hill. that we talk about president biden's reaction to food shortages and rising food prices with meredith oil -- with meredith lee. all of that along with your texts, calls, and facebook comments. "washington journal" starts now. ♪ host: good morning, it is thursday, may 12, 2022. the house will convene at 10:00 a.m. eastern. the senate is also in at 10:00 a.m.. it was yesterday on the senate floor that immigrants failed to pass a bill that would codify abortion rights into law. party lines expected to sharpen ahead of that supreme court decision. we are opening our phones this morning to hear your message to congress on the issue of abortion. give us a call on phone lines

split as usual. democrats, 202-748-8000. republicans, 202-748-8001. independents, 202-748-8002. you can also send us a text to 202-748-8003. if you do, include your name and where you are from. otherwise, catch up with us on social media. twitter it is @cspanwj. a very good thursday morning. you can start calling in now. we want to hear your message to congress on your view of abortion. we take you to the pages of usa today, "democrats unable to overcome filibuster on the women's protection act. it failed 49-51. senator joe manchin from west virginia joining every republican in opposition of that bill. the measure would have failed even if it mustered the 60 votes needed. the bill is not expected to pass

headed into yesterday. chuck schumer framed the vote is a way to put every member of the senate on the record about their stance on abortion in the wake of the leaked supreme court decision on the mississippi abortion case." this was chuck schumer yesterday on the senate floor just before that the. [video clip] >> this is not a theoretical exercise. no. protecting the right to choose at this critical moment is one of the most consequential votes we could possibly take. the american people are watching. the public will not forget which side of the vote senators fall on today. they will not forget who voted to protect their freedoms and they will not forget those responsible for the greatest backslide of individual liberties in half a century. across the country, the hard right is hell-bent on sending women's rights back to the stone

age and we in the senate must respond. we must respond to radicals and want to ban abortions as early as six weeks before many women know they are pregnant. we must respond to extremists who want to prosecute and imprison women and doctors for having an abortion and even friends who provide rights to clinics could end up in jail. we must respond to these ideologues who openly champion restrictions without exceptions for rape or insist. we must oppose division that maga republicans clamor for, forced pregnancies, punishment for women and doctors, and zero exceptions for rape or insist -- or insist. -- or inscest. this is not what americans want.

host: also speaking, the majority -- the minority leader, mitch mcconnell, on what the bill was really about. [video clip] >> only 90% of americans believe abortion should be legal and most cases -- 90% of house and senate democrats sponsored this bill that would have exactly that affect. 97 percent of washington democrats stand with the most radical 19% of the country. almost half the senate is about to walk the plank for position that fewer than one in five american actually is -- actually support. in addition to nine months of abortion, the bill would roll back health and safety regulations. it would rollback overwhelmingly

simple safeguards such as waiting periods and informed consent laws. parental notification would likely go out the window as well. democrats would rule out -- sex selective abortions. even -- americans of faith who practice medicine. host: senator mitch mcconnell yesterday on the senate floor. that bill not achieving a majority, 51-49 voting against that legislation. it was democrat joe manchin joining all republicans in opposing bill. it needed 60 votes to overcome the filibuster to move to pass the debate. this morning, we are asking for your message to congress on abortion in the wake of that

decision and the wake of last week's leaked supreme court decision. that draft decision on the mississippi abortion case, we are waiting for a final opinion on the supreme court. they are expected to meet today, the first time all justices will be together for one of their meetings about the cases since that late decision last week. a lot going on right now. we were to hear your thoughts and your message to congress on abortion. we will start with mara from salt lake city, utah, democrat. caller: i have never been pregnant. i do not think it is anyone's business what a woman does with her body, period. host: john in bridgewater, new jersey. republican. you are next. caller: it should have been left up to the states.

it was never found in the constitution. everyone knew the right to privacy when the 14 amendment was fabricated to fit whatever the liberal agenda was back in 1973 and starting in the 19 60's and 1970's with the civil rights move went. it is a contentious issue. a lot of people believe it is murder. you cannot tell them it is not murder. leave it up to the states on a local level. let them beat it out. california, new york, illinois, new jersey will have it. other states want and that is the way democracy should work. host: texas, another state where these -- where the issue of abortion has taken lace in recent months. this is glenn in corpus christi. caller: i agree with the vote yesterday at the senate.

the only ones benefiting out of the abortion business in the medical field. in our area, they encourage young women to get pregnant and they give them free abortions. i don't believe that is right. host: how are they encouraging young women to get pregnant? what is the message and who is that they? caller: in the valley, that is a big deal. i have friends that work around the abortion centers and they encourage girls to get pregnant so the medical field gets the fetuses and they do experiments with the fetuses. host: that is glenn in texas. this is wanda in florida democrat. caller: i think this is totally ridiculous.

with the price of food, gas, driving down your street and being shot, all of these things happening and the republicans want to talk about abortions or the border. they are stuck on stupid. what goes on with a woman's body is between her and god. host: you say republicans only want to talk about abortions, it was democrats who tried to bring this bill up. we lost wanda. this is liz in pennsylvania, republican. good morning. caller: good morning. host: go ahead. caller: i want to make two points. they're talking about what a woman does with her own body is her own right, that is not her own body. she is not killing her body, she is killing another person's body.

number two, when they say they are pro-choice, the choice is to have a baby or kill it. i just want to make those two points. i am happy the senate voted the way they did. host: we are asking for your message to congress on abortion. here are some senators' messages on twitter. this is after that vote, not mustering enough votes to overcome a filibuster or a majority. the republican from oklahoma saying "immigrants' vote was any -- democrats' vote was an attempt to -- i joined the majority of my colleagues, including senator lankford of oklahoma, in rejecting this radical bill." john kennedy from louisiana, "senator schumer asked us to legalize abortion up to the point of birth. this is why washington insiders took to tell louisiana's what their value should be." elizabeth warren after that

vote, "today's failure to pass the women's part -- women's health protection act to codify roe v. wade is disgraceful. we need to -- this fight is not over." martin hamrick, from new mexico saying "i am extreme it is wended the debate on women's health protection act was blocked especially in the midst of the republican efforts to ban abortion services across the country. i trust the women of new mexico to make their own decisions and the federal government should, too." just some of the reactions from senators. we are asking for your message to congress on abortion. democrats, 202-748-8000. republicans, 202-748-8001. independents, 202-748-8002. keep calling in. the issue of abortion also a topic on the floor of the house. this is congresswoman ayanna

pressley of massachusetts, some of her comments from the house floor. [video clip] rep. pressley: folks have been sounding the alarm, raising their voices, putting our bodies on the line in protest and anti-choice lawmakers across the country wage an assault on our reproductive war rights for too long. the right to control our own bodies, draw our own fate, to determine if and when we have a child has been up for debate in the halls of power. we have been called hysterical, fear mongers. when i talk about who will disproportionately bear the front of this -- the brunt of this, we have been called -- this is no drill and i take no joy in saying i told you so. i have stood on the steps of city hall in boston, i have organized on the boston,. i have stood at the statehouse

and stood on the steps of the supreme court chanting nobody is free until everyone is free. madam speaker, colleagues, nobody is free until everybody is free. scotus has offered empty words and throughout the barricades, knowing full well the majority of people who call the station home vehemently disagree. our human rights are invalidated by their opinions of what is and is not rooted in our nation's history and tradition. our nation's history and tradition denied my very personhood. our nation's history and tradition bought and sold my ancestors. our nation's history and tradition exploited the bodies of people who look at me. our bodily economy and liberation hang in the balance. the court fails to live up to its ideals and purpose. the idea of equal justice under the law has been a rallying cry, but not a reality for many.

host: congresswoman ayanna pressley from the floor of the house. it was james lankford of oklahoma, his comments before the senate vote yesterday. >> some people believe life against at conception. some believe at heartbeat. some believe at 15 weeks, as the mississippi law is challenging. some believe in viability. others at birth. why don't we have that conversation? why don't we have that dialogue? quite frankly, i think about life and i look at this baby and i look at this baby, for some reason there are a bunch of people who say that baby is alive and that baby is tissue. some people would look at this

baby and this baby and would say , totally different, completely different. this ab is alive and needs to be protected and that baby is dish -- is just tissue. which is so strange to me because that baby and that baby look a lot alike to me. i can count fingers on both. they're both in his imposition. my wife and i call this the touchdown position, how babies sleep with their hands over their heads, lots of babies to that. this baby is in the touchdown position of sleep and this one is, too. what is the difference between these two? i don't see this as a live and -- as alive and tissue. that looks a lot like a baby to me. for that, i am called the extremist and a radical.

this baby sucks their thumb in the womb, response to their mom's voice, feels pain, has unique fingerprints and dna, kicks around like crazy. what is the difference between those two? time. that is it. that is the only difference. just time. host: oklahoma republican james lankford on the floor is today. we are asking your message to congress on abortion and looking for your social media messages. robert on twitter saying open vote government needs to get out of the abortion issue. it is hard enough for person to make that decision without other people pushing their beliefs. jim says, "let the states decide." tina saying "if you do not like abortions, do not get one. if you do not have a uterus, mind your own business."

