recent article about gerrymandering. be sure to join the discussion with your phone calls, facebook comments, text messages, and tweets. "washington journal" is next. ♪ host: it is the "washington journal" on the last day of july. as of today, the eviction moratorium expires after congress failed to pass an extension to the program. president biden is calling on states to disburse the billions in federal aid still available. speaker pelosi placing the blame on house and senate republicans. republicans responding say more money could have been done to get the money to those in need. you can express your thoughts on the end of the eviction moratorium on different lines this morning. for those of you facing eviction, (202)-748-8000 is the

number to call. for landlords, (202)-748-8001. and all others, (202)-748-8002. you can text us if you wish at (202)-748-8003. post on our facebook page at facebook.com/c-span and you can use @cspanwj on twitter or instagram. "the hill" talks about the back-and-forth that took place in the final moments yesterday before congress left for its break, saying house democratic leaders failed to rally enough votes. just two days before the eviction ban was set to expire, they have no path forward on the issue after hours of inactivity on the house as they were to corral support for the legislative action. republicans objected and while

republicans objected to the passage on the floor, the house's inability to advance legislation was their inability to unite on the best path forward. they blamed it on the one short day notice they have been given by the biden administration. president biden putting out a statement yesterday, and it reads in part saying "as the eviction moratorium expires tomorrow, i, state and local governments to disburse these funds given to the imminent ending of the cdc eviction moratorium." they were eligible for an additional $21.5 billion pass in the american rescue plan. five months later, with localities across the nation showing that they can deliver funds effectively, there can be no excuse for any state or locality not accelerating funds. that was a statement from president biden yesterday about the end of the addiction moratorium. there is more yesterday at the press briefing.

the press secretary talking about not only the pending end of it, but also the next steps. here's a portion of that from yesterday. [video clip] >> we know that this has a disproportionate effect on those americans both most likely to face evictions and lacking vaccinations, and president biden would have strongly supported a decision by the cdc to further extend this eviction moratorium to protect renters at this moment of heightened vulnerability, but like we have said today, unfortunately, the supreme court has made clear that this option is no longer available. the supreme court's ruling stated that clear and specific congressional authorization would be necessary for the cdc to extend the moratorium through july. one of the things that i do want to say that we have been doing, we have had this whole of government affect to get the word out about the availability of rental assistance and support

grantees to ramp up focus because we know getting that funding to renters and landlords is incredibly important, so we have been doing that since day one. now what we have been saying is that we are going to work with congress to make sure that we are able to extend it. we support speaker pelosi in her efforts and what she is trying to do speaks to what the supreme court laid out and making sure there is a continuation of the eviction moratorium. >> that was more than a month ago, and you waited until this week to tell congress. >> we have been having conversations with congress for some time about this. this is something we have been working with them for some time on how we move forward, and, so, this is your going to continue to do that. [end video clip] host: with the end of the moratorium, can call and let us know what you think. we divided the lines differently.

for those of you facing eviction, (202)-748-8000. from landlords, (202)-748-8001. and all others, (202)-748-8002. you can send us a text, too, at (202)-748-8003. speaker pelosi putting out a statement yesterday saying in part, it is extremely disappointing that the house and senate republicans have refused to work with us on this issue. we strongly urge them to reconsider their opposition to help millions of americans join with us to help renters and landlords hit hardest by the pandemic and prevent a nationwide eviction crisis. they also called on local officials to take whatever steps necessary to distribute the rental assistance congress already allocated. one of those republicans responding was patrick mchenry, voicing opposition reportedly to the attempt of a unanimous vote yesterday, saying in part this is a full-scale failure by the biden administration that republicans have been trying to address for months.

he said when we make a promise to renters, it is our duty to honor it. that is why i sent a letter to janet yellen in may, demanding answers on why the right assistance dollars were not out the door. when she refused to provide answers, i, along with other members of the natural committee, introduced a protection act to get dollars into the hands of those impacted immediately two weeks before the supreme court ruled on the eviction moratorium. congress could have addressed this preventable problem a month ago by taking a bill. instead, they were focused on the partisan priorities. patrick mchenry talking about the eviction moratorium before it was in place. earlier this week, the subcommittee took a look at rental assistance on issues of eviction, and one of those speaking out was mark green. here is part of his statement from the hearing earlier this week. [video clip] >> the eviction moratorium is

almost identical to what government has done to health care. let me explain. as more renters are subsidized with government dollars, landlords, especially mom-and-pop small business landlords, who have one or three properties, they have to cost shift to other people. they cost shift to other renters and that drives up the price of overall rent. you add to that the inflation caused by the increase dollars in the economy with the current administration's economic policies rapidly increasing rates, rapidly increasing inflation, you basically get a horrible spiral that is occurring right now in our economy. and a tertiary effect is also possible or is also there israel -- there and rio. the small rental companies cannot generate the revenue to cover the losses. so, what do they do? they get out of business. the small companies get out of business and all you are left

with our large, huge rental companies because they can absorb the losses. let there be no doubt this is destroying everyday americans who put their savings into owning a rental property and driving the price of rent up, driving up inflation, and it is harming low income americans just like health care, just like government intrusion into health care. [end video clip] host: a few want to see for yourself, you can go to c-span.org to do that. larry starts us off from chicago, illinois, identifies himself as a landlord. good morning. guest: good morning -- caller: good morning. host: what do you think about the passing of this moratorium? caller: well, it is necessary for people who are really affected. however, individuals who say, well, abc is not paying, and i

have a not-for-profit or small business, so i should have the same thing, and what they do is they try to get money out of two or three different pots, the state and federal pots, city pot. there needs to be a real control. it should be there for the people who really, really needed, but there are a bunch of people who are trying to get over. host: since you identify as a landlord, have you been affected personally because of people not being able to meet rent because of covid related issues? caller: yes. host: and how have you addressed the problem with them? caller: they are the ones who really try to pay, you know? they anticipate problems in life

, and they try and pay. but there are individuals who have resources who are trying to get over the system. host: that is larry in chicago. joseph in boston, massachusetts, on our line for others, go ahead. caller: good morning, c-span. how are you doing? host: i am well, thanks. go ahead. caller: you know the problem in america is we have the tendency to demonize the poor and working-class. when we had the recession in 2008 and 2009, i wrote to president obama twice. he bailed out wall street and the big company, but he did not do that for the working class. there were 5 million family sent home. i was in saint port lucy -- port

st. lucie and so many people got evicted. it was not their fault. we have a tendency toward bad behavior on top. president obama bailed them out. ime trump supporter, -- i am a trump supporter, and now we have millions facing eviction. that is why we have a homeless problem. new york city has 70,000 homeless people, massachusetts, 20,000, until we give rewards to the working class and find a way to support the working class, things are going to get worse. host: what do you think about the passing of this deadline when it comes to eviction moratorium? caller: i think they should pass it. i think we should find a way to help the people, especially with the coronavirus. they are staying at home. if we spend more time, money and energy, people at the top had

feelings for the working class, we would not run into a problem with the moratorium. there is a way. america is the richest country in the world. we have got to change our whole mindset. host: ok, that is joseph in boston. just so you know, for those, for qualifications of the moratorium that were placed by the cdc, the person had to actively be seeking help for government help for housing, they cannot earn more than $99,000 in 2021, they were unable to pay due to loss of income, layoff, or extreme out-of-pocket medical expenses, and that they were forced into a shared living situation that would be a consideration for qualification. the cdc also specifying when it comes to the idea of rent, they

said this on their website, saying when the order expires, consistent with the applicable laws, a covered person would owe the landlord any unpaid rent or fees or interest as a result of their failure to pay rent. as of today, the order expires. congress not being able to pass an extension yesterday. you can talk about the political side of it or if you are a landlord, a line for you at (202)-748-8001. if you are facing eviction, (202)-748-8000. and for the rest of you in the audience, (202)-748-8002. we will hear from bill and sebastian, florida. you are next. caller: good morning, pedro. i do not see why the europeans are getting all sorts of subsidies when we are not getting anything basically.

what did he just give us? $300 a month or something like that? whereas the europeans are getting $1500 a month. i just do not see why there is such a discrepancy with the europeans and the americans on how they handle their situation. host: specifically to the moratorium on evictions that passed, what you think about it passing? caller: i am not in favor of anyone being evicted because of this crisis we are having now. i do not agree with that at all. i think there should be subsidies afforded to communities in this country. we pay our taxes. this happened. it is a health crisis. it should be handled as such. that is about all. host: ok, let's hear from rebecca in east st. louis , illinois, on our line for others. caller: you are for taking my call this morning. host: you are on. go ahead. caller: yeah.

i think that the only people that needs to be evicted are the republicans. thank you for taking my call. host: no, no, if you are going to call, you are going to comment on the stand, what do you think of the passing of the moratorium? caller: that is my comments, the republicans need to be evicted. host: we would go to joseph on our line for others in willoughby, ohio. go ahead. caller: good morning. i am a retiree, and i had a rental property. when all this started, my renters started not making payments. i still had a mortgage. and i ended up having to sell my home to one of these companies that rise up rental properties -- buys up rental properties and use the money to pay my mortgage , so, now i do not have that

many communion as part of my retirement. yeah, what are you supposed to do if you are a landlord? you are the one getting screwed. host: how many units did you have? caller: just one. host: and you are saying that was due to the moratorium itself is when people started not paying the rent? caller: of course. they do not have to pay. they knew that the government was going to protect them from being thrown out, so they quit paying. host: did you try to have negotiations with them or they with you about the partial payment of rent or anything like that? caller: i had a property management company that tried to talk to them. they basically said, hey, we don't have to pay because the government says we do not have to pay. right now, excuse after excuse not to pay. host: did you try seeking any state-level or federal level assistance considering your

situation? caller: we tried, but it was so bogged down in bureaucracy. i am trying to make mortgage payments, and i'm when broke -- i am going broke. host: that is joseph in ohio. "the washington post" highlights the fact that when it comes to the money set aside for assistance for either tenants or landlords under the cdc moratorium, it said six months after the program was approved, president trump in december, 12% of the first $25 billion in fines had reached people. according to the treasury department. it also said more than three months after president biden signed a march release package with another $21.5 billion for the program, even less of that has been spent. that is in "the washington post" this morning, and this is the passing of the moratorium. if you go to the cdc website,

they have a sample form for those who are seeking protection as far as the qualifications asking, do i qualify? they ask, if you can check at least one box in each column, you can qualify. in column a, it makes statements such as, i received a stimulus check, i was not required to report income to the irs in 2020. also in 2020 or 2021, i earned less than $99,000 as an individual or $198,000 as a joint filer. column b says i cannot make my full rent or payment because, my household income has gone up, my wages have been cut, or i have extraordinary out-of-pocket nickel expenses. that is some of the form -- out-of-pocket medical expenses. that is some of the former aide you can go to the cdc website to see the qualify nations -- that is some of the form.

