discusses his butch -- his book "the contagion next time" and then truckload carriers associations dave heller on vaccine mandates and the trucking industry. "washington journal" is next. ♪ >> good morning. inflation in this country has surged to a 31 year high, and the conversation this morning, your confidence in the biden administration inflation. democrats, (202)748-8000, republicans, (202)748-8001, and independents, (202)748-8002. text us if your first name city and state at (202)748-8003, and you can join the conversation on facebook.com/sleep and -- c-span

or you can send us a tweet @cspanwj. the president has been dishing -- addressing the issue of inflation, and here's what he had to say on wednesday about how the recently passed infrastructure bill will curb inflation. i'd coat today i'm here to talk about a pressing economic concern, and it is real meant that is getting prices down, and making sure that stores are fully stocked, and getting a lot of people back to work while tracking and tackling these two above challenges i mentioned. today, unemployment continues to fall but consumer prices remain too high. american people are still looking at everything from a gallon of gas to a loaf of bread

costs more. we still face challenges, and we have to tackle them head on, and on the good side, we are seeing the highest growth rate in decades and the fastest decrease in in unemployment ever since 1950. jobs are up and wages are up and savings are up, but we got problems. many remain unsettled about the end, me -- economy, and they see higher prices. they go to the store or online and they cannot find what they always want. we are tracking these issues and trying to figure out how to tackle them. my administration with the help of the folks on my left has a plan to finish the job and get us back to normal from the pandemic with a stronger economy than ever before. let me explain the part the ports play. it starts with a piece of good

news, infrastructure, how many times have you heard over the last five years, infrastructure week is coming. anyway, last week, we took a monumental step forward as a nation and we did something long overdue, long talked about in washington, the house passed my infrastructure bill along with another plant that i am advancing, so this bill will reduce the cost of goods to consumers and businesses and get people back to work, helping as build the economy for everyone. host: the president from earlier sing the bill and you heard him say his other proposals, the social spending proposal that is being debated in the house and the senate come and pushed by the president and democrats,

progressives who want to see it get across the finish line. the washington post recently ran this headline that senator joe manchin from west virginia is raising concerns now because of the recent headlines about inflation reaching a 31 year high. he expressed concern about moving forward with this proposal. what is your confidence in the biden administration to control inflation? do you agree with the president that we need this bill to lower inflation and grow the economy? jim from new jersey, we will start with you, democratic color. caller: thank you for taking my call. i would like to say that i have full confidence in joseph biden, our president.

however, besides the republicans, i also have a problem with the radical democrats. host: who are they? caller: the suppose it progressives. host: you think they should stop now and just -- caller: if they continue, the democratic party will be in a shambles. host: continue want? caller: what they are doing, their views are totally radical and out of touch with reality. host: do you think the social spending proposal will help the economy? caller: i presume so, yes. host: listen to what republicans are saying, this is mitch

mcconnell. he put out this statement, democrats have already created a lot of harm this year with the previous package they passed earlier this year without a single republican vote. it created inflation, which larry summers rejected it was going to happen. he is still in an argument with the treasury secretary over it, people do not want to go back to work because of what they have already done. the best way to sum up the impact of democratic policy, if the democrats pass it and of course it will be all by themselves, so double down on all the mistakes they will have already made this year. so republicans saying the money that they passed in march under this administration is what is causing inflation now. debbie, from manchester, tennessee, what do you think? caller: i think -- i thought the

progressives did pass a bill good i thought they did finally stop, to rebut the last caller, and now every time the press put something out there, he puts the brakes on, so if we are going to blame someone for not passing that package, it is mr. manchin. host: your confidence level in the biden administration to control inflation, what is it? caller: i do not believe it is the president of the united states'job to control inflation. he can do what he is doing with the spending bills that will boost the economy further. the economy is already improving , and people, it is politics when they allow people the political talking point for the right, making jokes from the bench by a murder trial about

the cargo ships. host: kathy, from georgia, republican. caller: i don't have any confidence at all in joe biden. he is leaning too far left, and i don't know what he is doing. the economy is upside down. i need to replace a washing machine and a microwave and i'm trying to decide whether or not to wait to do it because of inflation. host: have you looked at the prices? caller: absolutely, three months ago they were already going at, and i thought i would wait. i was trying to be optimistic but they have gone up 20-40%, and the labor shortage, i cannot even get anybody to mow my lawn. everybody is on unemployment -- not everybody, but too many, and i have to wait a week just to

get any kind of maintenance around my home. it is just upside down. host: how long can you wait to replace those, the washer in the dryer and the microwave? caller: the microwave is barely working, but the washing machine really needs replaced. i was just hoping -- i was looking for sales. and i am really worried about getting competent people to install these items. i am a disabled widow of a law enforcement officer who died in the line of duty. i am on a fixed income, and just going to the grocery store, it is affecting people like me, people with kids, people who work. it is really sad to see our country this way. host: what was your grocery bill before you saw the prices of goods going up, and what is it now, on average? caller: i have a daughter that

lives with me who has celiac disease so our groceries are already higher than most because of the gluten-free and vegan foods, so it costs more. they were probably like maybe $400-$500 a month. and now it is 78 -- 700 or 800. i am a meat eater, and i like bacon, but i just do not buy it. i have quit buying meat. host: where else are you cutting back on your spending? caller: we reduced our thermostat down to 65, and it is pretty cool right now.

it was like 48 last night. host: this is doug from san jose, california. caller: there's a simple principle here, the biden administration from the day they took office has been doing everything they can to drive inflation up. it is up more than 6%, when you throw trillions of dollars into the economy, you are going to cause inflation. now prices are going up, people cannot afford stuff. the biden ministration does not care. they can get all of the bacon they want. the average person is suffering, and the suffering is because of what the biden administration has done. host: what about the argument that this is because people had a lot of money in their savings that they got from the

government or because costs went down during the pandemic and they were not traveling, not going out to eat, and now the demand is back. but the supply cannot keep up. listen to moody analytics. the chief economist said the surge should be short-lived and he predicts costs will start dropping in early 2022 and by this time next year, the u.s. should return closer to normal inflation. i think this is entirely the result of the delta wave of the pandemic, and if it sticks to the script, i think inflation will moderate. we are seeing the worse inflation right now. caller: as i said before, when you throw 3 trillion or however many trillions that the government is planning to print into the economy, and you have more money tracing fewer goods, and you have a supply chain

right down, that break down and the backup is not just going to last a few months. throwing that money at the economy is a major cause of this inflation, so i think the biden administration is responsible for this, and i have no confidence that they will quote, unquote, fix it. host: so you do not think this is temporary, the supply chain can be resolved quickly? caller: no. we are 80,000 truck drivers down, and the ports are working as hard as they can. there are limits as to how much people can work, and the ports only have so much capacity. even if you send other ships to other ports, that stuff still has to get unloaded and it still has to get on trucks and go somewhere. if you do not have enough people and enough drivers, you are

still going to have a problem. the bottom line is, three chilean dollars of new money into the economy -- the economy simply cannot take it. host: we will be talking with avett heller later on this morning -- david heller later on about the trucking industry. the president on wednesday talked about his administration working to alleviate economic and inflationary pressures. here is what he had to say. pres. biden: this bill will ease inflationary pressures, 17 nobel laureates wrote a letter to me about 10 days ago saying this is going to affect and bring inflation down, not up. and the vast majority of these jobs that we will create do not require a college degree.

