charter communications. >> upgrading technology, empowering opportunity in communities big and small, charter is connecting us. >> along with these other television providers to begin a front row seat to democracy. coming up on today's edition of washington journal, we will discuss the killing of al qaeda leader ayman al-zawahir and what it means with jamil jaffer from george mason university. and then sara collins from the commonwealth fund talks about the reconciliation bill and we

will talk about the 2022 conservative political action conference in the future of the republican party with natalie allison. join the discussion with your phone calls, facebook comments and tweets. "washington journal," is next. host: flag said half-staff of a representative who was killed in a car crash in her home state. this week, voters voted down a change to the constitution. abortion will play a large part in the midterm election and how republicans are expressing concern about that as well.

tell us if abortion is a big topic for you in this upcoming election. (202) 748-8001 for republicans, (202) 748-8000 for democrats, (202) 748-8002 for independents. you can also post on twitter or instagram. wall street looking at that result of what happened in kansas concerning the constitutional amendment that was turned back. after kansas abortion vote, they are weighing the lessons for fall. republican analysts saw a flashing yellow warning sign for their party which generally backs abortion restrictions until the supreme court overturned roe v. wade with voters agitated with inflation,

most analysts say the election environment favors republican candidates. but the referendum drew twice as many voters. it could incite more democratic voters and sway independence. he writes that kansas is just the first test of public opposition to outright bans on abortion. a referendum in montana would require care for infants born alive after an abortion and alaska will vote on whether to hold a constitutional convention which would allow social conservatives to remove a private see clause which has interpreted abortion

access. in michigan, they would strike down an abortion band that would otherwise go into effect. that is the analysis from the washington post. there is more that we will read and let you see in this upcoming hour. maybe your state has an upcoming amendment. (202) 748-8001 for republicans, (202) 748-8000 for democrats, (202) 748-8002 for independence. president biden signed an executive order. he made comments on what happened in kansas what he thinks it means for midterms. [video clip]

they intend to go further, including nationwide bands on abortion and every circumstance. as i said before, this fight is not over. we saw that last night in kansas. in the opinion of the people, women are not without electoral or political power. women will go to the ballot box and ensure the women have right to choose. as i said last month, i don't think the court has any notion of that matter. i don't think they have a clue about the power of women. last night, they found out.

women and men did exercise their electoral power. voters in kansas defeated a ballot initiative to remove the right to choose an abortion in the kansas constitution. they are trying to strike it from the kansas constitution. a decisive vote, they made it clear that politicians should not interfere in the fundamental rights of women. the voters of kansas and a powerful signal that this fall the american people will preserve the right to an abortion. my administration has their back. host: that was president biden from the white house. axios says that they want to ensure the department of health

and human services considers all appropriate action to make sure health providers follow nondiscrimination laws so that patients can receive care without delay. another opposing viewpoint is coming from the national review. writing in a recent opinion online said this, while i am certain democrats are overreaching. i offer pro-lifers a word of caution. don't let republican politicians to consider this as evidence that abortion is toxic. it is not indicative of how americans feel about abortion policy. the democratic party is out of step with their own party's on abortion.

this debate is a messaging battle and will be more successful in the long run if we highlight the grotesque extremism on the other side. georgia starts us off on the independent line. we will hear from bill. caller: good morning pedro. thank you for taking my call. abortion is a very important issue in this upcoming election and i feel strongly that we have let the people down of this country. our democracy is hanging in the balance. when we can have three or four justices who can decide what we can do and what we can't do,

then we certainly do not have a democracy. i know how we got here and it would take me a while to explain it to everybody. but we also know that we are in a divided country. we are divided by the christian nationalist to think they know more about everything. they want to take over the government. they want to tell everybody what they can and cannot do. secondly, we have a lot of young men and women today who are very confused. right now, i think president biden has made a very clear, we cannot jeopardize our country just because of a handful of people who decide what we can and cannot do. host: let's hear from rick in philadelphia on the democrats line. caller: good morning thank you for taking my call. i just want to say, i understand

both sides concerns. living in a democratic society, intelligent and educated people will have a difference of opinion. it comes to the point where you agree on what you can agree on and disagree on what you have to disagree on. my concern is, let's support single mothers and families. let's make sure we extend food stamps and tax credits. let's support the children that are alive today. i guess this debate will continue but at least those who are alive, the children, can be secured to know that they will be allowed free lunches in the schools. let's work on these programs as we continue to debate others. thank you for your time. host: from carla in oklahoma on

the republican line. caller: i don't think it's a top issue for an election at all. i think the states are using what the supreme court gave them. the right to have an election to determine whether they are stationed have an abortion or not. i don't think it's a tough issue. host: do you think it will bring more people out in general when it comes to the midterm elections? caller: no i don't think the abortion issue will bring more people out. i think it is for special elections. if the state has that on the ballot, make it might bring more people out. otherwise, it is just giving the power to the states to determine like the supreme court wanted.

i don't think it's a republican or democrat issue at all. host: a recent pull from gallup that came out on the first of this month says this about this on abortion. when americans were asked to name the most important issue, 8% focused on abortion. while not high, it is the highest percentage since gallup began tracking mentions of abortions in 1984. another 6% of americans name a related issue, problems with the nation's judicial courts. it ranks third after inflation named first. bad leadership was second, another 12% making general complaints about the economy, 5% of respondents mentioned fuel

and gas prices. this was gallup taking a look at if abortion matters to voters. this is from indiana, this is howard. caller: yes, good morning. i think the issue of abortion will factor into the general election in november and i hope it is successful in decimating the republican party which is a lost cause in my view. this whole issue with the conservative court doing away with the constitutional right is unacceptable. if you go back to the dred scott case where you had a supreme court that said all black people don't deserve any rights. that was a supreme court that said that. i think this court is equally as detrimental and dysfunctional.

i think the republican party is a lost cause and formulating all of these crazy antiabortion laws. nobody wants an unwanted pregnancy. we should be looking at what policies would help a woman so that she never arrives at an unwanted pregnancy. abortion will always happen. they always happened in history whether you change the law or not is irrelevant. what it does do it forces poor women who are faced with this significant issue having to choose drastic options. we all know of horrible cases where women died or mutilated

themselves. this whole thing is crazy to me. i hope this faces an overwhelming vote. host: speaking of indiana, its state losing one of its representatives yesterday. jackie walorski was killed yesterday. they were driving on indiana south yesterday afternoon. a car going north impacted the car. she represented the district since 2013. tributes to her are coming out

on twitter feeds. she stayed true to her hoosier values. she worked each and every day for the lives of indiana residents. her untimely death is a loss for the house of representatives. our thoughts are with her and her loved ones. others commenting as well. the house democrats sending out their tweet from their caucus chair saying my prayers as well as those with the congressional community are with her family. may god watch over their loved ones in this difficult hour. i am deeply saddened by the passing of congresswoman

walorski. as we mentioned, the capital is flying flaccid half-staff because of that. we will go to lou and highland park, illinois on the democrats line. caller: good morning, thank you for c-span. yes, abortion is a huge issue to me primarily because i think it is a constitutional right that women and their families believe they have. i think women of this country no matter whether they are democrats or republicans are sick and tired of old, white men telling them what to do with their bodies. i believe this will be the issue this year. host: let's hear from lindy in

kansas on the republican line. caller: yes, thank you for taking my call. everybody was so up in arms about roe v. wade being overturned and that it would be turned over to the states. well, it is where it should be. it has been turned over to the states and the people of each state will be able to vote on what their issue is and how they believe it should be. unfortunately, kansas has five counties that really control the state. we have 105 counties in kansas and about five counties controlled the state because most of kansas is very rural. host: i was going to ask you if you are surprised by the results

there this week? caller: not really. all of the polls suggested that there was a five-point lead for the yes vote and it turned out to be pretty far off when it ended up being 59% voted no for the amendment. everybody seems to think that kansas is such a red state when in reality, we have had more liberal governors than republican governors. this boat tells me where kansas really lies as far as red and blue goes. host: did you vote yourself on the amendment? caller: absolutely and i voted yes.

