>> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more, including charter communications. >> broadband is a force for empowerment. that is why charter has invested billions building infrastructure, upgrading technology, empowering opportunity in communities big and small. charter is connecting us. >> charter communications supports c-span as a public service, along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> coming up this morning on "washington journal," "wall street journal" congressional reporter natalie andrews talks about the generally six attack and the in lingering -- january 6 attack and the lingering impact it has on how congress

functions. and we speak about omicron variant with vanderbilt university infectious disease professor dr. william schaffner. "washington journal" is next. ♪ host: this is "washington journal" for january 3. the senate returns with hopes of reviving efforts for president biden's build back better agenda. also on the agenda, voting rights -- later this week, the one-year anniversary of the attack on the u.s. capitol. for our first hour as congress returns, what will be your message to washington leaders as these efforts progress? here's how you can call and let us know.

for democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. if you want to text us, you can do that at (202) 748-8003. post on facebook at facebook.com/cspan and our twitter feed is @cspanwj. we posted this to facebook yesterday. one of the respondents, eric off of our facebook page, when it comes to the message she would send would be to pass the bill back better -- build back better legislation. axios reports that build back better is at the top of the list on the senate side as democrats are trying to resuscitate part of the climate and social spending bill after senator joe manchin put it in a deep freeze. senator manchin refused to give it a direct cut announced his

opposition during an interview on the 19th of december and doubled down during a radio interview, the story adding the senate majority leader is pledging to force a vote early january on a revised version of the house-passed bill. when it comes to senator manchin, axios reporting in a story posted about 12 hours ago, saying that the senator is open to re-engaging on the climate and childcare provisions if the white house removes the enhanced child tax credit or dramatically lowers the income cap for eligible families. in the why it matters section, axios reporting that the holdback senator's engagement on specifics indicates negotiations between him and the white house could get back on track. that store you can find on axios. if you want to call and let us

know what we tell your washington leaders as they returned to work, call and let us know. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. (202) 748-8002 for independents. if you want to text us your thoughts, do that at (202) 748-8003. you can also use our social media sites that facebook.com/cspan and also at our twitter feed, @cspanwj. one of the things to look for later this week, a number of ceremonies and memorials. taking a look at the events of january 6 the last year. on sundays shows, it was the chair of the january 6 select committee on cnn talking about the state of the investigation and particularly former president trump's actions. [video clip] >> we have significant testimony that leads us to believe that the white house had been told to do something. we want to verify all of it, so

that when we produce our report and when we have the hearings, the public will have an opportunity to see for themselves. but to be honest with you, what occurred january 6 played out in full view of the american public and the world. we want to make sure that it never, ever happens again. we need to get it right. that is what the committee's body of work is about at this point. >> did or has the former president obstructed an official proceeding of congress? >> well, what he is doing is the typical donald trump modus operandi. he sues, he goes to court, he tries to delay. if he continues to be successful at delaying, obviously, it inhibits the committee's work.

we are doing a lot, but we have to have access to the records. president biden has said executive privilege does not apply, so we think we will have access to a lot of the records necessary for us to complete our work. if we have access to the records , then former president trump's wishes on the bearings would have no impact on our work. host: call us. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. (202) 748-8002 for independents. you can also text us at (202) 748-8003. the hill reporting that the panel that chairman thompson chairs over is expected to issue its final report in november, if possible interim report in spring or summer. president biden and vice president harris expected to

make her marxist week over the events of january 6. former president trump expected to hold a press conference on those matters had a lot of things happening as congress comes back. the senate in today, the house expected to return on the 10th of january. and your message to washington leaders for this year and 2022, on our line for democrats from falls church, virginia, we start with oliver. what would be the message you deliver? caller: good morning. can you hear me? host: i can. caller: ok, listen, real quick, how much i appreciate c-span. i have severed ties with some friends behind january 6, where they keep telling you that donald trump bears no responsibility for what happened. it is a shame that he has lied to the american people, he has done everything he can to tear this country down. i am not sure whether he is a

russian agent or russian plant yet or not, but anybody to have reached the pinnacle of the white house and the presidency of the united states, all he does is continue to tear this country apart and try to separate and make americans fight against americans -- host: if that is your main concern, what would be your message to washington leaders? caller: my message to washington leaders is to tell the senate they are the reason that he stands where he stands right now, tearing this country apart. i blame the republican senators who continuously came to his defense when he was breaking the law. host: oliver and falls church, virginia. ralph in washington, d.c. on our line for independents. good morning. caller: good morning. there are too many points i would like to make. number one, when russia folded,

we had an unwritten agreement that we would not put nato up to their borders. i cannot understand what is so important about the ukraine. we have nato troops close to the border in a couple places already. you have to remember russia lost 60 million people during world war ii. their country was devastated. their paranoia about having a superpower on their border is powerful -- tolerable -- palatable. the second thing, on january 9 -- i just came across a report that is very interesting. they have these four guys with bullhorns who were telling people to go and storm the capitol building, telling people to go in there and take it, telling people to cause all

kinds of problems. they were people in the crowd going, "you're a plant." it turns out these four people were never arrested. unfortunately for the fbi, they are all sorts of record showing four people, they made instigators, somehow do not get arrested. host: ok. ralph in washington, d.c. the first part, it was a discussion between president biden and the ukrainian president as reported in the washington post, writing that according to jen psaki, there was support for upcoming diplomatic talks, and that comes in the wake of mr. putin telling president biden that any economic sanctions imposed could result in a complete rupture of relations.

the principle of nothing about you without you, as jen psaki said. -- the joint actions of ukraine and the u.s. we discussed, according to a tweet. we appreciate the unwavering report -- support of ukraine. maybe that is part of your message to washington you will deliver as far as they get back to work. brad in kentucky -- that was -- this is bard in kentucky. caller: this is brad, and you are pedro. good morning. host: good morning. caller: i would ask our washington leaders -- are we talking about president biden or director fauci? host: it is just a message to

washington leaders about topics that are of interest to you. caller: i would say to stop this covid war on the american people and the american spirit. people are hurting more than they know with their overreach, their totalitarian, authoritarian overreach. and fighting this virus, everyone knows there is something wrong here. we are headed down a bad path. i hope we can fix it. host: when you say overreach, what do you mean by that? caller: i mean by leveraging people's ability to earn a livelihood or for children to go to school against a pharmaceutical dictate that, apparently, pfizer is dictating to the government. host: what makes you say that? caller: i mean, that appears to be what is happening from what i can see. you have to get the jab or your job's on the line, which is your

means to a livelihood, which is how you feed your children. so now there is leverage on people, and this is hurting our spirit. people recognize it in their spirits. they can see, they can feel -- the government is saying shoot this into your veins or you do not get to feed your children anymore. host: for federal employees and certain companies over 100 people, that is what you are talking about. caller: yeah, i am talking about all those companies under the mandates. how are their mandates in a democracy where you have consent of the governed? you do not have mandates where you have consent of the governed. you have mandates under a dictatorship. host: let's hear from mark in new jersey, democrats line. caller: good morning. happy new year. host: you are on, sir. go ahead. mark hung up. let's go to caroline in ohio, democrats line. your message to washington leaders this year, what would it

be? caller: well, it is the same one i had last year, and i believe it was you who i called in about , and it would be to please focus on the voting rights. i do not think anything else matters, if we do not have our voting rights. and that even called nancy pelosi on this. host: what is it about voting rights that you think needs to be addressed by the federal government? caller: well, i just think that i've been hearing so much -- and it is even in ohio, where i live. i been hearing so much about the redistricting and how it is not fair and -- what other things have i been hearing? that the john lewis one has not passed yet. i just think that, without

voting, we are lost. host: what makes you think, about those pieces of legislation that you bring up, what do you think will change as a result of that? caller: i just think it would be democratic. it would be fair, it would be the way the constitution wanted it to be. that is my opinion, my humble opinion. host: that is what we are asking for. you send that message onto your leaders here in washington, d.c. you can call in, (202) 748-8000 for democrats. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, you can call (202) 748-8002. to the idea voting rights, the associated press with a story about how other countries are perceiving what is happening in the united states when it comes to voting, saying that president biden has gotten the same questions and worries from world leaders -- is america going to be all right?

what of democracy in america? mr. biden has tried to offer assurances. but he has only occasionally emphasize the gravity of the threat to democracy from the january 6 insurrection. as the anniversary of that deadly day nears, the president is being urged to use the powers of his office to push voting rights legislation, the story adding that attention in mr. biden's approach reflects a balancing of the urgent needs of americans to make progress on the highly visible issues of the pandemic and that less visible but equally vital issue preserving trust in the government. if you go to the political playbook or get it in your inbox, another issue when it comes to voting rights legislation plays out on the senate side. the writer is saying it will be an emotional week for a lot of people on capitol hill, that one

year anniversary of that january 6 capitol siege. congress is planning a memorials. lawmakers will have the opportunity to tell their personal stories of what it was like to hide from angry rioters. but democrats are hoping thursday will be more than just a day of remembrance. in the senate, we hear from well-positioned sources, there is a desire to take the opportunity to supercharge the party's long stalled voting rights legislation, possibly even using the anniversary to get senators kyrsten sinema and dimension to go nuclear on the filibuster or embrace rules changes, the reporting saying that senator chuck schumer is expected to lay out a plan to push the national voting rights legislation to the floor in the coming days. all we, democrats will argue the flurry of voting rights restrictions have passed and gop

controlled states over the last year are a direct result of the january 6 riots. from texas, our democrats line. caller: hello. how are you doing? host: what would be your message to washington? caller: my message would be to senator manchin. first of all, one man was not meant to hold up the constitution and keep the senators from doing what is right. senator manchin, you do not know, but i will tell you -- we are living in the last days now. if you do not believe me, check out the bible -- host: what is it about senator manchin that you specifically oppose? caller: senator manchin is supposed to be a democrat. democrats put him in office. but instead of being a democrat,

he is being him. he says that when things -- he don't support, you're not going to do it. he is keeping us from the help of the people of america need. and god will punish them for that, you take my word -- host: ok. this is carl in west virginia, texting are saying that the message directly to president biden, and all he says is build that wall. al from our facebook page saying protect the republic from votes -- attempting another coup attempt for 22 and 2024. sandra, politician should get their acts together. they should move to a third will country since that is where they

want us to head. and patricia on facebook saying be honest. that is how you can communicate to us if you want. from ohio, george, your message to washington leaders? caller: first, i would like to say happy new year to you, your family, and the c-span family. i hope everything given in the new year will be gratifying and happy. first is we have to go by the constitution. section 1, article viii gives the right of the federal government to impose taxes for the benefit of its citizens. i do not see that happening. we just let our borders wide open. my mom and two brothers were illegal immigrants. we need immigration to secure the country. but we need legal immigration. we are just printing money.