this is the ultimate blue-collar blueprint to rebuild america. i am not waiting to sign a bill to start approving the flow of goods from ships to shelves. yesterday i announced a plan that lays out concrete steps for my administration to take over the next three months to invest in the ports and to relieve bottlenecks. this bill is going beyond the progress we made. two of the largest ports in america, i met with the longshoremen there, and we worked out a deal between the port owners and the longshoremen to move towards operating those ports and to take 40% of everything in the pacific that comes through the ports, and 70 summit ships are lined out as far as you can see. we all agreed that we are going

to go 24 hours a day seven days a week. it is already paying off. last week a number of ships in the docs for more than nine days fell by over 20% and now we are announcing steps to improve ports in the east coast. this is to help reduce congestion. with our help, they now have the funds they need to set up five new port sites in georgia and north carolina so goods can get closer to their final destinations. in other ports will have the resources they need to make these kinds of investments as well. host: president biden from earlier this week. what is your confidence level in his administration to curb inflation? this is robert from kentucky. caller: the only way we going to change [indiscernible]

and give the trackers of break on the fuel and everything. when you give them the brakes on the fool and everything, they will go back to work. a lot of these drivers shut down because they cannot buy fuel, and it don't matter what he says , whatever he talks, he cannot move nothing, you can watch it on television and see it, the only way he going to change it is send that bill back. host: you are echoing an argument in the washington post, one way for biden to show he cares about inflation, to cross this landscape sometimes you have to take a step sideways or backward to move forward. right now the president needs to urgently address inflation, and

his first step should be to release a gusher of oil from the strategic reserve. what you say? caller: that is right. if you would stop all the people coming across the border, he ain't doing nothing. i don't understand how people sit around and don't take all them trucks or the big tractors, these farmers and everything -- host: this is vincent from new jersey, democratic caller. a confidence level, 1-10? caller: i put the president at a d level from handling the economy. i would have to say that we got to look at our taxes. i think that's got a big

influence on how the inflation level is. i think we should have some sort of affordable taxes like for the average people along with the wealth tax system. host: jl from utah, independent. caller: good morning. since i did not get to say to all of the veterans yesterday, happy veterans day. i appreciate all you do for us. i heard that 30% of all the the ever printed in this country were printed in the year 2020. and that i believe would be the main driver of inflation, if you print that much money without anything to back it, prices are going to go up. there is more money in the

system and people will charge more. i do not believe that the government in general is very effective or efficient or good at anything they do. i believe the private sector, if the regulations or whatever that is holding it up, the private sector would be the one to take up -- take care of the backup on the ports. my daughter said something interesting that maybe we should just buy less, order less for christmas and that would relieve some of it. host: if you saw a major pullback in consumer spending, you think prices go down? caller: it seems to me. i did not finish college, but it seems to me that if we did, if we spent less and ordered less, they would be less at the ports, and we would have to go without for a little bit, but that would not hurt us.

host: how are you cutting back? caller: i am a rancher, so we are always cutting back. you look at the price of beef on the shelf, that does not reflect -- i start the chain as far as beef goes. and i have not sold my calves, because i'm not barely able to breakeven prices. this is the same story that my grandpa talked about generations ago. host: the administration has been focusing on this issue of the meatpacking industry, they have had a white house briefing where they specifically talked about this and what they are trying to do. are you following that? tell us what you like about what you are hearing. caller: i think that 8% of the

cattle on feed are owned by the five major packing plants, and so they have the monopoly on the cattle, and it doesn't matter. they can give us producers whatever they want, but as long as they on that many cattle, and they belong to that national cattlemen's association id, but they have more money. they have the same bankers that i do, and their margins are bigger than mine. everybody is on their side. host: they on most of the cattle. and then they slaughter and pack the meat and put it on the shelf, and you are selling -- you are barely making it get by, so you sell your cattle for what? caller: iselle a 500 pound calf, and they buy it and i sell it and i could have sold them for a dollar 41 the other day, and i

did not. i decide what my calves are worth. i set the price and that is why i still have them. host: but you have to feed them. caller: yes, i got more bills coming, instead of a check, but i hold them -- the start of this change, people see the value in the start of the change, and we will get together and eventually hold the calves and say that we will not take this price. we will set our own price, but that takes cooperation, and people in our culture are really too individualistic to get together like that. host: what do you see about people who say i am not buying meat anymore, it is too

expensive, what is going to happen to you? caller: i am not too worried about that because people will get hungry, and i believe in choice. if people want to eat a burger made out of plants, that is their business. they will be a demand for beef. there will always be demand for it. host: thank you. i want to share this tweet with you. this is a picture of the united states, the hottest part of the country for inflation right now are the midwest and the south. the coasts are seeing more tepid price increases. rich from pennsylvania, republican. her confidence level. caller: not very high. i have some skin in the game, we do a lot of business with china. i am in the import business.

we are seeing problems with the supply chain, back to the point about the president. his speech yesterday, he cited how fast the employment rate was growing. unemployment now sits at 4.6%, which is pretty low. i think the last thing you do at this point is add more fuel to the fire. the earlier caller made some good points about inflation and it seems to me that 4.6% is not that far from employment, and if you are hiring at a rate that the president suggested, you would not need -- it will just self-correct. i just do not see it that way. host: what can the ceos of these companies like walmart do to get a better grip on the supply chain?

caller: i am a pimple on the butt of walmart, but i think what the big retailers have tried to do is control the transportation. some have bought container ships and they own their own containers and transportation, but our shipping costs, a container from china is $20,000. it used to cost me two to get it to the united states. host: when? caller: like 16 months ago. just the shipping, yes. now we have to -- less than

container load, because we are so small, we cannot even get a company to get us a full container, so we are literally shipping like four pallets at a time from china to pennsylvania, and i just got the invoice yesterday and it was $5,600 just for like 12,000 pounds. that is extremely expensive. i have to pass that off to my customers. i think inflation is out of control. host: who are your customers? caller: we supply to still companies, like metal roofing companies, and they are seeing upward pressure on prices as well. i don't know. it does not look great. before i go i want to say hello to my friend in cheryl in virginia. host: deborah, from virginia,

democratic caller. your confidence in this president to curb inflation? caller: at about an eight, or maybe a nine. i believe his administration have some things in the pipeline to get things to where they will be and i'm very confident. i think by the summer that those things will iron themselves out as far as the supply chain, and i went to go back. i work for the third largest retail group in the country, and i am talking to those customers, to the people purchasing and doing the buying. it is busy, and there is a

bottleneck, but i am confident that will work out. host: why are you confident, since you are in the business? caller: because i see the need, and i need to go back to one thing. as far as the money that was put into the economy, and you got to be responsible with that money. i have been able to save on top of what was there and i still have that in the bank. it is still there. i have a family of five, and i'm still working on that money. you got to cut your spending back. that will help. but i am saying it is ridiculous that people have gone to that money and now what you do? i have been able to save. host: one headline was that people are getting out their credit cards again. caller: that is crazy. i still have money in the bank

from the stimulus. and i have money in the bank from my paychecks, so we are going to have to cut back temporarily. it is not like the world will end if you spend a little less this summer. host: where have you been cutting back? caller: it is not like you are going to die, having to cut back a little bit. it is ridiculous. host: this is from the front page of the new york times, as biden pledges dips in inflation, the question is when? rocketing inflation has become a headache for u.s. consumers -- [news clip]

your confidence level in this administration to deal with record inflation. caller: good morning. i think the inflation is really not something that has been caused by this administration.

i think it is being caused by the backup related to the coronavirus. people stayed home, and they were purchasing i guess more home goods. however, manufacturers stopped producing, so it has created a supply chain, and i think that is related to the coronavirus. host: you stop spending for a while, i assume. when did you start spending more , and what did you spend your money on? caller: i am a retiree, and i cut down my spending four years. it is practically nil. i have cut out purchasing clothes, vacations, household goods, entertainment and food. there's not much more i can cut

out. i need new tires. i have to wait to get new tires. but not me say this, i want to make this point about the build back better bill, i am a progressive. i don't support this bill. i pay taxes. i have a very small pension. it is less than $2000 a month. i only have medicare a. i cannot afford medicare b or d. i have no other insurance. we want to spend $80 billion for public housing, and $90 million for rental assistance. i do not qualify for rental assistance or for obamacare, the

subsidies could i make two dollars over, so what i want to say is as a progressive, i think we need to return to giving everybody universal basic income and health care. but when we do that, we need to cut out section eight food stamps and we also need to cut out medicaid. we get entirely rid of those programs and restructure the government, all those departments, hud, and the medicaid department would be dismantled and we would just give everybody universal income. that is my solution. i ran for congress and that is one of my solutions for how to restructure this so we get out of this never-ending taxes for the middle class. host: did you run as a democrat? caller: no i ran as a green

candidate for district 11 against madison cawthorn. we really have to look at this differently. we set up all these government programs and that costs money to have a program. you have to employ people. the taxpayers pay for that. i pay state and federal taxes. i probably pay more taxes than most of the people in congress or some of these corporate executives. i am not joking. this bill is going to once again raise my taxes even more. host: the social spending proposal. caller: oh, yes. i adamantly oppose it. i have asked my congressman and senators to vote no. i think we need to do things differently. host: this is derek that sends us a tweet, inflations started

because of the pandemic. biden will clean up another mess , just give him some time. i am so glad the caller from tennessee said what she had to say. you can join us by texting @cspanwj, and you can text at (202)748-8003. just include your first name city and state. delia, a republican from miami. caller: zero. the first thing he did was go after the oil industry. we were independent up to a year ago in fuel and oil. now he put us back depending on opec. that causes inflation.

