>> buckeye broadband supports c-span as a public service, along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. inues. it is time -- host: it is time for our open forum, turning the phone lines over to you. here's how you can call in to let us know about the political policy issue on your mind. democrats can call in at (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents (202) 748-8002. you can also send us a text at (202) 748-8003. keeping you updated on the stories we've been following

this week and in the weeks and months passed, including this grim toll that was reached this week. one in 500 americans have died of covid. "the washington post" noting -- roughly one in every 500 americans have succumbed to the disease caused by coronavirus. the chart to the right noting the death rates by state. in the state of mississippi, one in 330 people have died of covid. also in new jersey. louisiana, one in 350. new york, one in 360. arizona rounding out the top five with one in every 380. new york deaths were predominately recorded in the early months of the pandemic in the densest area, with the first ravaged coronavirus. it has killed one in every 110

people in the bronx and one in 220 in queens. also noting the covid death toll and its deadly effects which have particularly targeted black, latino, and american indian and alaska native populations. looking at the death rate among younger individuals, working age group 18 to 39 groups, there is a large racial distance -- difference with covid killing blacks and latinos more than whites. we've been tracking the ongoing efforts to pass the democratic spending bills, now known as the build back better act, that $3.5 trillion legislation. and the latest out of the house ways and means committee, they completed their task of translating the president's

economic vision into a task and stop's -- spending. the fruits of lawmakers efforts, though it seemed overshadowed by the political reality, a proposal that would lower the cost of prescription drugs for seniors here in jeopardy after democrats dealt get an early glow in the house. also note -- an early blow from that. president biden getting involved in those efforts. the story that we began our program with this morning, the emotional testimony yesterday in the senate judiciary committee, from u.s. gymnasts testifying about the blind eye the fbi turned in the investigation of disgraced former team usa dr. larry nassar. olympians testifying on capitol

hill, including simone biles. here's a bit of her testimony from yesterday morning. [video clip] simone: there can be no resolution of a society's sole but the way it treats children. it is that statement that empowers me to be here today. i don't want another gymnast, olympic athlete, or any individual to experience that i and hundreds of others endured before, during, and continuing to this day. in the wake of larry nasser. to be clear -- >> take your time. simone: to take your -- to be clear, i blame larry nasser and i also blame an entire system

that enabled and perpetrated his abuse. usa gymnastics and the united states olympic and paralympic committee knew that i was abused by their official team doctor long before i was ever made aware of their knowledge. in may 2015, the former head of usa gymnastics was told by my friend and teammate maggie nichols that she suspected i too was a victim. i did not understand the magnitude of what all was happening until the indianapolis star published its article fall 2016 entitled "former usa gymnastics doctor accused of abuse." while i was a member of the 2016 u.s. olympic team, neither usa g, nor the fbi ever contacted me or my parents. while others had been informed investigations were ongoing, i have been left to wonder why i

had not been told until after the rio games. this is the largest case of sexual abuse in the history of american sport, and although there has been a fully independent investigation of the fbi's handling of the case, neither usa g nor u.s. opc have ever been made the subject of the same level of scrutiny. these are the entities entrusted with the protection of our sport and athletes, and yet it feels like questions of responsibility and organizational failures remain unanswered. host: simone biles testifying yesterday on capitol hill. if you want to watch her testimony in its entirety, you can do so on our website. now to your phone calls, our open forum, where we turn the phone lines over to you and let you lead the discussion on any public policy or political issue you want to talk about. wade in edgefield, south carolina, independent.

caller: thanks for taking my call. had someone asked c-span if they would do a segment on bill democrats are trying to get through. we haven't heard much pertaining to the $780 billion that they want to use for dhaka -- daca and i don't know if we call them illegals or what, but people coming across the border. i would like y'all to do a segment asking what people are there opinions on the $780 billion that they want to put forth to set these people up in the country. thank you for taking my call. host: the immigration proposal in reconciliation is a topic that we've done, i think it was

within the past couple of weeks, but certainly a topic we can do again. always appreciate suggestions. it is a big bill and we've been working our way through various aspects today and since it has been released. today we focused on the climate change aspects. mary in mesa, arizona, democrat. good morning. mary, are you with us? stick by your phone. leonard in bakersfield, california, republican. caller: yes, i'm wanting to -- host: i'm going to put you on hold because you've got to turn down your television. conversation only works if you mute your tv and listen through the phone. caller: yes, i would like to discuss the history of the pledge of allegiance.