i think abortion is wrong. it is being used as a convenience to get rid of unwanted children. if it would just be an issue on rape, and says or the actual physical health of the mother instead of psychologically messed up or something. i don't think abortion would be an issue and it would not have been an issue with the roe v. wade decision. host: that was a lindy in kansas. the state that help that constitutional referendum as you heard about at the top of the show. let's hear from jeff in illinois on the independent line. caller: hi. i think it is going to be an issue in the fall but i don't think it will be as big as everyone is saying it is. i feel that the supreme court got it right this time.

i don't agree with all of their decisions but they got it right this time and taking the decision out of the hands of nine people and putting it into the hands of 329 million americans in this country. i think it is right to let each state vote on it. i know a lot of people don't agree with that. i think 329 million people have more voice than nine old men sitting on a judge's bench. i just wanted to say condolences to the families of those who are lost in the car accident yesterday. i think it is time our country comes together as a nation and a lot of these problems we are having goes away. host: let's go to dan in washington state in spokane. caller: i also send my

condolences to those families affected from the car wreck. i would like to start with the scripture. woe unto a people who call evil good and good evil and make the innocent pray. i am so totally against what is called abortion which is actually a killing of innocent life. it is a shame. it is a terrible stain on this nation and i don't think he will be able to survive as a people if we continue to slaughter the innocent unborn babies that god would have blessed these people with. there is no middle ground on this. this is not politics. this is almighty god. this is a reenactment of a

forbidden process called child sacrifice. every nation that has engaged in child sacrifice has been eliminated. they no longer exist. and here we are killing over 60 million innocent lives. it is a disgrace. host: joseph next he is in indiana on the democrats line. caller: my concern with it all is taking away the rights of all women. what is next? they will come to your house? this abortion issue should be left up to each woman and individual. you have a good day. host: from our twitter feed and you can post there on http://twitter.com/cspanwj.

she says that abortion is below inflation. american joseph said i wish the government never got involved with abortion, there is no right answer and it is to personal. taking the lives for unborn babies is an issue for me all of the time. and sonja saying the right to control my own body is my primary issue and always has been. those are some of the comments off twitter. reporting on tuesday, a group of senate democrats on that day introduce legislation that would protect physicians who provided abortion services in states where they are still legal from nonstop attacks from republicans.

they said in a statement, they want to pass the lead health care providers perform health care act. that is what is going on there. there is also a debate when it comes to protections on abortion on the senate floor on wednesday. this is from jacky rosen's, one of the cosponsors and here's a portion of what she has to say. [video clip] >> if republican extremists have their way they will enact a rigid abortion band that will affect women and their doctors with possible jail time. anti-choice states are looking to stop women from going to

pro-choice states to seek care. they are also going after the doctors where they were simply doing their jobs and taking care of their patients. this is utterly and completely outrageous. we cannot allow this to happen. that is why senators murray, lujan and i introduced protection for doctors in nevada where abortion remains legal. protect those doctors from facing prosecution by anti-joy states. let me be clear, no doctor should ever be jailed for providing women with their reproductive and lifesaving care they may need wherever those women are from. host: there is more to that debate, we will show you portions of that as we go on this morning. what it might mean for november and beyond.

this is chris murphy, the anti-choice movement will look at the result and realize their best path for criminalizing abortion will be a federal ban. on the house side, debbie lesko talking about the executive order, the president is signing another order to further his pro-abortion agenda. voters in kansas just voted overwhelmingly trusting women to make their own reproductive choices. senator elizabeth warren saying abortion rights were on the ballot for the first time since road. e. i am grateful for everyone who stopped this ballot measure in its tracks. from vermont on the republican line. caller: good morning.

thank you for taking my call. i don't know where it is written in the constitution that abortion is anyone's legal right. i really don't know any state that is trying to completely ban where a woman's life is in danger. allstate say that if her life is in danger. if the woman's life is in danger, than it is a decision between her and her doctor. abortion should not really be. god says he knew us before we were in our mother's womb. if you have an abortion, it should be so rare. it used to be so rare. it was a medical and the success necessity. we should never take any ending of human life lightly. host: one other perspective from

the kansas decision. this coming from eric whalen, one possible lesson from the kansas election when they see a choice between two options one too restrictive, one too permissive. they will go with the one that is too permissive. they need to meet the voters where they are. our facebook page open to you as well at facebook.com/cspan. from florida on the independent line. caller: good morning pedro. i find it laughable on so many fronts to hear individuals who are republican who will chant we are against big government. i can't think of a more definitive example of government

telling women, you need to have a child. it is their body. these are the same people when covid was decimating this country who refused to wear masks. who refused to get vaccinated. who refused to care about their fellow citizens, their fellow christians. this has nothing to do with their religion. it is women's bodies, it is their bodies. it is an credibly hypocritical to impose their christian beliefs on other people who it is not their faith. 329 million people don't get us a say in a woman's body. we claim to be free but this is the opposite of that. it is total hypocrisy. i am tired of hearing big government. host: is this a big-time

election issue for you? caller: it is, it is one of many. it is so hypocritical. for those clamoring for their religious right. it is the woman's right. host: we will go to maury from pennsylvania on the republican line. caller: i just wanted to comment on one of the callers. it is such a red herring to say the doctors will be arrested for performing abortions. the whole purpose of being pro-life is to defend the right of an unborn child. it has nothing to do with who goes to jail. we don't have to kill people as a solution to any problem. we can offer better solutions to people who are pregnant than killing their children. this is a brand-new thing even

though it is 50 years old. host: as a midterm election issue is this one for you? caller: absolutely. these unborn children need protecting. we should do everything we can to help the mothers and help the unborn babies. killing them is never an option. as far as the government is concerned, the only government i have ever heard of are the ones that force women to have abortions. i have never heard of the government force women to have children. abortion is not a positive thing in any respect. host: that color in pennsylvania. we will continue on for the next half-hour. if you want to talk about the topic of abortion in the light of the kansas decision. telling us if you think it is a midterm election issue for you. (202) 748-8001 for republicans,

(202) 748-8000 for democrats, (202) 748-8002 for independence. some republicans privately acknowledge that what unfolded in kansas was concerning. the outcome has sent a cold chill up the spine of many republicans. one republicans saying that many republicans had little to say about the vote. the dueling messages set the stage for a fall campaign in which each major party will focus on different issues. doris on our line for democrats from atlanta, georgia. caller: i believe the abortion issue is an important reason to

go out and vote. clarence thomas has already boldly stated that this is the first step in dictating our basic rights. there are other things coming down the pike. contraception, i believe these people will want to control contraception, who we love, what we think and what we read. it is a control issue, this abortion issue. it is not an issue of life because if they loved children and the unborn they would take care of them once they are born and i don't see an indication of that. especially, from the republicans. i don't see the republicans doing very much lately other than loving trump.

