director of the consumer financial protection bureau. c-span is your unfiltered view of government. offended by these companies and more. -- funded by these companies and more. buckeye broadband support c-span as a public service as well as these television providers. giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> this morning on washington journal hannah wesolowski talks about federal efforts to improve mental health programs.

also peter welch on the nato response to russians invasion of ukraine. republican representative adrian smith joins us talks about the bidens administration to rising inflation and supply chain issues. host: good morning it is tuesday april 26. the senate convenes at 2:00 p.m. eastern. we are with you for the next three hours on the washington journal. we begin on the news yesterday that twitter accepted elon musk's offer. it finalize the move with the world's richest man. we are getting your reaction and asking if you think elon musk

will improve twitter. if you say yes your number is (202) 748-8000 if you say no your number is (202) 748-8001. if you would like to send us a (202) 748-8003 text message that message is (202 number is (202) 748-8003. you can start calling and now on this question. do you think elon musk will improve twitter. this is how the wall street journal talks about that buyout yesterday. it is the dramatic close of a courtship. the deal has polarized twitter employees and regulators as well over their power to wield the

parameters of discourse on the internet and how those companies enforce their rules. that is on the front page of the wall street journal. elon musk posting this on his twitter page, free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy. i want to make twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features making the algorithms open sourced to increase trust. twitter has tremendous potential and i look forward to working with the company to unlock that potential. we will take you to reactions on capitol hill. this was jen psaki. >> what i can tell you, nobody who owns twitter, the president

has been concerned about the power of law social media platforms, the power they have over our lives. they should be held accountable for the harms they cause. he has been a supporter of reforms, including antitrust reforms that require more transparency and encouraged bipartisan interest in congress. what hypothetical policies may happen? i will not speak to that yet. host: jen psaki from the press room. a day for tweets and we will be looking for years throughout the show. this is from elon musk yesterday on the news, he tweeted that even my worst critics remain on twitter because that is what free speech means. members of congress tweeting, this is marsha blackburn, elon

musk terrifies the left because they don't want their power to censor threaten. this from senator elizabeth warren from massachusetts saying this deal is dangerous for our democracy. billionaires play by a different set of rules, accumulated power for their own gain. we need a wealth tax and rules to hold tech accountable. representative kim but, he is paying 40 billion dollars. we will show you mar, but we will hear from you. if you say yes that elon musk will improve twitter that is (202) 748-8000, if you say no

(202) 748-8001, if you are unsure that number is (202) 748-8002. out of jamaica, new york. caller: i think this is a dangerous thing for democracy. i don't think any rich man should have the privilege to do this. democracy is about to go anyway. i am in 87-year-old woman and i think this is a dangerous game because the far right, they love this. but this is dangerous. there should never be one human being that should be able to do this. host: how much do you use twitter? caller: i don't use twitter but i fear twitter. i just think it is dangerous for

a rich man to have this much power. this is going to be very dangerous. democracy in this country is almost gone anyway, i think this is almost the end of democracy. host: speaking of a rich man having power and influence, jeff bezos took over the washington post. were you concerned about him having too much power when he took over the washington post? caller: yes. i think these rich powerful men. why don't they take this money and do something for mankind. there are people suffering, do something for them. instead of putting all of this money -- i am not a rich human being.

but i would never think, they are just horrible human beings. host: this is jay from wake forest, north carolina. caller: there is no improving twitter or anything online or anything on the media. unless elon musk shows how twitter, facebook, c-span, abc, cbs, unless they show us the algorithms of how you helped joe biden rigged the election. trump is not going to go back, what does it matter? host: elon musk is talking about making twitter and open force platform. taking twitter private and turning it into a bulwark of

free speech. he said that they should open source the algorithms so others could recommend changes to the algorithm. one of the changes he has talked about. we are asking you this morning your thoughts on elon musk taking over twitter. here are just a few of your comments from twitter. this is from the liver tony and, liberals scream about being censored on this website. it is only when they say explicit thing when they are censored. i don't expect twitter to change that much, this is about power and control.

some of the conversation that is happening on twitter. it is on http://twitter.com/cspanwj. caller: i don't think the problem is social media, i think it is the law on defamation. essentially, you cannot defame a celebrity or someone who is a public person. i think the springboard to that could be on its last leg. you can only say they have defamed you with information that is false. i don't think you would have

qanon if we had laws on defamation. it is nearly impossible for someone to improve, if you're like tom hanks, it is impossible to prove the person who defamed you knew they were falsely accusing you. obviously, hillary clinton did not have a child trafficking organization and pizza place. but she could not sue these people. the law should go back to where it was 50 years ago where you could sue and win damages. host: this is bill out of massachusetts. caller: hi, how are you doing?

i don't think this will be any improvement because all of the rest of the media in the united states, i'm not sure about the rest of the world. almost every other media outlet in the world is for the globalist, the democrats and the one point of view, like c-span. c-span used to be both sides but c-span definitely leans to the democratic side. you are supposed to be fair and even but whenever callers call up, democrats get to talk twice as long. if someone says something about the election was stolen, it was ok when hillary said that.

it was not ok when trump said that. it leans one way. in order for america to be great again, we have to have two points of view, not just one. otherwise the world is gone, because as go america that goes the world. host: next caller from maryland. caller: thank you so much for accepting my call. can you hear me? host: yes sir. caller: thank you for accepting my call. i am a little on edge about elon musk because so little people seem to be aware of the past and

how certain things in our work environments, i have not really seen the actions of this guide to see how he might improve things or privatize companies in general. i'm excited to see where he might take the company. i want to see more cooperation from people who do not work like he works. who do not make the kind of money he makes. i think a lot of the concerns other collars have truly comes from free speech. moving up to this point now, i would like to see more from him than just buying an opportunity. even some of the concern that his workers have had with

working conditions. i would like to see things like that addressed in public ways. if he is true to transparency like you said, if he can address those things transparently, i hope the media and the american people will see that there is still hope and we can move together. not just in the sense of partisanship, partisanship -- he might have a shot. host: if you think elon musk will improve twitter, (202) 748-8000 is the number if not that number is (202) 748-8001.

plenty of beds in today's papers. this is from the washington post, there are policy that musk could alter and could immediately improve the public discourse. he could show tweets in chronological order which would make users engage in order. he could add the re-tweeting function. it would also make twitter a less viable business. the things that are easiest to fix are the things that must stand. there will always be gray zones

because not anyone wants and unmoderated forum. that is from the washington post. this is cindy from miami, florida. caller: i don't agree. i think this is becoming political. i heard a gentleman saying that c-span is leaning towards the democrats. why even say this, this is about twitter. i'm afraid that he is opening twitter to the band individuals. the reality is, he has turned

this world upside down. that is all i have to say. go entertain yourself with something else and leave twitter the way it is. host: joseph from washington dc. caller: twitter and away has become one of the last social media platforms that does promote freeze beach -- free speech. after the others ramped up their algorithms, i think twitter was one of the few places you could go and see some hot takes. see some opinions you did not

necessarily agree with in a and engage with those. i think elon musk with his vast fortune, i don't think he is motivated by money. if you look at the reason he wanted to buy twitter, it was like oh women of his. a passion project that he was interested. i hope he removes a lot of the advertising and minimize it to where people are engaging with each other and not corporations. and not having our data sold to big corporations. i hope that he keeps it one of the last few social media platforms that does promote free speech. host: cnbc taking on the

unanswered questions about the takeover, one of those questions is how much control elon musk exert? they write, he currently owns tesla and spacex, they ask if he will take the jeff bezos approach or will he be a hands-on owner. the answer will go a long way to know what to expect. bobby from cookeville, tennessee. caller: thank you for taking my call. i don't think he could do any

worse. i was banned from twitter just for posting that i did not think joe biden was capable of being president and they banned me for that. as far as that guy who called in talking about saying that c-span is biased, i have been watching this show for decades and seeing you hang up on republicans. how many times did you cover the hunter biden laptop before the election? host: this is brenda in georgia. caller: how are you? i think he is going to do good

and i think he is going to make it better. i hope he buys tv out. this is about free speech and joe biden cusses and they don't say anything to him about it. host: why do you trust elon musk? caller: i believe he is trusting. he really is trusting. host: a couple of callers have brought up donald trump. one saying that trump was banned for violating terms

of service. it was politico writing about what may our may not happen asking members of congress about the potential return of trump to twitter. no one is more petrified by that then members of trump's own party. every single one of the insiders hope though former president stays away from twitter less he hurt their chances of flipping the house and senate. they believe its twitter habits could damage his own brand. if i was a democrat, i would pray that they put donald trump back on twitter says one republican aide.

trump's opinions would put republicans in a position to answer for them. trump said he is not going to twitter, he is going to stay on his own social media platform. they don't believe he will be able to resist the urge and the ability to drive the news cycle with his followers. taking your phone calls, if you think elon musk will improve twitter (202) 748-8000, if you think that he will not improve twitter (202) 748-8001 if you aren't sure (202) 748-8002 (202)

748-8002 that line is. (202) 748-8002. caller: i don't know much about twitter but elon musk has every right to buy it. i hope he is not forced to do anything he does not want to do. host: you said you do not use it much, as a nonuser, how much do you think twitter is influencing news cycles or the news that you do here? how much do you hear about twitter is a nonuser? caller: they banned people off of that when they don't like what they say.

elon musk should use his money to help people, what are all these other rich people using their money to help people? host: a few more of your tweets this morning. if senator warren is crying about elon musk being a danger to democracy, you best believe he is doing the right thing. this tweet saying, not sure he understands free speech as it is defined in the first amendment. elon musk will be more talked about which appears to be his daily objective. on the issue of free speech, this is jennifer turley riding on this. the first amendment does not prevent people from running a

private business. for years, the first amendment distinction, the fact that it does not prevent private business from centering. faced with that prospect, democrats using their final defense, they are calling for state senator -- state censorship. this is sean out of baltimore, maryland. caller: i do think elon musk

will make it better. i'm glad he is doing what he is doing. twitter is trying to censor people. it is trying to censor conservatives. they are just trying to censor anybody who speaks against the main thing going on. like people who are against vaccines. i think it will be a good thing. i am glad elon musk is doing it and i am not a trump fan but i don't think he should have been censored. people are going crazy calling him a racist, a white supremacist. that doesn't make any sense. host: how much do you use twitter? caller: i don't use it at all.

