book. what racism cost us of how we can prosper together. plus join the conversation with your calls, text, tweets and facebook posts. "washington journal" starts now. ♪ host: good morning. it is tuesday, december 28. authors week continues. the senate gets to work on its 2022 legislative calendar next week. the house will adjourn in january 10 and we want to hear from you this hour about what you want congress to pass in the new year. give us a call and tell us what you think the house and senate should focus on in 2022. phone lines split by political parties. republicans, (202) 748-8001.

democrats (202) 748-8000. independents (202) 748-8002. you can also send us a text. (202) 748-8003. please include your name and where you are from. also catch up with us on social media. good tuesday morning. you can go ahead and start calling in now. we begin with a list of major legislation that democrats were able to pass in 2021 as they controlled both chambers of commerce -- congress and the white house. that would include the $1.9 trillion rescue plan that would include the enhanced child tax credit that would expire at the end of this month and really for state and local governments. also, the $550 billion infrastructure bill, the covid-19 hate crimes act in response to anti-asian hate

incidents during the pandemic. the senate approved more than 40 district court and circuit court judges this year, more than any other president has in their first year since ronald reagan's administration. the list undone is also one that democrats are still working to build on. here are some of the major legislation democrats tried but were unable to pass. the $1.75 trillion build back better act, a new voting rights bill, police reform legislation, legislation to lower prescription drug prices, an effort to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour failed this year and also unable to pass new protections for daca recipients. nancy pelosi last week vowed that the build back better efforts to move through congress would continue at the start of 2022. here is nancy pelosi from san francisco last week.

[video clip] rep. pelosi: we will never give up and i sent a letter to my colleagues saying we will continue to fight to pass the legislation. the democratic leader of the senate, chuck schumer, wrote a similar letter to his colleagues yesterday. this will happen and we will do it as soon as we can. there are conversations that are ongoing, but we cannot walk away from this commitment. build back better is about transforming our society. build back better puts women in the workplace. build back better -- new or people are going into our communities with all of the diversity. we will lot net this opportunity -- let this opportunity pass and we will make that case and i have confidence that senator manchin cares about our country

and that at some point very soon we can take up the legislation. i am not deterred at all. [end video clip] host: nancy pelosi last week. asking you this morning what do you think congress should pass in the year 2022? phone lines, republicans (202) 748-8001. democrats (202) 748-8000. independents (202) 748-8002. one more piece of legislation passed just under the wire. it was president biden signing into law the defense policy bill capping months of back-and-forth. "the washington times" writes, it authorizes a nearly 5 million l increase in military spending after republicans and democrats

fought to include a boost over what president biden had proposed for the pentagon's budget including this year's ndaa. this year's also changes the military justice system handling major felonies such as rape and sexual assault and murder to a specialized military prosecutor rather than unit commanders. that is from "the washington times." here is how "the new york times" puts it about the ndaa and that legislation getting abused from what president biden had originally proposed. biden ratifies the defense blow in a blow to antiwar liberals. that happened yesterday. with your phone calls this morning, we want to know what you think congress should focus on. iris is up first out of michigan. independent. good morning. caller: good morning.

good morning to you and to america and the world. i would like our congress, especially the president and those in charge of talking about these different variants of what has come up in our lives. as to what the signs are, what the symptoms are, how it affects our body and we do not know what it is. we do not know how to treat it. we do not have a treatment, but we should bar ourselves from going near people. i would like them to get rid of their black masks. they frighten you. it is what we identify with evil and with everything else. we do not wear black masks in public. white, clean, and 95 -- n-95's

for children. is there something wrong with the color white? host: new recommendations from the center for disease control. today's "the washington post" health officials shortening the recommended time that americans infected with the coronavirus should isolate from 10 days to five if they are asymptomatic. a decision that was driven by research that when people are most infectious as part of the update, the cdc cut the recommended quarantine time to five days for those exposed to the coronavirus who are not yet posted and recommended that such people wear masks around others for an additional five days. the agency says that those who were exposed and received booster shots do not need to quarantine, but should wear a mask for 10 days. that new change from the cdc. don, st. joseph, missouri.

republican. what should congress focus on in 2022? caller: are you still there? host: yes. caller: the congress that we started where you had to go hundreds of miles -- congress is outdated and we need a way for the people to have their input in a better way such as a big government computer site where you can send in your own suggestions for legislation and have a voting system that others can vote that idea up or down. if it acquires enough support among the american people, it would be a required item to be voted on by congress. host: sort of a legislative

national referendum? caller: right. they set up there most of the time and just collect campaign funds and did not get down to doing the people's business. yes, we need a system where people can have more input. that is my comment. thank you very much. host: leslie, new york. democrat. what should congress focus on in 2022? caller: we have many crises in this country that are very critical. i think that the foundation of this country, which is voting rights has got to be the cornerstone of a legislative agenda, not just restoring, but expanding the preclearance feature of the original voting rights act and putting in

safeguards to prevent the stealthy coup that the republican party is attempting at this moment in states that are controlled by republicans. they have become insurrectionists rather than legislators. this has to be stopped. thank you. host: leslie, two pieces of legislation on the voting rights front. first, the freedom to vote act. that piece of legislation released by amy klobuchar building on a framework proposed by senator manchin that compromised from the for the people act, if you recall that one, after it was settled in congress. it would require states to set a 15 day minimum early voting window and make election day a

federal holiday and mandate that each state offer same-day voting registration at polling locations by the year 2024. it will bar states from drawing political boundaries that favor or disfavor a political party. that is different from another piece of legislation, the john lewis voting rights act. that is a more targeted piece of legislation. that one would restore the full protections of the voting rights act of 1965, expand the formula that the department of justice can use to identify discriminatory voting patterns in states and localities, and those entities would need to get the department of justice approval before making further changes to how elections happen in those districts. that is two pieces of legislation on the voting rights front. two of the ones that have gotten the most attention. jonathan in ohio. democrat. good morning. caller: happy holidays. good morning. host: same to you.

go ahead. caller: it is interesting that they did the anti-asian act. personally, i think it would be more pertinent that they pass police reform. it is me personally. it is weird that they passed the anti-asian act and they were still dealing with voting rights. that should have already been passed. i do not understand the legislation and the law and order of what these people are really doing in congress and senate and the presidency. that should be the main factor and should have already been passed before the asian act. host: as a democrat, did you think that democrats would be further along, passed more legislation, in a different place at this point?

caller: exactly. i really would have expected them to be more aggressive about really detrimental things that are happening in our society. it is disturbing that they have not passed the voters act. it is weird how they did that -- and now we are all up on the covid. i think it is all a distraction. host: jonathan in ohio. this is brian, a republican from springfield, missouri. good morning. caller: good morning. host: what do you think congress should do in 2022? caller: let's see something with term limits. even the strongest people in simply being bombarded by these groups to been the -- bend

their ear on their needs. eventually will succumb to the groups wants and not the people's needs. i would like to see something like a couple of terms and then we switch out. host: how many terms in the house and how many in the senate? caller: maybe three. the senate is every two years? host: six years. caller: two for them and something like a decade, whatever that falls into is probably enough. i don't take it was ever intended that these two will make a career out of being a public servant. it exposes them to too much manipulation. host: the argument on the other

side of that when we had people who argue against term limits, they will say if you get the elected people of congress out quicker, then that gives more power to the unelected people who are up here on capitol hill, staff members, people at agencies. they have more influence at members of congress because the members of congress have less experience when they come in. that would be the argument against term limits. does that argument ring true to you? caller: not necessarily because i do not know how much experience is really necessary to take what the people's wishes are, what we vote on, and implement them. experience is great for a mechanic that knows which kind of bolts you can tighten or which one you cannot more than a couple of times. when it comes to implementing

policy, those type of things can be more overtime than someone who comes in idealistic, fresh out of college, and is going to impose the people's wishes. host: thanks to the call from missouri. happy new year. this is gene, fayetteville, north carolina. caller: i am all over the place. i am neither democrat nor republican. i have for what is right for america and for the people. i love our country. i would like to know, this is one question i have not had answered. how low does a president's grading have to go before he is out of there? i would love to see them stop throwing money at everything all the time. we have people in america that are very smart, that can get out there and fix these problems. stop spending money to fix this and that.

let the people do what is right for the children. things like that. let's clean up america. america is dirty. let's get the people here illegally out. there is a right way to come into our country and they should respect that. we have to abide by the laws, rules, and regulations. why can't they? we just need to stop throwing money at everything and just clean up america and do what is right for us. we have to get vaccinated and everything. the people coming in here, why can't they do it too? host: that is jean in fayetteville, north carolina. on your topic of approval ratings, the gallup organization out with a new poll, the headline, "justice roberts tops approval ratings." the gallup organization taking

an end of the year look at several federal national leaders asking about 900 americans their thoughts on whether they approve or disapprove how they are handling their jobs and justice john roberts, 60% of those approve of the way he is doing his job in the supreme court chief justice. 34% disapprove here followed in the rankings among those, federal chairman jerome powell, 53% approval rating. dr. anthony fauci at 52%. secretary of state antony blinken, 49%. attorney general merrick garland 49%. kevin mccarthy 46%. kamala harris 44%. chuck schumer 44%. president biden 43%. nancy pelosi at 40%. senate republican leader mitch mcconnell coming in last, 34%.

