interviews are available on our website and our app. c-span is your unfiltered view of government. funded by many companies, including cox. cox is committed to providing eligible families to affordable internet. bridging the digital divide. cox. bringing us closer. cox supports cspan. giving you a front row seat to democracy. coming up live, "washington journal." we talk with ebony mcmorris, and

political -- politico about the week ahead in russia. we look at the biden administration's national drug policy. "washington journal" is next. ♪ host: this is the "washington journal". critics loss of power for representatives and possible loss for power in the senate. republicans say it is due to inflation and the biden administration policies. democrats say they must work harder, putting post-pandemic recovery and issues like gas prices. in the next hour, how would you advise your party about what they should do to ensure victory

this coming november? republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002, you can text us at (202) 748-8003. you can post on facebook and twitter, or follow the show on instagram. we invited charlie cook to talk about the midterm elections and where things stand as far as the balance of power after the elections. charlie gave us his assessment of what might happen this november. here is a portion from yesterday. >> what typically happens, in a midterm election, if your party has the white house, particularly the house and senate, you are likely to be satisfied, complacent, may be disappointed, but do not turn out in big numbers. if the other side won the last election, you hate it.

you want revenge. you want to get back in power. you hate everything the other side is doing, so you are hyper motivated. that little slice, about 10% in the middle who are independent and do not lean either way tend to be fickle and get buyers remorse. they vote against the party in power almost invariably. that is why midterm elections are the way they are. it is, what is it, 37 out of 39 midterm elections since the civil war. 19 out of the last 25 midterm elections in the senate. even down to state legislatures, it is that way. host: the democrats hold the white house, the senate and the house. the white house isn't for elections. the senate and the house pedal let's start with the senate.

what does it look like for the democrats and the senate? elin >> they cannot afford to lose everything -- anything. the over under, it is a 50% chance it'll be worse for democrats that flows -- lose two or three. two or three is the most sort of the median point in the sentiment -- senate. in the house, the net loss of 20 seats would be the over under in the house. five will tip it over. it is looking pretty tough for democrats. host: you can see that full program on our website or our app. if you want to call in and let us know what your party should be doing to ensure their chance of victory in november, here is how you can do that. republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000.

independents, (202) 748-8002. you can text as set (202) 748-8003 -- you can text us at (202) 748-8003. pew research did a poll taking a look at the topic of the midterms, attitudes towards it. they write, "in contrast with 2018, republican registered voters are more likely than democratic voters to say which party control really matters." 67% of democrats, -- that remained the case through the 2018 campaign. this says that the new survey finds that equal shares of registered voters say if the elections were held today, they would support the republican or democrat candidate 43%.

4% said they would vote for other candidates. pick the party that best represents you. tell us what that party should be doing to ensure victory in november. you can let us know during the course of the hour this morning. in new york city, we hear first up from rob. live for democrats. what should the party be doing? caller: as usual, you are doing an excellent job. thank you for c-span and thank you for that. you know, the democratic leadership, especially the people who are regularly on television need to -- and everybody, really, need to speak plain english. when they use a word, i am not the sharpest tool in the shed myself, i am no dummy and i have a good vocabulary. when they use a word that i do not get, that i have to think,

what is that word? in context to the sentence or paragraph that they are in the midst of, when i have to stop and think, i do not understand that word, it bothers me so. i can figure out the word within the context of what they are talking about, but so many democrats are not talking plain english. plain language using, i do not know if it is called secondary process type words. host: what should they be talking about in this plainly which? -- this plane language? caller: the thing about on television, trump was a television guy. when the right looks at members of congress, democratic members like aoc and the mod squad, i do not know the others that are unfairly criticized.

they are stigmatized. they are focused on. the right looks at those progressive members like the way the left looks let -- looks at marjorie taylor greene. host: wake -- mike in florida, same question. caller: i will start with where that stupid ass democrat left off. we should put archery taylor green in charge. that is what we should be doing. as far as the party overall, in november, what should they be doing? we need to get rid of pieces of trash like mccarthy and mcconnell. host: ok. we will go to alyssa in cleveland, tennessee. live for kratz. -- live for democrats. caller: i think we keep hearing a lot of the democratic

officials saying we should talk more about accomplishments. i completely disagree. i think they need to go completely negative. we, unfortunately, have led to new issue votes. i think what the democratic party's to be is show pictures of the riot. quote marjorie taylor green and her advocating the high ranking democratic officials need to be put in jail and executed. intersperse those pictures of donald trump. it will get the message that, if you vote for a republican, you are voting against democracy at this point. it is nice to talk about great

accomplishments, but that does not get you anywhere. in times where the democrats should start playing the republicans at their own game. host: melissa in cleveland, tennessee. ken from san diego, hi. caller: one reason most of us are independents, we have two choices. we have multiple issues. neither are being solved by either party. president biden, no disrespect, gave a -- you are not black unless you vote democrat? what kind of ridiculous knowledge is that. that is beyond belief. host: as far as the midterms, how do you choose a candidate, and what should that party be doing to ensure victory?

caller: i'm voting my wallet. number one, during covid and inflation and the fed raising interest rates, i am voting my wallet. i'm voting with the candidate or party, if you want to call it a party, or person who is going to put more money in my wallet for disposable income. that is the way we should all vote. both debt -- vote your interests. host: is there a specific candidate in your mind? caller: no. i do not see a specific candidate that is for sameness. as soon as i hear a candidate that says, i am here to put more money in your pocket and more control and how you live your life, that is probably the candidate i will vote for. host: ken in san diego, when he looks at issues, he looks at his

wallet. what would you advise your party to do come november to ensure victory? the phone lines, republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. you can text us at (202) 748-8003. a recent story in axios takes a look at what happens regardless in the house come november, what they identify as a squad could see begich -- big gains. the squad is poised for big gains this november. the squad plus would be positioned to push the ranks of its rivals into the back of some of its agenda, impacting the 2020 for race. as many as six progressive candidates have chances to win house seats this cycle. the most notable is greg sizer.

another texan, progressive or -- progressive jessica size los and gregory kwei, primary set for may 24. in pennsylvania, summer lee is leading her nearest opponent by 25 points. it cites erica smith and north carolina and three other progressives with shots at winning. when it comes to that advice, what would you tell your party? republican line, joseph, missouri. hello. caller: the republicans, i do not know if it is even possible. the democratic party is owing to cheat again.

-- the democratic party is going to cheat again. they are going to plan out how to do it. the republicans, they need to take the cover off the mechanism and get inside the clock works and clean it out. host: why focus on the can accept the election, versus the issues? caller: everybody knows the issues. i think republicans won a clean election. they gummed up the works. democrats gummed up the works and stole the election. now, it is going to happen again. unless, the republicans can get in. it starts in these big cities who have been cheating for years upon decades. chicago, new york, all these big

towns. st. louis. host: ok. memphis, tennessee. democrats line. caller: this is joshua from memphis. i hear obama last week. he a year late. another thing, watch out for the young folks. they are not polling how they think they do. they live a different life than the republican party thinks they think about. we want to be divided. the young folks, they come out and vote. get the people out of control, of our government so everybody can live. i would like to know, what has the republican party ever done for working-class people?

host: what issue should the democrats be talking about leading up to the democrat -- leading up to the elections? caller: democracy should be preserved. if they do not get out of the mouth, democracy will be destroyed. a prime example of it in florida. host: a person sharing similar sentiments, elizabeth warren gave her perspective on how she thinks democrats will do come november. here is what she said from yesterday. >> we've got less than 200 days from the election. american families are hurting. our job is to deliver on behalf of those families. that means making government work for them. there is so much we can do, and so much that is popular across

the country among democrats, republicans and independents. we can, for example, stop the price gouging p let's authorize the ftc to investigate and prosecute on price gouging. that will bring down prices p let's attack corruption in washington head-on so we are saying members of congress cannot trade in stocks. let's cancel student loan debt. the president has the power to do that by himself, it would touch the lives of millions of people across this country. there is so much we can do. if we do it over the next 200 days, we are going to be in fine shape. this is what the mocker see is about. take it to the people. we need to get the work done. >> if we don't, we lose control of congress? >> we will be in real trouble if we do not liver what -- we do not deliver what i believe the

democrats will lose. host: some of you texting us, tweeting us. the from twitter saying, democrats are in self-destruct mode. they act like they want to lose. from twitter, the democrats must emphasize how the republicans have nothing to offer. we cannot afford to have congress do nothing for the next two years. what is their plan to deal with putin, inflation or covid? some of those thoughts, you can express on twitter. some of you texting us this morning at (202) 748-8003. pick the party that best represents you, if you called within the last 30 days, we ask you to hold off today. james in lancaster, virginia. republican line, you are next. caller: good morning. i think republicans need to push

structure. our structure has collapsed. you see the crime rate, our government to not enforce laws. if you do not enforce laws, you encourage chaos. you cannot have a democracy with chaos. elizabeth warren said, let's give away free college. i sign a document, i will pay back this after i graduate college. she says, give it away for free. we cannot give -- live in a free, chaos society. republicans need to bring back structure. host: you say structure, as far as specifics, anything the republicans have a plan for these structural issues you talk about? caller: if you go back under putin and trump, everybody says

president trump did this and that. president trump in pass laws. he enforced the current laws we have across the board from immigration to crime. the only thing he pushed was the bill that made sense. as far as laws, that is why crime and immigration went down, jobs were up. he pushed and enforced the laws we have. we do that, we bring back a strong country. host: let's hear from diane in barberton, ohio. democrats line. caller: first of all, i think what we need to do is start looking at the facts. number one, senior citizens on social security, republicans are trying to get rid of your social security. democrats just gave you a raise. think about what you are doing.

