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state of small business in the u.s.. and global dispatches podcast host mark goldberg discusses top foreign affairs issues. "washington journal" is next. ♪ host: good morning and welcome to "washington journal." a new variant of covid-19 has emerged in africa. it is raising concerns about another uncontrollable epidemic. the world health organization has designated this variant oma cron -- omicron, and countries across the world are putting in restrictions to stop the spread. doctors are worried because it could be more contagious and less likely to be affected by current vaccines. our question to you this

morning, how concerned are you about this new variant? are you worried the world health organization has designated this new covid-19 strain a variant of concern? we will open up regional lines this morning, which means if you are in the eastern or central time zone, your telephone number will be (202) 748-8000. if you are in the mountain or pacific time zone, you can call in at (202) 748-8001. keep in mind, you can always text us at (202) 748-8002 --(202) 748-8003. and we are always reading on social media and facebook at c-span.com/c-span. on twitter at @cspanwj. the announcement on friday there had been discovery of a new strain of covid-19 sent the stock market crashing and had countries around the world

planning travel bans in hopes of keeping the strain under control. here is the story from the new york times this morning. the world reacting with alarm on friday to the highly mutated new coronavirus variant discovered in southern africa. as the united states, european union, and nations across the globe impose new travel restrictions, financial markets swooned and the vision of finally emerging from the pandemic started to dim. two days after the world learned of the variance, the world health organization officially labeled it a variant of concern. it's most serious category, the first since the delta variant which emerged a year ago. the designation means the variant has mutations that might make it more contagious or via relent or make vaccines or other preventative measures less effective. none of these effects have been established.

after an emergency meeting, the world health organization warned in a statement that preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant in people who have already had covid-19. keeping with the practice of naming variants letters of the greek alphabet, it is dubbed the new one, omicron. yesterday, president joe biden came out and he was asked questions by reporters about the new variant. here is what president joe biden had to say pres. biden: to present a cautious nature, there is no travel between south africa and other countries, except for american citizens who are able to come back. we do not know a lot about the variant except it is a big concern, spreads rapidly, and i spent about a half-hour this

morning with my covid team, led by dr. fauci. >> what about the [indiscernible] pres. biden: expected. -- expect it. they always do when covid rises. >> are you worried? pres. biden: not at all. >> [indiscernible] pres. biden: because [indiscernible] host: why is this variant causing so much concern? npr has a story on its website that explains a little bit about what the omicron variant is and exactly why people are so worried about it. here's what it says. the omicron variant has been detected at faster rates than previous urges, suggesting it may have advantages over other variants. the world health organization says the detection of the

variant in south africa coincided with a steep increase in cases there and its prevalence is increasing in almost all provinces of the country. the variant caused a particularly sharp rise in cases in the city of pritoria where it went from being almost undetectable several weeks ago to dominating the outbreak. cases have popped up in botswana, belgium, hong kong, and israel during a relatively short period of time. once again, we want to know from you, are you concerned about this new strain of covid-19? you see the numbers on screen. let's start with sean calling from virginia on the -- sean, good morning. caller: good morning, sir. it is very concerning. in reference to the last 23 months and the way it has adapted to whatever reason it

has. all we can do is pray and hopefully we can get a hold of this one quickly because if it is that lethal, we already lost over 700,000 in america, but around the world, it is probably 5 million to 7 million. let's pray and hope we can resolve it. god bless the world and america. host: what do you think the american government should be doing right now to ensure this strain does not do the same things the delta variant did? caller: we gotta get the medical people around the world to work together to resolve it, and that is where it has got to begin. we have to work this thing together as the best we can. that is where i believe we've got a go at this, because

advanced as we are, there is no stopping it. i called two years ago almost and i thought lo and behold it would be resolved earlier, but when it got released or whatever you want to call it, wherever it got to where it is today, we should have been on top of this right away. host: a lot of people went out over this past weekend because of the thanksgiving holidays and because of the black friday shopping day yesterday. will the fact this variant is out there, will that make you a little more concerned about going out into crowds as christmas comes up and new year's comes up? caller: certainly. anybody around me, i tell them, if you're going to go there, have a mask and get a vaccination. we don't know how we will resolve this when obviously. i learned about it while i was in the military and i can

honestly say we have to act. we cannot wait. the united states has the best medical and the world. we need to work with south africa or wherever it is going to be the worst so it does not come to our shores again. host: all right. let's talk to james calling from mas lynn, ohio -- massilon, ohio. caller: i am worried about this. i taught in school for years. i have been reserved when using evolution but we are seeing evolution of the variant. the first thing to be said is there are probably more variants

that have not been as troublesome. according to the world health organization, this variant has about 32 differences in the spikes that are the vehicles that allows this to cling to human cells to replicate. so i am of course worried. i am vaccinated. what we need to do is -- the last gentleman caller -- i don't so much about praying, but what i do know is that we definitely need to support the left -- support those in south africa trying to find out how the virus is affected by the current vaccine modalities that we have. then pumping lots of dollars down to those to try to

hold that into that part of the world, if at all possible. that is what we failed to do at the beginning of the covid situation. it has put our technology and our dollars and vaccines into the parts of the world that were most affected initially. host: james, do you plan on altering any of your holiday plans now that you know this variant is out there? a lot of people had planned over the holidays -- for example, this weekend is a big football weekend, college football weekend. there will be stadiums full of people. and we have christmas and new year's coming up. does the knowledge that this strain, omicron, does that mean you will change anything you plan to do? caller: i guess it doesn't matter so much what i plan to

do, but just to answer the question in a larger context, people are not going to change what they're doing. people, we have seen what people do. it is not going to matter too much if 70% of the u.s. population is vaccinated when about -- adult population, when 75% of the young people are not going to get vaccinated in schools, and that will spread whatever comes to this country, regardless of the football games. host: all right. one of the things that we know already is the variant has already moved from africa to europe. here is a story from cnbc this morning where it is confirmed to be in belgium. belgium confirmed a case of the new heavily mutated variant of the virus that causes covid-19. according to one of the country's leading virologists.

one virologist says a sample was confirmed as the b1529 variant from a traveler that returned from egypt. the patient first showed symptoms november 22. belgium health minister frank vandebrock says the individual was unvaccinated. it is a suspicious variant. we do not know whether it is a very dangerous variant, according to reuters. belgium is the home to the capital of the european union in brussels. the one thing we know is that the omicron variant has already traveled from africa to europe. let's go back to our phone lines and talk to doc calling from baton rouge, louisiana. good morning. caller: good morning.

restricting the travel from africa, is that not racist? i know when mr. trump restricted travel from several muslim countries back a couple years ago, he was sent to be racist. is mr. biden racist now? host: let's go to tony who is calling from waterbury, connecticut. tony, good morning. caller: good morning. jesse, i hope you have a -- had a great thanksgiving and the rest of the listeners out there. i am very concerned about this. the reason is i am watching you guys daily and i watch the news and i have seen illegal immigrants are coming in from the southern border. you have people on your tv program mentioning that they come from all over the world, including africa. also, the government is shutting

them all over the country. they have a virus. we see it in israel, and belgium, in the united kingdom. we have no clue what is going on. these people have covid and we don't even know. they don't even press them. that is my comment about this. i am very concerned. i do not know what we can do. do we close of the border? host: do you plan to change anything that you had planned to do over the next couple months or holiday season because you know this variant is out there? caller: yes i am. i am vaccinated, i do have my booster, both my wife and i. we are both in our mid 60's and we want to travel. we have not been able to travel, and we want to go on a mediterranean cruise. we want to get over to europe. i am italian and i want to go in the mediterranean. we are not going. we are putting things on hold.

it is crazy. host: there is one state in your area, new york, that has already declared a state of emergency in anticipation of the variant. do you think -- what should states do now to ensure it does not get worse over the next couple months? caller: one thing they can do is encourage the vaccinations, encourage people -- you know, if you do have pre-existing conditions and will be susceptible to having a hard time with this, social distance, wear your mask, etc. i would want my governor to have a conversation with president biden because you reported on, i think it was a few weeks ago, that they are dropping off the immigrants in the middle of the night by the plane loads.

i'm not talking -- and westchester county, they are showing people they're just dropping them off. i believe in the spring or summer you reported $16 million was allocated to hotels so that they could be brought -- distributed across the country. we are putting out people -- they are asking the american people to social distance and get the vaccine, to do the right thing, and the government turns around and, without testing, without knowing -- and on your show you have testified that there are a number -- there is a high percentage of people that have the virus and we are distributing them all over the country. yet we want americans to do the right thing, and our government is putting these people all over. if you put a map of where you

distributed the people and you put a map, overlay it with where the hotspots are, i think we would be surprised at what we would see. host: let's talk to chris calling from lafayette louisiana -- lafayette, louisiana. good morning. caller: good morning. yes, i have -- i have been listening to you guys for the past few minutes and, in reference to this new variant that is being said that has now surfaced, i am not shocked at the fact that this variant has come up, another version of covid-19. it was discussed earlier in the beginning of the covid-19 thing that we would see pop-ups of different variations of this variant, of this virus.

from what i understand, after listening to all of the information over the past year and a half of all of this covid-19 information, it is not shocking that we have another variant. it has been said by all of those who know this process, the doctors and the researchers, they said this thing would mutate in many different ways. it is trying to find a way to survive. just like the flu, like the normal flu that we deal with every year, this thing will be such --. we have to find ways to not only deal with it but from a medical perspective. the one thing i want to leave us all with is this. we are an intelligent being, and if we all use our god-given

intelligence, we can overcome this too and learn to live with it. what hurts me about this is there are so many brothers and sisters that we have lost, and it seems as though we are not learning a lesson from what we have lost. just look at the deaths, and we should learn each one of those deaths -- with each one of those deaths how to move forward with the virus. host: at least one northeastern state has declared a state of emergency already ahead of a potential spike in covid-19 cases, and that is in new york. the nbc new york station has a story about what is going on there. new york governor kathy ochoa has declared a state of emergency ahead of a potential covid-19 spike this

winter. news of the already circulating delta and newly identified omicron variants of coronavirus. the declaration, which goes into effect december 3, will allow the state to require pandemic fighting supplies, increased hospital capacity, and fight potential staffing shortages. it would also allow the state health department to limit non-essential and non-urgent procedures at hospitals. we would -- we continue to see warning signs of spikes this upcoming winter. while the new variant has yet to be detected in new york, it is coming, the governor said. the move comes hours after the governor's office said they were monitoring the new variant, first sequenced in south africa this week. the variant contains around 50 concerning you teens -- mutations from the original sars v2 virus that appeared in 2019,

including 10 to the spike protein that allows the access to human cells. the new york governor has declared a state of emergency ahead of the potential omicron spike. we want to know if this new omicron variant is worrying you. the world health organization has already declared it a variant of concern. that is its highest rating for a variant. the last time they said they had a variant of concern, it was the delta variant. now they have identified this omicron variant which has countries around the world considering and some already enacting travel bans. let's go back to the phone lines and talk to anthony who is calling from maryland. anthony, good morning. caller: good morning, jesse. i have read about this omicron variant. my major concern is the fact that you're continually saying

that it came from africa, came from south africa. there is different between generalizing continence and continence. [indiscernible] this variant or strain comes from south africa, the south african country. [indiscernible] so you are spreading this information, you are [indiscernible] you are spreading the misinformation. host: i have to disagree with you a little bit because we are also saying it is in europe while it has only been in belgium. so we are talking about continence here, not particular countries. i have to disagree with you there, anthony.