63% disapproving of the way the senate republican leader has handled his job. bob, arizona, independent. good morning. caller: good morning. i want to echo your previous color about term limits. i believe we should get rid of most of these fossils in congress and get some new blood. thank you. host: there will be a bit of new blood. we know there will be new blood in congress because of the large number of departures from congress this year. 23 democrats have already announced their retirement ahead of the 2022 election. that compares with 12 republicans. the current balance of power, the current numbers are 221

democrats and 213 republicans. as we headed to an election year , midterm elections where republicans are expected to do well. this is ed out of connecticut. republican. good morning. caller: good morning. i think the childcare provisions in the build back better law are very pro-life. for the first time, women will have the opportunity for a real choice when it comes to having children or not. on the other hand, i think the energy part of the law is scattershot. it seems to be more like pork and i do not think it will have any effect on the green situation. they should make it into two parts and past one and not the other. host: child tax credits, do you think those have been helpful? caller: i do, but mostly the education provisions, the limit

on childcare at less than 7% of income, that type of thing. host: that is ed out of connecticut. this is the top republican house budget committee congressman jason smith. viewers have seen him on this program before. on the future, particularly of the child tax credit that is set to expire at the end of this week. [video clip] >> i am proud to work with president trump during the 2017 tax cut. that was a provision i pushed forward. as you know, $1000 to $2000. do not get confused. what they are trying to extend is their temporary child tax credit from the first reconciliation bill on march. it is not the tax on jobs act from 2024. that goes to show that is

another temporary program in their last reconciliation bill that was supposed to expire now that they are trying to not make temporary anymore, which proves what we said here all along. also in that reconciliation bill, they took out the work requirement. as senator graham said, there is a bipartisan approach on both sides of the building. a child tax credit that helps working families and the working class. host: congressman jason smith before the congressional break. the senate will return early next week. the house is back on january 10. this morning, we want to know what you think congress should focus on when they get back here to work on capitol hill. george, michigan, independent. what do you think? caller: i generally only call into greta but i have not been able to make any progress with her and you seem to be a very levelheaded person.

host: why are you only calling to greta? caller: she's the previous faced on there, but you are the most levelheaded. host: follow the hosts here are happy to chat with you. caller: would you allow me to offer some constructive criticism on your program? host: always open to that, george. can you tie it into what you want congress to do in 2022 so we can stay on topic? caller: yes. my two main focuses our animal-rights and native american rights. i have been writing to c-span since 2005. i am sure you have received my email. i said it originally to brian lamb and i sent it recently to all of you people that are -- i guess what your email is. i think i got most of them right. will you admit that you receive my emails? host: i think i know what you

are talking about. go ahead and explain what your points are. caller: c-span, what i want congress to emphasize is the ability -- the validity of "washington journal." my constructive criticism for your program is you spend at least six times an hour from 7:00 to 8:00 talking about the number you should call. that takes 30 seconds to do that. you have spent three minutes each hour doing that. the last couple of days, you have been advertising about certain books you will discuss in another program. that takes another three minutes. how do people -- who at c-span

chooses the suspect -- subjects that you guys talk about? host: i do not want to get off topic so i will do this quickly. we spend a lot of time emphasizing the phone numbers because there are a lot of people who just listen to the program on the radio, not just on tv so it helps them to know the numbers if they want to call in. we get a lot of people who call in on their commute and do it that way and they are a big part of the show so that is why we do that. in terms of how we pick the topics we are talking about, we are reading the newspapers every day, we are watching the legislation on capitol hill, we are listening to your calls and your responses every day. we get about 60 phone call today from viewers. there is a group of 10 of us that work on this program and we come up with what is leading

the news and topics that we are interested in as we go through the news and we bounce those off of each other as to what we think would make a good discussion and we think would add to this public forum that we do every day. does that work for you? caller: one last question, before you cut me off, your questions are always raised as what is your opinion, what do you think, what do you feel. my experience is a problem solver. what i would suggest is that you construct your topics for the day as how would we fix something such problem. -- such and such problem. when you say think and feel, that is how a female -- host: this is a public forum. there are a lot of programs out there where washington speaks to

the nation. this is the one place where the nation can speak back to washington and that is why we construct it that way. always appreciate constructive criticism. we want to get back to the topic of what congress should focus on in 2022. greg is waiting to talk about that in pennsylvania. go ahead. caller: yes. interesting caller you just had a conversation with. i appreciate his concern about criticism. no one is perfect. interesting comments he had to make. now, my suggested things that congress should work on. first, every law that congress passes that applies to citizens applies to them. there is an exception. i am not sure exactly why that

it does not apply to members of congress. all of those, every law they pass shall apply to them -- should apply to them. are they not citizens of the united states? are they better than us? every law should apply to them, every single law and every single law should have a sunset provision. every law. the reason for that is when you set a sunset on it, it expires unless it is reauthorized and that is the problem that congress has. it passes stuff to win the next election and no one ever goes back to look at it. there has to be a sunset or should be a sunset provision. another suggestion is look at grassroots blogging. it is the exemption on

organizations. there are lots out there rooting for one side or the other. more of them rooting for pelosi and schumer than mccarthy and mcconnell. many more. but grassroots lobbying restrictions, and pr is the worst violator of that. the worst that i know of. those are things that congress should look at. will they? probably not. should they? absolutely. thank you. host: this is ardell, austin, texas. caller: seasons greetings to all of you. i know we need all of those bills passed, but i would like to say something to three senators. the senators i am talking about, senator cheney, senator romney, and senator manchin. the things i want to say first

to senator cheney -- host: congresswoman cheney. caller: i really respect you because you are fighting as hard as we need to be fighting to make the people that destroyed and attacked our capital safe. for senator romney, i want to say to you thank you because you are a god-fearing man. but both of you are republicans and both of you know what is right and wrong. i went to the military in 1967 because my rights were given to me to vote in 1965. you guys also know that the less fortunate people of this country have not been treated with as much as the wealthy have. these things that the president

is asking for are things to make it better for us. we work and we pay taxes. we do not get tax breaks like the ceos and the congressmen. last, senator manchin, you are jewish. democrats voted for you. your priority is not your priority. your priority is the people who voted for you priority and you should stop doing what you are doing to keep our people from not getting what they need. and the other two, please vote on the side of the democrats because we do not need manchin and we will not have him if you do this. thank you, c-span. host: anthony from detroit, michigan. independent. caller: good morning.

before i say what i think they should pass, i would like to say how i think they should pass it. i think that is -- they should pass these bills under regular debates with potential amendments from all 435 representative and not just in backroom deals with pelosi and mcconnell and manchin. who knows what will wind up in these bills. they are so long the way that they do it and it seems like it is some stuff they came up with. it is so -- it is bad. they have to pass these bills the regular order him a not like they are doing it right now. i think they should pass universal single-parent health insurance. do i think they are going to? not a chance. i think they should not pass the national defense authorization, which they do every year and

they just throw our money at these weapons of war that you would not want to be used on earth. host: the president signed the ndaa yesterday with $25 billion more than what he asked for. congress was able to add that much more to the legislation. your thoughts on that? caller: these people have no shame. joe biden does not have any shame either. he should not have signed it. he should have asked for a reduction, which he did not. do you know who has no shame? these progressive caucus like they say they are standing up against excess. if you read the letter they sign onto led by barbara lee back when president biden proposed his ndaa, they rubberstamped his request, which was an increase. these swirly progressives say they are playing against an

increase in then they sign onto an increase in that process. host: you mentioned congresswoman jayapal, the chair of the congressional progressive caucus. she focuses on today on the build back better. the headline, "broken promises cannot deter the path of build back better." here is what she writes in that column in today's paper two -- "the washington post," "legislation remains the best path, nor can we underestimate the urgency to act as covid is surging and so many

constituencies, seniors, people of color, working and young people are disillusioned. democrats must prove that their voices matter and that we can produce tangible economic assistance. that is congresswoman jayapal in today's "washington post." john is next. california, republican. good morning. caller: good morning. the man that called a moment ago wants to cut back the defense budget. that is the same mentality that wanted to defund the police, which brings me to my number one subject. crime in the streets, they have to do something about it. they have to. they call it police reform. there is probably a small minority of the police force that need to be reformed and disciplined. but they need to be backed up.

we have to stop the crime. we will not have a country if we continue with this chaos and anarchy. host: are you seeing a crime surge? tell me where you are in california. caller: everywhere. i am in central california. there is a lot more theft. i am not sure what our murder rate is here, but i would bet that it is not any lower than it has been. we have a gang problem. most of our moderate sized cities, the city i live close to is 150,000. the north side of that is almost uninhabitable after dark. california has a major crime problem. it is almost everywhere you look. you cannot take your car to san francisco without the fear -- before they just smash and grab, take whatever they can see. now they have got to the point

where people are leaving their trunks open because they do not want them damaged when the crooks break into them. my next thing is what the man said earlier that called, for us to allow congress to pass laws that they exempt themselves from, the first paragraph of the affordable care act, exempt congress. they had staff members about them having to operate under the law and they exempted them. if congress passes a law, and i do not care if it is healthcare, gun control, whatever it is, they should be subject to the same laws and that includes insider trading, which nancy pelosi was just defending. how do people believe that you can go into congress -- and i am not sure what congress makes, but i'm going to guess it is around $200,000. host: i think it is in the

$170,000 range. caller: it is impossible to come out of there with hundreds of millions like several of them have. my dear hero bob dole, one of the biggest defenders. bob dole went in making whatever congress made back then in the 1960's and came out of their the richest man in the senate -- came out of there the richest man in the senate. i love bob dole, but how do they do that? how do they make that much money? the last thing is immigration and they had to do something about immigration. -- they have to do something about immigration. we have to make it easier for them to get into the country legally. we have to close the border. that goes along with the crime rate by the way. we cannot leave that border open

and the known secret is the reason that the administration does not want to do anything to stop the flow is they are looking five or 10 years down the road when those millions of illegal people they have allowed in here will vote for democrats and that is exactly the thinking. if it was humanitarian, i would bet you that more people have died under the immigration policies of this administration than died under trump's administration. host: that is john in california. kennedy out of california. good morning. caller: good morning. i do love c-span. i wish it had some fact checking on both sides. but it is the only place you get opinions from real people and not the opinions put on us. the two most important things to me that congress should do is

you have to look at january 6 and the overthrow of the government. calling it an insurrection is a really nice word, but it does not say how strong it is. every republican except two in the house, if you vote against trump, then not only are you censored, after that, they try and run you out of the party. go back and read what happened in 1932 in germany. there is not much difference. and the other thing, really should not be right wing or left wing. it is either democracy. we are already a fascist country.