the constitution has to be upheld, and we are not doing that. our leaders put their hands on the bible and swear to uphold the oath of the constitution, but none of them do it it i do not care who they are. trump did not do it, really. host: and how exactly does that section of the constitution directly relate to immigration? caller: they are using taxpayers money to support these illegals. where do you think they will get the money? who shelters them, who feeds them? it is not for the benefit of the citizens, it is for the benefit of these unlawful people who broke into our country. are we a democracy, is that happening? no. host: ok, george and ohio offering his thoughts when it comes to taxes. the wall street journal saying when it comes to the upcoming tax filing season, which you may already be planning for, a vendor that headlined that it will bring headaches, saying in late december, the irs said it

was on schedule opening mail and process returns it received before april 2021 and did not receive special attention or had errors per that means the agency would struggle with flat just before the pandemic, still had 6.3 million unprocessed individual returns and 2.3 million amended tax returns to process as of december 18. those amended returns could take the irs more than 20 weeks rather than the usual 16 weeks. lee, independent line in michigan, hello. caller: yes. these democrat callers that call in are just brainwashed fools that just talk their points from cnn, abc, nbc. the problem is that washington is -- the democrats have taken over the media. they got all these -- every caller that calls in is "oh,

trump's a jerk" -- it is all the same talking points from the democrat party. c-span is then you cnn. you guys have a few republican voices on, but it is 3:1 democrats on this program -- host: check out the video library for yourself. go ahead and finish your thought. caller: there you go. you have the new york times, washington post as your main source. it is garbage -- host: i read from the wall street journal this morning. and, by the way, aren't those talking points, in themselves, as far as winning the media for things? caller: sir, the media is the democrats. the january 6 committee are not even looking at their truth. they are just trying to get trumpcare they are not even looking at why didn't nancy pelosi call the national guard

troops and want them near anything? remember the riots and no national guard --what did you think trump was going to do? these people are not brainwashed it its that are trump supporters, trump is not going to say something and they will do it. host: representative peter meyer , who represents michigan's third district, voted for the second impeachment following the attack on january 6, but said, when it comes to his party, it had no choice but to continue to support former president trump. here are some of his thoughts from the sunday shows. [video clip] >> there was no alternative, no other path you're given how president biden, when he was elected into office, said he would be moderate and look for bipartisan solutions, but then after -- and family, i blame the former president for this -- after we lost the two senate seats in georgia and the senate flipped, it became an exercise

in trying to be an lbj presidency in the absence of any compelling mandate from the american people -- that gave a rallying signal p that created a very steep divide. at the end of the day, there is no other option right now in the republican party. >> well, why is it on president biden that the republican party cannot seem to kick their trump habit? why isn't it on kevin mccarthy, mitch mcconnell, and yourself? >> we have a two-party system. in the best case scenario, each party challenges the other two better, be better, a scenario where iron sharpens iron. if you have one party plummeting to their deaths and the other party uses that as an excuse to go more to an extreme, towards trying to enact whatever the will of the most extreme constituency they have is, that

is a recipe for both parties to drive further away from anything that resembles serving the american people as a whole. host: if you have the opportunity, what would your message be to washington leaders in the coming year? let us know for the remainder of her time in this hour. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents (202) 748-8002 -- independents, (202) 748-8002. betty in south carolina. caller: hi. thank you. they have been trying to get trump from the first day they came -- that he came in office. the senate and nancy, she needs to go, because she -- january, that was planned. there were trying to test get trump -- host: what do you base that on? caller: i base it on that man

who was walking around saying go in the capitol. it was not trump. he said go peaceful. host: how do you associate that with it being planned? caller: it just is, because she is the speaker of the house, and she did not want to call the national guard in, you know? so i blame her. i don't blame trump for them going in the capitol -- host: with all of that said, what would be the specific message to washington leaders concerning january 6? caller: the only thing they have done, since they have been in there, is trying to tell the american people what to do.

they gave that stimulus check, and everybody thinks they got that for free, but you look at the gas, the groceries, everything -- i mean everything. i've never seen the like in my life. host: ok. when it comes to speaker pelosi, the front page of the washington post takes a look at what happens if a future speaker of the house does take place. this is from this morning -- house democrats' future jockeying has just begun, saying that while speaker pelosi retains the respect of her caucus, with more than 200 -- two dozen lawmakers and aides across the house democratic caucus made clear that the rank-and-file are ready to move beyond the old guard. there are stark differences over how the next set of leaders should run the caucus, regardless of whether democrats

returned to the minority or maintain control of the chamber after the midterm elections. this also saying that one possible outcome of the leadership shuffle that could take place is that many fear and none want replacing the stability that pelosi, hoyer, and clyburn with the instability that has plagued the gop caucus. more of that analysis there in the washington post. new york is where robert is. good morning. go ahead. caller: thanks for having me on. i was an independent journalist for over a decade in the d.c. area. it just lends some perspective, i think -- i think what is happening is horrendous. i cannot believe that people are divided on this issue, where cops were killed.

my big concern is democrats are famous for not prosecuting wrongdoings by donald trump. i almost feel like they are wasting their time. i think there is a bigger scope. our institutions are at risk. i would like to know what our politicians are doing about -- host: which institution are at risk i merely? -- which institutions are at risk primarily? caller: police departments, national guard. most apparent is our democracy, the capital. host: what do you mean by that? when it comes to the capital, what do you mean by that specifically? caller: what i mean by that specifically is that the news is vaguely said that we do not know, we will prevent this from happening again. i do not like that answer,

because it does not seem like they are doing anything. to me, this is -- it is like steve bannon, the millionaire. he is a millionaire and propagates these situations. and we are not a country that is ready to regulate money and politics and rhetoric. you have people on here every single day, you hear it. just insane, you know, opposite thinking. republicans, traditionally, were behind cops. there were cops murdered. i do not understand how politicians -- host: there was one officer specifically -- as far as murder is concerned, what are you talking about?

caller: officer sicknick. -- host: ok. let's go to pennsylvania, independent line. caller: it is the same old story. i've been listening to you guys -- first of all, i want to wish you happy new year and the people is listening to me happy new year. i am so disgusted with this country. my own congressman here in the reading, pennsylvania area supported trump's coup. you hear people about build the wall, illegal immigrants, all this other nonsense. i do not see a whole lot of indians, cherokee running around this country, so we are all illegal immigrants. we all know people that look like me, if they had blonde hair

and blue eyes, these people would not care if they were coming in illegally. we know what it is. they do not want round skinned grandchildren running around here -- host: so the specific message to washington leaders would be what? caller: my specific messages protect voting rights, because, as a navy veteran, i do not stand on the coral sea for me to have the pool out four forms of id to have to vote in my state. this is ridiculous. host: to the caller who brought up brian sicknick, in the year end wrap-up of notable deaths, npr talking about the five officers who responded to the attacks that followed on january 6 -- it notes that mr. sicknick collapsed on the night of january 6, was transported to

the hospital. the medical examiner found that he died of natural causes after suffering strokes. he did receive the rare distinction of lying in honor in the capitol rotunda. he was 51. jeffrey smith died by suicide at 35. later in the year, metropolitan officers gunther hashida and kyle defreytag also died by suicide. when it comes to security matters at the capitol, u.s. capitol security officer talking about his efforts to improve security at the capitol over the last year. here is part of his assessment yesterday. [video clip] >> we are moving forward with that. we have to brief the oversight committees about what exactly that means. we have identified posts where we believe we do not need sworn capitol police officers,

typically secondary posts, post that, whether they are in a garage or something like that, where people have already been checked before they have gone to that point. we think that, if we are able to contract security guards at some of those posts, that will free up a number of sworn police officers, and we can assign them to where they are needed and where we require an armed capitol police officer. between that and the longer-term fix is to put more academy sessions through, and we have got to plan for this fiscal year to put over 280 police officers through the academy and hopefully get ahead of attrition. host: that was on fox news. you can give your thoughts as far as your message to washington leaders in the coming year. call us on the phone lines. you can text us at (202) 748-8003. and post on social media. boise, idaho, republican line, you're up next. caller: yeah, i know -- get rid

of all the politicians. get subpoenas on all of them. for the last four years -- host: subpoenas for what, specifically? caller: for their phones and everything. pelosi's laptop, everything else. host: but specifically to what, what end? why do you want subpoenas for them? caller: to find out what is going on about this january 6 thing. because they all know something. i think anybody would be a fool or -- host: ok. . . kentucky, democrats line caller:

hi. host: you are on. go ahead. caller: i would like to ask you, it seems that president trump used the legislation pen to pass in a lot of things that he wanted to get done, but he was not getting anywhere. i would like to know what is the difference between voting in the congress and the senate and using the legislation power from the president? host: you mean if the president signs an executive order to enact a certain thing versus that having -- that going through legislatively in congress and having the votes there so he can sign it and make it law? caller: yeah. host: that is a lengthy topic. first, let me ask you what makes you ask the question?

caller: because they passed the better people act. they could kind of use some of that for the things that republicans did not want or ma nchin will not that through. could they use that to get it passed? host: you mean instead of passing build back better as a whole, just focus on part of that but do with her executive action? caller: right. host: i do not even know the short answer to that because i am not an expert as to the way that works. the president has a wide scope of powers as the exec difference, but let me see if i can find some type of answer for you, how about that? caller: ok, that would be great. appreciate it. host: let me ask you this. let's say the power -- the president has the power to make

an executive order, what should you focus on? caller: the vote and the build back better act. host: but what specifically about it? caller: oh, specifically? the vote -- it seems like the republicans -- i do not call it cheating, but they are being awful sneaky about the way they are going about gerrymandering all the voting in the states. and i think that the voting is so important, the voting right is so important, the john lewis act is so important that that should be the power of the pen. host: ok. kathy and kentucky. again, you can look for, perhaps, more statement on the state of voting rights legislation in the senate this week as the week progresses. look for that to play out on the

senate side. the senate back today to work on judicial nominations and other things. the house excited to come in next week. from raymond, pennsylvania, independent line. caller: hi. can you hear me? host: i can. caller: three comments. first of all, why can't c-span, "washington journal" have one day we got fact checkers? two people, one from each party, talking about what the people are saying over the week. 80%, if not more, 90% of the callers for the democrats, it is all about trump, trump, trump. it's so boring. why don't you have fact checkers to take the top 10 calls a week that you get in volume and ask the people who really know stuff

to give real information? just one day a week. i swear your viewership would go through the roof on that day, that is number one. number two, i do not know what has happened. i used to watch c-span book tv, like, religiously, when it was late. now, just this past weekend, they have the same authors on over two days, at least 10 times. it is so boring. you got to be losing your viewership -- host: well, there is a certain amount of programming that goes on on the weekend when it comes to our sister networks, book tv and american history tv -- let me finish. we give people the opportunity to replay that several times, because sometimes, people cannot watch at that specific time. or they could watch on our website, but that is why we give the opportunity for people to do that. caller: i can see maybe twice a day, for early people and later

people. but like that historian, he was late -- host: again, not everybody has the same schedule, so we try to provide the maximum flexibility for people -- caller: that was not in the past. you had 15 -- host: caller, i cannot give you a total recall of what book tv has done. but i will leave it at that. what is your third point? caller: well, maybe you should ring it up in a meeting. host: what is your third point, please? caller: the third point -- like i said, the fact checkers, then book tv. the third point is that people want in-depth information, like you had "in depth," and that is pretty good. but you need people to stop saying the same -- like the former caller said, it is all about trump, cap -- host: ok. you made these points already, so we will go to tammy in

louisiana, republican line. caller: good morning. i would like to talk about the january 6 -- air quotes -- "insurrection." i want to ask c-span, where do you get your video from january 6 when you show video? host: some of it comes from the stuff we have taken in, some comes from the january 6 select committee that was released, we archive all that. caller: do you have the one where the antifas dressing in the woods, changing into trump -- host: i would not know about that. caller: you have heard about it, right? host: this is the first time i've heard about it. caller: i think you need to investigate. . that host: where did you hear that from? caller: not on the liberal channels. it was on youtube or something. but they showed the antifa chan

ge in the woods into trump -- host: with all of that said, what would be the message to washington leaders, then, which is the topic? caller: the democrats did it. and also, i would like to know that sullivan guy, the antifa leader -- i think it was a cnn reporter, saying we cannot believe we got him -- host: ok. we got to leave it there. jim republican line. hi. caller: my message to the people in washington, d.c.'s we have to get to the foundational problem of the division of this country. it is what is truth? christ came to testify to the truth. there is absolute truth.