some of the comments on facebook and twitter, or you can call in like elicited from virginia, republican. good morning. caller: i would like to say it one person we seem to be forgetting is the father. they have rights as well. maybe not in the instance of rape and incest. another thing is anytime take a life, that is between god and that person. anytime use that wonderful being that god created in the medical field -- this is what it turned out to be. years ago it was about abortion and help people who make bad

choices, now it is let's see how far we can make the baby grow so we can use their stem cells program during -- stem cells or organ boning -- organ donating. i am from west virginia and this should not republican-democrat discussion. this should be an american discussion. what it comes down to is what are our values? are we wanting a baby who can cry, who can live outside the body alive and make it at two pounds? a lot of babies can. do we want to murder that baby? because that is what we are doing. if that baby is viable outside the body than it is a human being. thank you so much. host: a lot of focus on joe manchin. he said kudos to joe manchin. would you vote to reelect joe manchin? caller: yes i would. host: that is melissa in west

virginia. joe manchin sank to reporters before the vote, announcing he would be voting against the rest of his colleagues yesterday on this women's health protection act saying, "it is not roe v. wade codification, it is an expansion. we should not be dividing this country further than we have already divided it." his comments just before joining every republican voting no on that bill. paul, lexington kentucky. good morning. caller: good morning. i liked your last caller. i wanted to correct her. joe manchin -- you slipped up and said he is the can and he is. he decided to change parties. i'm going to say that i am very

much pro-choice. women need to consider his significant other -- consider the significant other. it is ultimately her choice. those are very difficult choices . the situations of things and the way the states, texas, mississippi, kentucky constructed it as the law -- it does not matter about rape or incest, you have to have the child. that is the most moronic thing i've ever heard in my life. the quality of life that is going to be the product of having a child.

the worst thing about this from the supreme court is not that it is linked -- it is leaked. the opinion was written before they had the oral arguments. that is a problem for me. host: the oral arguments were on december the first and this leaked opinion was written in february, from what i understand from the political story. caller: maybe i am wrong. is it december before february? host: it was december last year it was argued and it was february this leaked opinion comes from. but we will take your point in

lexington, kentucky. you were talking about the focus on the father here, a couple of other viewers asking that question as well or focusing on the father when it comes to abortion. steve writing that "chauvinistic men need to be quiet and men if they are responsible should pay for the kid. men are the problem, not women. in his commentary, and op-ed piece by marco rubio. he offer suggestions on how to protect both mothers and their babies saying, "being pro-life also means helping low income moms." one of the suggestions is for congress to states to follow utah's lead in requiring the biological father to pay at least half of the mother's pregnancy costs. he says "we need to make it easier to collect child support. one of the heartbreaking reasons mothers choose abortion is fear the father not do his part.

that is something they should not have to worry about." if you want to read more, it is in the washington times. mark out of l.a., independent. good morning. caller: nobody is pro-abortion. but you cannot have the government -- the republicans are supposed to be for smaller government but they are and lamenting big brother to oversee what a woman can do with her own body. the powers that be, either congress or the supreme court also ought to pass something where the male who impregnates a woman, the cause of the pregnancy becomes automatically responsible to pay for the baby and the mother's hospital stay and financial support for the two of them for the -- until the child's 18th birthday.

have a great night, you're doing a great job. host: shirley in columbia, missouri. democrat line. caller: i figure it this way. joe manchin, he is a republican. he is not a democrat, i don't believe. another thing, people should not have the right to tell other people what to do with their bodies. they didn't make it or curated or curated it -- or curate it. republicans are nothing but disgusting, a disgrace. host: david in detroit, she can. -- the trade, michigan. good morning. caller: good morning, john. what we are talking about is we are not giving the women the benefit of a doubt for being

intelligent. women instinctively know whether or not they're going to be able house or clothes children they bring into the world. it becomes a question of what is humane or inhumane. is it more humane or inhumane to bring someone into this world knowing you are unable to financially provide for the child? for once, i kind of agree with what marco rubio is basically advocating. it does make sense. who knows better than the woman involved whether or not she will be able to afford this child, the things the child needs? we what even talk about how the child will be educated, whether or not the child will be able to go to college. they say, she should have

thought about that before she had the child. that is not for us to call. that is not a call for us. let me say this, the one thing i enjoyed about listening to you, pedro, and greta, is that you guys blunt the people who call in and spew. people who just have a corrective bias -- a cognitive bias. host: here is another thing marco rubio proposes, he says we cannot ignore the fact that nearly half of abortions occur with women living below the poverty line. he says increasing funding for the new transfer women, children, and infants program would provide an aid to low income others. it is a change hope my fellow conservatives will support. another way he says they

pro-life helps low income moms. do you agree with that one? caller: absolutely. i'm not saying it is an incentive for women to have children. let me toebbe something, there is -- let me tell you something, there is not any person with two brain cells who says let me have a baby to use benefits. you're just surviving. if a child comes into the world, why should we turn our back and say she has to figure it out. you have to stand there and say that woman knows emphatically -- how do i feed this child? how do i feed myself? how do i house this child? the way housing is made, if a woman has two or three kids -- they are not supposed to do that. we know they do. host: patricia in virginia,

republican. good morning. caller: good morning. nobody is talking about the baby and the baby's rights. all you hear is about the mother's rights. i believe life begins at conception. god said in his word that he knew us before we were born -- before we were formed in the womb. i think it is wrong. as far as the democrats like chuck schumer said, that the power republicans -- what the republicans would be remembered for, i remember the democrats for killing a beast. it is a barbaric thing. host: going into this vote yesterday, pretty much everybody in the room knew democrats would

not be able to meet the threshold. they did not even meet the threshold majority. this vote as paul kane of the washington post explains was a messaging vote. this was his column. "the majority leader knows the proposed legislation not win or pass the filibuster. the payoff is be enforcing senators of the opposite party to cast politically uncomfortable votes that the majority would use against them in a coming elections, attack them for taking positions that showed party loyalty over the interests of constituents at home. the vast majority of republicans , their vote served as a political win in states that skewed so conservative that their only fear is losing a gop primary. in these states, conservatives oppose abortion. if chuck schumer would arrange

it, god knowing him, he might do it." that was kevin cramer of north dakota. if you were to read paul kane's breakdown of what happened yesterday and why, that is the washington post. coming up on 7:30 right now on the east coast. we are talking about your message to congress on the issue of abortion. you can keep calling in on phone lines. democrats, 202-748-8000. republicans, 202-748-8001. independents, 202-748-8002. one other story yesterday you have likely heard about, inflation. it is a topic we have talked about on this program and we will talk about in later segments. new numbers from the federal government, inflation eased in april showing some of these close against since last summer.

it remains at a 40 year high and has a long way to fall before americans feel relief. data released wednesday by the bureau of labor statistics shows inflation rose in april compared to a year ago and .3% compared with a month before. march prices rose by 8.5% compared with the previous year and a sharper increase compared with the previous month. inflation is the biggest strain on the economy. the recovery is being compromised by trouble spots, including manufacturing activity, sustainability -- an unsustainably tight job market and robust economic growth. if you want to read more from washington post, basically every paper has information. likely to be a continuing story three election day. sandra is in sumter, north:.

-- sumter, north carolina. your thoughts on the issue of abortion. caller: living in south carolina has been a trip because i am originally from florida. i am a pro-choice person, always have been. always will be. what are they trying to do, turn back the clock to civil war time? it just keeps going back and back. roe v. wade was the best thing that could have ever happened to a woman. host: this is randy in kentucky, republican. good morning. caller: good morning.

conspiracy theories. conspiracy theories when i was young. they were flying like you would not believe. host: why are we talking about conspiracy theories? caller: because talking about roe v. wade, that nothing like that will ever happen, people will not kill their babies. you won't have to bring replacements here into this country to replace us and males have no reproductive rights. all of that was conspiracy theories. host: paula, illinois. democrat. good morning. caller: pregnancy always has its dangers so this is not a man's decision and certainly not the state or the politicians. this is between a woman and her doctor. unhealthy pregnant women who have been traumatized, abused,

stressed out. multiyear medicated, british and treated, high stress, high blood pressure, anxious, worried, exhausted women do not and will not have healthy babies. this is an enslavement of women. a lot of dead women and a lot of ill babies. as far as the late-term thing, if that woman wanted to have babies, or the time they turn happens, they put the crib together. then something goes seriously wrong. that baby dies. it is struggled by the court, whatever happens. something goes wrong. that is called any abortion. this is an enslavement of women and a danger against them. host: jenny in ohio. good morning. caller: i just have a few things to say.

i am pro-choice. i had it done when i was very young, maybe 15 or 16 years old. 25 or 30 years later, it really ate me alive. i don't believe the states or the government or anybody should be telling everybody -- if you're pro-choice, go get your your antiabortion, go get it. if you're pro-choice, whatever. do it. but i don't think people should wait until they are six or seven months to go have any abortion. that i do not believe in. one more thing, instead of worrying about all of this -- i know we have talked about abortion because i watch you all the time and you are really good.

they should be talking about other things like medication and stuff like that. they are stuck on this abortion thing. you have a great day. i will talk to you next month. host: thank you for the call. talking about a few other things, our 9:00 hour we will be joined by meredith lee of politico to talk about food shortages and rising food prices. a couple members of congress joining us today to talk about congressional news of the day and several different issues. congressman clay higgins, republican of louisiana, member of the homeland security committee will be here. deborah ross of north carolina, member of the judiciary committee will be here at 8:00 a.m. eastern in about 25 minutes. a lot to talk about today. in wake of that vote yesterday on the senate floor, having this conversation.

more from the senate floor, this is republican ben sasse of nebraska, some of his comments on what congress should do to address the topic of abortion. [video clip] sen. sasse: this bill is extreme. there is no moderation, just brutal indifference hiding behind euphemisms. fortunately it won't pass. unfortunately, our debate about it is not very honest. fortunately, the pro-abortion lobby is not winning. what geordie leader schumer will earn kudos from planned parenthood or this show vote but he will not convince anyone. as we look beyond today's vote and look to the future, our focus should be on continuing to grow the pro-life coalition in this country. we must build support across the country for an affect that protects life. i want to lock arms with pro-life democrats and build a

culture of life. if we compare certain pro-life laws with increased spending on prenatal care and safety nets for struggling moms, count me in. i am for that kind of new coalition. stuart peered this movement is about hearts and minds. we have got to have difficult conversations in love and we have to reject this cream is him senator schumer is putting on the floor today, pursuing this bill. we have to focus our work on our local communities, changing our neighbors' minds, understanding each other, and setting an example by putting moms and babies first. the answer after this bill fails today is to remember that love is stronger than power. that is why life is going to win. being pro-life means being of science, pro-mom, and pro-baby. it means starting with love, not with legislation.