it costs money, when the gas goes up, everything goes up. as far has is raising taxes on corporations, people don't realize when corporations get taxes raised, it is a domino effect. whatever products they produce, they will pass it on to us. the middle class and the lower class. it is ridiculous to think it is not going to happen. i remember during jimmy carter and his wealth tax, and what happened down here in miami, a lot of companies who built things of luxury, they went out of business. because people were not spending the money.

you have to go hand in hand with the people. host: do you remember during the inflation era of jimmy carter what you did personally and what you talked about with your family and friends versus today? caller: what i remember, if you're tagged ended inman -- ended in an even number, you could only get gas on certain days, and there were no lines. the interest rate was 18% to buy a house, and that went up in a matter of months because i had bought a house in 1977. it was very low, and then all of a sudden, when my cousin went to buy a house in 1979, it was 18%.

who could afford that? who could afford that? he came up with all of these things about going after the rich, which is always the socialist way. i am cuban. i remember how things were in cuba. we are going to take it away from the rich and give it to the poor, and the poor really believed it. what ended up happening is they made everybody equally poor. host: are you a republican because of growing up in cuba? caller: i am a republican because i am very conservative and i am happy to say that my children and grandchildren are also registered republicans. they know our story and they know how it happened. people are talking about the

medicare, everything to do with medicine and about putting it on the government. i have family in spain and they do not work -- i know how it works. [indiscernible] you have to have surgery, and we will call you back next year to have your surgery. it is not going to be like here. we have friends in spain, and aunt there, and we saw it firsthand. host: some of your family migrated to the united states and some migrated to europe, and you see the difference? caller: of course. host: thank you for calling this morning. i want to share this article.

democrats ignore the recent inflation numbers are at their peril, and she says some pendants suggest that recent price trends are no big deal because inflation is likely to be transitory -- [news clip]

walt, in pittsburgh, pennsylvania, democratic caller. rate your confidence level. caller: i am a democrat. this guy is doing everything he said, especially with oil, shutting down the pipelines, drilling in alaska, this is

crazy but this guy has been doing. everybody should see this. two years ago, the market was up, people were working. he did not cause it. it was all over the world. [indiscernible] it does not matter, democratic, republican, it is your future. host: did the pandemic because inflation? caller: it did in the beginning, but shutting down everything else, saying he could do that, it is his country, i had the shots. i had one reaction. it did not kill us or anything, but i got to get the third shot.

i got mine in february, and i will go to see what is going on. i do trust it. host: let's listen to the president talking about economic problems that inflation is causing and what his administration is doing about it. adam: the challenge is to be here and my plan will help address the supply chain. you will hear a lot about the supply chains, but frankly not a lot of people are clear about whether they have a ph day or they did not go to school about how a supply chain works. we can sit here and talk about it. what is the impact? this is understandable because supply chains are complex. as long as goods and materials are getting where they need to go on time, there is no need to worry about the supply chains usually. but when global disruptions it

like a pandemic, they hit supply chains hard. covid-19 has stretched the supply chains like never before, and suddenly when you go to order a pair of sneakers or christmas presents, you are met with higher prices or longer delays. the reason for that last year has a lot to do with most companies and how they make their products. the supply chain is just a journey that a product takes to your doorstep. raw materials and labor, assembly, shipping, everything it takes. the supply chains are complex, and even products as simple as a pencil, they have to use wood from brazil, graphite from india , before it comes together at a factory in the united states. it sounds silly, but that is how it happens. so all of a sudden you got covid

crisis in brazil, you cannot get the product because the plant shuts down. that is what is happening. products like smartphones often bring together parts from france and italy, new york state, from japan, supply chain that crosses dozens of countries. that is just the nature of the modern economy. the global supply chains help dramatically bring down the price we pay. but they also made us more reliant on what happens in other parts of the world. host: that was on wednesday, the president arguing it is the pandemic that caused these issues. here's what republicans are saying, the leader of the republicans in the house, the joe biden plan for increasing the standard of living is a complete failure. the cost of getting bite is increasing at a faster rate

today than it has in 30 years. [news clip] our caller from newport, new jersey, are you feeling it? caller: no, i mean the store is full of goods. you can buy pineapples and avocados, so i have a lot of confidence. i will give him a nine for easing that burden and i would like to challenge people and ask them to tell us the things they are folk going -- foregoing because of this inflation.

also, if this was a global war or an asteroid hit us, we would all be making ipads out of pots and pans, so let's let the free market figure out what it is that we can produce here, what can we do to get by and adjust. i am not concerned about inflation. host: bill, a republican in the bronx. good morning. caller: good morning. the first thing, i give the administration of five. half of them think they can fix it and half of the economists think they can't. they have an issue with this build back better plan. the tax ramp ups, they are going to be a big hit on inflation in my opinion. the other thing, the big

misinformation that comes about this oil crisis. these companies want to make their money back, all these companies, from 18 months of getting killed. oil was at $30 a barrel and now somewhere up above $80, they are just holding up production. this pipeline shut down had nothing to do with it nothing. the united states got 3% of all income from that pipeline. canada got everything. all that was was dirty sand making its way down the pipe through a ship and being shipped off to china or russia or somewhere else. it had nothing to do with it. i give him a five. host: are you still there? lettie from alexandria, democratic caller. caller: i would give the

president an eight. i work in an industry that did not shut down during the pandemic, and when i had to go to look for parts for equipment, it goes back to production shut down, back in 2019. they used up everything they had come and they are completely out . this has nothing to do with inflation. this has to do that we were in a global shut down, and things are starting to reset. here in alexandria, virginia, everything is stocked up. we are not seeing this inflation problem going on. gasoline is higher. you use your gas points that you get from buying groceries and the prices go down. my guess went down by $.50 by using those points. people forget that there are other incentives you can use to make things cheaper, we as

americans like to have stuff. we are so worried about all of these trucks and ships that are stuck in ports. we need people working at ports. during the pandemic, people were laid off and did not want to come back. host: we will talk to the truckload carriers later in the show. let me ask you about the parts you are buying. how much have they gone up? caller: they have not. when they get the parts i stock, they are cheaper than the regular prices. i work for a home cleaning company come and we have parts for vacuums, and they come from china. we think that they would be about $25 more and, they are actually at a discounted rate because people have ordered so much that now they want to get rid of them.

parts have not gone up that much better coming from china. host: so it depends on the business. caller: we buy ppe because our ladies are still wearing gloves and masks, even though they are all fully vaccinated. host: has that cost going up? caller: not by a lot. maybe the gloves went up by a dollar $.50, and masks have gone up by maybe $.50, so it is not a lot, to be honest. we do not buy cheap stuff. host: is your business charging customers more money to clean homes? caller: we have not. we kept the prices the same because our customers, even though we are a small business, we could not go into their homes, and they were still sending us money, so the lady

still had a paycheck. americans have been very good even during covid. host: george, columbia, south carolina, independent. caller: good morning. i've been watching your show for a while, and i have been noticing people are calling in and crying about this and that, and most of them are white people. they just cry about everything. they don't go everywhere they want and they moan and groan and they have all of the benefits in the world but they cry every day about something, about money. if you need more money, go get a job. go get another job. host: how are you dealing with inflation? caller: i take one day at a time

and i think about god every day and he going to provide about me. i just go to work. quit crying. the white people are always crying about something. host: michael from silver spring, maryland, republican level. your confidence level? caller: can i make a comment first, just listening over the years of c-span and "washington journal," most elderly, i would say everybody over 65, they grew up during the boom years when government was taxing the rich at 99% and 76% for every dollar over $2 million. that is what roosevelt instituted so that no one would

profit off world war ii. and then unions were big. unions built this nation during that era, and credible standard of living going from depression to suburban living. they became spoiled, like the last caller, they became selfish , no sacrifice in their whole mentality, and most -- and then when reagan came, he was the one that started taxing social security, so they are getting taxed when they did not before reagan, because they were not being taxed. now they don't have no money

come and now they are complaining and whining -- host: tell me about the biden administration and your confidence in them to deal with this situation. caller: i give him an eight. host: do you believe the proposal will do something about inflation? caller: it is all pay for if the taxes would go from 21%, can you imagine the taxes on the wealthy , for everybody over $10 million that will get taxed, if it goes back up, they were talking 25% or 20%, but can you imagine if it went back to the 30%. this whole thing that he put out would be paid for, and it is pay for now with the taxes -- i am with him on this.

