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group right wing watch on her group's effort to monitor what it calls the right-wing movement , and heritage action for america executive director jessica anderson on her groups will in the upcoming midterm elections and in campaign 2024. "washington journal" is. -- "washington journal" is. host: good morning, tuesday, august 3, 2021. a group of protesters on the capitol steps is continuing their vigil, calling for reinstatement of the federal eviction moratorium. inside the building yesterday at the other end of pennsylvania avenue, tensions escalated. that is where we will begin this morning, asking you, do you think the federal eviction moratorium should be reinstated? if you are facing eviction,

(202) 748-8000. if you are a landlord, (202) 748-8001. all others, (202) 748-8002. you can also sent us a text this morning at (202) 748-8003, and please include your name and where you're from. otherwise, catch up with us on social media and on facebook, facebook.com/cspan, on twitter, @cspanwj. here is one of several headlines on this topic of the federal eviction moratorium. progressive press biden and pelosi on evictions -- from the wall street journal, noting the white house said it lacks legal authority to order extension of the eviction moratorium. the story noting that the white house has argued that lawmakers would need to pass legislation to extend the moratorium after a

recent supreme court decision prevented the centers of disease control and prevention from extending its moratorium. it waited until last thursday to as congress to try to pass that extension, and that led to questions yesterday over whether someone had dropped the ball on extending the eviction moratorium before it expires. this is the white house covid-19 economic relief coordinator yesterday. [video clip] >> she and others so they got very little notice from the administration that it felt it was unable to extend me moratorium, and dig their benevolent noise said it looks like somebody dropped the ball. did it take too long for the administration to determine that they were not going to be able to unilaterally extend the eviction moratorium? >> i think the wording in the supreme court opinion was fairly, you know, clear that they said the cdc could not

grant such extension without "clear and specific congressional authorization." i think, really, what we're all dealing with is that the rise of the delta variant is particularly harmful for those who are most likely to face evictions, and as that reality became more clear going into the end of last week, i think all of us started asking when more we could do. host: that was from the white house briefing room yesterday. it should note that not everyone in favor of reinstating the eviction moratorium. from the "wall street journal" editorial board yesterday, they wrote -- the eviction moratorium was perhaps justifiable amid the early lockdowns that through millions out of work but is not a cautionary tale of how bad policies distort behavior and are difficult to end. the economic emergency is long past, they write.

mr. biden acknowledged recently that the moratorium may discourage some people from seeking work. they read that the moral imperative now is to let landlords get rent to avoid bankruptcy. that was from yesterday, wall street journal. asking you whether you think the federal eviction moratorium should be reinstated. it ended on july 31. that protest on the capitol steps continuing, a call for reinstatement of the eviction moratorium. for those facing eviction, landlords, and for all others, and we start on that line for all others. carlton is out of louisville, kentucky. caller: hey, how you doing? yes, sir, it should be reinstated asap, until all the federal funds that goes toward paying the landlords run out. it should stick around until at

least the end of the year. thank you. host: do you think it will take that long to get those funds paid up? he hung up. but on the issue of those federal funds, that is a topic that the "washington post" editorial picks up today. they write, the best idea all along was not an eviction moratorium but rental assistance for hard-hit tenants to keep their homes in my lords still have to service or property could get a lifeline -- and landlords who still have to service their property could get a lifeline. the eviction moratorium lasted long enough for states to begin handing out money. it notes the transition from moratorium to rental assistance should have been smooth but has been devastatingly inefficient. states have distributed only about $3 billion of the 47 going dollars. alan is next at of brooklyn, new york. good morning. caller: good morning.

because of the words if action moratorium are probably loaded and sounds more radical than they really are, there might be some other mechanisms discussed as part of a discussion to also educate the public on the fact that it is not just to help the individual renter. the rate at which evictions could happen would be devastating to the economy in the whole regions. and if people want to get an understanding of that, there should be some kind of sledding tax penalty for landlords who have the right to engage -- some kind of sliding tax penalty for landlords. people need to understand this is not just a problem for the individual renter, it is a problem for all. the higher the cost for community, the higher the

penalty for exercising the right to evict should be. even if that mechanism is not enacted, it might be a good way to get across to people talking about it that that is a reason you do not need one because it is affecting everyone, not just affecting the individual renter that might be cut out. host: what about some of those cascading effects? caller: well, you're talking about the decreased stability of whole neighborhoods that might have more people on the street homeless, increases in crime, decreases in school attendance, increases in the transmissibility of covid because people are not in a stable location and have to be worried more about where they put their heads the next night than they have the ability to think about health care protocols. did you have the decreased

buying power of people who are looking for new residences in a high rental market, affecting the ability of individuals to buy things at other stores. so you might increase the rate in which retail stores and other businesses close down. in fact, this probably should be affecting the rental rate charged in the same way it affects evictions. if we maybe go back a few steps, upstream, and say we are not just going to increase the cost on renters who choose to evict at a time of rental stress but increase the cost of the tax on those who charge higher rents in times of distress. host: thanks for the call. have you ever been a landlord? caller: i was a landlord for one co-op unit in a building where i used to have a residence in the co-op unit, and after selling my

unit, i continued to rent the other one. so one person for about 20 years, tried to keep the rate of rental on that unit pretty stable so i would not have to deal with turnover. and one person rented there for over 20 years and finally moved in with family in the country. but it was an interesting experience, because not being in the isthmus generally, i got to do a lot of -- and not being in the business generally, i got to do a lot of minor repairs. it gave me the perspective of being on both sides of the fence. being attendant and then suddenly being a "landlord" and dealing with those issues. host: thanks for the call from brooklyn. bill is next out of new jersey. good morning. caller: good morning. i think the gentleman was talking just before me about increased taxes.

that is completely wrong. if someone invests in rental property in the retire and now they have a renter and the renter does not have to pay and you say you cannot evict them, that is insane. the person that owns that property lived and paid off the mortgages on it, they did that so they would have the income for retirement. they still got to pay the property taxes. if people do not pay the rent, they cannot pay the property taxes, you're going to be for closed on. the people who foreclosed on it, will they be able to evict the person who was not paying the rent? it goes on and on, and insane thing. host: mary in north carolina, you are next. go ahead. caller: i have two grown daughters. they rent and have got kids. they need to reinstate this

because the simple fact is they are cut the coronavirus. my son-in-law works in a restaurant. and we have a shortage so they had to close the restaurant and because of the coronavirus. you have the food shortage. it is hard. so they got kids, and whether facing eviction. host: mary out of jackson springs, north carolina, this morning. we are asking you whether the federal eviction moratorium should be reinstated, the topic of debate in the last couple of days, a topic of a protest taking place on the capitol steps. here is what the eviction moratorium was that expired on july 31. it was available to renters unable to pay due to a loss of income due to layoffs or extreme out-of-pocket medical expenses, not available to renters earning more than many $9,000 a year. some of your -- earning more

than $99,000 a year. someone wrote this in, do we really want more people dependent on the system? the system is the problem. independence raises everyone cap and forward. linda from new york says to reinstate with long-term policy. it is a cruel system of new york courts to set up for the kill. lola in colorado saying these people knew they needed money for rent and with the job openings, they could have gotten a job. i do not feel sorry -- pick a job. that is what lola writes. the protest is taking place on the capitol steps, led by congresswoman cori bush of missouri, democrat. that protest started over the weekend, continuing through this morning. cori bush updating her followers on twitter about the many members of congress who have shown up and democratic members

of congress showing up and advocating their support for extending that federal eviction moratorium, including senator schumer, expressing thanks for him showing up, saying they need all hands on deck for this program. cori bush also addressing bernie sanders there, showing up yesterday and talking to advocates. congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez and cano among them. yesterday, senator ed markey, democrat from massachusetts, who showed up and addressed those protesters on the capitol steps. this from his twitter page, a little bit of what he had to say during his remarks. [video clip] >> i am here to say that i am with you, and we have to solve this problem, that we should not leave washington until this problem is solved. we have to represent the people in our country. [applause] this is a problem that was

brought into their lives like a plague, and we cannot allow the children and the families -- [inaudible] by this eviction extinction period. so i'm here with cori, with aoc, with all of you for everything you are doing, we just have to stand and fight, and we will win. [applause] host: ed markey yesterday on the east front of the capital at the protest. the sun rising on another day of those protests. should the federal eviction moratorium be reinstated? phone lines, if you are a renter facing eviction, (202) 748-8000. landlords, (202) 748-8001.

all others, (202) 748-8002. to alex other massachusetts, you are next. caller: yes, hello? host: good morning. caller: good morning. the reason i am calling is that my stepchildren's dad passed away a year and a half ago, and basically what happened, the family tried to sell the home. the tenant downstairs was on unemployment with his wife, and here in the massachusetts, basically what they have got is approximately $800 a week apiece. the rent was $1200. they never paid their rent and still have not paid it. in fact, they moved out a month ago with all this money now owed to them. it cost them $25,000, the kids,

and the only request in massachusetts is to go to court, which they did, and he was summoned to go to court but did not show up. here in massachusetts, it is a second chance. moved out. and now the kids have lost most of the money they were going to get from the sale. that is just what i am trying to tell you. as i said, if these people are not paying rent with the supplemental income they have from unemployment, they were making more money than when they were working. so basically, why aren't they paying rent? host: do you think of federal eviction moratorium was ever a good idea during this pandemic? you talk about how it has impacted your family. caller: i believe, as i said, it

would be ok for those who really needed it. i think it just came on that people, it was like hitting a lottery and everybody just said i am going to stay home and get paid and not paying my rent. as i said, these other people moved out about a month and a half ago, and there is no recourse. host: thanks for sharing your family story -- your family's story. butch is in conway, south carolina, a landlord. how is this eviction moratorium affecting you? caller: not me so much as my grandchildren. i just retired in 2020. while i was in pittsburgh, pennsylvania, where i was born and raised, i had rental houses and was putting money aside from hs for three of my grandchildren to go to college. since the last year, i cannot

contribute to a college fund the more. so i have to find a way and my son has to find a way to get them through college, while i have this plan since 1986, something i wanted to do for them. buy houses, let my grandchildren live off the income and go to college. now that is down the drain. i sympathize with anybody that is homeless, i really do. but i think the government overstepped the bounds. they should not have done it for as long as they did. i got laid off with covid, too. i was making four times a week what i was making while working. and i know a lot of people where i live now, including at the car dealership, i was told last year during the pandemic was his biggest year in many years because so many people buying cars and trucks. host: what would be a better sunset for the eviction

moratorium? obviously, the sunset was on july 31 after a challenge, and it was allowed to expire. the biden administration has talked about extending it for two more months, trying to find legal authority. progressives want it extended through the end of the year or longer. what do you think would be fair? caller: i think it would -- what would be fair to me is have a way that once the moratorium ends, that the people who rent must pay the back rent. if you are collecting unemployment and you are paying the rent for a year, when that ends, you must some way, somehow pay it back. i own mortgages. i work 60 hours a week.