number two, the written house case. -- the rittenhouse case. they were there to start trouble. people followed through. host: how did that influence november's election? caller: right now, the republicans are ran by white supremacists. they are the ones that are bringing in the drugs from the border, they are the ones that are bringing in the guns. ok. that one attorney that was on earlier part of the month, was saying that migrants are bringing over drugs. there coming in by cars and trucks. that is how they do that, i can't think of what they are

called. the ones that are doing the stuff down in the southern border. host: the country calls on our line for democrats, what should the democrats be focused on leading up to november? caller: emphasizing the facts of what they have done for the united states people, not so much concentrating on what is being bad. no matter what, i would love to hear what is going on in washington with the january 6, i want to know what is going on. these people that are republicans do not care. all they care about is having somebody like trump in office. host: the economy is one of those issues that could influence heavily the results of this november. a recent story in the health saying an economy that seeing searching growth and debilitating inflation,

democrats and republicans are telling different stories. for republicans, inflation, inflation, inflation. consumer prices have risen 8.5 percent since last year, with wholesale prices climbing 11%. democrats are hammering the term home. they have mentioned an average of 100 times in statements since january, the top 10 democratic have inch and it only 32 times. democrats are focused on the red hot rebound of the economy which has led to an increase in nominal wages and some of the highest levels of employment from the 1960's. march marking the 11th straight jump with 400 jumps added back. that was richard neal saying that. the economy may be something you look at when you want to advise her party on what they should be doing, and tuck about leading up

to -- and talk about leading up to it. you can text us at (202) 748-8003. you can post on social media. nancy and ohio, independent line. good morning. caller: how are you? host: well, how about yourself? caller: the gal said -- she was so misinformed. i feel terrible. she doesn't know the good things the republicans are doing and what trump has done. host: what would you advise the party to focus on leading up to november? caller: focus on, for now, where the democrats are kicking us, whether they like it or not, is down a rabbit hole.

this administration is definitely beholding. the deep state is involved in this. i know you know who that is, the government actors. they are in between a rock and a hard place. they are going to cling to this election. there will be more election fraud than ever this time. they are so desperate. host: as far as issues, what should your party of choice be focusing on? caller: they need to be investigating, watching conservative news. they need to look at the real pictures of what is going on at the border, what is going on with these democrat cities with the fires, the statues tore down. no accountability for the destruction. all this world culture, it is so un-american. the fact that the funding the police, this is not america.

this is not what we stand for. host: let's hear from roberto in fairfax, genia. republican line. caller: you are on -- hi. i think the republican party has to do a few things. first, stay on the principled message of individual spots abilities and limited government. the democrats will always have a solution in terms of a plan to fix something or make things better or give something back, in terms of the forgiveness of student loans. they are not solutions to anything. the government has to be limited. it cannot have all the answers. i think the republican party gets caught in this trap of trying to match the democratic party in providing for free stuff to try and win.

i think that it's wrong. the second point the republican party needs to do is distance themselves from the military industrial complex and walk away from the drumbeat of going to another needless war. i am an active duty military member. i'm not speaking on behalf of the government in any way, shape or form. i can see the influence of the raise eons, the northern kremlin. we may -- we need to make sure we have the united states best interest, focus on the united states. not foreign countries halfway across the world. host: that is roberto in virginia. the washington post takes a breakdown of the primary races to watch as we head to november. this is by amber phillips, she highlights some states. when she looks at ohio, she

writes, this might be the years most contentious primary. republicans can grab a senate seat. the former president state out of the primary and watched as candidates tried to out trump each other. he endorsed hillbilly elegy author jamie vance, even though his own advisors wanted him to choose jane temkin or josh mandel. looking at enzo weiner, she writes, amber phillips saying pennsylvania as a swing state could determine which party controls the senate next year. president trump made another endorsement unpopular and he backed ed haas. alaska, she highlights the fact that sarah palin is running for alaska's congressional seat. she is one of the best-known politicians in the country, and has trump's endorsement.

it is not a given she will win. some of the primaries to watch as we go forward to november. independent line, carolyn is next. caller: hi. as an independent. i feel both ways. i think the republican party needs to get integrity. if you stand for nothing, you fall for anything. unfortunately, it is very hard because -- the dems, if they stole the election, why didn't they keep the senate and house? they should've got the whole thing if they stole it. the dems need to start -- stop giving away everything. they have no message. they need to get a message. not only what they can give people, but what they have done and what the other party is not doing for their constituents. that is my message. host: carolyn in minnesota,

speaking of democratic primaries, amber phillips highlighting pennsylvania saying it is a marquee senate race. john federman is running for the party's nomination with its distinctive style, he is tall, bald, campaigns in a hoodie and gym shorts. she highlights the wisconsin senate, saying democrats would love to unseat senator ron johnson, who has embraced trump in claims and is running for reelection in a state that nearly voted for biden. it is a crowded primary. the top list is senator nanda labarre and, alan class lee, tom nelson. that primary set for august the ninth. giving his own assessment of where the democratic --

republicans stand, it was mike mccall when asked about where things will end up in november. here is some of that from yesterday. historically as well as the party in the white house will pick up seats, all we need is five. i predict at least 40 seats. as of the president so unpopular, when it comes to inflation, gas prices, foreign policy mistakes, seems as a week president. host: you can give your thoughts on what your party of choice should be doing when it comes to the november campaign 2022.

democrats (202) 748-8000. ron in illinois. hello. we will try one more time for ron. you are on. go ahead. caller: good morning. i think the democrats should concentrate on showing what republicans are. all they do is instill fear and hate as well as racism. stand on it. show the republicans exactly what they are.

it can be a teaching tool to show what each party stands for. i think the doj needs to get some backbone and prosecute these people. should democrats should be focusing on certain things, other than what you have mentioned? caller: you know, other programs are working. the republicans do not have a message, they do not do anything for the people but instill fear. all they do is cry about the border. host: let's hear from the

republicans. catherine, you're on. caller: i think the republicans have to enlighten what has been going on. what about the higher grocery prices, especially when it comes to eggs and it milk and so forth. the afghanistan war was a faste. disaster. what is going on in the southern borders is a disaster. i think the republicans need to punch that out of all of the things that have gone wrong. as far as all of the things that they can say that they can do right, school public --.

also the last comment, in florida, we love our governor. he has done a fantastic job since he has been in office. i think any person who is running under the republican ticket, whether it is for governor, senator, congressman, should look at him and see what he is doing right in florida and take a page out of his book. host: ok. catherine in florida giving her thoughts on november and the issues on which republicans can be focused on aside from domestic politics. particularly, when it comes to presidential election. cnn reporting that the man emmanuel macron has won the election. he took 50.5% on sunday's vote,

making him the first french leader to be elected in 20 years. the contest was a rematch of the 2017 ranch residential -- 2017 presidential run up. again, those are coming in from yesterday. we are talking about domestic policies in the united states when it comes to issues and the votes coming up to this november and what your party should be doing. you have heard people over the last 35 minutes. you are welcome to add your thoughts to the mix over the next 25 minutes on our independent line, this is rob from michigan. hello. caller: hello.

i think some of your earlier callers have created a gap the average american, that may be for the first time we have an opportunity for a third-party candidate. a common ground candidate. condoleezza rice is the obvious choice. andrew yang, his observation is if she ran she would easily win with 50% of the vote. they have to return working with one another. i think condoleezza rice is the obvious choice to bring this together. host: that is looking ahead to

2024. in the short-term, what you think about the politics playing out as far as the power in the house and the senate russian ? caller: i think do not believe whate me ok? host: i can. caller: all of the callers, especially the one from minnesota, she was very good. she talked about some of the things that would help.

lastly, the secretary of state, do not remember her name from michigan. when she stood up to the republican lady who slandered her, and how she explained so clearly what democrats are fighting for, and how i think that is so important. that is what we have to do. we have to stand up, we have to clearly state what we are fighting for. host: you do not think the democrats are currently doing that enough? that is what i am reading into it. caller: exactly. exactly. we are not doing enough. we kind of take it. we take a step back instead of going forward. not everybody is as eloquent as that lady. we need to state what we are

for. host: do you think president biden has to do more of that? caller: he has a lot on his plate right now. this war with ukraine and russia, that is probably taking a lot of his time. yes, it would be great. he is trying to get out, trying to do things. he went to seattle, washington last week and it trying to do things. you are right. more has to be done from the white house, a lot more. they have to stress this scott bill that scott wants to put out about changing medicare and social security for the elderly and taxing people. some people aren't taxed right now because they make a little. how can you tax them more? host: that is sylvia.

let's hear from dana in new york, republican line. i hope i am saying it right when i say dana overhead. caller: you are right. you got it wander percent. -- 100% right. i think as far as the republican party goes, there are take away issues that affect us all. right now it is the economy. inflation is because the government spends more money. we learned that in high school, junior high school. he learned about the economics and the effects. that is one issue.

come here illegally. what is going on to the border, what is going to happen if they end title 42 is really going to hurt. i moved to new york from ohio. i saw a lot of the drug addiction and i watched people die here i watched people overdosed on fe . there's nothing i could do. you know, people died. there are certain issues that is going on in the schools. i am a father, i have four kids. these basic issues. they call this do not say gay bill. we do not want you to teach our children about sex in the third

grade. her third grade kids do not think about that. -- third grade kids do not think about that. host: how do you think november is going to turn out? caller: i think the democrats are going to get slammed up. . i think it is going to be back on the republicans. i do not think it is joe biden. host: that is a dana like new york. when it comes to matters of immigration, headlines on the hill if you want to see it there and other places reporting. the house of minority leader leading a delegation for the southern border with several republicans to talk about issues of immigration. look out for stories to come from that your it also, the department of homeland security set to testify the house side when it comes to issues of immigration and issue title 42.

see that later on this week. it looked to c-span with more information on those issues as well as information on the upcoming election. several segments that we feature talks about systemic races. if you want to see that again, want to see more about what mr. cook has to say, you can go to our c-span now app. you can take a look at our website, where we keep all of those programs and others taking a look at these issues. in north carolina, independent line. go ahead. caller: i was a democrat. now i am a independent. you remember back in the democratic caucus in charlotte, north carolina when the democrats took out of the platform. democratic party has left god.