caller: this came from south africa, not from africa. africa has five regions. host: let's talk to rick calling from napa, idaho. rick, good morning. host: good morning, jesse. -- caller: good morning, jesse. as a retired marine, i have a good one for you. every four years, there was a mandate we took a technet shot -- tetanus shot. when i retired, i got in transportation, the foodgrade industry, we are required to take a tetanus shot. i take a tetanus shot every two years and i have had 10 in the last 20 years. i recently went online to medline.com and typed in tetanus vaccine versus covid-19. they both do the same thing up to 60 percentile.

covid goes from 61 to 100 percentile. if you are in shock, at least do a technet shot because it does 60% of what the covid chuck does. i appreciate your hospitality. get a technician out if you are in doubt. -- tetanus shot if you're in doubt. host: we talked a lot about the travel bans coming up from the united states and other countries, and i want to bring to you exactly what has been done here in the united states. there is a story from the washington post that talks about the actual bands coming up in the united states. i will bring that story to you. the united states will restrict travel from south africa and seven other countries starting monday. as president biden and his administration cautiously responded to a wave of global anxiety over the new omicron coronavirus variant. the travel policy was implemented out of an abundance

of caution in light of the new coronavirus variant circulating in south africa. a senior biden administration official said and announced. other regions and countries, including the european union, britain, japan, and israel also set restrictions for air travelers arriving from southern africa. the restrictions will apply to travelers from south africa, botswana, zimbabwe, namibia, looser to, mozambique, and malawi. they do not apply to american citizens and lawful permanent residence the official said. so the restrictions from travel will begin monday from these eight countries in africa, as you can see on screen. the new travel restrictions will begin on monday, coming to the united states. let's go back to the phone lines and let's talk to tom who is

calling from rockville, maryland. tom, good morning. caller: good morning. i had a comment about this virus strain. that is the realization that this is happening in south africa which is now wrapping up their winter. this virus probably festered and was passed around, maybe not just in south africa, but was detected there. they are coming out of their winter and we are going into our winter, and we are seeing people getting together, get crowded, and this is beginning to happen. i would be extremely concerned on whether you are vaccinated or not, people congregating like we do in the northern hemisphere for a various holiday going forward. i think this is definitely

something we are not even sure listening to dr. fauci, and clearly everyone is going to be reacting to this, not getting in front of it. it is definitely a concern. host: let's talk to stephen calling from stratford, connecticut. stephen, good morning. caller: good morning, jesse. i had covid twice, the first round in 2020 and then 2021, their version of delta. it is pretty nasty. i never smoked my entire life. it was like breathing in concrete and it took about 15 days for me to get rid of it. so just bringing back this new variant, if we do not pay attention to where these variants are being created and watching the track record of how variants are being created every so months, then we are completely blind.

what i'm trying to say is that these are not natural occurrences. these are forced occurrences to constantly cause crippling of our economies and cause spreading. it is not because of our people, it is because of where it came from. it is purposefully put in nations they have had problems with, such as india, down in peru, and ecuador where they had problems with because they are trying to out fish all of their fish. they are fishing off chores in addition to where they put it into poor nations. i'm just try to bring that to everyone's attention. watch its track record, to watch its future of where things are going, and see how this is consistently going to be created. these are not evolving things, because a covid takes a year -- it takes longer, a much longer time for anything to change. it does not happen overnight and in some any months.

the main thing is where the track record of where it was created. in addition to i want to tell everybody, i took olive leaf, a vitamin you can buy like olive oil, and that will clear infected lungs. host: let's go to conrad calling from philadelphia, pennsylvania. conrad, good morning. caller: how are you doing? i just want to sad don't understand why the president is blocking people coming from africa monday. if this was a problem, it should have been done immediately. over the weekend, you can get tens of thousands of people that may be infected or might not be infected from africa. they need to do like we do, declare emergency in every state of the united states and do -- and get ready. don't be caught with your pants down like when donald trump was the president. some people don't want to get the shot, don't want to do this.

they save the animals, save the cows, save the dogs, but does not seem like they want to save themselves. if they don't want to get the shot or put their masks on, if they want to die. host: conrad, are you doing anything different because now you know this macron variant is out there? -- oma krohn variant is out there -- omicron variant is out there. caller: i got my shot and thank god we got both shots. that helps a whole lot. we still where our mask. host: let's talk to jay calling from washington, d.c. good morning. caller: thank you very much, jesse. my comment is, number one, it should be a nonprofit basis for creating this vaccine. it should be internationally shared. all of the formulas should be shared internationally, international agreement between

all countries that get affected by this globally, and we ought to take the profit out of it. i think i feel a lot more comfortable about what is going on if we came up with a global solution to stop this. thank you much. host: president joe biden put out a statement friday, talking about the new oma krohn -- omi cron variant. we want to bring a statement to you. as a precautionary measure until we have more information, i am ordering additional air travel restrictions from south africa and seven other countries. these new restrictions will take effect november 29. as we move forward, we will be guided by what the science and by medical team advisors. for those americans fully vaccinated against covid illness, fortunately for the vast majority of our adults, the best way to strengthen our protection is get a booster shot

as soon as eligible. for those not yet fully vaccinated, get vaccinated today. this includes children and adults. the news about the new variant makes clear than ever why this pandemic will not end until we have global vaccinations. the united states has already donated more vaccines to other countries then every other country combined. it is time for other countries to match america's speed and generosity. again, that is a statement from president joe biden on the omicron cove in 19 variant. let's see what some of our social media -- covid-19 variant. let's see what some of our social media followers are saying about the variant. here's a tweet that says "usa economy is never going to recover from this. the world has found the biggest weakness in usa, poor health care and lousy politicians setting up wars over masks and vaccines." here's a tax to that says "i

think if we take precautions with masks and vaccines, we will be fine. my only gripe is with those that refuse to take precautions then blame others for situations they helped create and sustain." here's a post from facebook that says "every variant is less powerful than its predecessors. they want to keep the fear going." another post from facebook says "we need to stop bothering the ancient greeks without problems and naming these variants in honor of prominent anti-vaxxers." "since this was discovered in south africa, the leading science denier for that country should be first in line." another facebook post says " people are more concerned about government overreach with lockdowns. -- lockdowns." one last post from facebook, " not getting carried away, it will take weeks before they know if the variant is more contagious than delta.

32 mutations is causing a knee-jerk reaction at this time, all it is causing. precautions are necessary, though the anxiety over this might be too early." once again, we want to know what you think about this new covid-19 strain the world health organization has designated a variant of concern. are you changing any of your plans because you know this variant is out there? let's talk to alex calling from ashburn, virginia. good morning. caller: hi. i am not vaccinated, and i think i was sick with coronavirus a long time ago because i lost tasting. i'm not vaccinating and i'm not going to. i believe in natural immunity. because the virus changes all of the time, we cannot beginning

pigs to test a new vaccine and booster every year. they are human beings. i think we need to take it easy, ok? we need to wear masks and keep the social distancing, but to do vaccination, no. just keep your system strong. there are many things you can do for this. host: is there anything they can say to you that will make you go get a vaccine? caller: no. [laughter] you mean who said? host: do you think the government or doctors can say -- anything the government or doctors can say to you to make you get a vaccine? caller: my doctor recommended me do the vaccine but i told him no, i'm not going to because i believe in natural immunity and strong immune systems that we need to create.

instead of eating junk food, instead of doing things like alcohol, coffee, other things. we can improve our immune system , and this is the only way. host: let's go to helina from maryland. good morning. . caller: yes. i think they need to close the borders down there and these eagles -- these illegals that they brought in, they have not taken their shots. they need to return them back to their country, because that is where all of the stuff is coming from. if we do not stop this, it is -- this virus is never going to stop. that is all i have to say. host: do you plan on changing any activities because of this new variant? caller: not really, but i have my shots, but the shot -- you still get sick from them but this is where this virus is coming from. people cannot realize that.

these people need to stand up and we need to close the border and get these illegals back and quit dumping them over the united states. this has to stop now. host: let's go to tom calling from bethesda, maryland. good morning. caller: good morning. i just wanted to come in on the conspiracy theories talked about here, how they have been saying spread by china or whatever. first off, why would they spread it into their own community, to have it destroy their own population and economy? and regardless of whether it was leaked from a lab or not, which is stupid, which is what one of your callers said earlier. i wonder if you meant that or new world order or whatever, conspiracy theories going on. the evolution of it does not take a year in order for it to

evolve. if it is going rapid throughout the communities. -- rampant throughout the communities. i just wanted to voice my disapproval about these outlandish conspiracy theories fueling people's ignorance. thank you. host: let's take a quick second to reset and see where the world and united states stands when it comes to coronavirus cases and deaths from covid-19. the johns hopkins university global tracker points out there have been more than 260 million cases of coronavirus across the entire world and more than 5 million deaths from covid-19 across the entire world. in the united states specifically, there have been

more than 48,000 cases of confirmed covid-19 cases with right now there being 776,349 deaths directly confirmed from covid-19 and all of its variants. as of today in the united states, there have been more than 770,000 deaths from covid-19, specifically from covid-19 in the united states. that is where we stand right now according to johns hopkins university. let's go back to our phone lines and talk to edgar calling from bridgeport, connecticut. edgar, good morning. caller: good morning. host: go ahead, edgar. caller: thank you. i just wanted to thank you for the opportunity to talk.