i bought four cheap houses in pittsburgh with my son and brother. i have no mortgages on none of my properties, which i am lucky. if i had mortgages, i do not know host: what i would do. host: thanks for the call out of conway, south carolina. text messaging service, ohio, saying no, the real -- the eviction moratorium should not be reinstated. with federal unemployment and the childcare tax credit, there should be no excuses. this one said it is nothing but a landgrab. once the tenant moves out, there is no recourse from collecting on the program. number three, they are slow walking the program payout from applicants. some views from those folks via text messaging and social media. taking your calls throughout this first hour of the washington journal as we talk about this federal eviction moratorium that ended over the weekend. here's a headline from the "washington post," the eviction sparked the left's fury at

president biden. tensions between liberal democrats and president biden, a dispute over the end of that eviction moratorium, threatening to apprehend the democratic delegates. the biden administration setting up its white house covid-19 economic relief coordinator yesterday to the white house briefing room to face reporters and take questions about the eviction moratorium, why the administration does not believe it has legal authority to extend that program, blaming, in part and mostly, the supreme court decision about it. jean sperling also talking about what the white house is trying to do for renters and those behind on their rent to keep their homes. here is a little bit more of what he had to say from the white house briefing room. [video clip] >> the president's focus is for us to do everything within our power, or i should say,

everything within anyone's power to help prevent the necessary, avoidable, and painful evictions. one of the things that he is requesting today is that state and local governments extend or pass eviction moratoriums to cover the next two months. right now, one out of three renters who are behind in the rent are actually protected beyond the federal eviction moratorium by extended state and local evictions, moratoriums. the president is asking that all governors and mayors follow suit and extend moratoriums for two months. two, this president is asking that his departments that provide mortgage-backed lending extend whatever eviction moratoriums they have the power to extend, so that covers usda

and v.a. and hud. third, we have already announced that those with federally backed mortgages may not evict without 30 days of notice. but today the president is going further, in statement friday, and in his instruction today, he is asking the usda, v.a., and hud and the treasury department, as well, make clear that those who benefit from government-backed mortgages or even tax relief related to housing should not seek evictions without first seeking emergency rental assistance funding that allows -- that makes landlords completely whole, that can pay up to 18 months of forward and back rent and utilities, that we want anybody who has got a government-backed mortgage to seek that type of relief.

finally, as the congressional leadership discussed and asked, we're going to do an all agency review to make sure that we understand any potential reason why state and local governments are not getting funds out and making sure that we're using all authorities, whatever federal authority that we have, to prevent evictions. host: white house advisor gene sperling from the white house briefing room yesterday, trying to put some numbers with this story, this is the "new york times" today, chart noting 14.7% of renting households in the u.s. owe back rent. they know the problem is especially acute in 250 counties, especially those in the south where at least 1/5 of renters are behind. the sheer scale of rent debt is alarming, writing there's 23 billion dollars in all that is outstanding, about $3800 per

average household who are behind in their rents. when other chart to show you to show the impacts, the disparity of the impacts, here. this from the pew research center, noting the percentage of those among different ethnicities and races in this country who rent versus own, the top chart. 51.8% adventures in the country are white, while 20.3 percent are black, 19.7% are hispanic. owners, 75.1% are white in this country, 8.2% of homeowners are black, 10.2% are hispanic. and showing the age disparity, those younger people more likely to be renters, 34.4% are under the age of 35, while just 8.9%

or 65 to 75 years or older. those two charts from the pew research service. to your phone calls. should the federal eviction moratorium be reinstated? james in florence, south carolina, good morning. caller: good morning. how you doing? i was watching your program on c-span, and i am just going to be short because i was blessed to have been on both sides of this story, and when i went -- came out of high school, i went to coastal carolina college. but i had to find somewhere to live, and i did not have the finances to do it. but there is something called the methodist, association of methodist women, and i was able to live with a lady, and she accepted what they agreed to pay her. but being on both sides of the

spectrum, with my grandmother, i was a renter and also sort of like a landlord. and i know that times are -- people do the best they can, and it is hard trying to tell someone that you do not have the money to pay the rent. so whatever they do, every situation should be based on its own merits. no one situation covers everything, because it is different stories and things are paid for differently. so please, those that are renting, be considerate. those that are renters, be considerate and look at the bigger picture. because everything happens for a reason. i just want everyone to be aware that no situation is the same, so one shoe can fit everybody. host: thanks for the call from south carolina. joann out of florida, euronext. caller: yes, hello.

when we went through the last economic depression -- [indiscernible] we did not get expenses on anything. they told me there would be nowhere to go, and my child was blatantly used in sex trafficking. my landlord, seven years later, kiss me -- host: so joanna -- caller: that was republicans. i end losing everything because of rich republicans. host: very sorry about -- can i ask you a question? caller: i would never support. host: loretta in cleveland, ohio, you are next. caller: good morning. oh, gosh, i have to come behind

that caller. i feel bad for her. and i see both sides of the issue. i know two people that are being evicted, and both are ladies, both have kids, and both have college degrees. now, i want to talk about both sides, because when people say that you need six months worth of money saved to sustain yourself, that is not true anymore. you are going to need at least a year or two. and what that consists of is this year's worth of rent, this year's worth of insurance, this year's worth -- excuse me, six months of insurance, utilities,

your phone, all of those integral bills every month that you have to pay. you need at least a year saved up now in order to sustain yourself. now some of my friends, we are all trying to pull together and help them out. but everybody is going through something. and for those renters, they supposed to have a reserve fund to cover anything, just like those store owners yelling about the rioters, they supposed to have insurance to cover that. and if they do not have their butt covered, then they left out also on that end. host: that is loretta in cleveland, ohio. it is 7:30 on the east coast. asking you, do you think the federal eviction moratorium that

expired on july 31 should be reinstated? debate happening in congress, especially among democrats, on this topic. if you are facing eviction if you are a renter, phone line is (202) 748-8000. landlord, (202) 748-8001. all others, (202) 748-8002. go ahead and keep calling in on that topic. speaking of the buckeye state, an interesting day in buckeye state politics. his story from the "new york times" this morning. open house seats in ohio, a stress test for both democrats and republicans, offering early hints with the party leaders are aligned with voters ahead of the midterm elections next year. in the cleveland area, two democrats are locked in a bitter and expensive clash, becoming a flashpoint in the larger struggle. the early favorite to win is

nina turner, trying to hold back the preferred candidate of more establishment-from the politicians and allied outside groups. and that the other race in a columbus, republicans vying to upset the preferred candidate, an energy lobbyist who is largely unknown until mr. trump endorsed him in early june and all but ensured he would be a front runner in the race. if mr. trump's candidate does not prevail, it would be another sign that his blessing is not the political golden ticket that he and his allies continue to insist that it is. we will check back in later today and on tomorrow's "washington journal" about what happens in those two ohio primaries today. meantime, we're talking about this federal eviction moratorium come asking you, do you think you think it should be reinstated? eugene, jacksonville, florida, that line for landlords. go ahead. caller: my name is eugene from

jacksonville, florida, and i have a situation now were one of my tenants using my house for assisted living, she has nine people living in the house paying $1000 apiece and she tells me she doesn't have to pay rent anymore. what can i do? host: does she still not have to pay rent not that the moratorium is lifted? have you started and eviction process with her if she is refusing to? caller: she had two houses at one time and stopped paying rent on the other one and just little -- walked away and left the house totally destroyed. i spent $8,000 fixing the house, and there is nothing legally i can do. i tried. now number two house, i do not know what to do. i am afraid to talk to a lawyer because that costs me $1000 an hour. so what do i do? host: so how long can you come as a landlord, continue to be in the situation when it comes to your finances? caller: it is draining my side down because all the insurances

on the seven houses i have have gone up by 50% your it i do not know how long i can hang in there. this virus thing should be over and out. it is done. let's move onto the next big thing. i have had enough of this. i do not believe in these shots and all this other stuff they are forcing us to do. you know, enough is enough. host: david beck in massachusetts, go ahead. -- david back in massachusetts, go ahead. caller: i have a different twist, in a way. i only home and then paying a mortgage on it, but basically my landlord is the bank. if i do not pay my mortgage, then the house will be taken away from me. and i have seen, like, one woman i know that came here from nigeria, she's here illegally and has been renting in five different places in three years and walking away after like a year without paying money, and

these landlords are just losing everything. yet, the federal government is not doing anything about it. i think they should check on fraud that is happening in the rental business, both from landlords and from people that rent. thank you. host: david in massachusetts. speaking of massachusetts, it was massachusetts senator elizabeth warren who was on the senate floor over the weekend as this eviction moratorium for renters was expiring, calling for an extension of that moratorium. here is her comments from over the weekend. [video clip] >> my office has heard from so many people in massachusetts who are terrified about the possibility of losing their homes. i know that each f my colleagues here must be hearing these stories -- each of my colleagues here must be hearing these stories. in every state, their family sitting around the kitchen tables right now trying to figure out how to survive a devastating, disruptive, and

unnecessary eviction. congress has a choice to make. it is a privilege for us to represent people, and we have a duty to exercise our power on their behalf. every senator in this chamber should be grateful that they have the power right now to keep families safe. my colleagues understood the stakes in march of 2020 when congress passed the cares act eviction moratorium into law, it understood the stakes when we provided historic funding for emergency rental assistance. i urge them to join me now in continuing this lifesaving protection as states distribute assistance to keep renters home, keep landlords page, and most of all, to keep families safe. host: senator elizabeth warren

on the senate floor from over the weekend. we have been asking you to call in and send us your social media comments on this issue of reinstating the federal eviction moratorium. do you think that would be a good idea? a comment from john on twitter, saying we need to get back to normal. we have a labor shortage, and there are plenty of jobs. the moratorium served its purpose. from mark and the problem about the pandemic made respect government overreach will not be fixed. scott in massachusetts anger should be no federal eviction moratorium on rent, it should be a state decision if anything. and this one from california, an independent and a tenant saying, yes, they should reinstate it, the problem is how snail taste bureaucracy moves painfully slow.

it is a 100-your pandemic, and it is not over yet. that is attorney in california referring to some of these pandemic aid programs that have been developed. there is money there for rental assistance, and we hear about how slow that money is getting up to the renters and eventually to the landlords. this from the "washington post" last week, six months after the program was approved by president donald trump, just 12% of the first 25 billion dollars in funds had reached people in need due to loss of income because of the pandemic. more than three months after president biden signed a march relief package with an additional $21.5 billion for that aid program, even less of that has been sent. that snail pace perhaps tony was referring to and many members of congress have been criticizing and that the biden

administration has said they are moving to increase the ability of that money to get out faster. abra in florida, you are next on that line for all others ash barbara in florida, you are next. caller: what i wanted to say is you got the landlords, and they make their living on this rent, too. so they are taking their mayonnaise, too. there's jobs everywhere. they are begging people to come to work. nobody wants to come to work because the government is giving them all this money, and then they go spend it all what they want to, instead of paying the bills and doing what they need to do with this money. that is where the problem is you are making the country lazy by giving them everything, yet they are not paying their bills and doing what is right to begin with. in the landlords have to have money to live, too. so it is on both sides. thank you. host: cody on the line for those

facing eviction come out of wisconsin. caller: i am actually torn with this one. i am facing eviction. i am on fixed income right now, and with the inflation, basically my bills have skyrocketed. so i am not going to be able to continue to pay the rent. as far as the moratorium, i feel like we should do something different, something more like the ppp, something set up where people do not abuse the system. and i feel like a moratorium has more of a cascading effect, where more people are at risk, more people are more involved,

banks and the small business owners or property owners who are going to be more affected than the major companies and corporations. host: what is a better way to do it, cody? caller: i know they are having issues -- they just --it is unconstitutional, right? host: it was allowed to expire on july 31, but, yes, a supreme court decision on that topic. caller: the ppp program is already set up, as i said, so if it is already set up, they could easily get back into that. it would be set up exactly the same for small businesses to keep the business going. there is more than just rent. the landlord has to take care of

maintenance, taxes, all sorts of different things besides their mortgages. again, like, i am torn because, obviously, i do not want to get kicked out. host: how long do you have, tony? caller: two months. i have a good relationship with my landlord. so when i fall behind, with a fixed income, there is no coming back. so yeah, she gives me a month, hopefully i can get something figured out by then. host: what is your plan right now? caller: nothing. [laughs] i have none. i got put on disability right before the pandemic, and then the pandemic was supposed to be