they are not handling policy. it is the democrats who are trying to get things done. the only thing that the republicans are doing is standing in the way. host: let's hear from another kansan on the republican line. this is elaine. caller: good morning pedro. i have never called before. but this issue has me so upset i have not been able to sleep. i was chased on the highway turning home from a business trip. at 29 years old, i was chased on the highway by a huge white truck. he hit me from behind. i sped up as fast as i could. he passed me, he cut me off. i veered away, got away.

i got away three times until he cut me off so drastically i could not get away. by the time my tires screeched, by the time he was at my window he smashed my window with the pipe. he pulled me out by the hair with a knife to my neck, picked me up, threw me into his pickup truck and drove off with me. host: how does this relate to the abortion issue? caller: if i had been pregnant i would have been forced to have that child. i was married, how would my husband have handled that? my family and friends were devastated by that. how was i expected to carry that baby to term? the people that work could not look at me when i went back to work two months later.

how do you think i would have handled it the next eight months after that with my stomach getting bigger every day? i was being shunned as it was. not because they thought it was my fault but because they could not handle approaching me and saying i am so sorry about what you went through. host: with all of that in mind, how does that inform your decisions on abortion and how you feel about it as a political issue? caller: it is cruel for any government official to put through a pregnancy after such a violent rate. thank you very much. host: let's hear from more in georgia on the democrats line. moore in georgia. caller: i live in georgia.

i am 72 years old. when i came up under states rights. back then, i didn't have any rights. states don't have the right to do anything. this is the united states. host: the new york post taking a look at the decision made by kansans and their editorial. taking a look at the issue, they wrote kansas just proved that democracy works just as the supreme court said it would. they overturned the constitutional amendment. that vote set and unmistakable message for abortion rights in the first major test of the dobbs decision.

not banning abortion but letting americans decide restriction they want in their state. pro-choice activists pretend dobbs banned abortion. we will go to robert in washington state on the independent line. caller: i just wanted to say, people who say there is a constitutional right to an abortion. roe v. wade was based on privacy. in terms of the constitution, it was written by people who were having affairs with slaves.

i am not quite sure where you want to put your values that. host: as a midterm election issue, where does that fall for you? caller: like i say, i hear people say it is a constitutional right. the decision was based on privacy. host: you said that, but as far as you personally, where does it fall for you? caller: i have been on both sides of this issue. it's important that women should have a level of control in terms of their decisions about their lives. i support them. we all deserve our rights. we all deserve our voice in the government.

i hope people follow their heart in terms of the rest of the world. host: we will hear from trish in seattle washington. caller: thank you for taking my call. i was more than delighted to see kansas, really kansas, stood up and said no, this is not going to stand. republicans, take not, because this is not over. i liked mr. moore's comment earlier. look at what states rights got them? look at civil rights and what happened after reconstruction. states rights worked very well there. host: --.

i can do what i want to do with my body. i find incongruity astounding. i am hopeful. i am hopeful that this is going to be on the ropes.

if this will be a states right thing, game on. i can hardly wait to watch these pro-lifers. one lady said you should not take any life. but oklahoma, florida can hardly wait to execute people on death row. it sounds like a lot of hypocrisy to me. you heard part of the debate from jacky rosen. host: one of those opposing voices was republican mike dobb. >> many americans will not ci to eye on the issue of abortion. i am glad to see that the supreme court did what it did. return that decision to the people, to the state

legislatures. currently, indiana is debating that issue. this bill denies state legislators the right to make laws protecting life and their own states. the bill appears to be dealing with traveling freely across the nation to get an abortion. but literal reading of the text proves the true intent of the bill. it is, a backdoor into trying to upend what neighboring state legislators, it should be their responsibility. it should be people in their state to make that decision. host: we will hear from jeff, jeff is joining us from maryland on her independent line. jeff, go ahead. caller: good morning pedro. it is my first time. i am glad roe v. wade was struck down.

it never took into account any advances in medical science on the development of the child and the things that went on while conducting an abortion. i hear a lot of women say it is my body to control. nobody controls what you put in it, what other people have access to it. abortion is last-minute birth control. americans just got fed up. where their compromises made? then it went from six weeks, 10 weeks. it was never an enough for extremis. there will be a lot of contested

opinions about this in states and it is going back to where we the people can have conversations to say, where do we stand and how do we take this sensitive issue and move forward as a nation so we can come to a compromise and have this issue no longer divide the nation's as much as it does. if a woman wants to have the child the man should have to pay child support. if the man wants to raise the child, the woman says he is removed from it. that is all i have to say. i hope you have a wonderful day. host: this is surely from missouri on the democrats line. caller: the abortion issue, it

is a reason to vote yes or no. i am a christian, but as a christian god does not make me follow his 10 commandments. if god doesn't make me follow his 10 commandments, who are the supreme court to follow their rules when it comes to my body. it is wrong. they do not have the right to go into my personal life. all of those who feel like they should be able to vote on somebody else's body, they are wrong. you do not have the right. and why do you even care what somebody else does with their own body? i don't understand that. they need to think about that. if you call yourself a christian, god doesn't make you follow the 10 commandments. host: the hill takes a look at

the states who will consider similar bills to kansas. in california, proposition one, it will amend california's constitution to include the right to an abortion. the state cannot deny or interfere with an individual's reproductive freedom including their decision to have an abortion. in kentucky, they will be able to vote on whether their state's constitution that nothing requires their constitution to find an abortion. in montana, voters will weigh in on a state statue known as the medical state requirement. infants born alive at any stage of development should be considered a legal person.

require medical care to be provided to infants born alive or after an induced labor, see section. and establish a $50,000 fine or two years in prison. and vermont, taking a similar approach to california by introducing proposal five. the right to personal reproductive autonomy amendment which supports amending the vermont constitution to protect personal at on ami. that is the summary of what is on the ballot come november. it could be a midterm issue for you, a voting issue for you. call and let us know and the remaining time we have. from minnesota, cameron on the republican line. cameron in minnesota, hello. caller: my mom took me to a clinic when i was a teenager.

she gave me a pill to bring on my menstrual. the nurse there told me i was pregnant. it was performed in the office. i did not know what was going on. i was naive. i am against it of course. i will be against it when i vote. host: and because of your experience, it is a voting issue for you? we will hear from and on the democrats line.

caller: it is the top issue for me for the midterms and even though i am in new york state, the supreme court and republicans have made no secret that their agenda is to make abortion illegal nationwide. really, what they are doing is enabling rapists the right to sue a woman that the rapist impregnated and giving other people who are not even related to the woman the right to sue them into oblivion. that is wrong. that is un-american. reproductive rights is a human right. host: that was and in new york. this is spread from maryland on the republican line. caller: good morning pedro. it is not the top issue for me.

the economy will be the top issue for me. i am in maryland where i am a conservative republican. none of the democratic policies work. the abortion is you is just another thing in their bag of tricks. host: fred, go ahead and finish your thought. let's go to cornelius, i am sorry scott. scott, and organ on the independent line. -- in oregon on the independent line. caller: i am pro-abortion. i live in oregon which is a pro-abortion state. in november, we will have a new governor. i saw the debate the other day.

the republican candidate said she is antiabortion. she said she would respect the law or what the legislature says. the other two candidates are ok with abortion. i am happy about that. host: that was scott and oregon. as we told you earlier. women under medicaid here's a

portion from that conversation yesterday. [video clip] secretary of human health and services. it will work with local states where abortions are being banned in that state. executive order make sure that health care providers comply with federal orders to not delay . to evaluate the impact this health crisis has had on maternal health. this executive order builds off the task force formed last month. it will also help safeguard access to health care including the right to choose and contraception.