i read an article on the web that said the pledge of allegiance was written primarily to sell flags to the schools in 1892. they had their columbus celebration, 400 year, -- 400 year -- host: we have to have you turn down your tv before you get on the line. joe in oklahoma city, democrat. caller: thanks so much for taking my comment. it's been a great broad-spectrum show today. just wanted to touch on the previous caller who said something about $780 billion for illegal aliens. i have one suggestion -- turn off am radio because that's just swill merchants and grievance

and hate selling. i wanted to touch on the climate discussion that was on earlier when heather was asked who funds you? i forget -- can we forget what she said and just know that it is big oil? her whole strategy, these are the same people calling it a hoax 10 years ago. i think we all know that climate change is absolutely wreaking havoc all over the world. it is costing billions and billions of dollars. these weather events that they say, this is one in 500 years, we are having those every year now. so we already know where she is getting her money, despite her name sounding like maybe she worked in adult film at one point. host: we are going to cut the comments like that. if you missed the discussion, heather reames joined us from

citizens for responsible energy solutions and she was joined by sarah from the league of conservation voters. next out of akron, ohio, good morning. caller: good morning, everyone. a doctor is one of three nobel candidates -- or actually prizewinners, in the field of virology who have criticized the vaccine program. he discovered hiv and said the vaccines themselves are causing variants and the experience of israel with 82% vaccinated, and 59% currently in the hospital who have been vaccinated, can secure this out. in addition, there are 23,000 german physicians who are no longer giving out vaccines

because of side effects. host: do you mind if i ask if you are vaccinated? caller: i, as a vegan, knowing there is seven different species of ingredients in the vaccine, i feel that it is morally wrong for me to be getting a vaccination. especially since not only -- host: i wonder what your thoughts are about the death toll in ohio, one out of 550 people in ohio at this point has died from covid. the national death toll exceeding 663,000. caller: there are numerous -- hundreds of articles about the fact that the fatalities are more from the vaccinated than the unvaccinated. host: where do you go for articles like that? caller: i go to democracynow, i

go to reuters, the german newspaper. host: they are telling you that more vaccinated people are dying then unvaccinated? that's not the information that's out there. caller: it's not the information you are getting from the cdc, which is dovetailed with big pharma, or the fda, but it is the opinion of many tens of thousands of decisions around the world. host: alvin in jacksonville, florida, republican. good morning. caller: first of all, good morning, america. on the subject of covid sars virus, i am a five-and-a-half member -- five and a half year member of the united states army, joined in 1978.

in the era of biological warfare, this is what this thing did. call it what you want to, but it has been weaponized. it relates to trying to prevent the covid spread. i'm telling everyone -- and by the way, i got this information 10 years ago in an article concerning two brothers that had died from sars, the first time i heard of this vaccine -- but for the treatment of it, the sterilization of the situation, i have not heard the cdc or the government say anything about not taking a hot shower if you think you've got covid. host: luis, columbus, -- louise, columbus, north carolina. caller: earlier you said turn your phone down. i think you meant turn your television down. host: that's what we always say.

caller: i wanted to mention about i think it was the united nations trying to get this money together to get to afghanistan to help out with their cause. and i'm sort of suspicious about that just because where is this money going to really go? i think -- this is just my thoughts on it -- i'm thinking they are wanting that money to release our americans, it is almost like ransom, but it is not being told that way. i really am suspicious because they've got enough money. they've got weapons. they've got everything they need. we are trying to help the poor people in afghanistan, but i believe that's what's going on with the united nations. that's just my thoughts. host: plenty of discussion on that this monday and tuesday's hearing. antony blinken, secretary of

state, before the house on monday and the senate on tuesday. that issue came up in both hearings. in terms of hearings and events we are covering, in about 15 minutes, we are going to head to a virtual stimson set -- center -- about the taliban takeover of afghanistan. stick around for another 15 minutes or so. and then this evening, on c-span at 7:00 this evening, we will be airing the virginia governor's debate between democrat terry mcauliffe and republican glenn juncker in -- youngkin. jesse is next out of tuscaloosa, alabama, democrat. caller: good morning, how you

doing? host: doing well, jesse, go ahead. caller: i just wanted to say how proud i am of simone biles and the other olympians they came forward with the tragic -- that came forward with the tragic circumstances they had to go through. i am very proud of those young ladies, and i hope we get to the bottom of that. and touching on that, i just wanted to ask how far along are we with the infrastructure bill? i feel as a democrat and citizen of the united states, we've been in long waiting for infrastructure to take place in this country because to be in such a power country as we are, i feel kind of behind -- we are kind of behind other countries when it comes to transportation and things of that nature. how far are the senate and congress on that bill? host: there is a lot of

discussion among democrats and criticism from a publicans who say the infrastructure bill should be -- from republicans who say the infrastructure bill should be moved, but argument from the democrats about the ordering, do they do the bipartisan bill at the same time as the 3.5 trillion dollar build back better? does it help get them votes for one if they move them at the same time? do you have any thoughts on that sequencing? or does it matter? caller: it really shouldn't matter, because overall, the country is in dire need of repair. new york city is a prime example of that. how depleted our infrastructures really are. it seems that it is always -- it takes a catastrophic incident to have them on the lack thereof in