they are saying that if you give vaccinated you will be ok but it seems the whole country of coba cha was vaccinated but they have breakout cases. israel says those vaccinated are still contracting the virus. host: edgar, let me make sure you understand what you are saying. no one has said getting a vaccine means 100% you will not get the coronavirus. what they are saying is it will be less severe if you have the vaccine. caller: but the problem is you are still able to spread it. so it is not stopping the spread. you know what i mean? i think we are never going to stop a new variant, because i don't think the government wants to lose control of what they have now, what they gain with this new vaccine. they managed to take advantage of the situation and put more control on the people. i am just really concerned that the variants are never going to

stop. we will see one after another. that is my concern. host: let's talk to newman calling from san antonio, texas. good morning. caller: good morning. i am concerned about this new virus. i am more concerned about -- i listen to all of your shows. some mornings you make me very angry when you let people call in like this last gentleman, going to spread false information. if they would listen to our doctors like one gentleman said, if we would get control of this -- they said when it first started, we will always have new variants popping up. same thing with the flu. every year they tell you to take the flu shot. it stops you from getting severely sick. i'm glad you did cut that dude off when he said that.

this isn't 100% going to cure you, but this was you from going to the hospital or dying. what part of that do these people not understand? we live in a world where there is all types of diseases popping up. if you do not want to take the shot, where the mask, do your social distancing and stuff, that is on you. i don't have a problem with that. but you should stay away from other people. we had somebody calling on the first thing out of her mouth was the border. why would you put this on the border? host: let's talk to maureen calling from massachusetts. maureen, good morning. caller: good morning. i just wanted to comment on the fact that we are closing the country to countries concerned about yet our borders are wide open.

i just would love for someone to explain that to us. we are worried about masks, vaccines, boosters, being shut down again. i have a family member that might possibly have their elective surgery canceled because of this variant being in the hospital. meanwhile, our southern borders are wide open but we are selectively closing our country. it does not make sense. that is my comment. host: with this new covid variant out in the world, it is already affecting stockmarkets and prices of oil and other stocks. here is the story this morning from the wall street journal. stocks, oil prices, and government bond yields slump after south africa raised the alarm over a fast-spreading coronavirus strain. triggering concerns travel

restrictions and other curbs will slow the global economy's recovery. the dow jones industrial average fell 905.04 points or 2.5%. it was the biggest one-day percentage drop from the dow since october 2020. the s&p 500 lost 106.84 points or 2.3%. the nasdaq composite dropped 353.57 points or 2.2%. it was the worst black friday session on record for all three indexes. markets closed early because of the holidays. u.s. crude oil tumbled 13% to 68 $.15.

-- $68.15. bitcoin is following the path of other risk assets in its lower. "it is not a great day to woke -- wake up on black friday and see concern about a new variant." a portfolio manager at easterly investment partners. we see stocks and oil prices dropping because of concern over this new covid-19 variant. let's talk to david calling from florida. david, good morning. caller: how are you? i'm just calling because i got a totally different take on this virus problem. in my mind, god will create the plants and universe, he put things in this earth that would take care of these viruses. we have polluted the earth, we put poison out everywhere, trying to kill bugs and whatnot,

and i think it has tainted the system for taking care of these problems. now we are trying to explain why people are getting sick and going out of control with diet. that is my take on it. host: on yesterday, dr. anthony fauci on cnn was asked about this new variant. here's what dr. fauci had to say. dr. fauci: -- >> explain to us the questions and the concerns about how this might evade immunity. there are some any mutations on the spy protein, which is what the vaccines that we have are designed to hit. the question is going to be, is that spy protein still permeable when it comes to the vaccine? dr. fauci: that is what we will be finding out, because when you look at a mutation, it can give you a hint or prediction that it might evade the immune response.

what you need to do is get that particular sequence of the virus, put it in a form in the lab where you can test the different antibodies, so you can have a prediction it's might evade or you can prove it. right now, we are getting the material together with our south african colleagues to get a situation where you can actually directly test it. right now, you are talking about sort of like a red flag that this might be an issue but we do not know. once you will test it, you will know for sure whether or not it does or does not evade the antibodies we make. for example against the virus through a vaccine or following convalescent after you get infected with anybody's. those anybody's protect you against the new virus. host: lawmakers have been speaking out about this new coronavirus variant. i want to bring you some of the tweets that have come out from

lawmakers concerning the new omicron variant. representative kim box -- can box tweeted president biden -- mark meadows, i see restricting travel over covid is no longer racist or xenophobic. i wonder what changed. gop leader kevin mccarthy, each passing day we recognize the democrat plan for covid was to politicize and penalize, from vaccines to travel restrictions. what they said was once people is now prudent. their hypocrisy is studding -- stunning. this representative tweets hearing the news that a new covid variant has emerged in south africa, it is critical we get the recent covid surge in michigan under control. representative debbie dingell in a post last week requesting immediate assistance to fight covid in michigan.

another representative, the omicron variant whatever happens when we do not stop the virus globally. that is why the wto had an average -- had any emergency meeting of the general counsel monday to adopt waivers. it is now postponed and the wto shack now. and to remove big pharma's monopoly on these vaccines. as potus said, the wto must meet the u.s. challenge the way intellectual property protections for covid vaccines, so these vaccines can be manufactured globally. those are tweets from lawmakers from around the united states about the omicron variant of covid-19. let's go back to our phone lines and talk to kevin calling from maryland. good morning. caller: good morning, jesse. how are you? host: fine. go ahead, kevin. caller: i was wondering why you are saying more than 750,000

americans have died from covid. they have died with covid but that count includes people that have died from injuries that also have tested positive for covid. if you look on the cdc website, they give out those numbers. the people that have died with covid have had an average of four comorbidities. host: are you saying you think johns hopkins university numbers are incorrect? caller: no. what i'm saying is the cdc has the numbers as well, but they are saying people died with covid, not from covid. some people died solely from covid, but that number that you gave out, they are not all dying from covid. host: ok. let's go to john calling from belleville, illinois. good morning. caller: good morning. how are you? host: just fine.

go ahead, john. caller: ok. my main concern is, will we ever get back to how we used to be? where we could shake hands, give a person a hug, without any concern of being contaminated or susceptible to catching a disease that might kill you? everyone has the right to take the vaccine or not the vaccine. that is their choice. at the same time, if you do not take your vaccine, ok, and you are carrying the virus around in your body, it might not affect you or give you the sickness that it would give me, but

because you do not want to take your vaccine or don't want anybody to make you do anything or tell you what to do because you want to be resistant, you can give it to me and kill me. i do not think anyone has the right to do that to another person. as well, it is crazy -- it is not right for a person to -- people get angry. when biden said he was going to make it mandatory, that people take the vaccine, or everyone got in an uproar with that. being fired. i don't want anyone telling me what i have to do. the only way we will get rid of this disease is for at least 80%

of the population, men, women, and children, to get vaccinated and quit passing it around. thank you. host: let's go to bill calling from syracuse, new york. bill, good morning. caller: good morning. when i think of the vaccine, i think it will continue -- the disease will continue to grow and mutate as long as we have a large number of the population not vaccinated. i do not have the right to kill my neighbors. i do not have the right to drive 80 miles per hour on the freeway. there are a lot of things where the government does limit my freedoms for the benefit of the whole. that is what i think needs to be done, make the vaccine mandatory. put substantial penalties for not taking it and quite possibly

we will be able to get through it with at least somewhat more deaths than we are now, but it is now and i make and it will be content -- it is now a pandemic and flu shots will have to be taken every year, hopefully not more often. that is how we have to do it. thank you. host: let's talk to tom calling from california. good morning. caller: hello. i was critical of the republicans, you had posted their tweets, mark meadows and kevin mccarthy. in this sense, at the time the presidents, then former president trump, put a travel ban on, he was congratulating china, telling them how good a job they were doing, and he was

also saying how much the coronavirus was under control in the united states, while at the same time lying, by evidence, to the word word case. when the democrats were critical of the travel ban, they did not have the full story. that is all i wanted to point out, how hypocritical republican leadership that you posted, mark meadows and kevin mccarthy, were because president trump was out pushing a false narrative. the proof is through with the woodward case. host: there is a story coming out today about the plans in israel to put the country possibly back on lockdown again

after it discovered its first case of omicron. i will bring the story to from the hill newspaper. "naftali bennett said on friday that the country is on the thrift hold of an emergency situation after it detected its first case of omicron, the new south african strain of coronavirus. the israelis health ministry said it detected the new strain in traveler that returned from malawi and is investigating two other suspected cases. then it said the new variant is more contagious and spread more rapidly than the delta variant. he added the authorities are still gathering data on how effective the coronavirus vaccines will be against of the variant. "we are currently at the threshold of an emergency situation," he said per the ap. "i ask everyone to be prepared and fully join in the work around the clock."

the minister said three cases were all in vaccinated individuals, though their inoculation details were still being verified. the times of israel said. once again, that is from the hill newspaper. let's go back to our phone lines and talk to sandra calling from oscar, louisiana. good morning. caller: good morning. i am calling about the new covid strain. you don't hear this much, stuff like this, on the mainstream media. but apparently, the first four cases of this new strain, the first four people in botswana, had been fully vaccinated. so i know you have had an earlier caller that had mentioned being fully vaccinated

does not keep you from getting covid or spreading it. now, i have this theory, my personal thoughts, that what is happening is that people who are getting the vaccine, fully vaccinated, causes your natural immunity system to go down. therefore, when these new strains come up, you are going to get them because your natural immunity system cannot fight it. host: where did you hear that from, sandra? caller: i'm sorry? host: where did you hear that from? where did you hear getting the vaccine would make you more susceptible to the variant? caller: many, many doctors and

scientists who are saying that the vaccine itself suppose -- supposed is going to harm and is harming people's natural immunity system. this is not scientists or doctors from the cdc or fda, but they are world-renowned scientists. host: i have to say, sandra, i have not heard or seen any doctor or scientist say getting the vaccine will make you more susceptible to the new variant. we would like to thank all of our callers, all of our social media followers were a great conversation in that first hour. up next, after the break, we talk about the state of small businesses in the united states on this small business saturday. a conversation with shaundell newsome, cochair of the group,

small business for america's future, will be coming up next. later, we take a closer look at foreign policy challenges facing the biden administration with mark leon goldberg, host of the podcast global dispatches. we will be right back. ♪ >> weekends bring you the best in nonfiction books. coming up they discuss their thriller then nikki asher offers her thoughts on the challenges facing american journalism. on about books former new york democratic congressman on opening a bookstore.