it definitely does not mean starting with grotesque legislation that will be voted down this afternoon. host: senator ben sasse of nebraska. also on the senate floor, jacky rosen of nevada. she is one of the most closely watched senators in the upcoming 2022 midterms. this was some of her comments yesterday. [video clip] sen. rosen: for nearly half a century, a woman has had the right to make a personal decision about her own body, her own health care, her own family. now we are seeing a clear attempt by antichoice politicians to roll back the clock on the rights of american women. control what happens to their bodies and strike down reproductive freedom. if the supreme court moves

forward with this action, it will have immediate and devastating consequences for women's health. let's get something straight, overturning roe v. wade is not going to stop abortions, it will only stop women from getting safe abortions. women will die as a result. this will also have a severe impact in how miscarriages -- impact on how miscarriages and other life issues related to pregnancy or handled -- are handled. if roe is overturned, pregnancies could become a distant's for women in states. this is just one example of the harm this will cause. this will disproportionately affect women who lack the resources to go to other states to seek care. this will also make it harder for women of color to access the

care they need. host: about 20 minutes left in this segment asking your message to congress on abortion. brian in farmersville, ohio. republican. thanks for waiting. caller: how are you this morning? host: doing well. caller: just wanted to make a couple of comments about the abortion thing. this would not have been available to talk about if it was not for democrats licking the private thoughts and words of injustice. right behind that, at what point do you think it is okay to euthanize a baby? that is usually the kind of medical analysis you would use for an animal. that is a problem. you don't euthanize children. that is unbelievable. it is the same type of democrat policy that thinks prepubescent

children should learn about sexual orientation. it is uncharted waters. it is unbelievable to have this discussion. back when i was a kid, if you tried to expose someone else's child with that information, you would be deemed as a pervert. the bottom line is, the abortion thing is a very touchy issue. you cannot euthanize a child. everyone who gets an ultrasound which is used to determine the gender of the child. yet the ultrasound somehow is not good enough you to determine life, but good enough to determine the sex of the child. host: cast your question? -- can i ask you a question? he said democrats late this

draft opinion, there are democrats who would point the finger at republicans. they think they did it. why do you think democrats linked it -- bleached it -- leaked it? caller: if you do your journalistic investigation as simply as i have, you will see that multiple figures in washington have already determined that they assume it came from one of the justice's clerical departments. you will find out that typically almost all lies stem from a piece of truth. that is what that is. it will all come out, just like everything else. the nonsense, terminology, euthanizing of a child is not acceptable. this is 2020. host: this is linda in north carolina, independents.

caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. my first point is that everyone of us living today that will live tomorrow that lived last week were created by god. we were created the same way an aborted baby is created. we are taking a life when you have any abortion. a woman was blessed with jesus christ who is our redeemer, our savior, and our salvation. you don't know what you are aborting.

the lack of respect is probably why we have so many murders of innocent people. it is ridiculous. not want senator -- i did not get to hear all of the debates yesterday -- but not one senator, republican or democrat mentioned to god. that is what we have got to get back to. thank you and i will pray for this country. host: you mentioned murders and shootings in this country. a headline this week, a new report out about gun homicide -- about gun homicides reaching their highest levels in 25 years during the pandemic. gun violence rose 35% the first year of the pandemic, the highest since 1994, excluding

suicides peered more than 35,000 people were killed by guns in 2020 compared to 14,000 in the year prior. homicide and gun violence increased in most racial groups in cities and rural areas and rural areas at every region of this country. that is cnbc reporting. you might have seen reporting about that study earlier this week. this is debbie in everett, washington. good morning. caller: i want to make a few points. first off, it is a medical decision. women die in pregnancy all the time, all over the country. no woman should be forced anything past three months. it is almost always because the child is externally disabled. no woman should be forced to take care of a child that is

going to need assistance way past her life. it is not fair to the child and it is not fair to the woman. host: john, turtle creek, pennsylvania. caller: thank you for taking my call. if i ever had the opportunity to speak to congress, i would tell them a personal story about abortion. i am 59 years old. i have been married 39 years. i graduated in 1981. when i graduated, people if they were alive then and know the situation we were in -- the situation we are in now, it was similar then. i dated a girl younger than me

in high school and she got pregnant. at that time, my mother had passed. i was living with my alcoholic father. life was not good for me. we did not have a lot of money. i had to make a decision about what we were going to do. someone recommended that my wife go to planned parenthood. when she went to planned parenthood, a woman talk to her about aborting the baby because she was in high school. she was a senior in high school. she came back from that meeting and talked with. we had to make a decision. fortunately, we made the right decision. my wife stayed in high school. we got married before she got out of high school. i was fortunate to find a job that i could rent an apartment.

we lived together until she graduated high school. that daughter we would have aborted has given me two of the most beautiful grandchildren you would ever want. at this time of my life in 2022, that we are still talking about this issue kills me. we have not learned anything in history. we can deal with this issue without killing every baby that women just want to kill. the gentleman from michigan kept mentioning single mothers and their children. a girl that is pregnant and does not have the money. the girl has to think before she has sex that if i get pregnant, i don't have money. that is the problem. people are putting themselves in situations where they are just getting pregnant and deciding at

just don't want this baby. i want even go into the ralph northam said -- the ralph northam thing. for him to say that a baby will be one and the doctor and the mother will decide what will be done with this baby when it is born in this world -- i am a christian and a really strong christian and i believe jesus is coming back soon. this is not the way this world was supposed to go. god is angry with us. host: that is john in pennsylvania. this is diane in key west, florida. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. this is a very emotional issue and also a very religious issue.

i hear a lot of exaggerations. i think about a lot of things in this morning's show. china had a law that parents were limited to just one child. i fear for overpopulation. in the future, it might be that people are mandated to have abortions with how much the world can sustain. if this passes, we are going to overburden the foster system. a lot of people will have abortions because we live in a capitalistic country and it is such a tremendous financial burden. a lot of people don't want to have abortions. they cannot financially afford it. the verbiage is not honest. i think we need to correct. it is not pro-life, it is

pro-birth. if the government wants to force pregnancies, they need to have a ill adjacent to it. they need to have childcare for free, free medical, free college. they need to support the parents when a child is born, women especially. they need to have job security. they're going to be out of work for how long. they should start to do something they do in europe. parents in scandinavia, when a woman has a baby, she is almost one year full pay. she can truly take care of the baby and the father or the boyfriend, whoever impregnated the woman. he gets three months off work. that is what needs to be done if this barbaric force of having a baby is passed. they need to have this bill adjacent to it.

host: this bill that only received 39 votes on the senate yesterday, not enough to overcome the threshold a filibuster would have required is the women's health protection act. it provides the ability to offer abortion services prior to veto viability, prohibits restrictions on abortions after fetal viability when the pregnancy would force a risk to the pregnant patient's life or health and allows the department of justice and providers of abortions to bring lawsuits against that bill. it was strike down a series of provisions and state laws, things like requiring several provisions that state laws put in place to limit abortions in

terms of doctors' requirements and in terms of informed consent immense -- informed consent requirements. on twitter, mark asks about the petoskey bill we talked about yesterday, a separate bill that would have enshrined roe v. wade into federal law but is not as expensive as this bill -- expansive as this bill. saying they supported the roe v. wade protections but that this bill went too far in stripping away any of those restrictions. their bill the introduced was the reproductive choice act. collins and murkowski's bill would have prevented states from imposing undue burdens on a woman on whether or not to have any abortion. collins said she believes joe

manchin would have supported their legislation but it is unlikely to get six to votes needed to overcome a filibuster. of your this week she said she was working with senator tim kaine of virginia to try to modify legislation and see if it could be brought up. they said they would like to codify roe as a federal protection. tim kaine telling usa today they are having good discussions about that legislation. it is not as expansive as the bill senate leadership tried to move yesterday. back to your phone calls, just a few minutes left in this segment, eating your message to congress on your views of abortion. bobby in arkansas, good morning. bobby, are you with us? then we will go to roger in mckenzie, alabama. independent. caller: good morning. thank you for your show.

i am calling to say that abortion should be between your doctor and the woman. it has gone way past that now. now it is birth control. you can make a man where birth control. the 20 things you can take before you have a sexual relationship or birth control. the build you can take after the fact if you forget, you can't take it and not get pregnant. eifert someone say -- i have heard someone say -- it costs $.88 to get a test to see if you're pregnant. my neighbor's dog jumped over my fence and mated with my dog so i called my vet and asked if we could abort these babies. thevet said no, we cannot do that.

if women would just use earth control, we would not have these babies. host: good morning. caller: i agree with the previous caller that they say they are pro-life but they are basically pro-birth. this decision is a medical decision and should be between a woman and her doctor and her own values and how she can support herself and a possible child. it is basically the woman's decision as to how she will live her life. the government should not be participating and forcing women's health care. it is a woman's decision and the government should have no say in what woman does to her body. even with the coronavirus, we

have all of this disruption about people wanting to wear masks and they say it is my right to wear a mask. it is the right of a woman to controlled her reproductive health care. host: we have asking -- we have been asking your message to congress on abortion and showing you some messaging after the ill did not pass yesterday, the women's health protection act. some reactions from congress in the wake of that and president biden's statement yesterday saying open boat republicans in congress have chosen to stand in the way of -- saying "republicans in congress have chosen to stand in the way. voters need to choose -- elect more pro-choice senators this november and return a pro-choice majority to the house. if they do, senators can put this bill on my desk so i can sign it to law."