host: so the president today will keep talking about what his administration is doing to address inflation and he will tout the infrastructure bill. he has a meeting this afternoon and they will allow cameras in, and every cabinet secretary around the table with the president and they will talk about how this administration will curb inflation. but here is senator joe manchin, one of the key votes, about moving forward this proposal. he says by all accounts the threat posed by record inflation to the american people is not transitory and is getting worse. i'm the grocery store to the gas pumps, americans know this is real, and d.c. can no longer ignore the economic pain americans feel every day. caller: joe manchin, he has lost

his mind. he likes making his $500,000 that he invested in his coal company, and he does not want to have that taxed, but he has to worry about those one tooth trailer park shack people living as constituents -- host: robert from alabama, democratic caller. caller: i have not spoken with you since desert shield or desert storm, but anyway, about joe manchin, maserati and houseboat joe manchin, coming from one of the poorest states in america. how dare him identify as a democrat. can you see how passionate and

factual democrats are bringing you the truth, and it seems to me that republicans have fraud and lies when they call, but -- shut down, things that were being made in china and all over the world that was destined for our shores are not here. we shut down our factories in our country and so now we are trained to get back to work so they can bring the items that we need to survive and live our lives back to the shelves. it has nothing to do with something that the president has done that is negative. every time you speak to a republican congressman or republican senator, they went to

it is just the way things are because of the pandemic. host: we are going to take a break. when we come back we will be joined by boston university school of public health the -- dean to discuss his book. we will be talking about the pandemic. later, we will return to this issue of the supply chain when we talk to dave heller on what the biden administration is doing about the supply chain but also vaccine mandates and what that would mean for the trucking industry. ♪ >> tv every sunday on ning authors discussing their latest nonfiction books. coverage of the brooklyn books festival with the conversation with heather mcgee, what racism costs everyone.

and george packer. they offer ways to overcome inequalities and divisions within the country. on between the lines, a collection of interviews she conducted with over 170 people she's met on a new york city subway and the conversation between joyce carol oates. later, a discussion on the posthumous work about the last living survivor of the atlantic slave trade was published in 2018. the oldest imprint by a major publishing house debate -- devoted to the african-american market. on afterwards, head of the children's hospital of philadelphia infectious diseases division and director of bear vaccine center, from blood transfusions to mask -- mass vaccinations. he is interviewed by dr. emily gurley from johns hopkins

university. watch book tv every sunday on c-span two. watch online anytime at booktv.org. ♪ >> washington journal continues. host: we want to welcome to the program a professor and dean at the boston university school of public health.

the author of this new book, the contagion next time. guest: number one, there's no question we will have another pandemic, it is not if, it is when. we need to be prepared. we will spend a lot of time correctly thinking about vaccines, surveillance systems. we should think about all of those things. we also think about the underlying causes, the next pandemic -- we need to pay attention to safe houses, gender equity, that is ultimately what we saw in this pandemic was a failure of infrastructure in the pandemic having the consequences. host: we will get into that a little bit later. when you say not if, but when --

guest: anybody who says when, is essentially guessing. in terms of not having a major out leak. sars hit canada hard. never really came to the u.s.. things like ebola. fundamentally, there is some video secrecy. this one hit the world hard. there is no reason to believe -- it has been the human history for thousands of years. it doesn't mean we will not have one again soon. host: the sars, what happened 10 years ago, we are lucky it

didn't come from a pandemic. if this covid-19 came from animals as well, what is it then about societies and animals. many animals are changing. urbanization, we have people closer together in cities. the two are coinciding. this is not a surprise. we have known this for decades. there have been these diseases hitting parts of the world. the expectation is we will have these happening. host: why will they keep

happening? guest: many of these viruses and many animal species mutate, they become new pathogens. for some reason or another, they cross over. once the virus mutates in a way it will spread from human to human. some could be more lethal than others. the coronavirus was very transmissible and not very lethal. it is a lot of the population. not so lethal that people were actually asymptomatic and could transmit. that meant it was easy for the virus to spread among many people. host: are you saying this covid-19 virus could keep

morphing? the pandemic continues on? guest: none of us really know what is going to happen with the virus here with covid-19. we hope there will be no other variant that will continue affecting us. the delta variant we did not see it coming. there are other variants that have come and gone. the hope is we have enough people vaccinated in enough people with natural immunity that we are now at the tail end. it is hard to say. people who are unvaccinated and who are affected by the virus, they are a reservoir for the virus in the virus could mutate. it is really hard to say what is going to happen. the hope is enough people are vaccinated that we will not have

another surge. host: explain the science of unvaccinated being a reservoir for mutation. guest: the virus needs to be in humans to view -- mutate. the virus could come and infect you. we stop being susceptible by either being vaccinated or having a previous infection. the virus has nowhere to go. the human host could change. mutations happen all the time. the delta variant was more

infectious that way. it is impossible to say what mutations we will see. host: you write it is up to us to determine whether this will be a prologue to an even greater crisis or to a time of unprecedented historic improvement in health. vaccines may have ended the pandemic but the solutions we turn to during the crisis were based on the intersection of health and the social economic forces that shape our lives. one based on shoring up the foundations of what treats us well. we need the humility to recognize we must continue to engage with these forces. it will not protect us from the contagion next time. what is this new approach to health? guest: the challenge we had when covid-19 hit at the beginning of 2020 is that we as a country

were much less healthy then we should have been. we spend more on our health than any country. despite that we are sicker and live shorter lives by about five years. although we spend about 40% more. it is a phony state of affairs. we except spending more and having were south? we were in poor health as a country. the virus hits, as many now know , people who have underlying illness. diabetes, heart disease, lung disease. those people were susceptible to having severe infections with the virus. we had more hypertension diabetes, obesity, lung disease. we grew more vulnerable. that resulted in the consequences of the virus. it resulted in the impact it had on this country.

fundamentally, it was before the virus hit us that made us sitting ducks for the virus itself. why was our health is poor as it was despite our spending? the reasoning our health was as poor as it was his we did not invest in what makes us healthy. it is different than what makes us healthy. clean air, drinkable water, having been free from violence. those are the conditions that create a healthy life. host: a fair economy, accessible education, a clean environment

racial and economic injustice. it has long been known to us as improvements to society. it is part of a cohesive vision for health. you don't mention food here. are all of these things equal? where does that rate compared to the other things? guest: there are levels that affect our health fundamentally. what i eat, what i exercise. what determines that is what i eat, healthy food or not. whether or not there is pollution. the food, exercise, that is

ultimately what goes in my body. the subsidies that we give to food, the historical injustices that have been done who determine whether or not if i or people like me have been able to buy houses. they are all fundamentally causing our health. host: what about the price of nutritious versus not as nutritious foods? guest: we make a mistake by saying obesity, it is your fault if you are overweight. we don't stop to think for a second. if i can only afford food, i would eat those foods. if i live in an area where the

only food available to me within a mile of my home, that is what i'm going to eat. those foods will result in me being overweight. fundamentally, collectively the policies and structures determine what i eat. they are determining whether or not i am overweight. we are making the argument that we have the country -- we have to make sure there are policies in place to have healthy food available. i'm going to have heart disease, i will be vulnerable. host: you write it needs to be a cohesive vision for health, what do you do? what does it look like? guest: it is essentially an

acknowledgment for all of these forces. economic decisions they all affect our health. we all care about our health. we all think about our children. if you want our children to be healthy, what causes that? these are the forces that cause children's health? . our political system aligns to generate health. we should be expecting a discussion about housing decisions. the decision about infrastructure. they sing not minimum wage. we all care about our health. host: we are taking your calls this morning.

you could start dialing in now. they are on your screen. a (202) 748-8002 text to -- a text to (202) 748-8003 with your name, city, and state. you can go to facebook.com/c-span. john in south dakota is up first. caller: good morning. it's good to be able to talk to you. my question has to do with where the pandemic will come from because of the exponential release of methane from the polar caps.