and we have to find it. host: how does that feel in the world of politics? caller: we are being lied to. brennan lied, hillary clinton like. host: isn't that divisional politics on its own, sir? no -- caller: no. find the truth. if you want the truth about january 6, release all of the tapes. host: what tapes are you talking about? caller: release the documents. host: what documents are you specifically speaking of? caller: in all of these situations, we have been not privy to all the documents. look at the fbi agent's that lied and nothing happened to them. host: ok. let's go to loretta in

cleveland, ohio. what is your message to washington leaders? caller: oh my gosh. i do have a list, pedro. but i want to address a few of the callers this morning. host: before you do that, what would be your message to washington leaders, before you start down that road? caller: i would say the most important thing is voting rights. the for the people act, the george floyd policing act, the john w. lewis voting rights. we need all of those. and it is not just for black people, it is for all the people. there needs to be rules on the road, and are not any -- host: what would this legislation do differently, do you think? caller: it what -- it would get rid of gerrymandering, get rid of the filibuster, you know?

now that is a hoax. whatever reason they are saying that it is a viable piece of legislation -- it is not even legislation. the filibuster cannot even be found in the constitution. host: the filibuster is the current rule of the senate, so that could be changed or amended if need be, if they get enough votes. caller: about what i wanted to talk about this morning is the republican callers -- but what i wanted to talk about this morning is a republican callers who are on this constant drumbeat about the border and illegals. don't they know they are the original illegals? they don't know that, do they -- host: ok. jim in new york, republican line, hi. caller:. hello. before i go on to what washington should do, i just --

yet another thing i want to say about the january 6, i say how could it be otherwise, since all the really good factory jobs have been shipped out of the country, and all this cheap labor has been imported into the country? how do they expect people to react? i think there's little bit of a -- host: are jobs and the economy your message to washington leaders? is that your message? caller: well, trump did say why can't apple make its phones in the united states? how much money does apple need? they are billionaires. why can't they make their phones here? as a guy from ohio, on illegal immigration, that is the biggest thing, because my neighbor is over and -- host: as far as a message to washington leaders, specifically, what would it be? caller: illegal immigration.

this neighborhood has been overrun. it has gone to the point where, if you want to be a police officer, there is a certain percentage that has to speak spanish, or you will not be getting a job at the police department. the house i live in here that i bought years ago -- a single-family house. i cannot cross the street here, there are eight cars over there, some on the lawn -- host: ok. some of the topics on the sunday shows, which could be a message to washington -- the status of the federal government to omicron. dr. fauci yesterday asking and urging americans not to get complacent when it gets to reports on the variant and its effectiveness or its impact on a person. here is part of that discussion. [video clip] >> there is accumulating evidence that that is the case.

we first got inkling of that in south africa, when one looked at the relationship and the ratio between hospitalizations and cases, it was lower. the duration of hospital stay was lower. the requirements for oxygen were lower. we are seeing a bit of that, not as pronounced in the u.k., but certainly that trend. if you look here in the united states, we do not want to get complacent at all, and you do not want to jump to a positive conclusion, because it is still early. but given the large number of cases, we are not seeing -- hospitalizations are often lacking indicators -- lagging indicators. but i still believe there are some indications, even in some animal studies they have done, where they have done particular animal models that may reflect what is going on. the virus does seem to have a

lower intrinsic pathogenisity to it. but we have to be careful to that. even if you have less of a percentage of severity, when you have multi-multi-mutlifold more people getting infected, the net effect is that you still need people needing hospitalizations, and that is where we talk about stressing and straining the hospital system. host: some of you texting your thoughts. steven sang my message to congress to reinstate the fairness doctrine, get rid of corporate news media, get to both sides of the issue. jamie from north carolina saying that the economy heal, go home and spend the year reconnecting with your voters and what they really need. from michael in missouri, st. louis, saying my message to washington leaders in 2022's we need to start working together and stop with the finger-pointing on both sides.

then chris, when it comes to a message he would deliver to washington leaders, stop wasting money and get the budget balanced. laurie on the democrats line, hello. caller: good morning. can you hear me? host: you are on. go ahead. caller: i would like to be thankful and think the congress for the vaccine. wonderful. it is free. everyone should get it. and also thanks for the raise in my social security this coming year. i am not complaining. there is enough complaining. i want to thank them for their service. host: i want to ask you, because i think you're the first person to actually offer praise to conference. how much of that goes around? you listen to this program is we do. what do you think about that

versus the concerns other viewers have expressed? caller: i am just still keeping in mind is giving this year and trying to be thankful for things rather than complaining and moaning, you know? host: when it comes to the social security aspect, the increase -- correct me if i am wrong. caller: i just got an increase in my social security. i do not know whatever it was labeled. host: cost-of-living adjustment -- caller: i just know there are good things going on, and i appreciate the efforts towards good things. host: laurie in pennsylvania, a reline for democrats. in indiana, our call from the republican line, your next up. hi. caller: hi. i just wanted to talk about if

they want to pass these bills, like the childcare, medicaid, they need to do this independently and not put it all in the one bill. let the people know about what's in the bill. i also wanted to talk about the border little bit, about how they should go ahead and let the texas and arizona use these materials they have down there, they're just rusted, to help build the wall down there if they want to build it themselves. let texas and arizona and the people who live on the borders use that material to build the wall the taxpayers paid for -- host: let me go back to your first point for a second. why would you advocate for

approaching the passage of individual parts of the build back better versus the whole thing? why do you think that is a better approach? caller: i think, if they want to pass some of these bills -- if they really cared about childcare, just put it in one bill and try to pass it. host: let me ask you this, if they did separate childcare from the whole package, is that something you would support? caller: yeah, i would support the childcare, as long as the money meant where it is supposed to go. seems like when they pass something, only maybe 10% of it goes to where -- for childcare. don't seem like the money goes where it is supposed to go, all of it. host: that's beau in alexandria,

indiana with a message to washington leaders. you can do so for the last five minutes or so we have. our line for independents, your next up. caller: good morning. thank you for c-span. what i would say the congress is that did to caesar what is caesar and give to the lord -- for those who do not know and those who do not believe. those who believe in fauci and the unseen play, god made all the plagues. your body is a living sacrifice acceptable to him. that is a reasonable duty. so you don't have to run to the doctor and get a note. -- host: are you saying that god ultimately caused the covid

virus? caller: no, what i am saying is that god created everything. he's the lord. we paid caesar our taxes. we paid our price. a football team does not only -- host: let's go back a little bit. when you say give caesar, what do you mean by that? caller: when i pay taxes, it is because they have to take care of my roads, the bridges, keep us safe, protect the borders. that is what i mean when i pay taxes. that is what it says in the bible. it also states we are to give to the lord -- he purchases you, me, the whole world -- host: i got that, but when it comes to the paying of taxes part, you listed specific things. correct me if i am wrong -- caller: no, sir. this is my message to our

government, ok? if you give me a chance, i will say it. hands off, fauci. you can't put your hands on my body or my employer can't because i've been bought iwth a price because christ purchased me. he owns me. the place i work at did not purchase me, the media did not purchase me. i do not understand how on earth people can walk around and fear an unseen play again not fear god -- unseen plague and not fear god. host: ok. when it comes to lloyd austin, the defense secretary, the department of defense was accused of slow walking the national guard to clear up protesters forming the capitol. the commander of the d.c. dart

said he had troops ready and it took more than three hours before the pentagon approved his request. then you policy comes after mr. austin's acting assistant secretary for homeland security -- home and security reviewed how the department of defense reviews requests for support in the washington area. and lloyd austin himself diagnosed with a mild case of covid. from tanya in washington, independent line. caller: hi, how are you doing today? host: fine, thank you. caller: i have three things. one of them is i think we need to have all of -- all of the states need to have more e-services for those who have ptsd or are differently abled,

disabilities, things like that, because we are all -- the other thing is we need to have the world put back on the endangered list. president biden and dr. biden, many times, the sport hunters, trophy hunters, they go out, and 40% of the surveys -- surveys show up 40% of trophy hunters that do it for food, they end up going and raping, domestic violence, drugs -- it needs to stop. our animals need to be host: to the first two points, as far as that is concerned, what got you concerned in the first place? caller: years and years ago, i

had a hybrid wolf that adopted me, i guess you could say. i always loved animals. but it showed me a whole new world. when you see the plight of how intelligent the wolves are and how much they love their family and the fear of these hunters have, it is insane. if you really know them -- they are wild animals, of course. do not go out to play with them. what we need to respect them and leave them alone. they are good for all kinds of things. washington state, these ranchers freak out and go and hunt the cubs. it is insane. it is cowardly good -- cowardly. a lot of these lands are state public lands that are textile led pay for and all of these ranchers get rates to them just so they can raise beef that is bad for ecology and bad in general for human consumption

then get mad because we are taking habitat away from our animals. host: that is tanya talking about wolves is a message to washington and her concern. for all of you who participated in the past hour, thank you for doing so. coming up, we are joined by natalie andrews talking about the january 6 anniversary, particularly how it is impacting working relations between republicans and democrats on capitol hill. that discussion coming up next. later on, we talk about the omicron variant and current news of the day with dr. william shatner of vanderbilt university . if those discussions and more coming up. ♪ >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. fully funded by television companies and more, including sparklight. >> the greatest time on earth is the place you come home.