host: from avery in texas on the democrats line. caller: thank you for taking my call. this is a huge issue going into the elections, the primaries and everything. more importantly, it will be a bigger issue for the republicans . republicans are much better at uniting their audience behind a cause and that is something the democrats have not figured out yet. we see them use their rhetoric around the topic of abortion. a lot of comments i have heard this morning, i think we need to

change the debate around abortion before we know if it impacts democrats along. i know the republicans will say that when the democrats get back into power they will bring back abortion. that is the fear mongering i fear. it will be a matter of time and we will see where the politicians put their energy. host: joey is up next on the republican line. he's from georgia. caller: i just want people to understand that what we are talking about is about people making their own choices. christians and those who respect life, all they are making is making a choice.

the supreme court is just taking it out of the court and giving it back to individuals. if individuals have a hard time having abortion, let them move to the state that they can feel comfortable where they can do those kind of things. it is about choice. in this country, we have a system where we vote laws into our own state. if you find that it is impossible for you to live in a state that doesn't do the things you want or doesn't comply. you can move. you can move to any state that allows these things. we have to take a stand. you either take the stand that

preserves life or you take the stand that takes away life. host: that is joey in georgia. a couple of things to watch out for on the networks. this tenant judiciary committee is talking about the oversight of the fbi. director chris wray will appear before the committee. you can watch that on our c-span now at. with issues involving china, another committee looking at china's presence in the middle east. you will hear that testimony at 10:30 on c-span2, and on the act. and if you are interested in british politics. the conservative party leaders will debate each other in their party's rays to become the next prime minister after boris johnson announced his resignation. you can see that coverage live from london at 3:00 this

afternoon. on our main channel c-span and on our app. from california, the last call on this topic. this is lisa. caller: abortion is the reason i left the republican party in the 80's. i don't think people understand. up to 20% of pregnancies end in miscarriage. it is a hit or miss. what are you supposed to wait on her. . i had an abortion when i was 19 back in the 80's. i was a party animal. i was drunk for four solid days and doing all kinds of drugs. i considered it the responsible

thing to do to have an abortion. to the guy saying god knew us before the womb. that sounds like reincarnation. if god knew us before the egg was even fertilized, that means we had a life prior to that. host: as far as the voting issue for you, where does it fall? caller: it has always been a top priority for me. host: that was lisa from california finishing off this hour of calls. thank you for all of those who participated. we will hear from jamil jaffer who talks about the killing of ayman al-zawahir and what it

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>> i served -- we prosecute terrorists, we go after counterterrorism activities. conduct surveillance authorized by law that allows us to identify terrorists and other adversaries of the united states. at the end of the bush administration i served for about six month sunny the bush white house working on counterterrorism and national security measures. host: when it comes to measures of national security what is the significance of the assassination of ayman al-zawahiri? guest: taking out the leader of al qaeda is usually important. ayman al-zawahiri was part of the 9/11 plot. he was the deputy at the time for osama bin laden. he formed the islamic front against jews and crusaders p that was the beginning of the big -- al qaeda movement.

we focus on isis and now even that sort of faded from the headlines. the economy is the focus and the reality is they continue to plot against the united states, continue to desire to kill americans including here in the united states including mass casualty attacks. it's going to force al qaeda to go underground for a. of time and that's a good thing. it could inspire attacks but it could early for little bit. host: osama bin laden was the character and the personality. guest: when he formed with bin laden he took it from egg terrorist group and release banded their view to global jihad. he inspired people to do that. ayman al-zawahiri was the coo who really made it happen. host: you talked about planning

do you know if there was any current planning by al qaeda or affiliated groups? guest: we do know that he continued to put out videos. he put videos out on the attacks. we knew he was still alive he tried to inspire if you are there, then april of this year -- how suck in for get it that he was found in afghanistan? guest: it says he felt comfortable enough to come to kabul and live there. we got him there so he wasn't there -- that comfortable. after bin laden so you have to seep most recently the network with the number 22 al-zawahiri.

key player, ran a terrorist network. the fact that we know al qaeda knew he was there, he had been housed by a network member. no he was there and was protecting him at the time. host: our guest will be with us to talk about this recent even if you want to ask and you can call (202) 748-8001 for republicans. (202) 748-8000 free democrats and (202) 748-8002 for independents and if you want to text or question you can do that at (202) 748-8003. you can post on twitter and facebook as well. let's hear from the president regarding this counterterrorism operation. [video clip] pres. biden: al-zawahiri has been a leader of al qaeda. from hiding he coordinated al

qaeda's branches and all around the world including operational guidance and called for inspiring attacks against u.s. targets. he made videos including in the recent weeks to call for his followers to attack the united states and our allies. now, just has been delivered. this terrorist leader is no more. people around the world no longer need to worry about this vicious killer. the united states continues to demonstrate our resolve and capacity to defend the american people against those who seek to do us harm. we make it clear again tonight that no matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide, if you are a threat to our people, the united states will find you and take you out. host: a little bit of what the president said. guest: the president is right

that the reach of the united states as long. our patience is long. no matter if it takes 22 years we will come, we will find you, we will take you out. that was not just the message to al-zawahiri but any new leader that comes in or al qaeda. you cannot attack the united states and get away with it. the president's right to take credit. this was built on 20 years of intelligence operatives, war fighters and leaders who have been watching trying to identify there is al-zawahiri, working we find him? the details of how they found him a really interesting. i think the big question is the president said look, this is a vindication. we don't have to be in afghanistan. it's a debatable point there is a discussion to be had about that question. certainly we were able to take up bin laden without having operations there. does that mean that the overall situation, are we as a safe as when we had troops in

afghanistan? that is a debatable question. human intelligence then probably wasn't existing in afghanistan. host: talk about the surveillance aspect and the information collected in order to order the strike. guest: i think there is more information coming out now. we don't have the full picture get but what we do know is that they identified bin laden's wife and children in kabul. they had been conducting efforts to avoid surveillance for they know how to do this. they operate in like nations. nonetheless they were able to identify the wife into the children. and starts keeping an eye on the house what they found was an elderly gentleman who didn't leave the house at all. unlike bin laden, al-zawahiri would come out to the balcony. an exposed balcony. they can see him and they identified him. between april and now, they

identified him, and when does he come outside, how long is he out there? ella -- it allowed them to take a very careful precision strike. he is exposed, we know it's him for sure, they got briefed and they decided to do is use it to hellfire missiles and take amount while on the balcony of the which was a real opportunity to conduct the operation with minimal risk and in this case no seville and -- civilian casualties. host:. descriptive and the hellfire missiles these are common uses over the horizon kind of things. do you see more of that being used? guest: not necessarily, you can use drones were you have humans operations and humans on the grounds it's often times more effective you have to follow them for so long and the like.

they are most effective are you have on the grounds capability but yes, jones can be run, we run joint operations often. typically they fly from a local area and in this case, this was a drone that had missiles on it. we don't know whether the missiles were the explosive variety. we do have these hellfire missiles that have blades on them that conduct operations without exploding. some have a low yield explosive. but the end of the day what's important about this operation is we did do this on the ground but it's not clear because that is the ultimate success in counterterrorism. proof of operations. i think others are skeptical. you have more limited capabilities to do this again for the number two, number three

of al qaeda. host: oregon our -- is our first call. all is on the independent line. good morning. go ahead. caller: good morning. i am watching, what you guys are talking about and i'm not sure what it all means. guest: i think what it means is we have put al qaeda back on its heels. we have successfully taken out a key leader. this has been happening out over the last 20 years per it we have been taking out the number threes, the number twos and key operators for a while. this has kept al qaeda on the run and it makes it harder for them to plan large-scale terrorist attacks that we saw on 9/11. we have been safe for 20 years because of this constant pressure we kept on al qaeda.