you can go to the cdc website to see the qualification form. catherine, st. joseph, michigan, landlord. hello. caller: hello there. good morning. host: morning. caller: the gentleman from ohio basically is what happened to my husband and i. we had rentals. you still have got to pay her mortgage. these things do not qualify for us for paying the mortgage. i just think it is a little crazy, and i do not quite understand this because everybody needs to pay their rent. and what is happening is they are getting money and they are not paying their rent because they know they do not have to and that they cannot be evicted. i just do not quite understand how the government is just giving this money away but people who really work for their money, it is damaging them.

it is against them. it is not against the people who want to sit at home and do not do anything and expect the government to take care of them. there are jobs out there. where i live here in michigan, you can go downtown or anywhere in our area, and there are jobs. jobs wanted. and they are even giving them bonuses to work. it just makes no sense to me. why do we keep bailing these people out who want to sit on their butts? host: how many units did you have? caller: we had two houses, and we ended up selling them. it was a nightmare. it is not just the fact that you have to get your rent, but to keep them up. there are people who just damage everything. they do not respect anything. host: when it comes to those two houses, did any specific people

stop and approach you and said because of the coronavirus and moratorium, they are going to stop paying rent? caller: no, they just knew the government was not going to help us. and, i mean, the government should be helping us. we are the taxpayers. i am the one who is paying the taxes on that house. i am the one that is helping the government. and it is like they are against us instead of against the people who just want to sit around and do nothing. host: that is catherine in michigan. we will hear from john in boston on our line for others. hello. caller: i love c-span. this is the perfect subject to talk about today. that woman was right on. i was a worker my whole life, and i had some property. i am at the point now where life through a couple of left hooks, and i don't have much of anything. i am in the hud building.

the point i wanted to make waves even though i was in my early 70's, i wanted -- make was even though i was in my early 70's, i wanted to work to get myself out of the debt had. and you get penalized for trying to work. there are a lot of people out there, and in boston right now, everybody is getting postcards. the post office is hiring people at $19 an hour with benefits, and they are still not going back to work because the way the country is heading, it is a socialist system where everybody is leaning on the government to take care of them. host: in light of what you said, what did you think of the moratorium on eviction specifically in the first place? caller: when we went through this serious situation with the virus, i could seek some help. it is time for americans to go

back to work. i am not trying to be hot at anybody who falls in that category, i am on social security. i got a job for 14 hours a week -- 14 hours of work in a week, and i get penalized for that. and i want you to have someone on from hud who can explore that. host: let's stick to the topic, do you think the eviction should go forward, are you ok with that? caller: no, i think evictions, the law, just like the supreme court said, people have to go back to work at some point. enough is enough. we have gone through the disaster that we had for the past year, and now it is time

for people to get out there, get their jobs, pay your rent you have to pay, and get on with it. host: that is john in boston. we saw the figures of the dollars that were set aside under previous administration. the current one when it comes to assistance. "the washington post" highlights the issue some cities hiding in the dollars out there, saying los angeles stop taking applications after seven weeks because of unprecedented demand that far exceeded the program ending, according to a spokeswoman. north carolina officials had to hire an outside vendor to issue checks for thousands of recipients. the city of phoenix was overwhelmed by the number of documents that they needed to verify and stop taking applications online, routing people instead to a hotline. in other places, confusion. in georgia, including part of atlanta, received thousands of applications from people who needed to apply to the city of

atlanta for eight. the city of houston and harris county merge their programs to eliminate confusion. a move that ultimately made the program one of the nation's exemplars. there is a lot of information when it comes to the program itself on "the washington post" this morning in light of the passing of the moratorium today where the end of the moratorium as of today. you can call in on the line that best represents you. we set aside alignment for those facing eviction, (202)-748-8000. for landlords, (202)-748-8001. and for everyone else, (202)-748-8002. we will hear next from peter. peter is in hilton head, south carolina, identifies as a landlord. good morning. caller: thank you. i am actually a former landlord recently. you covered one of my two points about the volume of applications needed for individual rent relief.

it is unfortunate that because of the inefficiencies of government programs on the grander level, that they have to take on positions like ending evictions. my major point is that evictions take place in local civil courts. state and local administrative districts impose their own moratoriums on the executive branch and answer with no one. we do not converse with the public. even if the moratorium was lifted, landlords often cannot get their cases heard until some surprise announcement by the state or district administrative judge. so the politicians can talk about this, but it is not what happens in real life. that is all i have to say. host: what did you think of the moratorium on its own when it was first announced by the cdc? caller: well, it is like my first point, it is just a big slam.

it is not touch individual cases, and there are victims on both sides. so one-size-fits-all causes all kinds of hardships, particularly in this case for landlord to have obligations, and they have cost me plenty. that is why i am a former landlord. it is a fact of life i guess because government programs and individual applications are the way to go, but the government is not really good at these kinds of things. there's too much red tape, your accuracy, and everything else. it is a fact of life in washington, state capitals, and governments. the big moratorium, that is unfortunate. it is an imposition on free-market. it works in short-term emergency cases, but like the previous caller said, it is past time to

get to work. too many people take advantage of these things, and there are genuine dems. it is unfortunate -- genuine victims. it is unfortunate we have this program. it went on too long. people have to remember that this takes place in the courts. host: you made that point, so that is peter. this is chris in orlando, florida, saying payments should go directly to landlord to prove their tenants are behind in rent. apparently, these wages are not being used for rent. if you would like to text your thoughts, you can do so at (202)-748-8003. juanita is next from alabama on a line for others. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i agree with the lady from michigan who was saying people need to get off their rear and go to work. i have worked hard all my life. i would like to tell you a quick, quick story.

i live in a 55 or older senior complex. i am 66. i was on widow's disability social security. when i reached 66, they took me on. social security. my check, i had a raise. so my rent jumped from $331 to $443 because i got a raise. this is a complex for seniors. what i don't understand is how they can say it is senior living when they can go that high on your rent. host: so back to the topic at hand we are talking about, moratorium, what did you think about it in the first place? caller: ok. i think that there should be someone that does background checks to be sure that these people are not taking advantage, and there are people that take advantage. to be sure that these people are trying to go to work.

if they are not trying to go to work, i do not want to see nobody homeless. i have been there, i have done that, not my choice. i have been there and know how it feels, but it was not my doing. but, i had worked hard. i worked like a man all of my life. but, if they are taking advantage, and the people who take advantage get hard for the people who are really needing help. that is where i stand on it. they need to do a background check, give them a chance to get a job. in alabama, everywhere you go, every corner, "help wanted," they are begging for help. why are these people not going to work? host: finishing off our first half-hour. what we have been talking about is the cdc had put a moratorium on evictions and it ends as of today. congress attempting to pass an extension yesterday. that did not happen. both the speaker of the house,

the president of united states, and various republicans responding in kind. we want to get your thought on the ending of the moratorium and what you think about it. we divided the lines differently. it is (202)-748-8000 if you are facing eviction. (202)-748-8001 for landlords. for all others, (202)-748-8002. you can text us, too, and (202)-748-8003. lynette joins us from fresno, california, and she is facing eviction. good morning. caller: good morning. i am calling because we are facing eviction, and it is not because we have not been paying rent. it is because our owner is selling our unit. it is unfortunate because some of these people have not been paying their rent under the benefits of these programs and used the money for down payments

to purchase their own homes. we could have done that, but in good faith, my daughter, who was a federal employee, who contracted covid last year, and my daughter was laid off from her job. she had three jobs, and she is 26 years old. i am disabled. my daughters resuscitate me. started college at 15 years old. we are democrats, but we respect and sympathize with republicans. this is not a partisan issue. this is an american issue. my grandfather served in world war ii and the korean war. my son is off at west point. i love this country with all of my heart, and i know that people are taking advantage of it. we rent from immigrants, and we are american patriots, and we have not had an opportunity to

purchase a home because we have to pay expensive rent. we do not receive government subsidy for housing. it is just unfortunate that people have their misconception about these things i don't know how things go across the board across this country. thank you for opening up the dialogue on this comment, and i hope that anyone who wants tenants that pay, there are people in california in the central valley that are being sent to the street after paying their bills. thank you and god bless america. host: lynette from fresno, california, telling her story. one of the people's telling her story earlier at the subcommittee hearing that was held by the coronavirus select committee was a tenant in georgia speaking about her eviction experience. you can see the whole hearing on c-span but here is a portion from earlier this week. [video clip] >> on march 4, when i was one

month ahead of direct, they called for eviction against me. i applied for rental assistance on february 12, 2021, the day the tenant landlord assistance began accepting applications. i was approved, and atlanta legal aid tried to negotiate a resolution with my landlord using the rental assistance. under the cad county rental assistance guideline, i could get half of it covered. around mid-april, i learned my landlord rejected the proposal out right. they did not even come back with a counter offer to try and save my home. at the same time, i landlord gave me a notice that they would not renew my lease when it expired in mid-may. i did not understand why. i had always paid ahead of my rent. my family and i had lived there several years with no issue. they made me an offer, and i moved out immediately, even

before my lease was up, and before the cdc order expired, they would forgive my rent balance. i felt pressured because my leasing agent told me i could get immediately evicted after my lease expired and the cdc order would not apply to me. if i had to leave anyway, i wanted to walk away but i cannot find a place to move my family that quickly. haven brooke made it clear they wanted me out. [end video clip] host: a viewer from california says i got the rental relief this week. the relief program, folks were flying the plane while assembling it. i had to jump after hoop after hoop. it is harder for people with no internet or who are not computer savvy. hang in there and persevere, jump through them hoops. that is a viewer from california giving us their view, as they have been through it themselves. you can tell us if you are facing eviction, especially in light of the passing of the

moratorium. landlords in the audience, you have a line, as well as all others. you can always text us your thoughts at (202)-748-8003. our social media sites are available, too, and facebook.com/c-span and our twitter feed at @cspanwj. bruce in kansas city, missouri, a landlord. go ahead. caller: yes. i have been a landlord in kansas city for over 40 years. i did have some tenants that did receive subsidies. my feeling was probably one fourth of those were deserving and needed help. [indiscernible] the others did not really need the subsidies. ultimately, the thing is we are

going to see a massive attempt by the government to provide more subsidized housing in the country at a time when the economy is pulling back, there are plenty of jobs and opportunities, and it will store the country. -- destroy the country. host: bruce, you are fading in and out. i'm going ended there only because your signal may be fading out. from anthony, another landlord in massachusetts, hello. caller: hello. i have been a landlord for over 20 years, and i have not had problems with collecting rent because of covid, but i have had other problems. one thing i have concluded from those problems is that the bad

apples discover the people from being a landlord, so there is less of a supply of rentals because of that and more condo conversions, and people, i think the tenants who are good tenants pay more rent than they otherwise would have because the government does not stand up for landlords when those bad apples are not paying for some reason. so, i think it does not help renters in general to be having such entity landlord laws -- anti-landlord laws. i don't think it is a proper role for the government for them

to take advantage of what type of citizen versus another. that is basically what i wanted to say. host: that is anthony giving as historian massachusetts. as all of this happened yesterday, the senate still working on efforts to finalize the text on an infrastructure bill, which you have heard about , as far as the back-and-forth going on this week. it is highlighted in "the washington post," saying senate squabbles have underlying perils for the bill, same despite the outcome of yesterday, saying the chamber briefly had delayed vote that send new angst amongst lawmakers about the contents of the infrastructure package and the initial concerns about senate majority leader schumer's handling of the debate. some consternation came after the majority leader appeared to circulate more than 2700 pages of draft, legislative text, that that to encapsulate much of the agreement reached by a bipartisan block of senators this week.