-- call home. we are all facing our greatest challenge. it is why we are working around-the-clock to keep you connected. we are doing our part so it is easier to do yours. >> sparklight supports c-span as a public service along with his other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. a new mobile video app for c-span. c-span now. download today. ♪ >> this week on c-span. wednesday, the senate rules committee holds a hearing on the u.s. capitol police since the january 6 attack. live coverage begins at 10:00 a.m. eastern. thursday at 7:00, we have coverage throughout the day marking the one-year anniversary of the attack. friday, the supreme court hears oral argument in two cases dealing with the biden

administration's vaccine mandate or health care workers -- for health-care workers and the vaccine or test mandate for larger private companies. let coverage beginning at 10:00 a.m. both the house and senate return in january for the start of the 1/17 congress. the senate takes up the president's climate and social spending plan known as build back better, despite west virginia democrat joe mentions announced opposition. senate democratic leadership hopes to take up voting right legislation which may require a change in filibuster rules. there is a february 18 deadline for both chambers of congress to pass additional federal spending legislation to avert a government shutdown. watch these developments on c-span networks once congress returns, or watchful coverage on c-span now on mobile video app. head over to c-span.org for scheduling information or to stream video live or on-demand, anytime.

c-span, your unfiltered view of government. >> washington journal continues. host: joining us now is natalie andrews, she reports on congress for the wall street journal. a recent piece of hers six a look at working relations on capitol hill in light of january 6. you can go into details, but how would you describe those working relations? guest: it is a toxic place on capitol hill. it is dramatic coming back there as i have come back to work there every day. you can feel a difference between now on the capital and before january 6, even going back to before the pandemic end of shutdown started. it is a tense place. a building these to be fold of camaraderie is now filled with a lot of distrust and skepticism.

host: as far as why that is, is it specifically to a representative position they took on president trump's role in january 6, or is it more than that? guest: for this story, my colleague and i interviewed more than four dozen lawmakers and aides. and really tried to get an understanding of why congress has become such a tough place to work. a toxic place. democrats tied to january 6 the fallout. they feel like their lives were threatened and they were trying to stop democracy. if you like the republican response has been less than what they wanted. they do not like how the republicans downplayed the response and would like to see something different.

republicans will try to trace back some of it to the response to democrats to donald trump's election, where they say democrats came in and 2017 questioning the legitimacy of president trump's election. when i interviewed the majority leader, he has been sitting in congress since 1981, a long time. he said it is the worst it has ever been on the hill. he tied it back to reagan, saying it is something that has been somersaulting and is not a very tense point. -- now a very tense point. host: can you tell our audience that story? guest: brad schneider, democrat and paul gosar, a republican from arizona have been working on legislation for several years that would give benefits to parents who have lost a child. bereavement, time, parental

leave to leave -- grief. -- grieve. which is a bipartisan agreement that is tragic and something they want to address. after january 6, brad schneider made an agreement with himself -- not a universal house democratic policy -- he decided he would no longer work with any republican who voted against certifying estates election results. so he decided to not work with paul gosar and instead found another republican to work with. brad schneider is not alone in deciding that. several house decided that is a standard, they do not want to work with republicans who voted against certifying state election results. there are almost 200 house

republicans and 139 of those republicans voted in some way against certifying the election results. that is a large percentage right off the bat, some of these democrats are saying they do not want to work with. host: if the democrats have the majority in the house at the end of the day, to their perspective, does it matter if they have this working relation? guest: it matters because they are solving problems of america. when you do not have the people even wanting to have discussions with each other, congress gets further gummed up. certain issues that were once small, that could once make their way through congress and passed, they are getting gummed up. it is difficult for congress to pass legislation, it has been that way for years. but now you have people drawing the line in the sand saying they do not even want to talk to each other. they lack respect, they do not

want to even go there. that is tough when these meetings are not happening. host: natalie andrews with the wall street journal for this discussion on working relations in congress because of january 6. for democrats --(202) 748-8000 for democrats, (202) 748-8001 for republicans. you can text us at (202) 748-8003. how would you characterize relations in the senate with the idea of january 6 being the tipping point? guest: we talked to several senators. they are careful to say they do not have the same lives post january 6 we've seen in the house. the senate has to work in a bipartisan way to some extent in order to function. the need 60 votes. you can talk about the debate over limiting that threshold, but that is where it is right now.

those relationships need to happen. the need to continue to happen. in the senate, there is a desire for camaraderie, you have seen senators like josh hawley who was seen as one of the first to come out saying he was going to vote against certifying the election results. he signed on with several bills with democrats this year. several democrats want to work with republicans to pass bipartisan legislation, the infrastructure bill that passed the senate earlier this year, then became law. that is a key example. there are still relationships moving, we talked to a freshman senator from colorado, he said he does not see that. we talk to women of the senate, they still get together for their bipartisan dinners and they have met recently. host: back on the house side, you talked about what is going on in the seats. about leadership?

has it suggested it is not necessary to have these working relationships with numbers across the aisle? guest: when we talk to aides and things, they say that even though leadership teams do not talk as well as they used to. that can come up for time, that can make a simple vote that used to happen quickly take longer because you are negotiating back and forth and a fractured relationship. bipartisan relationships need to happen because congress -- things take time. we have watched congress, they are not always super speedy. with the mud geordie influx, kevin mccarthy making a run to win the majority this fall -- majority influx. when the majority flips, it is a lot harder for a democrat to get there legislation over the finish line in the republican

majority and vice versa. host: how much of this has been exacerbated with the debates we saw before the end of last year? we saw a couple people go at each other via twitter, we have seen issues concerning marjorie taylor greene and her twitter account. how does this affect the dynamic on the floor? guest: there is a clear lack of respect. most people and a working relationship, when we go to work, it is important to have a basis of respect for people and there is a clear lack of respect in congress with certain members for other members. some of the names mentioned are clear. there are democrats that do not have any respect for marjorie taylor greene, they feel like she is part of the problem. republicans have a number -- a list they do not like in terms of democrats. there is clear lack of respect. you see name-calling, you see

aoc being called names by other members outside the capital -- capitol. that does not bode well for a work in congress that is trying to do the will of the people. host: natalie andrews here to talk, you can read her piece online at wsj.com. first call is from the independent line and washington state area peggy, you are on. caller: hi, natalie. a lot of people have been calling in and saying nancy pelosi should have called in the d.c. national guard, everybody knows or should know the d.c. national guard -- nancy pelosi cannot do this. she can put in a request to the sergeant of arms, so could have mitch mcconnell. then it goes up the chain. it goes from the major general

to d.c. national guard to the secretary of the army, to the secretary of defense. then, the president has to approve it. then back down, finally the general nature of the d.c. national guard. they then collect the national guard. i just wanted to get that cleared up, thank you. host: miss angers -- andrews, i suppose republicans and democrats would say after the events of january 6, security could be something we could come together on. how has that baird out -- bared out? guest: there is a lot of frustration over security in the capital -- capitol. republicans and democrats have condemned january 6 and called for increased security. kevin mccarthy would like nancy pelosi to focus specifically on security in the capital -- capitol and approving that. the house speaker has a broader list of what she would like to

address in reaction to january 6, that includes the investigation into how the riot happened, the events leading up. we understand public hearings should happen soon, that will address capital security, events and possibly communications leading up to that day. host: i suppose the committee itself could be a source of contention, at least for republicans on capitol hill. guest: we have seen criticized liz cheney, adam kinzinger, these are republicans who are diehard republicans. liz cheney is a republican through and through. however, because of the stances she has taken against president trump and because of his position as the former top leader of the republican party and how he reshaped the republican party during his tenure as president, liz cheney has seen herself as a frequent

criticism. she lost her place of house leadership, that decision internally in the party is affecting congress as well. interparty divisions and divisions in between democrats and republicans. host: i will play a bit from liz cheney yesterday talking about this anniversary, particularly her perspective. then we will come back to you. [video clip] >> democrats are planning a vigil. the former president is planning a news conference. are you concerned about the country being at risk of political violence this week and the years ahead? >> if what he has been saying since he left office is any indication, former president trump is likely again this week to make the same false claims about the election that he knows to be false and the same false claims about the election he knows caused violence on january

6. i think it is indeed very concerning, given what we know happened in the lead up and what the committee is finding out about the events of that day. if it is -- it is not surprising. he knows these claims caused violence. we see people who were in the capitol, people who were arrested because of their activities. they themselves have told us in court filings, on social media, on video they were here because donald trump told them to be here. so he is doing this press conference on the sixth. if you mix those same claims, he is doing it with complete understanding and knowledge of what those claims have caused in the past. this is a man who has demonstrated he is at war with the rule of law, he has demonstrated he is willing to blow through every guardrail of democracy and he can never be anywhere near the oval office again. he has demonstrated a complete lack of fitness for office.

host: i do not know if you know the minute by minute relations between republicans and liz cheney herself, but how would you characterize that? guest: liz cheney is a republican. but the relationship between her and the republicans in the caucus is tense. they have been calls for her to lose all committee positions, they do not like she has taken the spot. it is a tough place for her to be. host: when it comes to the events she's talked about, a lot of the events we will see this week, how do you think this will rub against what you write about as far as relations when they will be visited at length this week? guest: expect to hear how lawmakers have addressed the terrible day in the capitol. when you see members downplaying that day in which people came in and were looking for specific members of congress, calling and

saying they wanted to stop the democratic process from happening, in some cases brought weapons, made it democrats and lawmakers feel like their lives are being threatened. expect that to play out. expect democrats and republicans to speak on the house floor on that day. it will talk about that. there is a lot of trauma in the capitol, a lot of ptsd. this weekend is going to be tough in that building for a lot of people. expect members to be very emotional and talk about that day, how they had to spend most of the day in a safe room with each other. even though they thought they were going to come together and certify the election at the end of that day, they did not. they still ended the day with deep divisions, that will play out further. host: you should know c-span conducted a series of interviews

with members of capitol hill about their experiences on january 6, talking about the events of that day and the following. if you want to go to our website and find a series of interviews, you're welcome to do so at c-span.org. this is steve from north carolina, republican line. caller: i would like to ask both of you democrats a question if you do not mind, then make a statement about roseann on january 6. are you all both aware of the true of the fbi, seeing as how using the fbi was not involved, the fbi with the beginning of donald trump's presidency when they sat down with barack obama, joe biden and hillary clinton and let accrue for russia collusion that you people in the media lied about every day for three years? host: is that the question you want our guest to address? caller: no, sir.

host: what makes it affect? -- a fact. caller: that they let accrue -- a coup? host: you are not going to throw me off topic. -- caller: you are not going to throw me off topic. host: you are on with our guest. if you would like to direct or a question or comment, please do so. caller: roseann was murdered in d.c. by the d.c. police. before you ask where i heard this, this is from a lawyer of the people that are being illegally detained. host: how does that relate to the topic we are talking about? caller: it is january 6, is it not? she witnessed the lady murdered, the judge stated for fact, it is on record, if the video gets out

of her being murdered in the tunnel it will happen again. host: you made your point. you can address it you wish. guest: his point goes to the division in this country. i talked to congressman john curtis for this piece. he talked about how -- they are in congress because they are representing their voters and voter opinions. that is one reason why some members vote the way they did in response to the election and lawmakers make controversial statements because they are trying to represent their own basis. that leads to a division. it is interesting, sometimes detected democrats and they said no, we need to lead out and be a moral compass, there is a real debate on as a member of congress representative, should they be standing up differently

than how they feel their base wants them to do at home? host: democrats line, mark, hello. caller: you kind of still my thunder with that response. as we speak today, 75% of registered republicans according to polls belief trump won the election and it was stolen. 75%, which is just incredible to me. if you are a republican congressman from a deep red congressional district and the majority of your voter base believes trump won the election, it was stolen, what are you going to say? are you going to get up in front of congress into say it was a free and fair election and trump lost? you are not going to say that. you are going to say we are constituents want to hear. how do we address that? i would like your response, thank you. guest: i think it is tough.

the investigative claims of election fraud from the trump campaign, it is important to know there were dozens of cases that were brought to the court. there was no evidence of significant voter fraud that would have changed the results of the election. that is an important fact to note, especially in the events leading up to january 6. it is important to note that is where members were coming to. there were republicans who wanted an audit, wanted more of an investigation. some of them said they wanted to do that because they wanted voters to feel confident in the results. but the fact of the matter is, we were coming to january 6 after courts investigated that. that is up to members of congress to decide whether they look at the facts, you are right.

