would vote for a democrat in this moment. what they are doing at the border and around the country is putting americans last. guest: well, i respectfully disagree. we do have a democrat president, joe biden, who i supported. we have a house that has a democratic majority, so the voters did show their preference as to the democratic party. in this case, in my opinion the

administration needs to do an adjustment at the border. it's not a war zone. i do not know exactly what city you are from, but if you compare the fbi stats on rates for murder and assault at the border, the average united states -- the u.s. average of murders is five murders per 100,000, at the border it is two per 100,000. in laredo, you will have two or three murders per 100,000, but when i come to washington, d.c., it is higher. the most dangerous thing for me is coming to washington. i'm not talking about the politics, i'm talking about the fbi statistics on crime. it is not a war zone, i can tell you that. we do have the issue of immigration. do we have an immigration crisis?

yes. is it a war zone? i disagree with a gentleman. host: let me get your reaction to these numbers. this is from axios. 50,000 migrants that crossed the border illegally have now been released in the u.s. without a court date, although they are told to report to an enforcement office instead. just 13% have shown up so far. this is from customs border protection, this is for the month of june, title viii apprehension was around 84,000. title 42, which we talked about, expulsions, around 105,000. guest: this is what i mentioned a few minutes ago. when somebody comes to the border they are traditionally given a notice to appear a year or two years later.

i have been fighting. i added another 100 immigration judges. we need more so the immigrants are given their day to either stay or go back. the discussion has been used by border patrol, too many people coming in. to do the depository and the less time than the paperwork to appear. i don't blame the men and women at the ground. they have no other choice. what happens, her numbers show 50, there are actually over 55,000 that have been released. a number of people have not shown up. i asked the administration for those numbers.

they still have not given me those numbers. they are getting released on the honor system. will you please show up and there you will get a notice to appear. i told the administration over and over again. they have to change course on border restriction. they have to look at the playbook that secretary jeh johnson and others had. president obama, you have to follow the law. i disagree with this prosecutorial that is really over 55,000 it does not really work in the immigration system. a democrat of texas, represents

the border area, thank you, sir. host: we will take a short break. we will return to your questions . will you put the mask back on? the cdc says even if you are vaccinated should wear one indoors. we will be right back. ♪ >> david stewart use to practice law in washington, d.c. he gave that up over 15 years ago to write history. his first book was all about the constitutional convention in philadelphia called the summer of 1787. that was in 2008. a year later he wrote about the trial of andrew johnson. next, james madison. now in 2021 he takes a look at

george washington and in david stewart's words, his mastery of politics. >> on this episode of book notes plus, -- weekends on c-span two, every saturday you will find events with people in our nation's past. on sunday, book tv brings you the latest in nonfiction books and authors. it is television for serious readers. learn, discover, explore. weekends on c-span two. washington journal continues. host: we are back.

the federal government has said ascom, mask off. now they are saying mask on again. we want to hear from you this morning. are you going to follow the new mask guidance? >> with change, the virus has changed. the recommendation of the discussions we were having months ago that the cdc was facing it is what was called the alpha variant. the delta variant has the very unusual capability of spreading much more easily than the alpha. the other data we have right now is when people get breakthrough infractions, when they are vaccinated and they get infected even when they have a situation where they have advanced disease, they clearly could

transmit it to other people. this is not a common event. it is a very unusual way it occurs. when you have vaccinated people who might have a breakthrough infection, a scientific fact, it is for that person -- reason the cdc made the change in recommendations and did just as you correct the stated said that if you are vaccinated, if you are indoors you should still wear a mask. host: dr. anthony fauci on pbs. are you going to put the mask back on? you say yes. caller: good morning, greta. i was fully vaccinated back in april. i haven't taken my mask off

until i get concrete scientific proof that we are all going to be safe. i don't see what the problem is. i will keep my mask on even though the cdc has been yanking us around like yo-yos. i will still wait for their expertise to say mask free. host: our next caller says yes as well, good morning. caller: good morning, how are you? host: i'm doing fine, you will keep the mask on? caller: absolutely. i became vaccinated two weeks ago. i was fully vaccinated, i wear it indoors and outdoors. i don't want to get sick at all. i wear it in and out. host: you just got fully vaccinated, was there a delay in

you getting vaccinated? were you hesitant? caller: i was never hesitant. i wanted to become vaccinated real quick because i did not want to get sick at all. host: all right, leonard, you say no. welcome to the conversation, tell us why. caller: hello. host: you are on the air, you won't put the mask back on? caller: i will not. how many times in my supposed to trust the government and they keep lying to me? i could take my mask off, i can't catch a disease or spread the disease, i say no. host: you went and got vaccinated? caller: yes. host: the federal government says you need to get a booster shot, what will you do?