schumer, for nearly two weeks, promised to have the basis for any legislative action and change friday morning and it troubled negotiators who were republican who prepare their own infrastructure deal. it highlights senator mitt romney, one of those people at the bipartisan group, saying apparently the majority leader had been working on a draft that would be unacceptable to all of us, of course, the draft that is the basis of our agreement, but being finalized by senators, and we have been providing text to them in that draft is nearing completion. again, still processing work when it comes to that of the structure go on the senate side. the senate coming in at 11:00 as they continue that work. even though the house has already gone on their august recess, the senate still continuing on those efforts. if you want to follow along with the latest on infrastructure, tune into c-span2 at 11:00 to see the work of the senate as

they gaveled into session later today. from maryland, on our line for others, go ahead. caller: good morning, it is nirvane, thank you for taking my call. i am calling on the general line, i realized i was evicted by my landlord because he wanted to kick me out and sell the house. i was calling in this morning prepared to be angry at landlords, but i am hearing two saying they were not able to pay their mortgage and then they had to sell. and then i heard grumbling in the news about institutional investors buying up properties, and then i am starting to think about the data of housing questions going up, and i'm thinking in the future, there is going to be a huge rental only class locked out of being able to buy properties in the future. that is my thinking of what i have been hearing from the calls today, and my own experience. thanks for letting me share that. host: what did you think of the moratorium when it first came

into play? caller: i mean, it seemed like a reasonable thing to do, you know, don't take people out on the streets. we have a lot of homeless as it is. i do not think landlords would not be able to pay their rent if people do not avail the resources of rental assistance. and i did not think about blackrock buying properties. there are a lot of things going on. host: ok. alan is maxed, a landlord, asheville, north carolina. -- is next, a landlord, asheville, north carolina. caller: you look dapper this morning. lots of people are good people. most landlords are good people and try to work with people. most tenants are going to try to pay if they can. most people are good people. the government gets involved here, and all of a sudden, it is they picked one against the other. mom and pops are being run out. it is an interesting topic this morning because i am sure you noticed look at that last caller . he changed his mind. and he had an issue.

very interesting. the mom-and-pop's are being run out. it is a tough business. the landlords. they think they are getting rich and getting this money. it is not that way. it is for people who subsidized their retirement. it has gone on for a long time. they are being run out. and there are little classes that are under attack here. small, working-class people could basically get ahead in life, buy a home, it goes up, use the equity, maybe buy another one, have a rental. there are problems, taxes, insurance, bad tenants. things happen. there is life. host: can i ask a question, please? as a landlord, what did you think about the moratorium in itself? caller: ok, i had people who i was able to help. i just for a month or so, but they got back on their feet.

they were able to handle it. i worked it out with them. i did not need the government, and they did not need the government. we worked it out. most people are good people who work things out. if they are reasonable people. in 2008-2009, blackrock, which the gentleman mentioned, came in and bought these properties, which could have been rentals for basic priced homes for people to buy. now, i am also a broker, real estate. people are selling their rentals, like the gentleman said, and like rock is buying them up, paying top dollar. what happens? the middle class is getting squeezed out of the housing market. prices are too high. everything will be owned by the government because the government gives blackrock the money in 2008 and 2009. they are getting all the money now. like you said, the bureaucracy of trying to get your mortgage money out of the government and

going to happen, but, believe me -- host: that was alan a north carolina. this is very, dallas, texas, says he is facing eviction -- barry, dallas, texas, says he is facing eviction. caller: good morning. i do not understand how you might be a little behind on your rent and stuff, but you are paying it, and then, once you get it paid, the office turns around and comes up and knocks on your door and tells you they are going to put a lock on your door because you are late on your rent. and i do not understand that. you have been faithfully paying your rent. even during the pandemic. and now, they want to get hard on you, they don't want to work with you. they just want to put you out. host: it says you are facing eviction. is that due to the pandemic or were there other circumstances? caller: it is due to the pandemic, and then i am also a

dialysis patient, and i am on social security, so i don't have a lot of money, but i am trying to pay my rent. so i will not be put out. host: did you try to qualify for either the federal program that just expired or any state or local program that could help? what was that process like if you did? caller: the process, it was kind of hard because the computers and stuff kept crashing. but i did get through to a couple of people in dallas that did help the out, and, now, i am right back the same situation again. i am struggling to pay my rent, but i am trying everything that i can do to do it, but they are still coming in saying and saying the same thing, we are going to lock you out if you don't have your money by certain date. host: have you pursued any legal recourse to keep that from happening to you? caller: no, sir.

i do not know what to do about that. host: ok. that is barry giving us a story in dallas, texas. the line is set up for those of you facing eviction, like barry and others, you can tell your perspective in light of the events happening here in washington with the ending of this moratorium on evictions by the cdc. we have heard from plenty of landlords, giving their perspective. i also set aside a line for others, that is were anita from chapel hill, north carolina, is calling us from. good morning. caller: good morning. i am hearing all the interesting comments, but there are students that went to school that are paying student loan debts, their working, trying to pay mortgages, and they're having a hard time, too. they are honest people, they are paying their taxes, ok. i have always gone through this because i was a stay-at-home mom and i wanted to have children

when most women were deciding not to. guess what? all of my children went to college, they finished, and they had academic scholarships. so we just stay in there and fight the good fight while the american calls for all those people who pay for us to go to school, and pay for wars, social security, public aid, and all of these things, if we continue to do what they did and have faith and have a fight in our hands to protect the children, then we will get through this. we should not be blaming people, and we should not teach the children that if you do not have enough money to get rid of your child by abortion for use of contraceptive and women live like men -- host: so the idea of the eviction moratorium in itself, what did you think of it when it was first put into place? caller: well, like i said, i am a stay-at-home mom. my kids' father worked. i think people should figure out how to work and take care of themselves, and the government can do the best they can do to

help them. host: that is anita in north carolina. george in california since the program lasted too long, and that is true with the unemployment extensions. this is jeff in massachusetts saying it is not so simple, some people are down on their luck, some are lazy taking advantage, some landlords are wealthy and should do the right thing. i am barely making ends meet themselves. this is from mike in rockford, illinois, saying landlords in my area say there are over 7000 applications for the moratorium and only 150 have been processed. landlord saying this is a hoodwink, and then the money goes into a slush fund. from patina in michigan saying that the moratorium should not be extended. in michigan, the unemployment benefits were extended and there are help-wanted signs everywhere. as long as free money programs are available, many people will not go to work. it is unfair to continually stop working, taxpaying citizens with the burden of those who choose to do nothing. that is our texting service at work, (202)-748-8003.

if you want to give us your thoughts that way. "wall street journal" highlighting two stories considering former president trump's under the headline of the one-story saying that former president's department of justice to undo the vote of the november election last year saying that mr. trump made the demand during a december 27 phone call with jeffrey rosen, richard donoghue, will just say the election was corrupt, and leave the rest to me. he said according to mr. donahue's notes, after he told him the justice department will not change the outcome of the election, it does not work this way. another point of the conversation, mr. trump criticized the top two official same people are angry, blaming the department of justice for an action in the doj failing to respond to legitimate complaints and reports of crimes, according to the notes. if you go below that, there is

another story about the former president's tax returns, saying the justice department had to buy the treasury department to turn over the former president's returns for the house panel that sought them in 2019. according to him, friday, saying the panel had invoked sufficient reasons for the request, and a memo by the justice department office of legal counsel, the biden administration is weighing in on a political question that has dogged the former president since he first ran for office when the public had a right to know what he paid in taxes. you can read more of that at "the wall street journal" this morning. back to the topics of the eviction moratorium, which ended today. auggie in new jersey, a landlord, hello. caller: hi, how are you? host: i am well, thanks. go ahead. caller: so, i guess my opinion is the moratorium. i am a landlord, a small business owner, and my properties [indiscernible]

not only are we having trouble with tenants not paying, but we are having trouble that locals are not went to work. we have to bring in employees from out of the country to fill the gaps. most of the businesses are running way understaffed. not only that, we have to close a couple of days a week because they don't have staffing. my thoughts on this moratorium is we are just making people lazy. i mean there are jobs out there. they could be getting work. there are job openings, but no one wants to work as long as you keep sending them a free check. i have got mortgages, utilities, maintenance, and i have got bills to pay. for the government to tell me that, you know, your tenants do not have to pay rent is ridiculous.

you know, these small businesses are the backbone of the united states. we cannot even ask for our rent. there -- or ask our tenants. i think it is ridiculous it got to this point, and it just doesn't make sense that someone can tell me that i do not have the right to collect my rent. and my mortgage companies are telling me if you don't pay your rent, we are going to foreclose on you. host: ok, that is auggie in new jersey. abram in washington, d.c., he says he is facing eviction. caller: thanks for taking my call. i'm kinda confused with this. all these billions of dollars are being put out there. who was supposed to be getting this money? the tenant or the landlord? host: that is a good question. let me see if we can actually spell that out for you, but go ahead. caller: yeah, because we are

paying $2800 a month for a townhouse, ok? the landlord all of a sudden decides she wants to sell it because right now in northern virginia, there is a sellers market really. some of these houses have gone up to half a million to one million or some odd dollars. i am totally confused by this money. i heard a conversation on tv where people complain about renters not paying money and they need to go to work. i am try to figure out, who is getting these billions of dollars? host: so, i will show you the story on integrity, saying that nation leaders set aside at least $2.6 billion of the cares act relief fund to prop up struggling renters. but a year later, more than $425 million has not made it into the pockets of tenants order landlords. it is mind-boggling, that was

the author, and i knew there was a huge amount of money not to be dispersed in a timely manner as the federal government has a moratorium in place for the majority of 2020, the first half of 2021, adding that landlords have found creative ways around it. so, if you read that part of it, it goes to the renter, who in turn turns it over to the landlord. but there is more that in that public integrity story if you want to read it there. dan in salinas, california, a landlord. go ahead. caller: yeah, i have been watching this just for a little bit, and it has been a lot of good questions and not too many answers for the landlord. i think the rental assistance is good for a lot of folks. my wife and i were fortunate enough that we paid the

mortgages did not ask our tenants to repay us. but i have never heard of anything for the assistance we might be able to get as a landlord. i do not know how much longer, if this happens again, we could do it. we had great tenants, and we do not want to have them move out or force anybody to move out, and we just pay their rents for them. we paid our mortgage. we were able to. host: now, let me ask you this, with the moratoriums ending, if someone were behind, what is the process there in california of the start of an eviction process? caller: i do not know. we are able to pay it. i would not have evicted anybody. we are able to pay it.