no large-scale attacks. if we can keep the pressure up as we have for the last few decades i think we can successfully keep the nation naifa. -- safe. we got bin laden, we got al-zawahiri now it's time -- they want to regroup and will have large-scale attacks. host: of you are on twitter makes the comment i thought we weren't allowed to kill someone for no reason. we are not at war with them. let me expand on this. guest: in the immediate -- aftermath of the 9/11 attacks congress passed the immediate use of military force is been in place for two decades. that remains, the president continues that authority. thickly the operations and use any necessary force against the

people he determines conducted or involved in planning the attacks. in this case al-zawahiri a key leader in non--- 9/11. the president has independent authority as commander-in-chief to go after people who are threatening the united states but when you combine that with congress's authority jackson would say the president is at the height of his authority, and congress's authority yes it remains active and that is what the present was acting under. host: should be reviewed -- revamped for the modern-day we are under now? guest: there is a lot of debate going on that would serve back in 2013 were debating on this in question could be focused in on a certain set of groups? could resort -- focus on a certain geographic area? is it too broad is it to open?

a couple senators, a lot of senators were interested in bipartisan to come together to tighten it up we are -- ongoing fight against terrorism. we are authorizing the tour lunch -- the challenge has been to get a large enough group of senators who share the view. you couldn't find that middle ground, the vital center and you know things have gotten in politics with our national security. i think it is harder today than it was back then five or six years ago to get that up. host: we will hear from derrick in washington state. caller: you're doing more talking, let me ask you a few questions about when you were serving under the bush administration. i want to know about the wireless tapping, the torture, and the black sites. in the constitution means

nothing. you people go to college to be lawyers and the only thing that matters, the constitution being interpreted doesn't mean anything. abortion was illegal now it's legal then it was illegal. you will be backing the administration but america the biggest threat is domestic terrorism, white racists who are in washington, d.c. and these representatives. thank you. host: some of the things that happened under the bush administration counter the immediate threat after 9/11. it was highly debated in congress and the government. the question of wiretapping and conducting surveillance to protect the nation. we know the president authorized certain activities after the 9/11 attacks. authorized the surveillance of phone calls into and out of the united states using metadata. much of that was authorized by the intelligence court in 2004.

again in 2007 and by the court, they authorized it and of course engaged in illegal disclosure there was a debate in congress about it. a variety of laws including the section 702, the amendments act and the usa freedom act they put restrictions and they also authorize those programs. i know we talk about the detention and interrogation of terror suspects. we know again the president conducted an operation to capture certain terrorists. there were held in overseas like -- locations and there were things conducted will be engaged in what was called enhanced interrogation measures. obama famously said we tortured some folks and there was a debate in congress we tightened up the rules on that. that is how america operates. we try to protect our national security. we restrict certain things that's what we do.

and the last point is about domestic terrorism, it is a threat we understand. we saw what happened on january 6, the outrageous activities that day. we know the justice department is very focused on that. i served under the bush administration led by matt olson it has focused on domestic terrorism and they are spinning time looking at that. there is a debate to be had, how do we deal with that? these are really important issues. we should debate and discuss and argue about. that's what makes america a great country. host: adam in kentucky, independent line. caller: hi, good morning. you know derrick brought up my point which would be does the amu under the president extend to domestic terrorism and the case i would point out is he still on 9/11 with george bush and said this war is not against

the nation of islam and rather against the people who see to do harm against the united states. then fast forward to the obama administration, a u.s. citizen, i'm not a supporter of this guide but a u.s. citizen was killed in yemen so i would like your guest to speak to that. guest: great question about the killing of an american citizen overseas. he actually took a small leaping terrorist group and turned it into a very aggressive, very successful international terrorist operation. dual citizen born here in the united states. just over the river here in virginia for a while. ultimately, did join up with al qaeda and what happened here was there went through analysis and

said if we have an american leader -- citizen who went overseas to conduct terrorist operations against the united states and inspired and set the guy who captured on the plane i believe in detroit, he put up a bomb on that plane. he was active in the operations in the obama administration made the determination with the justice department to use military force combined with the president's authority to get a senior al qaeda leader there was a determination made by the u.s. government that he is a senior operations leader and was in imminent threat. they can take action without a court order. you can't imagine how to get a court order, that complied with the requirement of our constitution including the due process clause of the first amendment.

this is not a clear question. it is a highly debated question. some say that is completely not acceptable a lot of people are very careful and determine that was lawful under the u.s. constitution. host: he makes the case like you did earlier why was america's number one most wanted in a gated community and how many are moving into the suburbs of ask of -- afghanistan? how might that change as far as who is going there and what might actually happen once there? guest: i think the tele-bent or reformed. they made a lot of efforts to look different than the television of the late 90's but they are not reformed. they were involved as a government back around 911 like the ones that supported bin laden, after 9/11 attacks they refused to handle the united states we don't have to invade afghanistan you can give us bin

laden they chose not to do that. they went into hiding for 20 years they fought against us and ultimately president trump made a deal with them biden cared out that deal and now before the anniversary of 9/11 came back into power, they are -- the number two runs a beautiful -- brutal terrorist network. they are at the heart of the government. his no question al-zawahiri felt comfortable going back to kabul. he was wrong that was a theory and the taliban government took him. it might come out, i would be skeptical -- including not allowing american citizen green card holders to leave during the evacuation pair there were not helpful. i was involved directly in the efforts to get americans out of

there. americans were stopped repeatedly and brutalized by the taliban. they are trustworthy partners that we can work with them, that is not true. they are a terrorist group and they are in charge. host: what is it mean for security measures if we have taken a hands-off approach? guest: i worry we are more vulnerable today because we are not present in afghanistan. we don't have a military operation or intelligence operatives on the ground. the president deserves very strong credit as intelligence operators the reality is i think we are less safe today because of the withdrawal, because the taliban are in charge. i feel we are not safe today. host: we will hear from john in alabama. go ahead, you're next. caller: yes, i would like to say that i applaud ms. pelosi for

going to china and i think that americans should get together and be stronger because of china and russia because we need more bombs to take out, and that's all i have to say thank you. guest: john makes an important point here. host: pelosi is to be credited for going to taiwan and standing up to the threats the chinese made about taking action against her and our allies in taiwan. i think, frank lyons wish the biden administration had been more supportive of her effort to go. that is proven true, china did not undertake any of the threats. i do -- he's right. they can come together around the long-term threat that china

poses for our national security. we are seeing unfortunately now china is conducting live fire exercises. that may result in short-term economic challenge. there is debate now about whether we should try to run the blockade and potentially get into a, -- conflict with the chinese. one side says it could happen for weeks and months. we are in of situation with our allies some people say we made the point nancy pelosi went to taiwan. we have to let that play out. this is a hard question on what i think the white house has a big heart on. if we are going to go to war, if the chinese to invade the president can convince the american people we need leadership in d.c. to make clear to americans white, what is it

about taiwan, the democracy there and the economic ties we have with that nation including semi conductors that make it important to our economic security. host: in florida, republican line. james is next. caller: i was calling to find out, i read that al-zawahiri died a couple of years. is that a fake news or? you know, it was reported that he was, he had passed away of natural causes. guest: we see a lot of reports about al-zawahiri and lawton before we killed him. that he died of natural causes or internal squabble or the like. in this case we know that al-zawahiri was a lie for two reasons, he taped and released videos in 2021 and april 2022 that referred to activities taking place in december 2021.