mussolini said you were fastest -- fascist when the corporations on the government. did we fight world war ii for nothing? to go back to my second one is climate change. look who is making money off of climate change and this virus we have had. they get to buy up the businesses that are doing well and the middle class businesses crumble and supply-side economics runs everything up to the supply-side. guess what? now we have supply chain problems. why? where did they get the idea? the ship that blocked the suez canal and two weeks later, we do not have enough rooms for ships. if we do not do climate change and bring back democracy the way i used to remember it, remember

khrushchev saying we will take over america without firing a shot by using your own laws against you from within. host: that is kenny in north carolina. in today's "the wall street journal" offering three big ideas that president biden might want to push stemming from the build back better act and he mentions the provision about climate change, the one that the viewer was just arguing against. he writes, "it probably should have been that mr. biden cannot please everybody within his party so here is what he might choose to salvage. federal help for childcare, reducing the cost of prescription drugs, and the provisions in the legislation fighting climate change." if you want to read more from his column in "the wall street journal."

this is kelly, west virginia, independent. good morning. caller: good morning. all of your politicians make more in one month than people on social security make in the year. if you want a topic to discuss, to me it would be to have these people on social security call in and talk about how much they make in a year. they are actually starting to death -- starving to death. another topic would be immigration. i do not know why they have their day in court. they are not american citizens. how it came about that we are paying lawyers, a lot of these politicians were lawyers and judges. that is how it all came about. all of these people that are illegal immigrants and that is the term, illegal, are given their day in court, which they

should not be. they are not american citizens. thank you. host: that is kelly in west virginia. about 15 minutes left in this segment of the washington journal. coming up, we will be continuing our authors week and we will be focusing on heather mcghee's book, "the sum of us: what racism costs everyone and how we can prosper together." stick around for that conversation coming up in about 15 minutes. until then, more of your phone calls on what you think congress should pass in the year 2022. we have been looking for your text messages and your social media posts. this is john, an independent from virginia. congress should pass bills they give all access to clean water. we should not have anyone drinking lead in the water.

jay saying, "term limits would be a good focus. a balanced budget would be one." module said, "-- rodger said, "balanced bank budgets." just a few of your comments throughout this first hour. maryland, independent. good morning. caller: definitely term limits. we need to come up with some kind of law where these congress cannot profit from the votes and actions they take in congress. you look at how they have shipped all of our jobs to china and these guys have profited from it. her family has a shipping company that runs out of china and they profit from the votes of mitch mcconnell and then shipping all of the product into this country.

they all have a vested interest. the biden family has a vested interest in what china bringing manufactured products from china to this country. the main thing that needs to be done is term limits. the one thing that is more important than anything else that we must go back to, first to the november voting period. no early voting, no mail-in voting. you get up, you go to your place of election, you vote on the first tuesday of november, every other year. that way you have an honest election system. what about -- host: what about american citizens who live overseas? caller: that is an absentee ballot. that is not early voting. that is not mail-in voting. that is not voting two weeks prior to election day. that is what i'm talking about. host: if people are traveling on election day for work, can they

apply under your system for them to absentee ballot or do they have to be at home? caller: the one thing that they cannot legislate, they cannot legislate math skills and work ethics. you will never be able to do that. the people that do not possess math skills and work ethic will fail. you will never be able to legislate them to be successful. host: that is robert in maryland. this is doug in wisconsin. republican. good morning. what do you think congress should focus on next year? caller: i keep hearing references to term limits and i do not understand that because don't we re-vote these elected officials in? i think where we should put some type of term limits would be with the highest court in the

land, the supreme court. possibly every eight years, the active president at that time could nominate a replacement and then it could go to a vote with congress. i want to keep the power to the people through the voting process. i think that ensures that. the best candidate should always win regardless of how long he has been there. thank you. host: this is caroline, alexandria, virginia. democrat. good morning. caller: please do not cut me off. there are three things i want to say. the senate should have 12 years in office. after 12 years, they should be out. the president got eight years. they should have 12 years.

they should be out of there because we need new ideas, new people. second of all, i cannot believe the very thing that we send our sons, our daughters, our uncles, our cousins going to war to come back injured to help other countries for their democracy. the very thing that we are sending our families out to do in other countries, our own people. i cannot believe that january 6 happened right here in the united states. why are we sending our kids over there to other countries for democracy and we are getting democracy tore up right here in the united states? i cannot believe people are doing that.

our children are getting killed for the very same thing you are sending somebody else to do. host: what is that third thing you want us to focus on? caller: we need to do something about the medicaid system. i paid for medicaid for many years. when it is time for us to get medicaid, we cannot get nothing. they get everything but we get nothing. something is wrong with that. why do people get free medicaid and i get medicare and cannot get nothing? we are paying for other people to get stuff and we cannot get anything. host: caroline in alexandria. this is mary in las vegas. good morning. caller: two good morning in virginia, there were 12 red states that did not expand medicaid. -- to that woman in virginia, there were 12 red states that did not expand medicaid. they are literally throwing

grandma off the train. we need legislation for voting rights. republicans are taking over the legislators and they are going to have the power to overturn your vote once you have voted. there is a woman and her daughter, poll workers, that once trump mentioned their name, they were not only harassed, they were terrorized. now there is a lawsuit against giuliani for what happened to them. there is an autocratic leaning happening in our country right now and people better wake up. you have all these people pleading the fifth, will not come and testify per subpoena because they have something to hide. trump said that himself.

if you take the fifth, who does that? trump would know because he spent years at his rage rallies recruiting these people. host: to your point about voting rights, it was the senate majority leader chuck schumer signaling a shift back to that issue in the new year and potentially a rules change to help it move through. this is the senate majority leader from a few weeks ago. [video clip] sen. schumer: as we continue working to bring the senate to a position where we can move forward on build back better, senate democrats have spent the past few weeks engaged in a separate discussion on addressing another chemical -- another critical priority, protecting the right to vote and safeguarding our elections. yesterday i joined with a number of my colleagues in detailed conversations about how the senate will get voting rights done in time for the 2022 elections.

including advancing freedom to vote act in the john lewis voting rights act. in state after state, republican led legislatures are approving the most draconian voter registration laws we have seen since segregation and they are doing it on an entirely partisan basis. let me repeat that. republicans at the state level are passing the most egregious restrictions on voting rights we have seen since segregation and they are doing it on an entirely partisan basis. senate democrats are working to pump -- find a path forward to respond by passing legislation like the freedom to vote act and the voting rights advancement act. part of that conversation involves finding ways to restore the senate so it can once again work as it is supposed to, as it has worked for generations before the gridlock of the past decade. these conversations are ongoing. the fight to protect voting rights is far from over in the senate. just because republicans will

not join us to defend democracy does not mean that the democrats will stop fighting. this matter is too important not to act, even if it means we must act alone to get the senate working. [end video clip] host: senator schumer from december 16. that same day, it was minority leader mitch mcconnell who responded to those comments. here is what he had to say. [video clip] sen. mcconnell: i notice the emphasis on the other side seems to have changed from reckless tax and spending spree to the voting issue again. let me repeat for the upper teens time, there is not a single state in america that has passed a law that is making it more difficult to vote based upon race. the voting rights act is still fully intact. it has been against the law since the 1960's and remains

against a lot today to discriminate against people based upon race. there are things that states do engage in to ensure ballot security, things like voter id at the polls that most americans think is a personable -- perfectly reasonable suggestion. the state of new york had votes on the ballot on same-day registration and no excuse absentee voting and liberal new york defeated both of them. most americans understand that certain basic ballot security measures guarantee the integrity of their own vote and prevent the temptation to cheat by others. the notion and there has been a lot of discussion about big lies

, i think one of the big lies is state legislators across america are busily at work trying to deny people the right to vote based upon race. finally, rattling swords about changing the structure of the senate, about changing the filibuster rule. i want to commend senator sinema and senator manchin to have -- or having respect for the institution. i will remind all of you repeatedly, president trump insisted that i lead the charge to change the filibuster rule. i had a one-word answer, no. changing the structure of the senate in order to achieve the partisan advantage is a mistake for the senate and a mistake for the country. host: senator mcconnell from earlier this month. just a few minutes left in the segment as we continue to take your phone calls on what you think congress should pass in

the new year. if you do not get in here in the final few minutes, we will revisit this question at the end of today's program. stick around for that in our 9:00 a.m. eastern hour. bob, ohio, republican. what should congress passed in 2022? caller: i have an article out of the paper from six months ago. "democrats push for action on sexual assault lawsuit wills." i have been a victim of sexual assault and i would like to see them get something done with this asap. i am suffering from it and every day i see this on my refrigerator, it tears me up and i would like to ask joe manchin to jump ship and run for president in 2024. god bless you all and god bless this country. host: i appreciate you opening up.

zach, virginia. good morning. caller: hello? host: turn down your television so we can hear you better. caller: ok. i am out of town and i am just visiting the washington, dc area and i am listening to c-span on the radio. that gives me an unbiased information. wise and this available throughout the country -- why isn't this available throughout the country? c-span should be available throughout the country. host: it is through your cable provider and there is also the free c-span now app that you can download where you can watch this program and the proceedings on the floors of the house in the senate and you can always go to our website at c-span.org

available around the world. caller: the average person, when they are driving or going to the grocery store, they can just turn this on. i heard earlier today -- this is very educational and informative so i can vote with an informed opinion. as opposed to crap that is put down our throats. thank you. host: appreciate it. i hope when you get back home, you can find us on your cable channel and watch as every morning. we are here every morning 7:00 a.m. eastern until 10:00 a.m. eastern. this is larry out of franklin, north carolina. independent. caller: in my opinion, congress should pass one lawn next year and that is anything that we buy with state, local, or federal taxes has to be manufactured

here in the united states of america. the other countries can do the same thing. that is the only law we should pass. thank you. host: thank you. stick around. 20 more to talk about. up next we continue our annual authors week series. we will be joined after the break by heather mcghee on her book "the sum of us: what racism costs everyone and how we can prosper together." we will be right back. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more, including cox. cox is committed to providing