i am trying to get away from social media. social media started taking up a lot of my time but i tried to stay away. i do read twitter feeds from other people. host: matt out of new york. caller: i find it very ironic that the media has any right to censor free speech unless you are yelling fire in a theater. all you her every day is diversity for gays or lesbians but when it comes to free speech, which is really free thought. you are trying to control thought, why? because you are trying to

convince people of your political beliefs. so trying to control speech, just because someone has a difference of opinion. what about diversity? do you want the whole country to think the same way. that is bolshevik. what is wrong with free thought? it does not fit a certain narrative so we have to shut these people down? i think it is time to look in the mirror and heal thyself. host: let me ask you to respond to greg best singer from the new york times, this is what he has to say. contact moderation won't make twitter a better place, it will make it more toxic. more speech, harmful speech,

ernest users will get yelled down by more bots. musk will demand a gigantic megaphone. it does not sound like a better place. what you think about that? are you still with us matt? we will go to gaithersburg, maryland. caller: how does this person even know what musk is going to do. his only statement was free speech. forget that he is rich, nothing

wrong with being rich. but my main issue here, why would you even bring the subject up now to put doubt in people's minds. then a week or two from now, ask about how elon musk is doing. this is all putting doubt and people. we should be focusing on the border, food and gas. this was a question by c-span2 purposely put doubt into viewers. host: we were just trying to get people's reaction to

very big news yesterday. caller: it is big news. the amount has nothing to do with it. that is a tricky way to diminish this african-american. $44 billion, right away rich man he's going to screw it up. all of y'all, hug your kids, vote the right way. god gave us a vote, please let us use it. host: in terms of what elon musk has said, here's a reminder of what he put out yesterday.

this statement that he posted to his twitters base, free speech is a bedrock to democracy. i also want to make twitter better then ever, making the algorithms open source and authenticating all humans. i look forward to working with the company. a little later in the day he says, i hope that my worst critics remained on twitter because that is what free speech means. if you think elon musk will improve twitter that number is (202) 748-8000, if you think you think know that number is (202) 748-8001. the house is in at 2:00 p.m..

votes are scheduled for 6:00 p.m.. there is plenty happening on capitol hill, a dozen of president biden's administrators will be on capitol hill testifying. some closely watched one's is secretary of state antony blinken will discuss the budget requests. you can watch it here on c-span, c-span.org and our video app. also, at 10:00 eastern, merrick garland will talk about the fiscal budget for the justice department. that you can watch on c-span three.

back to your phone calls about elon musk, about twitter. this is don out of montana. caller: i understand why twitter did not put anything about hunter biden, they did not want any poor and on their site. i understand why they kept hunter biden's laptop off. host: any thoughts on elon musk? to market in georgia. -- mark in georgia. caller: the man just bought it.

he is a big tech guy. we don't know what he is going to do with it in one of the things i don't like is the fact how someone makes a comment. let see what he does with it. i know there are algorithms out there. let's see what he does with that. i am not a hundred percent sure what is going to happen. someone on one side of the aisle or the other will make it an evil thing. host: that is mark from georgia. this being reported by punch ball news, amy klobuchar will

brief the community about a new antitrust bill. it is an act cosponsored by chuck grassley, it is a bipartisan broadside at silicon valley. the bill passed the judiciary committee but big tech companies have been furiously lobbying to kill that legislation. chuck schumer will put it on the floor if they can round up 50 votes. as usual, we are expecting the majority and minority leader to address reporters after the lunches, that happens at 2:30

p.m.. this is floyd, and iowa. caller: i don't think elon musk will make much of a difference. at tesla they have production backlogs. he can't get his things delivered on time. i don't think he is going to make a difference on twitter. thank you for taking my call. host: do you use twitter much? caller: not to my knowledge. but this twitter business, i think he will dabble in it. with this spacex thing, taking suborbital flight that lasted 10 minutes. thank you for taking my call.

host: a few more comments from twitter, does he not have more important projects to tackle? this is from ray, calling it a non-issue. social media is done by choice. in this text, he will have the same impact on twitter that rupert murdoch out on myspace. he improves everything he touches, that is just some of your comments from social media. you can text us at (202) 748-8003. this is richard from maine.

caller: the question -- define improve? will he improve twitter? host: do you use twitter? caller: all the people i want to contact don't use the phone anymore. you have to use facebook, twitter to communicate. host: do you think twitter, is it in a good place right now? could it be improved? caller: it could be vastly

improved. the only social media i participate in is yahoo!. they have that locked up so tight. it is like walking on egg shells or you get boxed out. you have to use tricks to get your thoughts across. putting letters and words that they are going to mute. sometimes you have to say something, and so here i am. host: this is less from louisiana. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i think he is going to do good for twitter. these democrats that call in

saying that republicans are always wanting to do away with free speech and they are fascists, who is the real fascist? they want to limit free speech from republicans all the time. you said the reason that you are covering this is that it is big news. well, the president of the united states on is involved in all kinds of shady deals, isn't that big news? host: this is mary and indiana. caller: thank you so much for taking my call. i am a 77-year-old black, female

, democrat and i think it is a bad thing because when the person at the bank can't read my signature because she can't read cursive. i am so ashamed of those board members for selling their souls, it is all about money. that is just not right. anyway, thank you for taking my call. host: wilmington, north carolina, this is ron. caller: i have been following elon musk since 2013. i think he has a lot of good ideas. he was saying a few years back,

he wanted to see more truth in the media. this is an attempt, everybody's input in a democracy gives to ets to the best choice. all sides heard is the best democracy. host: from twitter, elon musk is a hero to republicans, how do they reconcile their hatred for the cars. e-cars. in the next one is that elon musk will be talked about

more in the world which seems to be his main objective. on twitter, did he buy twitter to compete with trump or to gift trump. we will be reading through these throughout the hour. wall street journal rights, if he can strike a more satisfying balance on content moderation, most social media users don't want russian bots, obnoxious advisors.

but the tech lords want to be arbiters of speech nudging the moderation dial back might provide broader engagement but expect regresses to scream about. elon musk must realize that he is walking into a hornets nest. it will be fascinating to see him break silicon valley's progressive culture. caller: i would like to see the people who talk about hunter biden, i wish the media would enforce people proving what they say about people instead of a

whole lot of hate speech. i don't know about twitter, but i do hope that they promote truth. host: that is sharon from oklahoma. this is jerry from new jersey. caller: i am happy he took over twitter. i think it is important. there is so much that twitter has done in the past two really hurt this country. twitter, right after trump in january 6. there were two things that trump tweeted about going home and twitter took it down immediately. i hope elon musk can expose this kind of stuff. if he could go back and show the

stuff that was deleted, i really hope this helps. host: this is kenneth and buffalo, new york. caller: i am not sure -- i am sure he is will meaning. if you wants to pursue further free speech, it is possible that they have the opposite effect and enforce people's beliefs and things that are not true which is a big problem in this country today. a number of people will believe things that are not true. for instance, the fact that the election was fair and square and all the people who believe that it was stolen. that is a big problem in this country because the american public is, for the most part,

poorly educated, misinformed and easily misled. it does not matter if people can get on their and say things that are false narratives and people will believe it and 75 million people voted for trump and they still believe him. that is a big problem in this country. that is all i have to say. host: diane from miami, florida. caller: my opinion is that elon musk will improve twitter. hopefully, trump will get back on because the androids are not able to on his website. and since musk has 80 million followers, that would be profitable to trump because we are in a terrible state right now and living in florida,

democrats are escaping democrat states because of the crime. it is positive -- the proof is that muska has invited the critics to stay. the ones who want to leave, they are the ones who think they have all the power to choose what is right and wrong and what is free-speech. they deny people who have different opinions. i think it will be a great improvement on twitter. there will be a plummet on facebook and it is going to be wonderful that people are going to be leaving facebook to go to truth social and twitter. facebook is in for a big surprise and i am very thankful

that elon musk bought twitter and he is going to make it better and hopefully, the people who are screaming right now about what he has will leave twitter. people in twitter are trying to sabotage the company right now. that is communism at its peak. host: how much time do you spend on social media? caller: constantly. i listen to all the enemy stations to confirm that they are against trump. they are against elon musk and they are against freedom of speech. they twist the truth. and i am open which is why i listen to all the media's because i want to get the truth of what the enemy is saying.

that is why cnn is down the tubes. i am very thankful there is a breath of fresh air. i was locked out of twitter for my truth and they said take it back and i said no. that is why i was not allowed to go back on twitter. and now, on facebook i was shadow band. i have over 8000 followers and now it is down to one and two. they are trying to make it a new world order and they are eliminating what is happening. and now, thank god it is all turning around to where does everybody's opinion. host: you bring up former president trump. some new surrounding the president out of new york.

a new york state judge held president trump in contempt of court for failing to comply to a subpoena from the attorney general's office. a rebuke of a former president that came as the office that might file a lawsuit against him. the judge ordered president trump to respond to the subpoena from the state attorney general who sought records from him about his family business. the judge will find him $10,000 a day until he satisfies the courts requirements. this is mark from sanford, maine. caller: i just wanted to call and say, we can't be sure what he is going to do. we won't know, we will have to wait and see.

i don't feel that the problems we have with social media up to now, i don't think we will get it much better and less have government regulation on it. that is my opinion. host: government regulation how? caller: we have the free speech issues. private companies don't fall under the first amendment. caller: the first amendment, everyone has the right to free speech in their own opinions. we are taking opinions and trying to make them facts. a lot of us believe this, and believe that. there is a fine line between free speech and what fact is and what reality is. there is always going to be a clash. host: that is mark in maine,

this is jason from missouri. caller: good morning. my whole insight is we do have billionaires stepping in to grabbing plateaus. they can really voice themselves and we have people saying government to control it. for the government to control it, that aggravates everybody. because the government is taking your voice away and what you really want to say. with that being said, i truly believe that elon musk is going to voice what the rich people

are going to say. the world is just going to be able to listen to the billionaires are saying rather than what the people want. that is just the way i feel at this point. host: a few more tweets, twitter is a town square and a single individual should not own the town square. this is bonnie saying, i don't know elon musk but i tried to stay positive. i pray that people remain individuals, my hope is that they put in a fact pop up that helps when people are debating. a few minutes left if you want to keep calling in. your thoughts on whether elon musk will improve twitter.

a reminder, we mentioned earlier that several cabinet members will be testifying on capitol hill throughout this week, tomorrow and thursday we will be hearing from alejandro mayorkas talking about the budget request for 2020 three. a lot happening on the homeland security front. yesterday it was kevin mccarthy leading a delegation of republicans to the southern border to talk about border issues, their concerns about the ending of title 42. and today, another biden administration action is going to get a lot of attention. the supreme court will hear a challenge to the bidens administration repealed to the migrant protection protocol which is the remain in mexico policy.

they directed homeland security to review and dhs ended that back in june. we will be talking more on that in the last half hour of the washington journal today, about immigration in general and that case specifically. that is happening it 9:30 eastern. this hour is devoted to elon musk and twitter. whether you think it will improve the social media site. if you say yes, no are unsure. from burlington, north carolina. caller: elon musk will do a better job and i don't think you actually covered hunter biden's laptop. the lady from wall street journal, she did not know what was on the laptop.

i think you need to do your reporting a little bit better. host: that was freddie from north carolina. you can see our coverage on that story and a book event with the book "laptop from hell." . all of our programs and all of our washington journals on c-span.org. i'm next, we will take on the issue of mental health in the united states. we will be joined by hannah wesolowski for that discussion. and about 30 minutes, the first of two members of congress will join us. representative peter

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happening in washington. subscribe using the qr code or visit c-span.org/connect. six presidents recorded conversations in office. here those progress -- are those conversations on our podcast presidential recordings. >> season one focuses on lyndon johnson. you hear about the next 64 presidential campaign, the march in selma and the war in vietnam. not everyone knew they were being recorded. >> johnson's secretaries knew because they were transcribing those conversations. they made sure the conversations were taped as johnson would signal to them. >> you will hear blunt talk.