it is that people need to understand you cannot burn the children in the wounds. as they stand, you cannot execute people for stuff in prison. that is a sin. you know they put down as a cause of death, when you get death in prison, legal murder. does that sound fair to you? just remember people, we are not a democracy. we are not. we are not. we are republic. the democratic party has lost its way. the uneducated. host: joe in north carolina. if you're interested in the dates of our u.s. senate race tonight at 7:00, you can see that. you can watch that to among democratic candidates running for senate. it will be live. it starts at 7:00 tonight at

c-span. again, other places you can watch it, our c-span now app. don in silver spring, maryland. democrats line. caller:hi. i think the democratic party should focus on his success for the national election coming up are three things. we should talk about the war in ukraine and how that would have been going if every single national, republican had actually have their way and gotten pollutants puppet --putt in's puppet reelected. secondly, there is a lot of widely supportive things

that are opposed by republicans but not the american people, which is one third. things like forgiving student loans and supporting medicaid. the second thing is a focus on populous things. things like supporting children, old people, forgiving student loans, helping young people. those are shared in popularity across the board. the third thing we should focus on is being aggressive. we need to bring the argument to the gop and not respond to their argument. host: ok. let's hear from the republican

line. caller: thank you. from day one he seems he is interested in distorting what america is. other countries have done the same thing, it is a blueprint for what this man is up to. from the morality and the young children and in these horrible things, and the amount of money with inflation going up and at the price of gasoline, these are also conflicted wounds. i believe his attempt is to get too many illegals as he can so they can stay in a democratic position of power. host: what would you ask the party to do at this point? caller: i would change the law.

the drugs are killing people. it is a crime. china knows what they are doing. china is not our friend. if anything, biden is becoming china's. host: later in the program, associate director talking about the biden administration putting out there statement on drug policy. we will go through some of those statements and specifics in the united states. 12 minutes left before our next guest joins us. one of the things we talked to earlier and showing you some of those senate races and endorsements against donald trump and the impact on who wins those races, those were one of the topics that were covered

yesterday. [video clip] let's look at the governor races first. >> i think all four are going to when the primaries over the course of the next eight weeks. i do not know that it is anywhere near that. you got republicans with a closer growth who have been carrying in georgia is now working against him. it seems over a lot. the idea that he makes these decisions based upon political analysis --. this is all emotional decisions. who speaks to at last? you saw the endorsement of dr. oz. these are going to land all over

the place. i do think when we get to do, we're going to look back and say most of the big endorsements he made are going to turn out to not been right. host: better support for the ohio race of jd vance being reported yesterday. former president donald trump backed jd vance. others are supporting that. in michigan, democrats line. don, you're up next. don in michigan, hello? one more time. good morning? ok. let's hear from christina in iowa. republican line. caller: i do not know how --.

i was a democrat and i recently switched. i never got into politics but it is getting so important that we need -- we need to speak up. our kids, that is the first thing -- i am to both parties. our children needs them. they need to be the examples that these children are going to be able to look up to and guide. we elect these people because of that, to protect us and to serve us. the republicans need to squash whatever and democrats need to squash whatever. take this media. first of all, what i noticed out here is the people do not even know what is going on unless you research and do your own studying. host: let me start there with you because you're calling on a republican line.

what specific issue should republicans should be addressing before november? they need to impeach the whole administration. caller: i don't know if you can impeach the whole administration. joe biden is sick. you can tell he is. he has good days and bad days. it is sad about what is going on. host: let's go to catherine, democrats line. caller: good morning. this is catherine. i have my favorite candidates, both republican and democrat. i think the biggest thing we need to do is to pray for all of the candidate. s. let's put their lives into god's hand and led god see god in them. then when this bigger moment comes in november, it will be god who is really answering the call here. host: specifically, aside from

god's involvement, where do you think democrats should be faulted specifically when it comes to november? caller: exactly. host: what do you think democrats should be focusing on? caller: i think they need to focus on caring for other people. treating other people like they would want to be treated. host: let's see her from robert. robert in texas. dallas, texas. independent line. caller: how are you doing this morning? i would like to speak about the border and what is going on down there. can you hear me? host: yeah, you are on. caller: first of all, 78% of the new jobs that are created in texas are hispanics who have come across the border have given the jobs. without the hispanics, it would not be no texas economy.

when they saw texas was long and down, they have to start. making them legal will come across. after the hispanics -- without the hispanics coming across, there is no texas economy. it is not individuals who are fighting for the good jobs. the business people need the hispanics to come across. the one thing about texas, the hispanic community with the jobs. host: david is in north carolina on the republican line. you are about what your party should be doing and how you would advise your party. hello. caller: i think they need to

start doing impeaching on the democratic party. i think not even half of the republican party because they are have a democrat. when i lived down there i did a long survey of a week. of time, i talked to 49 republicans and one democrat that came up with a republican --. our rent has gone from 500 to $1200 a month. our food prices have skyrocketed. should that tell american people anything at all? i think we need to start impeaching quickly so maybe we can get our country back. the democrats --.

tell me the republican people aren't doing something? host: ok. recent polling taking a look at president biden would expect a good impact on november. just 41% of young americans approve of president biden's performance. according to a new poll, adults from 18 to 29 down 46%, falsely 21 and the majority last spring -- 21 and the majority last spring. years ago, 456 approved of obama .

a few more calls on this topic. this is terry in ohio. independent line. caller: first of all, i think that tim lang can win in ohio. he is a democrat. as far as the democrats, if they show the american people that nobody is above the law and prosecute all of these cricket republicans who try to overthrow -- crooked republicans who try to overthrow the government. right now a lot of the young people do not believe that the law means anything. if donald trump writes the law and nothing can happen to him. -- breaks the law and nothing can happen to have. look at the republican speaker, tim mccarthy, all of the lying he did. the one other thing that the democrats need to focus on is the border. i mean, you're not going to

solve everything. just act like you have some kind of solution that you are just not ignoring completely. the republicans are using that as a tool. thank you. host: carla from austin, texas. democrats line. you are up. caller: i just wanted to say, i do not know how the democrats can do it. stop letting the press around the narrative. the press has already decided that the democrats are going to lose. how can they know -- why have an election if they already know who is going to lose? if the democrats would continue to just concentrate on as coming out to vote, not listen to what people are saying. almost every caller that calls in, all they do is use buzzwords that they hear on tv. i doubt most of them even though

the meaning of the words. host: one more caller. this will be from patty in the independent mind. caller: good morning. i say the republicans do not have long. democrats spending their money. republicans get the report out. that will annihilate the democrats. host: patty finishing out your morning of calls. to all of you who participated. reporters joining us next and the issues in washington that you will probably see play out. later on, corporations on the release of the biden national drug policy. all conversations coming up on

"washington journal". ♪ >> this week on the c-span network, both chambers of congress are in session. the house will take up legislation to increase aid to ukraine, the senate will consider president biden's federal reserve nominations. throughout the week, members of the president's cabinet will testify on their department budget, including antony blinken , on tuesday, javier becerra, and and jay mccord on wednesday. merrick garland on thursday. on wednesday, 11:00 a.m. eastern on c-span.org and c-span now

cap, live coverage for the funeral of madeleine albright from the washington national cathedral. thursday, 10:00 a.m., i hundred mayorkas testifies that the judiciary oversight hearing, focusing on control of the u.s.- mexico border. on saturday, c-span's coverage of the white house correspondent dinner with sights and sounds from inside the room and highlights from past dinners and sixpack eastern. then at 8:00, the first white house correspondents association dinner since i-19. president biden and vice president harris expected to attend. watch this the on the c-span networks commit c-span now, headed to c-span.org for scheduling information. c-span, your unfiltered view of government.

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covered by cable. >> washington journal continues. host: we are joined by two people who cover white house and congress to talk about issues. turning us is nicholas wu of clinical, also joining us is ebony morris of the urban dutch american urban radio network. we set the president traveling, talking about congressman leading up to november. the white house, ukraine said to be a take topic. ms. morris: it is going to be a huge week. we set over the weekend blinken and the defense secretary traveling to kyiv and meeting with zelenskyy. in that travel, what we know is coming out of that is that they

are going to start sending different laws back into the area. we are in bit behind other places that have already done that, we are met only to see more money -- we have put more into some of the fighting with is going to be going on -- and also now and ambassador is going to be assigned to the area. to reestablish diplomatic presidents -- presence. in the white house, we are going to see the president go before congress and ask for more money. one thing that i want us to look to see is if that is going to be connected to covid relief. that is aware the kink is going to be when we talk about what the white house is doing. we saw what happened with covid relief and immigration policies. it did not go through because of that issue. there are also things people have been asking for.

congressman portman has talked about whether or not putting forth legislation so that the u.s. can use some of the assets that have been seized, there is a lot weighing on the table so far. $3.7 billion has already gone toward finding the fight in ukraine. host: turning to the congressional side, it heard about the request coming from the president. what is the perception on capitol hill? mr. wu: that has been positive and bipartisan. you have seen ukraine related aid go through both chambers with bipartisan majorities. but what exactly gets attached? if coronavirus aid and sent being attached to this legislation, if there are other things republican legislatures want to attach, if you start to

see republican lawmakers a balk at sending weapons, this could get tricky, but at least are now , leaders in both chambers have vowed to take up this funding as soon as biden makes a formal request. we will have to wait and see how that turns out. host: let us remind people about the covid aid. let us remind people what the president asked for and what congress did. mr. wu: the president asked for $10 million in covid related funding for treatments and therapeutics, because funding was starting to run out. now, this was supposed to be attached to the larger government funding bill. democrats mostly revolted over the fact that money was going to be reallocated from other coronavirus related acre this left the white house between a rock and a hard place. they needed the money but there was any way to get it through. democrats do not like waving it was funded and republicans only accept that one funding source.