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"washington journal" continues. host: we continue with our annual authors week series. all week long we are featuring top writers from across the political spectrum on a variety of public policy topics. this morning we are joined by author and activist heather mcghee on her book "the sum of us: what racism cost everyone and how we can prosper together." this book recounts your journey to tally the hidden costs of racism to us all. explain what you mean by hidden costs and why he think it is important to tally those costs across racial lines. guest: thank you so much for having me. it is great to be back on "washington journal." i wrote my book in order to take a broader view and to answer a question that had been faxing me in my life as a researcher -- that had been vexing in my life

as a researcher and economic policy expert. why is it we cannot have nice things in america? nice things like health care we can afford, jobs that pay a living wage and have retirement security, a well-funded public school in every neighborhood for every child. i was frustrated by the political system, by the answers my economist colleagues and i were finding, which is that our system was not working, that inequality was costing the u.s. economy, that we were dysfunctional, that the gas and engine of american prosperity had leaked out. i hit the road across the country from maine to california to mississippi and back again multiple times trying to find the answer to why we cannot have nice things. everywhere i looked, there were signs there with the cord dysfunction in our society. it dates back to an old belief, an old story that we are not all on the same team.

that there are winners and losers, makers and takers, send them, the zero sum idea there is a fixed pie of well-being, and if one racial and ethnic group gets a bigger slice that means others have to get a smaller slice. is that lie i found at the heart of what i call zero-sum racism, racism in our politics and policymaking. what i found was it was costing everyone. is not a zero-sum game. white people are actually suffering from the dysfunctions that are caused, at least in part, by racism in our politics and policymaking. host: where did you go to learn these lessons? guest: one of the most amazing trips i took was to montgomery, alabama, where i went to a beautiful park, the central park in the city called oak park. it was part of a building boom

of public goods that happened in the 1930's and 1940's during the new deal era, where public goods had broad support. this beautiful public park used to have 1000 plus person swimming pool. grand resort style pool that was the beating social heart of the community. this public pool, like so many in the country, we used to have nearly 2000 of them in the 1930's and 1940's, it was segregated, it was for whites only. when in the 1950's and 1960's empowered black families to have the court to create that if black families tax dollars were helping to pay for public goods like the swimming pool in montgomery, alabama, then black children should be able to swim, too. they issued the segregation orders. what did the white city council do? they voted to train the public full, to close the entire parks and recreation system.

they kept it closed for a decade. when i went a few years ago, i walked the grounds of what used to be this thousand plus person pool and it is now just grasp surrounded by oaktree's. -- it is now just grass surrounded by oak trees. they never rebuilt the pool. that haunting image of what used to be a public good closed because of racism connected some dots for me where i was then able to date into lots of empirical research, there are 100 pages of footnotes in this book. lots of research to show this is the story, this slide that has been taught by self-serving's elite -- this lie that has been taught by self-serving elites to many white americans that if you have to share a public good with

people that are worse than you, then it is better not to have that public good at all. it is better to have it be a private cost rather than a public good. it is drained pool politics, the story of how we went from a thriving middle-class economy with strong government support for things like retirement security and high wages and research and element and infrastructure to one of the most unequal societies in the world. racism played this uncredited role in this rising antigovernment sentiment, the idea we cannot do anything together. together is across racial lines. host: remind viewers what you did before you took this journey and how many of those dots you are able to connect in your years of work in washington. guest: i help to build and then for four years i ran a nonpartisan think tank called demos focused on inequality.

read time i ran the washington office. -- for a time i ran the washington office. i was working on financial reform, student debt, raising the minimum wage. i kept finding this heated headwind -- this hidden headwind making it harder for us to do things that economically made sense. racial it economic -- racial economic inequality, the divide between the average black family in the average white family is costing our economy between $1 trillion and $3 trillion a year. when i look at the reasons for the wealth divide, the idea that even when incomes are equal the average white family has so much more household savings, assets, wealth, stocks and bonds than the average black family, you can see why that happened is because of interest being paid

on explicitly racist decisions often made long before people today were born. most people do not know this. for much of the 20th century the government-subsidized homeownership, but only in white communities. drew maps of the country and drew lines around that negro areas and told banks you may not land in this area. subsidized housing requirements in the suburbs required private developers to include whites only clauses in the contracts. when you have a house you could pass on overtime, it builds into generational wealth. that is why today the average black college graduate has less wealth than the average white high school dropout. let me say that again. white high school dropouts, on average, more wealth, home equity, savings, some account

that was passed down, then the average black college graduate. that should tell us it is not just about what we do with hard work and education, it is also about the rules and the structures. the rules and the structures have been explicitly racist for so long that they are adding up in families wallets today. my broader point is that this lie that progress for some has to come at the expense of the other is undermining our ability to find collective action and collective problem solving. that means it is having your cost for everyone. the good news is i ended my book and journey on a hopeful note. i found evidence across the country of people rejecting the zero zum lie. people wanting to work together to refill the pool of public goods, whether that is better

funded schools, clear air, higher wages, working class people joining up in unions and saying we would rather compete for higher wages then compete against each other with a wage floor that is constantly declining. that concept i call the solidarity dividend, these gains that can be unlocked but only if we work together across lines of race. guest: ---host: "the sum of us" is the book. (202) 748-8000 for democrats, (202) 748-8001 for republicans, independents, (202) 748-8002. we are also looking for comments on social media @cspanwj on twitter and facebook.com/c-span. heather mcghee will be with us until the top of the hour.

a question from twitter from roy . how does your book address the filibuster, which in my opinion works as a protection racket run for the donor class to keep working class down with public economic policies and benefit those at the top? guest: such a great question. thank you for paying attention to these things that are hated rules that make it -- that are hidden rules to make it hard for working-class people to get a responsive government. when one senator can place a phone call to do the bidding of his donor to the senate cloakroom and say let's put a hold on that bill, we do not ever want it to the floor, that is not democracy. in my book i have a chapter dedicated to democracy. it shows how so many of the rules, the filibuster is one of them, that were created in order to protect slavery, or were

brought into their modern form to thwart civil rights have distorted our democracy, first in order to keep our in the hands of a white elite, but ultimately when you do that, you are shutting out millions of americans, hard-working people of all races who do not have the ability to write a $5,000 check every senator who gives them a call. is that distortion of our democracy and the big-money system come in the ways in which as the federal court said so many people have used their political power to redraw maps and redraw the rules around who gets to vote and who gets to vote in a competitive election with surgical precision to limit the political strength of black communities. my book shows it impacts young

people disproportionately. working-class white people disproportionately. all of these ways in which we are limited in our democracy. you can see the fingerprints of racism on these tactics, but ultimately who wins when the rules are being set in the back rooms? when we have low levels of civic participation as we had throughout the south in the jim crow era? whites and blacks did not vote in high numbers. who wins when numbers of congress know that what matters more than voter turnout is who is willing to write them a check or who can fund an attack ad against them. that is just people who are already wealthy and powerful. there is a racial bent because the vast majority of billionaires and billionaires are white men, and white men who

come from wealthy families already, so so many people are locked out. we can do better. host: you mentioned back rooms. in the opening of your book you talked about an a-ha moment overhearing the comments of one senator on legislation. can you relate that story? guest: this is an early sign that we advocates were not seeing the hidden role race and racist ideas were playing in the decisions in washington. demos was working on the issue of debt, credit card debt, mortgage debt, the type of things holding working families back by the -- while some people , including wall street are getting extraordinarily wealthy off of this. there was a time in 2005 in the debate about whether to make it harder for people who are broke

to ever restructure their debt or eliminate them in order to have a fresh start. when i was lobbying on the hill, i was bringing our research about what was driving the skyrocketing debt burden in america and rising credit card debt and saying it was things like health care costs, childcare costs, prescription drugs. it was not then suggested we needed to punish debtors and make it harder for struggling families to get back on their feet. i am bringing this research around the hill, i was 25 at the time. i thought if we showed the economics of it, if we showed the economic data that said this is what families are spending their money on, this will be the impact of the bankruptcy reform bill, it will enrich credit card companies and make it harder for the engine of our economy to get back in gear, that policymakers

would say that make sense. there was a moment where i found myself outside the door of a senator and heard him using what i interpreted as coded racial language about deadbeats who had multiple babies by different mamas and wanted to use the governments to get out of the debt, that bankruptcy was being used by people to avoid child support payments. he never said anything about race, but i recognized that kind of coded language as one that was a distorted view of who was filing for bankruptcy. it was increasingly seniors and middle-class parents, but also there was something about the stereotype of immorality, of over dependence on the government, that has been used to paint a broad brush about black people, falsely.

i thought if that is the senator's view of who people seeking bankruptcy protection are, then maybe that makes more sense as to why they might have so much disdain and distrust, why they may think their fellow americans need to be punished instead of helped. it is those old stereotypes. it was just a moment, it was a glimpse. as i was on my journey i was reminded of that moment, of a time there was a signal of something that was going on in our politics that i had not paid attention to. one fact i learned on my journey was that if you are a white person who believes black people are lazy and trying to get things from government that white people do not come and again the evidence is the opposite, that the majority of

impoverished people in america are white, that if you look at how government policies favor one race or the other, whether it is tax policies or spending and investments in things like schools, it is far more tilted towards advantaging white people than towards black people. if you have the view that black people are trying to take something from government in a way white people are not, you are 60 percentage points more likely to oppose any kind of increase in government spending, even on things that could help your own community. it is that idea of knee-jerk antigovernment, even when it was government investment in things like roads, bridges, and parks, the interstate highway system, the science that became the internet, all of these things we take for granted that help to

build a strong middle class in the middle of the 20th century. it was public goods that made america great. so often they were like those public pools, for whites only. it was only when the public goods begin to be shared with all of the people who had contributed to our nation's prosperity after the civil rights movement that you begin to see politically, that sharp turn away from supporting public goods and government by the majority of white americans. we saw a radical ideological shift away from public goods once it included all of the public, including members of the public white folks had been taught are not good. that poor drained -- that core drained pool story is one i had an inkling of in 2005 that was substantiated in greater depth when i went on the journey to research "the sum of us."

host: i have plenty of callers waiting to talk with you. mike, democrat in long beach, california. caller: i live in long beach, california. i myself am very progressive. i like to approach conservative thought. i notice in long beach -- i totally agree with our past racist laws. they have been horrible. i think our country has had a horrible history when it comes to race. the problem i see is that the progressives of today, they are pushing a racist approach. for example, i am a landlord, i rent out to the public.