they are warming faster and faster. we seem to ignore this as we pump more co2 in the atmosphere. we are going to have tipping points. are we going to start seeing pandemics come from the cryo-spear? also, i think we will see more from the forest with animals moving and dying out of there. i'm just wondering what you found out about the cryo-spear and the melting ice? guest: yes, maybe. what we do know is there is general consensus. my argument is that we should be

doing what we can for the pandemics from happening. i use this metaphor in the book, we don't know where the next storm is going to come from. the best possible captain. whenever the storm comes, wherever it comes from the ship will be able to sail with the storm. host: alexander in brooklyn, good morning. caller: it is a pleasure to be on. i have a comment and a question. my comment, we have a lot of people hesitant about the vaccine. we have a very sick nation. how could people make healthy choices for their children when

they make bad health choices for themselves? the second thing i was going to ask was i think that is where it first started in the mutation was 30% higher. there was a real concern it would be the next potential delta. is there any new studies on this? it was a real concern in the scientific community. i will take your answer off the air. guest: there is a substantial discussion in our country about vaccine these vaccines truly have been extraordinary. they are effective and safe for adults, kids. the question about parents, they

make health decisions for their children. we have a responsibility to always try to do what's best for our kids. i am aware of the broad national conversation. i think that speaks more to the fact that we have not had these conversations. we don't have a pandemic question b is it did emerge but did not turn out to be -- host: what do you eat and what do you feed your children? guest: i try to eat as healthy as possible. i also like potato chips and things like that every once in a while.

one should eat and exercise in moderation. i tried to teach my children that. make sure they also enjoy foods that give them pleasure once in a while. caller: ivory sheet you taking my call. why when there is activity, to see what is going on, here is the largest pandemic in the world and not one lab has been locked to make sure all of the papers go into who, what, where, when, and why? dr. fauci, these other doctors have patents on these drugs since 2005.

they went and got a child heart attack medicine approved in the child's vaccine. for you to say a child's vaccine of this type is 90% safe and effective is a boldfaced lie. how could you say that? host: let's have him respond. guest: i think it reflects two comments i made earlier. we nationally have a lack of trust in the system. i understand why that is. long before the pandemic, why should we trust the system is actually investing in our health? they have been approved, reviewed. i feel very confident that they are safe.

i respect it. we as a world should not be having this conversation in the middle of the pandemic. let's get through this pandemic and then have the conversation to make sure we have the review structures of the fda so the next time it happens when the vaccine is approved we collectively say we trust our structures, we know this is safe. host: speaking of the current situation, what do you say to people who said i have covid, i. -- i have immunity, i don't need to get vaccinated. guest: having covid will give people immunity. there's many questions about that. studies have shown maybe they actually have not had covid.

it is not clear how long immunity lasts with covid depending on what you had your the same thing to do is get vaccinated. given how much to -- good they will do for all of us. in my mind we should all get vaccinated weather we had covid or not. host: if you have waning immunity, are you a host that could allow the virus to mutate? or is it likely? guest: it's a terrific question. we don't fully know. there are studies that show the pfizer vaccine, the data are really unclear right now. there is guidance on booster shots. i think in the long term, where we are headed with this is it will not disappear.

it will remain with us. it will continue at a low rate. we will all end up having a shot for it on some frequency. maybe every year. it will boost our immunity against new variance. caller: good morning. i would like to ask the doctor if he's familiar with what's going on with the whitetail deer population out here in the pacific northwest. it's concerning to me, i'm not sure people realize it is out there. host: what is impacting that

population? covid? caller: there is some kind of disease spreading within the whitetail deer population making them act not normal. maybe people shouldn't be hunting them while this was going on. guest: all i could say is the answer to my previous question. we have structures in place, in washington state i'm pretty confident they are looking at this already. we have systems in place. we have fewer people working in municipal, state, and federal public health.

this goes towards an argument. things like this are not threatening us. host: good morning, you are on the air. caller: thank you for taking my call. good morning, doctor. i have a question. my friend's son who is 18 years old was sick about a month ago. my son went over and took his father to the doctor. the next day they said he had covid. so we were all quarantined. his stepfather, his mother, sister who is 12 and his father, none of them came down with the coven. my concern is my granddaughter has cystic fibrosis, she is 20

years old. them -- why do some people get it and some people don't? guest: thank you for calling in. the story you are describing is not atypical. the infectious disease, that is true for any infectious disease. you know many people who have come in contact. covid is exactly the same. it is also possible some people who did not get covid had covid before and were not aware of it. the majority of people actually have asymptomatic covid. the third, which was the concern , not knowing the particulars to make sure you talk to your doctor.

everyone who is in contact with them has been tested or is safe from covid. one worries about people who are potentially compromised because of cystic fibrosis and the drugs they are taking. host: alan in hawaii, good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. i like to speak about dr. michael bennet. not far from the santos institution. his work in rapid testing. obviously i believe in any epidemic testing will be really key. obviously with the big hurdles appear to be right now that -- you may have to cut me off at some point. if i keep going, i apologize. the testing issues right now appeared be significant. the fda believes all of the

rapid tests need to meet the requirement of a medical device even when they should be considered more likely the public health technology. it could be very inexpensively masked we find out there is a search locally. any comments on that? guest: good morning. it is very early for you in hawaii. testing is a core part of the response. if very vocal advocate of rapid testing. many of the listeners, we failed the initial testing. that test stumbled and we held back that private sector. it would've helped us quite a bit. there is this argument about hominy rapid tests we need to have. we have years to do -- to sort

this out and come to the right place on testing. this is one of the lessons we are taking from this moment. covid has been a terrible moment. a terrible tragedy with 700 thousand friends, grandparents, lovers, wives, husbands. we owe it to the people that have died to make sure we won't -- learn from the moment. the system in place to make sure testing is set up quickly. host: cnn is running a headline, america closer to the end of masks, is that a good idea? guest: there are conflicting questions about masks. there are many workplaces where masks are required. the chances of people who are vaccinated are very little.

then it comes to what is the risk of having masks. fundamentally, everything we have done in this pandemic are another example of risk-benefit. we have unmasking in workplaces where everybody is vaccinated. we get the guidance that says there is not much benefit to wearing a mask in general in public. the cdc guidance has been on the best possible evidence. i would look to the guidance on those. caller: good morning. if i could first make a statement and then a question. the other epidemic in our country that we have taken our eyes off of is the prevalence of

std's in the country at any given time based on data from 2018 is one in five americans have an std. there is no vaccines against hiv, chlamydia, syphilis, herpes, gonorrhea. covid has taken our eyes off the other mask epidemic. host: are you familiar with those numbers? guest: i am. i would generalize the number, while we have been focusing essentially only on covid for the last 20 months or so, many other health conditions need paying attention to. we had 90,000 people die from opioid overdose last year. these deaths are all equally tragic. one of the challenges we have is we need to start pivoting not

just on covid but on everything else. our job now is to integrate. host: philip in alexandria. caller: good morning. thank you for all you have done with all of this stuff. this goes way back to mercia and everything else. my wife and i recently had our burst -- booster. i read a lot of indications on the internet where protected by 16 times more antibodies. is that a matter of antibodies or protecting against the virus itself for the percentage of being safe? thank you for what you do. guest: great question. the answer to that is yes to both. the booster does have more antibodies.

the reduction of risk of acquiring the virus. the fundamental immunity with the combination of antibodies is much harder to measure. we don't fully understand those two. we do know from excellent critical -- clinical trials the vaccine itself in the booster increase antibodies but more importantly increase our chance of getting covid. your chance of getting severe covid are very low. right now in our hospitals, 99% are not vaccinated. the percent of people who are vaccinated to wind up with severe covid is very slim. host: don in new mexico, good morning to you. caller: i'd like to follow-up on the caller who asked about whitetail deer. yesterday a doctor from the

center of infectious disease research and policy commented that they have now found covid in whitetail deer. they are at the early stages of following that up. the concern of course is the whitetail deer may be on reservoirs for the virus. at the reservoir for the virus that could be passed back to humans. not only would that be true, there could be variants and mutations that could come out of the whitetail deer. in his podcast and follow it closely. guest: we have known for a while that covid also exist in animal hosts. that is what makes it very likely that we could ever eradicate covid. once a virus exist in a human species and an animal it is hard

to wrap one's brain around logistically. our job is to monitor this. this is why we need to go back to the point i made earlier. you have the public health systems. we don't want covid to mutate and come back into the human population. the way to avoid that is by having systems in place to protect us from that by monitoring. host: who stands or what stands in the place of your vision for a public health system? guest: what stands in the way it is a terrific way of synthesizing it. we don't think of health in this way. fundamentally we need to rethink of health. we have thought that health was something we could buy for ourselves.