caller: i will probably get the booster shot but i will not put the mask back on. host: listen to the reaction on capitol hill by republican congressman chip roy of texas. he came to the floor to oppose speaker pelosi announcing that the mask has to go back on in the house chambers. >> we have a crisis at our border and we are playing footsie with mask mandates in the people's house. it is absolutely absurd what this body is doing to the people's house. it is embarrassing, a mockery. they want to go back to life, business, school. to be put in a corner, to have mental health issues. the speaker comes down here at 10:00 in the morning saying we have to wear mask in the people's house? we have thousands of people pouring across the border.

we have the new york times today , what a mess. cdc about to reverse on indoor masking the vaccinated. this is some serious nanny state stuff. no kidding. consider resentment being magnified right here before the house of representatives. host: from the house floor yesterday, congressman, chip roy. let's go to kimberly in california who says she will be putting the mask back on. why don't we show what the papers are saying. caller: i'm vaccinated, fully vaccinated, i got vaccinated in march. california isn't well vaccinated and it does scare me. i will definitely where my mask.

i have children who are not old enough to get vaccinated. if the kids go back to school and they were to get infected and they came home and infected me, or someone who isn't vaccinated, they would feel horrible. my granddaughter was 14 at a very small school. it was a public school but i live in a very small town. they wore masks all last year. they got through it. they will do it again. kids are resilient, they will bounce back. i hope we all wear masks for their sake and for the people who cannot get vaccinated. host: we are seeing that on the papers you are reading. school district across the country saying kids will have to

wear masks when they come back in the fall. here is kathy in georgia. those of us who follow mitigation protocols have to call -- continue wearing masks because of the unvaccinated and unmasked. isaac in connecticut. caller: i will not do the mask. i will not do the vaccine. i'm not participating in the pandemic. i feel it is all bs. any concept of a vaccine passport is unconstitutional. it is a vaccine contrition. it is self-incrimination.

the absence of a vaccine would prove it would be unconstitutional under the fifth amendment. host: do you plan to travel on an airplane, bus, or railway? caller: those are private entities. i do understand that private businesses can -- they have limited ability to require certain behavior. all you have to do is try and apply other things.

it would just sound ridiculous. host: usa today's editorial board said it is time for sticks. the authority over the federal aviation administration would require airlines to mandate their passengers show proof of a vaccination and under interstate commerce laws with railways. caller: whatever it takes to get rid of this covid we have to do. vaccine, smaller crowds, i don't want to die. host: jeff in ohio. james in maryland, james is a no.

caller: most definitely a no. this is not nazi germany, this is not the ottoman empire, this is not busy. i'm not throwing a diaper over my face. i'm not going to get vaccinated. i am not participating at all. host: when you go to the store, what will you do if they require a mass? caller: i will not support that establishment. i will support establishment that don't require me to do that to buy their goods. host: the president is going to require covid vaccine or regular testing for federal employees. harriet in florida, you are a no, good morning. caller: good morning you sweet

little princess, how are you today? host: i'm fine. caller: yes you are fine, go ahead. host: i'm going to go on to wayne in new jersey. caller: i made no. -- i am a no. the reason i went on the trial was i wanted to make sure other people could take it. i have copd. i have a hard time breathing. i'd suffer when i have to put a mask on. now they want me to go wear a mask protect them. when i have to wear masks, who

is protecting me? if these people don't want to get a shot, that is their choice. it is nobody's fault but their own. my one granddaughter does not want it. that is your choice. host: bill in pennsylvania, you will put the mask back on, why? caller: i had the mask on this whole choice. 20 years ago my wife was in the icu and i tell you, she was incubated for 10 days.