actually to private individuals. i noticed that in the city they are pushing public housing, which has raised the rent and lowered the quality of the housing stock. we live in a historical area and we look after our housing stock. we have organizations like long beach forward, which outright says they are looking to make our neighborhoods people of color, which i do not think is a good approach. it appears to me to be somewhat racist. the public housing we have in long beach i see at the ground level we are helping very needy families, which i think is wonderful, but then at the same time we do have people mooching

off the system. i see it very close to where i live. people hanging around drinking, smoking, doing nothing. i think what we approach helping, whether it is education, housing, whatever policy you are looking at, be very aware on how you approach it. you can do more damage than you are doing good. host: let me let heather mcghee jump in. guest: thanks for the call and sharing your perspective. there is a lot there. the issue of housing is one that is important right now. we have a housing affordability crisis where in no part of the country can a minimum wage worker afford an apartment for

themselves and a child. that is a big problem. wages have not kept pace because in so many parts of the country 20 states have not raise the minimum wage over $7.25. we have folks in good middle-class jobs were squeezed by housing costs because of health care, child care. for example, there is a proposal in washington, as i am sure c-span washington journal viewers no, to limit the cost of childcare to just 7% of a family's income. right now it averages between 10% and 30%. that crowds out what a family can afford for housing. there is a crisis of housing, of unaffordable housing in this country. in terms of solutions we need in all of the above approach. we have stopped creating public housing in the 1970's, federal

public housing. that means we have not kept pace with population growth. unlike semi stereotypes, most public housing -- unlike so many stereotypes, most public housing residents do pay rent. we need that to be part of the mix. we need more development. we need people to be able to eliminate some of the zoning laws that require single-family houses on big lots, which is not the way families live today. people want to be able to rent out a part of their home, they want to be able to have an in law unit. people like living in duplexes. we have these regulations. many of them were created at a time explicitly to keep black homebuyers out, that we need to take out of our laws.

when you say that community group talks about wanting a neighborhood that is people of color, possibly what they mean, because it sounds like some other organizations i am more familiar with, maybe what they are saying is california is a majority people of color, that long beach, i do not know what its demographics are, but that there should be diversity in neighborhoods so that people of all social and economic backgrounds, including different cultural groups, feel like they have the freedom and the opportunity to be able to afford to live in communities and they are not priced out or blocked out due to discriminatory laws or inflated prices to be able to be locked out of many neighborhoods where there are good jobs, where there is more public transportation, where there are better schools.

it is not racist to recognize that people have different cultural backgrounds and that because of the explicit racism that you speak to in our policies and in our laws, we have created a system where your color and your culture, your immigration status, often does matter in terms of the neighborhoods you can live in, the schools you can attend, how you are treated by the police. it is not racist to acknowledge color. so often when we want to be colorblind, when we become nervous when people say race, when people say something about people of color, when we want to be colorblind, what that makes us is blind to racist dynamics, blind to racism, not blind to color. unfortunately we have to pay

attention to racial inequality in our community in order to address them. it is not racist to say we want a neighborhood that has more people of color, because what that means is right now people of color are being artificially locked out of a neighborhood they might want to live in. guest: clarksville tent -- host: clarksville, tennessee. dave, independent. caller: i want to ask the guest, ruth bader ginsburg hired 180 seven lana clarkson only two were blacks. is that a racist act? guest: thanks for the question. i do believe, and i hope that was not meant to be a gotcha question as if people who are great on some issues -- ruth bader ginsburg -- may she rest in peace -- was a lion of the

feminist movement who was an extra ordinary mind, who set up core principles through her legal advocacy and then from her time on the bench that make people rights and freedom of opportunity and fairness war within reach for everyone, including the caller. she was a lien on so many issues -- she was a lion on 70 issues. nobody is infallible. everyone has blind spots. the system that feeds up to elite law clerks. i can say this from experience. i went to law school. i saw who was able to move on, to have that very elite job. that system is racist in the sense that it builds on a lot of different exclusionary practices all along the path of education,

from the very youngest, the idea that we do not have universal childcare and preschool in this country, so if you are a working-class parent who is struggling economically you do not have reliable good education for your kids before kindergarten, that has a racial disparity to it because more black and brown parents are working class and struggling and working multiple jobs, through to the fact that the average white school, elementary school, k-12 school is funded by $23 billion more on total in the country then are predominantly of color schools, through to racist systems in admissions, in loss for, and through to the simple fact -- in law school, and through the simple fact that to go into that elite law you

have to come from money and privilege. and then to comment yes, -- and then to, yes, there is individual job discrimination. someone who is usually a law -- a white person in any elite position looking at two resumes, one with a black sounding name and white sounding name are more likely to choose the white sounding name. you have the slayers of systemic racism and individual bias that produce a result like that. did ruth bader ginsburg side with civil rights 9.5 times out of 10 that a case came before her, and did that matter even more to civil rights in this country then who her law clerks work, yes. everybody has biases. so often you may be focused on one area of justice in your

life. you may be a feminist who has more female clerks than anybody else, but you may have a blind spot about how few clerks of color you have hired. that happens. host: detroit, michigan. steve. you are next. caller: i would like to ask you a question and see how honest you are. frederick douglass said in his autobiography the master wants you to be a direct and the democratic party has -- once you to be ignorant and the democratic party has been in charge of the educational department. also the senate in the house have been run by democrats in the last 100 years. the democrats have 75 senators and 60 plus senators three other times. even including under obama. they have had 300 congressional seats numerous times. all of the laws, rules, and

regulations you are espousing have been written by democrats. if you voted for biden your part of the problem. host: heather mcghee? guest: let me unpack this. the thrust of what you are saying, i may have some fact checking on some of the numbers, the thrust of what you are saying is democrats throughout our history have been responsible for racist laws in addition to republicans. 100% true. 100% true. i am not a partisan democrat in the sense that i think democrats , that particular political party and label, whether it is current affiliation, who is

drawn to the democratic party or who was drawn to the democratic party 50 years ago or 100 years ago, that is not my religion. that political partisanship is not my faith, it is not my identity. we should all be skeptical of that kind of trueblue allegiance that suggests a group of elite politicians is my tribe, because it is not. that should not be any of our tribes. they are elected representatives who would need to pressure and push to do the right thing all the time. let's be clear. those senators and administration officials you just referred to both both parties have often made decisions that reflected the system and structure of racial hierarchy, of white supremacy in this country, of and those, a

world -- of an ethos that was created to justify slavery and justify legal discrimination throughout the country, not just in the american south, for the vast majority of our history. that is something the democrats and republicans all took their turns in holding up. the vast majority of our elected officials throughout our history, and still today, our white people. two out of three politicians over the past handful of years in elected office at the county, state, and federal level are white men, when white men are only one out of three of the population. it is not about partisanship. it is about recognizing that people in power -- power has

been over concentrated in the hands of many wealthy, powerful white men throughout our history , whether they have a d after their name or an r after their name and you have to judge what it is they do. i am proud of the things the biden administration has done on education, on tackling the pandemic, on making sure working-class families get some help and some assistance because it is expensive to raise a child and we are one of the only developed countries that leaves families on their own when it comes to things like paid family leave to take care of a newborn or someone who is sick, things like universal guaranteed public health care, things like the cost of childcare, affordable college, all of these things have been areas where white, black, and brown families have suffered because we have had

what i think of as drained pool politics, this antigovernment system that says we should not have any kind of public goods, any universal benefits or guarantees because somebody might cheat off the system. that view of who that somebody is is often racialized and it is not the truth, it is a lie we have been told in order to keep public support for public programs artificially low, and that helps billionaires and millionaires taxes stay low. who benefits from drained pool politics? who benefits when a middle-class white person in ohio votes against good school funding and health care and affordable housing? it is the people who are trying to keep government small so their taxes are low. so they can get away with, as millionaires and billionaires

have, not contributing to the country that helped make them rich. i think that story of what wealthy people and the politicians they pay for have done to the economic system in this country, to rig it in their favor is really the story. it is not about democrats and republicans. it is about who government is working for or not. host: bobby in west virginia, democrat, good morning. caller: good morning. i must say, heather, you are a refreshing voice. if we had lawmakers in congress and senators who thought like you did, or you do, we would have a wonderful place.

i am a 70-year-old white man. i am not a rich man. i am a working class man. i worked at many jobs. my last job, i got disabled, i am a mine worker, we need people like you. praise god. i love listening to you. you are already intelligent. i need to read your book. i feel like i've been a silent activist all my life because i have never been in a power position other than representing the mine workers before i retired. at one time in this country you could be a shoeshine man and you could become a millionaire.

those days are gone. black and white, there's not a prejudice bone in my body. our work was diversified. we love one another and we help one another and we help the community. we reach out to people that are benefiting with what we have done in our lifetimes and the people before us. paid holidays, sick leave. all of that is good things. you should not have an r by y our name or a d by your name to do what is morally right. host: heather mcghee? guest: thank you so much. it is lovely to hear your perspective of the way you've

been able to serve your community, first by putting your body on the line the energy resources that have powered our economy for so long, and then by doing something extra, which is something i in my journey saw so many people do, and those people had truly touched the essence of america, which is being an activist, particulate across racial lines, in some organization or a union that brings people together and says we have a lot of things that are not in common, but we have so many problems that are common to us. the need for higher pay, former protections on the job, the need for paid sick days and paid leave, as you talked about. that is something we can fight for together. it is things like the united

mine workers, things like unions i write about in my book which are way for people to put aside the racial differences and fight for the kinds of solidarity dividends, these gains we can unlock but not if we are all often our corners. there are some problems that cannot be solved on our own that we have to do together. i appreciate hearing your story as someone who has been a leader in your community through your union, and how that has shaped your thinking, how that has given you the real-life experience of being arm in arm with somebody who is of different race then you are, and seeing that solidarity and that brotherhood. it is something i talk to hundreds of people across the country and my journey to write "the sum of us." whenever i talk to somebody who had lived in that kind of solitary i was inspired.