plus other news from the publishing world. on afterwords, inside corporate america has social justice -- america's social justice scam, the author argues that corporate america is signing onto the woke agenda for profit. watch book tv every weekend or watch online any time at book tv.org. > c-span offers a variety of podcasts that has something for every listener. washington today gives you the latest from the nation's capital. the weekly uses audio from our

immense archive to look at how issues of the day developed over years. our occasional series talking with features discussions with historians about their work and their lives. you can find them all on these c-span now app or wherever you get your podcasts. host: we are back with sean del newsom, who is the executive -- sean del newsom -- shaundell newsom. he is here to discuss the state of small business in the united states. guest: happy small business saturday to all small businesses. let's go out and support them today and throughout the year. host: tell us what the small

business for america's future is. what is your mission? guest: small businesses for america's future is a coalition of leaders working to provide america's small business community with a voice. most of the time we do not have that opportunity to get lobbyists and have people speak on their behalf so we have a coalition of over 80,000 businesses nationally that come together. we talk about issues that impact small businesses. host: define what you consider to be a small business. is this a sole proprietorship. are these mom-and-pop stores that employ their children and relatives. what do you call a small business? guest: here is what i define as a small business -- a small

business is a business owner in your community that goes to church with theo, that spends time in your neighborhood, that sponsors baseball games. small businesses are those folks you admire when you walk through your neighborhood, your grocery store, your drycleaners. it ranges from the very small up to 90 to 100 employees. the real small businesses, the ones in your community helping you grow your community and being right next to you and you see them every day. host: you brought it up earlier and i want to remind our viewers that today is small business saturday. what are small businesses

expecting on small business saturday and why do we have a small business saturday? guest: small business saturday is a reminder that most small businesses are not wall street corporations. we are celebrating those small business owners throughout the country who put their blood, sweat and tears into their businesses every day. your local eatery that you get up to the coffee shop up the street, the drycleaners, the car washers. celebrate small businesses. it is about celebrating your community. everyone in your community is really excited when it comes down to local jobs. my grandmother in brooklyn, when she worked at the local dry cleaner, we could walk down to

the local dry cleaner and see our grandmother. it is about the community. host: this time last year we were still on a lockdown. we were not going out shopping locally. it do we expect a big change today now that we are hopefully emerging from this pandemic? guest: we have been devastated. small business owners have a lot of resiliency but we have been devastated. while the cares act has helped us out, we are underwater. we are trying to make sure that not only do we recover this year but we do not want to be forgotten for long-term sustainability. support small businesses going forward. small business for america's

future makes sure that our local government do not forget about our job creators. host: we have heard a lot of talk about the supply chain disruption, and about the containers sitting in los angeles and not being able to get things to major corporations. how has supply chain disruptions affect did american small businesses? guest: small businesses are impacted by the supply chain. we are very nimble at adjusting and getting in front of a lot of these things. we may do a lot better at planning and getting in front of these things. every time something impacts a large corporation, it definitely impacts small businesses. we just make sure we try to keep things going, we try to make sure our products and services

are ready, but it does have an impact. host: let me remind our viewers that we are talking about the state of small businesses in the united states this morning. we will open up regional lines. that means that if you want to take part in this conversation and you are in the eastern or central time zones, you can call (202) 748-8000. if you are in the mountain or pacific time zones, your number is (202) 748-8001. we are opening up a special line for small business owners. how are you doing? how has the pandemic affected you? are you seeing a turn as we headed to the 2021 holiday season? your number is going to be (202)

748-8002. small business owners, we want to hear from you at (202) 748-8002. you can always text us at (202) 748-8003. we are always reading on twitter and facebook at facebook.com/c-span. we were talking earlier and i heard you talk about the cares act and the coronavirus relief that small businesses have been getting. the house has passed the build back better act. your organization supports the policies in that legislation. explain to us what the build back better act would do for small businesses. guest: one of the biggest challenges we have with our employees is childcare.

the build back better act addresses the childcare situation. covid-19 remains the biggest challenge facing our small businesses. we did they -- a poll and 40% of small business owners listed covid-19 as their biggest concern. we are looking old back better act will help us to address a log of -- build back better act will help us to address a light of the issues that hit us during the pandemic -- lot of the issues that hit us during the pandemic. the build back better act in our opinion as small businesses, we are close to our employees, so that will address a lot of the

issues for our employees. host: we know a lot of businesses were affected during the pandemic because of the shutdown. one of our social media followers wants to know " do you know the number of small businesses that shut down during the pandemic never to reopen?" caller: guest: it -- guest: it really is a flowing number, but over half have had to shut down. when of the challenges we recognized is that it is not just -- it wasn't just the covid-19 itself, it was everything else that happened culturally. some people were depressed. some people had family members dying. i want everybody to understand,

it was not just the financial impact. it was a lot of the social issues as well. those of us working at small businesses have to work with every issue that comes our way. we are sitting there right next to our family members who are impacted covid-19. we are sitting there with our team members who have children who cannot go to school so we have to open up a small office so our kids can go to school there. everything impacted us during the pandemic and the shutdown. it is much bigger than the dollars that we lost. host: is there anything specifically in the build back better act that helps small businesses and in addition to that, is there anything in there

for veteran owned businesses or minority owned businesses? guest: there are a lot of opportunities in there that help us with access to capital. we all heard about the debacle of the first round of the ppp. this time around everybody is focusing on the hardest hit and the most devastated. thank you for that. i am a veteran owned business, a minority owned business, a woman-owned business. we cover although spectrums. there were a lot of small businesses who were getting access to capital. the other thing that is important is they are addressing a lot of our needs. in our survey a lot of times

people were talking about the devastation from the standpoint of not having access to capital and not having access to affordable health care. i believe the build back better act will address those immediate needs. host: let's let some of our viewers take part in this conversation. we will start with sandra calling from georgia. good morning. caller: i have a question -- does not the federal government define a small business as one that has up to 500 employees? in the black community, small mom and pop businesses, nail salons, beauty supply stores,

those businesses typically do not invest in the black community. they live there and they get their dollars from their, but they -- there, but they do not sponsor games. they do not give back to the community from which they get there -- their profits from. guest: thank you. small business -- let's start with black-owned small business. 500 employees -- most black-owned businesses do not have that many employees. less than 4% of the black-owned businesses even prior to covid had one or more employees.

small business for america's future is helping out with minority businesses to help them have more access to capital that will help minority owned businesses. i believe this administration is watching a lot of those things and we are working with them to grow a lot of our blackened businesses. in most of the communities i have been a part of, that is their primary focus. they do not sponsor games and sponsor sports teams because it is something philanthropic to do. they do it because their kids are involved, their grandkids are involved. in my community, my kids are involved. we take care of the community and we know those people. host: let's talk to steve who is calling from ormond beach,

florida. caller: good morning and thank you for taking my call. my question is for mr. newsom. when i heard you are going to be the guest, i was researching the small business for america's future -- how do you distinguish this organization from the traditional small business organization such as the national federation of independent business and all these groups around cities such as the business roundtable and the community of 50 and whatever these folks choose to call themselves these days? it seems their main thrust is to -- their main adversary as their employees. they are always trying to sponsor employee unfriendly

legislation or block employee friendly legislation, trying to fix wages, trying to keep out unions. what is different about the small business for america's future? can you distinguish yourself from these traditional groups? guest: we really hone in on mainstream small businesses. we hone in on their employees. we focus on and we have a conscience on our employees and team members and making sure their lives are enriched and making sure they have the quality values we have. everybody believes small business owners sit on top of a hill and looked down on the community.

small business for america's future and the 80,000 businesses we have, we make sure we are honing in and focusing not only on what is good for the business but what is good for the entire community. it is not business against to the community, it is business with the community. host: one of the things we have heard about in the news lately is labor shortages. how are labor shortages affecting the small businesses you represent? guest: if you look at it, we are still trying to fill jobs. unemployment is down and 5.6 million jobs have been filled in the last year. we are two years ahead of schedule according to the congressional budget from early in the pandemic.

small businesses even during the obama administration were faster to recover jobs and bring back employees than any other businesses in the country. we know we can do this, we just have to make sure the legislation gives us the opportunity to continue to grow like that. do not just do it after a pandemic. if we consistently invest in our small businesses we know we cannot only eradicate worker shortages that we can grow this country to be what it was meant to be. host: one of our social media followers has a question for you about health care -- " wouldn't small businesses benefit from medicare for all? how many people want to open a

small business but never do because they cannot afford to lose their health insurance?" caller: one of the things about -- guest: one of the things about health insurance is small businesses want options. i know some in vegas want to provide for their employees. in other parts of the country , they say " we need all the help we can get, so we just want the flexibility. we do not want to be bound by any legislation that puts us in a bucket. we want the flexibility to do what we have to do to help our employees." small businesses come in all shapes and sizes. i want to help every small business owner have the opportunity to access quality health care -- not just

affordable but quality health care. small business for america's future, we have been fighting for that from day one. host: let's talk to marie who is calling from new jersey. caller: thank you for taking my call. mr. newsom, some of your policies are so right on. i have worked in parts of the country where small businesses were a back of the economy. health care is a huge issue. it has been my experience that states that refused to implement the affordable care act, it is hard to keep employees. it is hard for employees to survive medical disasters. i believe you are saying that

this build back better is a workaround for those states that have not properly implemented to give small businesses in mississippi, alabama, georgia the opportunity to provide affordable health care, real policies for their workers, so they can keep their staff. is that right? guest: the build back better act has a lot of provisions focused on helping small businesses better health care,, better childcare, better chances to access capital. that is why small businesses for america's future was looking at how do we support -- it is not just us sitting on a board. most of this comes from our p

oll. we had 1000 people that we polled and they were overwhelmingly in favor of the build back better act. everyone of those small businesses were talking about " how does the build back better act impacts the issues that affect us?" we spend a lot of time talking to employees one-on-one. we are not antiunion. someone asked of question earlier. we have a great opportunity all the time to directly talk with our employees. we enjoy the conversations we have. we do not have conversations that are just like meetings.