that is president biden after every republican and joe manchin voted against the women's health protection act. tim from pennsylvania, a republican. your thoughts on abortion and joe manchin who is back in the spotlight. caller: we are very blessed to have joe manchin as our senator. he is a democrat and this has been an issue that he in the past has not been as strong on. he chooses life and that is wonderful. in 1972, we heard gloria steinman try to tell us and feed us the lie of the back alley abortion, protection from

pregnancy, different things like that. we are not at the same caliber today. today, those lives have been exposed. we have ultrasound, we have dna evidence that the child in the womb is a separate life. it is not a decision by the woman, it is a decision by society to protect life. host: in west virginia, the last caller of the first segment of the washington journal. we have more to talk about. we will be joined by two members of congress. a first, north carolina congresswoman deborah ross. and later, we will be joined by clay higgins. stick around, we will be right back. ♪

>> american history tv, saturdays on c-span two. exploring the people and events that tell the american story. at 12:15 p.m. eastern with the 1973 roe v. wade case and abortions being debated nationally, we will take a look back at what the current supreme court justices had to say during the -- about the ruling during their confirmation hearing. >> we affirm the holdings of ro. that is the support -- >> roe v. wade is an important precedent of the supreme court. it was decided in 1973.

it has been on the books for a long time. it has been challenged on a number of occasions. i discussed those yesterday and the supreme court has reaffirmed the decision. >> a conversation about the secret white house recordings of several presidents, including john f. kennedy, lyndon johnson and richard nixon. mark felder stone, chair of the university of virginias presidential recordings program discussed the project and what the recordings revealed. exploring the american story, watch american history tv saturday on c-span2. and find a full schedule on your program guide or watch online at any time, on c-span -- at c-span.org/history. >> c-span brings you an unfiltered view of government. our newsletter, word for word, recaps the day for you. from the home of congress to daily press briefings, to remarks by the president.

scan the qr code at the right bottom to sign up for this email and stay up to date on everything happening in washington each day. subscribe using the qr code or visit c-span.org/connect to subscribe anytime. >> washington journal continues. host: joining us for the first time on the washington journal, north carolina democratic congresswoman, deborah ross, member of the judiciary committee. we spent our first hour talking about the senate vote yesterday . in the wake of that vote and staring down the supreme court decision that may turn over roe v. wade, what is the state of the pro-choice movement in the country? guest: first of all, thank you for having me on the show. the state of the pro-choice movement is fired up and ready to go. so, there are rallies and

marches planned for this entire weekend. there have already been rallies and marches in north carolina. in raleigh, north carolina, where i represent. women are pulling out their pink hats and making more. we really know that we are in the fight for our lives and in a fight for our daughters and our sisters and every woman who has the right to personal liberty and reproductive freedom. host: before winning this seat, you ran for the senate in 2016. is this -- is it an issue that the senate should blow up the filibuster for? is it something that is worth getting rid of that senate rule? guest: i believe, yes. for fundamental rights, having a super majority, which basically means a large minority of the country blocks people's fundamental rights, is just plain wrong.

remember, the senators, it is not one person, one vote, in terms of the population of each of the states. so, there are many, many senators from many, many small states, that have oversized power for the entire country. and we can't make that even greater by saying you have to get 10 extra votes. so, for things like voting rights, a woman's right to reproductive freedom, it is simply unacceptable to have to have a super majority and give that outside power. host: is that where the list would end for you? voting rights and abortion rights? guest: at this point, i would say they would have to be fundamental rights. i see problems with the filibuster as a way of blocking popular opinion. voting rights and reproductive freedom is at the top of the

list to not have the filibuster. >> we should viewers this, talking about how the abortion debate has bled the common ground. this was in her column yesterday. she said long ago, in the days when bill clinton could thread the needle, saying abortions should be safe, legal and rare -- it is all but impossible for politicians to have a nuanced discussion around the subject or for either side you have any incentive to seek common ground, would you agree? guest: i think in our political world, there is no incentive. i think among our constituents and among the american public, there is an ability to have that conversation. i think that conversation goes on with families every day, when women make these difficult

reproductive health decisions. the supreme court, for sure, i don't know if you read a bunch of the articles that analyze this opinion, never really talked about the very difficult decisions that women make to have an abortion. this is not a willy-nilly decision. this is about a woman's future, it's about how that woman became pregnant in the first place. it's about how they deal with their faith leader, how they deal with their doctor. we need to look at this issue from the point of view of the person who is making this fundamental decision. host: what is the common ground? is there any sort of restriction we should put on abortion in this country? guest: i don't believe that we should talk about restrictions right now. i think we should talk about preserving these on the mental rights. right now, it is completely --

fundamental rights. right now, it is completely in jeopardy. you heard what the court had to say. before we should talk about where there should be restrictions, we need to make sure that roe v. wade is the law of the land. the supreme court has allowed for certain ways of limiting abortion in certain cases. but, until we have a common understanding in the court and in the congress that roe v. wade is the law of the land, we should not be negotiating about abortion. host: deborah ross, congresswoman from north carolina's second district is our guest. she will be with us until the bottom of the hour. if you want to join the conversation, as usual, the phone lines are democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. ahead and start calling in. what should folks know about the second district of north carolina? guest: it is a growing area.

this is where raleigh, north carolina is. cary, north carolina. 62 people a day move into my district. so, when i -- north carolina is no stranger to gerrymandering and lawsuits about redistricting. so, this district was the result of a lawsuit at the very end of a census period. i represent more than 900,000 people, which is about 150, 1 hundred 60,000 more people than most members of congress. because so many people are moving to the area. it is high tech. a lot of education. a lot of smaller towns that are suburban towns. but it is thriving. it is wonderful. i have lived there for more than 30 years. host: 16 months into this job, what surprised you about being a

number of congress? what do you like and what don't you like? guest: i would say this is one of the most surprising terms of congress in the history of this country. we came in during covid, we had an insurrection. we are dealing with a war in ukraine. we had to hire our staff on our resume. the surprising -- our zoom. the surprising thing is our country is still here and a functioning democracy givin the -- given the perils we face. i served in the state legislature, so that was a very one-on-one, everybody knows each other. everybody knows where everybody is from. this has been interesting, getting to know people under this circumstance. the thing i like the most is how much we have been able to accomplish, even under these circumstances. we got the american rescue plan through. the bipartisan infrastructure bill. i have my fourth bill on the president cost desk --

president's desk this week to be signed into law. we can get things done if we focus on the people. host: what is the fourth bill on? guest: it is a judicial ethics bill. the wall street journal did amazing work showing many judges own stocks. stocks of the businesses of the litigants that appear before them. tons of them trade invest the stocks while they were presiding over the cases. bipartisan, bicameral bill. we adopted the senate version. they made a couple of changes. now, it is on the president's desk. host: michael is up first out of missouri city, texas. the line for democrats, good morning. caller: good morning. just wanted to say personally, you mentioned the words --

i think what is happening is republicans feel, just like they do with health care and the vaccine mandates, they want to dismantle as much as they can, peace by piece, to make it -- piece by piece, to make it ineffective. they will make anything that is pro-choice for a woman basically useless. host: we are losing you a little bit. safe, legal and rare is how bill clinton described it. i will let you respond. guest: i agree with michael. the whole approach of the republican party has been to

dismantle a woman's right to make fundamental, reproductive decisions. i think michael rightly pointed out that they are going after being able to have this same right in every part of the country. and so then, we will go to situations where abortion will be less safe and even more rare. host: to our line for independents, this is emma in washington, d.c. caller: -- that is a lot of people to sanction abortion across the board. i'm a woman, i'm an independent and i think abortion is wrong. what about my personal liberty as a woman to say i think it is wrong? there are many pro-life

feminists. i think that is not a question that should just be ignored. guest: that is a good point. and i know you know that roe v. wade set up the trimester system for the fundamental right of reproductive freedom. and then, there have been other ways of interpreting that. some states have gone beyond that. but not all states. and i want you to know that i believe that all women should have the right to make their own reproductive decisions. and, if you choose to have a child, i believe that we should support you in every way possible. in my state of north carolina, we have an expanded medicaid. there are a lot of mothers who only temporarily get health care during their pregnancies. and then afterwards, two years

later, they themselves don't have health care. i believe that anybody who has a child should have health care. we also need to be much better about expanding the child tax credit and making sure that we have universal pre-k, all these things will support women who choose to have children. and that is a beautiful thing. host: here is a recommendation bite marco rubio. he says congress should follow the state of utah's lead. we need to make it easier to collect child support. one of the most heartbreaking reasons mothers choose to have an abortion is the fear that fathers won't do his part -- a father won't do his part. guest: i believe anybody who is the father of a child has a responsibility to that child. there are many things that we should do to support mothers. in addition to child support.

and i laid some of them out, making sure that the mother and the child have access to health care. making sure that the child has universal pre-k. making sure that there is child care. making sure that that child can have a healthy starts and a bright future. what i don't agree with is that we should force women to carry a pregnancy to term when they are not ready to be a mother and they do not want to be a mother. every woman should be able to make her own health care decision. host: pompano beach, florida, this is sergio. line it for democrats. caller: good morning, how are you? host: doing good. you are on with congresswoman ross. caller: good morning. how are you doing? guest: i'm doing great. you elevated me. i'm a member of the house of representatives. caller: good morning, representative ross. i'm a democrat and i'm honored

to be one. my question is this. how can you get more republicans to fight more for roe v. wade and stop joining against it to work together to make a common ground, also as well for the infrastructure plan. are you working together on that, particularly? guest: that's a fantastic question, sergio. i served in our state legislature for more than 10 years. before we got into these very mean-spirited primaries, where there were litmus tests for a particular party, we had many pro-choice republicans. including pro-choice republican women. and i did a lot of work with pro-choice republican women on

women's reproductive health care. and that was a great way for us to find common ground. and you are seeing in the u.s. senate that senator murkowski and senator collins, both republicans, proof women, -- both women, are pro-choice. sandra day o'connor, the first woman appointed to the supreme court, also a republican, pro-choice. i think what happens is, in republican primaries, we end up getting the extremes. we also do that sometimes in democratic primaries. that is what is keeping us from finding the common ground. people cannot have their held beliefs and survived a primary -- survive a primary challenge, frequently. your question is fantastic and i wish we could find that common ground. i am looking to the leadership of senator collins and senator murkowski to help do that on the senate side. host: in petersburg, virginia,

this is robert, and independent. caller: good morning, how are you doing? guest: doing well. -- host: doing well. caller: i would like to say the justices have changed. brett kavanaugh, he said he would probably not go into roe v. wade but he did. i think justices should have 12 years and i wonder why there shouldn't be a referendum for voting on that. guest: robert, you make a really good point about how justices should not mislead the senate, when they are in their confirmation hearing. interestingly, ruth bader ginsburg was very candid about her beliefs about roe v. wade.