i have not heard of anything for helping the landlords out if we are assisting a tenant. you know? we still have got, like everybody has said, landlords still have to make their payments ,our mortgages. i have not heard anything about any assistance they landlord -- for a landlord. host: let's here from maryland on our line for others. caller: good morning, thanks for taking my call. i just wanted to bring one point up. we just took our family to our yearly ocean city, maryland, beach vacation, and i found it interesting that there are so many multimillion dollar properties there that are constantly being built. and i do not mean like large hotels -- there are plenty of those or condos. i am talking single-family homes for the wealthy, and they rent

them out, airbnb and all that, which is great, but i just wonder, you know, i am concerned that we have our own people struggling, our middle-class people and lower income people struggling to rent, and in particular, in communities of minorities, where they are receiving eviction notices. yet, you have these multi-multi-million-dollar fancy homes that people are renting airbnb for their trip to the beach, you know? how is it that we are selling -- we are so imbalanced? in other words, who owns these properties? i do believe they are owned by organizations in most cases. and why, who are buying these inflated price homes, price gouged real estate? who is able to do that right now in this economy? host: but the moratorium on

evictions itself, what to think about it expiring? caller: because i have a heart and because i can see how our people have a place to hang their heads, hats, and sleep at night and their children need a home, i think it should be extended a little longer, but i do think that we have a lot of concerns with homeless and something is just not right. host: were you surprised expired altogether? caller: yes. host: what was your reaction when you heard that, the events in washington that led to the? -- led to that? caller: my reaction is, what are these people going to do? not just attendance that upon stash the tenant -- the tenants

who are possibly going to be evicted by the landlords? you have situations where you were going to end up with landlords who maybe have it as a retirement investment they set up for themselves and they are starting to age themselves, i mean what of them? how are they going to meet their bills and taxes on these properties? are they going to be forced to sell the organization, then what? they are going to be a multi-million-dollar property on the land or something? host: ok, that is kim and maryland finishing off the hour we have been talking about the moratorium on evictions passing. you will remember the cdc put this in place to help those being evicted due to covid related reasons. as of today, that eviction moratorium expires. you're getting your thoughts on the expiration of the moratorium and what you think about it, particularly as it goes forward from here. we have three lines we have set aside that you can give your

comments on this morning. if you are yourself are facing eviction and you want to tell your story in light of the end of the moratorium, (202)-748-8000. if you are facing election, (202)-748-8001. if you are a landlord, and then for those of you and everyone else, (202)-748-8002. you can always text at (202)-748-8003. some of you texting this morning about this and we will read those in the moment. let's go to walter in michigan, a landowner. caller: good morning, pedro. i am one of the success stories. i have a rental unit and have a single parent living there. it is a modest house. he ended up paying the whole time during this pandemic.

i believe it's because i treated him right initially. well, i only raised the rent once over 12 years, and i wasn't interested in making gobs of money or anything. just interested in covering the bills and maybe making a little bit. it worked out good for me. as far as the moratorium goes, a goodwill of thumb for -- a good rule of people is 25% of your income. if you have to pay more, you will probably have to do it on other things. i do feel sorry for the people -- i think it's getting -- more people are getting more money in this country and the four are getting less and less, and that's what the problem is. the wages have never kept up with the cost of living.

a lot of people have problems these days. that's my comment. and i thank you very much. host: walter there in michigan. we will finish up with rhonda in new jersey. caller: good morning, america. i truly believe the moratorium has to end. we are at the point where the biden administration is distributing enough funds for people to get on their feet. moms with children, if you've got two or three kids, you're getting approximately $700 a month in your income now and you are able to get food stamps. this administration has been so on point with uplifting the poor in this country.

i didn't take any assistance money. my house is in forbearance and my income hasn't changed. however, i have friends who own properties where tenants are squatting. they are sitting in their apartment on purpose because they cannot be evicted, and these are investment properties. these people don't pay their rent, they can't pay the mortgages. they can't get assistance because they are not the primary residence. i know people who are doing it. my girlfriend had new -- had a tenant living in her condo here the air conditioner went out and she had to replace that. i girlfriend had to help her apply for assistance but the court date the check to the

tenant and the tenant doesn't have to give it to you. they can squat. this is what is going on in our country. host: that is rhonda in new jersey finishing off this hour us on the topic. for all of you who participated, thank you for doing so. the first of three guests joining us this morning, first up a discussion on how the biden administration is handling issues on national -- native americans. and later on, kerry picket from the washington examiner will look ahead to the midterms of 2020 to and also look to 2020 for. those issues are coming up on "washington journal." ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> weekends bring you the best

in american history and nonfiction books. on american history tv, parents, educators, pundits have long discussed how u.s. history and government should be taught in schools. harvard university professor debates educating 40 american -- educating for american -- and on oral histories, richard todd talks about his history and the u.s. army national guard during operation iraqi freedom as well as his time in afghanistan. watch american history tv every weekend and find a full schedule on your program guide or visit c-span.org/history. ♪ >> today on the communicators,

technology reporters discuss the future of the tech industry and congress' tech agenda. >> you look at priorities dominating congress. you saw the pandemic takeover, infrastructure taking over now. there are a lot of big tech topics that have attracted interest just on front and center. that includes the section 230 debate. a data privacy was something that was hugely front and center in the tech space, maybe 2019 2020 initially. those things are off to the side right now. i think they are very important. people are interested. there is not any proposal in either chamber that is going to move in any eminent ways. >> feature of the tech industry, today at 6:30 p.m. eastern on the communicators on c-span. >> "washington journal" continues. host: this 25,000 pound total pole arrived in d.c. earlier

this week. joining us to talk about the purpose of the total pole coming to d.c. and native american issues is fawn sharp, the president of the national council of american indians. thank you for joining us. guest: thank you. i am happy to be here. host: can we start a little bit about your organization? what do you do? guest: the national congress of american indians is the oldest and largest national organizations of sovereign nations in this country, founded in 1944. we are very active in staging and advancing native americans. host: can you describe the red road to d.c.? guest: the red road to d.c. began on the west coast and traveled across the country raising awareness that we must

all, not just native americans, but all across the country protect sacred sites. it was a call to action and unify the country and raise awareness about the state of emergency regarding our sacred sites and the environment. host: we showed the total pole that has been traveling across the united states in a washington, d.c. can you talk a little but -- a little bit about the pole and what it symbolizes with the issues you are concerned about? guest: with respect to the pole itself, it is a product of the vision of an elder who is a master carver and founder of the house of tears. he carved a number of total polls during various points in time, one for 911, and this one to draw attention to sacred sites in the environmental crises we are facing in the pacific northwest. back in 2019, and orca carried

her dead calf for 17 days in the sea. we have all of these signs from nature, hurricanes, magnifiers, all of these are indications we must stand up for our environment and be the voice of all those who can't speak. this was an opportunity to raise awareness and unify the country to stand up and honor the vision of our ancestors to protect our natural world for future generations. host: it was making its way across the country and ultimately made its way in washington, d.c. i would suspect it is used to foster political conversations in washington, d.c. what is that? guest: the total pole is a story and historically we carve stories to mark a point in time. for this totem, it is an

opportunity for us to share our story with elected officials in washington, d.c. i had a meeting this week with secretary john kerry to talk about the role of tribal nations in international climate negotiations. i had a conversation with senator elizabeth warren and senator elizabeth markowski and alaska, because -- in alaska, and it offered bipartisan conversations to advance the interests of tribal nations and a matter of foreign policy. there are countries outside of the united states that understand the disproportionate effect of climate change to indigenous peoples globally. we have an opportunity to restore the united states' standing for climate for indigenous peoples. host: if you want to ask about concerns of native americans, you can do so on the line (202) 748-8000 four democrats.

(202) 748-8001 for republicans. you can also text us. because of the pole coming to d.c., did you hear directly from the biden administration on these issues? guest: yes, absolutely. secretary holland stood and received on behalf of the biden administration, the totem and received the prayers that came from all four directions and answered our call to action to stand up to protect sacred sites. she delivered a powerful message. we received a response in answer to our call to action and that subsequently led -- i had a meeting with secretary haaland to forward our agenda.

host: here is the secretary from the ceremony from the total pole. here are some of the remarks she made. >> the fact that we are not -- we are all here is not insignificant. the policies were intended to exclude us, to assimilate us. it and policies were written without considering indigenous communities' challenges or their strengths. we are working hard to undo so many consequences of these actions. today and every day we break barriers to those institutions and systems that were designed to keep us out. our past is coming together in a new era. an era of truth, of healing, of growth, and era in which our

indigenous knowledge is valued and respected in which indigenous leadership has a seat at the table to make decisions about our communities, in which we have an opportunity to rise above the challenges our people face and build a brighter future for all of us. host: and fawn sharp, to those challenges, she talked about the idea of the native american indians and tribes being able to control what goes on in the land. that land held in a trust by the federal government. how much essay does a tribe half when it comes to the management of their land? guest: right now we have say but we do not have decisive say. in the u.n. declaration, and the rights of deck durations -- and the rights of in did need is people, it means no other sovereign should be able to take

unilateral action on tribal lands without their explicit consent. we see as an example the dakota access pipeline. they are over the objection of all of our friends and allies globally and over our objection unilaterally a pipeline was constructed right to their water. so we want to ensure -- and that policy is something we are explicitly advancing. i had conversation with members of congress about that, both domestically and internationally. there are countries outside the united states that understand these issues transcend national borders. they are fundamental to who we are as sovereign tribal nations. we should have a decisive say in what effects are people, land, territories, resources and sacred sites. host: what is the ideal situation you would see? is there a framework or plan to make that happen? guest: yes, there is.

in the state of washington we are committed to the climate act. the provision was vetoed by our governor but has opened up an opportunity for us to advance in the next legislative session. we are continuing to work on that policy locally, regionally, and internationally, and we help with those two efforts we can work with this current administration to understand and appreciate make another advancement toward that ideal. do i think we will accomplish it with this administration? i am optimistic if we don't we will lay the foundation for the next generation. we must continue to aggressively work to honor that which our creator intended us to have. that is our sacred right and a duty. host: as far as your efforts, what is your presence in washington, d.c. to help advance those causes that you and other native americans find important?

guest: yes, we have a very strong presence in washington, d.c. we have an embassy of tribal nations that has been there in washington for decades. we have a tribal nation routinely come to washington. we gather for an executive winter session to address our strategic legislative agenda and platform. throughout the year we work with the regional vice president to meet the unique needs and elevate the issues nationally and to bring the indian people together who are facing challenges and lobby those interests we know are defined in advancing tribal sovereignty. host: as far as the white house itself, what does the president and secretary haaland do for that? guest: it is key and powerful.