there conversations that we have with family members. host: i want to ask you a question then show some numbers from your poll? what is your organization's position on a federal vaccine mandate? guest: 60% said they believed that vaccination efforts are important to ensure that economic recovery from covid-19 and 68% supported requiring vaccinations for federal government employees. 67% of small business owners agree that requiring organizations with 100 or more employees to have their

employees vaccinated or tested weekly is a good idea. we have to get healthy. i have seen close employees' family members pass away. i had a family member pass away from covid-19. this is devastating to the whole staff. it is devastating when you have anybody who you have to discuss from a matter of death. one person dead is not good. especially in a small business, one person passing away is very devastating. everybody hurts. we are a family. we all hurt together. host: small business owners were asked about the federal vaccine mandate. 35% opposed it. a second question asked

small business owners on them having a mandate. 35% said they will not have a vaccine mandate in place. talk to us a little bit about that second set. about half say they will have one in place, half say they will not and one in 10 say they will have one in place by 2021. guest: small businesses know we are closer to this than anybody else. we have small shops, combined spaces. we have to be a part of the solution and not part of the problem. a lot of the times when it comes

down to these mandates, we are ahead of the curve. we have already done some of those things. when covid-19 shut down orders and kids could not go to school, we allowed kids to come to the office and be with their parents because we knew parents were concerned about them being in these areas with a lot of other kids. even with this, we are typically ahead of the curve when it comes to the government. we want to make sure we have a safe and healthy environment in our businesses. host: let's talk to wilbert calling from nash, texas. guest: you are going to have to unite -- caller: you are going to have to unite like a union to have health care!

i worked at a job for 45 years. insurance is so high. small businesses will have to unionize themselves to get insured. a small business opportunity like a diesel mechanic will require someone to learn a trade. they could take their small business to the highway. i have a son who is 31 years old who has been in the appliance business for 12, 11 years. he has no insurance. he will have to unite to get the insurance he needs for his family. he is a fine worker but he does

not have insurance for his family. guest: small businesses are working on that. small business for america's future has been addressing health care from day one. we want to have great and quality health care for our employees. we are working diligently with this administration. some of the things with the national -- i'm just making sure small businesses are whole. small businesses need the revenue, need access to capital, but we want to take care of their employees. access to quality and affordable health care is our goal. host: let's talk to walter calling from butler, indiana. caller: happy thanksgiving.

god bless you. i'm a new york city guy. i used to live in manhattan. there was a guy who used to sharpen all your knives and tools. then there was the shoe repair man. everyone had everything in their little community. it was all american parts and american materials distributed to american citizens. corporations have always been there but then came walmart and the big box stores. " we will cut out the american middleman and sell cheap junk to the american citizen." that was the beginning of the end for your small businesses.

these people in government never signed the front of a check. they would not know how to run a business if it hit them in the backside. thanks a lot. guest: ima brooklyn guy myself. i went to high school -- i am a brooklyn guy myself. you are 100% correct when it comes to the focus on the mainstream small business. i was in new york city going to a funeral for a guy who is my hero. he was a small business owner in brooklyn. when i was 13 years old i interned for him. he had a printshop. i became a graphic designer. he got me into graphic design!

what i saw is how he was always focused on the youth in his community, always focused on what we could get done as far as economics. he taught us how to invest. you are absolutely right. i remember walking to the corner store and getting fruits and vegetables. i remember going to the shoe repair guy with my grandmother and grandfather and my dad and my mom! i agree with you. we need those in our community because small businesses -- it is indescribable how much of an impact we can have on our local community. in vegas we have a community cafe. it is not a chain or anything.

we know the parents, we know the people there. i love having small businesses. i think that is where we need to focus as a country. host: one thing we have not talked about this. morning as inflation i want to bring -- this morning is inflation. i want to bring you some comments from joe biden. i want you to listen to president biden and then i want you to respond to him. [video clip] >> last year the pandemic shut down much of the global economy. now there is a reawakening that is creating great opportunities

and tough challenges as economies across the world to come back from this pandemic. america is leading the way. like every country, we have to deal with issues of rising costs, but we have the skills and tools to control it. so much of our economy is doing well because we have created so many new jobs as fast as we have. we are in a position to attack inflation from a position of strength not weakness. host: do you think the white house is doing enough to tackle inflation? how does inflation affect your members? guest: inflation effects small businesses especially businesses and restaurants who rely on produce. it is more of an economic problem for consumers, our

employees, our community. according to the data from the consumer rights index -- the build back better act will address some of the highest costs of families and offset the impacts while building a stronger economy in the long run. host: let's go back to our phone lines. our next caller is from pittsburgh, pennsylvania. good morning. caller: i had a small business. my family had a small business. that is one thing we do.

-transcribing- reports in radiology. i hired other girls. the doctor merely paid me to paid them while i trained them. small businesses spread by hiring other people to work for them. you have to have it registered. the taxes i had to pay, people will claim that business people do not pay taxes. they do. they have to match the social security they take from their people.

they have to take that amount out of their room pocket. -- their own pocket. small businesses are very valuable because they hire people from the area. it is very important because those small businesses turn into large businesses. each one teach one. my grandfather did that in the 1800s. guest: thank you so much for all of that. i can tell you what you just said was music to my ears. we go into the communities. we have an internship program. my wife was born and raised in

north vegas. she goes into high schools and teaches them a trade, teaches them how to behave, how to carry themselves, how to be professional. that is one of those things that is not always covered and not always explained. small business owners like myself and the lady who just talked, even her grandfather, we are the last to be paid out of all of this. we tried not only to help the business owner but it is helping the community. it is something people need to focus on when supporting a small business. you are not necessarily making the small business owner wealthy. you're supporting the entire community. those of us who operate small local businesses, we definitely

care, but more than caring we contribute in other ways more than you can imagine. , we care we love are employees and we do work that -- we care, we love our employees and we do work that many do not see. host: let's go to pastor james calling from alabama. caller: i watch you every morning. it is only by the mercy of god my family has survived 151 years. my great-grandfather mars watson and harry carter started the business during the depression. my father, who was one of the

first african-americans in 1963 rose to the superintendent of concrete in 1970. when he came to my great-grandfather's funeral, he said " put your own business in place." my father started his own company. from 1970 to 2010 my father ran that company with an iron fist. in addition to concrete, we ran 200 head of cattle. it was during the 70's and 80's that farms started to eat up the construction companies.

from 1975 to 2010 had we not been a family hands-on construction company, we would not have survived. in 2010 my father died. myself and my two brothers have struggled because we have never been able to go to the bank to borrow any money. today, as i speak from my hospital bed, i just went through pancreatic surgery and i have been confined to my room for the last two weeks, but our business -- to show you what god does -- we have more than

$3 million worth of sales on the table today and my projection for '23, '24, '25 will surpass $5 million. host: my conclusion -- my conclusion is when families start a business they need to stick like glue and they cannot let anything separate them. and that business will become a success story. guest: to god be the glory. my company, our company in las vegas, we have two foundations -- family and faith. if you go to our website, you will find scripture. exactly what you said is what a small business should be.

we are a family-owned business me, my wife,, and my daughter. i started this business -- i hope and pray we can get to 151 years! one of the things i know about the provisions in the infrastructure bill as it will include minority owned businesses. construction is not normally the one that benefits from a bill like this but small and minority owned firms are the focused and imp are to the national contractors -- the focus. i am a part of the national contractors association. i pray we can have as much success and longevity as your

business. thank you for that. host: we would like to thank shaundell newsom for coming on with us this morning and discussing the state of small businesses in the united states. thank you for your time. guest: thank you for the opportunity. i am blessed to work with a great organization so i would like to give a shout out to to my co-chairs, the staff and the volunteers. host: up next we will take more phone calls as we move into our open forum. you see the numbers on screen. colin and talk to us about what your most important political issue is. -- call in and talk to us about what your most important

political issue is. next we will talk to mark leon goldberg, host of the podcast global dispatches. ♪ >> next week congress returns with sn8 continuing work on the 2022 wi -- with the senate continuing work on the 2022 defense bill. we will have live coverage of two hearings on c-span.org and the c-span now mobile app. a subcommittee here is from advocates on holiday product safety concerns. treasury secretary janet yellen

and jerome powell testified before the senate banking committee on their agency's use of covid-19 relief funds. that will also stream live at c-span.org and on the c-span now mobile app. the u.s. supreme court hears oral arguments in dobbs v jackson's women's health organization, a case banning legislation after three weeks of pregnancy. head over to c-span.org for scheduling information or to stream video live and on-demand at any time. c-span, your unfiltered view of government. >> washington journal continues. host: we are back and we will

open our phone lines for you to talk about your most important little issue this morning. for democrats, we want to hear from you at (202) 748-8000. republicans, you can call (202) 748-8001. independents, your line is (202) 748-8002. keep in mind, you can always text us at (202) 748-8003 (202) -- and we are always reading twitter and facebook.

president biden's climate ends social spending -- and social spending plan is facing trouble in the senate. senate democrats are not being shy about out landing -- outlining how they plan to change the bill once it comes up. "there are going to be some changes," jon tester told meet the press after the house passed the bill. any changes in the senate will force the bill to go back to the house where they will have to decide if they can live with the updated draft.

in addition to policy splits between house and senate democrats details of the bill also need to pass muster with the senate parliamentarian and republicans are able to force amendments. we want to know what political issue you want to talk about. our phone lines are open and we are waiting to hear from you. there is another story that comes out from politico talking about the public health issue that could make or break president biden's new drug regulator. ringing you this story from politico. -- bringing you this story from politico. " the next head of the food and

drug administration takes over an agency that studiously avoided answering one of the most pressing public health questions for over a decade -- how to regulate the expensive prado -- expansive tobacco product market. robert caliph who president joe biden nominated this month to lead the agency is being looked to by forces from all sides as someone who can reboot the fda's center for tobacco products. 'they still have not made a single tough decision in 10 years,'said gregory calmly, the president of the american vaping association which once the fda

to bless e-cigarettes as an acceptable alternative for smoking for adults -- which wants the fda to bless e-cigarettes as an acceptable alternative for smoking for adults." caller: we have to start regulating our unconventional wars that we have had in this country for decades. we have been funding the war on poverty, the war on terror, the war on drugs and we turned that over to our religious organizations, or nonprofits, are for-profits to regulate it. we need to take that back in control again. we see what is happening

with people crossing the border illegally and we need to make sure these groups are actually following the law that we have in place. when we regulated under president reagan we integrated all of our systems to monitor and control what is happening in our country and now we have no idea with the war on poverty. i think we have more people who are poor in this country than ever before. we spend trillions of dollars on these unconventional wars. the war on terror -- $3 trillion did we pay and not one receipt has been provided by our government. we need to take control over what is going on in this country and monitor these nonprofits and

for-profits. host: let's talk to ray calling from pleasant view, tennessee on the republican line. caller: i have a comment on the way the government does dealing out money to different problems in the country. a lot of these things, these individuals need to take care of their self. they do not want to get up and take care of the children, give them breakfast before they go off to school. they want the government to give them lunch. when i was coming up my parents did what they were supposed to do. now the government wants to do everything. that does not work because when you do that you take the right

of the people to take care of their own business. do what you are supposed to do and everyone will be all right. host: let's talk to michael calling from grand rapids, michigan. caller: i have a request to a topic for you and that is the danger to our democracy that is beginning to be discussed by many other people. we have a powerful conservative bloc sponsored by fox, one american news. i was watching amanpour just last night and a supreme court justice was on. she was suggesting that our democracy is in danger.