some people agreed with her and some people did not. but, she made it clear what she thought. and i think at least three of the justices misled the senate. senator collins certainly has made it known that she felt misled as well as senator murkowski. you make a really good point that we need to have a check on what these people are saying when they show up and they raise their hand and take an oath. host: the other big story besides the vote in the senate was the information on inflation in this country. inflation hit 8.3% last month, compared to one year ago. the headlines from the washington times today, biden looks powerless in the inflation blame game. what can be done despite inflation? guest: well, everybody wants to fight inflation. let's be clear about that. i think the president is at the top of the list.

so, what he is doing is he is relying on the federal reserve, which generally is the body that tries to regulate our economy. they only have certain tools to do that. we are dealing with two things that are directly affecting inflation. the pandemic and the war in ukraine. and as everybody knows, one of the big parts of inflation is the price of gas. and the price of gas as just skyrocketed, largely because of the war in ukraine. and the way that our oil and gas companies are responding to that. we -- some of that, we may be able to do something about. i've heard there might be legislation next week. a lot of that is the private market. the market makes decision to its -- decisions to its own benefit. the other thing is rising food prices. the war in ukraine has definitely gone against the

breadbasket of europe. and we have shortages of things that were not produced during the pandemic. now, people are coming out of the pandemic and they want more of them. there is supply and demand. what we need to do is try to pull the leverage that we can pull to deal with inflation. we also need to look at what corporate america has done to respond to shortages. and in many cases, they are taking advantage of that situation. it is a combination of things. let me tell you, the president and congress are very concerned. we are going to try to do as much as we can to stem the tide. host: this is steve, line for republicans. good morning. caller: good morning. the inflation think is more important. -- thing is more important.

i do think that it should be up to the states on abortion rights, just because you can vote state legislature in and out a lot faster than you can anything else. that's why think it should go to the states. if you don't like it, then you vote the people in or out that feel the same as you. have a wonderful day. guest: you too. you shouldn't have a different right in one state than another state. that holds woman captive to whatever a state legislature might think about a fundamental right. and we just can't have that. we can't, particularly for poor women, women who don't have the means to travel. affluent women have always had an ability to get whatever kind

of reproductive health care they want. because they can pay for it. when you have a situation where there are women who are poor, who are in difficult circumstances, they should not be captive to where they live. we need to make sure that every woman, no matter where she lives in this country, has the right to reproductive health care. health care that is safe, that is affordable and that deals with her particular needs. host: you said fundamental right a couple of times. what is the definition of a fundamental right? guest: the constitution talks about fundamental rights. this is something that cannot be restricted, unless there is a compelling governmental interest or a very, very serious governmental interest. i am all lawyer. i have practiced constitutional law. when there is a right embedded in our constitution, embedded in our personal liberty or privacy,

that comes to a higher standard if you want to restrict it. host: lancaster, california. this is lee, a democrat. good morning. caller: good morning. miss deborah. guest: yes, lee? caller: do you think we are a constitutional republic or a democracy? in a democracy, the government, which you just talked about over the constitution just a second ago, gives you a right in your eyes to get an abortion up to the days the woman is crowning and cell body parts, how much money is planned parenthood making off of body parts? guest: well, lee, i'm not sure about your question. we are a republic. and we are definitely a beacon

for democracy around the world. i hope you have a great day. host: kansas city, missouri, this is bill. caller: i think this is a privacy issue. there is a reason why it was passed in 1973, because of what is -- what's happening with abortions and close angers. the rich women always have the option for abortion. it's like prohibition. prohibition didn't stop people from drinking. and it's not going to stop people from having abortions if they can afford it. we need to get the government out of the bedroom, leave it as it is. i'm 70 years old and i remember when it was passed the first time. guest: thank you so much, lee. could not agree with you more. host: taking you home to the tar heel state, this is mike in bessemer city. republican, good morning. caller: good morning.

i noticed she did not want to answer the question about how much money parent -- planned parenthood was making. i have two points. me and my wife are republicans and i -- me, i am for abortion. go ahead and take care of it now so i don't have to pay for them later. if you are going to do that, have an abortion, rich women, poor women, they all have the same things. they know if they don't have any protection they will get pregnant. ok, go ahead and have them fixed or have their two -- tubes tied, they can play all they want. if they want to have a baby later, make them adopt one or -- host: got your point. is there anything you want to respond to? guest: no, i think you got it. host: we mentioned the judiciary committee, it is not the only committee you are

serving on. the science, space and technology committee. we heard from elon musk this week about his concerns about banning donald trump from twitter if he were able to purchase, if he ends up purchasing twitter. donald trump returning to twitter, your thoughts? guest: elon musk is purchasing a platform. so, elon musk will have a right to do whatever he wants with the platform. -- the platform he purchases. i do believe that when donald trump was banned from twitter originally, it was because he was presenting a clear and present danger to the country. he was inciting violence. he was also spewing incorrect health information during the pandemic. a lot of people forget that one of the reasons why the pandemic was as bad as it was in this country is because donald trump and his administration minimized

, minimized the health effects of the coronavirus. donald trump himself minimized those effects and gave incorrect information, as the president. what elon musk does going forward, again, is -- it is a private company, so he can make those decisions. but i would hope that if people incite violence or create and exacerbate health pandemics, that he would think about what his platform is doing. host: in our final minute, the other committee you serve on in congress is the roles committee. probably one of the lesser-known committees for people who are regular consumers of congress read what does the rules committee do? guest: i love serving on the rules committee. you know what will happen. the rules committee is the gatekeeper to the floor of the house. unless a bill is going to have either unanimous consent or two thirds approval, a bill is going to -- needs to go through the

rules committee. it can be amended. the rules committee takes amendments. we hear from both sides. and then we decide how that bill comes to the floor. can we have amendments? are there no amendments? is it structured? every bill that comes to the floor has -- goes through the rules committee. as a freshman, it is a front row seat to how congress operates and i just love serving there. host: deborah ross, a democrat from north carolina, the second district of north carolina. that's all the time we have. come back again. guest: of course, it was a pleasure. host: later today, we will be joined by congressman clay higgins, a republican of louisiana. a member of the homeland security committee. up next, time for our open forum , where we let you lead the discussion. any public policy issue, state issue you want to talk about,

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c-span2 and find a full schedule on our program guide or watch anytime online at book tv.org. >> 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 department, as well as congress. we also have international perspectives from the united nations and statements from foreign leaders. all on the c-span networks. the c-span now free mobile app, and c-span.org/ukraine. our web resource stage, where you can watch the latest videos on demand, and follow tweets from journalists on the ground. no to c-span.org/ukraine. >> there are a lot of places to get political information. but only at c-span do you get it straight from the source. no matter where you are from or where you stand on the issues,

c-span is america's network. unfiltered, unbiased, word for word. if it happens here or here, or here, or anywhere that matters. america is watching on c-span. powered by cable. >> washington journal continues. host: about midway through our program today. we are going to take some time to hear from you and let you lead the discussion. it is our open forum. any public policy issue, political issue, state issue you want to talk about, go ahead and start calling in and let us know. democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. we will get to your calls, john in houston, what's on your mind? caller: so, i think we all know

what causes a woman to get pregnant. why is it a fundamental right for two people to have unprotected sex, instead of talking about taking care of unwanted pregnancy, via abortion , how about talking about not having unprotected sex? host: that is john in texas. this is cindy in fort lauderdale. democrat, good morning. caller: if you won't me off, i think i can answer that man's question. we hold these truths to be self-evident, the first rights given to us by the founding documents. you have to note grammar and english to understand it. it is the right to life, liberty

, and the pursuit of happiness. as it would apply to abortion, it is the right to decide if you want to become a parent or not. since you did not take embryology last and i did, the time i took the class, the state and country was controlled -- the state i lived in and that country was controlled by republicans. -- that is not a life until the umbilical cord is cut and it is breathing. there are seven criteria for life. they are adopted by 192 countries of the united nations. so, this is just foolishness. it is a right. it is a right to become apparent if you are ready and you decide to. it is a right not to. there are plenty of people who have been pregnant or a condom

broke. and there are plenty of people who get cancer from taking the pill. if you want only women to get cancer, my answer is you take the pill and you don't have to worry about it. host: cindy in missouri, independent. caller: good morning. i'd like to remind the democrats , you can't save every tree. the point is that the clean air act that was passed during clinton's administration, the whole thing was -- i'm an independent contractor, anyway. the whole idea in the be getting was every person had to get a license.

you can pump it into a tank and take it to a facility and they would fight for us to recycle. now, it is causing the contractors -- costing the contractors to turn this into a that is point number one. host: what kind of contracting work do you do? how long have you been in it? guest: since i was 35. host: how has business been in the past couple of years, during covid? guest: it was ok. it was no different than normal. i thought it was ok. i live in a relatively rural area. host: did you run into the issue a lot? guest: no.