so we know at least as of december 2021 he was very much alive. so he did not die of natural causes a while back. in this case the administration had eyes on him. they identified him individually unlike bin laden who when they took pictures of him on the ground. host: a viewer alludes to that point. we must have intelligence on the ground in afghanistan if we didn't, how did we know that bin laden's wife and children were living there? guest: one of the ways, the way we identify the scent of bin laden we spent years and years trying to track his couriers. people who might be associated with him and the first sign we saw that we might be onto something was the fact that one of his couriers would travel to a location and take the cell phone battery's out and put them back in.

they would make phone calls and one phone call he made was to his mother. he called, we were covering his mother's home phone and he said i'm with the same i used to do -- they with before. we thought maybe he was with bin laden and they followed him. remember, pakistan was not a place we had a large-scale operation. we did have an embassy and the like but we were able to get folks to follow him. he goes to this weird compound with a big gate kind of unusual for the neighborhood. they burned other trash, they were very private. there were a lot of women and children in the house. as one gentleman we saw never left. could have been a drug smaller, -- drug smuggler. i think you could assume that was the similar type of footprint on the ground in afghanistan. no u.s. embassy, no military on the ground.

some sort of intelligence, some sort of allied human intelligence combined with what we do know is they provided multiple streams of intelligence to identify the family, identify al-zawahiri and we actually saw him with cameras from the john -- drone. it's a think tank. we were set up about five years ago. needed to bring a bipartisan group together in regards to the political questions. identify real concrete actual solutions. we generally don't tend to write our long articles. you can get members of congress they sent deep analysis. you can pick it up in your car on the way to a meeting, read it, and have something intelligent to say when you get there. it is the calm set -- concept.

a lot of smart academics, policymakers. we sent women to the trump administration. we sent to the biden administration. host: here is thomas in alabama. republican line for our guest: ahead. caller: good morning. i love your show. and i watch it regularly. my question is do other countries or organizations have the capability of the drone strike and what prevents these other organizations from striking the u.s. or somebody on their list? guest: makes an important point. we do know that many other nations over the last decade or so have developed drone capabilities including armed drones. turkey sold drones to the forces

in -- operating in the ukraine theater. we know a lot of our allies and a lot of our adversaries have during capabilities. we do need to be concerned about drones being used to attack americans. obviously we have two oceans to protect us from threats. therefore -- of course we have the u.s. air force that keeps an eye on the nation. i think it is likely we will be able to identify such a threat and take them out. it is a fair point that now our adversaries are increasingly, they can get access to modern technology including drones. we know they have a desire to obtain more weapons, cyber capabilities, biological weapons and drones that are certainly on the path. they want them, they can get them from some of their allies. it is a concern about terrorist groups and nations using drones

against america. host: color from indiana, independent line. caller: thank you very much c-span and i must offer my apologies right off the bat. i am not certain of the topic that you guys are discussing here appeared i just woke up and die wanted to make a comment about the unfortunate visit to taiwan by nancy pelosi. one of the greatest environmental commentators and authors of our lives warned the u.n. security council last year that climate change is a very great threat. he is also remarked that it's a problem that is so vague, is going to require transnational cooperation which we have never seen. those two players won't beat the

united states and china. instead of ramping up the tensions and ignoring the one principle, we should be opening scientific technical dialogue so we can unite our strengths and deal with this problem. thank you, and think you c-span. guest: he makes an important point about climate change and what an ac -- nancy pelosi's visit meant. it was the right thing to do, it was important to make her that we support our allies in taiwan. but this question about whether we should ally with china or -- when it comes to these global issues is an important one. china is the single largest polluter across the globe. they are not abiding by a lot of what we agreed to abide by. they are building their economy on the backs of powerplants and

the like. so the idea that china is a player when it comes to climate change is hard to imagine. one of the biggest concerns we have today as we are moving to a largely electric vehicle economy. at the core of the batteries are these rare earth components and critical minerals like cobalt, like nickel, china made an effort to try to secure the market. we had very few domestic sources for these minerals so it is important that we find a way to make ourselves independent domestically or with allies to get those to make the green transition. we have to be independent, china is not a good actor. they can cut off our supply right away and forces not to survive. that changes the economy and a fundamental way and i think we have to be careful with that. the idea that's not realistic.

the fact of the matter is they don't share all the world -- our worldview. what amounts to prison camps, we sell what they did in hong kong. we see what they have done in taiwan and the like. religious freedom doesn't exist in china. it's a real challenge for us as a nation but aaron is right to raise the question, what does it mean when it comes to issues like climate change. host: are run talks are set to resume what do you think it means as we go forward? guest: i run is on the verge and they have been for a long time whether you measure that in months or a year at best the nuclear core by the obama administration we are year out. the fact of the matter is iran is determined to get a nuclear weapon. i think it is not particularly well-founded.

it allowed congress to vote on the nuclear ill. we knew they didn't have the support of the american people or members in congress. then president trump came in, president biden has been trying to get tech intro to extend the time friend the question is can you extend the deal long enough to make it worth it? can you get the right kinds of provisions and will they do a deal now at this point? that's what i think the biden administration is challenged on. they haven't done that. the problem is they know they have us over a barrel and the question becomes is there a middle ground or not? i worry there isn't. remember by the way i ran husband activities -- has bad activities. the biden administration, make

that part of a deal otherwise it's not necessarily a good deal for the united states. host: jim from west virginia independent line. caller: good morning, think you for taking my call. in the previous administration there was an event that took place. i don't think that's quite enough attention and that was the assassination of a general. i believe we have laws on our books about assassinating foreign leaders and although he was not the head of my run -- iran as the military leader and as a result of his assassination 176 innocent lives were lost. when iran retell you waited an airliner was accidentally shot down. so i'm wondering whether the general who i don't believe was

contemplating or developing any plans to attack our country was a legitimate target. thank you. guest: an important question john raises. under the trump administration. what's important to remember about the assassination it was an executive order. that's not -- that is about political leaders. in this case, he was a military leader, a general. the leader of the elite force of the military. this was a targeted military strike and the question then becomes what was he doing to deserve such a straight? what happened to lead up that attack? we saw the missile attacks against american bases in a rock over again. you cannot kill americans with impunity they continued to do

it. they did it that way for years. they supported terrorist groups that killed hundreds of american soldiers on the ground there in the iraq area. we told them you have to stop. and ultimately president trump made the decision it was a lawful military strike and took them out. there were fears after that a lot of people thought we would be at war with iran. this is going to be a huge conflict and in fact they did not respond in any effective way. the ukrainian airliner was shot down. it whether it was a mistake or night, we can debate but they did not take direct retaliation against americans. i think that is a demonstration that at times in order to carve that activity you have to get aggressive. it's like sitting on the playground we have to tell our kids don't put -- don't punch the bully back. but the truth of it is, one of the most effective things punch

the bully. not saying you should do that but i will tell you in international politics sometimes you have to punch the bully in the face to make it clear you won't stand for this. that is what president trump did and i think it was the right thing. we saw the iranians walk back as a result of that. we spent a lot of time talking about isis. host: what is the status of isis these days? guest: we have allies there in the region. there was a successful long-term operation. they remained there but isis hasn't disappeared. they are in hiding. they faded into the background. like al qaeda they took a page out of the al qaeda book. it broke up, they started creating franchises around the globe. you see isis franchises in africa, asia, and they like al qaeda try to inspire attacks