members of congress, especially in the house, are looking at reelection every two years. that totally reflects in the building. members of the house cannot do anything without it showing up -- without voters thinking of it, because it is so recent when they come on which is the senate, for you have six years. maybe you can take a controversial vote here and there. but you have seen lawmakers in the course of the nation history take a stand and know this vote they are about to take could cost them their seat. whether or not the vote they take does and whether or not the vote they take is defined by a moral compass, that has certainly happened. it happened the affordable care act, democrats said they were walking the plank, they believed it was important for the country. it certainly happened with some republicans who voted to impeach the president after january 6. some of them have chosen to

retire instead of run again because they feel like reelection would be tenuous. certainly it has happened in the nation's history and we have seen it play out. host: in your piece that people can find online, you talk about specific threats made to legislators. we will show than the chart, but talk about what is going on with these numbers. guest: the numbers have skyrocketed in recent years. we talked a -- two -- to capitol police, i think it is important to look at those numbers and see how they have increased in think about how a lawmaker is approaching a job in 2021 or 2022 versus how they may have approach the job five years ago. if you are showing up to work and you are worried about your life being threatened, your family being threatened, you may approach her job differently.

you may vote differently, because you are worried about safety or safety of your family. host: from mike on the line for independence in ohio. caller: good morning, thank you for c-span. i am an independent, only twice since 1972 have i voted for the winner of the white house. but i do vote republican religiously for city council in akron, i vote republican every time. however, when it comes to national politics, it is not that way. i cannot believe we have republicans in the senate and congress who worship trump. he has all the charm of a carnival barker. i've been to county fairs. they are nice people, when off the clock. but trump is never off the clock. he is a constant carnival barker. we have so many educated people

in congress who fear his wrath. as far as hillary is concerned, i had to hold my nose to vote for her. host: we will leave it to the previous comment. natalie, as far as president trump's influence on the issue on republican members of congress, how would you describe that? guest: republican lawmakers who want reelection want donald trump's endorsement in this cycle. they want to make him happy in order to get that. that it -- that certainly overshadows what republican lawmakers are doing right now. host: from billy in new york, democrat line. caller: speaking from wall street journal, you get a lot of both sides. like choosing chocolate or vanilla. you have 147 republicans in the house who refused to certify a valid election.

adam kinzinger -- republicans who believe the big lie -- they know ted cruz, josh hawley, contempt for constituents. you have a majority of republicans refusing to believe the 2020 election was a valid majority in adam kinzinger -- and adam kinzinger said they spread like crazy. even kevin brady said there were upstanding republicans. i was wondering why you should cooperate went the other side doesn't even believe you were validly elected and is saying your part of the -- and to send you are the jihad squad.

[indiscernible] guest: i can understand the frustration. their specific able to work together to solve problems of the american people, that is what the founding fathers wanted. but it is hard to do that when you have members who are not necessarily operating in a place of respect. there is a lack of respect on both sides. but there is certainly difference in the claims that republicans are talking about when they talk about whether or not the election was valid and democrats are coming from a place where they felt their lives were threatened, they felt like january 6 needed to be taken more seriously. those are two very different places to be coming from and two

very different places to start a discussion. host: when it comes to security itself on the capital, what changed after january 6? how much is still in place? guest: the biggest change is lawmakers have to walk through meg nonvoters to get to the house floor. a clear example -- magnometers. a clear example of distress. i talked to a democratic former police officer, he said he feels like they should be set up to walk people who are making those threats, not people who were victims. they people like crazy -- beep like crazy. as i have watched members walk through those, i look at the capitol police and dozens of police members were injured that day and they themselves face trauma. if the magnometers make them

feel like there is more protection and understanding of threats in the capitol, i can understand why they may want them there. they may want certain changes. there have been changes in terms of legislation that allow more backup to come to the capitol should the attack -- an attack happen that are designed to change security. but there are a lot of things that are gummed up that have not happened that capitol police have asked for. host: we saw a speaker announced a fine for congress numbers that bypass the magnometers. guest: most members tend to cooperate. we see a lot of them disregarding the mask policy on the house floor. several republicans do not wear masks, marjorie taylor greene has racked up quite -- thousands

of dollars in fines, i did not of the latest number because she does not like to wear masks on the house floor. most members, because they are walking by a capitol police officer who is handling it, there is a level of respect. so most members do stop, they acknowledge the police. they just do not like doing it. host: this is john, republican line. caller: good morning. i understand the six the moment of the constitution of our country guarantees a speedy trial. there have been people in this riot that have been in jail almost a year. a lot of them have been in solitary confinement. i think that is very unjust to anybody, thank you. host: we will go to and from north carolina, democrat line. caller: i would like to make two points.

first, i think the republicans were trying to chase a budget by trying to turn the focus off security that day. if someone breaks into your home , my guess is the police are going to focus on trying to find out who broke in and the motivation, not the kind of security you had at that time. i think that is something that will be discussed later. secondly, aren't representatives voted on to tell the truth, not go along with what constituents say? they are there to tell everyone the truth. thank you. host: natalie andrews. guest: that second point does go to what lawmakers have been asked. another caller brought that up. when you as a voter vote for a member of congress, what are you expecting them to do? are you expecting them to go to congress, during committees, conduct investigations then vote

with information they have that may be more than what a voter has and take that, that is how they legislate? or are you expecting them to execute what, as a voter, you will even -- believe in? those are two different things. we believe members of congress have different thoughts. host: i know over the years on this program, we have invited members to come on, sometimes associated with the problem solvers congress and others on separate legislation. what are they doing to keep the idea of bipartisanship alive, especially of the things you are describing? guest: you bring up the caucus, that is one of the few strong bipartisan legislative groups on capitol hill. they want to make a difference. it can be debated on how much difference they've been able to

push and pull in different legislation, but this is a group that meets regularly, that talks about legislation. there is a lot of bipartisan caucuses that are not necessarily as legislation focus. but this group is. they meet regularly and talk about everything from spending bills to pandemic response. this group almost fell right after january 6. they strive to have an even number of democrats and republicans so they can talk and potentially vote together if they take a stand on legislation. there were four members of the caucus, the members have changed since january. there were four members at the time who voted against certifying the election. when i talked to congressman dean phillips, the democrat from minnesota, he said he almost left the problem solvers caucus. it was hard for him to think

about working with these people. he said he wanted to become a member of the problem solvers caucus more than a member of congress. he had such respect for that group and what they were trying to do, repair the damage in congress. but he said it was really hard. i talked to tom reed, congressman from new york who was at the time a co-chair. he said the group almost fell apart, that they had to have several sessions where they just aired grievances, talked about the division, january 6, members who voted against certifying a state election results. they had to have a kind of group therapy for several sessions about this moment. and what it had done to the relationship in the group. host: robert in new york, republican line. caller: i would like to make a few points today.

number one, no police officer was ever murdered in the riot. trump had nothing to do with them, we all know that. he did not control the people. nancy pelosi was the head of security. there was one murder, the women they shot and the had no one ever talks about. two, all the cops and riots and all the people murdered and all the states where they said it is ok to rob, go take what you want, they are still doing it. no one is trying to find these criminals. they are still letting people rob because they can just go ahead and steal because they need to feed their family. but they're not robbing grocery stores. how ridiculous is that? our president commends the crime by other people coming across the border illegally -- host: we will leave it there. the idea of security, did you

spend time at the capital and as far as manpower and the capitol police, what are the differences you are seeing? we heard the police chief talking about them trying to rebuild the force. what do you see on capitol hill day in and day out? guest: the members of the capitol police are under a lot of strain because they are having to work a lot of overtime. they have lost members, they are struggling to fill shifts. they have to work overtime, it is a taxing job. it is important to review the facts. seven people died as a result of that day. there were officer suicide that have been connected to that day. a police officer did die from his injuries from that day. it is incredibly tragic. the police officer who shot ashli babbitt outside of the house chamber was cleared of all wrongdoing.

so it is important to know those facts have been investigated and established. this is a police force that has now undergone a lot of trauma. there have been policeman who died since that day through an attack. so it is certainly a tough force to be a member of this year. this has been one of the worst years for capitol police. host: independent line, kansas city, missouri. caller: i was wondering if the democratic lady knew anything about what kind of [indiscernible] host: thank you, voice. -- royce. guest: i did not quite hear the question, i member of the wall street journal and not a member of any political party. i wanted to clear that up.

[indiscernible] host: we've lost them both. natalie, because you talked about what is going on because of january 6 and you talked about things that have to be done in congress, remind people about the agenda in the second term, the things i need to be accomplished only in short-term but long-term. guest: expect to hear a lot about the spending bill, congress kicked the can down the road as they left to do into february on spending. so expect to start hearing more discussions about a government shutdown, whether we will have it and what congress needs to do to avoid that. we know those discussions need to happen, we are not hearing a lot of movement. not a lot of movement was expected over the christmas break, but expect to hear that now. in the senate, discussions about

voting rights legislation, access to voting. you will hear discussions about the filibuster. chuck schumer would like to bring voting legislation to the floor, he has support of his democratic caucus, you need 60 votes in order to start discussion on a bill. he does not have 10 republicans who will join him. so expect to hear discussions on senate rules. we are headed into an election year, a midterm year. there is not going to be a lot of progress in congress. expect them to keep the lights on and debate bills that have to pass. the next big thing in there is the spending bill. host: would legislators tell you january 6 will be part of the midterm election process, or theme? guest: i think you could see it as a theme. there will be some districts where they will not talk about

it at all, and there may be some competitive districts where it comes up. and midterm elections, it is a referendum on the president and how he is doing. they all tie into january 6, biden was not the president then. i would expect to hear a lot about supply chain issues, the economy. . whatever happened this or that reflects on the economy and pandemic response. because voters tend to vote with what is facing them right now, in front of them. those issues will be more front and center. host: this is pamela in new york, democratic line. caller: i have a comment, then a couple questions. my comment is, i was watching television on the sixth with a dear friend of mine who is in new york, i was in oregon at the time. i am 73, she was close to 90. i was in tears over what was

going on. it was one of the saddest days of my entire life, january 6. into the man who said something about hilary, let me see if she had one, we would not be where we are now. number two, i would like to ask a question. when nixon did the watergate scandal, the republican party turned on him and said that is it, we are done with you. that is when he decided to resign. i have his speech on a cd about that. he decided to resign after they said we want you out. i want to know what kind of power does trump have that is backing his ability to do all of what he is doing, to keep the republican party from doing what is right? there is some kind of power behind this, it is very scary. i am a democrat, i feel that democracy is at stake here.