she was in the icu for five weeks with the ventilator. when you see that, you do not want to be in that state. we are talking about public health here. you have a right not to wear a mask if you want to be that foolish. what about everyone around you? it is not that hard to wear a mask, it really isn't. if we had 80% or 90% of the people in our country who wore masks, we could probably get rid of this fairly quickly. that is all i have to say, thank you. host: more of your calls coming up what we will turn to the news on capitol hill. a bipartisan infrastructure deal

struck by a working group of republicans and democrats where 10 senators working together to reach a deal. we have a reporter with national journal joining us this morning. what is the price tag of this agreement? guest: roughly $1 trillion. roughly half is new spending. this bill is the largest in american history for infrastructure spending, roads, bridges, there is a lot in this bill. 10 core senators, a group is set as high as 22 has spent the last couple of weeks to hashing out this agreement. there was this announcement at the white house. they reach a deal in principle,

they came out and said we have a deal on the remaining agreements any minute, any day. it will actually lay out what is in that agreement. host: 17 republicans joined all 50 democrats in a procedural vote last night. explain why that vote was important. guest: that was a procedural vote. they have to take a number of procedural steps before they continue. by friday at the latest senators will be able to vote to take the legislative bill and the plan is to take whatever agreement they

came up with and replace it with the house bill and be able to amend it and pass it. host: what role did mitch mcconnell lay in last night's vote? guest: he did vote to move forward although it really wasn't clear up until a few hours before hand how he was going to vote. they are keeping talks very close to the vest. they will brief mcconnell on major negotiations. they didn't announce they reached an agreement on these last remaining disagreement -- remaining agreements. he has not been one of the court negotiators. he hasn't weighed in publicly on it since he took president biden to task for potentially threatening to veto the bipartisan infrastructure bill

if he doesn't get a reconciliation bill with the remaining democratic priorities. host: they passed this bipartisan part of the infrastructure proposal. there is a second part to this. what would it do? guest: senate democrats on the budget committee announced a proposal talking about $3.5 trillion budget revolution -- resolution through the reconciliation process to announce the rest of the american families land covering things like childcare, health care, senior care. more environmental or climate provisions. they have been especially eager to get that done. under beck -- budget reconciliation, one of the few times the senate could pass something and not worry about a

filibuster early threshold republicans could use to block legislation. chuck schumer has been working on the two track process, the reconciliation deal on another track to keep a very fragile coalition of moderates and progressives together. how speaker pelosi has said the house won't pass the bipartisan bill until it passes the reconciliation bill. posting schumer are working together -- hello see -- nancy pelosi and chuck schumer are working together to make sure that get is -- gets to president biden's desk they will pass --

guest: it does mean they will have to negotiate with joe manchin and other moderate democrats to try to crack this proposal. the $3.5 trillion number was among members of the budget committee, bernie sanders and senate majority leader chuck schumer. it will need all 50 democrats to support the final provision. once it is passed it goes to the committees to hash out the remaining parts of this. the budget resolution serves as the top line. they said it would play a large role of democrats had any hope of laying -- getting the budget reconciliation bill through the senate. host: similarly to see the late john mccain and give a thumbs down to a health care proposal pushed by his republican

president, you could see this arizona democrat come to the senate lord and give a pump down to a democratic president and what he is trying to push. guest: democrats have done a good job of keeping all 50 of them in line on all proposals that have come through including last nights bill that some progressives are not a fan of. it is competitive. it has only had two democratic senators for a couple of months. she sees it in her interest to take this larger infrastructure bill, it will have some larger tax hikes. the reason republican will not be supporting it.

they will be able to get all 50, if that doesn't happen this time around it will be a big loss or schumer and president biden. host: raising the debt ceiling, what will happen with this? guest: it is early on considering the government is rapidly reaching the point where it won't be able to pay its bills. the debt ceiling is like rational law that state united states government cannot have more than a certain amount of debt. once that point is reached, treasury secretary janet yellen could extend to a point when the government won't be able to pay using extraordinary measures. senate minority leader mitch mcconnell found it likely --

they will have to do it through this reconciliation asset. they said they might vote for a debt ceiling raise that has included with fiscal reforms. that gets the government paying bills. things of those nature. democrats have shown little interest in negotiating on those so far. as senators have said, they are not interested in negotiating on something. caller: i'm going to be 86 in two days.

i have never had a flu shot. i'm not on any medication. i don't trust the government. there are news reports today on the cdc that said florida had close to 400 deaths. i contradicted that and they got back on the news and said that wasn't true. the cdc is calling everybody's death as covid. we have less than 100 deaths here in order. that is the headline i got today. i have friends that start out with one lousy problem.