locally. we know that we have seen isis operatives talking to americans in the united states and around and moving to encrypted communications we don't have access to and we are concerned they are putting terrorist attacks. we haven't seen major attacks conducted yet but there is a fear that that is a potential. isis, like al qaeda very much a real threat. they are on the run, al qaeda was on the run, but very much interested in conducting large-scale attacks. host: jim in arkansas, hi. caller: good morning, settlement. i have a novel idea. why don't we blockade our ports? until china that as long as they

are not being good partners with taiwan that their ships will not be allowed to unload their containers in the united states? period. guest: it's a real interesting idea but the one challenge with that is we americans rely on a lot on the chinese good spirit almost everything in your house, almost everything you are wearing at least one of two pieces or are -- or more are made in china. it would teach them as much as we rely on them they rely upon us. it would hurt them, it would cost them but it will also raise prices in america and with inflation it will be a challenge to do that. we have seen gas prices, food prices and other things hi. the administration will have to think carefully before they close ports. it's going to be a long-term cause is the economic relations. it's not like the cold war rush over there were few economic

ties. it was a political and military ideological fight. now in some ways i think that's a good thing it makes it likely -- less likely. a fight with them over anything including taiwan, that would be costly not just for them but for us as well. host: virginia lives in sacramento, independent line. good morning. caller: i heard your guests say he feels comfortable, safer in the united states. i don't feel that way because of the domestic terrorism that is going on here. we are quick to take out the people that are causing problems overseas but we have people here in this country that are going around in malls, shooting theaters that are taking out people but we let them live. so how can you fix that? i would like to hear how america

is going to deal with these domestic terrorists. guest: really good point. we have to get a hold on it peered we can't have americans walking into schools and malls and killing other americans. we have to take aggressive action. the justice department and biden administration have taken a strong stance. they want to identify these folks and put them into over a long time. we are not going to, nor should we conduct counterterrorism type operations in the united states. this needs to be a law enforcement matter when it comes to domestic terrorism but that doesn't mean we don't need to be aggressive or it doesn't mean we don't need to put them in jail. we do have the ability to potentially, i mean they have the death penalty. there are these opportunities but we have to go to our legal process. if we can identify them before that happens and be able to address that, one thing to think about as a nation is there is a lot of talk on the internet in

these forums and the like for people are trying to inspire others to conduct international terrorism but the messick terrorism is a thing how do we deal with that? we think about free speech and the ability to have debates about political issues but where is the line between debate and terrorism? it is about a minute threat. if it is a vile act, imminent threat you can't yell fire in a crowded theater that's not free speech. where is the line had a we police that in a modern era with all these social media outlets? how do we police all that while allowing americans to debate political issues question mark that is a tough question. host: law school national security serves as founder thank you for joining us this morning. coming up we are going to talk about a new report showing

americans lack health insurance at the start of this year we will talk about some of the factors of why that happened and also the future of health care and if the united states with sarah collins, the vice president of health care coverage. more on that when "washington journal" continues. watch c-span's live coverage of the cpac conference beginning at 4:30 p.m. eastern with commentator sean hannity then a discussion on liz cheney and the january 6 hearings. on friday, our coverage continues at 11:15 eastern with opening comments by ceo mike lindell. and by republican senator ted cruz and on saturday our coverage continues with just -- at 4:45 p.m. eastern.

watch the cpac annual conference live today on c-span, the free video app or online at c-span.org. ♪ >> american history tv, saturdays on c-span two exploring the people and events that tell the american story. bob calhoun wrote the murders that made us. at 2 p.m. eastern on the presidency, president dwight eisenhower's grandson author of going home to glory a memoir of life with dwight d eisenhower talks about his leadership in the military and his presidency. exploring the american story watch american history tv saturdays on c-span two and fight a full schedule on your program guide or watch anytime

online. >> now available in the c-span shop. 2022 congressional directory. order a copy of the congressional directory. this compact spiral-bound book is your guide to the federal government with contact information for every member of congress. also contact information for state governors and the biden administration cabinet. order your copy now at c-spanshop.org or scan the code with your smartphone. every c-span shop purchase ops support the nonprofit operation. >> "washington journal" continues. host: here to talk about health care and of the united states. ms. collins, things for joining us. guest: thank you for having me. host: a little bit about the

commonwealth fund, what is it as far as the things you do with health care? guest: we are a nonprofit, nonpartisan we support health care issues and make grants to promote better access. host: we might be talking about issues in the senate when it comes to health care but before that i want to ask you about this new survey that came out that shows health care in the united states particularly for those under the affordable care act. 8% in the first quarter of 2022, that previous number was 9% in 2016. what is the number tell you? why is it significant? guest: it is really as historic moment in our progress. it is a major drop. this is really

6 million people. we have seen an uptick in the number of uninsured and it is a significant downward trend. it's on a path for universal coverage. that we are down significantly from the peak of 33 million uninsured in 2019. and the biggest truck, sure it occurred among people with low and moderate incomes. host: also from that statistic about the survey half of those they got insurance from ac marketplaces can you elaborate on that? guest: these gains we are seeing are concurrent with several policy changes we have seen in the last few years including the implementation of the american rescue plan act.

those brought premiums down substantially in the marketplace. coverage in the marketplaces, the ac marketplaces bringing enrollment thereto a short high. in other major change that happened in 2020 with the family first coronavirus response act was that states maintain maintained people enrolled in medicaid. this is also sent medicaid and rolling to record highs. third the states expanded their medicaid programs from 2019 and 2021. this significantly reduced insurance rates. a final factor, substantial enrollment efforts advertising special aroma periods by both the biden administration and also a major effort to increase

awareness of their coverage operate -- options. host: for those who get assistance under the aca, how many of those are getting that because of federal or subsidies from the federal government? guest: the majority of people are getting subsidies from the federal government through marketplaces. one major change in the american rescue plan act was lifting the threshold about 51,000 for an individual. people about that income level weren't getting subsidies. all of a sudden the income went up to 51000 and you wouldn't have access to subsidies. this allowed people in that income reached to get subsidies. so that was also a major change in the increase to help people. just right under that threshold got subsidized coverage. host: our guest joining us until 9:30 and if you want to ask questions about health care

particularly under the aca you can call us and let us know. (202) 748-8000 if you live in the eastern and central time zone. (202) 748-8001 if you live in the mountain pacific time zones. if you get aca coverage or are insured under the aca you can call and give us your perspective at (202) 748-8002. you can also text us at (202) 748-8003. sarah collins you talked about the subsidies, do those subsidies have an end date of sorts? guest: they absolutely do. they end at the end of this year. so if that happens, we are expecting about 2 million people to drop their coverage and become uninsured. and the other major impact of that, i mentioned the much lower premiums for people people will see and improve -- increase in their premiums so this is -- it would be a very significant change. if this were to happen.

host: with that in mind, there is an effort in the senate to prevent that from happening. can you ask play that? guest: that's exactly right. inflation reduction act would include an inspection -- extension for three years. so that would prevent people from losing their coverage and save people in the marketplace thousands, thousands of dollars. host: if the aca is built on subsidies and ultimately subsidies might run out, what does that mean for the long-term structure? i know that we have seen low numbers but because it's built on subsidies what is it mean for the ability for someone to hold onto that coverage? guest: that's a really good question. these changes in the american rescue plan act alongside -- were needed. these updates were not just pandemic related.