now, there is a stand-alone bill being drafted to pick up this funding, but republicans in the senate want to attach immigration provisions to it. that is something that if it does not pass the senate, it might pass the house. this consists back to the problem of getting it through. host: the white house is called an add-on -- is called for an add-on. ms. mcmorris: in the briefing couple of weeks ago, the big question from reporters was how are you tracing the money the money states are getting? there were several articles that some of the money was being used by the police force, which the president said could be used for that reason, but he felt it was too much. people are trying to see how we are going to trace the money going out to these states and what is going to happen there. it is almost a perfect storm. we are dealing with covid, you might and also getting assurance from the president and other

allies saying the president is going to stick with ukrainians on this. the question is for how long? we have already put in $3.7 billion. americans are through pulling are saying we are going to stick with you, but when we look at gas prices, inflation, how long will you hear that? host: our guests joining us until 8:45. if you want to ask about these or other issues, call us (202) 748-8001, republicans. (202) 748-8000 democrats. (202) 748-8002, independents. you can text at (202) 748-8003. the white house as far as title 42 is concerned still ticking with that plan or are there potential changes? ms. mcmorris: good question. we know that mayorkas is going

to be grilled on immigration and what he has done. there is a pushback on a couple of different fronts. one, when it comes to title 42, because some groups feel like running came -- it was a covid decision, that a cbc decision. however, some groups feel like hell, we do not do this when it came to haitians and others. that has been in a lot of the pushback that the administration has been hearing on how we apply this. you have pushback from democrats, mostly republicans, but also democrats, saying are you about to open the floodgates. that is not just republicans, but you are getting pushback from both sides of the aisle. host: nicholas wu, we see kevin mccarthy leading a delegation to the border. tell us what this is about,

particularly title 42. mr. wu: this is republicans trying to term -- turn the border and title 42 into a voting issue. republicans see this as biden having lost control of the border, having encourage more migrants to come. at the same time, this comes as a mccarthy is dealing with political issues of his own after the follow-up from audio recordings last week by new york times reporters of him asking -- potentially asking come to resign after january 6 and saying he took responsibly for what happened on january 6. as much as republicans might want to go to the border and turn the page, it is possible all of this could fall. host: let me at in henry cuellar , a democrat of texas, who is talking about title 42 and immigration related issues.

we will play bit of what he had to say. [video clip] >> they said they were going to continue lifting title 42, but yes, they are listening to immigration activists, but who is listening to the men and women in green and blue? who is listening to the border communities, chefs, land owners, the rest of the people who live on the border? yesterday, i was in roma, where they found a two-year-old kid. it was with a letter people there, not only public officials, but other oaks. none of them said, lifting title 42, open the border. they are very concerned, because they are on the front lines and are the ones that i think we need to listen to. we need to listen to border communities. host: one democrat talking about this from texas, but are other democrats is concerned? mr. wu: there are quite a few

democrats who share similar concerns, all of whom are in competitive reelections. this is everyone from border democrats to senator raphael warnock of georgia. they have expressed concern about the way the biden administration is going back title 42. it comes amid all of these attacks from republicans about the way this is being done. at the same time, you have a variable contingent -- a veritable contingent of democrats who support the administration. we saw the way it is a racial justice issue, including the congressional hispanic caucus and black caucus members. today, the congressional hispanic caucus is heading to the white house to meet with the president to check about title 42. we'll have to wait and see what comes out of that meeting. there is a hard line in the sand

of wanting to support title 42 deposing its inclusion of -- in legislation. host: what is the messaging we can expect from the white house this week? ms. mcmorris: that is the question i am going to be going into the briefing room asking. senator mayorkas has appeared before in the briefing room, talking about immigration and what the administration is doing. it is almost like a wait and see, but i believe he is going to double down in supporting what the administration has been laying out. i'm sure he has been that she is also going to highlight some successes, but there is also a lot within that administration when it comes to immigration. you have got so many organizations that are going to be watching this i do hear what is the is sector has to say going further let us not also forget that today is the rollout for ukraine, which is where

ukrainians, it is legal for them to have access for ukrainians to the u.s. today is the first day that is going to be happening. we are going to be hearing how that is going to be rolled out. it is also a way for american to support and foster ukrainians. host: joining us is ebony mcmorris, white house correspondent for american urban radio network, and nicholas wu from politico, who covers congress. glenn, california, republican line. caller: this is glenn from lancaster. we have an administration -- i do not know if it is a cr or a budget that gave $70 million to russia to help fund their war, $44 million to china to help

whatever there, which they do not need. how much has it this administration given to the native american communities and reservations in this country? is it that nancy pelosi-russia collusion? china collusion, plus iran, $5 billion. with our last stimulus package, 150 million households, you could give each household $100,000 and really help the american people. we a representative constitutional republic and they are not representing us. host: thank you. ms. mcmorris: want to comment. while i question the numbers he has drone out, the frustration

is a frustration i think we are going to start hearing from any people. what is happening, it is going to play into the midterms in -- although we are supporting ukraine, what are we going to be doing economically? even though the white house has been telling a strong economy, unemployment numbers, people are saying but i am seeing high gas prices. regardless of the numbers, people do not always react in that way. it is what am i seeing? republicans have pushed inflation, inflation, inflation. regardless of the numbers the white house is pushing, what you are hearing then say, despite whatever number it is, their decision is what you have been hearing from many americans. host: mr. wu, he mentioned spending, foreign interests, especially ukraine. we still have issues like that

better -- getting it passed. how much does that how much is its foreign efforts versus domestic spending? mr. wu: foreign spending is one of the few areas where there is bipartisan cooperation. the house has queued up legislation this week to bring back and iteration of the gregg leakes program for ukraine to send american materials to ukraine to help. at the same time, the domestic agenda is mostly stalled. we see parts of build back better coming back and other legislation that democrats want to get across the finish line to show that they can deliver before the midterms. at the same time, there is so much gridlock with the slim majority that the democrats have in the house, the 50-50 senate. ms. mcmorris: we keep talking about how much of biden's key

legislation on what he ran for, what has he been able to accomplish? now we have the student online that student loan debt conversation. these are kitchen table issues. after we talk about ukraine, we talk about our current lives, education. these are the issues that are going to play out when it comes down to democrats trying to hold on to whatever they can and republicans swing up to echo her the midterms. host: -- if you do not concentrate on these issues plays into what we are going to hear from democrats going forward? mr. wu: it does. you hear democrats regularly saying, do something, whether it is executive action on student debt, immigration, or for hilt democrats to get some iteration of the build back better across the finish line, even if it is just a fraction the original

legislation. topic among hill dams is if you have some sort of issue you have been running on for over a decade, that will give you something to show voters who elected what was supposed to be a transformational agenda and you have seen very little so far. host: give us something would be the message. bill, memphis, democrats line. caller: i: about the current things in america, what is going on your ticket early in the press and the politics of america. i want to know if we. cut out some of these literal things that are going on in america, just like on the tv now. we have two minorities.

i am 83 years old. host: what is your question or comment? caller: when i was little, the colored people -- host: i am going to stop it there. nancy, illinois, republican line. caller: i have this question. it is the border. one gentleman keeps saying it is a republican talking my money is not. i have friends in texas, on the border, republicans, democrats. they are scared for their families. the fentanyl that is flowing across, those cartel members, we are getting hit. we have teenagers dining of the fentanyl. it is not an issue just for republicans. it should be an issue for all americans.

when does this stop being a political talking point and start doing something to save lives? host: you can watch henry cuellar's comments on that. but to the point, ebony mcmorris, have heard about the lifting of title 42, heard republicans saying they are concerned about surges to the border. ms. mcmorris: that is one of the things that people have been pressing. we have been asking questions for what happens if we see that type of surge, but we are getting a different type of rhetoric when it comes to administration officials. there has been pushed back on the number, whether the number that has been reported, whether it is correct. i understand that i hear what the color is -- the caller is

saying. she went into the issue of fentanyl. i want to get on the opiate crisis, the president has been trying to roll up measures to attack it. it is also a state issue. there has been money given to states to deal with those issues . in some ways, she is combining. i understand what the caller was saying, combining issues, but that is also a state issue, not strictly the biden administration. host: nicholas wu, more about the politics of immigration, particularly the border and how this plays out as we head toward november? mr. wu: this is something that democrats and a lot of races see as a potential vulnerability in the midterms. it is something republicans are talking about, a potential weakness for democrats.

because given to power with the pledge to try to restore humanity to the immigration system and get a handle on the way things were going at the border. many prep era policies remain in place, like title 42. we have seen numbers increase at the border at some of these pandemic restrictions went away. how exactly they end up trying to message this is going to be a task for a lot of democrats print we saw senator maggie hassan, one vulnerable senate democrat, headed to the border and take some flack at home from latinos. -- for doing that as a democrat. this is going to catch a lot of democrats, between republicans saying they're not doing enough and people within their own party who disapprove of the way they going about it. host: (202) 748-8001 fort republicans. (202) 748-8000, democrats.

independents, (202) 748-8002. yesterday, the white house coronavirus correspondent -- response court nader talked about the mask mandate and the decision to end the mandate. i want to play a clip of him. [video clip] >> most airlines and transportation systems did lift their mandates. take aside the legal dispute. do you believe the federal mask mandate on transportation is necessary? >> let us go back to 15 -- 10 days ago when scientists asked for a 15 day extension. why do they need it? cases are rising. they said we need a 15 day time period to assess whether that is going to lead to a spike in hospitalizations and deaths.

i think it is important in a pandemic to be able to give scientists trying to assess this. that was the basis for the extension. i wish we had been able to carry through on it. host: that is another thing the administration will have to deal with. how do they go about it? ms. mcmorris: we see what is happening now. the doj is appealing this decision that has caused mass confusion. as soon as it happened, all i could think of was people on airplanes. midair, you could take your masks off. that is scary whether you believe it or not. however, people are confused as to what took so long for the cdc to ask for an emergency pause? if it was so important, why didn't you do that then? however, what the implications would be -- the weight has is

saying the reasons why they did this appeal is because it down the line, this could have a massive impact on what the cdc is able to do in other pandemics and issues. it was not just about this 15 day, it was about the future of the cdc, what power they will have. we have been seeing states changing power when it comes to health decisions, especially when you had many states saying they wanted to end mask mandate and openness power began to be stripped away, even on a local level, when it came to health officials what will happen we came down with another pandemic? where will the instruction come from? are we still going to be playing science over politics? the administration felt like they were too slow and how they rolled out this information.