i do have another point on the environment. it looked like a money grab to me. here is what i'm saying. every contractor, every installer has to pass this clean air act to get the license. and then we have to reclaim every ounce of this -- these certain types of freon. when the people who were polluting the air with the big businesses. -- where the big businesses. they were letting out hundreds of thousands of pounds. it was just a scam. host: thanks for talking about it. quality is waiting in kenosha, wisconsin. republican, good morning. caller: hi, good morning. i often wonder how many people actually read the bills. obviously, abortion is a hotly contested issue. i wonder how many of you read

it. in the bill it self is a lot of messaging, primarily two things. one is that men in our society are misogynistic and therefore evil. and the other thing is that, and i'm going to just read section four real quickly, that reproductive justice requires that -- every individual has the right to make their own decision without the interference of disco nation. reproductive justice is a human right -- regardless of actual perceived race, color, sex, including gender identity, orientation, age or disability. and this is where it is important, the economic, social

and political power and resources to make decisions about their body. this is also a bill that specifically wants to codify the idea that the united states must pay for and provide these kinds of things that will ensure that the government must provide payment to anyone who feels economically different than men or economically burdened by the fact that they are obviously women. i think it is important to read the bill carefully through, to understand what the bill really wants to legislate. host: another point on that, on reading what is in the bill, from today's washington times, they note that other than the title of this legislation, the women's health protection act, the word --

a 2019 version of this legislation referred to women's health and women seeking abortion services. but the 2022 bill leaves out women entirely, other than the title of the bill, substituting the patient or individual. democrats explained the new language. saying the terms women and men are used to reflect the majority of people who feel restricted. however, access to abortion services is critical to every person capable of becoming pregnant. this is written to protect all people with the capacity for pregnancy. cisgender women, transgender men. those who identify with a different gender and others. that is from the washington times.

this is caroline, ohio. -- caroline out of vincent, ohio. caller: i live on the border of west virginia. on my local television station out of west virginia, they have governor -- excuse me, he is not a governor anymore, mansion. host: senator joe manchin. caller: right, but he was governor at one time. host: yes, ma'am. caller: but anyway, i think you and the lady explained it to me and now i understand why. because, they had an interview with senator manchin and senator manchin was saying the reason he did not vote for it was because it was not the same roe v. wade

bill. and you all explained it just now. i understand from both of you that the wording was entirely different than roe v. wade. that was going to be my question to representative ross, was did they -- did senator manchin let the democrats know that he was going to vote against it? the same with collins. senator collins and the other lady from alaska. host: he made his position known yesterday, before that vote. i'm not sure of the exact time. i know he talked to reporters before that vote and acknowledged he would not vote for it. legislation changes as it goes through the process. interestingly enough, this women's health protection act

which was voted on in september of last year in the senate and in february of this year, concern among joe manchin and others that it was too expensive and that it would take away some state restrictions on abortion. senator susan collins and lisa murkowski and tim kaine, the democrat from virginia, trying to work on perhaps a more limited version that would codify ro ev -- roe v. wade. that was a separate proposal that the two moderate republican senators and tim kaine have said that they are working on. a lot of different parts and peace of legislation. i hope that answers your question. host: it did. keep up the great work, c-span. -- caller: it did, keep up the great work, c-span. host: (202) 748-8000 for

democrats. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. an independents, (202) 748-8002. the houses in at 10:00 a.m. eastern. the senate is in at 10:00 -- house is in at 10:00 a.m. eastern. the senate is in at 10:00 a.m. eastern. we are expecting jen psaki. sec. janet yellen will be discussing an annual report of the financial stability oversight council, which gives economic outlooks that hearing on c-span3 at 10:00 a.m.. also on c-span.org and on the free c-span now video app. we mentioned the news yesterday about inflation rates hitting 8.3% in april, compared to a year ago. and the monthly change of 0.3%, slowing a bit.

but still, inflation is certainly a top concern. the president has said it is his top to mr. concern. a pole in the new york times today, looking at what americans think is causing inflation. to understand the polling, you should know respondents to this new york times poll could pick more than one answer in the question of how much, if at all do you blame the following factors for high inflation rates. what he 5% of respondents blame the covid-19 pandemic. 43%, blaming supply chain structure and. 40%, blaming corporations for inflation. 30% blame the american rescue plan a lot as a cause of inflation. 30% blaming the war in ukraine a lot as the cause of inflation. that shot -- chart from the new york times. you can find it in the new york

times, today. sean in floor, good morning. caller: yes sir, good morning. i have a couple of points. let me run through them real quick. there is no contraceptive that is 100%. there's always going to be unwanted pregnancies. number two, they like to talk about these things. i hear republicans talking about how the africans old slave -- owned slaves and sold the slaves. african slavery was different from colonizing slavery. they used to actually marry their slaves and slaves could marry their daughters. they never talk about when the africans found out what they were doing to the people in slavery, that there was -- they were actually going to come over here and take those slaves back. number three, pregnant see costs. so -- pregnancy costs. so, why don't they talk about that. it costs over $10,000 to have a

kid read that is when i did it. it costs -- probably costs way more, now. they talk about when black lives matter was going on, they were having rights in the streets. but nobody talks about the guy who showed up and had a truck full of bricks that he was passing out. but they love to show up -- talk about the one fbi guy who was instigating everything on january 6. host: -- caller: good morning. what i'm saying, they are having this business about the disability people. abortion is between a woman and her god. host: ok. linda, spring hill, florida. democrat, good morning.

caller: good morning. yes, i just want to say the abortion law should stay just the way it is. and to me, it is just a strategy to focus on the upcoming election to get the voters riled up. the parties need to come together and work for this country. the party has not worked for this country ever since obama was elected into office. they have been mad every since. our country started going down, then. all they worry about is politics and being in control. but not working for the common people of this country. it is going to destroy us. take care of the united states and take care of the people here. god is going to take care of the abortion thing. that's up to each individual.

but the mean-spirited miss of the -- mean-spiritedness of the party is going to destroy the nation. host: one of the story, reports from the interior department on the treatment of native american children and what they went through in the 1800s and through the mid 20th century, at indian boarding schools. the indian boarding school system report, a long-awaited report from the interior department. yesterday, it was deb haaland who spoke about that investigative report. this is what she had to say. >> as the federal government moved the country west, they moved to exterminate, eradicate and assimilate native americans, alaskan natives and native hawaiians. the languages, cultures,

religions, traditional practices and even the history of native communities, all of this was targeted for destruction. nowhere is that clear than in the legacy of federal indian boarding schools. for more than a century, tens of thousands of indigenous children were taken from their communities and forced into boarding schools, run by the u.s. government. specifically, the department of the interior and religious institutions. the consequences of federal indian boarding school policies, including the intergenerational trauma caused by family separation and cultural eradication, which were inflicted upon generations of children, as young as four years old. our -- they are heartbreaking and undeniable. when my maternal grandparents were eight years old, they were stolen from their parents culture and communities and forced to live in boarding

schools until the age of 13. many children like them never made it back to their home. each of those children is a missing family member, a person who is not able to live out their purpose on this earth because they lost their lives as part of this terrible system. this is not news to us. it is not news to many of us, as indigenous people, we have lived with the intergenerational trauma of boarding school policies for many years. but what is new is the determination in the biden-harris administration to make a lasting difference in the impact of this trauma of for future generations. the federal policies that attempted to wipe out native identities, language and culture , continue to manifest in the pain tribal communities face today. including cycles of violence and abuse, disappearance of

indigenous people, premature death, poverty and loss of wealth. mental health disorders and substance abuse. recognizing the impacts of the federal indian boarding school system cannot just be a historical reckoning. we must also chart a path forward to deal with these legacy issues. to address the intergenerational impact of federal indian boarding schools and to promote spiritual and emotional hearing in our communities, we must shed light on the unspoken traumas of the past. host: deb haaland yesterday, former congresswoman. her remarks, if you want to watch them in their entirety, you can watch them on c-span.org. time for a few more of our calls in our open forum. we will head to new orleans. this is don, and independent. good morning. caller: yes, good morning.

as far as slavery, a rose by any other name is still a rose. inflation and abortions and the economy, when i was growing up, i was one of 10 children. we went to the butcher. if we had two dollars, my mom would say go and get one dollars worth of lunch and meet and a dollars worth of cheese for your field trip lunch and get a soft drink and a bag of cookies. we managed through what we had. same today. we have prepackaged food for the most part that has a set price. we should have more butchers and we should be able to buy beans and rice by the pound, by the porter pound or whatever price our budget is. same thing with purchasing gasoline. we should not be filling up our

cars and we should manage our mileage based on our budget, anyway. regardless of inflation. the thing about abortion and the economy, there are some great generations. tom brokaw called them the greatest generation. the baby boomers. the government basically incentivized families to get new housing and training. they did not give the black g.i.s that. are the women who would like to be mothers? host: you bring up a lot of points on shortages. a story from politico on a topic that has gotten a lot of attention in recent days. shortages. a headline from politico, i

don't know how my son will survive, inside the dangerous shortage of formulas. we will talk about food shortages and rising prices coming up at 9:30 a.m. eastern. we will be joined by meredith, politico's food and agriculture reported. five minutes until we are joined by congressman clay higgins, republican from louisiana. warren in philadelphia, this is a republican. good morning, warren. caller: hello? host: go ahead, warren. caller: hi, i am calling to speak to the honorable congressman that was on your program earlier. she stated that she had a degree in constitutional law. what i don't agree with is that nowhere in the constitution does it grant the right to an abortion. in fact, it states in the eighth amendment that those rights not

mentioned were enumerate -- or enumerated are referred to the states. how can everybody get upset if the supreme court is going to throw back the state their responsibility to make law? host: james's next, ashburn, virginia, independent. good morning. caller: hello? just a quick comment. i would like to define, a lot of the people are not pro-life. the same people that are calling that are pro-life are the same people that are against immigrating a pregnant woman

across the border. if they die, they are ok with that. the politics is what divided us. pro-life, pro-choice, against each other. if you are going to be pro life, i hope they don't cut medicaid and welfare and school lunch for these kids when they are born. host: andy -- host: andy in kentucky, republican line. good morning. caller: good morning. how are you doing? host: doing well. caller: my name is andy. yesterday, i saw where they were voting, trying to protect a woman's right and everything. to me, the democrats are way out in left field. they have gotten away from the bible. and it is sad. abortion is wrong.