the conservatives have a sense of keeping power by any means necessary. that is fox news. that is sending a dangerous message across our. country i think -- host: let's go to alan calling from south carolina on the independent line. caller: my main concern is medicare scams that are going on during the enrollment period. it is hard to understand what is true and what is not true. host: let's go to dave who is calling from st. peter's erg, florida on the republican line

-- st. petersburg, florida on the republican line. caller: i would like all of the viewers to realize that the department -- secretary of the department of energy was asked how much oil our country uses per day and she does not know the answer. she had been in office for eight months when she got approved. that you would think the secretary of energy would know that by noon on her first day of work. that is incredible incompetence. we deserve way better for our officials in the government to know their jobs and to be able to legislate. the biden administration released 50 billion barrels of

oil this week, which amounts to three days worth of oil, which is a joke. i call for people to take notice and to speak out against the incompetence. host: let's talk to rhonda who is calling from new jersey. caller: good morning america. hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving. my biggest concern about our country is the rigging of our voting system, how they republicans are now going in and changing legislation so that all the districts are gerrymandered. this will not only affect the minority and black fvote,

but the white vote as well. i am concerned about the authoritarian -- our country turning into authoritarianship because of the white right trying to take over the country. we are in very very dangerous times. the former president has corrupted the republican party, and he is using them. i believe he is blackmailing them. he says " i go down, you guys go down with me." i want to tell seniors, stop sending donald trump money. he is using your money.

you are paying his bills. he ripped everybody off with the build a wall fake fundhost: here washington post about what the biden administration plans to do to fight inflation in the united states. the biden administration has taken pains to show it is easing the pain of inflation for americans. moms and dads are worried, asking whether be enough food for the holidays? will you be able to get christmas presents to the kids on time? will they cost me an arm and a leg? president biden said is administration's success is boosting the economy while emphasizing -- empathizing with americans worried about prices. the emphasis comes after months of pleas from worried democrats, who pressed officials to do more

to acknowledge inflation as a central concern for voters. that group included at least four leading democratic pollsters who urged white house chief of staff ron klain to make a bigger show the policy that biden is pursuing, with at least one saying they should point their fingers of the villains of the economy in which large companies have seen record profits, according to two people familiar with the conversation. that is from the washington post, with worried democrats pleading for biden to address inflation more forcefully. we want to know what topics you want to talk about. call in with your most important political topics. sean from massachusetts on the independent line. good morning. caller: good morning. yes.

i would like to put national attention on the build back better plan. there is something i would specifically like to add. our joint resources. that is i think joe biden and all those agencies concerned what make an effort to establish an east to west pipeline to transfer millions of gallons of water to refill lake mead, t o provide better fire protection and more freshwater to the west coast and those areas west of

the continental divide. to fight fires and to supply water. host: kevin calling from galion, ohio. caller: good morning. this is just a comment. i wanted to know why there was -- host: turn your television down and go ahead, kevin. caller: i wanted to know why there is glade x experiment. there were 660 six days until the time the pandemic was announced. host: what is the experiment? caller: an experiment the who did back in 2018 before the pandemic happened. 666 days later they had the pandemic announced.

was this planned? host: let's go to ronald from illinois on the democratic line. good morning. caller: good morning to you. i would like to say president biden is doing a great job. what i called to ask was, on this build back better program, is there a stimulus program for american people suffering today? host: let's talk to terry from west plains, missouri on the independent line. good morning. caller: hi. on voting, my personal opinion is everyone should be required to present an id. mail in or voting in person. everyone has to have an id.

everyone is capable of getting an id. that is really all i have to say. host: let's talk to dave from brooksville, florida on the democrats line. good morning. caller: i'm so tired of this red herring about the voter id. you have to show your id when you register to vote. let's get real. now we are looking at a new variant coming in from africa. we have just been through hell over the past two years. the wartime president, that loaded, -- bloated, obscenely privileged cloud and office for four years told us there was no problem. it would go away like magic. now we are faced with a new

problem. he declared himself a wartime president. in this country -- host: i think we lost day. caller: dan from oregon on the republican line. good morning. caller: how are you doing? host: go ahead, dan. caller: just like that guy who just called, i mean, nothing -- the woman before that from new jersey who starts yelling at the former president and whatnot, trump, this division in this country is never going to stop on two people quit doing stuff like that. -- until people quit doing stuff like that. i think we would be better off if biden was not in there. this illegal border crossing

thing is getting out of control. i really think the hammer needs to come down and put a stop to it. host: nikki from carbondale, pennsylvania on the independent line. good morning. caller: can you hear me? host: go ahead. caller: what i would like to bring to the people's attention is there are four words that are missing from our vocabulary. when words are missing from our vocabulary, we miss the concepts they can convey. here in pennsylvania,. three is one of them. the exciting of lawsuits. they were outlawed back in the 1700s. then there is maintenance, the maintaining of the use for profit. for these, you know, arguments that are set up. tamperty is the splitting of the

spoils. champterty. baritry, maintenance, champ terty. if you allege -- the esquires are the younger sons of noblemen forever. therefore, what i'm asking is with all these projects and the printing of the notes for pennies on the dollars and that people are going to be taxed on the full value -- the face value of that dollar, what is going on in this country? are we being run by a criminal enterprise with the printing of these federal reserve notes since 1913? the removal of the senators that were supposed to be selected from amongst the senate,

according to article one, section three of the constitution. that was breached. with the 17th amendment, senators are putting their own people in place in order for this conspiracy by their own people's definition to be run. host: let's talk to robert from aurora, indiana on the republican line. good morning. caller: good morning. thanks for letting me in. that lady that called -- the guy that called about the stimulus, i would say go to work. that is where you get money. you don't rely on the government. we need to get biden and harris out of office because they are running this -- ruining this country. they are doing nothing for this country. host: let's talk to john from las vegas, nevada on the republican line. good morning.

caller: how's it going? i'm calling to speak to my fellow americans. everybody is obviously figuring out something is wrong. i will keep this short and simple. there is no doubt that the communist government is trying to take over america and the democrats are traitors to our country. this is weird -- are you still there? host: keep going, john. caller: it's very suspicious this pandemic started just before the 2020 election. everybody pays attention and follow the money. if you look, where the people that hated donald trump the most? the democrats of the chinese. we were prospering the most? the democrats and the chinese. what is with dr. fauci saying there would be a pandemic in donald trump's presidency before it happened? is it true he had something to do with creating the aids virus? host: let's go to wilbert from

culpeper, virginia on the democrats line. good morning. caller: good morning, jes. jessie, i had two questions, two things i would like to say quick. as a straight democrat that votes the democratic ticket for years, i would never vote for her again. at the time i needed her for my unemployment package and she voted no. the second thing is for the american people is congress is controlled by the democrats. i hope they stand up and find a backbone at force a tv camera inside the supreme court. make a bill that they have to have to open the supreme court with the american people can see the government network. they are in charge.

have some backbone where we can see what is going on inside the supreme court. this is the 21st century. we should not be blocked out from seeing what is going on with clarence thomas the supreme court. host: bonnie from maryland on the republican line. good morning. caller: i don't know -- anyway, i'm upset with the democrats giving everybody raises. i am on social security. they give us a five point something raise and brag about it, yet my medicare went up over 14%. last year, i got $11 is all. food is going up. all my utilities went up. but somebody that works at mcdonald's and says -- do you want a supersized gets double what i get.

i get $694 a month. they claim that is too much because i had to fight them. it is ridiculous. our medicare covers nothing, yet they want to lower it so people, younger people are on it. if you have medicaid, it covers everything but medicare covers nothing. thank you for taking my call. host: let's talk to ed from grand island, nebraska, on the independent line. good morning. caller: good morning. i guess the old adage of i'm sick and tired of being sick and tired probably applies. i'm sick and tired of being told that we don't have any oil when we have alaskan oil bigger than

the saudi arabian oil fields. all we have to do is just put some extra out there. that is baloney. the other thing being we give away so much money that we don't have. we borrow money to give to other countries and other entities. we have to borrow every dime. that does not make sense. host: we would like to thank all of our colleagues who participated in our open forum segment. coming up next, our weekly spotlight on podcast segment features the podcast global dispatch that focuses on hotspots and foreign policy challenges facing the biden administration. we will be joined by the host mark leon goldberg in just a few

minutes. we will be right back. ♪ ♪ >> sunday, december 5, on in-depth, historian victor davis hanson joins us live to talk about war, politics and citizenship. his book titles include "the father of assault: the case for trump," and "the dying citizens." join in the conversation with your phone calls, facebook comments, tanks and tweets for victor davis hanson on in-depth on book tv. before the program, visit c-span.org to get copies of his books. ♪ >> recorded conversations.

here many conversations on c-span's new podcast, "presidential recordings." >> season one focuses on lyndon johnson. you hear about the civil rights act, the 1964 presidential campaign, the gulf of tonkin incident, can the war in vietnam. not everyone knew they were being recorded. >> certainly johnson's secretary's new, because they were tasked with transcribing many conversations. they were the ones who made sure the conversations were taped as johnson would signal to them through an open door between his office and there's. -- theirs. >> you will hear blunt talk. >> i want to know the number of people assigned to kennedy the day he died. >> yes, sir. >> i promise you i will not go anywhere.