host: pamela will finish us off, go ahead. guest: when i talked to republicans and democrats about this, there are several lawmakers who share a worry over how much power trump has. nixon lost the support of his party. donald trump has a lot of control, he has a very strong base that follows him. there were several people who went to the capitol on january 6 because they felt donald trump had called them to do so. that power over voters matters a lot when you want to get elected in the fall. it is a different time then when nixon was president. as long as donald trump has that kind of control over his base, republican lawmakers who need his endorsement to be reelected will look to him. host: natalie enters reports for

the wall street journal, you can find her work on their website. she serves as a congressional reporter. thank you for joining us, happy new year. coming up, talking about the latest news about the omicron variant with dr. schaffner. that discussion next on washington journal. ♪ >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more, including comcast. >> you think this is just a community center? it is way more. >> comcast is partnering with a thousand community centers so students from low income families can get the tools they need to be ready for anything. >> comcast support c-span as a

public service along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. ♪ >> c-span offers a variety of podcasts that have something for every listener. washington today gives you the latest from the nation's capital. book notes plus has in-depth interviews with writers about the latest work while the weekly uses audio from our archive to look at how issues of the day developed over years. our occasional series talking with futures extensive conversation with historians about their lives and work. many television programs are also available as podcasts. you can find them all on the c-span now mobile app or wherever you get your podcast. ♪ >>cspanshop.org is where you can find the latest apparel, books,

home to core and accessories. there is something for every fan. every purchase helps support our nonprofit operation. shop now or anytime. >> down the c-span2 mobile app and stay up-to-date with live video coverage of the days because political events from live streams of the house and senate floors to key congressional hearings, to white house events and supreme court oral arguments. even our live, interactive morning 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: dr. william schaffner is with medical university -- vanderbilt university medical center. thank you for giving us your time. guest: good morning, good to be

with you. happy new year. host: when it comes to the omicron variant, we hear a lot of things daily. as far as your medical perspective, where arbery -- are we as a country and ready you see is going? guest: i think we are in a transition period. we are still going to have a lot of new cases because we have had all of this holiday travel and get together. the virus was attending a lot of those events, there was spread and you will see the consequences of that in the next two or three weeks. that will happen. we are vaccinating more people, this omicron virus is spreading and together, they are going to produce some level of what we call population immunity or herd immunity. so my guarded optimism is that by the end of january, beginning of february, i think we may be able to get ahead, finally, of

this virus. if there is no new variant that shows up on the scene. we have been here twice before, each time a new variant has shown up. i hope that does not happen again. while we are focused on covid, the other thing we want to pay attention to is the other nasi virus waking up across the country, our old friend, influenza. it is waking up this year -- nasty virus waking up this year across the country, our old friend, influenza. if they come together, we could have a twindemic which would strain the health care system very substantially and cause more turbulence. we will see how that works out.

it is not too late to get your influenza vaccine, but do it today. host: how would you characterize what is going on in hospitals right now because of omicron and the concerns decided -- you cited? guest: omicron spread six to the nearly contagious lee. it tends to produce less severe disease among people who are vaccinated, particularly among those who are already boosted. i say less severe, but it is still putting a great strain on medical clinics, emergency rooms, doctors offices and the like. the people who are still getting hospitalized, this varies across the country, are people who were unvaccinated. they are still at risk of the most severe disease. parts of the country are already seriously stressed.

here in tennessee, where i live, cases of hospitalization are going up. but we are not complete lease just yet. but we are worried because of the consequence of all of the holiday travel and revelry. host: our guest with us until 9:30, (202) 748-8000 for eastern and central time zones. (202) 748-8001 four pacific. guest: i think the unvaccinated people are the recipients of this virus and are at greatest risk of serious disease. those are the classic folks, people who are older than 65. if you are younger, have an underlying illness of any kind, also obesity, those things put

you at greater risk of winding up in the hospital. if you are immune compromised, i would hope those folks have taken advantage of vaccination. it does not always work perfectly if you are immune compromised, but we trust in many to offer some degree of protection. the spread is occurring among people who were unvaccinated and vaccinated. but among the vaccinated people, if they develop an infection, it is very likely to be a mild disease. not requiring hospitalization. it could put you in bed for a day or two, but that is a whole lot better than requiring hospital admission. host: i want you hear from dr. fauci, he was talking yesterday about the topic of quarantining, the reduction of number of days and possible considerations in

the future. i want to play what he said indicate your response. [video clip] >> pretty big backlash to the cdc cutting quarantine down to five days. are you surprised by that? why not require a negative test for that extra layer of protection? >> let us talk about the first principle. the idea of if a person is without symptoms and infected, they need to be isolated for five days. normally, that would be 10 days. the cdc decided they would cut that down to five days if the person remains asymptomatic, so long as when they do go out in the second five days of the 10 day period back into society, they diligently wear. you are right, there has been some concern about why we do not ask people at the five day period to get tested.

that is something that is now under consideration. the cdc is well aware there has been pushed back that. looking at it again, there may be an option that testing could be a part of that. we are going to be hearing more about that in the next day or so from the cdc. host: that is dr. fauci's assessment. what do you think of that? guest: let us divide that into two. why did the cdc put in these new recommendations regarding quarantine? very easily, the first thing is science had accumulated such that it clearly, by now, has demonstrated people with the omicron variant that you are most contagious the day or two days before you got sick, then the day and second day after he became sick. after that, the virus you were

shedding begins to diminish very substantially. so they decided quarantine for five days, plus an additional five days of wearing the mask in public. science supported this. why did they make this decision now? it was evident. the omicron variant was making so many people mildly ill and causing so much quarantine of exposed people that we were seeing the airline industry, for example if and both collegiate and professional sports absolutely being disrupted. never mind the health care industry, which was having difficulty keeping enough personnel working, taking care of sick people.

so they decided to walk the tightrope. but we can do with reasonable safety is tell people to quarantine for five days, then if you are without symptoms, you can come back to work if you are careful in wearing the mask. that was one issue. then, we raise the issue of testing. that is a nice concept. can you test negative out of quarantine and come back and perhaps not wear the mask? i think that is what a lot of people have in mind. we will have to see what the cdc says. but mind you, this is not a get out of jail free card, as easy as it would sound. there are problems with testing, let me give you one. it turns out the highly sensitive pcr tests can be

positive for only days, but weeks after you recover completely. that does not mean you have a life of virus in your body and are contagious. that test is so sensitive it picks up a viral debris, little fragments of the virus that remain in your system for a long period of time. if people had the positive pcr tests for weeks, we do not want them to stay home for the whole time. so every test result has to be carefully interpreted. let us see what the cdc says going forward. a lot of people would like to test out. the other thing we have to remember is tests are not widely , completely and freely widely available. we are going to have to worry about equity issues.

there are going to be people who do not have access financially to the test. are they going to have to remain in quarantine longer than people who are more affluent and can go to the local pharmacy invited test -- and by the test? host: our first call, linda is in netiquette. good morning, you are on -- connecticut. in morning, you are on. caller: thank you for taking my call. dr. schaffner, i enjoy you so much. i had three modernity shots -- moderna shots, i think my first one may have been given faulty. maybe too far back in the arm. sorry, i got another call. i had no reaction at all to the first one. no sore arm, nothing. the second and third, strong reaction.

i even had the covid arm with the second one. about a month after the second one, i had a sars-cov-2 spike semi-cumin -- semi q letter -- q n. but i don't know. i'm still staying inside not doing anything because i don't know if that first shot was faulty. if -- is there a test i can take and say you are ok or you are not. my friends are traveling and i'm sitting at home fearful because that first shot -- i don't know. in the test studies, all the shots were given perfectly. in the real world -- my question

is how do i know if i protected if i don't know if the first shot was given correctly? guest: linda, i think i'm going to reassure you. we are not sure about that first shot but if you got an injection, at least some vaccine got into your body. you have now had three inoculations. i think you can consider yourself vaccinated and boosted. there are other reasons -- perhaps you have diabetes. i don't know your medical history. if you are going into large groups, you should continue to wear your mask. and a quick answer, there is still no commercially available test that can reliably tell you whether you are protected.

we could talk about that for a long time. i'm afraid that is still the case. we hope this year, such testing will become available. host: robert is from greenville texas. caller: good morning. i don't want to sound like an alarmist or anything that i sensed a lot of fear in that first caller's question. are we had a point -- take off the kid gloves for a second. are we at a point to either pursue this one of two ways -- let it run its course, everybody get infected. deal with the consequences. come up with a vaccine that will cure all and just recognize this as an extremely powerful flu bug.

or two, get to the point where the people who are supposed to be leading this country and making the policy decisions that everybody follows, get up the gumption to actually pass a law that says insurance companies be liable for any house little stays, for anybody that does not follow the cdc guidelines and vaccinations. period. host: that's robert. guest: you have taken off the kid gloves for sure. generally in our society, we haven't quite been that tough. we have kept the kid gloves on. first, just letting the virus run and affect people -- in public health we want to prevent

as much illness as possible. we would like to prevent hospitalizations, people dying and even people having milder illness. we are going to continue to promote vaccination. clearly two doses plus a booster provides substantial protection against hospitalization. we talked about developing a vaccine that would work comprehensively. there are vaccine scientists trying to make a vaccine right now in our own walter reed army institute of research that would be a comprehensive, almost universal covid vaccine. one that would protect against a whole variety of different strains. if that were to be successful, then we could really get ahead of this virus and we wouldn't have to worry about variants

crying out one after the other. let's cross our fingers that that scientific line of research will be successful. host: vanderbilt university's dr. william schaffner. you are on. go ahead. caller: i want to say, i am a never trumper. i think this guy was an idiot. i don't understand why people voted for him. i didn't like hillary clinton either. i think joe biden should have been the president at the beginning. host: our guest isn't here to talk politics. he is to talk omicron variant. what question do you have towards that? caller: the omicron variant is a new variant because people did not follow the cdc recommendations on getting the vaccine and that is what the problem is.

because trump has a political problem. they followed all his craziness about not getting the vaccine in the first place. if they got it, the variant would not be here. guest: every variant of concern that has affected us in this covid saga has actually originated abroad and then has been transported here. the virus doesn't need a passport. it came into this country. this is an opportunity to remind everyone that we need to take a global view about this. as we are trying to control the virus in the united states, we also have to think about what's happening around the world

because if this virus continues to multiply abundantly around the world, there are opportunities for it to mutate. it can throw off by chance alone new variants that start there, but will surely be here in no time at all. so let's think globally while we are working locally. host: from walker, louisiana. this is james. hello. caller: good morning dr. schaffner. surely you understand the flu didn't disappear in 2020. the cdc just finally admitted the tests they had been using could not differentiate between covid and the flu. therefore the covid numbers you have been spouting have been overblown to a great proportion. the fear porn you have put on the public is criminal and hopefully dr. fauci will die in jail waiting for his execution. host: you have to watch language

like that. let's go to robin in old forge, pennsylvania. caller coat -- guest: i could help with that previous gentlemen. with all due respect, i think the gentleman is misinformed. the tests we use clearly differentiate influenza from covid and there is a question. why did we have such a low almost nonexistent influenza season last year? and the answer there is very simple i think. we were all locked home. we weren't at work. we were wearing our masks. our children were not in school. children are the great distribution mechanism for the influenza virus in our community and that's because children when they acquire influenza, they shed an enormous amount of

virus. more than adults and they shed for a longer period of time. so they spread it amongst themselves at school and in the playground and then they bring it home to mom, dad, grandpa, to the lady next door who has diabetes and they spread influenza. that's classical epidemiology. this year we are back in school. we are not wearing our masks. we are much more engaged with each other and influenza is now waking up across the country. we are scheduled to have at least a moderate if not moderately severe influenza season. these are different viruses. you can distinguish them and they can be active in our communities simultaneously. host: i want to ask you about a recent story in the world of politics. representative marjorie taylor greene had her twitter account

suspended because she put out information from the vaccine reporting system. the database itself, can you tell our viewers what it is and how you or we should approach information found in that database? guest: we have in the united states the most comprehensive vaccine adverse event surveillance system in the world. and it is a system that involves a number of different programs of which theirs is central. the system has been in place for decades and it was enhanced in the anticipation of our using covid vaccines so widely. the vaccine adverse event reporting system.