biden wants to blame inflation on the war. no, it is biden's fault because we cut off the keystone lifeline and everything trump had going with oil and everything. now, they won't even help us. biden needs to take responsibility for his own actions. biden needs to go ahead and step down. but then i hate that the vice president would take over because she's not too bright, either. i woke up and realized the democratic already -- host: did you used to be a democrat? caller: yes. i grew up when carter -- with

carter and all of them. i'm 59 years old. i will be 60 on may 17. like i said, the democratic party, they have left my values. host: was carter the last democratic president you voted for? caller: yes. host: that is andy in kentucky. time for a couple of more calls. margaret in new jersey, republican, good morning. caller: there was no separate -- no statute of limitation for murder. it won't be long before they start rounding up any woman who has ever had an abortion and start putting them to death. all women out there who have either had an abortion or think

they might be in a position where they could be raved or incensed or maybe the baby dies inside them and has to be removed, that they could be accused of murder. i want you to think about that before they vote at the next election. thank you. is that is what i have to say. host: fresno, california. independent line. good morning. caller: -- taking responsibility for their bodies.

i explained to her there was no pro-life back in my day. there were just young women being taught to be responsible for their bodies. host: when was your day? caller: i am 50 one. it may be back in the late 80's. pro-life did not exist back then, it was pro-choice. host: did you live in fresno? caller: yes. host: mark out in california. our last caller of this segment of the washington journal. up next we are going to be joined by congressman clay higgins, a republican of louisiana. and later, politico agricultural reporter meredith lee with the approach to food shortages. stick around. we will be right back.

>> now available in the c-span shop, c-span -- your guide to the federal government. with contact information for all of the congress. also contact information for state governors and the by net administration. order yours at c-span.com -- c-span.org or scan the code. every purchase helps support c-span's nonprofit operations. >> recorded conversations. here many of those conversations on c-span's new podcast. >> season one focuses on the presidency of lyndon johnson. you will hear about the 1964 civil rights act.

the 1964 presidential campaign, the war -- the march on selma and the war in vietnam. not everyone knew they were being recorded. >> suddenly johnson secretary knew because they were tasked with transcribing his conversations. they were the ones who made sure the conversations would signal to them. >> you will also hear some blunt talk.

>> c-span has unfiltered coverage of the u.s. response to the invasion of ukraine. bringing you the latest from the president and other officials. we also have international perspective from the united nations. all on the c-span network, c-span now mobile app. and c-span.org/ukraine. you can watch the latest videos on demand and -- from journalists on the ground. go to c-span.org/ukraine. washington journal continues. host: we welcome now republican congressman clay higgins. republican -- representative for louisiana. good morning.

what would be in those articles of impeachment? guest: it absolutely will happen if he is still in office next year. why get into the weeds of the articles themselves. the secretary has allowed himself to become the instrument of the biden policies that most certainly violate the constitutionally clarified. the main thing is sovereignty at our borders. several states are assured in our constitution that the federal government will perform that role. this is a duty, we have never

failed as a federal government until now. to an extreme extent, secretary mayorkas has performed outside of the parameters of his old. -- of his oath. impeachable level of offenses. if he is still in office, it would be better for him to the -- to resign. so we can move forward with reestablishing the sovereignty and security of our southern borders. host: how important is title 42 to establishing the sovereignty and security of our southern borders? guest: title 42 is currently a legal mechanism able to deploy

in order to quickly reject and illegal alien attempting to cross. the effectiveness of title 42 is the significant, should be our focus. we as a congress must continue to provide our law enforcement professionals with the legal mechanisms that they need in order to accomplish a mission. title 42 was enacted at a time of pandemic worldwide. it was sound. what we have learned is it has been very effective. without title 42, we would have

had millions of more crossings. what we need to do when we look at the future is ask ourselves the title 42 definitions. we believe the most conservative and congress believed title 42 was broad enough to consider the national health impact of -- being brought across. it is the leading cause of death of americans, with overdose. it is directly related to a lack of security at our border.

we are constitutionalists and we recognize the effectiveness of title 42, but we also recognize it was based upon the health crisis of the covid pandemic. therefore it had a built in --. as we look at the effectiveness of title 42 as a means to which to control our border and illegal immigration, we can realistically consider continuing the same method but with a broader issue with the crisis that has been brought upon america because of illegal fentanyl crossing the border. host: you can go ahead and start calling in.

(202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independence, (202) 748-8002. and all others, (202) 748-8003. guest: although i support ukraine's effort to defend its sovereignty and i have been a significant voice in that from the beginning, i serve the american people. i am sworn by an old to watch legislation very carefully. if it is not righteous, the government needs a threshold. then it would have to be a no. this bill was introduced. the details of the bill were released, 40,000 -- 40 million.

that is the entire budget for border protections, eyes, tsa, coast guard. to fund our own border security, amendments considered and voted on, we have time to read the legislation and debate and argue over what is in. what is not in it or what should be in it, all of this happens in congress as congress intended. a tremendous amount of money turned over to an executive branch.

i find it very difficult to trust. although i support ukraine and is defense, i think we should have been more aggressive in our laws early on for russia began this renewed invasion of ukraine . that they began in 2014. we should have been more aggressively involved in ukraine. russia took advantage of the weakness america has shown the last weeks. i work for the american people.

$40 billion of foreign military aid passed under a rule, a procedure in the house under rule. no debate, no amendments, passed in five hours and i was a solid know and i would be again in the same circumstances. host: clay higgins, an army veteran and former patrol officer. third term congressman now representing the third district of louisiana. here to take your phone calls, take your questions. carlo is up first out of wayne city illinois. good morning. caller: good morning. how are you doing. representative higgins, i have a few questions. caller: we have an open border. there should be -- they are

sending billions to ukraine. how come we can't take five of that and build a wall? guest: a few moments ago i compared 40 billion in foreign military aid that the house just authorized. i am against it. we are sending $40 billion of military aid to help ukraine resecure their nation and yet we have this -- the disintegration of our own southern borders terribly impacting the nation. we cannot get our own treasure invested behind policy that is affected to secure our own borders.

primarily the security of our nation has number one job. host: in maryland, we have got blake waiting on the line for independence. blake, go ahead. we lost blake. hot springs, arkansas, jb, good morning. caller: good morning. how are you? guest: that is an inflammatory question. it doesn't have to be this way. you brought up in like that.

let me just say, if you own property, you have a fence around your property. you also have a gate. if you want -- if you have a gate, not because you don't want the neighbors to visit, but because you want them to visit coming through the gate. america has gaetz to secure our border. if you have any type law enforcement experience or life experience in general, you know there is a big difference between having a fence and not needing it versus not having a fence and needing it. that is where we are on the southern border. host: talking about law enforcement experience, what does that mean? how does that shape your job as a member of congress? guest: my experience working night shift many years, i was a swat cop for 12 years. i have experienced the most tragic circumstances that one

could ever imagine during the course of my law enforcement career. i learned early on, to be a presence of calm in the midst of a situation where everyone has lost their mind, is the path toward resolution. to take the approach that you have to try to out yell everybody, if a family because the police at 2:00 in the morning, they did not call because they are having a good day. something very wrong is happening in their life. your backup could be far away, half an hour away, 20 minutes away. having to deal with a very dangerous situation, sometimes drugs, alcohol involved, a lot of emotions. you have to be a presence of

calm, reassurance, and establish order there.

caller: i do think we need the border wall and everything. what gets me, spending such vast amounts of money, can be put to letting a few people in congress , they are supposed be representing the people. why can't they put this to a vote. money and going up? the prices sure are. we are just getting poor and poor. host: you want a national referendum when it comes to spending? caller: yeah.

something like that. guest: let me jump in here. what you are asking for is certainly reflective of a common sense approach. that will require an amendment to our constitution. the founders intended for all federal spending to be born in the house of representatives. the reelection cycle for a member in the house is two years. why is it so short? the founders wanted the people of the sovereign states represented in congress by their chosen man or woman, the founders wanted we the people to quickly replace bad representatives. one of the primary reasons if you go back and read carefully what they discussed in the

details of our constitution emerged, the founders was concerned -- the founders were concerned about what could be made manifested in the halls of the power of congress. you have the power. we the people have the power to effectively manage appropriate treasure in congress. we were placed representatives who are not fiscally responsible. well into generations yet unborn.

all spending is born in the house of representatives. as the founders intended. this body has managed to accumulate $31 trillion in debt. if this body was to balance the budget and manage a $1 billion surplus, meaning congress would spend one billion less in federal moneys then it took in an federal revenue, it would require 31,000 years of a 1000 -- and $1 billion surplus -- to address a $1 trillion debt.

we don't have this money. just sent to ukraine, i voted mel one of the -- the kind of like duration, deficit spending. was it different for ukrainian people? no. it was added to the debt of the american people. we have to be courageous during the voting cycle. we could ditch the problem with america at the balance box. host: this is larry, petersburg in -- petersburg, illinois. good morning. caller: good morning [applause]

. i am an independent. when i lit, everything like it has to be a republican or democrat ring. i don't understand why everyone was concerned about what is coming at our borders. other people are showing -- coming across. they won't go to fox because everyone inks fox is lies. here is the thing, this is going to affect all of us. you're talking about the deficit. and the housing. the housing situation is really

bad. my daughter lives in kansas city they just try to purchase a home. they were bidding on a 300,000 dollars home, which less than $10 -- less than two hours ago it was $105,000. they were bidding $40,000 over the asking price and they weren't getting the bid. we have got big problems there.