she currently chairs the white house counsel counsel in native american affairs, counsel started under the obama administration. president trump acted to convene it in the last six months of his term, but we never had direct engagement with the top administration. when president biden came into office, he made it clear it will be a priority of his. he reinstituted the white house counsel on american indian affairs and the member are at every cabinet level across the family federal government's. the council is chaired by secretary deb -- governments. that consul is chaired by secretary deb haaland. they answered by forming a committee on international relations with direct engagement with the u.s. state apartment as a matter of foreign policy. this administration is very

responsive. we have an open door and are able to have multilateral conversations with the united states government, as it should be. host: 56 million acres of american is a rations and areas according to ncai and the villages control 44 million acres. it makes the indian country the fourth-largest state in the united states. for those areas within state, how much state control doesn't have -- how much state control do they have over state land? guest: when it comes to regulatory powers, we have shared responsibility with various states and it is agreed by which a state controls and indian country. there is a foundation of several laws that govern the extent. in some instances, the court has recognized powers of state

government in their regulatory powers within indian country, but over time we have worked to ensure that is a shared power and that those issues that directly affect our land, our citizens within our borders and territories, we have exclusive control. it is the result of a long history of federal policies, whereby the federal courts acknowledge and recognize that at times there are nontribal presence within our borders and they question whether a tribal nation should exercise jurisdiction over nontribal citizens within our borders, which in and of itself is not right nor appropriate. the united states would not govern u.s. citizens within the border of canada, so we are working aggressively to reshape that policy, those policies were adopted during a time when there wasn't a recognition of tribal sovereignty and they were very

archaic and paternalistic. that is another way to write the past round -- to right the past wrongs. host: this is a question asked, can the federal government use eminent domain to take indian controlled land? guest: the federal government has plenary powers over tribal nations. from our perspective, the land we have secured by treaty have long -- have belonged to us when time began. seven generations ago, our leaders had the foresight that we need to reserve these lands for our generation and for future generations. within those reserve areas of land that are secured by treaty, the united states has never owned nor occupied those lands. that represents the fourth are

just part of the united states. in those areas, the united states does not have the ability to exercise eminent domain. we reserve those and they belong to us exclusively. host: i suspect the biden administration on keystone xl factored into perhaps your perception of what they will do, particularly on native american land. can you talk about that? guest: we are hopeful and optimistic that the federal process of committee will once again acknowledge the presence of tribal nations, our interests, perspectives, traditional science, legal arguments, public-policy points that we make to advance our interests. we are not only hopeful and optimistic, but are able to collaborate on many of the issues confronting indian countries and all parts of the united states.

each time we enter -- interact with the biden administration, we recognize a government to government relationship and the political equality and standing of tribal nations that we have not displayed over the last four years. host: outside of her work as the president of the national congress of american indians, can you tell us about your nation? guest: it is the most beautiful, and i may be a little biased here, the most part of the world. we occupy 31 miles along the pacific ocean and the youthful pacific northwest on the olympic peninsula. we have lakes, rivers, mountains, a rain forest. it is beautiful, gorgeous, and studying -- stunning. back as early as the 1920's, because we were organized, we operate independently.

when we passed the constitution and any amendments, we do not need the bureau of indian affairs constitution. we have a long legacy of exercising our independent, inherent powers and authorities. we recognize the united states has a crossed -- has crossed lines, we call them on the breach of trust when widespread logging was permitted across the nation that desecrated our rivers and streams. we have been effective in holding the united states accountable for its treaty. we have people with a very bright vision, not only for our people but citizens having to work with us and join with us in advancing a very sacred agenda. host: how much money does the federal government spend to maintain or manage the land

within the trust? guest: yes, so the federal government, that fluctuates year-by-year. in total, we secure federal block grants through the bureau of indian affairs and through the health and human services through self-governance contracts. those are things, advancements that were made during the administration of our former president here and former president delacruz, the self governance determination act. prior to that, we managed and administered through contracts. we are moving to a place where tribal nations secure millions of dollars to fund basic services that are secured by treaty and responsibility. we are working to expand that beyond ihs and beyond the bureau

of indian affairs into areas like justice, housing. all of these federal programs we have come to know to help restore our tribal nations have been lacking. there was a report for the u.s. commission on civil rights that determine what -- not one federal agency is living up to its responsibility. when you look at funding levels at ihs for alcohol and drug treatment, even though we have the highest numbers we have the lowest rate per capita. an independent commission look at the state of indian country from the federal government is not only breaching its promise, but that's what let us be vulnerable to covid-19 and why you see high numbers of covid infections in indian countries, the highest number of death per capita is the indian country because our trustee has failed to not only treat us as they should based on treaties even

treat us as basic human beings as they do the average citizen in the united states. many broken promises across many generations. it is millions of dollars. it falls incredibly short and we are working to not only hold them accountable but exercise our own inherent powers to raise revenues like any other government. we are frustrated in that process when state and local governments effectively hijacked our revenues in tax within our borders and attempt to tax are commercial enterprises even off of the reservations. those are things we are working towards. millions of dollars. host: let's hear from jeff in missouri. caller: i was just interested in how the tribal areas affect our

elections? do their votes succumbed the same as every under individual in the united states? guest: jeff, excellent question, and thank you for even thinking about the role of native americans as full participants in this democracy. historically, [no audio] host: i think your audio is fading out. as she does that, we are talking of fawn sharp, the president of the national council of american indians. democrats (202) 748-8000, republicans (202) 748-8001, an independents (202) 748-8002. if you are a native american want to give your perspective on

the management of land, call us at (202) 748-8003. you can also text us at that line. let's check and see if she is back. we will continue on. we will continue to take calls. fawn sharp, are you there? guest: hello. host: you heard the guest talk about voting rights. i think we lost you midway the ability to make sure your votes are counted. guest: historically, we did not have the right to vote. in fact our citizens were serving in the military before we were recognized as citizens with the right to vote. present day we do have the right to vote and indian country is quite active in our respective areas to ensure that every

tribal citizen has the right to vote. there has been an effort to silence our vote, discredit our voting and to not count us. that is another major challenge we are confronting right now. host: we have a viewer who asked about indian land but asks, what happens to money generated and this is edward in new jersey, what happens to the money generated by gaming and why our community still impoverished? guest: what happens with revenue generated by tribal nations, under the indian gaming regulatory act, those are to be used for essential governmental services and programs for citizens, like education, health care. the federal government has not lived up to its responsibility. our programs are in adequately funded. we have secured revenue for

treaties for basic governmental functions like housing, education and health care. you see pockets of success in the indian country with the casinos, in large part near cities. but in rural areas, free hours away from seattle or in the middle of south dakota or note to coda, we do not have the large -- or north dakota, we do not have that large pocket of success. we are advancing our ability to ensure we have not only revenue secured by treaty, but our own powers to raise revenues and exercise commercial enterprises for profits to meet the needs of our citizens. host: you stressed the issue of covid before. what did the pandemic over the last year and a half plus reveal about the state of health care and indian reservation land?

guest: the pandemic lay bare the vulnerability -- laid bare the vulnerability and the world has recognized the disproportionate impact of covid-19 to indigenous peoples. but because we are not prepared and because we don't have the health care dollars that are necessary to meet basic needs, we have high rates of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, all of these underlying conditions within these communities are off the charts. that rendered us very vulnerable. like any other challenge confronted by the indian country, we exercise ingenuity. we have been able to exercise our sovereign powers. we followed the world health organization strategy and strict containment process.

we looked to emergency use authorization for early testing. it wasn't widely available early in the pandemic we reached out to the university of washington that had been applying for emergency use authorization, even though the united states didn't have that, we could test within our borders. we secured widespread testing and established a baseline and propped up hotels for an isolation quarantine center and every component of the world health organization strategy with little to no resources, we were able to be creative to reach out to partners like the university of washington to make sure we met the needs. even though we were critically challenged, we were aggressive in securing dollars to the cares act in the american rescue plan and effectively tell our story to ways -- to raise awareness and tell our story and support those tribes that stood up on

sovereign powers to be creative. we enlisted them to share that knowledge to protect every native american citizen in this country during a global pandemic. host: this is danny and ohio, an native american. caller: there is the name of a tribe called contho in texas and my grandfather was the leader of the tribe and he was a tribal -- and we are the last ones living by his name. my family through the tribes are

not serving enrollment papers i want to know why the tribes are denying people of their representation paperwork, their documents. host: that is danny and ohio. guest: thank you -- in ohio. guest: thank you for raising that issue. it is an issue that i have run across. we recognize the sovereign authority of every nation independently to inspect their enrollment criteria. federal courts have acknowledged and recognized that is a unique decision made by each tribal nation peered with can't tell a tribe what to do or how to process -- nation. we can't tell a tribe what to do

or how to process what we can ensure that every nation has the opportunity to not only work through their constitutions to directly engage citizens, but we do recognize that is a unique decision made by each and every tribal nation. i would encourage you to work through that process. i just want to make the point that the idea of having a pedigree is unique to indian country. no other race has to prove who they are, but that is a product of another policy of colonization, genocide, designed to eliminate our bloodline over the course of time. it has divided us within tribes, as evidenced by this caller, a person with a bloodline who has to prove who he is. but he has the blood of his

ancestors through him and his family and they are challenged to have that federal recognition. that is unfortunate and a problem of colonization running rampant to this day. host: another native american in maryland. this is robert. good morning. caller: how are you doing? host: you are on with our guest. caller: i just wanted to say to miss sharp that the problem that the native americans are having in the united states as well as other minorities is a problem that has been a problem all on planet earth of white people, does not white america but throughout history. every country in the far east chased them out. the same thing in egypt and india.

countries in africa, the same problem, native americans having with white people. historically it is the same problem all over the planet. she shouldn't fear their problem is unique. it is a problem with white people throughout the planet. thank you. guest: yes, thank you for recognizing that the broad and global scale of the challenges of indian country here you are absolutely right that this country, the united states, was built on a foundation based on the airport federation, the foundation that -- the iroquois federation, that the foundation that every person hasn't individual right to life, liberty, and happiness. the fundamental values uniquely the united states of america that made us so strong and vibrant and the envy of all of the world.

that was the foundation upon which this country was built. we have seen generation after generation, through the systemic racism, this country becomes unhinged from that foundation. it is our generation that i believe has been called to ensure there is a truth and reconciliation to that foundation, because we are so far unhinged from that basic understanding of this country and basic recognition of the inherent and equal right of every citizen to be free and to be able to live in a land where they are treated with respect, dignity is upheld and honored. but we do not live in that place right now, but we have a asian. -- a vision. we know that is the value and strength of this country and we have joint all of our equity

partners across every sector to join us to ensure this generation does draw the line to ensure we enter this moment of hard, cold truth and we also do the heavy work and necessary work to reconcile that which is left unhinged and broken at this moment. host: there is a story in the washington post that highlights the fact that in 2010 the appropriations of fatcat language concerning native american saying it recognizes -- congress recognizes there have been years of ill-conceived policy and breaking of covenants of the federal government regarding federal indian tribes. it as an apologizes on behalf of the people of the united states to all native people for the many instances of violence, maltreatment on native people made the story goes on to say that even though this was tucked into the act, the words have never been said aloud by an

administration why is that? guest: yes, and thank you so much for drawing everyone's attention to that very important language. we had worked -- there was a group that worked on that link which for probably a decade at least leading up to that piece of legislation, and i have been in touch with some of the folks who are still wanting to make that statement public and call upon this administration to publicly say those words, to acknowledge those words. i have also received recommendations that last -- previous presidents address it in both houses to deliver the state of the nation's and to call on congress as it -- nations intercom on congress.

i cannot explain why we have -- nations and to call on congress. i cannot explain why this congress and administration, timing is always an issue. who is in the room and how we are able to advance things pay that is a priority of ours peered want to have a national recognition. i think the most recent discovery of children in boarding schools in canada is igniting that conversation. i am hopeful and optimistic we will elevate -- that is a priority of ours. we want to have a national recognition. i think the most recent discovery of children in a boarding schools in canada is igniting that conversation. i am hopeful and optimistic we will elevate that. host: the next is kim. go ahead. caller: they cute for answering my call. i would like to make a statement

about the constitution and where it calls for native american indians, i will to have that removed. that needs to be removed. guest: yes, thank you. i couldn't agree more. if you look at history and decision in federal court and state supreme court's, some of the language -- courts and some of those language when you think about the implications of the highest places within our democracy to utilize that language in reference to native americans is disgusting, vile, and wrong. you are right. those are the things we need to correct in all areas.

host: this is fun sharp, the president of the national american -- the national congress of american indians. thanks for giving us your time today. guest: thank you. host: coming up, a discussion taking a look at the midterm campaigns of 2022 and also taking a look at what might happen in 2024 with kerry picket. later on, we will look at kat cisar and a piece on gerrymandering. ♪ >> weekends we bring you the best in american history and nonfiction books. on book tv, author and new york times columnist talks about

republican politics and conservatism in america. his books include privilege, bad religion, and his latest "the decadent society," in which he argues we are entering political gridlock and political and economic stagnation. and a look at how well intentioned white people can inadvertently cause racial harm through a culture of niceness in her book "nice racism." she is interviewed by a professor of african-american studies. watch book tv every weekend and find a schedule or watch online at book tv.org.