>> want a report of the people assigned to me and candy the day he if minor not look less i want them less. >> yes sir. >> i will not go anywhere. >> is a denture recordings. find it on the c-span now mobile app. or wherever you get your podcasts. washington journal continues. host: a conversation on mental health with hannah wesolowski. she is an officer with the national alliance on mental illness. ms. wesolowski i want to start with a world health organization briefing for last month. this is the headline. covid-19 pandemic triggers a 25% increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide.

where do you think we stand today more than two years into the pandemic? what are your biggest concerns? guest: two years into the pandemic these stressors americans have experienced has exploded the mental health crisis. as we look at the pandemic and other things getting back to normal the mental health crisis is ongoing. during the pandemic two times the rate of americans were experiencing exotic and depression. we look at youth and young adults, their lives have been disrupted. we are seeing high rates of anxiety and depression in teens. we are seeing increased rates of suicide attempts. it is concerning. there is going to be -- we were

in the midst of a mental health epidemic prior to covid-19. now as we are starting to emerge from that we are grappling with the mental health impacts of this. people's lives have been turned over. they have lost loved ones. they have lost jobs. their social and actions were strained. they were worried about things. we are concerned about what this is going to look like and whether we can serve needs. host: that w.h.o. report, the sub headline the numbers of findings are a wake up call to all countries to step up their mental health services. focusing on the u.s., have those services stepped up? have we prioritized mental health as much as we have prioritized hospital beds being open, providing respirators, the

physical health? guest: before the pandemic no. we are seeing a rapid increase in scale of mental health services in the last year or two. the covid-19 relief packages there were package for mental health. more spending for mental health than we have ever seen. but what the rate that demand is growing we do not have the workforce to provide the services that are needed, treatment that is needed. we have so much catching up to do from decades of underinvestment in mental health. now the demand is through the roof you can only scale up so much in a short time. we are playing catch-up. while growth in spending for mental health is helpful we need

a massive influx and development of mental health infrastructure. it has been a hodgepodge. it has been inequitable in certain areas of the country. we are facing a shortage of services to help people. host: more spending on mental health and we have seen. has it been dollars ball spin? what has been the best investment you have seen the paschal years? guest: there have been a variety of investments. we are seeing more investments in workforce programs. we need to scale up our workforce to serve people. that has been an important investment and something we will need to invest in long-term. looking at paraprofessional, peer support specialist that is something that is needed to help fill the gap, for providers in

the mental health. -- mental health space. something else, that is been a development during the pandemic is the arrival of 988 and nationwide three digit number that everyone can dial like 911 two access suicide and mental health services to her -- to connect with trained counselors. we are seeing more investments in the national suicide prevention lifeline which is serving as the basis of that 988 network. which is needed. we need more but we are seeing a rapid scale up of the services. that is something everyone can access. that is one of the most important things. if we resource that appropriately that can have a

permanent impact on the mental health in this country. the ability for people to connect with crisis services when they need them and get a mental health response to a crisis. host: hannah wesolowski is our guest. we are talking about mental health programs. phone lines split up regionally. if you want to join the conversation (202) 748-8000 in the eastern or central time zones. (202) 748-8001 if you are in the mountain or pacific time zones. hannah wesolowski the national alliance on mental illness. remind viewers what your group does. guest: our mission is to build communities that care. to help individuals and families that are living with mental health conditions to get connected to support, education. to increase awareness in the country and advocacy around mental health so everyone can get connected to the support and

treatment they need to get well and stay well. we are a nationwide network. the largest health organizationally the country with over 600 chapters. we are likely in a community near you. we are resource to help. host: you mentioned the findings amongst young people. this from pew research center. ac/dc survey found 37% u.s. high school students reported regular mental health struggles during covid-19. where were we when it came to that stat before covid? explain how much of an explosion we have seen among our young people. guest: when we look at teenagers we are seeing a rapid increase.

looking at emergency department visits that were likely suicide attempts during the first year of the pandemic. those increased between self and 10 -- 17-year-olds by 30%. a 30% increase in teens making a suicide attempt. among youth who died in the u.s. more than a quarter are suicide related. it is the second leading cause in death ages 10 to 24. we are seeing a rapid increase during the pandemic of the suicide attempts. youth who feel like they are trapped or there is no hope or they are disconnected from friends or relying more on social networks that may be a venue for bullying. there are so many factors interpreting to this. we look at lgbtq youth and the rates of suicidal ideation among

that population is much higher than the general population. any do not have access to safe spaces. we were concerned about the health prices prior to the pandemic but we are seeing these rates of anxiety, depression and other mental health conditions increase over the last two years . we saw the surgeon general put out a report last year about the use mental health crisis. the american academy of pediatrics children's hospital association and american academy of child eyes left -- i do listen to nate psychiatry put out an emergency declaration about the youth mental health prices last year. we are in a dire situation and need to connect with our kids more quickly and provide them

with services, the education, the support they need to make it through these times. guest: website you can take a look at mental health programs during the biden administration's 2020 three budget proposal. other programs, administrative through -- ministered through medicaid. i want to focus on the $1 billion for the proposed school-based health professionals program. what is that? guest: where our kids every day? they go to school. that is a place to me kids when they are. but we don't have enough little health professionals to provide services in school. the biden administration proposal to scale up school mental health services making sure there are more mental

health providers in the school, social workers, counselors. make sure the ratios are macrolevel as more equitable. is what that program is focused on. to provide that care and support to kids where they are. it is teachers and peers who are in a good position to identify that something may be changing with a child. that they may be struggling. having these services available, working with parents to connect these kids to the help they need is important. investing in that and make sure schools have those resources. often counselors are serving what will schools. how can those counselors help kids when they are doing with hundreds of them? they cannot get to know them. they cannot help them. this is about scaling up the

number of professionals working in the school system as well as making sure more services are available. host: connecting our previous conversation about twitter to -- and social media to this conversation do not lookup party rights on twitter. social media is ruining the mental health are you and billionaires will not fix that. a much should they be on social media? what would you tell parents about moderating that use? guest: we need more research and data to know the impact. social media is a double-edged sword. it can be detrimental but it can also provide a community to kids. our colleagues at the trevor project to great research on lgbtq youth 12 and found many lgbtq youth found social media difficult but also beneficial.

it is about talking to your kids about what to say. who they should be connecting with, and trying to provide safe spaces to your children but having those open conversations is the best defense you have right now. we need more research. understand the impact and how we can best help children manage. something many of us adults do not have to think about we were going through those years of our life. we know there is benefit. we know there is harm. it is trying to strike that balance. host: we mentioned that fiscal 2023 budget request. there is a lot of focus on the ministrations budget request this week on capital bill. $2.1 billion requested for the national institute of mental health includes $10 million to support the national is to do

mental health. the impact of social media on mental health and inform treatments included in that list of programs what is in the presence budget request he can find it on the website. you can call in to ask questions. as leah did in washington. caller: i had some of these problems as a child started when i was seven. i am 54 now. i suffer from depression, anxiety and ptsd and suicidality. i've had trouble for the last five months finding a therapist. one of my therapists went to an addiction specialty and that is not one of my problems. it took me more than five months to find someone. i have an appointment tomorrow

with someone. it is going to be weekly. but it is dangerous for someone like me to not have a therapist to work with. guest: thank you for sharing your experience. i wish i could say that is a rare struggle that people have in finding a provider. unfortunately that is too common. nearly 150 million people live in a mental health provider shortage area. we have a gap in making sure there are no providers to help people. even when you can find them finding somebody who takes your insurance provides more provocation. there are such high out-of-pocket cost to getting mental health care.

it is not fair. it is not how we treat other health conditions. we need more providers. we need more -- better coverage. need to make sure we have more in network providers to reduce the end -- out-of-pocket cost so that mental health care can be attainable for everyone. we need to maintain her mental health and have access to mental health professionals to support us. host: atopic -- a topic we have talked about through covid's burnout among doctors dj -- and emergency room nurses. it is an issue hospitals are experiencing. i wonder, during covid have we seen a burnout issue? people leaving the profession saying it is too much? guest: it is a concern. we have seen burnout for all

health professionals. you think about frontline health professionals. burnout is a major concern. how we address that is going to be a struggle. the number of people who need to talk to a therapist, a counselor, a psychologist, they are stretched thin trying to meet the demand. i came to people about heavy things. -- talking to people about heavy things. the burnout concern is enormous. we cannot afford to lose the workforce we have. the doctor, health care provider protection act signed into law provides resources to boot -- to help health care professionals and raise awareness and encouragement to seek health --

seek help and support themselves to mitigate against those burnout concerns. is going to be something we need to invest in and support our professionals make sure they are taking care of themselves. they cannot help the rest of us if we -- if they are not doing well. host: netiquette susan. caller: i was listening to leah. i am happy you are discussing the young people and the problems they are having. senior citizens such as myself, i am 63, i am in the medicare population. when you talk about -- i have no coverage. the physicians are not paid

enough. when my commission -- clinician left to go into private practice i was told to call every month to get a new commission -- a new clinician. they don't have one that takes medicare. i went to my own and they said why did you not come before? why -- my point was supposed to be today at 2:00. they call back saying we have problems, scheduling problems. i'm not on medication but that does not mean, i need support. this ed.d. what maintenance or are you coming for therapy? i said i'm coming for therapy. they said we will have to reschedule. they did not reschedule. when i tried to call them back they did not answer my call. i am struggling, the quality of my life is going down. the reason i'm calling is i am on the edge but i'm not on the edge. i am thinking of other seniors

that because of the pandemic are going to go over the edge. i am able to maintain since june. maybe a lot of people are not able to maintain. you have suggestions of what i can do? to pay for therapy session and i have to wait to be -- didn't it would be between hundred 80 and $2050 for a session in connecticut. guest: thank you for calling in. i am sorry we are through that. persistence is important. keep calling back. make sure they schedule that appointment. you can call our helpline to get more information on you can go. medicare is a challenge when it comes to mental health.