temporary. but again, with everything shut down, everything in the chaos come i cannot get going anywhere at this point. so i guess i got nothing. host: that is cody in wisconsin. we are asking about the supreme court case, the june 29 decision handed down, alabama association of realtors versus the department of health and human services, and brett kavanaugh the key justice on that decision , writing the concurring opinion. i agree with the district court and the applicants in this case of the centers of disease control and prevention exceeded existing statutory authority by issuing nationwide eviction moratorium, though noted, because the cdc class to end the moratorium in just a few weeks at that point, on july 31, that

will allow for additional and more orderly distribution of the congressionally appropriated rental assistance funds, he wrote, to deny the application to vacate the district court's order, and therefore, that program ended on july 31. that is the supreme court decision, sort of the key here and what the white house has pointed to as the reason why they cannot unilaterally extend this moratorium one more time. members of congress saying that the white house could perhaps do that, fight this out in the courts, and the white house asking late last week, right before the house of representatives went to their district work period, for congress to extend this program. that did not happen before the house left. kathy in montgomery, texas, your next. caller: yes, good morning. this is proof the government makes promises it cannot keep. people need to get off their butts and go to work, stop

using the covid as an excuse to stay home and feel sorry for themselves. go to work. landlords have to pay their bills, too, and that is by getting the rent paid. go to work and pay your bills. host: judy is a landlord in springfield, vermont. good morning. caller: yeah, i get help from the state. my husband passed away about three years ago, and i cannot rent my apartment. i have a beautiful apartment, but we have rented it three times before this thing came about, the pandemic, and we did not get any money. it was people who were working that did not even pay us. in this state come as a landlord, you have no rights whatsoever. everybody keeps wanting to rent it, and i say if i rent it you,

than i am in trouble, because then they are going to take it out on me because i might make a few more dollars. you know, i mean, this is crazy, and i am 77, so you know i am on a midget income. it is -- on a limited income. if you are on a limited income, they're not going to help you. i know a lot of people have made some pretty bad choices with this extra money. but a long time ago, they were not supposed to even touch social security. and now everybody is dipping into it, and there is not going to be any left for the young people. host: this is jean ann, madison, wisconsin. caller: good. thank you so much for taking my call. i hate to say it, but i think that the money that is being appropriated for people at this time, $16.75 an hour, is this

incentivizing work ethic in this country. i am ashamed because that is what our country is built on, responsibility and rights. you do not get a free pass card for free rent because you do not want to go to work. the jobs are there, but one has to get off their keister and go work. be proud of your work. have work ethic and ambition in life. give yourself a better life. our government cannot continue to print money and just give it out and the people that received the money do not use it for the things that it is needed for. for example, rent. and it is not the right equation. i say prayers for this country every day because it really needs it bad. thank you appeared your comments, please. host: fredericksburg, virginia,

your comments. caller: good morning. we just need to take the money that we are spending on other things, like illegal immigrants, and give it to the people who pay taxes. the money that the government is distributing should go only to landlords. if someone owes an individual money, the government needs to make sure they are going to give it to. the person it actually needs to be given to the landlords. the landlords need to be made whole on a constant basis. and then the money left over could be given to the renter. the biggest problem is -- how on earth can anyone in the united states consider going out and buying a $300,000 or $400,000 home? and that is the dilemma, and we

should all be realizing that for our future. it is a terrible thing. host: on this issue of the rental aid, the programs approved in multiple covid relief bills totaling over $45 billion at this point, we talked about the snail pace at which the money is getting out. the "washington post" looking at that program and the money going out, noting that billions is being given to renters with low incomes who have unpaid rent because of the pandemic and who meet certain criteria, but it does not always go to the renters. in some places, the money is given directly to the landlords to compensate them. in other places, the landlords and tenants must reach an agreement on a payment plan to receive funds. so program with not one specific way as to how it is being done because the country. that is all happening as this photo eviction moratorium expired over the weekend. about 10 minutes left in this

segment of the "washington journal" asking if you think it should be reinstated. a call from north carolina, good morning. caller: no, i do not think you should be reinstated. i also think that employees should return to the office. you cannot even get irs on the telephone. and you have to remember that a lot of people were left disabled from covid and cannot work. so all of these people who are saying folks need to return to work, it takes a long time to get disability income if you are disabled, and there are a lot of people in that condition. so you just cannot say give the money here, give the money there. you really do not have people in these offices to really manage these programs. you need people returning to work, the federal employees need to return to the office, irs. host: this is crystal in indian

trail, north carolina, on that line for those facing eviction. tell us about your circumstances. caller: i am calling because i am 77 and in a home at him comfortable. but i feel sorry -- i hear all these people complaining about people not wanting to work, not doing this or that, being lazy. i have two 40-something-year-old children who are working in the covid environment, under pretty much stress, with children to come home to, and finally getting the shots but not quite because you have to wait in line. but the point is is the money is supposed to come to north carolina, the government. it was on tv just a few minutes ago on cnn, that money that is

allocated for each state -- it is not even getting to the owners of the apartment complexes where the houses or whatever they rent. that is what happens with our government. if people would calm down and quit blaming the poor people that say they do not want to work, they're too lazy, this, that, and the other, that is not true. there is an in between person, people with holding money to the landlords and to the renters. there is a problem that needs to go person the person, they need to go in an office and ask for the money or the landlord needs to ask for the money. they need to stop giving this money to somebody else that is spending it on themselves. host: got your point. freddie in north carolina, good morning. caller: yeah, joe biden ain't going to renew it because they

got to have apartments for 1.3 million illegals. that is the reason that they not going to renew it. host: i do not quite follow your logic there. explain a little bit more. we lost him. next is from essex junction, vermont, a landlord. caller: i am a landlord with about nine properties, and i'm also a tax preparer and to over 1000 tax returns per year. the majority of my clients are landlords. i feel for both. what i have found in vermont was at the beginning of the pandemic, most of the tenants did not know about the relief programs out there. i was informed by a claimant and shared it with one of my tenants who needed it. it works well. i received payments from my tenants for about six month worth of rent, and took that

tenant was able to qualify in vermont. i think it worked really well for those who knew about it. i think it was not advertised well that that was in place. i have about three different kinds of landlords. have the small one with about one to three units. then i have some medium and one large one. the majority of my small landlords cannot afford to go without receiving rent. so my heart also goes out to them. i feel like the majority of the people -- a lot of people are choosing not to pay their rents, and that is unfortunate. it is probably not the majority, but it is unfortunate. whether as to extend the relief program, there also has got to be some kind of acknowledgment for those people who are not paying the rent because they just don't want to.

that is what i feel like. i just feel like we need to think from both sides. host: if it was your decision, you said you are leaning towards reinstating this program. if that happens, how long would you want it reinstated for? what is a fair amount of time? caller: i think, because i feel for the landlords a little bit more, as long as the rental relief program is in effect, it should be reinstated. but if there is no assistance for that landlord who needs that rent to pay their mortgage, like myself, then i think that we should allow people to evict people. because the majority of people, like myself and the majority of my clients, we need that rent income to pay our mortgage. that is my opinion. host: so until that money gets distributed, keep the moratorium in place and point people to that program and use of that money?

caller: absolutely. as long as the money is out there to help people, let's do that. but when the money is not there anymore, let's also have compassion for those landlords who need that rental income. host: thanks for the call. a few minutes left one more picture from yesterday from that protest up on capitol steps, progressive members of congress up there, including alexandria ocasio-cortez, cori bush, calling for reinstatement of the eviction moratorium. cori bush leading this protest on the capitol steps per the congresswoman the focus of several of the stories today. this story that goes along with the picture, the raw average evident in congress yesterday when congresswoman cori bush, who has been camping outside for the past several days, protesting the expiration, having an impromptu chat with vice president kamala harris. a democratic aide familiar with

the two described the exchange as amicable but sorta fell short of what bush was hoping for. that from the aide that the washington post interviewed. this is cori bush's perspective on that conversation, her tweet right after that conversation saying she had the conversation with kamala harris, i needed her to look me in the eyes and i wanted to look at my hers when i asked for help to prevent our people from being evicted. madam vice president, she said directly to kamala harris, let's work together to get this done, we need a federal eviction moratorium. the hill newspaper also catching up with cori bush yesterday amid that protest that she has been leading. here is a little bit from their interview with her. [video clip] >> devotes votes in the senate are not there, so what is the

end game here? what happens next? >> right now, our focus is our house, getting our house in order. we have a wonderful partner over in the senate, senator elizabeth warren. she is doing the work over there. they got together house in order over there. we are working to make sure that the people know that the house, that the democratic house, is standing up for them. we cannot have the majority and then put 7 million to 11 million people on the street. so i am laser focused with what is happening on the house side but also still having those conversations with senator warren, and she is doing the work on the inside of the senate. host: missouri democratic cori bush in her interview with "the hill" newspaper. we are asking you, should the federal eviction moratorium be reinstated? stephen and massachusetts on that line for those facing eviction. . caller: good morning.

how are you. this moratorium, i do not think it has anything to do with me, but i caught between a rock and a hard place. i am being evicted. they have been trying to evict me for the last year and a half. i have lived here for eight years and paid my rent every single time. but the problem, i think, is because the landlords now, because of the moratorium and because everyone is being evicted, is they want their money back. so when i go look for an apartment, i pay $1000 a month and i'm on social security disability, the rents now in my area are $1500 to $1600 for a one-bedroom. and for a room, they want $1100 a month.

i only do about $1400 a month. i understand the moratorium has nothing to do with me, but what does someone like me do? host: would you move out of your area and try to find a cheaper area to live in? you are in everett mass -- you are in everett, massachusetts? caller: yes, but i can go to maybe malden, melrose. but they are all the same. you have to understand, i have cancer. i have to stay near everett. i have to stay close because i have mass general once or twice a month. you know, i do not know if anybody is going through what i am going through, but i do not have any answers. i really do appreciate your

time, sir. host: appreciate you sharing, good luck to you. one more call. james in newington, connecticut. caller: thank you for your courtesy. that last gentleman that spoke related a little bit to what my comments were going to be. what has changed in the last year and a half is that we have to recognize that with the federal reserve putting $2.2 trillion of paper money into the economy, we have exploded the real estate market in so many places in this country, to the point where, as this gentleman was talking, the greater austin area is probably within 100 miles of boston, every contest doubled. greater seattle area, washington, every rent has doubled. greater san francisco, l.a., doubled. so the point is, even people who were paying their rent may be

forced out. and it is basically easier for the landlords now who are behind to sell the property and cash out as a single-family home or condo than keep it into the rental world with an uncertain plan for the future of whether tenants will actually pay. that is what i think you will see happen in the host: toward and come into another housing bubble? guest: it's no secret here that his neighborhood rent was 1000 dollars, which probably was under market because he was a long-term tenant, which probably really $1200. now he looks around, it's going to be 16. it is a structural issue. wine probably going to favor is a short-term, three-month credit that just like the irs sent out

these stimulus package of $1200-$1600, we accept there are scammers who just took that money and didn't pay their actual rent. they just save the money. for the other people, we are going to probably have to do a $1500 runtime rent saver so at least they have the down payment for a future apartment or something like that and maybe have the irs target anybody who filed or made under $55,000 or $60,000 per year that if they just send a little thing online, they get that money for potentiality for future rental apartments. i don't think you can get in out through some giant government program. host: last color in this first segment, plenty more to discuss this morning. up next we will be joined by abbie stanton from the group