it gives them half a dozen side effects. they got those side effects. those side effects need more pills. they keep giving pills that gives you side effect. that keeps the pharmaceuticals and business. they distribute and they sell to the doctors. people end up -- i'm 86, i don't take any medication at all. i ride horses and have my own motorcycle. i'm fine, i'm good to go. that's why i won't take one of the shots. host: thanks. i forgot to thank zach for the information he provided us on infrastructure area we are talking about the cdc's new

mask guidance. whether you will be following it. mark, you plan to do so. caller: good morning to you. i do plan to do so, thank you for asking. if they asked me to get a booster shot, i will do that, too. i want to be a team player. the mask has bad optics. it is a penalty or penalizing. i believe there is some science behind it. i also stopped going to restaurants for a little while. there is a restaurant that has closed for some covid issues as well. my government in a whole is

doing a pretty fair job at this. host: thanks, we will go to connecticut, you say yes as well. welcome. caller: yes, i am. i am leave act and it is. i go into the supermarket or the doctors office. i never stop wearing them. i came up during the aids epidemic. i had a job that was titled hiv intervention specialist. people like myself went into the community to educate people. we tried to break down this

information and understandable tones for the majority of the population in the country. these things are complicated. they need to be broken down in a way that you understand and it makes sense to people. all i say to everybody is stop politicizing. look at science. if you have questions, go ask the doctor. somebody's opinion on facebook doesn't have a medical degree, doesn't know anything. we will be the cause of our own destruction. the example is this new variant. covid, the first round we had was the awful. we have a new variant that is hundreds and hundreds of times more contagious because we don't have enough people vaccinated.

what happened with the next variant, how much more dangerous will that be? host: let me show you this from business insider. the cdc saying the coronavirus could be a few mutations away from evading vaccines. david in south carolina. i practice hand sanitizing every chance i get and try not to touch my face. for that reason i wear it sometimes to placate this misinformation. the president in mid-may marked the cdc guidance at that point that set of your vaccinated, you could take the mask off. if you are indoors, here's what he had to say. president biden: just a few hours ago the sinner for disease

control intervention, the cdc announced they are no longer recommending that fully vaccinated people need to wear masks. this recommendation holds true whether you are inside or outside. it is a great milestone, a great day. we vaccinated so many americans, so quick. today, we have given out 250 million shot and 114 days. we are seeing the results. cases are down in 49 out of 50 states. the new york times is reporting hospitalizations are the lowest they have been april, 2020. over one year ago. right after the start of the pandemic. deaths are down 80% and at the

lowest levels april, 2020. as the virus tragically rages in other countries, as wealthy nations admire the challenges -- are mired with slow vaccine rollout, things are very different here. host: the president, just a couple of months ago. the cdc this week saying if you are vaccinated and you are indoors, put the mask back on. here is the press secretary responding to the new got. >> one president biden was -- when president biden was presenting this guidance, what was his reaction? how concerned was he when he was told about this? >> concerned in what way?

i would say first that he was going to be guided by public health expert. there have been discussions as you would expect for months now, from the beginning about what steps need to be taken to protect from the virus. >> he did not explicitly talk about maybe they should start worrying about the work you're doing on the ground? did he have anything to say about that? >> no, that is not how he looks at this. as the president of the united date -- united states, we came into an institution with a mistrust in science and he felt it was important to be led by data and science to implement

this at the federal government. host: white house press person yesterday talking about this cdc guidance. we are turning to all of you, our last hour to find out if you plan to follow, yes or no? will you put the mask back on? caller: hello. i don't care how much they say about covid-19 and delta, i applied c-span or bring it up until it becomes to a decent level. people are really dying. i trust senators and congressmen to make the right decision. just from a common sense standpoint, i don't care if you

are 86 years old and you take no pills -- no pills. you should not tell other people to not get this shot. i don't want somebody else to get it from me, just common sense. host: here are more headlines around the country about the cdc's and the pandemic. caller: you promise not to cut me off before i get through? host: go ahead. caller: do you promise not to cut me off before i get through? host: after you've made your point we will move on. caller: i don't trust cdc. i don't trust about you. they flipped back and forth too many times.

they don't know what to do. i'm not a sheep. i will not follow everybody else area i'm 84 years old. i had lung cancer in 2009. i am healthy. i don't know how you feel but i trust jesus christ. i am vaccinated by the blood of jesus christ. we need to trust god and he will take care of all this covid. that is all i have to say. caller: thank you, i am a combat veteran.