>> "washington journal" continues. host: kerry picket serves as a senior campaign reporter for the washington examiner looking at campaigns coming up in 2022 in 2024. thank you for joining us. guest: thank you. host: parties preparing for midterm elections. guest: right now we are in the midst of a lot of fundraising on a national level. in inching -- an interesting parity.

we are seeing a lot of messaging coming out of the party, specifically starting with the january 6 select committee. the democrats want to make sure they are not putting in a corner as anti-police. they were successfully painted as being anti-police with the republicans saying they wanted to defund the police and the democrats wanted to make sure they are going to put up the january 6 committee to make sure that president trump led this entire trying to make it seem as if the republicans are -- themselves. will that work? maybe. the interesting in you have an

entire problem of crime in metropolitan cities that are led by democratic mayors, city councils. a lot of people are interested in the here and now. the question is -- will the credit cities with constituents dealing with democratic congressman, will they able to have who are going to connect, wondering with are interested in january 6 but we have a lot of problems in our community now. host: for the republicans running for reelection, what are their main concerns are tickly about the events of january 6 being part of this campaign? guest: the problems with republicans is that donald trump is sort of hanging out in the

background saying, look, you guys still need me. republicans won the districts by a percentage or two, especially in california. in california you have a number of districts back and forth. the problem is the can't run on donald trump. if they are successfully painted as donald trump republicans, they had made -- they may have problems. in some areas, we could have some republicans, like ron desantis republicans but running as donald trump republicans may be a problem. host: remind the audience as far as the ability to change power, how may seats have to be given

up on the house and senate site and what is the likelihood of changing power in either of those bodies? guest: we are talking about a handful of seats right now on the house side and in the senate side, it is 50-50. it is a little bit precarious as far as numbers. what we are looking at is a situation where the republicans need to think about how they are going to look at how they are going to go about them in a more

vengeful manner, in taking back the house in 2022 or whether or not they are going to take the higher road. that is something going on right now on capitol hill, especially with house speaker nancy pelosi has not allowed the two republicans on the january 6 committee. the january 6 committee is a platform messaging situation happening. host: kerry picket joining us looking at the 2022 and 2024 campaigns. if you want to ask questions (202) 748-8000 for democrats, (202) 748-8001 for republicans, (202) 748-8003 for independen ts.

ron johnson, what is the state of his reelection campaign? guest: he has been very coy about whether or not he is going to be running for reelection. ron johnson does have a very well resourced campaign. i think at this point it really depends on whether or not he is confident moving forward with election laws. i have a feeling whether or not wisconsin ends up moving forward with a number of these election measures, then ron johnson might end up deciding whether or not he will run but that is up in

the air. ron johnson seems confident in his convictions and i think he is pretty confident in whatever he decides. we will just have to wait and see. host: this wiki was reported as saying when it says to the 2020 midterms in a radio interview he may not be the best candidate. guest: once again, it has to do with the environment of the election laws in wisconsin. last time he was elected, the environment in wisconsin was much different. right now, the environment in wisconsin is much more populist but much to the left at this

point. host: to show the viewers at home, here is a coalition of two progressive groups and unions. this is the ad they put out against ron johnson. we will play it for you now. [video clip] >> projecting our democracy has never been partisan but ron johnson refused to investigate the attack, blocked border protection that had the support of democrats, republicans, and independents. >> by and large it was all peaceful protests. >> the challenges facing our democracy are not partisan. it is time senator johnson puts country over party. host: that is just one ad. many that we will be seeing in the upcoming year. guest: once again, while january 6 has a huge impact on a number

of the republicans running for reelection, the question is whether or not voters will be focusing on january 6 or if they are going to be focused on the here and now, which has to do with the number of --rates in the city. i was in the capitol covering the house chamber on january 6. i have to say that while it was a very horrible day inside the capitol at the time, i was also around on 9/11 in downtown manhattan. and i know i'm powerful, tragic

days, people will eventually move on with those in deal with every day, day-to-day lives. in their cities, they will wonder whether or not there congressman are going to be dealing with voters who want to deal with the current climate of what happened on january 6. host: kerry picket with the washington examiner. from michigan, this is brian. go ahead with your question or comment. caller: you keep bringing up january 6. no one on the republican side

really cares other than the people who got hurt. i don't how that resonated. the culmination of january 6 was because of the built from all the falsehoods when we used our security agents against trump. to this day, you haven't found anything against trump. he must be the most scrutinized american in america's history when you look at it. i worked in intelligence. if you turn in intelligence agency against an american, you could prove anything you wanted to. but with trump, even with all of the bad words and dirty dealings that hillary clinton and all of that stuff, you still haven't found anything of any substance against trump. so the january 6 thing, other than, let's be clear, the capitol hill police that got hurt, most republicans are

independents could care less what happened, other than the ones that got hurt. that is what has resonated. host: we will let the guest respond to that. thank you. guest: brian is reminding us of the fact that republicans on capitol hill, republicans at large are going to go forward with their messaging, which is what led up to the january 6 right, -- riot, as far as they are concerned they are talking about the riots of last summer and target nancy pelosi and find out why she -- or perhaps whether or not she was involved in turning away the national

guard. if she was involved in that decision-making will be a very interesting situation in terms of messaging and whether or not that will be effective. we will see whether or not that will -- for republicans. host: caller: you focus do a great deal for me and everyone else. i believe -- you do a great deal for me and everyone else. am a democrat. what concerns me is this was an insurrection. right now in new jersey, the sitting governor who is a democrat has opened up the entire state. in doing so, he has put politics into the situation in terms of the virus. i've spent 40 years in critical resource. i'm the editor and founder and

editor in chief and more important than that, the sitting governor of new jersey has allowed the states to be open. it's doing the same thing that president wilson did when he did not believe this was a communicable disease. getting back to the insurrection. there was an insurrection by republicans and have to be accounted for in the midterm election. host: new brunswick, new jersey. caller: this is something that is being investigated is and it is going to be we investigated. the question is how politicized is it going to get? the justice department is also investigating it as well. this is probably the main criticism of a lot of these

investigations is that it's an investigation over the investigation over an investigation and the question is whether or not we are going to get any real answers. we have gotten a number of answers already. guest: the capitol police were woefully ill prepared and we do need to make sure that that it is for that it is appropriately protected. host: president trump endorsed ron white's wife and yet it was jake who won the race. as far as the president's ability to be a kingmaker in 2022. guest: i don't think it really

goes one way or another. president trump hasn't been perfect in his endorsements as far as -- and his endorsements. sometimes he is backing losers. this is true for any prominent political figure figure -- figure. the big race has to do with jumping into 20 for. if he ends up getting elected at that point. -- jumping into 2024. if he ends up getting elected at that point, if he ends up winning. that's the big deal. host: to what degree do you think the republicans will look to the former president? guest: he definitely needs in a

norma space right now. those -- he definitely needs a base right now. while they may have some voices as people aren't looking toward as relevant at this point. host: publican line. caller: you talk about january 6. you have to get to the root of the problem. host: we are talking about midterm elections. the go-ahead. caller: why did january 6 happened? because of the election. are you going to be covering cyber symposium august 11, 10th

and 12. open borders. guest: unwed you brought that up because -- i'm glad you brought that up because immigration is going to be a huge issue. immigration is an issue of particular concern with the demographic of suburban mom's as well as we are talking about latino communities within the urban centers. why is this? because they are bringing in all types of immigrants who are coming into the communities and latinos who have been here for years upon years and they are saying why is it that you're

bringing it more and they are coming into our communities. we would like to know who they are because we are not sure whether or not these individuals are individuals we may want in our committed is because we don't know if they have been properly vetted through the property authorities. this is going to be a huge issue. i have a feeling that the administration is going to have a very tough time trying to deal with this. it definitely watch and see how this goes down. host: democrats line from missouri. this is wrong. hello. caller: probably going to lose midterms, sadly.

because of fox news and the lies they perpetrate just like the last caller. jesus. the crime that they tried to lay down, here's the deal. we are a jailer mason -- jailer nation. we have twice as many polices as any other developed nation, same with prisons. our prison industry proliferated 1000% underneath mr. reagan and his drug war. this is what these protests were about. the police comport themselves like the military. they don't comport themselves like bullies. they raid your house. they kick in your door. they kill your dogs. this is part of the problem. you got january 6. which did not happen, according to the washington examiner and

the national enquirer which you are just a notch above as the examiner. host: what is a comment or question for the guests? caller: it's a comment. there were is no question for her. there will be no question for these people. host: thank you. the head. guest: -- host: thank you. it guest: -- this is the exact reason why the democrats lost faith is for this exact in terms of who wants to see, there was the, republicans took this point of view. then they said democrats wanted to take this far-left point of view and they stamped it onto

the democrats and the democrats ended up you losing a huge number. this does not mean democrats wants to defund the police. unfortunately, they have to dig themselves out of this hole. host: even as of this morning about the judge declaring alaska's voting legal. there is a question from of yeutter saint -- there is a question from a viewed or saying where do you see the influence? >> guest: i'm glad someone --guest: i'm got someone brought this up. i think this is a system that while it was criticized as being very beneficial, i think it may

be because republicans did not know how to adjust to it because it was so new to them. just like any other system, once republicans learn to adjust, they begin to get better with it. in this case, the top four choices and up and -- in up --end up advancing. republicans -- she is number one never won and it's not as if the democrats in her state are going

to be necessarily in support of her either. there is a democrat who runs in that race as well. she is going to have a very tough time. this is not necessarily a situation where she can just get a whole bunch of write-ins like she did last time when she was in trouble. definitely watch that race if she can survive and pull patrick's like she did last time. -- pull hattricks like she did last time. one of the reasons i am watching or potentially watching is the one in pennsylvania. it sean cardell. he is expected to jump into

pennsylvania senate race. this could be a senate race to watch because it's a rematch. it was so intense that i enjoy watching it on a statewide level. host: rob from the republican line. caller: republicans will take over in the next election simply because the democrats did not even care about what happened in the cities over the summer all this last year. when it gets to their front door , then they're going to complain. i think this that happened in

the capital it was brought on people were tired of getting their businesses destroyed and trump was always the blame for everything. trump did everything he said he was going to do and i believe he will be back in 2024 and i hope he wins. host: let's move forward to 2024. this caller mentioned former president trump. what is the likelihood of reentry from him? guest: trump has been teasing us about perhaps jumping in. the only thing that could possibly hold him back from jumping in, and he has mentioned this before, one would be his age and he said this is been a

voter integrity issue. he believes that the system is a rigged system. he believes that if he will get a fair shake, he won't jump in. that's his point of view. we will see whether or not this will happen in 2020 four. who else could jump in? second choice -- 2024. who else could jump in? second choice, i am noticing you are seeing a lot of state republican committees kind of ron desantis candidate. you see this in virginia with duncan.