"right-wing watch" to talk about her group's mission in 2021. later, the opposition to president biden and the congressional democrats agenda. stick around, we will be right back. ♪ announcer: sunday, c-span series continues. three more members of congress share stories of what they saw, heard and experienced that day including ronny jackson who recounts what happened during those early moments on the house or. >> i don't really know how far we got into you maybe five people or so that were speaking. going back and forth from the democrats to the republicans. nancy pelosi was up at the podium. at some point, they pulled her away and someone else came into

replacer and i didn't really pick up on that, that happens every now and then anyways. what did catch my attention was shortly after that, police officers started coming into the chambers and they were being very loud. they were making a lot of commotion. the doors to the chamber typically open and they started shutting all the doors. and you can hear all the doors locking. when i noticed several of them were standing in front of doors, they have their weapons out. >> you will also hear from colin allred of texas and hakeem jeffries of new york.

washington journal continues. host: the director of right-wing watch, a project for people of the american way. explain that you and your colleagues do. guest: it's great to be with you. right-wing watch is a research object that trains its i on what is going on in many of the lesser-viewed corners of the far right wing movements. everybody from before qanon was qanon, when we were watching that movement, and we are still keeping our ionic.

we look at very far a conspiracy-minded preachers. the team comprises two researchers and two journalists and the researchers are researcher-writers. we fact-check everything we put out there. we definitely put it out with a voice, but the facts are solid and wheeze multiple platforms. like everybody. a lot affair posts feature clips of the people we are reporting on. our aim this to really educate the public and journalists about what are some things that you have tracked with right-wing watch? guest: out of the qanon

universe, my colleague is interacting with tito ortiz, who is actually rather dangerous. i believe he is a ufc champion. he is a qanon influencer. and while his position, which i think he has since resigned on the council, the city council of huntington beach, california, may not seem all that impressive, these are the kinds of positions that people on the far right, more normalized far-right movements, this is how they find their way into republican politics, is by eliminating local seats. we've been watching allie alexander, one of the organizers of the so-called stop the steal movement which is the movement that was kind of an astroturf

movement but with a lot of followers now. it alleges that the 2020 election the stolen from donald trump. and they had a lot to do with all the momentum for the insurrection. and then there is a post on pastor greg locke who is always kind of making very threatening remarks. now he has forbidden anybody from coming into his church wearing a mask. that gives you sort of a sampling of what we are up to and who we are looking at. host: what is the line between exposing extreme rhetoric and giving it more oxygen, more clicks, more airtime? guest: this is a discussion we have every day here. as journalists and researchers, we really do feel the need to educate. look at what has happened with

the hard right moving into all of the halls of power in the last 5, 6 years, and often controlling government entities. that has sort of become normalized and you have political journalists now trying to cover, and covering very well, a political dynamic with which they are only now becoming familiar because the right wing was so long passed up as some kind of a fringe movement. i think it was a shortcoming in general stick circles -- journalistic circles for a young time -- long time. and i do have a dog in this fight. they dismiss them as being as

french as they believed the right-wing move to be and it is a little head scratching when you consider ronald reagan. host: how did you get into this work? guest: my career started at magazines in the 1980's. i was brought on as an assistant, but i was permitted to write and pursue some passion project. one was catholic feminism. there was a lot going on inside the cap church regarding nuns who were questioning certain dictates of the church and whatnot. but you ramp -- can't only cover a religious rights movement in

1980 or without covering the religious right, because that was the opposition. once i started looking at the catholic right brought me to the broader religious rights movement, i was absolutely asked because his movements also, the secular component also, especially around the time of the tea party, became more ground. infrastructure and dynamics, really feeling that moment as well. let me give you the phone number in the conversation. (202) 748-8000, democrats. (202) 748-8001, republicans. (202) 748-8002, independents. i want to give an example of some of the work you are doing. a video you posted yesterday.

explain who dr. scott lively is. guest: scott lively is a long anti-lgbt activist who has led movements that affirm the discredited conversion therapy for lgbtq people. and assess very incendiary. we hadn't -- here he is from the youtube video posted about it and also on the right wing youtube page. > we can take back the country in 2022. if we don't, i don't think it is going to happen short of some kind of violent insurrection,

which is still possible. people are eventually going to stop putting up with tyrannical authority and when the only remedy, the only avenue of resistance comes armed rebellion, some people are going to act in that way if they have any success at all and a lot of other people will follow them. host: that is part of a larger video posted. why post that mark --? guest: i think there is a sense among very smart people that the january 6 insurrection was a one-off deal. and what that clip tells you, and many others, mcauley peter montgomery wrote a scary piece about all of violent rhetoric being used by right-wing preachers in the run-up to the january 6 insurrection.

we look at that january 6 insurrection, we see a sort of data test in other words, it is very diffused throughout the country. even if you look at the people who are charged in this insurrection so far, they are from all over. so it may not be that your next-door neighbor is ready to join the armed insurrection, but there are dynamics in our culture that may cause us to look the other way as we see people kind of being willing to muster for that particular cause once again. and it is quite chilling. we do remember there were all that has been played in authoritarian regimes and throughout the world. host: how do you define success after posting a video like that

question the goal is to generally alert the public. there is a saying that what they were covering on january 6, seven and eight, it ain't over. i'm talking about political journalism. they have done fantastic work following up on people charged in the insurrection of political journalistd who may not be aware of what is going on in the rest of america, it's just that the politics alone is quite consuming to cover. so we hope to get it picked up by reaching the general public. and a lot of the times, they get picked up in popular culture.

and that really helps us to educate folks who are not like me, reading three newspapers every day as i may politics junkie. other people have lives. host: the phone numbers again if you want to join this conversation. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. (202) 748-8000 free democrats. (202) 748-8002 for independents. also looking for your comments on social media as well. one of them this morning rights what does the guest think about how trump and his disinformation resulted in january 6? guest: this was a set up a long time coming. people in the league forget because there has been so much devastating news late, but trump was saying long before the

election that if he didn't win, it would be because it was stolen. he obviously had some internal polling that said he might not win. so this is how he set it up. the confirmation bias with trump base which is very inclined to believe democrats have been conducting voter fraud, which is not true. however, it is a great way to sort of disenfranchised part of the population by giving impetus for all of these state legislatures to pass just some egregious restrictions on voting rights that people enjoyed in the 2020 election.

one of the state laws said somebody passing out water to you, if you are standing in line for hours to vote, change is are you might be in a majority black district or precinct. there is a lot to learn about the disinformation effort. i did a peace in my right wing launch guide for the republic about steve bannon's role. he is sort of the propaganda voice for the january 6 insurrection, but he was also as far down as election night advancing a narrative in his house. panamanian was being stolen, -- philadelphia was being stolen.

there was a strategy here. it has great repercussions and it is sure to be road -- erode any trust people have in our institutions, especially our electoral system. host: this is valerie in new york, democrat. caller: good morning. i hope you are both well this morning. i read a lot of nonfiction and after charlottesville, which i found very, very disturbing, i read several books, i read "hatelamd." vice news has done some really good awning over the past three or four years. it is really, really, really disturbing because we don't have a william buckley anymore to purge the party. and to be fair, there are a

couple of people on the left or anti-semitic. my grandparents were lucky enough to make it here before hitler came into power. i really find this so worrisome and the internet, it is like a dopamine hit. people just throw down in these corners and i really don't know what the answer is. he is a former skinhead and i think we need more things like that, more programs like that. thank you for what you are doing it, and you have a great day. guest: thank you, valerie. host: any comments? guest: i really appreciate the reading that the caller has been doing and i really should got a couple of those myself. i do think there is a growing level of intolerance of all

kinds, the folks who wanted to keep trump in power or bring him back to power or create a trump party or just bust up the republican party, this has been going on for quite a long time. what they are able to do is to sort of weaponize all of the confirmation bias is for everybody who has got a little bit of this or a little bit of that. racism, anti-semitism, misogyny, never is. -- whatever it is. people have these kinds of biases and we all have our biases. it is going to be easier to believe the lie. host: john, republican, good

morning. caller: i would like you to know that we understand that john sullivan was arrested at the capital on january 6. does the guest view john sullivan and blm's involvement in the insurrection as an escalation of their summer of insurrection in which they were burning american cities, blowing up cop cars by the hundreds? have we ever seen right wing groups perpetrate such violence and insurrection as we have seen black supremacy groups blm and like antifa commit as we did last year? guest: well, of course behalf. because january 6, what we saw was violence, real violence. people died. in the effort to overturn a democratically-elected president, right? i mean, i never saw blm try to

change in election result by force. that is when you are getting into real authoritarian stuff. a weaponized mob, he really did weaponize that mom really brilliantly. a core group of people had a plan, but then the mob was sort of weaponized. in terms of the one black lives matter activist you are saying was there, i don't know that case. i do know that 600 people, nearly 600 people so far including at least 15 law-enforcement officers, some are former, storm of the u.s. capitol, reached the u.s. capitol, tried to disrupt a democratic process. i'll be at, that was going on on behalf of the american people.

so i really resent this kind of false equivalence. was there distress in the united states, across the country after the murder of george floyd which followed a number of deaths of african-american people at the hands of police? yes, there was. there's no excuse for that. but the protests that were organized by leaders in black lives matter were very intentional, they were peaceful, and there's only so much one can control when you have large gatherings of people. so i think this false equivalence has got to go. host: misery, this is rick, independent. -- missouri. caller: i want to dovetail off of your comment on the george floyd incident because black

lives matter took it hold in missouri about five years ago with the falso statement that it was hands up, don't shoot. there were crowds in ferguson, michael brown's grandfather saying burn this to the ground. that started five years prior. i try to think independently. i want to ask you, do you believe there has been enough reporting on the right to expose the left? because your positions, it seems like it could be flipped the exact opposite way to other people with a diametrically opposed view, and the case be made. so will this country moved

toward the middle and survive this? what do you think? guest: i think in the united states of america, the motion of democracy is not extreme, and the notion that people should be able to walk in safety in their streets and not get gunned down for some misdemeanor-level bad behavior. you know, michael brown, i can understand -- i can understand why his father was enraged. his body was left in the streets for three hours. whatever you believe happened between michael brown and that police officer, that in and of itself is an act of profound contempt. there was no reason for that. i understand why black lives matter formed around that shooting. it's extremely impressive, the movement that they were able to

build nationwide, but sadly, the reason that movement swelled with their continued to be this police abuse of black people. host: about 15 minutes left with the director of right wing watch. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. (202) 748-8000 free democrats. independents, (202) 748-8002. i want to give viewers another example of some of the work that you do. this video posted over the weekend, a video made by dave dobbin mayer. guest: dave is a religious right figure who talks a lot to the video screen. but his main claim to fame most recently has been stalking the clintons.