i guess people don't understand how respiratory virus, how contagious it could be. i am keeping my mask on, i don't care. even when they told me not to take it off -- tell me to take it off. in my community, people were married -- wearing a mask. the kids at school in my district. it became an issue. i'm trying to make a comparison to people that cover their heads. there is a racist undertone and all of a sudden when the virus hit, they want you to put back your mask and there allowing you to cover your face. i'm wearing a mask inside, outside, staying away from major gathering.

my neighbors are catching it, they are passing away. it doesn't make sense not to cover your face and mouth. host: here is doug and marilyn texting to say putting the mask back on is not an issue with me. what is bothering me is mixed messages and no data to back up the cdc announcement. charles in florida. caller: i kind of want to put this question to everybody that voted yes, i do wear a mask. with the biden harris administration's immigration policy, the tens and thousands of immigrants across the border. we will never get rid of this

virus. i would like comments to come back on that. host: bernie in new york, you are yes. caller: that is correct. it has nothing to do with the cdc. i'm going to be wearing a mask under circumstances, the rest of my life. no matter what happens with the covid-19. if you walk into a concert or go to a high density of, i will wear a mask. i don't want to catch a cold. i don't want to catch any kind of infectious disease whether it is covid, a cold, tuberculosis. i don't have to worry about what the cdc says.

i spend sometimes two or three weeks with a cold. who needs it? if i am outside walking or engaging in a large atmosphere where it is small, i might not wear a mask. if i walk into a movie house and have to sit next to someone or go into a ballpark or concert, i am wearing a mask. unfortunately, 600,000 people in this country either didn't wear a mask or died from this thing. i would like for someone to explain what god did to help them? host: larry, you say no. caller: i have to wear a mask with my job. it doesn't bother me.

you really have to hand it to tucker joe, doing a fantastic job. people are dying every day. you want to make something up. host: sylvia in virginia, you say yes. caller: thank you governor northam or keeping a safe through this pandemic. yes, i wear a mask. i had covid i had to wait 90 days for my vaccine, i went and got it. i thank you so much for keeping us safe, thank you so much. host: why do you plants with the

mask back on when you go indoors? caller: the few things i like to say, i believe most people in our country have common sense. if you don't have common sense, you can't walk out the door without getting in trouble. i have a brand-new granddaughter. getting back to mask or no mask, the science is always changing. i believe the scientists are learning like anything else in this world. just because things have changed , that doesn't mean that science or the political aspect of this is trying to do something that we should not do. as far as religious concern, if that would be the case we wouldn't have cancer. host: you are for putting the

mask back on area we do before the president trying to get more people vaccinated by mandating the airline requiring you to show proof of vaccination before you can travel or any other interstate travel? caller: that's a good question. my wife travels for living. i believe that mandating that is not only to protect the people that work for the airlines but also to protect people in and out of the airline. god for bid you go on to do your job. recently my cousin's friend, she was told not to wear a mask. just a week ago one of her close friends got it and within a

couple of days died. i just tell people use your common sense, get the shot. where the mask when you need to indoors and let's go forward with our lives. host: mitch in new york, you say no. caller: i am generally against -- [indiscernible] host: catherine in new jersey. caller: i called you back in march, i had just gotten the shot. i put my earrings on and my mask when i go out. i'm a nurse, i know the importance of wearing a mask. host: thank you.

linda, in michigan who is a no. caller: hi. i don't like the idea that it is a mandate. that is why i am answering no. i do keep one with me in case i can't get in somewhere. i don't think it is really that big of a deal. what concerns me is the mandatory having to get a shot. host: eileen, cleveland, ohio. you are yes. caller: yes, i am a yes. i don't wear the mask for me. i wear because this is going to do terrible things to the unvaccinated. i am thinking about everybody when i put that mask on. not just myself.

it is all about i, i, i've. what about the united states of america? when we first got the polio vaccine, people couldn't wait to go get it. if you don't care about your kids, what do you care about. we have to start thinking about we and not just on. -- not just i. i'm 81 years old and i'm not just thinking about me. host: kathy in california is a no. how do you respond to eileen? caller: good morning. i have not called in four years area the reason i'm calling right now is the mask is very dangerous. you need to research how many have died from wearing the mask. my girlfriend just died.