the public is tired, confused. on the one hand, one day, we put it on, the next, we take it off. there has to be consistency of messaging, but overall, this is big, as we are not always going to have time to appeal everything when you are in the middle of a pandemic. host: congressional democrats, how do they reacted to the decision and the appeal? mr. wu: this is something democrats are pushing with a bit of trepidation. the mandate in the capitol has lifted for some time now, but this is something democrats were going to try to be careful about heading into the midterms. weeks i republicans make big gains last year, as they put it, because of fatigue over the pandemic and restrictions democrats have put in place. folks on the hill concerned about reelection, it is tricky. how do you respect where the

country is on this while at the same time trying not to get too far over your skis in the event that there is another wave? look at what happened when the biden administration declared a partial victory over the pandemic on july 4 last year? we saw the democrat -- we saw the delta and omicron waves. host: the gridiron dinner probably did not help as far as perception is concerned? mr. wu: you had a spike in cases among d.c. elites. that really helps bring the pandemic back home. host: melvin, line for democrats in florida. caller: i am going to try to get back to title 42 with respect to people in mexico. at some point, you cannot

continue to send people back across the border. what are you going to do with all these different people? it appears that they are using the same type of -- when they had slaves. you had too many slaves, it they started acting up, you sold them. we cannot sell these people. then mexico is going to say, we cannot handle them and you are going to have to take him back. one other thing, the republicans are responsible for most of this. in 2013, when they had an agreement by the senate to act on immigration reform, they did not do it. they did the same in 2017 when trump had them come up with some kind of agreement, the republicans refused to to do anything. host: nicholas wu? mr. wu: the one thing i would

add is that it would certainly take issue with melvin's historical characterization, but there is still a lot of over how exactly numbers will increase at the border and have the administration does deal with a major humanitarian issue with folks seeking asylum and white you do with these different legal -- and what you do with these different legal authorities and hold off on asylum claims. ms. mcmorris: coming from a war-torn country, i have said this before, but there was a little bit more sympathy for ukrainians then we have had four others at the border, but both

fleeing places of destruction. it is a tight rope in how it is implemented and to whom. it is almost a wait and see game. all eyes will be on the administration. host: another floridian, coconut creek, frank, independent line. go ahead. caller: it -- the cartel's control of border. anyone wanting to cross house to pay the cartels a sum of money. what is being encoded our amounts ranging from $4000 per person to cover thousand dollars per person. -- $7000 per person. i do not know if this is real. i would like your opinion on

that with that, if in fact this is correct, we all want to be compassionate, but if this is the case, by allowing this to happen, aren't we. participating in human trafficking and enriching, putting millions of dollars into the pockets of people who are bad people, people who is this this is selling poison and murder? host: let me expand that a bit and say that the administration task to the vice president to deal with migration and illegal immigration. what is the result of that? does it hit the areas that our caller has brought up? ms. mcmorris: the issue of immigration has been an issue --

i am trying to figure out which administration has been able to tackle it. we have not seen an administration that has been able to tackle it. some are wary even when it was put on the desk of vice president harris. we set a bit of the hot war that happened when some of the comments that she made while trying to solve these issues. we have not seen much happen on the issue of immigration. i wanted to ask the caller to clarify what he said. it sounded like the people that were escaping were people that he may have been calling regulars. i was trying to figure out how he was trying to characterize them. that has also been an issue.

we saw -- we have heard this a lot, especially in the previous administration, characterizing people and bringing alignment to americans because race is coming over the border. we have heard of that type of language and have food to be careful when we characterize people and did see them trying to fleet various areas. that would be my question. host: we just heard from two floridians. we saw ron desantis take on disney world last week. how does that play out, not only on capitol hill, but in november? mr. wu: this is the red meat that republicans are trying to seize on ahead of the midterms. somewhat like desantis is trying to raise his national profile. what eager villain could republicans in florida try to take on than this the? we sat some of this playbook

last year with republicans trying to talk about schools and crime and drum up a voting issue. heading into this election, republicans are talking mostly about kitchen table issues -- inflation, gas prices, but this is on the table as we get closer to election. host: we saw the president comment recently. ms. mcmorris: we absolutely did. it has given the president a way to come back and connected to when trump was in office. it is almost as if we are seeing some of the same policies undetected excused in previous administrations commit the same verbiage being used by -- whether it is desantis, we are seeing it in florida, texas,

georgia. this is whitney for republicans, but for democrats, especially those who are looking to attract those scoring after social justice issues, this would be something i believe they could turn around. the santas has been on an entire rent and that is playing out with disney just because he does not like what was said. it is almost as if just making it rhetoric in conversation and people are buying into it because if you continue to play on the fears of what americans are feeling, then people will go with it. host: from massachusetts, republican line, homer. caller: i was wondering if anybody could explain how illegal aliens breaking over our border are good people. they are going on our airplanes

unvaccinated. i do not know if that is safe. if title 32 can be sent in, you are treating americans worse than foreigners. you are saying that republicans are pushing fear, but democrats are pushing -- or saying that white supremacy is everywhere and they are trying to get everybody. you think that the democrats are not pushing sarah, you've got another thing happen. the people getting killed are all in democratic states and cities. they are not enforcing the law. you enforcing the law and make people pay for doing bad things, they will not do bad things. host: we have dealt with immigration. i want to throw a couple of other things into the mix. last week, we saw documents in relation to the january 6 investigation. nicholas wu, what is it the plan's funds when these hearings will come? mr. wu: the plan with these

hearings is to present all of the findings to the public in a way that will be compelling. it is their hope that it will move the needle on public perception of generally six. we are over a year out from the attack, but we have seen the committee digging further and further. they have talked to over 800 witnesses, gotten a thousand pages documents, gotten different phone and bank records. right now, some committee members are talking about june as a target date for the hearings with some sort of interim report released the month after, but this has been a squishy timeline. i remember when they were talking about january is the start of these hearings, but they have shifted the date as litigation has continued and they have continued to find more information. we will have to see how they go

about it, but time is running short as the midterms crib up and republicans have made no secret of how they want to dismantle this. host: comments on friday, what did it deal with. mr. wu: this information was part of a late-night filing by the court -- by the committee and mark meadows. the committee was trying to get -- what the committee revealed were parts of its interviews that it has done with top trump administration officials about what happened in the lead up to january 6. we saw all sorts of revelations, among them the fact that republican members of congress were involved in meetings about the plot to appoint alternate sites of electors and what has counseled these lawmakers and meadows and his staff might not be legally sound.

the other revelation was that on january 6, trumpet did not call the heads of security agencies. host: has the white house commented or asked to the committee or worked alongside them? what is their level of interest in the work? ms. mcmorris: we do not have nine from the white house think when that will happen. the white house is not commenting too much, because it is ongoing. we have been asking about that, but we are not going to get that much, because it is an ongoing case. however, this is another huge issue playing into the midterms, the fax over the electoral count, some call it the big lie

and how effective it is being used. the funny thing is over the previous election, it is trumping in this election, some kitchen table issues that should be on the forefront. we are seeing even -- the pushback we are seeing, i believe it was in georgia and texas, they have had their primaries already and you already have people scared going into these primary elections. you have people feeling intimidation already. this is a huge issue that people are talking about. it is bleeding into the coming election. host: roger, indiana, democrats line. caller: i think the democrats

and the biden administration should do a much greater job in combating the lies, the deception commit the conspiracy. that is -- that is coming from the right. everyone sees it. even though they keep pressing hard to push their lives and conspiracy, it is going to continue to be difficult for biden, his administration, the democrats to make clear to the american people how much they are trying to help the american people through legislation. as long as it is they keep tap dancing around these lies and conspiracies -- host: we got that. ms. mcmorris: what is going on within the democratic party when it comes to messaging?

what is going on with the administration when it comes to messaging? we have seen members within the administration say one of the biggest issues is messaging within the party, and the split between progressives and moderates. i have not seen a change in messaging, but what the caller is expressing is something within the party that we have heard and the constituents. how are they going to change their messaging? that is a weight and see. host: kevin mccarty certain statements about trump. the audio that proves otherwise. what is he looking at now? mr. wu: at the end of last week, it looks like he might be in some trouble. you saw matt gaetz casting doubt on mccarthy and drumming up concerns about his credibility as a leader, but by the end of

the week, it looks like trump and mccarthy spoke. trump did not seem to have problems with him. it looks like republicans are going to try to move on. even if this has not hurt mccarthy a crumb -- among republicans, it does hurt him somewhat among voters having publicly denied something caught on tape. host: the issue your pain most attention. this week, what is that? mr. wu: i am going to be paying attention to what happened to the coronavirus money. ms. mcmorris: i am curious how much money the president is going to request before congress, what we are going to see happen in ukraine as we read in binge watch the violence. i am curious about that and also watching what happens with covid relief, the response on this mask mandate appeal. host: the website for the

american urban radio network is aurn.com. emmett remic is works for them. -- ebony mcmorris is with them. nicholas wu is with political -- with political. joining us next is bryce pardo of rand paul patient type first open phones. (202) 748-8001, republicans. (202) 748-8000, democrats. (202) 748-8002, independents. we will take those calls when washington journal continues. ♪ ♪ >> first ladies in their own

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as a podcast on the free mobile app or wherever you get your podcasts. >> this mother's day, give mom the gift of c-span during our annual mother's day sale going on right now at cspanshop.org. save on your purchases. there is something for everyone and helps support our nonprofit operation. scanned the code on the right to start shopping. >> washington journal continues. host: if you want to participate in this open forum and to send us a text, you can do that at (202) 748-8003. you can always post on facebook and twitter.

the wall street journal reports that when it comes to the needs for ukraine, at least by their estimates, this is out of washington, saying that ukraine needs about $5 billion a month in budgetary support for up to five months and roughly $600 billion for a rebuilding effort. the ukrainian foreign minister said on thursday, that was with the world bank the imf. the two institutions have started pledging contributions, but officials have acknowledged that much work lies ahead to come up with those funds needed. you can see that more at the wall street journal's website. on the cover of the wall street journal, it picks her of emmanuel macron winning reelection against marine le pen yesterday. if you go to the lead story this

morning, taking a look at tech issues, it is a reopening of discussions between twitter and elon musk saying that after he disclosed he had for $6.5 billion in finances, twitter is taking a fresh look at the offer, more likely than before to negotiate with people familiar with the matter. they are working on an estimate and could insist on sweeteners such as mr. mask agreeing to break out protections if things fall apart. detroit, democrats line, lawrence. caller: i pose the question that in order to become a citizen of the u.s. you have to take a test . in that test, they have a question, who is the legitimate president of the united states?