i will stay right behind these black gates. >> presidential recordings. find it on the c-span now mobile apps or wherever you get your podcasts. >> washington journal continues. host: we are back with mark leon goldberg, the editor and podcast host of global dispatch is, which discusses top forward of issues for the united states. he's here to talk about the most important foreign policy issues going on for the biden administration. good morning. guest: good morning. host: tell us about your podcast. what global issues are you focusing on? guest: "global dispatch is" is the longest running independent

foreign affairs podcast. it's been twice a week since 2012. and we focus on crises and conflicts around the world, the middle east and north africa. topical issues facing the foreign policy community, big geopolitical shifts ongoing in the world, as well as a focus on what works to make our world safer and healthier and more prosperous. i like to focus on solutions as well as challenges facing global security. host: who do you normally have on as a guest? guest: typically i will interview other journalists or think tankers for policymakers, diplomats, people around the united nations. my goal with each interview is to draw out the individual's expertise. i am not an expert on any single topic. i'm a journalist. the people i'm speaking with

have deep expertise in a particular issue. it is my goal to draw out that expertise in a tight 20 to 25 minute conversation so the listener leaves a little more informed about the world around them. host: who do you see is your audience? the ordinary, everyday news junkie, foreign policy junkies? is it for governmental officials and foreign-policy officials? guest: all of the above. the core of the audience are people who have a professional interest in foreign policy and international development issues. professional interest in what is going on at the united nations or the state department. it's also accessible enough -- if i do my job right, accessible enough to your everyday news junkie. someone who follows the news pretty regularly i think will derive value from a podcast

episode on any topic i cover that week. host: why is the podcast format so good for what you're doing? guest: i have been writing on the internet and working on the internet since the year 2005. what is unique about the podcast medium is you create a depth of connection with your audience unlike anything else i've ever experienced. typically i could write a tweet. someone could read that tweet and move on. but to listen to a podcast episode takes a lot of work on the part of the audience. they have to find your podcast. they have to subscribe. they have to devote 20 minutes of their life to listening to it. that's a meaningful investment on the part of the audience. i think as a consequence of that investment they feel deeply connected to you as the host.

they feel like they get to know you, especially if you're listening to a podcast twice a week, every week. you have made a connection to the podcast host. that is probably what is most unique about the medium, the intimacy of the relationship you have with the audience. host: one thing i noticed with your website is that you say that you have an equal amount of men and women on the podcast. can you tell us why that is important? guest: it is 2021. it's easy to be doing a u.s.-focused or any international affairs podcast, security podcast and exquisitely interviewed people who look like me. that would not be interesting to me. that would not be interesting to my audience as well. i think my audience is about 50-50.

i want to be representative. it is something i have been doing since the year 2012, kind of keeping it even. what i'm trying to do more now is the more geographically representative. i aspire to cover global issues. i have guessed from africa, europe, asia, the middle east. that is my next goal in terms of representation. host: let's talk about what's going on with the united states and foreign policy. exactly where does the united states stand right now when it comes to how we are perceived and how we operate with other countries around the world? guest: in terms of how we are perceived, last week i was at this interesting international conference in halifax, canada. it was attended by many u.s. members of congress. a lot of key international allies of the united states.

there were no adversaries invited to this conference. this was america's closest friends and partners and allies. one scene that kept getting repeated was a perceived sense that american democracy itself is very fragile at the moment. i think we can't underestimate the reputational damage the events of january 6 have done to how the united states is perceived abroad. there is this strain on american foreign policy of wanting to promote democracy around the world, support liberal freedoms and freedom of speech and free elections. there was a sense it is getting harder to do that knowing how easily and fragile american democracy was when you had so

many members of congress, even after the capital was attacked, still voting to overturn the results of the election. that did real damage to america's reputation abroad. host: harland olman, a senior advisor at the atlantic council wrote an op-ed in the hill newspaper. i want to read you a little from the op-ed and get you to react to it. here is what he wrote. "every president since reagan believed china and russia could be brought within the framework of a western value-based international system. that obviously has failed. at the end of the korean war, the u.s. military has won virtually every battle it fought. the u.s. has lost every war it started. u.s. international standing as a global leader has been in freefall. even the election of joe biden has not so far changed their

trajectory." is our country's international standing as a global leader in freefall? guest: i don't know if it is in freefall but is not as robust as it was prior to the events of january 6. it is true there is this brewing great power competition between china and the united states. this is like a fact of geopolitics today. it is also true the tools available to the added states to pursue its objectives abroad are not as sharp and robust as they were a generation ago. these are long-term trends in geopolitics and international relations. i think joe biden has sought to take certain steps i think are appropriate in terms of

reestablishing america's relationship to key multilateral institutions like the united nations, not going ahead with the withdrawal from the world health organization the previous administration sought to do. there is a real opportunity for the biden administration to assert american leadership through these multilateral forum where you will see the united states has a lot of residual respect, a lot of allies. it is still the dominant player in the world. just not quite as dominant as it once was. you can trace that back to before the biden administration, before the obama administration even. you saw this decline start to happen. probably could be traced to the 2003 decision by george w. bush to invade and occupy iraq. the global power shift that opened up when the united states

was not able to achieve its objectives militarily. that revealed to the world just how the united states is not as strong as it was perceived to be, and how deeply unpopular the war was and how the rest of the world began to realign, not necessarily in ways that were in america's favor. host: he mentioned his name a couple of times but we have not talked about him directly yet. loving us directly. what impact has president joe biden had on the u.s.'s current standing around the world? guest: i think president biden himself as someone who knows world leaders around the world. he's been around the block. at the united nations he gave a speech that was well received, said the right things in terms of what key allies in europe would want to hear.

i think what joe biden is doing currently is realigning american foreign-policy to its traditional place in terms of wanting to be a global leader. in terms of wanting to, for example, convene a summit of democracies, which is happening around the corner in washington to once again try to promote american moral and global leadership. so, at the same time, as i said, the united states is not as powerful as it once was. his ability to do so is not as strong as it could have been a generation ago. u.s. global leadership, though still very important, is nonetheless on the decline. host: let me take a second to remind viewers they can take part in this conversation. we will be opening regional lines, which means if you are in

the eastern or central time zones, call (202) 748-8000. if you are in the mountain or pacific time zones, you can call (202) 748-8001. keep in mind you can always text at (202) 748-8003. we are always reading on social media, twitter and on facebook. one of our social media followers just points out -- i will review this tweet and have you respond to it. america's goals are hard for the globe to understand when they change drastically from what administration to another. how does the change in our governments affect our standing and affect our foreign policy goals from the perspective of other countries around the world? guest: i can give you a concrete

answer to this. it's a well-timed question. we are speaking on saturday, november 27. there is a round of talks around the iran nuclear deal happening in vienna kicking off. the iranians, with legitimately, what assurances should they put the brakes on its nuclear program and abide by the terms of that 2015 deal, the next president will not just go ahead and revoke and remove the united states from the deal and reimpose sanctions. it is this unpredictability i think is now deeply embedded in the american political system that is causing, i think, other countries around the world to question the reliability of america's commitments around the world. you saw the same thing with the

paris accords. the previous administration withdrew from the paris accords. the current and sought to reengage and rebuild and add some ambition to international climate goals. what's to say the next administration will not be committed info remove the united states from the paris agreement? it is this unpredictability of u.s. foreign policy and of our political system in general i think makes it harder for other countries to seek to do diplomatic business with the united states. host: is that a flaw in our system and is that something that could or should be changed? guest: we have this rod, bipartisan popular consensus in foreign policy from the end of world war ii until almost pretty recently.

everyone in the american political arena generally kind of agreed to the broad rules of the game. agreed to brother principal to u.s. foreign policy engagement. i do think the evolution of american politics is such that the broad consensus had been fractured. i don't do if we can come back to that moment in which both parties generally agreed on big picture foreign-policy issues. i don't think we are there anymore. host: let's let some viewers take part in the conversation. dan from independence, oregon. good morning. caller: good morning. my question is about ukraine. we've been having trouble with russia. i'm an older guy. we had a treaty with ukraine, with britain and russia to not attack them because they got rid of their nukes.

is that true and still in effect? guest: so, if i remember correctly, you are referring to a deal, a manifestation of this broad bipartisan consensus that existed in u.s. foreign policy for a while. you had democrats sam nunn from georgia and richard lugar from indiana, a republican, who put together this piece of legislation that sought to remove nuclear capabilities and materials from post-soviet states, which is a good thing now. realizing how much foresight they had in removing nuclear weapons from ukraine or other areas of the former soviet union now seems to have a great deal of foresight given how conflict

has now come to the ukraine from russia. as we speak there is a substantial buildup of russian military assets. i think there are about 100,000 troops building up on the ukraine-russia border. the intention of those troops and what russia aims to do building up those troops is still unclear based on the experts i've interviewed. it is nonetheless concerning you have this potential flashpoint. there is currently conflict in the ukraine. there is basically a trench warfare going on in ukraine right now. what we are seeing with the true buildup is something potentially even more worrisome. it is an issue that i think i will be monitoring on the podcast. i know most foreign-policy professionals are deeply concerned right now about what's going on. host: beverly colling from

raleigh, north carolina. good morning. caller: hi. all i'm trying to do is speak to the biden administration to talk about my -- guest: i did not hear that question. host: beverly, we were not talking about social security. we are talking about foreign-policy. do you have any foreign-policy questions? guest: how can i get to the biden administration to talk about my social security? host: that will be another segment later on. jesse from redding, connecticut. good morning forced up -- good morning. caller: here's my question. if you thought about the 2016 election, most republicans did not believe in globalization. probably half the democrats who supported bernie did not either.

that makes it a very complicated environment to talk about some of the global dispatch. for you, are you trying to reach those of us who are really interested in the issue, or is part of you trying to educate others about the need to understand the global environment? guest: thanks for that question. i think most of what i try to do is bring to life stories from around the world that are not conventionally covered by most mainstream media outlets. about two weeks ago, i didn't episode on a crisis ongoing in southern madagascar where there is the world's first climate change induced famine. typically famines are something that happened when there is conflict. for the first time in human history, famine and famine like conditions have come to this

region in southern madagascar are because of climate. the people who live there are suffering and have had zero impact on rising global temperatures, yet they are the ones feeling the most deeply affected by this crisis, this famine. similarly, i tried to shine a spotlight on other important stories from around the world that are decently covered but perhaps poised to become really horrific tragedies. here i refer to the ongoing civil war conflict in ethiopia, which is one of the most urgent conflicts around the world. you do hear about it sometimes on u.s. media but not to the degree and urgency it warrants. the other day i had senator kiss croons -- chris coons talking about the conflict and the

prospect this major capitol may come under attack. it is a diplomatic hub. it is a vibrant city. yet we are already seeing signs of a conflict coming close to it. these are -- this is like a five alarm fire. i still don't think it is treated with the urgency it deserves. a lot of what i see myself doing with the platform i have is to shine a spotlight on stories that are humanitarian crises or human rights crises that deserve a bigger platform commiserate with the urgency it requires and deserves. host: what is president biden's biggest foreign-policy challenge right now? guest: i would say a couple of things.