desantis has a republican formula of someone who embraces trump deliverables, but omits a lot of the trump errors. when i say that, it's more of sometimes you have the biggest foot in mouth or tweet too much. trump is a really great that -- some think that trump is a really get great guy but he six is for this in his mouth. -- some think the trump is a really great guy but he sticks his foot in his mouth. host: we saw president biden head to the commonwealth. what does it signal that the president is heading to virginia at this point?

guest: that means that they wants to make sure that they get virginia to come out and vote and make sure they get the base out. that is what they want to make sure of. as well as come to rallies, the base in virginia. going to work on the suburbs and alexandria. what they are focusing in on, and the number, our preview. he is focusing on education, in this case they are looking at chris -- critical race theory as

well as economic issues as well as the connection -- as well as see issue of crime. host: let's hear from scott, ohio. independent line. caller: i tried calling before. i did not get through. i just can't understand. we all want to know what happens. the big lies is a big lie. if you keep that up, you are going to have this problem. we are wasting our money every day. we stood and watched what he said. we know what he did. and then he ran, and this is been since 2016 he has been planning it. he is a big liar. he is allowing the country to go into a big live. the coronavirus would have been ended. we are not dealing with our

senior citizens. you going to hand money to the unemployed? let's take all of the monday -- take all the money we are wasting, send him on up boats to not seena --zi germany --nazi germany. guest: donald trump is always going to have detractors. this is what he dealt with while he was in office. i think this is likely what we are going to see going forward. we are going to see going into this midterm. we are not even in 2024 yet. definitely put on your seatbelts because this is host: how much is ours up republican eric -- how much as far as the republican effort

leading up to the second year, how much will be part of the campaign for them for them -- for them do you think? guest: as far as republicans are concerned, trump is always going to be a part of the republican network. that is a given. i think they were expecting that. what is something that is not going to be around? you have trump social media. that was something that was a big factor in the past. but now, while you have reporters and say did you hear

about the latest trump tweet of the day. there's less of that and now maybe you will have a statement every now and then. while they may be an issue, but now it's more of yes. he is part of the republican party. it is about trump deliverables and less about trump notes. host: this is kerry picket. less talk to stan in staten island. caller: i have a very curious question. if trump runs, you can't be

president for more than two consecutive terms. he runs into thousand 24. let's say he went -- 2024. let's say he wins again. then he can have two back-to-back campaigns? guest: as far as i know, i do not believe it would able to run for a second consecutive term thereafter. as far as i know, that would be it. but once again i'm no constitutional scholar. host: franklin, massachusetts on our line for democrats. caller: i would just like to have a question about domestic violence.

immigration and low income housing. i have lived here my entire life. i've always voted democratic and i recently voted for trump and this year biden. i have been assaulted physically and i have been assaulted by an immigrant who was imprisoned with no papers. i reported him. they did not deport him. he is still in prison and they do not do anything about it. i want to know why is immigration and the prison system not doing anything and allowing these immigrants to do, domestically assault people, women. host: that's jenny in massachusetts. talk about immigration being a factor in the upcoming election. what do you think are other factors in the upcoming midterm

elections? guest: i'm sorry, jenny, that this happened to you. the immigration issue is going to be weighted down on this election season because of these images that we are seeing come over our airwaves. ultimately, what we have seen from the administration, what exactly is the definition? is the definition letting everybody in? letting everybody in via policy and checking for covid? are they checking everybody for covid? apparently not. at the same time, they are also

seeing a lot of regulations on americans like whether or not we have covid. are they putting those covid regulations on us? that is a very big question when it comes to issues of health and immigration. those are questions that this administration has yet to answer or the election season or during the election season. at the same time putting a lot of mandates on the voters. host: as far as your writing is concerned, what us -- what are some of the things you are focusing on as far as the campaign season? what are you writing up as far as future column or report? guest: right now, i am still looking at the virginia governor's race. i'm curious to how tight this is

going to remain and how they are going to continue to message and whether or not the campaign is going to put out more ads because as of now you have duncan who is swarming the airwaves with tons of ads. he has been doing this since january. haven't been seeing a lot of ads from terry mcauliffe. host: the washington examiner. she is senior campaign reported. you can find her work online. thanks for your time this morning. we were scheduled to have another jet -- another guest joining us. however we are having connectivity issues. we will reschedule for a future broadcast. we will test the paid an open

forum until 10:00. if you have issues of politics that particularly interests you, here's your chance to do so. emma gratz 202-748-8000. republicans 202-748-8001. independents 202-748-8002. democrats 202-748-8000. >> sunday night. >> as i grew older, i started to work on campaigns and i worked for the clinton administration and i started to notice this dynamic between the leaders best friend and the leader himself and how the best friend could

speak in a way that no aid or staffer could. speak more bluntly and i saw it with warren beatty and the gary hart campaign. would say all of the time stop acting and talking like a politician. he would listen. and he would listen -- and he would change the way he spoke. late night conversations and i saw the same dynamic on the bill clinton campaign and vernon jordan and how they were of equal stature. >> former clinton aide gary ginsberg talks about the political influence of close

friends and confidantes of the president. you can listen to q&a wherever you get your podcast. >> washington journal continues. host: this is a part of the program we call open forum. if it is of interest of politics to you when you want to talk about it, you can call the phone lines. 202-748-8000 four democrats. republicans 202-748-8001 independents 202-748-8002. the washington post taking a look at the biden administration saying they are going to resume fast-track deportation. they plan to resume both expedited removal flights following another sharp increase

of the number of central american families crossing into the rio grande valley of south texas. the explosive spread of the virus as the delta variants along the border has intensified pressure. this more back at the washington post if you want to see it there the headline of the new york times. this is amanda saying in the new report which was intended to explain, the cdc described an outbreak in massachusetts that mushroomed to 470 cases in

massachusetts alone as of thursday adding that three quarters of the fully infected were immunized and the delta variance was found in most of the samples that were genetically analyzed. then raise concerns that vaccinated and unvaccinated people can transmit the virus. those issues might be of importance to you and you can talk about them or others in the open form. we will go to carol in texas starting off in the line -- on the line for democrats. caller: the issue that i will be watching is how the press is treated on a federal, local and state level as far as freedom of information and just the respect due to journalists who are truly

trying to cover the story and trying to get the information out to the american people. think we have to understand there's a difference in detainment news and real news. -- in entertainment news and real news. i think people need to get their names from more than just social media, what they hear. really search out your sources. no matter what side you believe, search out the sources. watch c-span. that is where you get deep information because you are watching firsthand. i think we need to be very careful and watch how our press is treated with respect to local, state, federal level. host: do you mean like when the press asks freedom of information act requests? caller: just like, i'm using

this is one example. local officials, i'm watching a certain case out of south carolina. a murder case and the reporters are trying to get information to give out to the public and have to go to court and then a judge has to rule. sometimes they make it extremely hard to get this sort of information that the press used to get on a regular basis just as being journalists and reporters. so they should not have to jump through legal hoops just to report the news to the people about what is going on in their town or their state or in washington dc. i appreciate the respect given to the press under the biden administration because no matter what you think about trump, host: that's carol. this is from indiana.

republican line. you are up next. caller: i just wanted to get on their and say a little bit about what's on my mind. my father fought for this country and raised 12 children. he never asked his country for anything, but he always told us this was the best country in the world. why are we setting here letting all these politicians run around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off? they are not doing their job. we need to get rid of all of them, you know. and start over because they are going to have some back problems of the keep this up whether these foreigners come in and take our country. come in legally. host: when you say they are not doing anything, you are talking about immigration or something else? caller: it's all through the country. you can't pin it on one thing because they are destroying the whole country of the united states. your politicians, they fight one another over stupid stuff. the need to sit down and do what

we put them and therefore, not what they are in there to get or do or get for everybody else. they need to come in their, just like all this stuff about these pictures. if --pitchers. if he's guilty go get him. host: do you think that's an indication of all this as far as ability of both sides to work together? caller: yes sir, i do. we've got to come together. that's the greatest country in the world. we are sitting back on our but letting these go everywhere. we are being attacked by people coming into the country. our door is open. they are coming in here running all over us. host: that is wayne in indiana. finalizing text of infrastructure deal to be worked on and eventually voted upon by

the senate. they are coming in at about 11:00 to continue today. if you're interested in following along, you can follow along on c-span two. new york times highlights some of senate partnership, unusual partnership battles. saying that in part senior lawmakers in both parties and both chambers have been wrangled writing such a piece of legislation despite having few of them having expertise on aspects of it. a series of technical and policy issues delayed efforts. some republicans remain skeptical over mr. portman.

liberals have threatened to tank a compromise. they are angry that kyrsten sinema supported a 3.5 between dollar package. again, watched it happen -- watch it happen real time. tom in florida, independent line. caller: a gentleman called, trump supporter and said trump did everything he said he would do. he did not show his taxes. he said he was going to show his taxes when he wins. he did not plan on winning. well he won and he still has not showed his taxes. i would like to jump -- i would like the gentleman to call and tell us what is he afraid of. host: we showed you this earlier.

the department of justice advising the treasury department did turn turnover some of those tax returns from the health department that sought them. this story adding that former president by not voluntarily releasing those returns and it was into thousand 19 that the health panel lacked purpose in seeking documents. there was no response from the trump campaign or at least the trump people as to how they will respond. we will go to brent and he is in des moines iowa. republican line. caller: i wanted to say thank you a bunch because if we did not have you we wouldn't have nothing.