medicare does not cover a lot of mental health providers like marriage and family therapist. peer support specialist. they are not covered by medicare . what they are paid is not enough . it makes it a challenge has a lot providers -- because a lot providers do not want to take medicare patients because what they need -- when they get read -- reimburse for. be persistent. reach out to organizations like nami to navigate this world. host: in terms of health lines that helpline display what 988 is. the 988 implantation act in congress. guest: 988 is a lifeline.

it is a suicide in a crisis lifeline that will be available for everyone no matter where you live this july. july 16 is when it will be available for everyone. based on your area code you will be connected to the local crisis call center. there is a network, those crisis counselors can help de-escalate. there is somebody to talk to. somebody to listen. they can also connect you to local services and other resources in your community. we don't want to just deal with someone in an acute crisis. we want to help them get well and stable. nami and our partners have been advocating and support the nine eight implementation act to ensure that people call for help the help is available. these call centers need more resources to answer the rapid

increase in calls we anticipate. we need to change the paradigm of how we respond to people in a crisis. a person in a mental health crisis needs help not handcuffs but we rely on law enforcement to respond. that is not the job law-enforcement signed up to do. we need to help professionals to respond when somebody is in a mental health crisis. the 98 act -- the 988 implantation act would provide resources across the country to build up the crisis center and the resources available so that no matter what price is a person is experiencing the help they need will be available in their community. it will take a while to get there. but really reduce the trauma and tragedy we see too often. this is a line that i hope folks

will make sure to add to their memory bank. 988 should be as common as nine 11. it is an alternative to calling 911 and a mental health crisis. it is to connect to that mental health network and resources most useful when somebody is clearly in crisis host:. a few minutes left if you went to your questions into hannah wesolowski. nami.org if you want to find them online. steve calling from illinois. caller: i would like to speak about the liberalization in candidate of silicide and mushrooms. i have suffered my life. i am 64. i've had severe depression and anxiety, panic attacks. i have been on different medications. the medications you get over the

counter take weeks to take effect. sometimes they were, sometimes they do not. my brothers and sisters out there i can guarantee that are suffering under the dark cloud of anxiety, depression there is a way out. that way is through natural mushrooms. there are clinics across a car should be any of argon has program starting. the costs are too high. the billionaires have gotten into it. you are going to have to go to street drugs. local drug dealer -- host: this atopic you look into? guest: there is a lack of new treatments and options for people. what may work for one person may

not work for another. that is why we need to invest in the national institute of mental health to do more research to make sure when a person is taking to treat their mental health condition is safety effective. and better understand the brain. there is more work to be done in this space. we have made advancements but we need more. host: maureen calling in from new york. caller: my name is lorraine. nannie is a -- mammy --nami is a wonderful organization. host: what are your questions? caller: many psychiatric centers

were closed down in the 1960's, 70's and 90's again. there are so few left. there was supposed be money for community settings for people with serious mental illness. those moneys came in such a small amount that there is not enough. is money flowing at all for mental health living situations for people where they get supportive case management for a lifetime? not for a few months christian mark --? . these new case management support programs they want to discharge people. as soon as they are better a little bit.

his money flying at all -- is money flowing at all from the government to help the situation? is it a situation where people are being left homeless and in jails? what is the number of psychiatric centers that are left? guest: thank you for calling in. you are right, when we move from institutions to community mental health which is a positive move we did not make enough investments. we are seeing a scale up in committee mental health services. you are talking about permanent supportive housing as witches is applying those services to somebody who may have the most serious mental illnesses. we see more investments in hud

for these programs. the need is a norm us and more is needed. our goal is to keep people well in the community and provide those services that are going to help them stay well. there are too few inpatient beds that are available. we don't want people to get to that point either. more can be done. the biden administration is proposing a doubling of the mental health services in the next fiscal year. that will help states provide more services. we are seeing increases in section 811 housing and hide some of these programs. there is a lot being proposed. we need to make sure those investments come through. host: hannah wesolowski is the chief advocacy officer at the national lines of mental illness. nami.org. that number for the

navy helpline 1-800-950-nami. up next the first members -- first two members of congress joining us today peter welch and later we will be joined by adrian smith a republican of nebraska. a member of the ways and means committee. we will be right back. mother's day give mom the gift of c-span during our sale going on at c-span job.org --

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hear many of those conversations on c-span podcast presidential recordings. >> season one focuses on the presidency of lyndon johnson. you hereby the civil rights act, 1964 presidential campaign, the gulf of tonkin incident, the march in selma and the war in vietnam. not everyone knew they were being >> recorded. >>johnson's secretaries knew because they were tasked with transcribing those conversations. they make sure the conversations were taped as johnson would signal to them. >> you will hear blunt talk. >> jim. i want a report of the number of people assigned to kennedy the day he died and the number assigned to me now and if mine are less one them less. >> yes sir. >> i will not go anywhere.

>> presidential recordings. find it on the c-span now app or wherever you get your podcasts. >> washington journal continues. host: we welcome back congressman peter welch democrat from vermont. you return from a trip to eastern europe getting a view of the russian invasion of ukraine. where did you go and what did you see? guest: we went to poland, lithuania, slovakia and some of my colleagues went to romania. there were two infant -- profound impressions. number one, the memory of world war ii is vivid in those countries. and they ways we cannot understand. they were invaded and occupied. people were slaughtered. even though we are a couple of generations removed what russia has done but the invasion of ukraine and this onslaught of indiscriminate violence in

civilian areas where women and children are targeted that is vivid and real. in each of those countries the leaders and people we spoke to our -- our concerns. that their country is next. the positive impression was the solidarity. the folks there, as small a country is lafayette -- lafayette are sending military aid to ukraine as is the case with poland and romania and slovakia. in poland where you have 2.5 million ukrainian refugees the polish people are taking them into their homes. all those refuge people -- all those people are in polish homes. an immense amount of relief and appreciation the u.s. is so

fully involved is a good sign that our leadership has helped reignite the solidarity that is required to push back on russia. host: secretary austin blinken announcing the decision to bolster the demand a presence in ukraine. you mentioned the violence. we have seen these missile attacks across the country. what happens if a russian missile kills a u.s. diplomat or u.s. trainer in the ukraine? host: that is the real -- guest: that is a real risk. european union policy is clear. provide all military aid we can to help ukraine succeed in not only resisting russian but driving them out of ukrainian territory. that brings risk. will there be a decision by

putin and he escalates? we are going to do everything we can including heavy weapons going in that will be required for the fight, we are going to do that. short of u.s. military involvement or nato direct involvement against russia we are doing everything we can. that means we have to accept this risk. host: on the military involvement? what if anything should work direct u.s. military involvement in your mind? guest: this speculation. we are all in on providing military aid and assistance to ukraine. but this is a fight that has to be made, waged and won by the ukrainian military. the ukrainian military is the best army in ukraine. russia is the second best army.

it is steady as she goes. we have keep getting that military equipment, things in you and the intelligence to ukraine. the present has been clear. this is their fight, not our fight. we are there to help them win the fight. host: peter welch the member from vermont, a member of the house intelligence committee with us. start calling in. republicans (202) 748-8001. democrats (202) 748-8000. independents (202) 748-8002. a topic important to you. the issue of burn pits. news on that front from the white house yesterday. here's the headline for the washington times. respiratory cancer is tied to burn pits added to misses -- military disability list. explain what that means, your efforts to address these illnesses. host: our soldiers, who served

in afghanistan and iraq were assigned to duty around what are called burn pits. burn pits is where everything, garbage, toxic chemicals, his third into a pit, little fire and that is the way of disposing of them. there is a lot of carcinogens. many of our men and women in military who were assigned around these purpose got cancers. when they came back they got sick. some of them died. this was an issue around the country. women in vermont who lost her countries led the charge among others to bring attention to this burn pit situation. what we have done with legislation is created the presumption that if you served in an area around burn pits and were exposed to burn pit toxins you get sick the assumption is this a military lid illness and

you're going to get the medical care you need. it is reminiscent of ancient orange in vietnam where soldiers were under canopies and we were dumping toxic chemical agent orange to incinerate the vegetation. it did a job on the lungs were our men and women in military. they had to fight for years before they were able to get health care. that is the same thing with burn pits. i'm happy there has been a bipartisan effort in congress inspired by men and women back home in gloucester leveling to get recognition -- host: president biden called on congress yesterday to pass that bill. where does that stand? what is standing in the way of that? guest: it is some minor negotiations. i think we are going to get

there. it had big welcome -- vote. the particular's i'm not sure of. you have the administration, bipartisan support. we have to get across the peninsula -- get across the finish -- finish line. the cost of war has to include the warrior. the folks who did get that toxics -- caught exposure and get signal question i need. host: republicans (202) 748-8001 . democrats (202) 748-8000. independents (202) 748-8002. i want to note you are running to join the senate. you already represent the entire stay in the house. why do you want to move or to the senate? guest: the urgency of the problems we face. i am running to see senator lee

-- the seed similarly. nobody is going to replace underlie he. the challenges we face. incredible economic challenges, everything families have, affordability, cost of education, prescription drugs. we have to have a congress committed to trying to help people. number two, we have to address climate change. that senate is 5050. this is a high-stakes election. if we shift control there will be no climate agenda at all. we cannot allow that. we have to protect our democracy. january 6, we are seeing the commission on january 6 was a widespread event. we have get to the bottom of that. went to protect our democracy -- we have to protect our

democracy. make sure you can go and your vote is counted. host: high-stakes in the house as well. 30 democratic councilmembers retiring or running for another office. compared to 17 republicans retiring or running for other offices. what do you say to fellow house members? what is the likelihood of democrats holding onto the house? guest: historically in the midterm elections the incumbent party loses seats. that is a reality that the incompetent party, the democrats right now have to contend with. when you're in that arena it is full speed ahead and do the best job you can. there is a lot of the -- accomplishments we can look to. the american rescue package made a difference. we are having to deal with inflation. we have to get prescription drug price negotiations across the

finish line. we have to bring down the price of insulin. the legislation we passed the house, cap it at 35 bucks per month that would make a huge difference. for people who have diabetes whether they voted for trumper biden as trump or biden. whether we are in the house, leaving the house run for the senate we have to do our work the best we can focus on meeting the needs of citizens. host: question from ray in colorado, why should the u.s. take a stance in any foreign conflict day risk the blowback, why not remain neutral? guest: there is a lot of risk of remaining neutral. when we step back a moment. world war ii was a high point for military and the alliance, of our relationships with allies