he brings small groups of protesters to wherever it is the clintons live in westchester county, bill and hillary clinton. if they so much appear at a local event, they are stalking them. they are stalking them at the house. he has certainly made violent threats against officials that he disagrees with. he considers himself to be the essence of christianity. i know a number of christians who would disagree with that. you look at a guy like that and you say, why do we pay attention to this? well, he does get a fair number of viewers, and he's also an example of people all over the country who are doing this kind of thing. he is somebody we have followed

for a long time. my colleague keeps his eye trained on him . i mean, this guy, i think he lives in ohio. he has arranged trips for people to go visit the clintons. host: here's the video posted by the right wing watch blog, your youtube page. >> friends, as it was in the day of noah, so shall be the coming of fallen man. what would you tell us? that this jab is melting and working and screwing up your dna! the same thing that was giong on before the days of noah, the exact samet hing. and as it was in the days of noah, so shall it be the coming

of the son of man. dr. fauci is an emissary of the devil, folks. not just the devil let you see on halloween, not just a guy who dresses up in a suit. he is an emissary of beelzebub himself. destroy the seed of christ. guest: well, i think what that video demonstrates is, first of all, he isn't the only christian influencer or pastor who is going the anti-vaccine route right now. there is a lot of conspiracy theorizing among religious right people on the farther religious right. and to make claims such as we just heard, that the vaccine is

changing your dna or whatever. the other thing about people like him that we see, what their role is in saying covid was a hoax or the vaccines are going to do something terrible to you or wearing a mask is an infringement on your personal liberties, all of that stuff, what that effectively does is also makes the case for these far-right, hard right part of the republican party the trump face, it makes them dangerous -- base, it makes them dangerous. there has been a whole strategy, may it came about haphazardly, but when somebody saw it was working, to create a really dangerous base of the republican

by various activists. it began with the nra literally changing its own mission to become the gun manufacturing business. but by convincing people who were regular gun owners and hunters that the government is coming for your guns, and the only way, scaring people about how they live or that they needed for self-defense, you wind up in a weaponized space. and then with the advent of covid, it was really easy to make the base really dangerous to other people. and that's by embracing these conspiracy theories about vaccination against the coronavirus, about mask wearing. and about the validity of the covid-19 diagnosis. host: a little bit of time, a

lot of callers. democrats, michael, oklahoma city. caller: good morning, john. there is a word that it seems like journalists don't want to use, and it is fascism. and that is exactly what we had, a fascist insurrection. the definition comes from mussolini. ed comes from a word meaning a collection of sticks like kindling. the conservative movement -- he also said that each -- they had political power, but not enough to gain control, but if you gather these sticks together, like if you get the conservative christians and the gooden toter's together, they don't have enough power alone, but if you put them together like kindling and light a fire and get them mad, then you might be

able to accumulate enough power. that's what fascism is. host: that's michael in oklahoma city. this is reed in oceans short, washington. caller: i have a comment to make about the riots that this guest is saying is an insurrection. to correct the last caller, fascism is when the state takes over business, like the health care bill that had the largest tax increase in american history. but the democrats didn't do it through a straight up tax bill, they did it through taxing all these corporations. what i wanted to ask your guest, i've seen films censored by youtube now. one is two charter vans being caravanned into the capitol at the time of the riots. out of these jump 50 or 60

antifa members, with their samurai buns, switching into trump gear. they are the ones that spearheaded this riot, not the insurrection. no one was armed to take over the government. guest: ok. to the fascism question, i will note that officer daniel hodges at the hearing on the events of january 6, which took place last week, called it white nationalist insurrection. that's probably the most precise term one can put on it, but it was not merely an insurrection. when we are trying to stop the democratic process from working by taking seizure and committing violence, that is an insurrection, and they were

armed. some actually did have firearms on them, a lot of flagpoles and pipes and people were being vastly outnumbered. this was, in no uncertain terms, and attempt at insurrection. host: the caller brings up censored by youtube, something that has happened to right wing watch. explain why. guest: ah, yes, we had a youtube channel of our own and all of the videos you will see posted to either our twitter account or in the post on our website, they are put up on our youtube channel. of course, our videos show all of these folks, these far-right folks advancing false claims about the election, about

covid-19, about all manner of things. and so, youtube is under great pressure to not advance these false narratives now, because it has caused real harm to people. and i imagine a lot of this is done by ai. so we post videos of people saying all this stuff, all of this kind of disinformation. with the caveat, we have an opening slide that explains it is for educational purposes and that we are not advancing this. a lot of times now, we get hit with these claims of violating community standards. so we did get it restored after a whole bunch of journalists, mostly, who rely on our work. and we are grateful to youtube who admitted they made a mistake

and they admitted that publicly and restored our account. host: truth or consequences, new mexico. kyle is next, independent. caller: i just want to comment on the focus on the extremes and how detrimental i think it is. the guest just mentioned ai, and i assume the discussion of algorithms is steering us to information that we like rather than information that is accurate. guest: i agree. caller: and looking at it without knowledge, it seems both sides are irresponsible. we can look at what happened on january 6, but we also need to look at what happened with antifa, quite honestly. lastly, just an example of how the extremes conserve to actively hurt conversation. it was just touched upon, but if

i were to say generic repurposed will drugs to fight against covid, to say that it can somehow be construed as an extremist and tight exposition is i think representative of the failure of the media narrative to steer us to the center. that is my comment and i thank you. guest: i'm not familiar with the drug you're talking about, but if it is being advanced as something they could replace a vaccine, i would say probably not a good idea. when you talk about these extremes, i think it's important to look at the two political parties and if you look at the gop, that has become a repository for really, pretty much hard right extremists. people like jim jordan and mo brooks.

people who are really advancing this whole false narrative about the election and who are extremely disruptive on the legislative agenda. and when you go to the democrats, i don't see that level of extremism. you have people who are ideologically left, sure. but they're not making excuses for violence or they are not making any bones about who they are and how they vote, and they work with their fellow democrats. i think it is laughable to see the democratic party at this point as some sort of hard leftist party, it certainly isn't. have progressives pushed that agenda?

absolutely. that is how you keep a party healthy, is by having discussions between centrists, liberals and progressives. on the other hand, when you look at what is the agenda and the dynamic and strategy of the gop right now, it is really catering to this very hard right, energized face. host: about a minute and a half. it seems that simply stating fake news is a common retort to actual, factual data. how can this be remedied? guest: i think you need somebody who has done a lot of sociology studying. and that is not me.

i do ruminate on this, i do wonder how to get out of this situation, these dynamics. how do you break these dynamics? i don't know yet what the answer is, and i fear that sometimes, when something like this takes hold, it can take something really cataclysmic to reveal the truth. i hope it doesn't come to that. and i think we all need to keep talking to our family members, who may have succumbed to some of the disinformation that is out there. host: right wing watch is a project that people from the american way. appreciate your time this morning. guest: it has been great being with you. host: up next, we will be joined by heritage action for america executive director jessica anderson to discuss her groups

role in elections 2022 and 2024. and its work in opposition to the biden presidency and its agenda. stick around for that discussion. we will be right back. ♪ >> sunday, c-span's series january 6: views from the house continues. three more members of congress share stories of what they saw, heard, and experience that day. >> we didn't really have the highest degree of information because being on the house

floor, we didn't really get to see the images as the real-time footage of the ongoing assault. however, we were able to get some understanding of that and can only have imagine how our loved ones were dealing watching it all on in real-time it certainly was a great comfort to myself and every other member to be able to communicate with our family members back home. one of the communications that i received was my brother ruth out to me to indicate, to check to see if we were ok. and then as an aside, he and his family had received a threatening message from someone

indicating they knew what his brother and his wife and his three girls lived, and yet they had people in the neighborhood and it's just me, his brother, the congressman, who didn't stop telling lies about the election, something bad was going to happen. >> this week, you will also hear from two texas representatives, colin allred and ronny jackson. january 6: views from the house on c-span, c-span.org, or listen on the c-span radio app. in june, robert gottlieb, a man who has been the final editor of all of robert caro's books, wrote an essay in the new york times. the focus was on john gunther

and a 900 page book he wrote 75 years ago called inside usa. in his opinion, gunther was " probably the best reporter america ever had." we wanted to find out more about this publishing success story, so we called a canadian freelance writer to talk about his 1992 book called inside: the biography of john gunther. announcer: listen at sea spend a work/podcasts or wherever you get -- www.c-span.org/podcasts or wherever you get your podcast s. host: a discussion now on the group heritage action for america, its goal in elections 2020 24. joining us, jessica anderson. start us off by explaining what your group is and what its

relationship is to the larger harrisburg foundation that yours -- viewers may perhaps be more familiar with. guest: good morning, it is always fun to be back on this program. the heritage foundation obviously produces incredible, timeless conservative research that has guided much of the discussion in washington over the last 30 years, and heritage action was founded about 10 years ago as a way to hold people accountable to this policy position but then also to galvanize grassroots support across the country for these policies that we are advocating for here in washington. host: the executive director director of that group, heritageaction.org. do you endorse candidates as we talk about elections? guest: we actually don't endorse candidates. we usually find ourselves in the endorsement of policy long before you get to the election

cycle so that voters know exactly where those candidates are coming down on issues like the economy, taxes, issues, infrastructure, spending. everything that you would come to consider as you that choice for your candidate. our job is to get that information to voters early and often. host: and you engage in lobbying. guest: we do. we had engage lobbyists on our team that are registered at the federal level and as of january, we expanded to include states. some states across the country as well. host: you run campaign ads? guest: we run issue advocacy and. there is a slight difference in that the ads that we run on television or on the internet, through digital advocacy, are focused on the policy issue. we will do things like thank congress, thank your lawmakers for voting this way or that way, here is a policy and how it will impact you.

we ran for the georgia election integrity bill talking about what the bill does, what the bill doesn't. we ran that in georgia and the nationwide. host: what is your budget for election 2022? guest: we are looking at it for a cycle, so for this year and next year, we have a $24 million goal to raise for anything that is related to the election. it is a two-year goal, and obviously we are well into that this year so far. host: how do you raise that money? guest: heritage action is supported by a huge platter of donors, both small dollars and high dollar across the country. we rated by doing events, getting out of the sea, talking to average americans across the country and asking for their support. host: jessica anderson, the executive director of heritage action for america. let me get the phone numbers so

viewers can start calling in. republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. let us know your questions, your comments. as they are calling in, explain what a heritage action scorecard is. guest: they heritage action scorecard is our way to grade members of congress based on their voting record. we do something that comes out well before a vote is to take place in the house or the senate and it articulates, and frankly, it defines what the conservative position is. we back it up with research, with policy analysis, anything that is needed to make an informed decision going into the vote. and then we grade it. did they vote yes, did they vote no? host: the associated press story coming from the action on the senate floor yesterday. senate opens debate on that $1

trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. is that going to be a bill that you are going to be scoring members on? guest: yes, the infrastructure package will be included in the heritage action scorecard on the senate side and should it have a day on the house, he will like to be included tomorrow. when you look at the package like being debated, and a lot of concern with ted about how just how little is actually going toward roads and bridges. roughly 10 per seat of the legislation is going to what you and i would considerably treasure -- consider infrastructure. amtrak, electric vehicles, subsidies. let's make it farkas on -- focus on potholes, needs and. host: what about all the other key votes that you've scored,

members on this cycle? guest: i've looked at everything from spending bills to cultural issues. we looked at the loans processed through the beginning of covid. we look at other spending packages and got advice. look at when it's coming up this fall with all of the different budgets. you are going to see a lot more things pop up on the scorecard. if you take the infrastructure package, this package is directly tagged to the democrat larger goal. not only are we opposed to the infrastructure package on the policies, but also the process of what it sets up and how it could possibly allow for the larger democrat professors goals that they had for the congress.

everything from the green new deal to medicare for all, and of course, amnesty which well, i think even the prices at the border, will end up driving a lot of cycles in the next week. host: amy is up first out of huntington come pennsylvania. good morning. caller: how are you? guest: good morning. caller: i just want to say thank you. i am one of your small dollar donors and if it were not for you, they heritage action for america, i wouldn't know the truth. caller: thank you, amy. caller: i wish more people that are listening would actually check you out because you can turn on one station, get one side. turn on cnn and not get anything. but if you come here, you come

in black and white. i appreciate you being the first today that doesn't happen. i would encourage everyone listening to check us out. you can also check out save our paychecks.com. there's a lot of information that we tried to put out to help voters. thanks for the encouragement. host: you say heritage action talk to average, everyday americans. please define what you would call average, everyday americans. guest: me, someone like me. i'm a mom, i have two children. i want to try to understand exactly what is going on in washington and sometimes when you read the 5:00 p.m. news for you get caught up in an article online, you have to really

understand what is going on. so we try to speak clearly, we try to back everything up with facts and to have illustrated examples. the audience we are looking at is someone like me, the average american host: independent, good morning. caller: good morning, john, and good morning miss anderson. i just want to make a general comment. i get very upset when i hear people talking about the upcoming elections of 2022 and 2024. and the reason i do that is because we still have not straightened out what happened in the last election. many people are very reticent about even voting in the future. because they know that election was not right. we look at what has been going on in our country over the last seven months, since this regime took over. many aspects of our society are

being destroyed. we have migrants coming across the border with the full intent of making them voters. some of them are bringing in disease. we have people being pitted against each other. now, it is the vaccinated against the unvaccinated, or it is black people against white people, rich against poor. and people get very despondent, miss anderson a, because they see the fabric of our nation just colliding and being destroyed. so, when we talk about 22 and 24, there is not much enthusiasm on the part of the american people because we don't trust anything anymore. host: do you think the results of election 2020 were not right, as the caller said?