here's the thing. it's really simple. we've got a lot more covid-19 to go through yet. host: and how is it impacting iowa as far as the spread? caller: i don't think it's quite as bad here, but we do have a republican governor and she kind of cut some people off pretty much. the thing is this country is getting quite worse. in the next two months is going to be a real test for our country. the thing is, trump people tried. host: as far as the delta variant, what you think about the government's ability to meet that situation? what you think about the ability of the biden administration? caller: i think the bite administration is doing all he can and the best it can. -- i think the biden

administration is doing all he can and the best it can. lest you come up right -- bless you, pedro. host: it's a collective effort with a lot of people involved in this work. i will take that and spread it amongst all of us here at the company the do everyday. smyrna, tennessee. democrat line, arnold. hello. caller: yes, good morning. i would like to say three things. the first one is the most dangerous thing about donald trump was the way he dismissed the climate change and global warming. if we do not, if we do not do everything we can to stop climate change and global warming, everything else is moved. nothing else matters. we are not 20 have a sustainable

environment in which to do anything. we are all going to die. the second thing is about this covid-19 virus. have you ever heard of a device that's called microclimate error -- microclimate? it's a helmet that a couple of guys invented about three years ago and they invented this thing for folks to where when they fly on airplanes because of all of the germs and stuff that everybody is coughing and sneezing and stuff. these helmets will protect you 100% from the virus, all kinds of pathogens. folks need to know about these. it's called microclimate air.

the third thing i would like to ask you, have you heard of a poem by kipling? it's called the gods of the host: can't say that i have. caller: i remember somebody saying on your show years ago that from time to time folks will call an end just rude -- -- just read a poem. do you mind if i read a few lines? host: a few lines is fine. caller: you can find this poem online. it's all the gods of the copybook headings. it goes like this as i passed through my incarnations in every age and race i make my proper frustrations to the gods of the marketplace. peering through fingers, i watch them flourish and fall and the

gods of the copybook headings i notice. we were living in trees and they met us and they showed us each in turn. that water would certainly let us his fire would certainly burn. we found them lacking in uplift and vision and a of mind so we left them to teach the guerrillas while we followed the march of mankind. host: arnold. thank you for the poem. you're going to leave it there. let's go to rachel texas, independent line. caller: hello. how are you doing? i asked people what they see in trump and they said he created jobs. you could google labor department and they give credit to obama. in fact, they said he created over a million more jobs than trump. during the debates, chris

wallace corrected trump and said no, the jobs started on the obama administration. watching these hearings and hearing these police officers their story and how trump's say they were just kissing and hugging and it was nothing but a tour. i can't believe. we used to have reporters that investigated it and they had news media come out and say was nothing to what happened and this police officers were just actors is just crazy. we sat and watched the whole thing on tv. then we got the republicans saying they are going to fight covid by shutting down the border. that's their answer to taking care of covid. it makes you wonder what did we elect certain people that they think taking care of covid's

shutting the border down. people said they are going to shut down the border. host: that's rachel. she referenced the first hearing of the january 6 commission this weekend featuring those police officers and law enforcement. so -- still in it -- still available on our website. you can hear the entire testimony and the questions that were asked to them by legislators. the website is where you can do that. let's go to james in pennsylvania republican line. caller: the one thing i want to point out. i keep hearing have the republican. i'm a republican. i vote rocket. i keep hearing how they are going to take congress in this in effect, but they all that's but all they are doing is getting on fox and talking to the same viewers. they've got to get out there in the trenches and get to the people and get their message across. number two, that january

commission. i can understand why nancy pelosi but not let jordan banks on the commission. if you want the facts, let's get both sides asking the hard questions. is this like the border? they are being shipped throughout the country and they have desires and -- some of them do have the virus and they do spread it. you've got to go down there, you've got to get the united nations involved and to get these cartels. you can't eradicate them. you have to shut them down. if you don't do that, you are always going to have that problem at the border. host: this is from yesterday about president biden announcing sanctions and providing details on his administrations efforts to provide internet connectivity in cuba.

after initially hoping to place the issue on the back burner, the white house is really ramped up its focus on cuba. the president is suspected to make announcements on the medicines and plans for u.s. embassy augmentations. the official noted that the ministration is in talks with private sector providers about the possibility of providing wireless medications to the cuban people. william, democrat line. caller: thank you for taking my call. let me respond to bill out of indiana speaking of the immigrants taking over his country. if you notice, those that have taken over businesses and owned businesses and corporations are

legal immigrants. in a corner store, they are owned by immigrants, foreigners. speaking of the governors race and the republicans playbook. it's all about fear. that's going to be the playbook of republicans upcoming year. last point i want to make real quick is minorities, black, native americans, asians etc. will turn out in huge numbers into thousands would you do because what they saw in georgia . host: that was william. this is tim in california. republican line. caller: best major candidate.

kal em tim kalem. host: basil in ohio, independent line. caller: i am a 90-year-old person. i served in the korean war as a medic. a lot of experiences i've had. for me, the american public has to wake up. if you're concerned about your country, you have to become involved. you can't listen to other people tell you about what politics is. you have to be involved. however, the democratic party is no longer the democratic party. it has become the socialist communist party. republican party has become a bunch of wimps. it's up to the american public to become strong and to. i'm all for two term limits.

host: as an independent, how do you get involved? caller: sometimes calling talk shows like this. sometimes going to the council meetings. the lead grounds within the city and where you live and in the county. host: as far as, what is the biggest issue where you live? caller: well north homestead is more of a democratic type of community. they are starting to wake up. cleveland is growing. host: ok. is there a bigger issue or something that stands out? caller: yes, there are a lot of issues. a lot of it is about the welfare of the environment. a race relationship. people seem to be very confused because of this covid.

covid has caused a lot of distractions in our country. host: that's basil in ohio. let's go to debbie in massachusetts. republican line. caller: am i on? oh ok. i wanted to say -- i wanted to bring up the covid-19. i live about an hour away. it was down there -- i was down there when it broke out. it was one guy who had just been vaccinated within 24 hours -- it was one guy who had been vaccinated. within 24 hours, he got it. i got it and ended up in a coma. there are people who get -- who will be affected by taking the shot. also, the number of 342 is actually all of massachusetts. it's 135 infective mildly within

the providence town area. if you look it up, host: usa the cdc using those numbers, is that something you are questioning? caller: those numbers are off, definitely. you mentioned 400. that is the whole state of massachusetts. mild cases in providence town. there have only been four hospitalized and three of them were children. one lady died. she was in her 80's. host: i read the other story word for word and it was reported that this was from the wall street journal. they said 120 seven fights native people infected with the delta variant during the outbreak. 84 vaccinated, 84 partially

vaccinated people became infected. officials have said at least 400 30 confirmed covid cases have been connected to a cluster -- at least 430 confirmed covid cases have been connected to a cluster. caller: he was in the hospital because he had the symptoms. he went and told them. you see him talking on the tv saying he had just got back next -- he had just gotten vaccinated. within 24 hours, he had the symptoms. whether he caught it before the vaccine or after, nobody knows. host: thank you for the call. we will go to jean, las vegas. caller: i would like to call in and ask why did trump have to hold a rally on that day at that

time at that place? it's amazing how he had already lost in november, but january 6 he is holding a rally? it was all planned. it was amazing. also, i would think people who took, who got the vaccination would want to wear a mask. that is the hope -- that is the whole reason we got the vaccination. if we got vaccinated, we don't mind wearing a mask. host: are they making changes for the mass policy there? caller: yeah, las vegas. there is a mask mandate. you have to wear a mask inside. we were already wearing masks. i never stopped wearing a mask. grocery stores, the casinos. you have to wear a mask unless

you are drinking or smoking or eating. i never stopped wearing a mask around people even though i got both vaccines, both doses. host: let's hear from diane. mechanicsburg, pennsylvania. caller: good morning. i wanted to refer to a person you talked about. investigative reporters. we have very few investigative reporters left in this country. if you pay attention to it, all the channels say. they are all saying the same thing. they are doing the same word. it is scripted. it is coming across. whatever electronic facts, tool, whatever they use. they are saying the same thing. the only investigative reporter that i know of is shirl atkinson who does a great job of getting into what's going on this

country. host: how so? caller: i'm 56 years old. host: why is she different than the others? caller: because she actually does investigative reporting. she looks at both sides. she discovers the truth. she has done it time and time again. she is an emmy award-winning reporter. again, she is one of the very few who are actually doing investigations into what's going on in our country. host: diane and pennsylvania giving us a call. john on our independent line in wilmington, illinois. go ahead. caller: i just wanted to bring up one thing about the cdc that still gets no attention which is the plights of chronic pain

patients like myself being denied opioid prescriptions. it's causing tons of damage, ramifications but it doesn't seem like anybody cares about this. we were being associations have been trying to bring some attention to this for the last four years. we have seen illegal drug overdoses rise over 1000%. we have seen a suicides up by over 300% in this committee. we are seeing people die by all kinds of other things. host: are you saying they are being over prescribed? caller: i'm trying to figure out what is it going to take for our country to realize this war on opioids is a war against patients. host: that's john and wilmington, illinois. a study talking about not only

the commander-in-chief but also congress. the poll was released on the 26th held that 50 1% approved of president biden's approval of chief executive. -- 50 1% approved of president biden's chief executive. the poll also showed that democratic voters have more faith. local officials who run our elections are longtime public servants whose goal is to help our democracy operate smoothly. if we have gotten to a place where voters trump the election only when their side wins, this is todd, republican line. caller: thank you for taking my

call. one of the things i wanted to say is you probably have, like the judgment said earlier, we have, we need term limits. 52% of our congress are millionaires. if you had term limits, you would have that she would not have nancy pelosi. another thing i like to say is no bombs were confiscated on the day of the riot at the capital. if it would've been if a footlocker, nobody would've gone to jail. the other thing i have to say is divide and conquer. i -- a house divided cannot stand. his longest african-americans, asian americans. you need to be american irish. american african. the problem is until we are americans first and something else second, our country is going downhill fast.

host: we will go to angela in north carolina. the democrats line. caller: my name is angela. i'm in franklin, north carolina. i'm 56 years old. i'm disabled. i've got a lot of different points out like to discuss today, but three main ones. ok. that's why am calling in. number one, and somebody mentioned about trump's taxes. let me inform somebody about what the taxes are. when they pay their taxes, a lot of those taxes go into programs to help those that are on low income and special programs to get by in life. number two, there is an article that i've been reading on and i been sending emails to all of

the different congressman, senators about the marijuana and the cannabis plant. i saw on the news the other day where chuck schumer, booker and another senator all three had news conference saying they were going to federally legalize marijuana plant. that's good. but the cannabis plants has got a lot of uses for it. if you can look up on your computer there, the article says i love growing marijuana. host: i apologize. i have to leave it there because we are out of time. i wanted to share with the previous caller about the gun confiscation. prosecutors charging with a firearms violation. taking a look at events of january 6. you can look it up and other stories online as well.

that's it for our program today. another issue of washington journal comes your way 7:00 tomorrow morning. 100 one >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government, david, decided unfiltered view of government, funded by these line television stations and more, including charter communication. >> broadband is a force for empowerment. that is why charter invested millions building infrastructure, upgrading technology, empowering opportunity in communities big and small. charter is connecting us. >> charter communications supports c-span as a public service, along with these other

television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. ♪ >> the senate will be in this weekend is the infrastructure deal is being finalized. watch live coverage on c-span two, online at c-span.org, or listen live on the free c-span radio app. >> now, a hearing about overcrowding at national parks. a senate natural resources subcommittee heard about the increase in park visitors during the covid-19 pandemic and how the national park service can address the issue.