, particularly great britain. we pushed back against nazi aggression and succeeded. we built an architecture that kept in place of peace on the continent for over 75 years. that did not happen on its own. it required creation of organizations like nato. that is starting to fracture. it wasn't till russia united us their invasion of ukraine. if we stand on the sidelines and don't have any architecture in place which includes working to capture -- working together, against the aggression across these order -- the border you could have another major world war. there is risk that by staying quote neutral that you can preserve the peace. this they situation where there is solid bipartisan support for us not to get in a war with

russia but to help ukraine when it's war with russia. host: to nebraska this is teresa leifer democrats. caller: republican party and the state of georgia is trying to promote herschel walker who has admitted to having multiple personalities and abusing women. if herschel walker wins in georgia how will he, a fact the senate? guest: the decision will be up to georgia. i informed warnick -- i am for warnick. that would be good for my view. it is up to georgia. host: on twitter jim with this

question, asking what is congress get the authority to set the price for prescription drugs? guest: congress is not asking for authority to set any price. we want to negotiate with drug companies about what is a fair price. that is called market capitalism. we are the only country where the government does not protect consumers against price gouging. the prices are set by pharma. there was a law passed, medicare part d the prescription drug plan was passed in congress under the bush administration that prohibited congress from negotiating. even though we buy wholesale but we pay retail. when you say price setting we are right but it is pharma setting the price. you go into by aspirin, you can

get a bottle that has 10 or 100 and it. when you buy that 100 you get a cheaper price. when the government buys billions we don't get a cheaper price. it's host: what is the key to moving legislation and a deadlocked senate? there has been so much focus on joe manchin. what agenda he may be able to control with his 50 vote. what do you think is -- the key will be if you become a senator? guest: putting aside your own demands, it is your way or the highway and finding ways to compromise that are beneficial to the people we represent. the infrastructure bill, that was tremendous for remote s-4 vermont and all of our states. there is an intersection where

trucks come down the hill and comes into an intersection where parents are brain kids to school. it is a dangerous intersection. with the instruction bill we are going to fix that. that means kids whether they voted for trump were biden they will have a safer intersection. we bring down the cost of prescription drugs and make prescription drugs affordable that is good and read in a blue america. there are things we can do that are going to help our folks. broadband is an example. that is beneficial for folks who ever they voted her. host: massachusetts mike. caller: i disagree with your posture, your position on, change if what we are going

through now, the shock to our economy with high gasoline prices and forcing us to go into electric powered cars and trucks , it is not realistic. the materials needed, the batteries come from our enemies. china, russia, these rare elements very damaging to the environment. i am for clean air, clean environment but what is going on is shocking the economy. guest: your concern about the price of gas, all of us are

feeling that. it is a -- it is brutal in a state like vermont. why is that? there is a lot of factors. his covid, the supply chain disruptions we've had an eight newtons -- and contends war -- and putin's war/. i have to disagree with you about the transition to clean energy. that can be done. it has to be done in a way that maintains affordability so there is not a shock to household budgets. there is long-term benefits. we cannot afford to be polluting with more carbon emissions with all the consequences. this weather we are having. the wild fires tornadoes and floods that cost billions of dollars.

our failure to act in a away from fossil fuels has an expense associate with the. have to be full speed ahead in making these adjustments. you raise a concern that is a household budget. host: and, leifer democrats. caller: my question is about ukraine and any other country we assist with financing. who gets that funny? is it real money? or is it equipment? democrats messages are too long. people do not pay attention to the. we'll have a to mention span --two minute span. we need people to go to the household and streets and neighborhoods need districts and state and

nationally to get this message of build back better were people understand if i have lead pipes in my house this build back better will fix my water. guest: she is right. it is weapons we are sending to ukraine not money. they are guns, tanks, howitzers. they are getting antitank weapons that have been used to great effect in the battle run kyiv. it is munitions. second, the messaging. i love what you are saying. neighbor to neighbor, knocking on doors, talking to another engaging. instead of a message from washington. in this stage -- a message from one neighbor to a number -- to another. have to get rid of these lead pipes. that is causing harm to innocent

children. that is one of the benefits if he can get that provision past. protecting our children from the effects of lead poisoning. host: what are the prospects for a revamped build back better for something passing? guest: none of us know. have to ask joe manchin. we passed in the house. i voted for it. the thing is when you break it down childcare tax credit, making childcare affordable. in vermont a family takes 30% of their income in build back better going on a 7%. electric charging stations, subsidies so people can afford an electric car. you go through the list. they are all good for america. it is paid for.

she it -- it depends on joe manchin and kyrsten sinema. none of us know. i hope and have confidence because these are not partisan provisions. host: two minutes left with peter -- a few minutes left with peter welch. brian in florida republican. caller: nobody once communism but what is it about the treaties we have with the intermediate range missiles that are facing russia? isn't that why he's going into ukraine? with this, change thank that is trash.

if you replant trees on the earth you will cool the earth, slow down rainwater see will give flooding so much. we won't have to give corrupt politicians down. guest: the reason that pertinent invaded ukraine is not related to the intermediate range missiles. it has to do with his mission of what russia should be, greater russia and return to the old boundaries of the former soviet union. it is expansionist on his part. he denies ukraine is even a country. his willingness to use violence which is remarkable where you're having howitzers found into oblivion cities like mariupol. you are destroying cities and

killing women and children and anybody was there. this is a wreck listing a heartless decision by mr. putin. it has to with his territorial ambition. his distorted sense of what russia is about. we have to disagree on, change. i am for planting trees. but it is not enough. the carbon emissions from the heavy reliance we have on carbon fuels is having a sniff can impact on the atmosphere. there are steps we can take and should take. if we engage in solving the challenge and problem of climate change we can strengthen our economy and improve our national security. host: north carolina, mike,

republican. caller: i have two points. the first is about illegal immigration on the border that mr. welch has proponent bring them all in. we have a housing shortage, blacks, whites, illegal people. you have the inflation. you keep wanting to bring more people the socialist sender from your way elizabeth warren let it out when he was doing an interview that she wants mass amnesty by the time biden's term ends which will be 30 million people. guest: you know, we have to have a secure border.

we have to have what is long overdue, comprehensive immigration reform. we have made more -- no progress on that whatsoever. it is something i think we need -- comprehensive immigration reform. second, the housing crisis is huge and especially tough for younger people. that is really going to require a lot of action on all of our parts. you are seeing corporations buying up housing, raising rents, and putting housing out of reach for more and more people, including folks from the middle-class who never had a real challenge with that. and inflation is a problem that is, i think -- all around the world, not just in the u.s.. it is an aftereffect of covert that has been aggravated by the putin invasion and we have to try to address that because it is tough on families. host: last 30 seconds. the question we ask our viewers is, he's elon musk going to be good for twitter? any thoughts? guest: no, i don't think he will

be good for twitter. he is a billionaire. this is his latest affectation. what you are going to have as one person in charge of a media empire that has a profound impact on how we discuss issues of enormous concern and relevance to each of us. having one person in charge of that without any oversight is antidemocratic. i don't like it. host: congressman peter welch, mccright from vermont, running to be a senator this cycle, boys appreciate your time. guest: thank you. host: up next it is congressman adrian smith, republican of nebraska, number of the house ways and means committee. stick around. we will be right back. ♪

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office. here many of those conversations on c-span's new podcast "presidential recordings." >> president -- season one focuses on president lyndon johnson. will hear about the civil rights act, the gulf of tonkin incident, the march on selma, and the war in vietnam. not everyone knew they were being recorded. >> certainly johnson's secretaries knew, because they were tasked with transcribing many of those conversations. in fact, they were the ones that make sure the conversations were taped as johnson would signal to them through an open door between his office and theirs. >> you will also hear some blunt talk. >> gym. i want a report of the number of people assigned to kennedy the day he died and the numbers assigned to me now, and if minor not less i want them less right quick. and if i can ever go to the bathroom, i won't go. i promise you i won't go

anywhere, i will just stay behind these gates. >> "presidential recordings." find it on the c-span now 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 c-spanshop.org. save up to 30% on home to court and apparel. something for every fan and every purchase helps support our nonprofit operation. c-span's mother's day sale, going on at c-spanshop.org. >> "washington journal" continues. host: congressman adrian smith joins us now, republican from nebraska. a top republican on the ways and means committee, one of the most

powerful committees in congress, with one of the least obvious names. for folks who don't know, what are you in charge of? guest: international trade, taxes, and i tell people, basically everything else relating to a deduction from your paycheck. so, social security unemployment, and associated poverty programs. medicare. some pretty timely topics. host: the top republican and former chair of the committee, congressman brady, is retiring. you are one of three republicans looking to replace him in that post, and republicans may be taking the house come november. do you want to take that job? guest: it is an opportunity to bring more opportunity to americans. it is always my goal to -- and a tell young folks back in the district all the way up to senior citizens that my number one job is to foster opportunity for the american people. more specifically, nebraskans.

i think the ways and means committee is a great way to do that, not just with tax policy, but international trade, social security, medicare. very important topic. host: kim brady -- a very important topic kim brady talks about is inflation. what can be done right now to combat inflation? guest: we need to quit injecting money into the economy like has done -- but none over the last 15 months. the are at a place where inflation is such a heavy tax on folks who can afford it the least. so it will not be just one bill necessarily, but i think fostering policies, we need to get trade policies back in place to reduce tariffs, to assist with bringing our supply chain back online and into a productive fashion. host: how much impact our supply chain issues having on that inflation number? guest: i think it is huge. between inflation and then the associated labor shortage, i

mean i went to get an oil change yesterday and they told me i had to wait four or five hours, or get up an appointment two weeks in advance. not exactly the way it was before the pandemic, or even within the pandemic for a while. so, things economically, it is like they are upside down. in the howdy -- howdy -- housing shortage, labor shortage, they are feeding each other in a way that consumers are being harmed. host: our guest, republican from nebraska. he is the top republican on the ways and means committee -- subcommittee on trade. taking your phone calls. with us until the bottom of the hour. from lines, republicans (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. republican from nebraska, the third district.