i fear that some of the politicians, running especially for secretary of state, it cannot answer that question truthfully. they should not be allowed to run for office if they cannot say that joe biden is the elected president. host: anthony, and detroit as well, independent line. caller: good morning. someone needs to cut this ukrainian president off. he is like an addict with u.s. taxpayer money. he wants $7 billion a month in security assistance. here in detroit, we could use a $7 billion a month to fix our city, but zelenskyy wants our money. host: sally, washington state,

democrats line. caller: a couple of things. one is that i still do not know where my representative was, cathy mcmorris rodgers, during the insurrection. it would be nice to know the location of all of the representatives. we have heard stories but not from everyone. also, it is time for a profit tax for corporate energy producers. i have seen lines for gasoline like in the 1970's. i would like to retire the corrupt cathy mcmorris rodgers and anne-marie dennis is the person running against her. i hope to see that change.

i am tired of corporations and the money. some corporations running our government and our media. host: greg next up. greg is in texas. he is on our line for democrats on this open forum. caller: i wanted to say that i wish i was on redline tv. you can educate people better on this show. when those people wanting to speak to them, i wanted to ask, you know that every time republicans get in office, democrats want to start a new party. they do not want to unite this country. i always notice that they always want to change up things. while biden spoke on the border,

the only thing that they are running on is child porn in schools and that other bill. that is the only thing they can speak on. they ain't got nothing to run on. another thing is the fact that in america, we need to stop [indiscernible] everybody in america wants to see this country survive. host: your thoughts, (202) 748-8001, republicans, (202) 748-8000, democrats. independents, (202) 748-8002. one thing you will hear of about happens later the supreme court today. the u.s. supreme court set to hear arguments about prayer in school today. the case involves joseph kennedy, a former football coach

reprimanded for preying on the field. the case could have implications for how school districts handle prayer. the case adding that the coach would kneel and lead students in prayer. the school district asked him to stop. kennedy's lawyers say the constitution allows him to pray on the field, but the school district said this revered -- interfered with students religious freedom rights and could open the district to lawsuits. watch that play out later on today. one of the things you probably heard yesterday is that statements about kevin mccarthy and comments he made about trump. one person talking about that was a michael mccaul, talking about his perceptions. here is what he had to say. >> you have to put it in the context of when it was given. this was after january 6, a dark

day, a shocking day, emotions flying high. kevin was a gaming out options. what if he got impeached and the senate convicted him? would it be better for him to resign prior to that? but the fact is he never had that conversation with president trump. president trump says he fully supports kevin mccarthy for speaker, as do i. kevin has one goal in his mind. that is taking back the majority. he just got back from israel, ukraine, poland, romania. he is astute in his grasp of the knowledge. he has worked tirelessly to get the majority back. support can be competently is strong for him. host: getting out on some of the sunday shows yesterday. waldorf, maryland, independent

line, james is not. caller: my question is towards a public vote or a private vote. if there is so much discrepancy, so many people saying that the election was stolen why wouldn't we make of those public instead of the privacy and secrecy and saying, somebody permitted election fraud? is it state has an issue with the quote, make those votes public. we know who voted that way and if there has been front. simple fix. host: jay, edgewater, florida, republican line. caller: good morning. can you hear me? i wanted to talk about florida and you want to pick on florida for some reason. when you look at what disney

carved out in the 1960's, they destroyed swampland that needed to be preserved. then they gave them special privilege after special privilege. they have not lived up to the expectations in florida. their turnover of employees is phenomenal. there is a reason for that. i have a daughter who worked there. it is brutal to work for that corporation. they do not care about anything other than the bottom line. when they start picking on florida for a law that does not say, do not say gay, [indiscernible] then they have got an issue. he has done everything he can to make sure that this is a fair

law, only representing the parents and children. host: john, georgia, democrats line. caller: hi. guide to be on c-span. one of the things i have noticed is how calls are done. i would say every call, almost every other call, when the person calling him is commenting and saying what they are going to say, there is a pause at some point in their discussion. they pause and ask, are you there? can you hear me? i think it is the way cell phones work. i do not know if there is anything you can do at your end, but i do not know that you are listening, because i do not hear anything on my end to that me know are you -- that you are

there. i do not know if there is some way you can engineer things so the caller can hear some sort of auditory signal to let them know that you are on the other end. that is a frequent thing that happens with almost every caller . maybe that is something you could point out to your callers that are here. host: yep. thanks for bringing up the issue, only because we as people when they call in -- the tendency that we have found is that they will leave their televisionthey start talking one but there is a delay on the to of it -- on the television. that is why we asked them to turn down the volume television to focus on the phone. when we call your name and you to start with your question or

comment, jump right in and do it. thank you for the comment in indiana. independent line. mark is up next. caller: good morning. i thought i would call in, in regards to the democratic party. my grandfather, many years ago made this statement. he was not a very religious man. he said all democrats are going to go to hell. some republicans will make it to hell. it was such a strong issue and it still is today. killing 700 million children -- host: one of the other people

commenting on those comments from mccarthy they saw at the end of last weekend. elizabeth warren was asked about that yesterday. here is her response. >> this is outrageous. that is really the illness that pervades the republican leadership right now. one thing to the american public and something else in private. they understand that it is wrong . an attempt to overthrow our government and the republicans want to continue to try to figure out, instead of spending energy on how we go forward, in order to build an economy, in order to make this country better, for the people who sent us to washington.

shame on kevin mccarthy. host: let's go to athens, illinois. >> a very smart man named thomas jefferson said he was not bothered by people. the solution is to combat the lie with a truth. they meet in the marketplace of ideas. what the democrats need to do is, they need to leave them -- lead them in the debates and point out that they certified the election. just keep repeating it. the people used to say, give them hell, harry. he said i will not give them hell. i would just tell them the truth and it will sound like hell to them. they just need to keep repeating

the truth. they have created more jobs than any other period in history. most are doing better economically. outside of inflation, just keep telling the truth about them. host: kelly from west virginia on our independent line. >> we need to get away from this democrat and republican. if you want to send a strong message to washington -- it may take a few years to get them out of that, but that is what we need to do. host: who did you vote for in the last election? caller: i voted for trump.

host: why does he fit that mold? caller: because to me he was an independent. he went on to defeat hillary. to me, he was more independent than he was a republican. host: this just coming up from roll call. we hear oral argument tuesday. on the administration's attempt to end protocols. they launched the policy and it forced migrants to wait in dangerous areas for the decision on their immigration cases. the biden administration did not follow the rules when it tried to follow through on a campaign

promise to rescind the policy over humanitarian can learns. it remains in place and the justice department has warned that if they cannot and the policy to set a legal precedent -- roll call is where you can see reporting on that. this is joseph. hello. >> hello. yes, i was just wanting to comment on the wide open border on the southern border. i'm say. i am delayed. host: go ahead and finish your thought on the phone. caller: title 42 is supposed to be coming up.

it seems like the biden administration is not doing anything. my thoughts on immigration is, if we have -- i believe in immigration, but my thoughts are, 70 people coming into the country, we are going to run out of resources to help anybody. that is all i wanted to say. i do not think we can have it. >> a couple things to watch out for on the networks and social media. the u.s. senate race debate. you can see that live at 7:00. that will be on our network. tomorrow, the secretary of state was just in ukraine on sunday. talking about matters of the

budget. talking about ukraine as well and efforts around the world. you can see that on our website. they will appear before the house and subcommittee. c-span3, you can see that at 10:00 in the morning. you can follow along on our website. you can watch things happen live on the network. these programs are cap for a short time. you can download it from the store of your choice. democrat line. hello. >> thank you for c-span. i wish democrats would fight back harder against republicans when they call us socialist. they are the party of white nationalists.

a white nationalists was going to kidnap a governor and murdered her. when it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, that is what it is. >> democrats line, you are next. >> hello? host: go ahead. caller: one of the things going on is the campaign propaganda since before the election that took place when mcconnell had already gathered together and determined that they were not going to do anything to allow the democrats to be successful at whatever agenda they had going. the president has a beautiful agenda for the people, but it stalled in the senate, simply because you had two people going

against it. he had all this determined to not allow anything, no matter how positive. most of the stuff they are talking about now with the border, all of these things had some funding that were going to go and help eliminate some of this stuff and make sure that there is nothing that the president has to do with inflation. there is a whole economic thing. oil companies are responsible for a lot of this stuff. this happened with the pandemic and it is coming around. they are talking like -- >> there is a report out -- taking a look, dealing with

immigration issues. saying that migrations -- host: 87 million -- they has migrants at six hotels from march to september. $352 per bed in each space. the federal government had been struggling. ice takes custody of migrant families after custom control officers process them. elsewhere in the story, a report that was published today at the office of the inspector general to turn down half of the hotel rooms were empty from march to june. it cost an estimated millions in

unused bed space. you can read more of that on usa today. let's hear from darrell in chesapeake ohio -- chesapeake, ohio. >> i have a question to ask. i googled this several times. they were 67%. in ukraine. that is how many people were jews. a lot of them have moved on out because they went to other countries but why is the u.s. not trying to help this country? that, i do not understand. the bible tells us to pray for the jewish people. but why are they not going in

there to stop russia? there are mass graves of people. they are trying to destroy that country. host: a line for democrats. how are you? open form gives you the chance to comment on politics that you like. go ahead. caller: what i want to say is the republican side, we call them the right and the democrats are the left. why is that? i would love to find out why they call them the right and the left because to me, the left sounds like a lower grade than the right.