what we could buy his not health, it is sick care. our health depends on our collective engagement in creating a world that generates our health. that needs to become commonplace until private sector and public sector actors recognize the things they do all matter. what is the health impact of this approach? it asked the question, what is the health impact of this kind of food, this kind of investment, that kind of investment? we will all be together on putting the pieces to create a healthier world. host: regina in birmingham, alabama, good morning. caller: i wanted to ask you a question. i was diagnosed with covid in august. my husband was as well.

he died, i'm a diabetic. i have sleep apnea and asthma. now i'm trying to take the shot. how long do i need to wait? guest: i'm sorry for your loss. from what i hear, there's no reason not to take the shot right away. i would talk to your doctor, there may be complexities in your care than i am not aware of. fundamentally there's no reason not to take a shot right away. caller: good morning, thanks for being on and talking with us about this complex subject. i don't think i have heard anyone ask the question i came to mind when i heard the title of your book, what could prevent another pandemic. one lever that you would pull if you are in charge about public health. guest: trivia question.

i don't think there is any one lever. there is an impulse. this actually calls for complexity. for us to have the nuance to realize we will never solve this. i sit on the show that vaccines have been effective and safe. many people are not vaccinated. they trust the system. even something as good as vaccines is not enough. what i'm arguing is we want to do all those things. those are not enough. we want to pay attention to what generates our health we are not under duress. that's requires investment in safe housing, clean air,

drinkable water. host: lakeland, florida. caller: praise before c-span and how it allows citizens to bring ideas to the public airways. dr., i am working in the green party to develop policy for a viable green party in the united states. can we have permission to use your book as our official outline for using health as a central organizing issue in society? can i promote your book to develop -- i'm trying to develop green party policy, can i have your permission on that? guest: the book is out there. you all have permission to use the ideas in the book. i would encourage you to do so. host: what about the long-term

impacts of if you contract covid and what it does to your body, specifically your heart and the danger. maybe you don't get hospitalized but what i could do to your body and your heart. guest: long covid is really open right now. they're investing a lot of money. we will learn more about long covid and how long these symptoms last. right now, all of you know is you seem to have longer term consequences. really, the amount of noise around social media and speculation, we have to remember covid has only been with us for 20 months. it takes years and decades.

we will learn more about this in the coming months and years. caller: yes, good morning. i have a question. the differential, if you take too many antibiotics and don't follow through with them. does not have anything to do with the symptoms? also, perhaps pneumonia if you ever had that. does it give you immunity? guest: i think you are referring to two different things. a bug that emerges when people do not think enough antibiotics that could cause complications.

in pneumonia if you are referring to the viral infection. fundamentally to take a step back, the viral infection itself could cause pneumonia. you could have anti-for bacterial infections. if people don't know, it is what they are trained to do. of course some antibiotics at the end. host: what about the use of antibiotics in this country and its impact on our micro bio? the ability for our body to fight diseases when you have taken antibiotics. guest: we are talking about a lot of drugs. there is no question that by taking antibiotics we are running the risk of creating

antibiotic resistance. they study just that. we know it also has impact on antibody resistance. we also know that by creating the resistance it becomes harder for us to deal with emergence. this is a wide-open area. the practical answer on a day-to-day basis is physicians who are prescribing antibiotics are careful. we have a problem with that as a country. there is consumer pressure of being prescribed some of the best possible -- by doing that we often push the resistance further forward. this reflects research and agenda.

host: author of the contagion next time. professor at boston university school of public health. we appreciate the conversation. guest: thank you for having me. host: we will take a break. when we come back we will talk about the trucking industry with the truckload carriers association. we will be right back. ♪ ♪ >> american history tv, saturdays on c-span2. explore peoples and events that tell the american story. historians revisit george washington 1796 farewell address in his warning against threats confronting a young nation. at 10:00 p.m. eastern this week marks the 100th anniversary of arlington national cemetery's tomb of the unknown soldier.

the story behind the tomb and the journey that took this anonymous soldier from world war i france to america's most revered burial ground. watch american history tv saturday on c-span2. watch online anytime at c-span.org. >> c-span offers a variety of podcasts for every listener. weekdays, washington today gives you the latest on the nation's capital. every week, book notes plus has interviews with writers about their latest work. audio from the immense archive to look at how the day developed over years. then our series, talking with features extensive conversation with historians. many of our television programs are available as podcasts.

you could find them all on the c-span mobile app or wherever you get your podcasts. c-span's online store, browse to the collection of c-span products, apparel, books, home to core, and accessories. something for every c-span fan. shop now or anytime at c-span shop.org. "washington journal" continues. host: the government affairs vice president for the truck carriers association. the headlines in the new york times. the biggest kink in america's supply chain, not enough truckers. caller: that's -- guest: that's a great headline.

we are looking at 80,000 driver shortage. the supply chain crisis everybody is talking about. we recruit new drivers to the industry and hope we could fix some of these issues. that is very real and very out there. that is going on at the boards. this is issues that are certainly permeated throughout the country. host: when did their become not enough truckers? was it during the pandemic or is it now after the demand for good has increased? guest: the drivers wanted sign that goes up in storefronts. going into the pandemic we were about 60,000 driver short. people spending more has led to

that issue with that growing concern. they basically said at one point maybe i get out of the industry. we just haven't gotten them back. have remained relatively small due to social distancing. they have since reopened. we are acclimated to trade if you will. it has grown from 60,000 at the start of covid 280,000 now. host: what goes into becoming a truck driver? guest: yet to demonstrate a proficiency for operating a motor vehicle. they are the safest, most well-trained drivers. making sure those drivers are taking those classes. making turns, traveling back.

operating in an environment that protects themselves in those they share the road with. making sure they get their commercial drivers license. host: how long the school take? guest: that's a great question. i have seen programs anywhere from 4-6 weeks. this is not a one-day affair. they certainly bring them in so the driver showed persistent -- proficiency. host: how much does it cost and who pays for it? guest: that answer varies all over the board. there are costs that could be incorporated. i don't have a roundabout number because each program is different. who pays for it? that also varies. there are carriers programs where they operate their own school. it could be as little as nothing for drivers. host: how much of the getting paid per hour? guest: good question. salary programs range all across

the board. they could range from a per hour salary to being paid by the mile. i have seen general salaries to even annual salaries. it just depends on what would be comfortable with a driver. host: give us an idea in case somebody is thinking about switching careers. guest: bureau of labor statistics with the average truck driver salary at about $46,000. host: any benefits? guest: there would be some benefits involved. those would range across the board. i'm not sure what health benefits would be included. there is a tendency today to include sign-on bonuses. you start driving for a carrier. i know one carrier that has the three salary increases this year alone. host: another part of this new

york times headlines reads long hours and uncomfortable working conditions are leading to a shortage of truck drivers. guest: you have to remember the hours a professional truck drivers could work are regulated by the federal motor care safety. knowing those two numbers right there. our drivers on average are averaging about six point five hours of drivetime per day. it could be about four or five hours. when you look at the supply chain crisis, that could be problematic. if we could figure out a way to expedite that process, we might be able to gain some efficiencies for drivers to get where they need to go.

rather than waiting for them to be loaded, unloaded. there certainly is some maneuverability or flexibility. we focus on making the loading and unloading times. host: any thoughts to increase the hours they could drive per day? guest: this is the question of we need to work smarter, make better sense of the day. before the driver shows up to get it. so the drivers time while they are waiting to get loaded or unloaded. this isn't a question of making more hours. what are you hearing the transportation department, pete buttigieg will do about the trucking situation?

guest: they looking into it. they are looking into the trucking industry has been waiting if you will. making better sense of what that day looks like. it is certainly one of those issues. with the infrastructure bill, that would allow drivers to have interstate commerce. simply put, those drivers could operate today. that is in 49 of the 50 states throughout the country. that would allow the 18-20-year-old drivers. here in alexandria, virginia into maryland, i would not be able to drive it. that language looks to remedy that situation.