guest: i think what the caller is bringing up is actually a really important point to talk about which is that so many voters have lost trust in the voting process. they think that their vote does not count or that it will be overcome by fraud. this is not exclusive to 2020. stacey abrams questioned the results in georgia. hillary clinton questioned the results in 2016. i actually think the loss of voter trust is one of the few bipartisan things going on in this country. we are trying to actively restore that trust. to look at the bills that have been passed by states like arizona, like iowa, florida, georgia, texas, one day. that are working on testing packages that would make it easier to vote and harder to cheat. organizations like mine will

have the opportunity to take that policy back to voters and do exactly what the caller is talking about. show where the changes have been made to secure the boat and hopefully restore some of the integrity in the balance. it is safe, secure, and not going to be overcome by fraudsters. with us this morning. host: texas, democrats, good morning. caller: good morning, jessica. what i wanted to talk about was what you just talked about. you'll republican cities taken me, who is a black man, out of being able to vote. that is what you are doing. we had to vote in 1965 and i joined the military in 1968 because i was glad they finally gave us a vote. i don't understand how you are saying votes have been tampered with because this was the safest boat we ever had and every

republican judge in america has said this was the best results. and another thing about the infrastructure, every time we have bills done, it is to help the corporations and ceos. we don't give anything to the regular people. it is time like truman did to do something for the regular people, then maybe we will have a better society then we have right now. i am not going to go through slavery again. i will vote and if i don't, i will see the reason why. guest: i think with th -- what the caller is bringing up is what america is grappling with right now. we are making it easier to vote and harder to cheat.

this is not effort to disenfranchise black or brown voters. we are working on ways to allow more black and brown voters into the party to be able to vote, to extend early voting hours on the weekend, extend sundays, souls to the polls, these are all things that help the black community as well as voter registration drives. i would push back respectfully these bills are racist or they are disenfranchising. they are not. what they are trying to do is make sure you do not have illegal immigrants voting, making sure our roles are up-to-date and scrubbed, and are transparent between all of the different state agencies to make sure our poll workers and poll watchers are protected and able to do their job on election day and manage election day operations. so it is really important, i think, as a country to push back against the rhetoric against these bills. look at them yourselves. what are they trying to do? make it easier for all americans to vote and harder for those

meant to do fraud to cheat. that is what the bills do, and i would implore everyone to look at them yourself and see that. read it and know it to know the truth. host: the caller talked about doing things for corporations versus regular folks. explain what the save our paychecks national tour is, who that is targeted at. guest: the tour, which will kick off next week in california is meant to talk about everyday americans or regular folks as he said who are really being impacted by biden's disastrous economic policies right now. from the taxes inflation to the high degree of spending, to the overregulation. how all of these issues are hurting our bottom line. when you get paid over the weekend and on tuesday, how many days does it take until you see the dollars in your bank account versus everything that is going back to the federal government? we are trying to expose that and

push back against it and say, no, elected refit -- elected officials, republicans or democrats, please support the american workers. keep our jobs in america and allow us to flourish and keep as much of our paycheck as possible. we will kick the tour off in california, then go to wisconsin, new hampshire, virginia, georgia, and florida. we are excited. we will have a ton of elected officials, business owners, small business owners as well as american workers join us. tell the story and tell us about why we want to save our paychecks for us, those working hard for our dollar. host: why star in california? guest: we star in nancy pelosi's backyard. her hair salon was shuttered this last year after the backlash of the owner that brought out the hypocrisy of blue states versus red states and leaders where nancy pelosi got her hair done in the middle of the covid pandemic without a mask and not applying to the

rules in san francisco. we are kicking it off in the salon to talk about workers that make the salon and entrepreneur district so great. host: honey washington, d.c., independent, good morning. caller: i think it is interesting. the heritage foundation was in very early on the so-called free trade agreement. in particular, the granddaddy of all bilateral's, the u.s. newsreel free-trade agreement in 1985. they joined up with the american israel public affairs committee to ram that through. contrary to what jessica says, it has been one of the key failures of free-trade agreements through 2018. it has produced accumulative inflation-adjusted $182 billion trade deficit. the biggest trade deficit of any bilateral and is essentially

built on providing open market access to the u.s. and it totally overrode monsanto, labor unions, california growers to ram this thing through that no industry group really wanted. so i really have to challenge heritage as being a job creator. one of the things about the free-trade agreement in particular is that the reason they did look at balance u.s. counts of exports of diamonds coming in from israel as exports. if you look at this report that came out looking at the free-trade agreements that heritage loves so much called u.s. israel free-trade agreement damage assessment, it really shows what a disaster that heritage foundation free-trade agreement has been.

host: we got your point. it jessica anderson on free-trade agreement or that one in particular. guest: i think what is interesting about the free-trade discussion versus fair trade is president trump up a lot of the normal contours of this debate when he looked at the trade deficits, when he stopped -- when he sought to get better deals for the united states, even considered extreme at the time, withdrawing from the wto. the country right now today and how we handle trade is very much a very much america first mindset. what puts the american worker, the american family, the business, the jobs, the farmer first? i think the question for lawmakers today is less of how do we go backwards and more of what we do going forward? how do we have trade deals that lift the united states up and lift the american worker and our bottom line or paychecks up. and that is really what i'm

interested in seeing. i think president biden will have to make decisions in the trade space. congress will too as they have the authority to do so, and that is what i'm interested in seeing frankly the next four to six years. host: austin, texas a democrat, good morning. caller: good morning. my grandmother had a saying [indiscernible] when i look at what the heritage foundation looks at, i have two questions, what did you do to stop the third largest spending president in the united states, donald j. trump. under his administration i don't remember hearing very much at all from the heritage foundation. your scorecard suggests they did an outstanding job managing the debts but it rose $7.8 trillion while trump was in office.

so if you are really about controlling the deficit and making sure that there was responsible spending, your hair should have been on fire during the trump administration, yet it was not. my final question is, an earlier caller asked you if you believed the 2020 election was stolen and you deflected and made it about what your talking points was for the organization. my question to you, do you personal -- personally believe the 2020 election was stolen or tampered with in any way by the democrats or biden administration? guest: let me take the second question first if i can and return to the question about that and spending. i personally do believe president biden is our president today. he is sitting in office, he has the authority to write executive orders, and he certainly is leaving the country with the

progressive left agenda today. i'm sorry i wasn't clear earlier but i certainly believe president biden is the president today. on the question of debt and spending, i think there's a great point. there were so many things in consideration in 2016 within the trump administration of how to put more dollars back into the american public's pocket. the choice the trump administration made was to do deficit and spending reduction through the tax cuts. the t cja was that effort first to actually tackle some of this and put more money back into the american people that then americans have more money to spend to stimulate the economy. if you remember during the t cja, something like $2400 per family of four, filing as a family for and more if you filed as a family of two or just a spouse, that you got to keep more of those dollars. when we were in 2016-27 -- 2016,

20 17, and the beginning of 2018, you psaki -- you saw huge benefits because we were putting the money back into the economy. we were spending, shopping, and there is huge productivity. that effort was a step in the right direction toward economic greatness and toward economic flourishing. it was when covid hit and you had so many lockdowns across the country that shuttered businesses that were closed, some that still haven't even opened today that you saw complete upending within our economy. i thing that is where we are at now where you have some any businesses eager and desiring to open, and they can't because maybe their state is locked down. but now they are burdened by a heavy regulation put in place at the state level, or worse biden's inflation is really hurting the business from opening backup. i think when we think about

spending, we need to think about in the context of taxes and with what president trump and the trump administration were trying to accomplish with congress during that time. and certainly if you look at the debt now, whether or not we deal with this as a country is a crisis. if you look at the infrastructure package, for instance, that we were talking about earlier, there are a number of paid fours included in the deal that would seek to pay for some of the infrastructure spending themselves. i question to congress is, if these work, which i do not think they do, but if they did, why are we not using them to pay down some of the debt? if we can all agree debt is a crisis for the next generation, let's use this opportunity in bipartisan fashion to pay some of it down so we are not passing into the next generation. host: a couple minutes left with jessica and anderson of heritage action for america. a couple calls have been waiting while we chat with you. let me take them both and we

will give you the final minute. ne-yo -- neil, a republican, go ahead. caller: my question is about laws and states. number one, the 24 hour act passed last year, a lot of districts [indiscernible] host: neil, you are going in and out. i'm sorry your light is a little stronger -- isn't a little stronger there. -- your line isn't a little stronger there. we go to a democrat, good morning. caller: good morning. the mental health and system of jurisprudence, they look at people who have an alternate

reality. they don't live in logic and they are a danger to themselves or to others. we saw that on january the sixth . in cases like that, those people are normally -- there is an intervention and they are institutionalized. we have 74 million americans who worship a golden idol of trump, so that shows me there is a mental illness to this country. host: jessica anderson. you get the final two minutes. guest: thank you for having me today. i think the theme between all of the colors has been on the site it's e-callers -- callers has been on the site -- condemning the violence, just that day is much as we condemned the blm violence from over last summer, and trying to understand and grapple with the economic

issues we face today. i would encourage everyone to think through the issues ourselves. i know i am trying to do that as well. we have great resources available at heritageaction.com or join office on the save our paychecks tour and we will see you on the road. at the end of the day, what we are at about -- are about at heritage is providing opportunity for all americans and pushback of any fort -- any sort of favoritism from the government. that includes imposing this infrastructure package and the larger reconciliation package that will follow. thank you for having me. host: jessica anderson, executive director of heritage action for america. about 45 minutes left in the washington this morning. in that 45 minutes, we will be talking about the bipartisan infrastructure bill, the one we were just discussing there, something that's was formed by a group of democrats and republicans. debate started on it yesterday, asking about you the issue of

bipartisanship when it came to that legislation and what it could mean going forward. how important to you is bipartisanship in congress? phone lines are on your screen. for republicans, democrats, and independents, you can start calling in now and we will be right back. ♪ >> today, a hearing on domestic terrorism and extremism in the united states. watch the senate homeland security & governmental affairs committee hearing live at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. -- c-span, online, at c-span.org, or listen on the free c-span radio app. >> the senate is working this week on a bipartisan infrastructure bill that would provide $1.2 trillion in funding for roads, bridges, public

transit, water projects, the electric grid, and broadband internet access. senators are in the process of considering amendments to get the legislation passed before next week, which is when the senate is set to begin its recess. you can follow the senate live at 10:30 a.m. eastern on c-span two. ♪ >> "washington journal"

continues. host: a discussion now about bipartisanship, asking our viewers how important it is to you to have bipartisanship in congress when it comes to bills, when it comes to working together, friendships among members, asking you about this issue of bipartisanship. how important is it to you? republicans can call into (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. having this discussion a day after the senate opened its debate on the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill now on the senate bill. here's the story about it from the associated press. chuck schumer sought to speed up consideration of the infrastructure package on monday, promising democrats work with republicans to put together amendments for consideration this week. formerly called the infrastructure investment and jobs act caulking in 2700 pages