this winter i am back on the road to create "the sum of us" podcast which will not be out until the summer. i am talking to people about what it takes to unlock the solidarity and sate we have common problems, let's fight for common solutions. it is hard because you come from different cultures and there is a long legacy of racial exclusion and powerful people are selling us stereotypes about one another every single day for their own gain. it is hard to create cross racial solidarity, but it is possible. that is what the podcast is all about. guest: that last caller -- host: that last caller, you use a mining analogy. "the races structures force people into the minds as the canary. racist indifference makes the

wars -- makes the words unheeded. the coronavirus pandemic is a tragic example of governments and corporations failing to protect black, brown, and indigenous lives, though they had everyone would have been safer." explain. guest: this concept is the idea of a canary in a coal mine, you send a canary in to see if there is enough oxygen. the point is to eat the warning of the connect -- is to heed the warning of the canary. this is the way systemic racism works. a system is set up to exploit, abuse, or neglect people of color, people who are lower in the racial hierarchy. whether it is the criminal justice system or a predatory financial system. they use the canary in the coal mine metaphor in the chapter

about the financial crisis, which unmasked the truth that the subprime mortgage crisis, the financial crisis was brought to us first by greedy discriminatory lenders who targeted equity rich black homeowner neighborhoods with wealth stripping loans and tested out the toxic loans on black and brown families with good credit, with deceptive terms. lied to them in order to make money off of their houses, and that if we had paid more attention and stopped the lenders back when they were mostly hurting black neighborhoods, then we would not of had the snowball effect of the financial crisis when those same tactics spread out across the wider mortgage market. that is an example of the canary in the coal mine, the way systemic racism sets up a system to exploit or abuse one part of our people as a country, and then people in power eight nor

that because of stereotypes -- people in power ignore that because of stereotypes, black people are bad with money. a very old stereotype. then it is black folks fault they keep losing their homes. we will not stop the lenders doing what they are doing. then it goes out of control and affects everyone. i talked about how the coronavirus pandemic, when it first hit society in the u.s., there were real racial disparities. you saw black, brown, indigenous people, not because of our skin or our habits, but because we are more likely to be essential workers, we are less likely to have rich private hospitals in our neighborhood, less likely to have health care benefits on the job at all, more likely to live in neighborhoods that do not have public transport, more

likely to have contact with police, which was a huge super-spreader, the criminal justice system and jails, we were beginning to see huge disparities in who was getting sick. that allowed there to be, critically under the trump administration, right at the beginning of the pandemic, the sense that is not our people who are getting sick. it is democratic cities and people in the south bronx, aoc's district getting sick. it will not happen to us. the illusion of protection. with a virus, you are only as safe as is your neighbor. now we see these antigovernment, anti-science, anti-public views that a great article exposed have been pumped up by the coke brothers network, have been pumped up by the kind of

billionaire class that wants to see white people distrustful of government and billing to vote for low taxes and low public spending because of that cultural politics, white identity politics around the pandemic. we are now seeing many more deaths and infections for the past six months or so in red states than those blue states in cities. this is the point. when we have these lies that say one group of people is better than another, it ultimately ends up costing us all. racism in our policymaking has a cost for all of us. host: running short on time and have a lot of colors. i will take a couple at a time and come back and he ate -- and let you respond to both as we try to work our way through a backlog.

gordon, kansas city, republican. you are up first. caller: thanks for taking my call. the opposite of you. i wonder if you get up in the morning and you have to fight that white blood of because it is trying to make you a racist? all the stuff you're talking about was addressed in the 1960's. low income housing was built. you got childcare. you always got your handout. i think it is pitiful that you write a book and you know everything about every white person alive. host: actually, let me let you address that one. guest: i am not sure what was meant by some of it -- let's see.

i definitely do not claim to know everything about every white person alive. my book depends on a lot of research and survey data that asks representative samples of different groups of americans, white, black, and brown what they think about laws and policies, whether they think black people want a handout or not. it is not everybody, but it is between 50% and 60%, the majority of white conservatives and moderates believe black people take more from society than we give. i sense a little bit of that view in your own question. i think what i am saying is i want to ask who is selling that story. who is profiting from your average white american holding such negative views about their fellow americans?

i am not saying and i do not say in "the sum of us" that all white people are the same, but i asked that question. everything we believe comes from a story we have been told, so i want to know who is selling a story that white people are contributors to society and black people are the takers of society? who is selling a grants about the great accomplishments -- who is selling a grins about the great a prompt -- who is selling ignorance about the great accomplishments of the black community. it was selling cable news and how they profit from it? that is what i am saying in the book. i hope you might grab a copy from your local library and read a chapter or two and see if the interpretation you have of what

the message is stands up. i did write the book, not just for people like me, not just for black and brown folks, but for all of us to stop criticizing each other and look more at the people who are profiting from a rigged economy. host: greg in texas. democrat. good morning. caller: thank you for having me on the air. when you get on the show you get to voice your opinion and you get to listen to people. my point is all you have to do is look at the fact of how the american economy is. look at the people in houston, texas, all over the country that is on the curb, that is on drugs come in the working community. you do not see the police officers arresting them on the street. they let the people live out there in squalor. you go in the black community

and you see black people standing on the curb, the police arrest them and put them in jail. they want to know where you get this. in our society today, quit trying to preach and get along with these people. everybody this country is doing good but us because we are not sticking together. we do not have no black community. that money is going to the asians and the indians. the mexicans are sticking together. when they come to us and try to take our communities, fight. we do not have any community. the money does not going to black people's pockets. it goes into the asians. the asians built housing. look at what they are doing in afghanistan. they are building all of those houses. host: you're bringing up a lot of points and i am running short on time. a chance to jump in. guest: thanks for the call. i think that is a great example on how their sony sides to this issue. i am assuming -- about how there

are so many sides to this issue. i assume greg is african america and he is talking about my message that we have to come together, he does not want it. he says we have to work on the black community first and be more oriented towards taking care of our own and less building bridges across lines of race. i hear that, and i hear it from black folks i talked to all the time. there is a tension between recognizing that we still live in a very unequal society, particular the criminal justice system or the injustice system as it so often plays out is the tip of the spear, where you see so much discrimination and bias and it has life-and-death consequences of people being more likely to be arrested and thrown into jail and live out consequences of that criminal contact with the system for the

rest of their lives. that is a major problem. that is why we have the largest social movement in american history last summer come in 2020, saying -- last summer, in 2020, saying we need criminal justice reform and police accountability. i am sympathetic. i will say as a black person in america, it is hard to look at the ways in which racial and economic inequality, the system continues to disadvantage our community and to say there is reason for hope and we should create coalitions. real talk, greg. black folks are only 13% of the population. this racism in our politics that has been on steroids since the trump era is destroying what is good about our nation for everyone. we have to find ways to come together and read this country

of its original -- and rid this country of its original sin for our future and for the future of the country and the planet. host: fall in new york city. -- paul in new york city. caller: asian-american income is higher than white american income. i doubt you ascribe that to asian americans in the political system. i would say you are correct the system is rigged but it is a bit more complicated then broken down on racist lines. if you look at funding for education by school district, which you can do with education. this is not fake news. you can find areas of the northeast like new york that has higher funding per student than

the state median average, or if you look at rob sperry -- at rocksberry versus brookline in massachusetts. what i would suggest, the guy from texas has a point. the money is being spent to address these inequities. it does not get to the people who need it. there is a rate system, the money goes to the people are running the public housing or the people were running the schools, not to the school room. it would be helpful for the progressive party, or progressive movement to actually think carefully about this. if you just throw money at problems, you find that a lot of that money does not get to where it is supposed to go. i would like you to answer the asian-american quandary, which as they make more money than white people.

how do you explain that in your racial construct? host: heather mcghee? guest: great. i did want to address the anti-asian resentment -- resentment against asian-american wealth. the statistic is true. i will say the asian community is a bunch of different communities and there are big disparities within the asian-american community. we do not have time for me to go all the way into the history of immigration laws and how in the 1960's the first wave it had to d educated. that has shaped the immigration patterns. it is also true that there are systems of community support and community finance that are often

tied to home countries for asian immigrants that are not as robust in african and latin american countries. that said, the main point of the most recent caller from new york is sometimes all of the best intentions don't work. i think that really progressives and good government people have been very focused on this question of how do you design a programs and initiatives so that the dollar does go to the last. so that people who need the things the most are actually getting it. that's your we have to believe in the possibility of public solutions and government. enough to hold it to the highest standards, to spend a lot of money on research and evaluation to understand who is getting the benefit, to understand why it is

that one school district is doing extremely well with the same type of kids and backgrounds than another school district. that's really important. the answers are often there. i worked at a think tank for nearly 20 years. there are studies about what works and doesn't work. what hasn't been there and sony issues has been the broad multiracial public support to take on the challenges and the willingness to put aside the stereotypes that say people who are struggling the most should be punished for where they are in life. host: final question from twitter. i believe it's a fellow writer. what is the most unexpected response you received to your book? guest: thank you for that question. one of the most unexpected responses i received from my book which will be out in

paperback in february. someone who said i am a black woman and i bought this book and i read it in just a few days. i gave it to my racist in law. he read it cover to cover in a few days. he gave it to people at his church and they are having a study group about it. that was unexpected and it really gave me heart. there are ways for somebody, for everybody, to see something in this book for them. whether they are considering themselves antiracist or if they believe a lot of stereotypes. there is something in this book for everyone. that is my hope. there has been some evidence of that. i hope with it coming out in paperback that many other people will be able to share it and

discuss it with their friends and family. host: the book again is "the some of us. we've got one hour to go in the program. we returned to the question we began the program with, the senate set to return next week. the house is back january 10. we want you to look ahead, what should congress pass in the new year? phone lines for republicans, democrats, independent voters are on the screen. we will get to your calls right after the break. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. supported by these television companies and more, including wow.

>> the world has changed. the faster internet connection is something no one can live without. while is therefore our customers. more than ever, it all starts with great internet. wow. >> while support c-span is a public service along with these other television providers, giving you a front row street -- c2 democracy. -- seat to democracy. >> isabel wilkerson spoke with us about her best-selling book the warmth of other sons, a story of america's great migration. the book is about the migration experiences of three people who became representative of the larger, the defection of 6 million african-americans from the south to the north to the midwest and west.