this country. it is like a traffic light needs to be in a certain area in the city is not there until there is a catastrophic accident that occurs. then all of a sudden, the traffic light, now we need to put it there. we need to stop being so reactive and proactive. host: as the flooding in new york catastrophic issue you are referring to? caller: absolutely. a lot of places all over the country probably have the same problem, but it just happened at mother nature's wrath upon them to show how bad the systems are, the infrastructure is. these things need to be taken care of before more people die and more cities are in dire straits. that's the way i feel. all of this weighting needs to be taken care of. -- all of this waiting needs to

be taken care of. how long has it been since this country put money into infrastructure? host: we focus in our 8:00 easternhour -- eastern our bang on the climate provisions in that bill. -- $72 million to modernize the electric -- billion to modernize the electric grid. $21 billion to clean up toxic pollution. $7.5 billion to build electric vehicle charging stations. that's just the climate aspects. there's also climate aspects in the larger reconciliation bill, the build back better act. one of the biggest ones we talked about is $150 billion in that bill for clean electricity

payment, a system of sort of carrots and sticks to push utilities to generate power using clean power sources. a lot happening and moving on capitol hill. david in wisconsin, a republican. caller: i just have a comment. i sit and watch with the democrats are doing to this country, and wean to -- we need to get rid of them or we won't have a country. host: humboldt, iowa, larry, independent. caller: good morning. my opinion is on this three point $5 trillion infrastructure bill, if the -- 3.5 different dollar -- three point $5 trillion infrastructure bill, if the republicans want to push taxes on the corporations and the rich, they better be

prepared to finance charities, because if they aren't paying taxes, they will not pay the charities the money because they will use it for their taxes. so government, be prepared to finance charities across the country. thank you very much. host: cheryl, california, democrat. good morning. caller: i just want to weigh in on some of the comments regarding the infrastructure bill. one of the things that concerns me as an american is that we are so willing, just like with the afghan situation, the first thing we cry wolf because they should have gotten more people out. but when it comes to things in our country that are going to make life better for our people, it is always, it is too much money.

the democrats are saying, it is all this back-and-forth. the bottom line is, we pay taxes in order for the government to be able to provide the things that is going to make life better for its people. and all of the politics back and forth is what is getting in the way, because the average person would just stop and think, ok, could your world be better? would you rather ride down the street and drive into a sinkhole , or if a catastrophic situation occurs, wouldn't you want to know that your infrastructure could support and get through that catastrophic situation? as the caller before said, we have been a country. we react to everything instead of taking a more proactive approach and dealing with

situations that we know could and may occur. host: this is anita in a gusto, georgia, independent. -- augusta, georgia, independent. caller: i wanted to make a comment about giving money to afghanistan. [indiscernible] also, what other country will help america, give money to america? this is a country that wants to give to other countries and help them, but we have people here. we have poverty and everything. they are not being helped. if they can spend money for afghanistan, why can't they help people here? that's the comment i want to make. host: anton, out of florida, republican. good morning. caller: i have a simple question

. a lot of people start to ask, who really is our president? each and every time joe biden gives a speech he says, they told me to walk off the stage and not to take questions and who to call on. who really is the president? people are starting to ask questions. host: mary, mesa, arizona, democrat. caller: good morning. thank you for being the most patient man on television. i appreciate you airing the hearing on larry nassar and the failure of the fbi and other oversight entities. i was very proud of simone biles and the rest of team usa. i'm also a survivor, starting at 10. i can tell you that watching chuck grassley and ted cruz --

i've been traumatized by chuck grassley twice, once with the hearings of anita hill and another with the hearing of brett kavanaugh. watching a committee talk about how they are going to do something when there have been critical accusers before, and there's been no sort of recourse . we know for fact that many other people wanted to come forward for both anita hill and dr. christine ford and i would really love for them to walk a mile in some of these women's shoes to know what it is like to sit in those rooms and have people doubt what you have gone through. i appreciate it. host: mary, thanks for sharing your story. brandy, pennsylvania, republican. caller: thanks for taking my call. a question here in regards to masking mandates in schools --

i'm trying to find out, maybe you can better guide me -- our governor implemented a masking mandate. we are having school meetings -- school board meetings and choices not to mask our children where there is no data proving the transmission is higher amongst the school-aged children, and that masking down without the choice is making a difference. they are saying, a lot of school districts and school boards are saying their hands are tied and that is by the advice of their school solicitors and legal counsel. they are stating they must follow this mask mandate or their license could be at risk. they are liable for insurance issues and things. i'm trying to find out, after calling all of our state reps and the department of health, and the department of health specifically told me the advisory committee said schools are allowed to accept exemption forms and it is allowed to touch up to them what type -- it is up

to them what type to accept. our school is being -- parents provide documentation that children's have a medical issue or disability. -- children have a medical issue or disability. the department of education is not stating that this comes from them. on the health department faq, it says it is recommended to prove a child has a 504. >> >> you can watch the remainder of this program on c-span.org. we will take you live to hear from south dakota governor kristi noem, talking about federalism. the hoover institute is hosting. >> we invite