we could make sure drivers are fully trained. host: how else does the infrastructure build benefit the industry and on the others, hurt the industry? guest: i think everybody wants a firm -- first-class office space. would you dedicate $110 billion, that goes a long way to improving that aspect and getting drivers that office space. that is the big benefit right there. eliminate the crumbling roadways that we have right now on our infrastructure. host: how many days are they out on the road versus at home.

guest: it is up to the driver and what kind of job they are looking for. all aspects of this, you could imagine short-haul delivery drivers. the time allows. host: what times of the day are they allowed to drive? could they drive at night? guest: they could drive 24 hours a day. they operate 24 7, 365. host: what is the competition to retaining drivers? guest: everybody is looking for drivers. there is the opportunity where everybody is looking for the next thing. we want them to driver somebody they are comfortable with and stay with that carrier. host: what about the big

companies who deliver their goods, the amazons of the world, what are they paying their drivers? guest: that i do not know. it could be a per mile rate, it could be hourly. host: we will divide the lines by regions this morning. also a line for truck drivers. we want to hear from you. what is it like being in the industry? start dialing in now. our guest, the government affairs for the association. you could text us. let's talk about vaccine mandates for your industry. the emergency standard, the etf does not apply to employees who does not report to workplace where other individuals such as

coworkers are present. employees why they are -- while they are working for home and outdoors. does that apply to truckers? guest: in some cases because of the nature of the job. secretary walsh has come out and said we are waiting for that language to be clarified. we recently filed suit to vacate the rule to basically move forward. involving the mask options. this is an industry that would continues to deliver vaccines, ppe, we have been stocking the shelves with the nation. host: given this mandate, possible what could he do? if it's not listed for truckers, what could he do to the industry? guest: there is concern that the

driver shortage could grow without a doubt. we are showing about 50% of our driving force has been vaccinated. if this mandate were to go through, i would expect somewhere in the 37% range of drivers who would leave the industry. any change to that 80,000 would be dramatic. looking at those numbers we have to keep freight moving. keep the shell stop. the panic buying at the start of the pandemic is something this nation shouldn't be going through again. host: welcome to the conversation, linda. caller: good morning. i was married to a driver. he was union and he made 90,000

a year. the thing between the union drivers and the gypsy drivers were that there were places they were able to rent a truck from big companies and their salaries were very low. they had to pay their own expenses, benefits and i think that finally has stopped. i know in this area, bernie brown had probably one of the biggest ones for national freight and they closed up so that put out easily on the east coast thousands of drivers. so it's not just that there is a demand for drivers. it's also who is going to back the financing of the truck itself? host: let's talk about that.

guest: there are carriers across the country, you have to remember that this industry is very strongly employed by independent contractors. people that are looking to start and grow their own businesses. some of our largest carriers operate on the road started with the notion that one man went out and bought one truck and started delivering freight. that american dream is out -- is still alive today. there are very successful lease purchase programs where drivers can actually purchase a truck from a carrier. host: i want to give our line for our truck drivers. 202-748-8002. dial in please read we want your reaction to what you heard this

morning and also what it's like for you. orlando is a driver in georgia. caller: good morning. i've been driving trucks about five years and i don't think we get paid enough because i bring home about $1200 a week, but i actually come up my check -- my check is actually about $1500, but most of it is going to texas. i'm out here seven days a week and i drive about 11 hours a day and that's all the money are bring home where you got people that are laying on unemployment bringing home $1000 a week and i worked the whole pandemic and i

just don't think that's fair. i think they need to make it, pass a bill because they talking about $25,000 they were going to give the truckers. i don't know what happened to that bill. host: benefit to the essential workers who worked during the pandemic. caller: we didn't get nothing. host: since there is a shortage of drivers, have you looked for other driving jobs where they would pay you more because there's a demand for you russian mark caller: yes i did look, -- yes i did look because i've been with this company with this. i want to get paid more, but a lot of these trucking companies they say they're going to give you set miles but you don't get

the $500 -- 500 miles a week. i might get a dollar a mile, but i would only get 500 miles. guest: i think i look at my paycheck to with the taxes taken out. i checked -- i shake my head as well. paid programs across the injury that industry very widely -- across the industry vary widely. it's one of those things i note there are those out there making quite a bit of si no that there are those out there making white a bit of money. these are opportunities that exist throughout the industry without a doubt. caller: i was just going to say just to carry on from the

previous caller is that there are huge differences in what the truckers experience out here in the west. i'm in washington, and i know in oregon and california we've got whatever right to work states. there are big differences. i was an airplane -- teamster airplane mechanic and i just seen how these guys, they are putting up with worse traffic. allowed some of the mexican truckers to come into the united states and we've got like these horrible domestic companies, i think jb hunt is one of the biggest in the country out of arkansas. none of these guys are even unionized. that of course all this talk about autonomous trucking. that's another disrespectful

thing to truckers. but anyway, that was just my comment. guest: first and foremost, our union membership is not necessarily, there are successful companies that are not using them. when you look at some of these things, and make these trucks, there are very widely technologically equipment out there that are making these trucks safer. so when you look at autonomous victims vehicles, this is not the opportunity to replace a truck driver. we know that when you see a

windshield -- this is an opportunity where don't think that the autonomous vehicles is one of those situations that is going to be a threat. this is an opportunity that will make your driving job better, easier. there's a lot of congestion. the becomes one of those issues that we as a professional truck driver have to deal with on a daily basis. hopefully that infrastructure bill will add some dollars and continue operating. host: dave heller, i want to add it the conversation. pete buttigieg talked about lowering the age to become a truck driver. here he is. >> we've got to be very careful about safety.

it's a mentorship, apprenticeship initiative that tries to manage the potential for there to be a safety trade-off. we want as many people to be well if i drivers as possible. but never at the expense of safety. we've got to make truck driving a better job. truck drivers, there's a reason the turnover is so high. the way they are compensated, they are often not compensated for their time means that their time is wasted freely sometimes that -- sometimes when they are waiting for a load. it truckers do not have the option to work from home on zoom. they are the absolute backbone of our supply chain. we need to respect and in my view compass at them -- compensate them better than we have. host: paul, you are on the air with dave heller. caller: good morning.

i want to say god bless all of my brothers and sisters out there driving. i was a day driver for 30 years. i am retired. i ended up my last year making about $75,000 before i retired and i want to say that the reason there's so many delays is because the government has put so many restrictions on the driving truckers. host: dave heller, what are the restriction's? guest: drive 11 hours a day, work actually 14 hours. there's reasons for that and those reasons, the last thing we want -- leslie you want is someone driving -- and the last

thing you want is someone driving outside of regulations. let's make better use or sense of these rules. tremendous amount of data being generated by our industry and that data can help highlight what that drivers day looks like. the delays, this is an opportunity to make that day so that they can adjust and keep driving. host: we are having some audio issues with our connection this morning. what i'm going to do is show our viewers what the labor secretary had to say about mandates for the industry and then we are going to get you on the phone so we can keep talking to you this morning. here's the labor secretary last week. >> we've always had some pushback from truckers and the are rented think is most truckers are covered by this

because they are driving a truck, they would not be covered by this. i heard some construction issues pushback on this. so i would suggest that as we think about this moving forward, when the president announced this in september we were having high levels of delta variant at that per together moment. lots of people were getting sick. people were dying and they still are everyday in america. he recommended or ordered, whatever you want to call it, myself and osha them up with a standard. a lot of thought went into it. i feel that it is a good, well thought out plan. host: the labor secretary on those vaccine mandates. dave heller is our guest the. he is the vice president of the truckload carriers association here to talk about the trucking industry and vaccine mandates

and what's going on with supply chain. we divide the lines by regional. we live in the eastern central part of the country, 202-748-8000. mountain pacific, 202-748-8001. truck drivers, your line is 202-748-8002. margie in pennsylvania, we will go to you next. caller: good morning. this is so interesting because just this very weekend my married granddaughter and her husband are leaving for training. we've all over investigated this whole thing so we are very impressed with all the preparation and the training and the interviews and so forth. so if there is somebody out there thinking i think i will go be a truck driver, even the preparation to get to be interviewed, don't be naive.