after a rare weekend session, the final product sunday was intended to follow the broad outline a bipartisan group of senators had negotiated for weeks with the white house. schumer said a final vote would be held in a matter of days. as the senate continues that discussion on the bipartisan infrastructure package when it reconvenes after 10:30 a.m. this morning. we will see. members of the senate back on the senate floor, probably more discussion like yesterday with several members discussing this issue of bipartisanship. one of those was senator tom carper, the chairman of the environment public works committee. as he introduced the bill, he talked about the importance of bipartisanship. >> much like bubba -- joe biden used to do, almost every week somebody says to me on a platform either in delaware or here in d.c., why can't you guys work together? why can't you folks just work

together? i just wish they could be here to be here to participate and listen to hear that we do work together. when the chips are really down in the pandemic, terrible situation, 15 to 17 months especially, we work together in almost a unanimous way and we are looking here is something extraordinarily important. host: democrat tom carper on the senate floor yesterday, making those statements not too long after the senate minority leader made his own comments about the issue of bipartisan work when it comes to passing legislation in congress. >> even before we get to this week, there is ample evidence the senate is fully capable of passing policies that are smart, that make things better for the american -- for american families, and to do so with bipartisan majorities. a year and half ago, the senate turned a blank sheet of paper

into the cares act that saved our health care system, saved our economy, and poured money into operation warp speed taub unlocks -- unlock vaccines -- operation warp speed to unlock vaccines at great speeds. we passed an historic investment into national parks and national treasuries, another very large bipartisan vote. last december, there was another bipartisan covid rescue package. a few months ago, senators once again compromised and passed a big bill passing american competitors versus china. there is nothing stopping policies from earning bipartisan support here in the senate when they deserve it. bills that deserve to pass the chamber not having -- are not having a hard time passing. host: senator mitch mcconnell yesterday, just one of those

discussing the issue of bipartisanship as the senate opened its debate yesterday on that compromise, that's $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. how important is bipartisanship to you as you watch congress, as you see your elected officials interact on capitol hill? let us know your lines on phone lines for democrats, republicans, and independents. david is first out of georgia, good morning. caller: hey, john. hello, john. i want to speak directly to bipartisanship and why we are not having it. i'm going to mention a few people that have been on your show. a doctor and the editor from washington examiner. they get out here and they just call americans leftist, marxist, liberals. on and on and on. they figure it under this marxist thing there are two parties there, one of them is

liberal and the other is conservative. communist is considered conservative and we all know communists are and artists. they will not let you do nothing. and whatever you have done good, they will tear it up. that is bipartisan. bipartisan is if you look at the committee for january 6, you see real republicans. the rhinos are the conservatives and that is why we are having this problem because they are communist, anarchist, and they are tearing up everything that represents america and laughing at us for letting them do it. and i have a little psa. if you call in, i know you are on a cable channel, you should have a dvr. we get all of this echo, people won't turn the tv down. turn on the dvr so you can record yourself and listen to yourself on the show all you

want. and if you could, on the caller over your left shoulder, can you put up a sign that says put your brain in gear before your mouth because there's a lot of people that get in here where their mouth is a neutral and they don't make no sense. host: that's david in georgia. this is joe in west virginia, democrats. your thoughts on bipartisanship in congress? caller: hi, john. thank you to "washington journal". we really -- "washington journal." we need bipartisanship but i just watched the clip by mitch mcconnell and they failed to mention they gave a tax cut for $2.3 trillion to the richest people in america. bipartisanship only works if it is fair. working men and women have not had a fair shake in the last 20 years under either democrats or

republicans. i really don't know who to support here, but we need to try to work together, but we cannot let this filibuster hold up what is good for america. the working men and women, the people in the unions, the people that work every day, carpenters, plumbers, laborers, they are the ones who build and make america. host: joe, what would you say to those folks that point to the filibuster is one of the tools that can help create bipartisanship, that you have to get 10 members of the other side of the aisle to join you if it is a 50/50 split for legislation to pass? this is a way to crate bipartisanship -- create bipartisanship. >> but that can't happen -- caller: but that cannot happen if they don't look at the bigger picture.

they are giving the rich everything and the working men and women are not getting a fair shake. i think the reconciliation bill coming through needs to be passed. i think my senator, joe manchin, needs to take advantage of that for west virginia. west virginia carried the weight of the united states of america around on its shoulder for 150 years by producing coal and we don't have anything here. our lives are terrible, our people die at a higher rate than anyplace else in america. we deserve a fair shake for all that we gave america, and i believe, until joe manchin carves this out for the reconciliation bill, and for the voter protection rights, and reinstates the 65 voter protection act, we are in trouble. host: that is joe in west virginia. this is steve in maryland, good

morning. your views on the issue of bipartisanship in congress. caller: yeah, i praise mr. mcconnell for citing the cares act, for examples of where bipartisanship has worked. i have a vested interest in seeing climate change legislation moving forward, specifically i would like to see a price on carbon in the reconciliation bill. the only way something like that is going to work is if it is bipartisan, if both parties can come to an agreement. that is my endorsement and i hope everybody will act, rather than talk about, bipartisanship. host: question for you before you go. what makes something bipartisan? to be bipartisan, does it have to be supported by voters on both sides and members on both

sides? what if there's an issue that some voters have gotten behind but there is no member from congress from one party or another that has gotten behind it? how do you define bipartisanship? does it need an elected member of congress on the record to say i support this issue for it to be officially bipartisan? steve, are you still with us? caller: yeah, i am. host: what do you make of that question? caller: the question? i think you can declared bipartisanship anyway you like but it comes out in the wash in terms of what are the votes and how can they be accomplished. the interests of both sides have to be represented, so you will have to compromise. you will have to give up some of your safer cows.

host: that is steve in maryland on this issue of defining bipartisanship. it was earlier this summer before we got into the heart of this infrastructure deal but asking voters why support from each of the following across local parties could be characterized as bipartisan when it comes to something supported by voters on both sides but not by lawmakers on both sides, just 10% said it should be counted as bipartisan. both voters and lawmakers on both sides and i'll have to support something for it to be considered bipartisan, 43% of those polled by morning consult agreed with that definition of bipartisanship. we are talking about this issue, what it means, and how important it is see you. jane in maine, a democrat, good morning. caller: thank you.

yes, i thought about this long and hard, and i have observed that they are getting paid to act like this and to be like this. whenever a president of a certain party is in power, the congress blocks, blocks, blocks. they are getting paid to be like this. i don't know what to do about it, but i do not think they are doing what their constituents want them to do. host: if they are not doing what their constituents want them to do and you say constituents want them to be bipartisan, is that your argument? caller: yes. host: then why did they keep getting elected? why do ovi will -- why do overwhelmingly incumbents keep getting elected? caller: because they are entrenched so deeply that they have the power to stay in power

and the constituents be dammed really. who wants to build a grand building where there is pill -- where there is people outside starving to death. this is not the way the world should operate but this is the way it is operating. unfortunately, they are getting paid to be the way they are. host: william in north carolina, you are next. caller: young man, how are you, brother? it has been a while. [laughter] host: doing well, william. go ahead. caller: it's all coming together now. [indiscernible] every man on commerce and trade and the hidden dynasties. host: william, are we going to get to bipartisanship? caller: yes, the ancient

definition of bipartisanship is [indiscernible] and all they do is spin their worlds in the mud and get paid for running around chasing the weasel. host: that is william in north carolina on this issue of bipartisanship. having this discussion as the senate began its debate yesterday on this $1 trillion bipartisan inference russia bill negotiated by 10 members, democrats and republicans, officially on the floor yesterday. it introduced by members of the senate environment and public works committee on the floor yesterday. one of those members who took to the floor to speak, ranking member of the committee, shelley moore capito of west virginia, this is what she had to say on bipartisanship. >> i do remember the first meeting with president biden and the white house. it is not every day you get to go to the white house and sit in

the oval office and talk to the president of the united states and vice president. but we started out with basically saying we can do this, want to do this, bipartisanship can work, particularly on areas we traditionally work together on but also on areas of critical need to our country. we never really sort of lost our focus on that, and neither did the president. so here we are today really meeting the challenge that he lay down before us over the -- six months ago, and with the building blocks that others have put in place, we find ourselves with the great hard work of a bipartisan group and a great place of -- point at which we can discuss these -- amend these, look at these on the senate floor as we should be doing. months of negotiating, the time is finally here. a lot of people said we never get -- we would never get here. i had an interview on national

tv about three to four months ago when i was leading the effort for the republicans, and the commentator said i will believe bipartisanship on infrastructure when pigs fly. so watch out. [laughter] they are flying. host: senator shelley capito so, one of the original negotiators on the republican side on this inference russia bill that is on the senate bill. the senate at 10:30 a.m. eastern in just under an hour, and we expect debate to continue on that infrastructure package. back to your phone calls, been in pennsylvania, independent, your thoughts on this issue a bipartisanship in congress. do you see it happening, should it happen more? guest: yes, -- caller: yes, it should happen more. the primary reason is nothing is happening out of washington. washington is failing, both parties. it seems to be there is too much time on hands of senators,

congressmen, the whole washington team, they are failing america. we cannot come to anything with any agreement on anything. there's no bipartisan in the united states political arena this point. in the process, the nation and our citizens are suffering. what they need is we need to know what these people are supposed to do when they report to work. when i worked, i had a qualitative or quantitative measurement of my work duties and i was measured on how i was achieving it, those goals, and to maintain my employment. these folks come to work and it seems they do 90% of their day is campaign funding. the other 10% appears to be causing confusion and starting a food fight. the later -- the lady this morning was mentioning she is starting off a new campaign for whatever reason but she will

start in california. you the moderator asked why are you starting in california? something as petty as that is where nancy pelosi's beauty parlor is and she had no mask on . the country is dying, people are starving, people will be put out of their homes. why don't we get down to measuring what these people do and as a condition of them being elected, they should have a scorecard. whether they are succeeding or failing with things like presenting bills. host: who do you trust to make that scorecard, to come up with that scorecard? caller: i think it needs to be an independent panel that will measure quantitative and qualitative. how often are you in the senate well when you are supposed to be in attendance? how often are you addressing bills to either pass them or fail them? it used to be that way years ago. i am a 70 or citizen and i've been voting my whole life ever since i was able to vote. i've had very successful worklife but i see the country

is nationally going down the tubes. host: that is been in pennsylvania. this is joy from north carolina on our text message line saying our government cannot function when our legislators cannot talk and reason together. friendship is important. political parties are not. george washington's farewell address of -- address warned us. the liver tony and says where do you compromise on the right of a gay person to marry or transgender person to exist? there is -- there are issues where there is no compromise. you vote for mine and i will vote for years because the vote's are public. this is liffey in indiana, democrats, you are next. caller: hello. thank you, c-span. my thoughts are when mcconnell

came out, when obama was the president, he said that he was going to make him a one term president. this time with biden, he comes out and says he is going to make sure nothing gets done. i remember him saying that. am i correct? i am hoping that both parties can work together, but i'm unsure about it and i think they are still supporting the former ex-president with the lies that are still coming out of our government on basically the republican side and it is very alarming. i even got my senator, ron, he

is finally -- has finally wrote me a letter back explaining that he supports the police but he never even talked to the police when they came around to get them to support the commission. and now, they are trying to make it all political when we are trying to get the answers. and i believe we need the answers and the truth from both parties, and i hope we get that done. host: you are talking about the select committee on january 6 insurrection? caller: yes, i am. he wrote me a letter saying he supports the police but he did not support that. he voted no and all of them did. host: from the w usa news in

washington, some sad news related back to the january 6, now for law enforcement officers who responded to the insurrection have died by suicide. the story noting a sobering toll which doubled on monday after the metropolitan police confirmed two of their department officers responded to the january 6 attack recently took their own lives. an officer served in the fifth district and was at the capital to enforce curfew violations according to the metropolitan police. the story also noted another officer had died in that attack, died by suicide after that attack as well. earning comments from twitter about those two officers, president biden with this tweet saying when the united states capital and our very democracy were under attack, these