the poor state of the town, why is that? host: let's go to dave. good morning. caller: good morning. how are you doing? host: i'm fine thanks. caller: i want to make a statement about all the people. i will tell you what. these people are doing a demonic thing because they are murdering innocence every day. i will tell you what. they will have to pay for this bed. i pray for their souls. they need to repent. host: michigan, democrats line. caller: hello. concerning mccarthy, lying has never been a problem. he does it and it makes it acceptable. grabbing genitals, boys will be boys, defrauding charities, no

problem. cocaine, or jeez, no problem. jim jordan witnessing students assaulted in the showers -- so what? praise jesus. god regretted is that he had done 11 times in the bible. host: ok. michigan finishing it off. for those who participated, thank you for doing so. one more segment to go. joining us to talk about it and work with the details is bryce. he will join us next for that conversation, when washington journal continues. ♪ >> c-span has unfiltered

coverage of the u.s. response to russia's invasion of ukraine and bringing the latest from white house officials and the state department, as well as congress. perspective from u.n. all on the c-span network, the three mobile app and c-span.org/ukraine, our web resource page where you can watch the lady is -- the latest videos on demand. note to c-span.org/ukraine. >> and jeffrey franke's recent book, he reports that at his low point, he was only 16% popular, however 70 years later, he was ranked sixth most effective of the 46 u.s. presidents, according to the latest c-span survey. his career includes his years at

the new yorker magazine. the subtitle reflects the theme of the biography, extraordinary presidency of an ordinary man. >> author jeffrey frank on this edition of book notes plus. now available at the c-span shop, c-span 2022 congressional directorate. this compact, spiral-bound book is your guide to the federal government with contact information for every member of congress. also, contact information for state governors and the biden administration cabinet. order your copy today or scan

the code with your -- >> washington journal continues. host: the associate director of the research center. welcome back to c-span. guest: -- the biden administration releasing the new policy. what is the purpose of such a thing? guest: it is a congressionally mandated document. every year the administration puts one out. this is touching upon many different areas related to drug control policy. things like jurisdiction at the border, domestic law enforcement , treatment prevention and harm reduction. >> as far as the approach that you -- that the administration took, the doctor wrote this,

saying we are changing when it comes to drug use by meeting them where they are. we are moving their years. we are also striking drug trafficking organizations in their wallet by disrupting the operating capital that they need to sustain their criminal enterprises. guest: these pillars are pretty standard. what is not is harm reduction. that is new. we have not really given any thought to harm reduction. this is the first time that the reports have actually reduced harm reduction. it counteracts and reduces some of those deaths. those things have been there, going back 34 years.

host: can you tell us what that looks like? guest: people will use drugs, especially those with a substance use disorder. there are long-term harms. they are not worried about contracting aids or having an addiction problem. they are worried about today. i am experience withdrawal so i will do everything i need to to overcome that withdrawal. they recognize that they will continue using drugs today, but let's make sure they are not doing it in a way that is harmful to themselves or others. we want to make sure they are not transmitting blood-borne diseases. he will allow them to test their drugs. those are things like harm reduction. it can link people in the throes of substance use disorder.

it is a low threshold way to take the time to recognize that they have a problem and address it with methadone or other social service programs. it is a low threshold way. host: does the harm reduction path work? if so, how would you demonstrate that? guest: it can take a lot of different forms. these are programs that people can go in, get clean syringes, use their drugs and return them to the needle exchange program. they can get low threshold treatment for things like addressing infectious wounds at an injection site. those things are what is done. research on that shows that they do reduce hiv transmission in many places. there are other harm interventions. these are very cheap and easy to deploy. strips allow you to determine

whether fentanyl is present in the drug. if you have a powder mixture, it will allow you to determine that fentanyl is there. the science is still emerging, but there is early evidence adjusting that people do use -- change their use profile. it will maybe not use the whole bag. they will take the proper precautions to reduce their death risk. there are some ways in which harm production can shape user behaviors and ultimately reduce the things that we care about. is it give -- host: is it given to the states to handle? guest: this is the first time it has been done -- others have been funded with federal dollars, but this time, there is a pillar. we are going to fund some money

towards this. it is a drop in the bucket compared to the federal drug control policy. but it will allow for them to purchase test strips. there will be other interventions used outside that this administration is suggesting warrants for further research. morphine treatments -- these are other therapies that are being used to attract individuals that are not using methadone or they have not had much success using methadone. we are trying to reduce overdose deaths. host: we will talk about this from the mn station, when it comes to drug control policy. we have divided the lines regionally. for those in central time zones, (202) 748-8000.

for those in the mountain time zones, (202) 748-8001. if you know someone who struggles with rug addiction or you struggle yourself, call (202) 748-8002. what is the potential as far as reducing harm on that front? guest: test strips have been the one thing that they have put a lot of money towards. they said the emerging research suggests that they may be useful, but there are limitations and people need to be aware that there will be -- it is like a pregnancy test. it determines whether fentanyl is present. if you are a drug user in the market, everything contains fentanyl. that is what we are seeing in the market. you already know that fentanyl is there.

for a cocaine user that does not want to come into contact who has no tolerance, it could save their lives. if you buy a powder in a baggie, you can test it with a test strip and if it shows positive, you may not take that baggie. for some users, it may work, but others -- there are other things that they can do to try to increase the numbers in counties that are affected by overdose. that is fine and it seems like a valid thing to do, but it may not have a direct impact. they are designed -- that said, it may serve as an early threshold. for those coming off the street, they may be able to get access.

those types of interventions may result in provision systems, so that is good, but there is a lot more that can be done. canada has been opening up. other places have been offering more access to treatment. there are things that can be done, but this administration is just dipping its toe. host: what is the perception of this type of approach? guest: the reality. host: you explain that before. guest: the perception depends on who you ask. they will come down one way or the other on harm reduction. more in the middle, but people are generally adverse to harm reduction programs or abundantly welcoming to it that there is a little bit of blindness towards it. there are some people who initially are not in favor of

harm reduction, especially in localities where they have been looking -- a lot of community members did not like these ideas, but over time came to realize that they had some benefits. the public drug use that leaders were concerned about happened behind doors. it reduce the social disorder in that area. that was a benefit that community leaders warmed up to overtime. the research on some of these interventions has shown that they reduce the transmission. early research on some of these that address fentanyl -- they show some positive benefits. they are trying to expand. it will probably not have much of an effect. again, everything contains

fentanyl. you want to know is how much fentanyl. there are no other testing mechanisms that can be used. there are programs and services where you can take part of your drug off the street and had it tested in the scenes using a machine with a more robust and quantitative means. it will allow the user to know what dose they should be taking. host: our first caller from tennessee. go on with your question or comment. caller: it seems like this question has been asked more. i was calling in -- host: are you there? go ahead. you are on. go ahead. caller: the question is what

should our parties be doing? are we talking about something else? host: we changed the segment for that. let's hear from henry from massachusetts. in morning. caller: good morning. how are you? host: good. go ahead please. caller: thank you for taking my call. way back, before the military with issues with my body, i have been taking painkillers for all those years which has helped me anyway that medication has not. three years ago, they started withdrawing the medications because they were worried about the opioid problem. i can understand. i understand why they worry, but

when i go to a doctor now, they have dropped. i'm called a drug addict and i have been called a drug-seeking behavior and stupid by my doctors. i do not have time to go out into the streets to look for powder and fentanyl. i'm just looking for help to take care of my physical ailments that my body needs. when i go to a doctor, i'm not going there to seek drugs. and going there to seek help. host: thank you for sharing that. guest: this is the concern that some drug policy folks have raised some issues with. with opioids in particular, it is tricky because you have to taper people down slowly. some chronic pain users can benefit from long-term treatment

with opioids, but it is a small amount of the population. in this case, there is a concern of tapering too quickly. they have said maybe we should not have done this too rapidly. we need to do this more slowly. that is when they come into contact. that is a serious concern. host: you talked earlier about markets. is it urban, suburban or rural? guest: this problem is largely regional. but we are seeing fentanyl showing up everywhere now. it started showing up and parts of the and antic. in other forms and other markets -- it is pretty much everywhere. this is both a suburban and an urban problem.

it is easy to ship. you can ship it by mail. it is easily done. with that said, this administration recognizes limitations and being able to offer some of these services. they are looking at low threshold means. you have methadone provision centers. these would be useful. it is hard for people to go get their methadone every day. it is stigmatizing and hard for people who may not have a vehicle or a means of transportation. it will be increasingly difficult to reach out and meet people at their needs. we recognize the limitations that might be put into place. reducing availability of doctors who can prescribe morphine.

there are policies put in place that may prevent some of these efforts to reach people. host: eric is in las vegas. in morning. caller: good morning. you are the best. help me. i have a blind spot. i see these now. it is approaching the opioid crisis as a health problem, but growing up. it was always a law and order issue. i see all the help being given out. i am all for it. please, help everybody. it seems like -- i am an american of african descent. it seems like when it was mostly people who looked like me, let's put them in jail, but now that

it seems to have crossed the street and affected people that do not look like me, now it is a health problem and let's help them. do i have a blind spot there? guest: that has been a recognized point. that metric has shifted in a large part, due to the emergence of opioids. the opioid problem really saturated many markets, not just these are prescription drugs and people who had access to health care were going to the doctor with legitimate issues, but then it became a substance abuse disorder. they developed problems with drug use and some cases were cut off. the overdose problem associated with that -- some people traded down to air -- heroin.

it is more of a public health approach not only because we have more white folks more than rural, but decides it showing that treating this through the public health approach is the best approach. we have that stigma associated with the colonel justice system really contributes to elevated risks. they have lost tolerance. there are a lot of harms. but eric is right to point out that those dying are also driving this. host: russell is from new jersey. hello. caller: good morning. thank you for coming on this morning. my mom died of opioid addiction. later on in life, when my doctors all started handing the

opiates, i knew better and i saw alternative treatment. but i have noticed in the years since my injury, when i talked to other people, they say they are still being handed opioids left and right. i do not see a change and i want to know if it is due to the fact that it is so hard for normal spine doctors to prescribe epinephrine or that they do not know better? guest: that is an interesting question. it is in opioid -- sometimes, they push something off of it. it is interesting that way. it acts both ways and it can be used to treat pain, but it can also be used to treat substance abuse disorders. they are cap at how many.