what should viewers know about the third district? guest: it is large. we have more cattle than people. we help feed the world. not just with beef, wheat, soybeans, in western nebraska we have sugar beet. we have prairie fires that are really causing damage to some communities, especially within agriculture. so, 80 counties of nebraska is 93 counties are in the third district. have a lot of territory, but i'm grateful to have the opportunity to meet with nebraskans when i can across the district and bring their ideas back to washington. host: 80 counties. it is most of the state. what does it rank in terms of biggest congressional district in the country? guest: there is obviously some at large states ahead of us. i have not actually counted it lately after redistricting, but we went from 75 counties to 80, with this last redistricting.

and not significant changes, but certainly it did expand the footprint of the district. host: one of the issues he might think a congressman from such a large district would be interested in -- telehealth. especially during the pandemic. what have you been working on on that front? guest: and introduced a bill to allow telehealth to treat seniors in place, especially seniors in a nursing home, rather than transferring them on an ambulance to a hospital who knows how far away. to allow telehealth and the associated reimbursement that is not currently allowed, but that medicare reimbursement would accommodate telehealth measures that i was working on before the pandemic. obviously the pandemic has elevated the need for telehealth, not just in rule areas, but everywhere. some other flexibilities. utilizing technology and telehealth. it is a moving target with advancing technologies, so we

have to stay on top of that and get as much support behind that. it is very bipartisan. i appreciate the fact telehealth is such a bipartisan issue. host: let's chat with callers. this is james out of wisconsin. good morning. caller: hello, can you hear me? host: yes sir. caller: good morning, congressman smith. very happy to see a midwesterner on the show. i think you folks behave a little bit different than some of our coastal folks. my comment is, i don't believe that our biggest problem is putin or the border or any of these things that most of you talk about. i think our biggest problem, mr. smith, his the fact that congress is dysfunctional. you people don't seem to work at

getting any of the problems solved. you just shout back and forth at each other. the time that you spend actually at work, serving the taxpayers, is much less then the time you serve serving the parties you represent. i would love to see you people put in 150, 175 days in washington. solving problems rather than being back in the district campaigning and raising funds. guest: well, i think there is clearly polarization that has taken place in congress over the

last several years. but there is also, i think, a lot of bipartisanship that takes place that does not always make the news. it does not make the headlines. the senate bill relating to competing with china, very bipartisan. the hospital, not so much. i'm happy to be a conferee to bring that together. but i think we have work to do in washington. committee work, interacting, you know, colleagues interacting with one another. but we also need to spend time in our district too. hearing from folks in our districts, meeting them where they are. it is much different to go on site, to say a local business in our district, then just waiting for them to come to washington. i am proud of our nebraska breakfast we will have again tomorrow morning with the delegation gathers, brass skins are invited. that is one thing i'm glad we

can hear from nebraskans and it is still so important to get back and visit folks where they are. i think they are wanting us to work together in washington as well. i hear that all the time and i find it very disruptive. host: you were first elected in 2006. is there a democrat in your time you have worked very well with, someone you consider a friend? guest: i saw peter welch leave the studio. we are classmates, he is a good guy. i appreciate how he wants to work together on committee. i work with terri sewell, from alabama. she works with a whirl -- a rural district. i do too. even though those are different aspects, given the amount of area in district, perhaps, compared to hers. there are others too i appreciate. jimmy panetta from the mate -- from the ways and means committee. i think there are several democrats on the ways and means

committee i think are anxious to work together. that was manifested with secure 2.0, the bill that was so bipartisan it did not make much press. host: what does that do? guest: it is tools for the economy, for employers, for example, to work with employees to help save for the future. and to prepare financially for the future that obviously we need to do more of. it is not a series of mandates or prohibitions, but it is incentives and i think policies that help folks engage in a way that is going to long-term need to pass the senate and be signed by the president, but long-term i think we will have some good impacts economically for our country. host: about 15 minutes left with republican -- represented adrian smith. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independence, (202) 748-8002.

roberto is an independent out of new york. good morning. caller: good morning. i/comment was, representative smith stated that we were doling out money in the last 15 months to people who, in fact, were in need of it. most of the money going to lower-income people who would put food on their table. i would like to know the difference between the stimulus for poor people and the tax breaks that were given to millionaires and filling errors -- billionaires by trump. thank you. guest: tax reform of 2017 was, i think, fantastic for our economy. we saw increasing wages below inflation for the pandemic. he saw an expanding economy,

expanding opportunity. when we did tax reform it is important to note that, you know, even president obama realized we needed to be more competitive on our corporate tax policy. we were losing companies moving overseas to other countries to avoid our highest in the developed world corporate tax rate. and so we worked together to bring that down, ultimately. then instead of just corporate tax relief we offered tax relief to the middle class as well, doubling the standard deduction, doubling the child tax credit. now, when president biden led the way to change the child tax credit into a monthly payment, that changed things significantly. it added another huge burden to the irs that we are constantly being told did not have the resources to carry that out. but when you look at what tax reform did starting in 2017, up

through the pandemic, or into the pandemic, i think it is indisputable. revenues increased, and we saw more americans with more opportunity with growing wages. it is this inflation thing that has really pushed back and hurt workers themselves, and as i mentioned before it has been exacerbated by the labor shortage, supply chain issues, and so many things. host: you mentioned the irs. why are we still at the point where we cannot do our taxes on a form -- i think it was promised to be a coast -- a postcard back in the day? guest: in many ways, doubling the standard deduction was one way of simplifying the tax code for millions of americans, so that did take place. certainly there are still some complexities in the tax code i would like to tackle. the fact that -- and i'm actually our ranking republican on ways and means, kevin brady, he makes a great point that we should not wait for one time every 30 years to reform the tax

code, to create a more growth-oriented code. so we always want to be on top of that, looking for ways to create opportunities through simplifying the tax code. host: pelican city, maryland. this is roland, line for democrats. good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. let me break it down. i have a series of questions and observations. no, the republican party is always the party of the status quo. i've got mine, i don't care about you. democrats try to raise everybody, try to fix problems. they propose solutions. the republicans don't even play. oh, they want to change the country. host: roland, give me the question. caller: my questions. sir, can you tell me what the gdp was throughout the trump era?

and what the gdp is right now? how many jobs were created with all of those tax cuts? how many jobs have been created on the biden? everybody got $15 minimum wage, everybody gets fired there would be automation? host: you bring up a lot of topics. congressman, where you want to start? guest: the gdp issue, it is important to note you look at early in the pandemic that first quarter of the pandemic and the gdp dipped, unemployment spiked, things were pretty tense. congress got involved -- in a bipartisan fashion, with the support of the president, passed a short-term, temporary aid package to last a couple of months, then did it again the second time. you look at the end of 2020, gdp was back to about even. and, quite honestly, we should have left well enough alone. i think continuing to plug money

into the economy at that point was particularly damaging and triggering of inflation, rather than filling the gaps, but i think overall when you look at the conditions before the pandemic with increasing wages but low inflation, that is what is good for workers and an opportunity. we had some labor shortages then , but they were a different kind. and i would say from talking to constituents the workforce shortage that existed before the pandemic was present -- was preventing companies from taking their business to the next level. and adding some new lines or whatever the case might be, whereas the labor shortage now is making it so companies cannot even get back to the productivity levels they were seeing before the pandemic, and that is what is very problematic. whether they are looking for a

new car, or the price of beef is what it is at the grocery store, these are issues that affect all consumers, every single consumer, and as we know it tends to more disproportionately hit folks on the low-income side of the scale. that is unfortunate. host: coming from your district, what is the biggest impact on the price of beef? guest: the biggest impact? we have a lot of things happening, but we need more workers. in the plans. i know that they are pursuing technology. there is a new plant, medium-sized, planning to open up, owned by cal cap operators themselves. the ranchers, basically, who raise cattle. they will have the opportunity to take it all the way through the process and sell it to the grocery stores. and so i see that as a good thing. we need more functional capacity

, and then output, there is some capacity that without the workers that is a problem. that ultimately hits consumers. it is not a fun situation. certainly a concerning situation where we have producers who are receiving less for their product , consumers having to pay more. that is not a very good formula there, ultimately, for a long term and sustainable scenario. i'm hoping we can fulfill that capacity and get her output, ultimately. consumers will benefit, nothing producers will as well. host: spring hill florida, this is lloyd. good morning. lloyd, he with us this morning? lloyd, you have to stick by your phone. sounds like your tv is still on. phone numbers for the next five minutes with adrian smith, (202) 748-8001 for republicans. democrats, (202) 748-8000.

independents, (202) 748-8002. fred, michigan. good morning. caller: good morning. i have a question and comment. about the republicans, and your guest there. isn't it true that the reason we have inflation is because demand and supply? there is not enough of the supplies coming into the chain, so when things are -- supplies are not there, people raise the rates, the prices? this to me is -- it doesn't make any sense to blame democrats for a supply chain problem. can i get an answer to that, sir? guest: sure.

i look at the trade policies that lapsed last summer that would reduce tariffs on a lot of raw materials coming into our country and our economy. we should have extended these trade policies, the tariff relief that these bills would offer. and so, ntb, gsp more specifically, but to reduce those tariffs, ultimately, to help our manufacturers obtain the supplies they need at a reasonable amount, there is no reason to extend those tariffs the way they have been extended. host: line for independents. cocoa beach, good morning. caller: good morning sir, how are you? host: you are on with congressman smith. caller: i would like to know what you were going to do about this extreme problem at the border. i think that is first and foremost the most important thing to our security of the

united states of america, and i don't see them doing anything about it during it needs to be done and it needs to be dealt with, and take everything off the table and put that first, because if we don't have any security we are going to end up like ukraine. guest: the border issue is very serious, and, you know, there is illegal immigration. we need to work on that too. there is illegal immigration. we need to strengthen the border to bring the integrity to the border, to actually promote legal immigration. and often times those two issues get intertwined in a way that is not helpful. i think when you look at what is taking place and the messages and signals sent from our government, relating to the border, we need to send a message that you need to go about it the right way. i think, personally, we could use more technology at the border to strengthen the border. certainly the barriers are important, but i have long said

that a law-abiding individual wishing to pursue the american dream should be able to do so without having to hire a lawyer, spent several thousands of dollars, no, waiting several years, perhaps through a lottery system. we can do better with our policies by upholding the rule of law, having something based on their understandable policy that when you go about it the right way, it will work much better than when you go about it the wrong way, and pursue illegal immigration. host: on the border we're going to spain -- to be spending our last half-hour talking about the border and the biden administration handling of the administration -- of the issue. there is that case before the supreme court today on the remaining mexico policy. the biden administration's decision to and that. but also alejandro mayorkas is going to be on capitol hill tomorrow and thursday this week,