she did not get the vaccine. i'm appalled. they basically killed this woman. the last conversation i had with her she said they are killing me. she's dead. i can't wear the mask. i cannot have more than 12 medication. i'm 67, i'm not your normal 67-year-old woman. 50 years ago i was a teenager and i started smoking cannabis. i can't have medication. doctors hate me. they have to have a special medication. the mask will kill you.

host: laura, when you heard about the cdc's new guide, what was your reaction? caller: i'm going to take it. they are scientists. i do not make decisions based on this, i'm not a doctor. i believe we should wear the mask now. it is very dangerous. i recommend it for other people. i have both shots. guess what? i did fine. i will not put other people's lives at risk and be selfish like most of these people. thank you. host: yes, i will definitely

continue to wear a mask, i never stopped wearing one. i'm ready to take a booster if needed, they gave us a free mind to do what is needed. get vaccinated and ask up so we could move on. rudy in texas, what do you say? caller: thank you for taking my call this morning. i say no, simple reason is the president wants to get federal employees vaccinated where he can't even get people coming into our country illegally to get vaccinated. if i go to another country, i have to follow their rules about vaccinations or shops they may need.

our president wants to mandate federal employees. i say our president, i didn't vote for him. he still is my president. i wear the mask because i am 63 years old and i have some that are cool problem. people in south texas are just frustrated with what is going on at our southern border. if all of these illegals were coming into our country in washington, d.c., it would be different than them coming into the country in south texas. host: rudy, from texas, listen to what your senator had to say

in reaction to the new mass guidance. caller: i think the decision -- >> i think the decision by the cdc to reverse its guidance and mandate mask for vaccinated people is the kind of decision that is infuriating people across this country. i believe the cdc's decision yesterday was politics. it was the decision that somehow pretends vaccine don't work. the cdc months ago concluded that vaccinated people don't need to wear masks because the whole purpose of a vaccine is to not get the disease. that decision was right. the science has not changed. the only thing that has changed is the politics.

today, the credibility of the cdc is tattered. leadership at the cdc has been willing to allow science to become politicized. host: senator ted cruz of texas, ariel and marilyn, you say you will put the mask back on. i'm curious as to what you heard from senator ted cruz? caller: senator cruz is once again spreading misinformation. it means you just don't die. right now, we are in a phase where we have alpha, delta, lambda from the last time i checked. there are breakthrough cases where people are dying. we have lost so many people this past year. i was afraid this would happen

where politicians would be pushing to make us feel normal again. we have to end this and try to do right for each other right now. chip roy earlier, his comments really irked me. you are a leader. if you don't do your part and handle this situation because we have a virus, the virus keeps evolving. if you don't do your part to represent your constituents, they will be enraged, they are. i think there is a lot of this information going around. that woman said she lost her friend, that is why i'm wearing it. host: mike in pennsylvania, you are a no.

caller: i am confused. i heard senator cruz say this, i heard the president last week say if you are vaccinated, you can't get the disease. i don't know what is true and not true. host: iris in tampa, florida. did you ever stop wearing the mask? caller: absolutely not. in 2010, i went to mexico -- albuquerque, new mexico and i got very ill and i remember a church one sunday and i couldn't breathe. since then, every first quarter when you have the winds, i have always worn a mast.

i have been wearing a mask or 10 years. many people complain. i discovered if i am in the store after 45 minutes i run out of breath. i almost collapsed. i go outside. you have to use the common sense. like the flu, that virus develops rate every year you need to get a new shot in the same thing will happen with this covid. the other thing i am upset with is they have the nerve to say no mask or anything like that. thre -- there are laws in

every state. it is endangering our children. i have four grandchildren. i think they should be held to account because of all -- it is all political. some governments say i have children. it is mind-boggling that you should say that while you are endangering your own child. host: alice in florida, you already know. -- allen in florida is a no, how do you think about your governor has handle that? caller: perfect. the mask mandate for the children, i don't agree with that at all. those masks are just keeping those germs. if i'm going out and public and the company wants me to wear a mask inside i will wear it

because i respect their decision. i don't believe anything this administration tells us. they flip-flop more than a pancake. host: joyce in las vegas. you are going to put the mask back on. tell us why. caller: i wear the mask because i have been vaccinated and i believe the mask should be worn. i believe people if they want this country to get back together, we should wear the mask. young kids, we were all vaccinated. we took the sugar cube in school to get rid of things going around. host: the house is about to come in for their legislative session this running. thank you all for watching. we will talk to you tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. time.