guest: we are losing our country down there. we cannot absorb, as a sovereign nation, we cannot absorb two or 3 million illegal crossings a day. folks are not coming for vacation, they are coming to stay.

we can get control over it very quickly. two weeks we could stop this thing if i had what i need to do to be done. it will be compassionate, legal it will be strict and discipline. but we will reestablish ourselves at the southern border. we can fix this thing at the southern border, but if we do not, -- we are a nation of immigrants but we are a nation of legal immigrants. we want people to come for the right way.

i thank you for your questions. host: two minutes left. joel in michigan. caller: i was listening to what you said about the spending. your words were i believe. it should have been what your people who elected you believe. not what you believe. you are a representative of the people. and your work should be what they believe. in the second thing i want to say, -- guest: before you move past that, sir, the constituents who elected me are because of the man who i am. we are all children of god because of our journey. i have my core values and i

presented that to the people who cast their votes. i got elected by an overwhelming majority in my district. it is impossible to go to 75 thousand constituents and polled their belief vote by vote. those men and women elected a man just like you. i have my beliefs, core principles. and i stand upon those principles. that is how i cast my vote. caller: but the people that elect, you still stand by your core values. guest: i appreciate the questions across the spectrum. it is important for us to understand as americans we are brothers and sisters of one nation.

our culture, heritage, creed, our color, political affiliation, all of this is a part of the woven fabric of that flag and what makes america great is what we can communicate like this and share candidly our beliefs. i believe there is a bright future for our country always yet ahead. host: congressman, we appreciate you for your time. guest: goblets. host: -- guest: god bless. host: mayor lee to discuss the food shortages and wired -- and rising food prices. stick around, we will be right back. ♪

>> american history tv saturday at 2:00. the 1973 roe v. wade case on abortion. what the supreme court justices had to say about the ruling during their court hearing. >> it was decided in 1973. it has been on the books for a long time. it has been challenged.

the supreme court has reaffirmed the decision. >> a conversation about the secret white house recordings of john f. kennedy, lyndon johnson, -- exploring the american story. watch on c-span saturday. >> now available in the c-span shop. this compact spiral-bound book is your god to the federal government with contact information for every member of congress.

order your copy today at c-span.org. or scan the code. every purchase help support c-span's nonprofit operation. >> washington journal continues. host: a focus now on food shortages and rising food prices. meredith, i'm going to go right to your latest story in politico. explain what is happening there and why that is impacting food and prizes. guest: the war in ukraine has really hampered the ability for ukraine to get any kind of food out of the country. it is a major grain producer, as is russia. the russian military blockade

around ukraine and the black sea right now is hampering the ability for millions of tons of grains to leave ukraine and -- to countries across africa who rely on those foods. host: how do you get these foods out and get them to market? guest: they have been trying to push for a humanitarian corridor that would be established from the port of odessa. they traveled out of the black sea and bring supplies to africa. that is a huge undertaking and risk russian retaliation. they are trying to work through

issues right now hoping to establish that corridor. host: president biden yesterday on his trip to illinois talked about that. here is a little bit of what he had to say. [video clip] pres. biden: ukraine is world's largest producer of wheat and corn for cooking oil. they have 20 tons of grain in their -- 20 million tons of grain in their silos right now. those tons don't get to market, an awful lot of people will in africa are going to starve to death. they are the sole supplier of a number of african countries. but the point is this, because of what the russians are doing in the black sea, putin has access to get this grain out, to get this wheat out.

it has prevented ukrainian farmers from planning next year's crop. while we are doing something about it, our farmers are helping in both front to produce the food at home and the world in need. host: meredith lee, explain what the president was doing on that trip and when he was proposing. guest: they don't have a ton of foods at their disposal. the one thing the president talked about this week is the high cost for farmers to produce food. and those costs get transferred to the bill americans see everyday. providing funding for more things like fertilizer, that is

a main concern right now. some of the pressure -- will help drive down some of these --. host: phone lines, democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. we found on inflation was 8.1%. breakdown what that means to keep down food commodities. guest: a lot of these prices are being driven by home grocery markets. meat is higher than we have seen

in years. it is really hitting americans grocery bills. trying to tackle consolidation in the market, but still trying to find their footing. host: we are hearing a lot in recent days about this infant food formula shortage. explain why that happened and did this take the country by surprise? did we know this was coming? guest: we did know a little bit about this. last year there was a bacteria outbreak at 11 michigan. the market is so consolidated, if one brand is taken off the market, that is a huge blow.

they were basically deciding if it was worded -- if it was worth recalling. two babies died and the fda issued a recall. not only do we see parents gambling for the specialty formulas, -- right now. host: why is production so concentrated? why does one facility going off-line have such an impact? people have probably seen images of the formula off the shelves. guest: in the united states, there are only a few countries that control that kind of production. especially the form -- especially the specialty formulas.

that allows a few companies to control the market. one of the things the fda is trying to do now, they are trying to control imports and get supplies to other countries. something that people -- to me we should have been doing for the past two years. host: taking your phone calls. we have about 20 minutes. tim, toledo, ohio, democrat. you're up first. caller: good morning. how are you doing this morning? host: doing well. you're on with meredith lee. caller: we don't have a solution for -- i cannot really -- we

grow tomatoes, green beans. turn my back yard a garden. grow your own food where you can. give a little bit relief to the supply chain by growing your own. host: meredith lee? guest: locals farmers market here in d.c., really trying to support local producers, growing

your own food. that is a good point when our food systems are reeling from the pandemic. host: with some of these shortages, how much concern is a food panic? so many stories about the infant formula and trying not to create --? guest: ken ukraine, they were careful to warn about food

shortages. they didn't want to create panic. they are getting the message now, it is not going to be widespread produce or grocery items right now. but it is important they are leaning into the fact --. host: to nebraska on the republican line, jeff, good morning. caller: they knew seven months ago that putin was going to pool this. they should have started planning a long time ago.

we have 107,000 people. they have done nothing with the border. all this is just piling up. they have got no answers. this is the saddest thing i have ever seen. our government is so -- our government isn't so much trouble, it is unbelievable. host: as the war in ukraine is unfolding, taking viewers back -- too big to fail. explain what they were trying to do then. guest: they are seeing a call for the united states and other company -- other countries to pull out of the market.

there are a number of large food companies, large grain trading at the come needs --. especially arguing they are providing a humanitarian -- they don't want to pressure the russian people that way. putin and the russians in general have tried to use -- in developing countries and around the world.

host: tomorrow -- to myrtle beach, south carolina. caller: why isn't she mentioning the cost of diesel? i talked to you before about the high gas prices. if you told me, you brought out your big charts and told me biden was going to lower the prices. that hasn't talked -- that hasn't happened. the rights of diesel also includes our fishermen, the food industry, the truckers. host: let's talk about it, linda. guest: definitely that is a part of the agriculture -- fuel

prices can -- host: the price of gas hitting is high this week. gas buddy raising its average price of a gallon of gas in the united states. in 2022, --

caller: who is it that you work for? guest: a media company based in d.c. but we are a national news organization. host: do you have a question about food prices and shortages? caller: yes i do. what do you see from the outcome for today in the near future for shelving restarts, companies being able to produce food --

where do we go over here? if we utilize our cold countries production to the extent we can use see -- can even see our -- guest: we have enough wheat, corn, things like that to feed

people. in general, we do have enough food in the united states to feed people. we are very lucky in that regard. americans are not going to be as impacted from other countries from the ukraine war. host: want to go back to the infant formula issue. it says that that sounds like a hill -- on manufacturers. guest: that has been slow and

less than satisfactory on regulating food. it is one of those things people are looking at and thinking that potentially the fda, there could have been better oversight and the response could have been better. host: lena on twitter say the form meet packing monopolies need to be broken up. they are overcharging consumers. guest: the president spoke about this in his state of the union address. the big four meat processing companies, those conglomerates are really controlling a lot of the market. farmers are only able to solve those companies.

the biden administration has been -- those companies who fuel prices right now. the biden administration has been trying to work on spending for local producers. smaller producers in local level to help stir competition in the market. host: texas, lou, independent, good morning. caller: good morning. i want to know, which is worse, starvation for the world? will it cause more stress in the world --

guest: he was asking about? host: willden using nuclear weapons further exacerbate the problem of food supply shortage? guest: -- are very volatile right now. any kinds of things like the war, other kinds of market, big market disruptions will have an impact on food prices. host: democrat, good morning. caller: good morning. my question is about the pharmaceutical companies. we can put chavez in jail but we find that pharmaceutical companies for there miss doing.

the second question is, what about the weights in foods? you think you're buying five pounds of sugar but you are really buying four pounds and the prices going up. if you are buying 16 ounces of tomatoes, you have to buy two cans. why is the price going up and we get less? host: pharmaceutical isn't really in your coverage, do you want to cover the foodways question? guest: company sometimes, especially during inflation, make their boxes and their packaging smaller and charge the same or a little more for that. that is something we see with companies in the rising costs for sure. host: meredith lee on twitter.

caller: we had a lot of -- from china.

host: do we get much from chinese manufacturers? guest: i am not sure about that. caller: it don't help when food is held up at the borders. like the governor in texas holding up the truck set the border. it don't help the food chain. guest: the texas governor had a policy that stopped charts carrying from mexico and

southern border. caller: i am a sinful man. -- i am a simple man. the answer seems really simple. i want to understand, at least open it up temporarily.

guest: republicans have been quick to criticize the plans. host: politicos food and agricultural reporter. you can find her work at politico.com. so much for your time this morning. that doesn't for our program

here on the washington journal. we are back tomorrow. we now take you live to the floor. >> the house will be in order. appoint the honorable lori trahan to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, nancy pelosi, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the order of the house of january 10, 2022, the chair will now recognize members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning hour debate. the chair will alternate recognition between the parties. with time equally allocated between parties and each member