testifying on homeland security's budget request for fiscal 2023. if you had the chance to ask him a question in a hearing, what would you ask the homeland security secretary? guest: i would like to know where he stands in terms of the barrier at the border. what should that role be? but, ultimately, again, that legal immigration versus illegal immigration, and how we need to work these things out so we can strengthen the border and make sure that there is an understandable policy that we are sending the right messages for -- relating to the rule of law. that we can have a system, like i said, that can accommodate someone wishing to pursue the american dream. to be able to do that in an easier fashion than facing so much bureaucracy right now. i think a lot of my constituents understand the need for a strong border. there needs to be a barrier. and also, though, to perhaps

work on more technology to address the bureaucracy that is involved along the way. host: ohio, catherine, democrat. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for answering my questions. my name is catherine. 73 years old. i see signs everywhere where small employers are trying to hire people. the problem is, employers pay zero or less than zero. have women who would like to have a job, what they need daycare. if you get a job at, say, a large retailer like walmart, they give you information on how to get subsidized housing, how to get food stamps, how to get free lunch and free brick just for your children. this is all being paid for by us, the taxpayer. my question is, if a company

like walmart or anyplace else, if we have to subsidize them, then the taxes on that company should he hire. because when you work a full-time job, you should he allowed to at least put a roof over your head, feed your family, give them health care, and some type of transportation. i live out in the county. there are no bus services. there is no railroad around here. i live west of cincinnati. there is no taxicab service. unless you have transportation that is reliable and dependable and reasonable, you can't take a job unless you can walk to it. can walk to it. host: congressman. guest: wages have been increasing. unfortunately recently the inflation has been overshadowing the increases in wages. there are different jobs out

there. america is a big country and that is why we need a market-based wage. i think it is important to note if a company is looking to hire folks in a community, the wages need to reflect off of housing and cost-of-living of living in that area. obviously health care could be another entire session here. host: an entire show. guest: the costs of health care have gone up. both sides, republican and democrats, when they address health care it just shifts around who pays for what. we need to focus on cost-saving measures within health care. i think working harder for a cure for diabetes would do wonders, amazing things for our entire country. mostly for individuals who suffer. in addition to that, the cost of health care system was a great relief through more carriers,

and i hope that we -- cures and i hope we can move forward on these opportunities. it won't be easy. there's a lot involved but i think through innovation -- that is what sets america apart, our innovative capacity. let's foster more of that rather than the government getting in the way as the government has been way too many occasions. host: south carolina, wanita, independent. caller: thank you for taking my call. if i may get a word in for the older folks, i'm a retired 82-year-old would a -- 82-year-old widow. my husband in between us worked and earned wages for 78 years. i have a pension and social security. even with those two things, i am not real far above the poverty line. i want to know how you could possibly justify the fact that i

pay four times the federal tax last year that president trump paid on the only report we have on him, on his taxes. thank you. guest: there is a lot of speculation around the president -- former president's tax returns. the fact of the matter is, we have done a lot in the tax code to help folks, middle-class and low income. a lot of folks do not even have a federal income tax liability, and that is when we doubled the standard deduction. that helped a lot of folks. i think it is important to know that we always want a tax code that is reflective of the ability to pay, and when we can broaden the base, i think we can do more for the economy in terms of modest tax policy that creates more economic growth, more opportunity along the way, and more capacity to pay taxes.

i do not want to levy more taxes on folks, but when there is more prosperity, there is more revenue to the government, and i think we need to address our budget issues. another large topic here, given the debt and deficit, we have a lot of work to do there. a growing economy will do more for individuals and the nation's debt than anything else. host: congressman adrian smith, republican of nebraska, member of the ways and means committee, thank you. host: about when he five minutes left in the "washington journal" and in that time, a question on border issues and immigration, asking you your view on the biden administration's handling of immigration issues. if you support how they had handle it -- how they have handled it, if you oppose, and all of those numbers on your screen. : right now and we will get to your calls after the break.

♪ -- call in right now and we will get back to your calls after the break. ♪ >> at least six presidents recorded conversations while in office. here many of those conversations on c-span's new podcast, presidential recordings. >> season one focuses on lyndon johnson. you will hear about the 1964 civil rights act, the 1964 presidential campaign, the gulf of tonkin incident, the march on selma, and the war in vietnam. not everyone knew they were being recorded. >> certainly johnson's secretaries knew because they were tasked with transcribing many of those conversations. in fact, they were the ones that make sure the conversations were taped as johnson would signal to them through an open door between his office and there's. >> you will also hear blunt

talk. >> graham. >> yes or. >> i want a report of the number of people who signed to kennedy the day he died, the numbers signed mem -- assigned to me now, if they are not blessed. i will stay right behind these blockades, won't go anywhere. >> presidential recordings, find it on the c-span mobile app or wherever you get your podcasts. >> c-span has unfiltered coverage of the u.s. response to russia's invasion of ukraine, bringing the latest from the president and other white house officials, the pentagon, and the state apartment as well as congress. we also have international perspectives from the united nations and statements from foreign leaders. all on the c-span network. the c-span now free mobile app and c-span.org/ukraine. our web resource page -- ukraine, where you can watch the

latest on demand and follow tweets. go to c-span.org/ukraine. >> "washington journal" continues. host: about 25 minutes left in our program and we figured we would take this time to take your pulse on your thoughts on the biden administration's handling of immigration issues. if you support how they have handled the issues, (202) 748-8000. if you oppose, (202) 748-8001. a special line for border state residents, (202) 748-8002. having this conversation as a lot is going on on the issue of immigration and the border. today, the supreme court is said to hear a challenge to the biden administration's repeal of the trumpet ministration's migrant protection protocols, the remain in mexico policy. the wall street journal writing about it, noting president biden

on his first day in office directed his department of homeland security to review whether to terminate or modify the remain in mexico policy and dhs ended the policy last june. the two questions before the high court on whether dh followed proper procedures and whether the law lets it end the policy, the editorial board saying the answers to those questions are no and no. if you want to read more in today's op-ed section of the wall street journal. also this week, the homeland security secretary will be on capitol hill, he will be before the house homeland security committee and the judiciary committee testifying about the homeland security department's budget for fiscal 2023. that budget request will be scrutinized by members of congress. a lot going on there. then the story as well, a federal judge yesterday issued a ruling, halting president biden's attempt to cancel the title 42 pandemic shutdown of

the southern border, dealing a blow to the administration's move to welcome hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants. that is how the washington times puts it today. president biden thought to end title 42 on may 23. it is not clear whether that will happen now after that judges order. with that going on, i want to get your pulse on the biden administration's handling of immigration issues. paula in alabaster, alabama, good morning. caller: good morning. host: go ahead. caller: i am opposed to it. i really am. because biden has done nothing but undermine everything that president trump has already accomplished because he already had the wall up and then biting comes to office and takes it down. there was 73 million voters voted for president donald john trump, and somehow biden walks

into office. and then he stole the votes from the voters and said we cannot have this dealing but he did he stole the votes. host: that is paula in alabama. jesus in florida, good morning, your next. caller: good morning. host: your thoughts on the biden administration's handling of immigration? caller: i do not think [indiscernible] they have to go to the american way to do things, together. just don't give it to the other people. he is doing that. i am an immigrant from 55 years in this country and now i can work. i'm 74 years old. i did everything they asked and they still point you into [indiscernible]

you are illegal. i came here to this country legally. i waited a year and a half to do paperwork and then when they let me, i came. so this is the greatest country in the world and they are not acting like the greatest country. host: what could the administration be doing more? where are they falling down? caller: i think you would have to go back years, how many years -- the football team has to work together to win the super bowl. you have to check every inch of the [indiscernible] where they come from, how they got here, because we are allowed to be here, people from all over the world, right?

that makes america great. host: that is jesus in florida. diane and pittsburgh, you are next. -- in pittsburgh, you are next. caller: i think there is a right way and wrong way of doing things. they are not following the rules on getting here, then they will not follow the rules when they are here. host: anything else you want to add, diane? caller: that's all. host: diane in pennsylvania. if you support the way the biden administration has handled immigration issues, (202) 748-8000. if you oppose, (202) 748-8001. . then the line for border state residents, (202) 748-8002. . russ is an border stay out of houston, good morning. caller: good morning. how are you doing today? host: i'm doing well. go ahead. caller: i live in houston, and i am a former truck driver.

i used to do 48 states and canada. i've been down to the border many times, and some of my neighbors are hispanic, and one of my neighbors is from mexico. i taught him how to drive a truck. he got his cdl and is now working for a company driving a tanker and is doing quite well. and we need more people to come from mexico, central america. we need workers. i'm 75 and i am semiretired. who is going to take my place? we don't have enough citizens to take my place. host: that is russ in texas. this is bill out of flagler beach, florida. good morning. caller: good morning. the question i have is neither the republicans nor the democrats have mentioned at any time d verify.

with all of these people here, -- host: with all these people what? caller: with all these people coming in here, that's the only way to clean things up, get border security. host: that is built in florida. as a reminder, turn down your television while waiting on hold. it makes the conversation easier. the issue of title 42 as we have said before a federal judge on monday issuing that ruling, halting the attempt to cancel title 42. title 42 was what house minority leader kevin mccarthy spoke quite a bit about when he was on the southern border yesterday with the delegation of republicans, talking about the need to keep that order in place to help secure the border and title 42 was asked about at yesterday's white house briefing with jen psaki. jen psaki was -- talked about what the ending of that policy might mean.