>> book notes plus is available on c-span now over every get your podcasts. >> book tv every sunday on c-span 2 features leading authors. at noon, a civil war historian joins us to talk about the intellectual history of the united states. that 10:00, former congressman doug collins reflects on the events leading up to the impeachment of donald trump.

watch book tv every sunday on c-span 2. quest download the new mobile app and step to date with live video coverage of the bigger stories. even our live running program, washington journal where we hear your voices every day. c-span now has you covered. download the app for free today. >> washington journal continues. host: turning the conversation over to you, what do you think congress should pass in 2022.

we are less than one week away from the senate returning. the house returns january 10. we want to know what you think congress should focus on. this is some of the unfinished work democrats tried to accomplish despite holding both chambers in the white house. there is the build back better act. they were unable to pass that. and effort on voting rights, police reform, lowering drug prices. raising the minimum wage. new protections for daca recipients. we want to know what you think. the phone lines, republicans (202) 748-8001. democrats (202) 748-8000. independent (202) 748-8002.

we will get right to your calls. alan is in new jersey. it could morning. caller: good morning. host: what do you want congress to focus on? caller: i want congress to focus on voting rights. host: what aspect of voting rights? there are a couple of different bills out there focusing on various issues. caller: the freedom to vote act. and the john lewis voting rights act. host: what are the most important aspects you think the country needs? caller: it's needed because we need to protect our democracy. host: that was alan in new jersey.

the freedom to vote act, that piece of legislation is built on a framework that was proposed by joe manchin, it's a compromise bill after the for the people act. i will require states to have a 15 day venom early voting window. it would make election day a federal holiday. it would bar states from drawing political boundaries that favor political parties. the john lewis voting rights act focusing on restoring the protections of the voting rights act of 1965 and expanding the formula the department of justice used to identify discriminatory patterns in various states. they are two different pieces of

information. james is in kentucky. where do you think congress should focus? caller: i think on lowering prescription drug prices. my medication i by out-of-pocket. i can afford insurance. it cost me one bottle $750. that's ridiculous. they need to figure it work, the food stamp program works. i can't get food stamps. i met two dollars more than the

statement mom because my wife works. we have a hard time making the bills now. host: that was james in kentucky. the issue of inflation will be an issue into the new year. a front-page page story in the is this an finance section of the washington journal looking out price increases expected in the food sector. increases follow other manufacturers. high wages, costs are prompting industries from across various

sectors to raise prices on goods. that story is in the wall street journal today. this is joseph in florida good morning. caller: good morning. i believe there are many good bills of the been thought about and presented.

this is been going on for decades. certain partisans use a weapon to hold a gun to the head of the senate and that's the filibuster. the filibuster issue must be addressed. i don't believe it is constitutionally right. it's just a regulation of the congress, of the senate. they cannot make rules that go against the constitution from there are so many bills that are sitting there and not being voted on simply because of the filibuster per there is a very good book out there called kill switch. it shows the history of the filibuster and how damaging it is to america. i think they have to address that. joe manchin seems willing to go that way. it has to get more attention.

host: richard in maryland. where should congress focus its efforts? caller: if republicans get control of the house, we are going to go downhill. they're making promise about this or that. they never host: delivered. you say that as a republican? caller: i do. mitch mcconnell, his notoriety was the graveyard of good bills. i partisan bills. he let them die on his desk. i've become tired of the lies the republicans do to get power only to show we don't as republicans have the and nitrile

capacity to run the country. host: why aren't you a democrat? caller: i'm holding out. i was holding up hope. in the next election, i will be voting democrat. i'm tired of the demagoguery of republicans. host: we will go to david and constitute -- massachusetts. caller: good morning. i'm a long time c-span listener. i wish you would do more due diligence on these authors. i want to know your audience know, you can go to amazon and look at that book. it has over 3200 ratings, users

of amazon would know that's impossible. you can go to goodreads. it shows you the same thing. all one star and two stars are eliminated. host: what did you disagree with in the hour-long conversation we had with her and what you call in during the segment? caller: i tried. every time i tried to get in when there is a controversial figure, it's very difficult. right after she it is off, i'm right on. you could take an issue with a million things she said. if you stop and think about what's going on, there is very little ability to refute or even comment on content that is coming out of the cap progressive wing.

i just think if you look at it, go to goodreads. host: what do you want to refute about what she talked about? caller: sheep mentioned a litany of things. that's not even really the point. the point is you have a person who is putting out information and on the main platform where everyone buys books, everyone has used amazon. how money times have you seen a product that literally has thousands of reviews of which none are one and start reviews? caller: what do you want to talk about? i'm telling you right now. you can get the book and read it. you know what you're going to find. you are going to find very modern leftist points of view.

your criticism is with your neighbor or friend. you're not going to be able to use these platforms. they are putting a thumb on the scale in one direction. i find you to be completely legitimate. you are buying into it. it's clearly a con. there is no such thing as a book on amazon that has zero positive reviews. it's unheard of. host: have you read the book? caller: of course not. i am going to get it and read it. it's great that i can read this leftist demagoguery. i think it's fascinating that i can't share my experience with it.

it's only positive. host: when you read it, come back and share your experience. karen is in maryland. good morning. caller: i want to agree with the caller from kentucky. i agree with prescription drugs our way to costly. no one should have to pay $720 out of pocket, even people who can afford it. it's ridiculous. i totally agree with him. i think that's important. i think getting the voting rights, i think we should be voting. that's ridiculous. to the sum of us, i can't even comment on a book you haven't

read. maybe no one had any comments to say about it. no one has read -- host: johnny is in mississippi. caller: my new year would be build back better with a twist of lemon. that would be wonderful. thank you. host: did you say you served as mayor? caller: i am the mayor. host: how many people are in glendora? caller: i tell you, we are

trying to come up with the correct. we're home of the emmett till museum. host: how long have you been mayor? caller: since 1982. host: do you ever get challenged? do the people like you well enough that they don't want to run against you? caller: actually, right now children hold all of the equity of this community.

we are 120 years old. just get back to this question we are talking about with viewers, a lot of people said term limits are the most important thing for them in the new year. as somebody who's been mayor for over 30 years. how do you feel about term limits. >> we only get to be african-american. when you look back, they have always been whites in charge. host: that was johnny down in mississippi.

this is victor in birmingham. caller: good morning. i muted my tv. host: go ahead. caller: about your question, what should congress pass in 2022? they should pass everything, build back better. we are going to build back better. i don't think so. it's about money. he was talking about the blind enemy. i agree.

there is so much stuff toward the united states until you can't deal with it. host: that was victor in alabama. speaker pelosi last week in her home district talked about it being a priority in the new year, expressing optimism. >> we never give up. first and foremost, we will continue to fight to pass legislation. the democratic leader of the senate wrote a letter to his colleagues. this will happen. it must happen. we will do it as soon as we can. there are conversations that are ongoing. we cannot walk away from this commitment.

it's about transforming our society. build back better with women in the workplace. we will not let this opportunity pass. we will make that case. i have confidence joe manchin cares about the country and at some point, we will take on the legislation. i am not deterred it all. host: this is calvin in oregon. what the you think congress should focus on? caller: hello. thank you for taking my call. i've been along time watch her of the show. i appreciate the way you facilitate various perspectives and give everyone the room to

have their opinion. before i come to that question, i want to salute your previous book author. i thought she did a great job taking on a complex idea and making it clear for people who are fine tuned on the issue. i want to thank you for posting such a brilliant author and writer. host: our authors week continues tomorrow and through friday. more authors and more perspectives across the political spectrum will be joined by andrew yang tomorrow. we have plenty more to talk about.

what do you think congress should focus on? caller: it has to be the economic plan to build back better. that needs to get past. the pieces on the floor need to be picked up. this hasn't been talked about, the free-trade agreement, there needs to be clarity in reference to what the u.s. position is going to be on the free trade agreement. especially as we go into this next cycle. i think both parties have played games with that. now is the time to have a clear focus on what the role will be on free trade. that's what we should take a look at.

i think we need to take a look at the voting rights bill. with the supreme court, packed the courts a week can make sure that policies that come from that branch. host: you mentioned nafta. these days, it's the u.s.-mexico candidate agreement. it was negotiated during the trump administration. it took effect in july 2020. judy is in marathon florida. caller: good morning. i appreciate you. i must agree with everything the fellow right before me in oregon

responded to. heather mcgee, i must say that i wish she would have elaborated more on the fellow from michigan. our education system and what they should be voting on is getting our education back to whatever normal is. it seems like nobody is listening in the classroom because they come out of school and they have chaos all over the country today compared to in the 50's and 60's. thank you. host: that was judy in florida. this is michael in richmond, virginia. good morning. go ahead. caller: i called you back in

october. about my disability. i can't get ahold of nobody at social security. the national number won't pick up or it drops your call. i'm still waiting on my back. my lawyer already got paid. he won't return my calls. nobody explained all of this stuff to me before i went on disability about medicare. i was in the dark. me and my wife are having trouble making our bills and pain are medication. we had to go on food stamps. i just don't understand. to your question, i think they ought to be on the stuff they've already passed. they need to make it right and balance the budget. that's all i've got to say. host: your congressman in the

sixth district is greg pence. is that correct? caller: it's braun. that's who i contacted. they won't even tell him anything. the social security office won't tell a senator anything. none of these entities communicate with each other. people on disability are twisting in the wind. i just think they want all the old people to go away. host: that was the one thing i was going to recommend, contacting your member of congress. you might try greg pence as well. all of these congressional offices have constituent service staffers who work on cases for

people in their districts and states. that would be the one recommendation i would give. thanks for calling back. host: kevin is in kansas city. you are next. caller: good morning. the first thing i would like to say is i am african-american. i don't want to exclude myself. i think we as african-americans spend too much time on politics and not enough on building our economic foundation. the reason why i say that in the neighborhood where i live, the people who own all the fast food restaurants and convenience stores are from pakistan and india. not only do they not participate in the political process, they barely even speak english. they own every business in the community. i think my people, we do focus

more on economics and laughs on politics. host: woodstock, connecticut. what do you think congress should focus on? caller: i think they should focus on telling people the truth. they give illegal aliens the right to vote. build back better, it's not going to make anything better. the american people don't know what is going on. you haven't voted for the person who's been in office for years. you don't know it. host: who are people actually voting for? caller: they are voting for who they think they are voting for. they are both the same. they are all corrupt.