doctors do not want to be seen as dope doctors. there is a little bit of stigma from that. many pain patients are being saddled with something else. i'm not a medical doctor, so i do not know to what extent those decisions are being made. it has kind of a ceiling effect and more traditional like methadone. host: those on twitter asking, is it true that most illegal drugs, including fentanyl and heroin enter the u.s. through ports of entry active guest: yes. the data shows that they do occur near ports of entry. those are the main ports of entry for all sorts of drugs. host: it includes the targeting

of activities of criminal organizations and reducing the supply of drugs smuggled across the borders. what has been successful? guest: it is very limited. we need to recognize that they are moving more difficult. it will be increasingly difficult for law enforcement to do this. the supply reduction efforts can shape markets. traffickers will find a workaround and markets will stabilize in other ways. there has been some effort put into that, but largely temporary reduction. host: charles is in new jersey. go ahead. caller: i have dealt with people

with addictions. i was in a worship group and we used to deal with addiction every wednesday night. i would see one guy after another, after another, dying. my thing is, the money should be put where it will cut the head off. that is where they should throw their money at. places like china and we cannot bring all these people -- sentinel comes through -- sentinel comes through -- fentanyl comes through our borders. you have to cut the head off the snake. guest: there has been billions of dollars funded towards intervention, including ports of

entry and be thing of security efforts there. working with china to reduce the flow of chemicals. trying to improve corruption efforts in mexico. this is nothing new. they have spent billions of dollars on these efforts with some modest gains. there have been efforts that happen from time to time, especially with fentanyl. it really changed the way in which it was manufactured. again, the overall flow -- it just shapes the supply in different ways. it does not really in the problem. there are too many ways to get sentinel into the u.s. host: what do you think is shaping their approach versus other administration's approaches? >> it is laid out front and center.

that is new and historic. in addition, looking at the federal funding request, it has been 50-50. this administration is requesting a little bit more, about a 60-40 split. recognizing that efforts are going to be limited. we will have to change. this is not plant based drugs. this is manufactured in a lab. you cannot send marines out of a helicopter. you need to tackle this in different ways. they recognize that more needs to be done on demand reduction. they talked about methadone and trying to increase the number -- getting them onto methadone.

they are in the system. it will come down to the states. they are not in-state homes. they are at recovery houses. it will come down to stay efforts. the federal government is working towards trying to improve access. host: does that mean working with pharmaceutical companies? guest: there is some discussion about expanding the reimbursement mechanisms for people on medicaid or private insurance to gain access. if you are someone in a state that did not expand access, what are you supposed to do? they recognize limitations that

needs to be overcome. these are barriers that the federal government cannot quite compel the state. they can start dangling things. but they can gain access. things like that. but there are things that need to be addressed. host: what is the typical? guest: with opioids, it depends. there are people who get into this for legitimate reasons. working in a coal mine for 30 years -- they become -- those people, 55 plus. then you have people who are long-standing heroin users.

for decades, even when they had a prescription opioid problem. those are largely older black man who have died. then you have other folks like a more western phenomenon, people around 25 buying a, what they think is a legitimate tablet. these contain a few milligrams of fentanyl. they look like the genuine product. they buy these thinking it is a genuine xanax by. that said, the age range of 45 to 50 are the ones who are dying of overdoses. host: this is media in california -- mia in california.

caller: thank you for having me. i'm a little nervous and i have a question -- couple questions. the epidemic, the drug epidemic is really out of control. we have to start within the community. i do not want any politics to come in between us. if you want to be a politician, come straightforward to your community, at the city halls and everything. we cannot have police -- we need to have community activists involved. big pharmaceutical companies -- you guys started this. you gave us these pills and now we have people addicted. i do not want to get too deep because i can get way more detailed. host: he said you had questions. what are they? caller: i need to know, what is

he going to do to get the pharmaceuticals out of here and to get rehabilitations for everybody? a ghost of fentanyl. -- like fentanyl? guest: there are some things regarding pharmaceutical drugs. there are kickbacks. they are trying to encourage -- this is a strategy that they put out every year. there are limitations to what they can do and implementing this is the next question. if you get a 90 day prescription , you can mail back the rest if you only take three tablets. you want to avoid your kids going into your cabinet and getting access.

there are things that the administration realizes need to be done. reducing barriers are crucial. during covid of the regulatory agencies reduce access. during covid, you could not go anywhere. you could not go to your methadone clinic. those things, we hope will be made permanent. there are other things, really opening up more treatment facilities that they are offering, but implanting this is the question. host: what country best handles drug addiction? guest: that is an interesting question. the problem is made more difficult with regards to health care. we were told by pharma that

these were non-addiction producing substances. it was a well intended policy. we started to aggressively keep them alongside polls, heart rate , temperature and respiratory rate. pain is subjective and nobody else can understand my pain. adding patients to do that is impossible. because be focused on treating pain and levels of reimbursement , everything started to focus on treating pain problems, people were prescribed very quickly, prescription opioids. we were settling people with them to get things like tooth extraction, then back -- chronic

pain patients, but not that many. most people that get opioids and are exposed for a long period of time can develop opioid dependency and addiction. static to constrain access. to some of the people who had addictions switched to heroin because it was cheaper. that started this second wave of the illegal opioid problem -- problem. a large part of this had to do with the health care systems in the country. once you have an addiction, it is hard to get addiction therapy in many places. what are you going to do if you have -- if you do not have access to private insurance?

host: you mentioned canada several times. guest: it is easier for policy. we are talking about a very fractured system, different states and different models. the federal government is very constrained and what it can and cannot get -- cannot do. we have housing problem that compound this. it contributes to people using drugs chaotically on the street. there are other associated problems that are typical of this. there is a book that i like the recommend called the american disease. our addiction problem make it

more difficult. you have public transit. you have universal health care. you can take the bus to a methadone center. you can go to your doctor. there are different things that you have access to. host: let's hear from kathy in pennsylvania. caller: thank you for having me. i wanted to ask, where is he getting his statistics about chronic pain patients? i am a chronic pain patient and i am not addicted. there are a lot of people like me that are able to function with the pain medication. now it is being taken away.

i would like to know where you are getting your facts about everybody who takes pain medication becomes edict -- addicted because it is not true. thank you. guest: that is correct. there are chronic pain patients who benefit from long-term treatment. that is that said, there are those who become exposed come who should never be exposed. a 19-year-old who gets a wisdom tooth extraction should not be subscribed -- prescribed opioids. the cdc has recognized this as a very tricky group of patients because they are people -- you need to be cautious about tapering down, if they choose to taper down. there are other people who

should not be exposed to opioids. this is a big part of the problem is because we overdid it by over treating. host: what is the impact of legalized cannabis in the u.s.? guest: so far, this guy did not fall, but there have been different effects. we have seen children going to the er for accidentally ingesting cannabis problem -- products. those numbers have gone up in states that have legalized cannabis. we have seen increased car accidents, but it is a little mixed. it depends on how you peel the onion. some are looking at insurance claims versus fatalities. you can see people, the fatality is decreasing. others are getting into accidents. things like we have seen state

revenues include -- increase from the taxation. there has been a benefit from that. in legal markets, -- there. mexican drug contrails -- cartels -- they recognize that it is not viable for them. they do recognize it as an increasing problem. there has been a mixed bag, here and there. it will take a long time to suss out what is happening. we have seen the use rates for certain cohorts increase. this is for those individuals using cannabis or reporting cannabis use. the numbers in the midrange from young adults 18 to 30 -- we have

seen the number of individuals increased her medically. about half of them reporting. that is something that has dramatically increased. have seen a flattening. host: where is the federal government? guest: the federal government has had no take on this. there've have been several bills put forward and we will see if that gains traction. so far they have taken aback see. -- a back seat. host: joanne is in reading, pennsylvania. caller: i'm coming from a different point of view. i had a couple friends have been in your fatal car crashes with drunk drivers and another friend

of mine had triple bypass surgery. they did not want to be on any kind of drugs. went to two different enters and the ones who check into a center for addiction, you basically cannot get out unless you are on methadone. both of them went to have help to decrease what they were on and go on with their lives. and basically almost held hostage. you have to take this. you are not allowed to leave. why do they push methadone unless -- instead of trying to lean people off of things? other people have been prescribed things that they initially did not even want to be on.

i just felt so bad. i could not even get my best friend out of the place because they would not let her leave. you have to take methadone. they said -- she said they treat you like dirt. is that the long-term game plan? host: thank you for the call. guest: this is an important conversation to have. stigma is a huge problem in terms of individuals that need to get onto methadone and cannot or individuals who are on methadone and they want to get off. doctors do not want to prescribed morphine in some cases. similarly here, it is true that you have some people who want to walk off and they are being told that they cannot because it is

harmful. it can create a chemical dependency. long-term repeated exposure can change the way the brain operates. you develop a chemical dependency that requires you to taper off. methadone patients, there are those who successfully live with methadone for 40 to 50 years loan amounts and notices, and they are fine. pushing those off is probably not a good idea, but if somebody does want to taper off, they should try to find some kind of center. it just these to be managed in a way that is safe. if you taper off too quickly, you can create compulsive cravings that would resort and individuals seeking drugs in the market. there needs to be caution there.

host: we're are almost done with the program -- program. caller: i have been on opioids since the early 90's. i blew out my c 32 and my neck. went through a whole rigmarole of being in pain. they sent me to a nut doctor, saying it was only my head until they figured it out. now i have a cervical pain in my spinal cord. people do not realize how much hassle, people in chronic pain and have hurt themselves have to go through all these loops to get things accomplished. it is not just the pharmaceuticals. it is the doctors. it is all the hoops that they have to jump through to prove that they are in pain. it is ridiculous. the other thing about the fentanyl, if we closed the southern border, maybe we would not have this problem as bad as

we do. thank you. guest: closing the border is -- again, fentanyl was easy to ship into the u.s. before. it was coming through mail. closing the border will not have much of an effect. can shape these supply patterns in a variety of ways, but it is too easy to get through. to her point on prescription opioids for long-term chronic pain patients, there is a legitimate concern. by tapering people or cutting them off too quickly, you can cause more harm. there is a segment of the population that needs to be managed carefully. they should not be cut off. long-term -- rather than cutting off their medication and them seeking out heroin from the illegal market, that is much more harmful for them and society than managing their pain long-term with opioids. with that said, trying to avoid

starting people is crucial. we recognize that, but we also need to focus on other areas. host: our guest is the associate director. check out his website. thank you for your time. that's it for our program today. another edition of washington journal comes your way tomorrow morning. see you then. ♪ >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more,

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