any layperson if they get vaccinated can go into the database and report what they think is an adverse event associated with being vaccinated. think about this carefully. that's very raw data. you are going to be surprised when people go back and try to validate what's happening. they have to clean the database. would you believe there are some people who for one reason or another, maybe just inadvertence, report and illness related to vaccination where the illness has actually occurred before the vaccination? or they report what they think is an adverse event that doesn't meet the definition of a certain kind of serious adverse event. we had to define these illnesses

carefully. these are prevented by medical professionals. so there's is raw data. it is used for further very sophisticated analyses which are being run literally on a daily basis by the cdc. this system in these analyses have shown us that there are indeed very rare event that have occurred as a consequence of vaccination which we didn't know about before. for example, that very rare, very unusual blood clotting disorder that occurred particularly among younger women as a consequence of the j&j vaccine. that was a needle in the haystack. the system found it and information was promptly,

clearly communicated not only to the medical professionals to the general population. this system really is working. but don't take their data at face value. i have to be carefully vetted, they have to be carefully evaluated and analyzed. host: robin in old forge, pennsylvania. caller: good morning. happy new year. i have an autoimmune disease. a skin disease where i get blisters all over my body. i am now back on mass doses of steroids and i have to get my booster. as the booster shot the same as the other shots that i got? i'm really worried that when i get the shot like last time, the blisters came out on my body again and i'm confused. i'm on drugs to lower my immune system and then i'm going to get

the booster shot to boost my immune system. it's got me so confused. i wish i had just had the choice of taking it and being better or not taking it. i'm just so confused. i need some guidance. guest: permit me to comfort and reassure you and of course refer you to the doctor who is taking care of you with your immune system disorder. you are in a very sensitive circumstance, as is everyone who has an immune system disorder. first of all, either the illness or the medication you are taking suppresses your immune system so that you remain in the best health. with that suppressed immune system, when we give you the vaccine, the immune system cannot respond optimally. in the vast majority of instances, you can take the vaccine safely. it will not harm you.

however, you don't respond optimally. therefore an addition to the vaccine, it is always recommended anyone with an impaired immune system keep that mask on. careful of your social interactions. because you were going to be more vulnerable if you acquire the infection forgetting more severe disease. bottom line, please talk to your doctor and get advice about when this booster would be appropriate for you. host: tony is in savannah georgia. caller: good morning. i have a question about this thing. i have had the moderna vaccinations, all three of them plus the booster. about three days ago i became sick with a sore throat, continuous cough, and i have no smell.

so i went to the pharmacy and i took a test and it came back negative. then i went to another doctor and took another test and it came back negative. so i asked the doctor, why do i have these symptoms if i'm negative? and can't smell and still have a sore throat. he doesn't know. i don't have the flu and i'm negative for the viruses. so i became really alarmed when he gave me the paper and the paper says, these results saying that your negative does not mean that you don't have the corona 19 virus. so what am i to do? i don't have any water in my lungs either. so what is going on?

host: thank you for your question. guest: if you are in the advanced class. bear with me for just a moment. you have been vaccinated and one of two things can have happened. first, you could have gotten infected with another winter respiratory virus. there are any number of them out there that are now starting to spread and even some of those other viruses can interfere with your taste and smell sensation. so that's possibility number one. it's another virus. the other possibility is exactly as you mentioned. the rapid tests sometimes give you a false negative result. they are not quite as sensitive, they are not quite as rigorous as the pcr tests that is sent away and if you have just a little bit of virus back in your

nose and throat, sometimes the rapid test although it reads negative your result, you really do have omicron infection. so we can't tell the difference at the present time if you had a mild case of omicron or another winter respiratory virus that looks a lot like omicron. sorry i can't this -- can't distinguish, but i hope you get better quickly. host: another question from twitter about cloth face coverings. guest: all of the masks are effective. some work better than others. the simple blue surgical masks that are widely available will reduce your risk. a cloth mask has to be

multilayered. i know there are some people who disparage their use. i'm just happy for people to wear any kind of mask they wish. of course the most rigorous mask is actually called a respirator, the so-called n95 or k n95's. those fit very tightly around her nose, cheeks and. and when they do, you will notice that the work of breathing in and out is harder and that's because absolutely all your breathing goes through this tightly fitted mask. a lot of people have difficulty wearing those for a long period of time. we wear them in the health care environment. some of them are available through the internet and sometimes even at your local pharmacy. the important thing is to wear a mask. and remember, please.

you have to wear the mask above the nose. wearing the mask below the nose, that is like not wearing a mask at all. host: lynn in portland oregon. good morning. caller: i have a comment and a question. my comment is that i've never heard donald trump say not to take the vaccine. he developed it, he took it, he took therapeutics. i have taken the shot. two months later, i had a breakthrough and had covid. i had in my friends circle people that have things with their bodies that they do not feel it is safe to take the shot. why can't we have some sort of antibody test that also qualifies. so many that are losing their jobs and such. if they've already had it and

had antibodies, why can't that be a definitive action? guest: we would wish for definitive antibody tests and you are now going to be in the advanced class. the commercially available antibody tests will tell you if you have had previous infection and give you a sense of how much antibody you have. they are less reliable in telling you whether you have protection after having been vaccinated. the antibody tests available commercially through your doctor's office can tell you whether you have had previous infection. bear in mind, even if you have had previous infection, it is advised that you nonetheless still get vaccinated. why would that be?

the answer is that after infection you get a certain amount of antibody. if you add vaccination to that, you get much more. and that additional amount of antibody is thought to be associated with a longer duration of protection and also wider protection against variants. so the infection is good. natural infection plus vaccine, much better. host: richard in canada. you are next up. caller: good morning. in response to a foia request, the fda went to federal court and asked the judge to delay release of safety data on the pfizer vaccine until the year 2096 when most of us will be dead. so why should we have any confidence in the fda or pfizer or doctors like you who are not

even angry with the fda is doing about asking a federal court to delay releasing data on the pfizer vaccine until the year 2096? guest: thank you richard. i need to be educated about that. i don't know about it. i'm actually an associate member to the cdc's advisory committee on immunization practices and myself and our colleagues are given the full range of information and public meetings. you can tune into the meetings of the cdc's advisory committee on immunization practices. it's a wonderfully transparent exercise. and all the safety information on every single vaccine is presented. so i have really quite good confidence that you and i are

receiving all the safety information on these vaccines. host: sheila in bristol, connecticut. caller: i wanted to talk about the fact that the vaccines work and the boosters work. i am living proof that that's true. i am in immunocompromised 65-year-old. i had one of those superbugs. anyway, basically i'm immunocompromised now. i had pneumonia about 20 times. i never got a flu shot. but my doctor had me get a pneumonia shot. i haven't had pneumonia since i got it. i figured i would be doomed -- when it came out, guess what.

i prayed for that. i'm taking it and i trust the science. that god put on earth to take care of us. in the boosters, i was around. i was around my knees last summer taking care of her every day and she came up positive. i had most of my shots. i did not get sick. everybody around her got sick but me. also the booster, christmas eve i was with about seven family members. one cannot sick on christmas day. my 85-year-old mother was there. she had the booster. two people there got sick for a day. they were fine. host: what do you want our guest to address?

caller: i just wanted to say the shots work. guest: i'm so glad that you are an advocate for the vaccine. i hope you do that in your local neighborhood and encourage others to get vaccinated. stay safe this year. host: you see a scenario where constant boosters are going to be part of american life? >> my crystal ball is a little bit cloudy. let's just recall that with influenza vaccine, that virus changes from time to time so we have to update the vaccine. it's recommended that we get annual boosters against influenza. is it impossible that we would be required to get an annual booster against covid? i think it's a personally reasonable expectation and you

will be glad to hear that the vaccine scientists are already in anticipation working to try to create a single vaccine including influenza and covid. so each year we would still only have to roll up one sleeve in order to get vaccinated and remain protected. let's hold on and we will tell you what's necessary next year. host: as far as children and teens are concerned, what is your comfort level? >> i would unhesitatingly say every child five and older, please take those children to the pediatrician, to your public health clinic and get them vaccinated. it's very important. it is true that children are less apt to get seriously ill.

it's not zero. we have children being admitted to children's hospitals across the country with covid as i speak and nobody would want that you don't want your child to get long covid. those symptoms that can go on and on. as i like to say, do not listen to bill. talk to your pediatrician, your family doctor. they are there for you to care for your children day in and day out. they will give you good advice if you are hesitant. host: let's hear from diane in albany, new york. caller: my daughter and i are scheduled to take an international trip in early february. is this safe for an 82-year-old

lady? i'm very nervous about the whole thing. guest: your concern is quite reasonable. there are two things i would say about that. one is the travel experience and the other is where you are going and what will happen there. i trust that you are fully vaccinated and boosted. nonetheless, when you are out there, you will be asked to mask and as far as possible, social distance. i think the actual travel experience is going to be relatively low risk. however, what you need to consider is where you are going, what are you doing and what's happening with covid wherever you are going. and there's a lot of covid going on wherever you intend to go around the world.

let's say western europe for example and there are restrictions in place so your caution is reasonable. i can only say think about this very carefully. i don't like to use that four letter word, safe. that sounds like complete safety. i use the other four letter word, risk. you can reduce your risk but there will be some risk. take care and if you do travel, bon voyage. host: go ahead with your question or comment please. caller: happy new year. i think you announced the retirement, if you are the one that did, i thank you for your service for all these years. you are my go to guys on tv

besides my primary doctor of like 30 years. on the variant, i heard reported when it first came out in africa that the majority of it, the mutation was the common cold. it's going toward dying out to being like the common cold. why from the beginning weren't we honest on the rna vaccines that they aren't vaccine? i think the history of them has been a lot of good use and cancer research and such. it's more of a treatment than a vaccine. it seems very surreal -- some of the calls -- we have been going through this for two years. you've got to be living under a rock if you don't know about masks and traveling and everything else.

the doctors are sounding on tv more like pediatrics -- wash your hands and everything. we are not being real with the people and honest. we are more like trying to control the people instead of getting rid of the virus. host: thanks for the call. go ahead. guest: thanks for your comments and be reassured, do not give my chief any idea. i don't know how to spell that word retire. i'm here for the duration. the mrna vaccine is a new technology current -- applied to creating vaccines. they do work to prevent disease rather than to treat it. they are safe, they are effective and obviously i encourage everyone to be vaccinated and to get there boosters.

host: dr. william schaffner. from vanderbilt university. thanks for your time. happy new year. guest: happy and safe new year. host: we will finish off the program with the question we started with. the senate back this week, the house back next week. a lot on the agenda. what would be your message to your leaders? (202) 748-8000 democrats. (202) 748-8001 republicans. (202) 748-8002 independents. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. funded by these television companies and more including charter communication. >> broadband is the force for empowerment.

empowering opportunity in communities big and small. >> charter communications supports c-span as a public service along with these other television providers. giving you a front row seat to democracy. at least six presidents recorded conversations while in office. here many of those conversations on c-span's new podcast. >> season one focuses on the presidency of lyndon johnson. you will hear about the civil rights act, the march on selma and the war in vietnam. not everyone knew they were being recorded. >> johnson's secretaries knew because they were tasked with transcribing those conversations. they are the ones who made sure

the conversations were taped. johnson would signals to them through an open door between his office and theirs. >> i want to report the number of people assigned to kennedy when he died. if i can't ever go to the bathroom, i won't go. >> presidential recordings. find it on the c-span now verbal lap or wherever you got your podcasts. get c-span on the go. watch the day's biggest political events live or on-demand any time on our new mobile video app. within the c-span radio and discover new podcasts for free. download c-span now today.