if you were to audit -- like don't they put an audit on these congressmen and senators every two years at least. it should be every year. host: there is a form of audit every two years. it's called an election. caller: but you don't vote for them. you really think joe biden got more votes than barack obama? he didn't cover half the territory. he didn't even come close. they are lying to you. host: that is canon woodstock. good morning. caller: thank you for answering. this is my second time around. what should congress pass? they should pass build back better. especially the pharmacies.

they've got to control the charge of insulin. diabetics are getting hurt. i could pay $40,000 a year for. i can't afford it. i heard a prior collar mention about how democrats are bad. it's bad parenting. this person was comparing teen the 50's and 60's to now. when i was a child in the 50's, the biggest generation raised their kids right. now, it's the parenting. it's not the kids. that's all i have to say. they should quit fighting with each other. host: alfred is on the independent line. caller: thank you for taking my

call. what congress should pass is the backlog of disabled veterans claims. there is nothing in that plan the joe biden has that has benefits for social security, retirement, if anything should be passed, it should be the veterans claims. there are so many veterans across north carolina whose claims of been pushed back. when donald trump was president, our claims were beginning to move. since joe biden has been in office, he removed his claims officer and put his own in there. now the claims are at a standstill. if anything should be passed, it's been sitting there for 50 years.

even my claim has been sitting there for 47 years. it does me no good to contact centers. host: tim is in north carolina. good morning. caller: good morning. i think the build back better plan should be -- they should get that past. joe manchin needs to quit driving around in his maserati and get off the ott and do the right thing for america. i'm concerned about hr 3076, which will fix the postal service. it will put money back where it is supposed to be. it won't be going into a fund in the treasury. the other thing is hr 82. the windfall needs to be done away with.

and the public pension office, the two of them go hand-in-hand. my benefits even though i work will be reduced by two thirds because of that law during the reagan ministration. host: hr 3076, that was sponsored by carolyn maloney. hr 82 is the social security fairness act sponsored by rodney davis. thanks for bringing them up. host: good morning. caller: good morning. how are you? i just think that what congress needs to focus on is bringing back the single-line veto to

where the president can go through and line out all of the garbage that people in congress are putting in these bills. one thing with the young lady that was on, what people need to do is educate themselves. they need to try and understand why so many people moved to the democratic party, even though past history is that peoples of the democrats are responsible for this or that. it's the attitude of the people in the republican party today. that's what people are focusing on. thanks for c-span. have a good week. host: that was can in florida.

this is michigan. it good morning. caller: good morning. how are you today? this is a second time a call. i find it amazing the house can actually function. i don't know why the people in the whole system get paid. i've been off work now for two years. everything seems to be not panning out at all. i don't really think the system is built for all of us by any means. that's what i have to say. i find it fascinating that we

keep talking about this and nothing gets accomplished. host: what kind of work did you do? caller: i worked for an automotive. the plant was going to close. they stayed open. the automotive industry is fluctuating. they don't -- can't get their act together. i thinks where the system is as a whole. host: how have you been getting by? caller: just doing odd jobs, keeping busy. as much as i can. host: have you tried looking for a full-time job?

what's that job search been like? caller: the job search is good. i am kind of working right now. i'm doing my own thing. i'm getting along. that's the good thing. host: did you need the help of the expanded unemployment insurance or any of the other federal programs during the pandemic? caller: i did last year. i decided the system as a whole, we have to start taking care of ourselves more than sponging off the government. allowing them to take care of us. we have to take care of ourselves. we need to provide for that. we need to get what we would like instead of what everybody

else as a. host: that was tim in michigan. he mentioned the pandemic. some news on that front. in the wake of comments by the president yesterday, specifically the comment that there is no federal solution to the covid-19 outbreaks. the president made those on a conference call with the national governors association. it earned its own editorial in the offstreet journal. they write:

this is that meeting with the national governors association. >> there is no federal solution. this gets solved at the state level. i am looking at governor sununu. he talks about that a lot. it gets down to where the rubber meets the road. that's where the patient is in need of help. thank you for what you were doing. all is well in new jersey i assume.

democrats and republicans are here today, discuss the rising covid cases, especially coming out of the holidays. omicron is a source of concern. if you're unvaccinated, you are at a high risk of getting severely old. this is not like march 2020. we know what it takes to save lives, protect people and keep schools and businesses open. we have to stay focused and continue to work together. my message is simple. if you need something, say something. we are going to have your back in any way we can. host: that was president biden talking to the national governors association. back to your phone calls as we

look ahead to the new year. what should congress pass? what do you think? caller: thank you for taking my call. they should definitely stay away from this new voting law. what they are doing is they are telling you and the american people how they won the election. they want no signature verification. they want no photo id. in new york, they just passed a law where 800,000 noncitizens can vote. they advertised to the american people how this man got elected. joe biden said it himself the other day at a conference. they want to send mail and ballots. this is how this person got elected.

they waited until election night to see how many votes they needed to win. it is so obvious. host: what would it take to make you trust the system? caller: why would you even refuse anybody in america? who is against voter id? they want to give you a voting pass to get on a plane. who would is against voter id? who is against signature verification? host: if there was voter id, would you be ok with expanding the early voting window, expanding mail-in ballot name? if you got voter id would you be ok with the other things making it? caller: the voting laws should be on voting night on that night

at midnight, it's over. you don't wait another month to keep counting ballots so they can make up their ballots. host: what about people who live overseas or members of the military? caller: that's always been ok. if i ask for a mail-in ballot, i've got to request it. not just send them out. my mother passed away. my father passed away in 2016. my father got alex. my father never voted because he was born in italy. host: are you saying they got ballots or they got applications to get a mail-in ballot? caller: they got ballots to vote.

they're dead. host: this is alicia in columbia, maryland. good morning. caller: good morning. belated merry christmas to you and the best to all of you for the new year. the first thing they should pass is closing the border. so far, we've had 2.3 million people -- not million. one of my saying? million people who have entered our country. it's not just from the south or mexico. it's from all over.

i think we really need to take care of that. some of the problems we are having with our health care depends on that. these people are transported to our different towns and cities in the middle of the night and we don't know if they've been vaccinated or what. it's not only the covid or the variant they are bringing. they are bringing other diseases that would upset our children. i thank you very much. host: the washington examiner continuing with their series about issues on the border. taking a look at some of the

numbers. the biden administration on pace to arrest over 2 million migrants. during the first full year in office, about half of those been released into the country. they will make no effort to deport them. 90% will lose their asylum claims. john is in columbus. good morning. caller: good morning. thank god for you. congress, what i want to say is we are blessed.

we are cursing ourselves in this country. i want to say this. americans need to listen. they need to listen to the life we are living so we can -- this is foolishness. the country has blessed. we are walking into a cursed life. host: what does that look like? what are the key ideas of revitalization? caller: let's go back in a few years where congress works together. for the benefit of the country. that's what i'm talking about. host: did congress do that with the bipartisan infrastructure bill? caller: i think they should do

that. it is to benefit the american people. this is what -- we can't agree on everything. there is always the time we have to. host: this is don in the lone star state. good morning. caller: good morning. host: what should congress focus on in 2022? caller: mostly reducing the debt since it is so high. as far as build back better, i think most independents are for the good portions. there is so much pork in there that we qualify it. host: what are the good

portions? caller: childcare, prescriptions, education. host: do you think the provisions are good or bad? caller: mostly bad, some good. host: which ones do you like? caller: clean water. lead pipes. infrastructure type stuff. host: there is some money for lead pipes in the bipartisan infrastructure bill. did you like that legislation? caller: we will see how it gets spent. it's a good idea. where the money ends up is something else. there is $3 billion for

recreation areas and national parks. host: that is the pork you were talking about? caller: that's a bunch of port. -- pork. $1 billion for osha. host: that was don in corpus christi. one issue don was talking about, the climate change aspects of the bill. tonight, a hearing by the house select committee on climate change on the impact of climate change on native americans. we are airing that on c-span. you can watch on the free c-span

now video app. you can download that wherever you download apps. we have time for just a few more calls. roosevelt in brooklyn. good morning. caller: good morning. i'm calling in reference to the question. the only thing congress should be concerned with beginning this year is the capital. january 2021, our country was attacked without them being able to come in and legislate. we have no country. on climate change, none of that matters. we need to make somebody pay a penalty for attacking the most

sacred building we created. that's my opinion. thank you and have a good day. host: we are coming up on the anniversary of that attack. we know the president will market in some way. the day before on january 5, the rules committee will be holding a hearing with testimony from the current capitol police chief. they will focus on security. we will air that live at 10:00. this is brian in michigan. did morning. caller: good morning. january 6, the whole year we've got a talk about that.

they couldn't secure the capital. that was a problem. can you hear me? host: we are talking about what congress should focus on. caller: i've got a point. they need to secure that border like we said for 20 years. no one is against latinos or anyone south of the border. it it is secure that border and the country. when i was in high school, we were only $450 billion in debt. we are so far underwater. we never even -- host: it's $29 trillion. caller: we have no respect for money. we are supposed to be a capitalist society. we don't talk about capitalism anymore. there is no way.

we are so far underwater, one day, it will come to an end. you should know it. one day, this credit card will come to a crashing halt. host: that was brian in michigan. our last caller today. we will be back tomorrow morning. it is 7:00 a.m. pacific. in the meantime, have a great tuesday. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2021]

>> this week watch "washington journal's" holiday week au thor series. former presidential candidate andrew yang talks about his book "forward." watch "washington journal" wednesday morning for the special author series on the new mobile app c-span now. >> the world has changed. today, a fast reliable internet connection is something no one can live without. wow is there for our customers with speed, reliability, and choice. it starts with great internet. wow. >> wow