officers risked their lives to defend them. they were american heroes. jill and i are keeping their loved ones in our prayers during this difficult time. that tweet from the president. miriam in virginia, a republican, good morning. your thoughts on this issue a bipartisanship in congress. caller: good morning. i do believe there needs to be more bipartisanship. right now, it seems to be very partisan. i think both sides, whoever the loudest is on both side seems to be the ones heard the most. it is the rest of us getting lost. shame on us the voters for voting in people who are partisan. i think that seems to be the problem here. we listen to these loudmouth, i'm sorry, aoc's far-left, pushing an agenda that we cannot agree on, i don't care if you are left or right. it is the far, far left that only agree with her. we need to come together, be

partisan -- bipartisan, and find common ground. host: did we find the common ground on infrastructure? do you support this trillion dollar bill on the floor? caller: i don't like it is a one chilean dollar bill. i think we need infrastructure. my goodness i was driving down some terrible roads on my way to winchester to visit my mother-in-law and i thought we do need better infrastructure around here. we are seeing buildings fall, bridges that need a lot of work on them. yes, i do. and where i live in georgia, in d.c., we cannot get good internet here. that is ridiculous. i do agree on some things. yes, i am a middle of the ground republican, but if you heard some people talk, all republicans are far-right and we

all are ready to storm the capital. no, we are not. those were crazy people but do not lump us in with all that. i do not love my democrat friends with aoc. i have dear friends that are democrats but i do not believe they are is far-left as that crowd. i think the media, shame on them, for putting spotlights on these certain left and far-right people and lumping everybody into that. we are picking sides. i used to live in africa. i still see more tribal here than in africa. shame on us. host: this is our next caller in new mexico, independent. caller: good morning. i think your question has an underlying assumption, the assumption of bipartisanship is both parties believe in democracy and democratic values.

i think we have one party in this country that does not believe in democracy, does not believe in democratic values. with 147 members of the party will not recognize joe biden was elected freely and fairly. when you have members of congress who do not want to investigate the investigate -- investigate the insurrection, we have one party that is not believe in democratic values. on the infrastructure bill, the infrastructure bill is really narrowing. none of the republicans who are voting on that are in favor of tax increases, which are desperately needed. and the infrastructure comes in two packages. the first package is the roads, and bridges, and internet. the second package has other

values and it also. in order to get something passed, we have to not include taxes and you can't include other issues. host: one question before you go. you have such strong feelings about republicans. why are you an independent? caller: i'm an independent because i look at things independently. early on the program, somebody mentioned fascism and relationship to the republican party. if you read the works of timothy snyder, what you will discover is, at the end of the republican ministration, he said there are two types of republicans. one types are gators and the others are breakers. out of that administration, he says we are in the post-truth, pre-fascist nation. i think that is where we find ourselves.

host: that is don in new mexico. talking about bipartisanship, just about 50 minutes left in today's "washington journal." descendant coming in at 10:30 i am eastern, but the discussion about bipartisanship is very much on the floor. yesterday, the kickoff of the debate of the deal, among those who talked about the bipartisanship, the senate majority whip from illinois, this is his comments from the floor yesterday. [video clip] >> with this plan, we can create thousands of family supporting jobs and majority of these jobs may not require a college degree. perhaps the two extra years of community college, which we hope to include in the next bill, will be just what a person needs to get a good paying job, settle down, raise a family, the american dream. and we can lay the foundation for a long-term economic boom if everyone pulls together. these are smart, prudent,

necessary investors that will pay dividends for years to come. i want to thank the president. he was all in on the negotiation of this bill. without his leadership, we would not be here. i also want to thank the bipartisan group of senators that work with the white house to produce this agreement. i have come to know them. i have participated in early meetings and listen to them turn in to deliberation. there were times where i wanted to ring their next and pat their backs, but they never quit trying. today we have a bill before us that is a traumatic -- dramatic achievement and a bipartisan a treatment -- bipartisan achievement. i think it was 17 republicans that voted to go forward on this. i hope those 17 can hold together to see this bill to a successful conclusion. there is no democratic or republican way to fill a pothole. we need to build the rest of the infrastructure that is the backbone of this american economy but this is the right start.

this bipartisan plan hits the sweet spot. i thank our many republican colleagues that joined with democrats to advance this debate. isn't that what america has been waiting for? host: senator dick durbin on the floor of the senate yesterday. by the way, you might see more senators wearing masks on the senate floor yesterday in the wake of this news was released from the office of senator lindsey graham yesterday. the senator sang monday he tested positive for covid-19 after being vaccinated, saying he only had mild symptoms and emphasized he was grateful to have gotten the shot. "i was just informed that i have tested positive for covid-19 even after being vaccinated." he said he started having flulike symptoms saturday night and went to the doctor monday morning. that news out of senator lindsey graham's office. this from newsweek, following up on that news, seven u.s. senators attended an event alongside senator lindsey graham on saturday night before he tested positive.

the bipartisan group of senators went to a house boat here in washington, a vote owned by senator joe manchin. that was the night graham started to have flulike symptoms . the senators on that vote, according to newsweek, include mark kelly, chris coons, jacky rosen, catherine cortez masto, rick cantwell on joe manchin's votes from newsweek, noting the name of that houseboat, tasha house vote, almost heaven. -- house votes, almost heaven. we are talking about bipartisanship and how important it is to you. our next caller, good morning. caller: good morning. the fact we do not have bipartisanship, china is eating our lunch. they can build high-speed rail and we are still chugging along with amtrak at 45 miles an hour.

it is a shame that we cannot get something done. china does not have a republican party like we do here. that is really the main cause why we can't get anything done. look at the cities we bobbed in the second world war to smithereens. today, they are shining examples of people working together. tokyo, i just thought in the olympics today, that's a shining example of people working together. it's a shame that years ago i subscribed to train magazine and governor cuomo and governor christie came up with money to build the tunnels for the amtrak to go under the hudson river. guess what, the federal government did not come back with the other half, the portion of the money, and that was obstructing sort of an advancement in this country. host: that was run in

pennsylvania. this is bill in missouri, republican, good morning. caller: good morning. i want to say as long as democrats have controlled congress, when i go back to 1960, there was never any talk of bipartisanship. the only thing was how we couldn't have a morning radio show with irv dirksen and jerry ford about how we could say talk about what we wanted and that was it. this idea of bipartisanship only has to do with democrats wanting republican votes. they should resist it. second of all, we don't need the federal government, mr. durbin, to fix potholes in missouri. i live in the first congressional district. guess who my bipartisan person is, cori bush. can you imagine that? thank you for gerrymandering. host: we talked a bit about cori bush this morning, leading the protest on the steps of the capital for the past couple days to extend the moratorium on

evictions. have you watched that? any thoughts on that issue since we spent an hour on that already? caller: i think she is nuts. she absolutely has captured the democratic party in that congressional district throughout -- district, threw out a good democrats, and they are continuing to wreak havoc. they have taken over the prosecutor ships and now they are taking over the mayor. it is a gift to the republicans because it is going down into disaster. pray for us in st. louis because we need help. cori bush is driving us into the sewer. host: that is bill in missouri. this is john in new mexico. democrat. good morning. caller: thank you all for taking my call. of course bipartisanship is the foundation of our democracy and it would be great to get everything done on

bipartisanship. but when you have someone like mitch mcconnell who has once again stated his primary goal is to make this democratic president and any democratic president such as he did with obama, a one term president. he certainly limits our ability to do that. host: on that issue, because you are not the first person to bring up that comment, don't you think democrats wanted to make donald trump a one term president, even at the outset of his president? don't you think both sides want to limit the amount of time the other party controls the white house? caller: of course, but that is not their primary declaration. they came to that because they know donald trump. they know from his past the type of person he is. of course he would not when a person like that to head the government. look what happened.

but yes, that being a goal. but you need to put the united states first and people of the united states first and what they want. not letting these one demagogues would like to have. host: do you think the people who through they have been voting for and who they elect, do you think people want bipartisanship? caller: yes. there's just a small minority. to sound both sides, i can't say that. so much opposition has came from republicans. ever since the election of obama, they demonized him. they're trying to do the same thing to the vice president because the basis is prejudice. it has nothing to do with the outside of that. my fellow americans, hold on. reserve your judgment.

he inherited a mass. -- mess. we both want to get over this covid, both parties want this to go well for america. we are coming out of a disaster. hold on. host: that is john in new mexico this morning. just about five minutes left in today's "washington journal." taking a few more calls on this issue of how important bipartisanship in congress is to you. phone lines for republicans, democrats, and independents. in five minutes or perhaps sooner if they come in sooner, we will be taking you to a brief pro forma session in the house. after that, which is not expected to last longer than two to three minutes or so, we will then be taking you over to a hearing on domestic terrorism and extremism in the united states. that before the senate homeland security and government affairs committee. we will take you there after the pro forma session. time for a few more of your calls or comments from social media.

here's a few of those. shiba writing in, bipartisanship is important. congress needs to work together to accomplish things. republicans can't have it their way an neither can the democrats. they need to strike a compromise other we the people -- otherwise we the people suffer. this from another viewer, it it's important if the democrats can suck the republicans into voting something. if that tends to be bad for americans, they blame it on the duped republicans. they say with dark money, buying politicians, it is relevant -- dark money buying politicians, it is relevant. caller: good morning. i just want to say bipartisanship is important to me because i feel like if we come together as one with the same goals in mind, then everybody can prosper in a land

made for americans. we are all americans. neither democrat nor republican. my opinion counts as well as everybody else's, so we can work this thing among ourselves. then when we go to the polling booth, then all things work together for the good of those that come together with goodness. thank you for having my call. host: ross in california, republican, good morning. caller: good morning. so if this infrastructure thing goes through and these jobs are released to perform and everybody is competing for a limited number of steel rods, cubic yards of concrete, electricians, plumbers, how is that not going to drive the price of everything up? today, i can't get chlorine for my swimming pool. today, it takes me two weeks to

get a plumber to come to the house. today, a piece of furniture i cannot get delivery until february. everything is backed up right now. the ships are lined up off the porch for 12 weeks. they can't get in. all of a sudden congress will release a lot of money to get jobs going? there's not enough steel, not enough concrete, not enough labor to do those jobs all at once. why not infrastructure bill that is 20% the size it is proposed today and do another 20% in five years, then another 20% in five years, and get those jobs done systematically and reasonably. thanks for my comment. host: tom in pennsylvania, independent, your next. caller: there will never be bipartisanship because this is job perpetuation. there will only be bipartisanship in two things, number one with term limits in congress. two four year terms on

your outcome a senator's terms in your outs, and banned from washington for life. then gerrymandering, every congressional district in the united states should be 50-50 or 49/49. everyone, no matter what's. if you think there's a difference between democrats and republicans, at the end of the night, mitch mcconnell and nancy pelosi are drinking and eating on our dime, laughing at us, laughing at us. tear up your cards, become an independent, and tell these politicians we are done. host: as an independent, you mentioned term limits and gerrymandering. your thoughts on the primary system in this country. you think primaries are causing more partisanship in this country? i think we lost tom this morning, but as we wait for the house to come in for a brief pro forma session, we are asking you

this morning, your thoughts on the issue of bipartisanship. is it something that you need to see from your member of congress? is it something you have ever asked your member of congress about? if you contacted your member of congress, you can give us a call on republicans, democrats, and independents. after this brief pro forma session, we will be taking you to a hearing of domestic terrorism extremism in the united states. that hearing before the senate homeland security and governmental affairs committee live here on c-span after the pro forma session. you can listen to it on our free c-span radio app and at c-span.org. we will be airing it there. it looks like the house is set to come in. the doors are open and we will be gaveling in momentarily. we will be back here tomorrow morning