in afghanistan, there is a looming economic crisis and calamity that made the fall afghanistan and create a massive outflow of people from afghanistan that could have a destabilizing effect around the world. i cover the united nations closely. the secretary-general has warned of a cash crisis, a liquidity crisis in the afghan economy that is not addressed will create -- will lead to wholesale collapse of the afghan economy. he's been urging international players, including the biden administration, to somehow inject liquidity and that economy to prevent this crisis and calamity. i would point to that as being eight deep and profound challenge. i would point to competition

with china as a deep and profound challenge. there are unfortunately some deeply worrying signs across the timeline -- taiwan straight. the biden administration needs to figure out a way to potentially figure out how to both support its democratic ally in taiwan without aggravating or without antagonizing needlessly the chinese government in a way that might be otherwise count a productive. managing that crisis is key. surprisingly, i don't know if the administration intended this but crises in africa have been a key and top foreign-policy concern for the biden and administration. the secretary of state traveled to africa. you had a coup in sudan, crisis in ethiopia, and now this new

coronavirus variant emanating from southern africa. all these issues speak to the fact that typically africa is neglected in foreign policy circles. the biden administration has been focused, rightfully so, on these kind of challenges emanating from africa as well. host: let's go back to the phone lines and talk to ray from north carolina. good morning. caller: hello. i'm wondering about -- it seems you are tearing up anything the trump administration has done. i feel like we are forgetting so many things, like bringing committees together -- the

mideast together to be working with israel. he was nominated for the nobel peace prize. i knew he would not win but he was nominated. a good, solid performance he had over the four years. you focus on january 6, but i have not heard a word about afghanistan. afghanistan was a devastating impact to our world, the opinions people had around the world. also, his mental acuity. he has not released the information or taken that test during the last physical. host: go ahead and respond to her questions about the trump

administration versus the biden administration on foreign policy. guest: on afghanistan specifically, it was the trump administration that negotiated an agreement with the taliban, without negotiating with the afghan government. it was just a u.s.-taliban direct negotiation that happened. to basically set the stage for the american withdrawal from afghanistan. there was a degree of continuity between the trump administration's approached afghanistan and the biden administration's eventual pull out of afghanistan. referring to the so-called abraham accords which brought the israeli government and closer relations with certain governments in the middle east, those kinds -- i think that has been helpful.

it is not solving middle east peace but it is nudging things in the right direction when you have governments able to have official contact with each other. when you have commercial flights now going from israel to places in the middle east. sure, that was a step forward. i think it was generally applauded by both parties. i'm not like a partisan. it was certainly not the worst thing he did in office. host: we have talked about the executive branch and foreign-policy. let's move over to the legislative branch. what impact does congress have on u.s. foreign policy? guest: congress has a huge impact. it is often overlooked. i'm glad you asked that question. the most important impact congress has in foreign policy is appropriating funds to

various government entities that pursue american interests. it is congress that appropriates the money to pay for usaid around the world -- u.s. aid around the world, diplomats stationed around the world. to pay for our national defense budgets as well. the most basic, important function is that, appropriating funds the united states can pursue its foreign policy objectives around the world. congress can also -- you look at the jcpoa, the iran nuclear deal. when president obama sealed that deal with both the iranians and also members of the security council, plus germany, you had parties where the united states,

iran, france, germany, russia, and the united kingdom. all the key international players were a part of this deal. congress was not as enthusiastic about this deal as the obama administration was. and congress put certain restrictions on it. this was something democrats and republicans voted on together to force the president to reassert iran was complying with the deal every six months or so. when trump came to office he was no fan of this deal. he used the opportunity of this six-month renewal congress mandated to take the opportunity to not sign the renewal and effectively withdraw the united states from the nuclear deal. it's a concrete example.

we are feeling that effect today. we are a couple of days away from negotiations to figure out if there is a way the united states can reenter the deal in a way that satisfies american national interests in terms of trying to keep iran's nuclear deal under check and whether iran even once to have the united states -- wants to have the united states reenter the deal. it's a profound and important role and i think one that cannot be overlooked when talking about foreign-policy. i frequently try to include legislators talking about discrete bills they have coming through congress that impacts foreign-policy. it is a very important part of the u.s. foreign policy equation. host: chris from pittsburgh, pennsylvania. good morning. caller: i'm amazed how you can keep abreast of so many things going on in the world.

the things i have on my mind is what's going on in the solomon islands. when island is sparring against the other because of the change in allegiance from taiwan to china. is this an indicator of what might happen elsewhere? can the u.s. do anything politically through negotiations with the rest of the world to protect taiwan in the future? do you think that is kind of a done deal? guest: specifically on the solomon islands, you have stumped me. the broader trend in the region -- the philippines is an example of this. countries not thinking twice about where to put their allegiance in terms of whether or not they are going to partner or ally more closely with china or the united states. there is real diplomatic and

economic competition happening in that part of the world. that is becoming the key focus of u.s. foreign policy. the end of pacific region -- indo-pacific region, this competition between the u.s. and china is playing out. in terms of taiwan, it is a very deeply concerning situation. you have taiwan, a robust democracy that happens to supply most of the world with key components that go into all of our electronics, under direct threat from its much larger neighbor across the taiwan straits. president xi has said he wants to reunify, in his terms, china with taiwan.

meanwhile, you have united states building up its military deterrence and seeking to support taiwan militarily in the event of a conflict. such a conflict would be horrible and devastating. it would draw the world pose powers into a war, potentially a world work. this is something that needs to be avoided at all cost. we need to invest more in diplomacy right now in terms of trying to figure out ways to de-conflict this crises that may corrupt. so it does not invert me -- inadvertently get the united states and china into conflict with each other. it is one of the most worrying and deeply concerning international trends right now, growing antagonism between the united states and china and the potential that might spill over

into conflict over taiwan is very, very real. it is something to for mets around the world are concerned with. again, it would be calamitous. i think it is our collective goal to avoid that kind of conflict. host: just so everyone knows, here is the story out of the solomon islands. the police found three bodies in a burned out building interested more than 100 people in this week's violence sparked by concerns about the nation's links with china. australian media reported the bodies were recovered friday after riots and protests. no other details were given. authorities imposed a curfew in the capital ordered by the embattled prime minister. he blamed outside interference for us during of the protest calling for his resignation

with a thinly veiled reference to taiwan and the united states. he's been criticized by leaders of the country's most populous island of malita for a decision to drop diplomatic ties with taiwan in favor of mainland china. they are arguing in the solomon islands over whether they should have ties to taiwan or china, mainland china. we see that kind of thing going on around the world, right? guest: you saw it happen -- you see it in africa. china is investing heavily in would cause the belt -- calls the belt and wrote initiative, a massive infrastructure development plan to tie economies around the world the china. they are building ports and railroads and bridges and roads all around the world, everywhere from africa to the caribbean to

in its own neighborhood. to try to economically integrate the world with the chinese economy. what is interesting with their model different from most conventional development models because often times they will encourage or induce countries to take out giant loans to build their infrastructure plans. if and when those loans are unable to be repaid, they sort of takeover and assume ownership of these ports. he saw that happened in sri lanka a few years ago when the sri lankan government went underwater trying to bill this giant infrastructure project. they could not pay so the chinese took it over. you are seeing that happen around the world.

it is part of chinese -- a growing chinese economy demands more goods and services coming to china for their own rising middle class. on the one hand it is reasonable. we would expect it. if you're looking at u.s.-china competition, you are seeing more countries being economically connected to china through this massive infrastructure building project, the belt and raod initiative -- road initiative. host: denise from silver spring, maryland. good morning. caller: good morning. in this conversation there has been talk about global warming, afghanistan, the january 6 event. i'm curious to know your thoughts on how the u.s. image was impacted by the racial

reckoning that took place in unit say throughout the course of 2020, and how diplomats continue to talk and promote democracy and inclusivity and rights when the u.s. continues to struggle to grapple and move forward with sustainable, long-term commitments to dealing with the racial reckoning and issues in the united states. guest: sure. one of the most striking things about the blm protest last summer -- the summer before last were how global they were. you saw protest here in the united states, but you also saw very similar protests in europe, and africa even.

protesting local injustices. in nigeria, there was a huge protest against police impunity and police brutality. in the netherlands, protest against racism and police brutality and impunity on the part of law enforcement. this was a profoundly global movement in an interesting way. the kind of reckoning that inspired here in the united states. i don't think it has been replicated to the same degree in other parts of the world. on my podcast i had a women on the show who was a un special rapporteur -- i will get the

exact title wrong -- basically for the african diaspora. for people of african descent living as -- living around the world. there was a special human rights mechanism to monitor trends in racism and challenges people of african descent face around the world. her point was very well taken. she was an african-american. there are certain common threads in anti-black racism around the world that are not unique to anyone country, but our common. whether or not the reckoning we are seeing in the united states leads to many changes in u.s. foreign policy, i don't know. whether it leads to how other countries view the united states, i cannot answer that question. i have not seen the polling data. it is interesting to note how

global this movement was, which i think is something here in the united states we might not necessarily appreciate. host: as we end 2021, where should we be watching when it comes to foreign policy for the united states and around the globe? what should we keep our eyes on at the end of this year? guest: the top crisis sadly will be the civil war in ethiopia. this is the second largest country in africa by population. it is a very diverse country. it is at war with itself. what is so horrific about this war is how starvation is being used as a weapon of war. both sides are committing horrible human rights abuses. the government of ethiopia is refusing to let a into areas under the can -- aid into areas

under control of the rebel movement. there is a widespread humanitarian crisis happening. the capital city may come under attack. like we saw in syria, when a country disintegrates like this the impact cannot be contained within the country. it explodes and sows instability across region and across the world. sadly, i think the crisis in ethiopia will be a major challenge to international peace and security. as i mentioned earlier, afghanistan may face a deep humanitarian crisis that might cause massive migration of afghans seeking to flea a total economic collapse of their country.

as we have seen when there are massive refugee movements often it has a destabilizing effect in countries far away, as far as europe. host: we are running out of time here. i have to stop you. guest: those are my two issues. host: we would like to thank mark leon goldberg, the host of the "global dispatches" podcast for talking about the top foreign policy issues. thank you so much, mark. we would like to thank you for watching this morning. continue to wash your hands and stay safe. have a great saturday everyone. ♪

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of british columbia looks at the evolutionary purpose of intoxication and the role drinking has played throughout history. >> alcohol makes it harder to lie for instance. you paralyze the prefrontal cortex and it makes it hard to make up a lie. it makes us better at detecting lies. humans, when we are focusing consciously on detecting lies, don't do a good job. but if we relax and take in the variety of cues we do a better job. i am arguing alcohol, in the same way that when we meet we shake hands to show we are not holding a weapon in our right hand, cultures use intoxicants at treaty meetings or business meetings anything where you could have hostile people figuring out a way to cooperate as a cognitive disarmament. announcer: edward slingerland at 8:00 eastern on q&a. you can listen to all of our podcasts on the new c-span now have. ♪