[video clip] >> what is the president's message? primarily to these western and border states. democrats were concerned about the impact on immigration and policy matter but as it globally. >> i think our view and the president's view is we have a broken immigration system that has been long overdue to be fixed. he agrees with that and is certainly happy to discuss that during this meeting or any other meeting he has with members of congress. but this is not an immigration policy. title 42 is a health authority that is determined by the cdc and we need to have a conversation about immigration reform. that is vital. maybe this is a reminder. >> when the administration is asked about immigration, he said the president introduced a bill the first week in office but there's not much more than that. is this an opportunity for the ministration to try to move something forward or do you believe it is campaign policy for political? >> we welcome that opportunity but we were supportive of efforts to include some

components of immigration reform in the reconciliation packages and have been looking for avenues to move it forward and be supportive of efforts by democratic senators to do that. >> is their specific act of congress related to title 42 that would [indiscernible] this is not as issues and for the president to make but for the congress to make. what is the decision congress should be making? >> that's a discussion we will have with members of congress. we are continuing to prepare to implement the listing of title 42, a decision made by the cdc. i would note there are a range of views on title 42. there are some that are very vocal about how they would like to see it extended. there are some vocal about how they would not like to see it happen. that's an important discussion and that will be happening over the coming days and weeks. host: jen psaki yesterday. victor in maryland, you are next. caller: i'm really worried -- good morning. i'm really worried about the people coming across the border

illegally. what diseases do they have? do they have covid? if they do, they are spreading it around the country. this administration is. they would love to have another epidemic so they could shut the country down like they did a couple of years ago, and this is their way of keeping the mail-in ballots going. i'm telling you, from my trucker friends are telling me around the country, people are not going to stand for this again. we have been full ones, we are not going to be fooled again with this mask mandate that they want to bring back. the illegal aliens, it's their excuse to spread the disease around. host: our next caller in napa, california. good morning. go ahead. caller: good morning and thank you for c-span. this is one of the most

contentious issues that we face in america. every day as i watch c-span, you get callers from all over the country that understands that you cannot advocate and participate in the breaking of american laws. all of these politicians that continuously sit on their thumbs and pretend this is not a national security issue really should be looked at or at least impeached. we need term limits. it is kabuki theater on both sides. we have probably have more than 30 million illegal people in this country and growing every day. i travel throughout california, arizona, you know, matter fact, just call up this accident that happened in to on i-10. bodies strong along i --

i-10, looking to escape border patrol. just things out of a nightmare movie we are seeing. bodies, man. you can't reward lawbreaking. no other society allows that. host: got your point. that is tracy in california. we mentioned kevin mccarthy's visit to the border yesterday with a delegation of republican house members, a few tweets from the house minority leader yesterday and the end of the day from his visit. now more than ever he said the texas national guard and border patrol need our support. the crisis these heroes face each day goes ignored by biden administration but republicans are on the ground listening and we have a message not on our watch. the leader going on to say praying for the family of bishop evans, and at 22-year-old sold he heroically dove -- 22

years old, he heroically dove into the water to save them and he survived but they did not. caller: hi. i just wanted to say that your previous comment about the national guardsmen, i feel terrible about that, but there are so many other things coming through the news about how people upset that are not true. i just wish there was some way that we could find out what is the truth about the border and what is fake news. i think the biden administration is doing the best they can. i do not believe that there has been an outbreak of covid because of the border. i think a lot of that is just somebody hyping the news, but i think if we could get rid of the

fake news and have just the real news, what is real, that way we would be able to solve some of these issues. thank you. host: phyllis from west virginia, good morning, your next. are you there? caller: how many illegal crossings during the obama administration year and then go back the first three years of president trump's administration. the border was being secured, the wall was built, less and less people were coming through illegally, and when joe biden got into office, he totally stopped all of that, stopped the wall. what needs to be done is the wall needs to be built, tighter security, tell people to go back to their original countries, come here legally.

we need legal immigrants, not illegal immigrants into this country. host: phyllis on the numbers you are talking about, the numbers i can give you, this expulsions from illegal crossings under title 42 while the cdc order has been in place, this is through february of this year. some 1.7 million expulsions have been carried out under the title 42 policy again that is set to end mid-may. 1.2 million of that 1.7 million occurred during the biden administration. trump administration, 80 3% of encounters of the border lead to expulsions compared to 55% so far under the biden administration. those stats are through february of this year. the border is in place right now . if a federal judge has its way, it will stay in place. the biden administration was looking to lift that as a recommendation of the cdc come

mid-may. time for a few more phone calls, less than 10 minutes left in the program. ronald in new york, you are next. caller: yeah. i think biden is doing the best he can, but all i hear from republicans say is the border, the border. i never hear no republicans going to those countries where the supposedly illegal aliens are coming from, finding out the reason why they are coming here. i haven't seen not one republican go to mexico or columbia or wherever the illegal aliens are coming from. you can build a wall all you want, they will find their way into america. host: to el paso, texas, david, good morning. caller: good morning. host: go ahead. caller: there are 33 million

undocumented workers in this country, because they have jobs here. the businesses are giving them jobs. irrespective of all of our criticism about the border and the like, they are not coming here to visit disneyland. they come here and they find work here. either the system is broken and they should fix it if they want to keep undocumented workers from coming to this country, they gotta keep them from getting jobs. the asylum law is simple. it is the law. you come knocking at my door and claim asylum, we are supposed to give you a hearing. that hearing determines that you have valid fear returning to your country, then you can stay. if they do not, they have to go back. there is not enough immigration judges to hear the cases, so the administration should hire more

judges to give these people their day in court and determine , but now it is like six to eight months may be, who knows, but that is not their fault. when they come and claim they have a fear of being killed or having forced to join gangs or being forced to be prostitutes and the like, we have to hear them. that is the law. all these law-abiding republicans complain about illegal aliens coming across. the vast majority are claiming asylum and they have their day in court. host: and those people wait for that day in courts that you are talking about, should they be allowed to wait here in the united states for that day in court? the concern among many is that they never show up for that day in court. once they are here, they disappear into the united states. caller: it is like a saying that people put on probation should not be put on probation because we do not know how to keep track of them, but there has got to be

a system. you've got have enough people in the immigration system to keep track of these people. the bottom line is they should not be kept from coming to the united states. that is what they are trying to escape, being held back in mexico and the central american countries. the law is specific, if you knock on my door claiming asylum , i'm supposed to let you in and give you a hearing. that could be as soon as one day or it could be three or four months with the backlog. it is so long they had to come somewhere. so they go to sponsors, right? it is not their fault. the law has to be changed if they want to curtail the asylum claim process. for right now, all law-abiding

citizens, if you want to abide by the law, the law is that. host: that is a call from el paso. it is 9:55 and we are expecting that the senate foreign relations committee hearing on the 2023 budget request of the state department, we are expecting that to begin at 10:00 a.m. eastern. it might begin a little later than that. secretary antony blinken is set to testify there. you can watch that here on c-span, c-span.org, and the free c-span now video app. also today, coming up in about less than five minutes, the attorney general will testify on president biden's 2023 budget request for the justice department. that before the senate appropriations justice committee , that airing on c-span three, c-span.org, and the free c-span now video app. lots to watch today and a lot of the president cabin coming up to capitol hill this week for these budget hearings. the room is starting to fill up

with members of the senate and members of the press, but we will stay with your phone calls until that state department hearing begins. so keep calling in, even if it is a little after 10:00 a.m., we will take your calls for a bit. this is harriet in chicago. go ahead. caller: hi. i live in chicago and live on the southside of chicago. part of our chicago is in two, a south suburban county. i can tell you there are so many illegal immigrants in that area. they have decimated most of the housing that other people would like to have. i do not know, where do these people come from? they are so belligerent and they do not follow laws. they do not follow the laws at all. host: how do you know that someone is an illegal immigrant?

do you talk to people? caller: i have spoken to them. we have spoken to them. they say they have a right to be here because joe biden says they have a right to be here. that is what they were telling me. and this son of a -- host: we will go to mike in henderson, nevada. good morning. caller: i guess i just wanted to make a comment that we have these insane crazy people like this last woman that keep the same line of thought, that they are illegal immigrants. the white people from europe are really the illegal immigrants, the people coming across the border are native americans. their ancestors have been here for hundreds and thousands of years before us. they are just doing what they have been doing forever, just crossing and going wherever they want into the north and south. so these are native americans

people. they belong here before us. their ancestors were here a long time ago. let's give them a break and maybe take dna tests and let them come in. host: newport, florida, art, good morning. caller: good morning. i am opposed to the way the border is being handled right now. i think the border should be closed. i think it should go back to look at the immigration laws we have and start to enforce those and come up with a realistic one where people can be housed properly, fed, properly educated properly and we do not have the situation that we have now. host: if that involves a massive increase in funding for health and human services, for homeland security, if that is what it takes to be in favor of that as

these cabinet members go before members of congress this we can make these budget requests. caller: i think that as a whole different thing. as it relates to expense, we are going through expenses right now by taking care of these people that do certainly, it's not really good. none of us would like to be in that situation, but it is two different things. if you need more money to build the wall, that's fine. i think it is the only way it is going to be stopped. congress should take care of our immigration laws, and we should be handling it appropriately. host: this is carl in muskegon, michigan. good morning. caller: during the bush administration, 60,000 factories

closed in the united states and went overseas, and created quite a problem we are experiencing now getting stuff in from china. this border issue, it is what it is. those people are going to come whether you put the wall up or not. host: boris, laurel, maryland. caller: thank you for taking michael. i don't know how people see things, but it doesn't matter what kind of wall you build. people will still come in. united states doesn't have any program to make these countries better. whether they are coming from africa, mexico, they profit from

it. build these countries. the immigrants are the only people with higher levels of education in this country, masters degrees, phd's. people with masters degrees and phd's from nigeria is more than all u.s. citizens, you know? it's just a talking point. whether you build a wall, people will still come into this country. we should respect them. immigrants respect the law. i came here 19 years ago. i have my family. i don't take from the government that is all i have to say. that is the republican talking point.

see why people are coming here, change the government. that is not their agenda. they don't want to do that. host: what country did you come from? caller: cameron. -- cameroon. host: how long did that process take? what was it like for you? caller: when i came here, i was just a year. i got asylum. i didn't take the money because i got a job.

when they say we depend on america, it's a lie. host: time for just a couple more calls as we wait for this budget hearing to begin. this is dennis in alabama. good morning. dennis: this is dennis. am i on? host: yes, sir. caller: i think the biden administration is doing everything as possible to bring drug dealers. he is doing it on purpose. it is part of their plan. he is a father. what father of the united states would let this fentanyl and all the killing and child -- host: why is it something they want to do on purpose? why?

caller: what have they done to help? they've done everything to bring more in. host: this is michelle, staten island. caller: good morning. i think the world has gone crazy in a bird basket. having said that, i believe as long as the immigration is checked for criminal records, maybe their health. i am a registered nurse by trade. do it the right way, and i think this is what america is all about. let them in. host: that is michelle. our last caller, but we will be back tomorrow. we now take you to capitol hill. secretary of state antony

blinken will be discussing a budget request at a hearing set to get underway momentarily. it is here on c-span, and you can also watch it on the free c-span now app.

>> once again, live pictures

from capitol hill where we are waiting to hear from secretary of state antony blinken. he is expected to answer questions on the russian invasion of ukraine and the state department for the coming fiscal year. we are still waiting for the chair, chairman menendez, and ranking member risch, and we have not yet seen secretary of state blinken. when they arrive, we expect this hearing to get underway quickly light on c-span. -- live on c-span.