washington journal continues. host: what is your message to political leaders in washington, d.c.? it comes to activity on capitol hill today, the house coming in next week. they will hold the pro forma session. noon, judicial nominations will be the topic in order. that will be in the senate side. follow along at c-span.org. when it comes to future activity in the senate, chuck schumer on his twitter feed saint senator harry reid will lie in state at the rotunda.

when it comes to news from the sunday shows yesterday, it was the republican governor of maryland larry hogan talking about the events of january 6. the headline from the hills saying, anyone could watch those events and believe it was just tourist looking at statutes. that's the headline. >> that's one of the reasons i continue to speak up and tell the truth about what happened. i think it's critically important. it's crazy that that many people believe that things that simply aren't true, they believe a different version of reality. there's been an amazing amount of disinformation spread over the past year. to think that the violent

protesters who attacked the capitol on january 6 was just tourist looking at statutes, it's insane that anyone could watch that on television and believe that's what happened. host: that was governor larry hogan of maryland. maybe there are other issues you would want to address. here's your chance to do so. what would you message b. from marie in pennsylvania, democrat line. >> good morning to the gentleman that's in charge. i am very lucky that i was able to come to the united states at 15 years old. i feel that what is going on right now democrats and republicans need independence

and everybody in this country needs to put their heads together and preserve our democracy. host: how should they specifically do that? caller: by coming to a consensus that whenever people no matter what kind of disorder, it needs to be taken care of by all the parties. and recognize that we don't need to tear each other apart. we don't. host: that's marie in pennsylvania. first up as far as message to your leaders deborah, michigan. independent line. you are next. caller: actually i'm in annapolis maryland. thank you for the opportunity. i'm a faithful c-span washer -- watcher especially washington journal.

i think the democracy, our country, our constitution is really under threat. we need to recognize that's important right now. i agree other bills need to be looked at. we need to come to a consensus among the citizens and the people who are elected that our values as a democracy, all of those things seem to be under attack with people with completely different views on what's going on. i think we are at an inflection point and i believe it's fairly dangerous. host: you said those things were under threat and under attack. specifically how? caller: i am an independent, i have been raised republican. i've been a democrat. i'm an independent. but i know that the former began early on questioning the vote

and whether or not it was going to be legitimate. when people begin to worry about that, it gets at the heart of our democracy. because if we don't have a free vote and people don't believe our votes are correct, that they are not fake or they haven't been fraudulent, it begins to eat away at the heart of who we are. those are the things that are worrying me. i believe there are a lot of people who may be silent who are worried about it and i think that what has to happen now when they go back into session is these kind of things have to be addressed and it's got to be done without politics and i'm not sure how you do that. but politics gets into the problem. host: that's deborah and marilyn. let's hear from downing. republican line.

caller: yes sir. happy new year. i -- i believe that the democrats should feel very bad about electing this joe biden. i still hear them saying that he is doing good. a lot better than trying. i think either blind or -- host: your message to washington leaders would be what? caller: i which this -- wish that nancy pelosi and schumer would simply resign. missing with the american ideals by instituting these socialist ideals. they are in cahoots with the communist in some way or another or i believe it so. host: that's downing in

oceanside. the white house today announcing plans and jet addressing the rising prices for meat and poultry including setting aside a billion dollars for small producers. the biden administration revealed a plan to strengthen and diversify meet production. the white house previously pointed to a small number of conglomerates for meat and poultry prices. when dominant middlemen control so much of the supply chain they can increase profits at the expense of farmers who make less and consumers, farmers have little or no choice -- and little leverage to negotiate. on this idea of a message to washington especially the leaders in washington, d.c..

from north carolina, independent line. this is matthew. hello. caller: thanks for having me. my message to the world leaders or washington leaders would be finding a way to communicate with each other where it's not a filibuster because people don't want it to get political. but it's unfortunately going to get political and it just creates a disaster. we have to address the issue. which is going back -- host: go ahead and finish your thought. caller: back in 2016, he requested russia to hack the

united states on live television. when he became president, hacking tools for the internet was leaked. he did nothing. held several states for ransom via ransomware. created a peace treaty with the taliban. pressured 500 taliban prisoners to be released. host: ok. so the message would be what exactly? caller: i don't know. finding a way to navigate through all the chaos. we have legislation sitting in congress that's being filibustered since day one. our infrastructure deal that was passed as being filibustered in congress along with voting rights and other stuff. host: one of the topics addressed yesterday was the

topic of education. it was on fox news sunday where the education secretary talked about the administration's desire to keep schools open for in person learning. >> our expectation is for schools to be open full-time for students for in person learning. we remember the impact of school closures on students. we have $10 billion in the american rescue plan for surveillance testing. we recognize there may be some bumps in the road when superintendents are getting calls saying that some of their schools may have five to 10% of their staff not available. any decisions on short-term or emergency closures are most likely based on staffing issues. the goal is full-time in person

learning for our students. they've suffered enough. >> those schools that plan to remain open including larger school districts have announced strategies centered very much on testing to stay ahead of the spread and keep in person learning. how practical in your estimation is the testing centered approach when there is a nationwide testing shortage, federal distribution up in the air and new research showing it's questioning the reliability of detecting omicron by the widely used rapid tests? how do you square that? >> we know testing as part of overall strategy. vaccination efforts are also a big part of that strategy and we have seen them work. schools should be thinking about a testing strategy so if

students are having symptoms they can be tested in school. keeping them in school is critical for them. it's really important that testing protocols aren't done in isolation. host: may be part of your message to washington leaders. afghan refugees more than 50,000 have been released into the united states last year. texas contusions population of evacuees. india new jersey, new mexico, virginia and wisconsin. they were brought in operation allies welcome, the goal is to assist africans that had helped the u.s. during the 20 year war effort that ended august 31. from north carolina, this is

lewis. democrat line. caller: i've got a lot of things on the list i know washington should take care of. we've got a lot of republican senators not coming on board. like the john lewis voting right . why is it always on the democrats to pass something like that? don't they have constituents in their state as well? don't they realize that it's one of the fundamentals of america to be able to have free voting and easy access? they want to stop while -- what this country is all about. why the republicans not saying anything about republican -- about voting rights like utah, all these states that

republicans don't want to partake in because of gerrymandering. so voting is top priority. but this year for me as a person of color who loves this country. host: let's hear from randy and florian, louisiana. caller: and q for taking my call. the democrats and republicans, it's the same party. they sold out this country and the only way people are going to bring it back his first if they get the voting machines corrected from this bogus election we just had. if good and invalid -- you've got and invalid in office. he's taking cues from soros or

negrobama and his boyfriend michael. host: ok. caller. leave it there. the snow behind me has postponed a couple of things on capitol hill. we told you the senate was coming in. they are going to convene now at noon today very briefly. i had a vote planned for today. that will probably be pushed off as these things happen and washington, d.c.. you can always keep close to what's going on at c-span.org. you can also keep track of what's going on on our networks through the c-span now at. prescott valley arizona. republican line. this is stephen.

caller: i would like to hold our politicians accountable for when they lie to the public. my example is during the russian investigation, shift on national tv told the american public and everyone who voted democrat that he had the goods on trump and he was not held accountable for that. i don't think our president should weigh in on that trial they had in wisconsin. i think he should be accountable and he shouldn't do that. about the supreme court, it's only the republican judges that will go over lines. i've seen a democrat supreme court justice ever go over and vote for republican cause. it's always the republicans. even two of the three trump put

in voted -- didn't vote for a pro-republican mandate. host: moses is next in new york. caller: good morning. the biggest problem, the democrats. the politicians in washington. both democrats and republicans. too much partisanship they don't agree on things. the fight spills down to communities. because when you go through communities, he don't find that much fighting around. in washington, republicans come up with an idea. democrats don't like the idea. if democrats come up with an idea, republicans don't like the idea. time limits. i think we need time limits. the money gets entrenched in

politics. host: so moses, where do you live in new york again? caller: i live in florida, new york. host: you are saying where you live there is not that much partisanship but it changes when it comes to washington, d.c.? caller: in the communities. my neighbor is democrat, republican, we all get along. so communities don't have that much infighting. like it is in washington. those members of congress need to cool their heads down. like it was the biggest problem affecting our democracy. host: let's moses -- that's moses in new york.

this is matthew, independent line. caller: thank you for having me on the air again. sorry about that before. i'm not used to speaking publicly to people. that's why i was little off when i was talking earlier. host: hold on, did you call today already? caller: yes. host: i'm going to have to leave it there. i apologize. we try to keep 30 days between separate calls for people who try to get in on our phone lines. thank you for admitting it and call back in 30 days, please. melissa, las vegas. independent line. caller: my message to washington leaders is just for them to do their job and represent the people that put them in office and not just the political party. host: what does that mean? give me a specific example of how we should do that.

caller: members in congress need to listen to their constituents and vote according to people that put them in office. not just according to what their political party wants them to vote for. host: you said that, but give me an example of something you would want to see as far as representing their constituency? caller: it's not a specific example. i want them to do that in every aspect. i want them to represent the people. host: ok. let's go to pete. republican line. caller: i think the biggest problem is money in politics. it's endemic. the payments to politicians, it's the payments to -- i don't

know what to say. it's corrupting our system and if we could get that squared away, we might have a shot. right now i'm thinking of -- it really shows what can happen. presaged a lot of what we saw. just sort of an egomaniac making like god. and if we see him again, god help us. host: one more call from dave in lynchburg, virginia. caller: message to washington leaders in 2022, be a republic. represent the people you were sent to represent. put country over party. put country over self. host: give me an example.

caller: nobody seems to be paying much attention to what they are supposed to be doing for their constituents and more based on what political power they can leverage from what cards they can play. who cares about my grandchildren when it comes to the budget? anybody can spend money. where the patriots that are going to cut spending, balance the budget? term limits. do what's good for the future of this country. not for yourselves. host: ok. dave in lynchburg, virginia. finishing of this round of calls when it comes to washington leaders. thank you to all of you who participated. that's it for our program today. another edition of washington journal comes your way tomorrow. we'll see you then. ♪

>> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more including charter communications. >> broadband is a force for empowerment. that's why charter has invested billions. building infrastructure. dating technology. empowering opportunity in communities big and small. charter is connecting us. >> charter communications supports c-span as a public service along with these other television providers. giving your front row seat to democracy. >> u.s. capitol police chief tom talks about the cost of defending lawmakers with ascetic committee nearly one year since the january 6 attack.

watch live wednesday at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. online at c-span.org or follow on c-span >> download c-span's new mobile app and stay up-to-date with live video coverage from live streams of the house and senate floor and key congressional hearings to white house events and supreme court oral arguments. washington journal, where we hear your voices every day. c-span now has you covered. download the app for free today. host: we posted this to facebook yesterday, one of the respondents, this is eric clark off of our facebook page where you can post as well this morning when it comes to the message he would send would be to pass the bill back better legislation and also legislation looking at voting rights. legislation. axios reports that