it is not easy. i am sure all drivers on the highway appreciate that because these truckers, five weeks long, half of it at desk work and half of it out on the road. i didn't have a real question. i just wanted to thank you for having this topic on today because it's very much affecting our whole family with our wonderful grand daughter and her husband setting out to be a team of drivers. host: richard from colorado. good morning. caller: good morning. i'm getting ready to go to trucking school. i checked into it and changed careers in colorado through the workforce center. they do grants. a really good truck driving school.

there is day coming up and it caught my interest. currently applying for a grant. they are actually booked up with students with the first class for the next set of students. in essence start until the summer 13th and it is a three week course. if you do it at norton -- if you do it at night, it can be a six-week course. they also do financial where you don't have to start paying for your classes until you have been employed for like two months or something of that nature. host: how do you go about getting a grant? caller: it was through the workforce center of colorado, but it's through the job source center. i think all the states have,

basically it's your unemployment centers. you talk to your career counselor. you get a career counselor at the workforce center which every state, i do believe, has one because it is part of the unemployment system. go to the paperwork and apply. that you're serious about it. plus they help you out with a resume and things of that nature. lot of these trucking schools have ongoing department of education and it's part of the department of transportation. i'm looking forward to it. host: dave heller, any reaction? guest: welcome to the industry. this is one of those examples that we were talking about. we as an industry welcome anyone

and everyone interested in becoming a professional truck driver. there's opportunities out there participating in an industry that truly wants them to supply a nation, stock the shelves, deliver emergency supplies when it needed. this is one of those opportunities of getting into these industry because it's an opportunity before them to build upon and support their lives as they have them. welcome to the trucking industry. we look forward to working with you. host: even the interview is difficult. can he talk about that? guest: here's an opportunity where they are putting people behind the wheel of a very expensive pieces of equipment. so it's not something that we as an industry have taken lightly. we want to make sure that these potential drivers have the skill set and knowledge and know-how to know how to safely operate. in some cases these trucks can range 150,000 dollars or more. this is not by any means a small or inexpensive equipment that they are operating.

we want to make sure that they are operating as safely as they possibly can because the goal is deliver freight -- freight from point a to point b. even, that can range from high-cost to locales. it just depends on what they are hauling. host: jack in colorado. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. my thing is you are talking about truck driver shortage. this is been going on for years. these companies that hire drivers or teach drivers, they teach these students to drive.

they don't pay them very much, but then students quit. but the biggest things with these companies that are hiring or teaching these drivers, they use this as a tax write off and that's what's creating a lot of this shortage. another thing where you talk about, one fella talked about the hours you can drive. i'm retired. i quit driving back in 2002 think it was. you could drive 11 hours a day, but you could break that up into two series. you could drive for five hours six hours read you could stop and take a four hour break and then you could go for another five hours. stop and take a four hour break. you could continue to do this and drive more hours in a day,

which in my days was really nice because i run from colorado down to florida quite a bit. when i would go through big cities or something, i could stop and take a break and go through there it nighttime when traffic was not heavy. the biggest thing i had when i was driving my own truck is having people or making deliveries. back then the shipper and you would have to counted. when you delivered them, you have to unload it. i did mostly because i was driving from colorado to friday -- took florida. you would pay them to unload your truck. the biggest thing is chipper load --

host: i want to dave heller to that. guest: there's a whole lot of stuff to unpack there, without a doubt. the training programs vary across the country. i would encourage people to find a training program that best suits their needs. you talk about hours driving, previously in my, a few years ago, the industry showed flexibility and that possibility did allow for those breaks to be included. recently as little as two years ago, those rules have changed operate how the industry operates now and that possibility has been removed. that's one of the argued -- that is one of the arguments we constantly make, the opportunity to be more flexible and go back to the way that you use to operate per regulation. this is an opportunity to not give a driver more hours. it is an opportunity to make that day more flexible.

congestion, that opportunity to pull over before they hit an urban area. they can take a break so that rush-hour traffic can clear. this is one of those things where flexible dish flexibility -- flexibility making better use of the hours they are allowed to drive. host: you were seeing gas prices going up. what do you do? do you charge the client more money? guest: certainly, without getting into the nuts and bolts, there's opportunity for fuel surcharges and i know that's a normal practice in our area. it goes into the cost of delivering goods. host: so if gas goes up, under the contract that's built in. if he goes up, i charge you more. guest: it should go up.

yes, it should be accounted for in the nature of the contract. caller: good morning. thanks thanks for taking my call. i would like to give a little bit of my experience in trucking and touch on maybe one or two things i don't think you all have talked about. so i've been driving for almost four years. i started in a trucking school and it was about a three week program. the initial cost was $10,000 for the three week course, but i got hired on to a company that, there was no contract or anything. i know a lot of other companies do that. most companies do that. the company i went through did not even have a contract. it was basically as long as you work for them, they would pay your tuition every month. after a little over two years, they had paid off my school and

it was a three month and training with another driver and he was a 48 states guy. i finally got qualified and i pulled 3m specifically for three and half years. i just recently went to an inter-mobile style account based in memphis and pulling out of those rail yards and i'm home every day at this point. i'm also making more money. write out the gate, i was making 65 k a year. i'm edging closer to about 70 k i estimate this year. things are good. host: how old are you? caller: i'm 34. host: did you have another career before he went down this path? caller: yes ma'am.

i worked in manufacturing for four years. warehousing for four years. i've done a little bit of everything. gas stations, grocery stores. i've done just about everything. host: did you get a college degree? caller: no ma'am, i did not. host: go ahead with your thoughts. caller: one thing i want to touch on is parking. another big issue is a lot of these major chain and bigger areas, truck stops are full at 5:00, 6:00, 7:00 at night. that is a frustrating aspect about this job. i don't have to deal with that so much now, but i just want to say that that was one of the most difficult things about it. a lot of these places are designed for cap overt trucks. everybody now has longer trucks.

host: let's take this last point. guest: search for safe and secure parking is one of the problems if not the top problem that frustrates drivers all over the country. if you look at the spots available, it's probably a one-for-one to sell it -- to satisfy the option. the problem lies in that those stops are not necessarily located in places where freight is moved. does not have enough available parking spaces. if you asked one of the issues with the infrastructure bill, that's probably issue number one. it is not account for the development of new safe and secure parking spaces for our nations drunk drivers. he's right. the frustration is there. -- nations truck drivers.

he's right. the frustration is there. we will drive up and down the interstate and we can see trucks parked at offramp's of certain interstates and this is not the most set -- -- this is not the safest place. we need to address this issue and move forward so our professional truck drivers have the ability to get the rest that they deserve in a safe environment. host: nancy, oklahoma. caller: i was wondering what the push to get all electric is going to do to trucking. is there any that's powerful enough to haul truck? guest: that's a great question. in fact, there obviously is, i would say programs, that are looking to design an electric truck that will actually haul freight. however, right now at this point in time we do not necessarily

have one that will operate in a long-haul environment. there's certainly electric trucks out there that will do pickup and delivery type of trucking environment, but cross-country that piece of equipment does not exist. eventually, there will be equipment that can haul that kind of freight. i'm not sure when that's going to be, but there is certainly experiment the programs getting trucks out on the roadways that can handle the type of freight. host: chris, louisiana. caller: i'm calling to let you know if you take track just truck drivers and you give -- truck drivers and you give them just a little more money and cut their taxes and half, they would be glad to go to work and you would get more people in this game. it is all about money. host: dave heller? guest: he just defined my life.

a little more money, cut taxes in half. then again, i have to empathize with that. this is one of those issues and i can't emphasize this enough, it seems there is a new story every week that truck drivers -- truck companies are increasing salaries to bring drivers on board. they are out there and moving forward. at low salary numbers are creeping up. we heard 75,000. we heard 90,000 on the show today. this is an opportunity. this -- those opportunities are there for the truck drivers who want them. host: for people who want to get into the industry quickly, where can i go? guest: search truck driving schools on their search bar on the internet and i'm sure several will pop up right off the bat. host: dave heller, thank you for talking to us this morning. guest: thank you for having me on. i really appreciate it. host: we are going to bring you

to the session in washington and we will come back when they gamble out and we will continue this morning with our conversation we had earlier about your confidence level in the biden ministry agent's ability to curb inflation. we will be right back. -- the biden administration's ability to curb the inflation. we will be right back. >> the house will be in order. >> washington, d.c. november 12 2021. the honorable anthony g brown on this day. signed nancy pelosi, speaker of the house of representatives. >> the prayer will be offered. >> will you pray with me? >>