these are bringing premiums down to a point where people compound towards their premium. these are things that should be permanent. makes premiums affordable, helps people afford their health care that they need. this is a temporary policy that was introduced during the pandemic but it is really needed by lower income families to help them afford their insurance. and help them keep get access to their health care that they need. host: on the others of that, what is the cost of the united states to provide the subsidies? guest: the extended subsidies are about 22 million dollars. $22 billion a year. so it's not an insignificant cost. but it is, it is part of our health-care system it is part of ensuring that people of access

to the health care they need. we subsidize employer coverage. i hundred 55 million people get their coverage. all health insurance in the united states, the marketplaces, medicaid, medicare are subsidized by the federal government. host: again sarah collins with the commonwealth joining us. we start off with gwen detroit, michigan. you are on with our guest. go ahead with your question or comment. could earning. caller: hi, pedro. thinks for taking my call. i was wondering about people who are like cooper drivers for a living -- uber drivers for a living and their income fluctuates. sometimes it's high, sometimes it's low. we seem to not be eligible for medicare under the affordable

care act. he needs medical insurance and i'm trying to find out what options that we have. guest: income fluctuation is always a struggle. both in medicaid and also in the marketplace. what is important to do is to go to healthcare.gov and enter your income into the website and it will help you understand where you can get coverage, whether it's through the marketplaces, what subsidies you might be eligible for, or through medicaid. but that would be a good first step to figure out whether or not you are eligible at the moment for subsidies. the other thing in the marketplaces if your income does fluctuate during the year, if it

goes down for example, you might need to the subsidies are done through the tech system so you might be eligible, you might some of get that that she might get some of that money back or you might have to pay more at the end of the year. but fluctuation is handled through the tax system. what is really important is to first look at what, go to healthcare.gov and find out what you are eligible for. it's very important. host: the information you provided, what determines what you will pay for insurance under the aca? guest: it's really driven by your income. the state you live in, the premiums that are in your state, the state premium varies dramatically across the states. the affordable care act cap's what you pay towards your premium. if you are eligible for a subsidy, regardless of what the variation in premiums is you

will pay the same amount as someone in another state. it is determined primarily by your income and your household structure. host: as far as a guide, what is the guide they are looking at as far as how much you have to make before you qualify or not lafayette? -- qualify. guest: you are eligible right now, you are eligible on the income scale so even if your income, it used to be if your income exceeded $51,000 a you are no longer eligible for subsidies. now your premium contribution is capped at a certain percent of your income. as your income rises that represents a smaller share. the natural phase that on that subsidy. you will both pay more than a certain part of your income. host: let's hear from ed in new

york. good morning, you are on with our guest. on with our guest. caller: good morning. i had a question regarding health insurance companies. i know currently they are talking about exchanging medicare's negotiation for drugs and trying to reduce the cost to seniors. i always find it puzzling that the health insurance companies, which have a stranglehold on the medical system, are not brought up as a topic of raising taxes on them. they are incredibly profitable. it does not make sense to me. i did not know if this is too much off the point. i was curious about taxes and medical insurance companies versus drug companies. guest: that is a very good point. the marketplaces -- the affordable care act introduced

new regulations to insurance markets in 2010 preventing insurers from increasing their premiums above a certain point. you are right that right now if we are just talking about the new reconciliation bill, there are provisions that address the regulatory structure of the insurance markets. it is focused mostly on prescription drugs. host: expand on that a little bit as far as the aspect of negotiating. why is this important? guest: if we just talk about prescription drug prices, medicare has not been able to negotiate prices since the new inflation reduction act would allow medicare to finally negotiate high cost drugs

starting in 2026. this brings the leverage of the federal government to bear on prices. prices are a significant issue across our health care system. the prices insurers pay through hospitals and other providers in the commercial insurance market, which is what the caller was referring to are the major driver of what we pay for our premiums and what we pay for our out-of-pocket costs, what our deductibles are. getting at those prices and allowing much more leverage, maybe to a public option in the marketplaces, would help wring some of those prices down. this is what we are seeing in the reconciliation bill with prescription drug prices. it is a broad problem in the health care system generally. host: we have a viewer who asks you if you can explain why aca premiums are higher in states that did not expand medicaid?

guest: there is a significant amount of variation in premiums across states. the fundamental reason is there is just -- variation in prices in a commercial insurance market. prices that are paid to hospitals by commercial insurers in the marketplaces and employer group markets very significantly , even within the same hospital for the same service. that is because there are proprietary negotiations that occur between insurers and providers that end up with prices that may not bear much relationship to their cost. that is the primary reason we see so much variation in premiums across the country, even beyond the medicaid expansion issue. we still see significant variation.

host: you talked about that build senate democrats were working on. what does that bill dupre states that did not expand medicaid? guest: this provision was earlier in the build back better bill, the first iteration of the reconciliation effort. this new inflation reduction act does not exclude a federal fallback option for people who are eligible for medicaid in the 12 states they have it. estimates by the urban institute show such an option would increase the number of insured by 3.2 people. this is a very big disappointment for people affected in these states, not including this option, the federal fallback leaves millions of the poorest people in the country without access to affordable health insurance. host: we are talking with sara

collins of the commonwealth fund. this is dan in lexington, kentucky. caller: thank you. means testing, subsidies, all of those things is taxation that takes from others -- from each according to his ability, to each according to their need. that is communism 101. the only way you have communism is through taxation so you can take my taxes and give it to someone else and it will never lower the prices on anything because i have no control over that. you do. thank you. host: that is dan in kentucky. anything to that? guest: i understand the point. the way to think about insurance coverage is it works best when everyone is in the same pool. the idea of insurance is when you are healthy you pay a

premium just like for your house to ensure your house against fire or flooding or your car against accidents and damage. you pay a premium even when you are not experiencing one of those events. the same is true in health care. you pay a premium when you're healthy and it is there when you are sick and need it. the most efficient way to do that is get everybody in the same pool. otherwise people are just buying insurance when they are sick, their premiums will be exorbitant. we saw that before the affordable care act went into place. obviously it cost money to pay a premium, but it prevents catastrophic problems for people when they do need health care. host: from california, this is lynn. hello. caller: is amazing to be talking

about the affordable health care , which has devastated so many people. there is help, and if you get some of the subsidies then what happens is the insurance companies still get their full pay, that is subsidized by taxpayers. the taxpayers are footing the bill once again for these subsidies. if you want to give a subsidy, why would you want to charge taxpayers? i pay $1900 a month to blue shield which is the biggest legal corruption on the planet because then they can deny your health care, they can deny what doctor you go to. by the time i even tap into my health insurance i have paid over $30,000 just in premiums before i even get to see a doctor that maybe not be of my

choice. between the pharmaceuticals and the insurance, the american people are totally getting screwed. thank you. caller: she makes an excellent point. even though we are on a path to getting everyone covered there are still significant affordability problems. premiums continue to be high and out-of-pocket costs are very high. deductibles are high in commercial insurance. we need to address the costs people are facing, both in what they pay for their insurance and also what they pay out-of-pocket when they go to the doctor. this will be an ongoing challenge for congress, for states, and for families. i would again point to the ultimate driver of these, which

are the prices commercial insurers pay. if that is politically difficult we need to continue to try to protect people from these exorbitant costs through expansions in coverage, greater attention to how much people pay as a share of their income, and how much people are being asked to pay when they go to the doctor, for tickly people who have chronic illness who have some of the highest out-of-pocket costs across the country. host: sara collins, a viewer offers this. one of they put more effort to bring down drug prices in hospitals? subsidies to hospitals to ensure cheaper pricing across the board for all patients. are there other ways to control costs? is there enough effort to do that?

caller: -- guest: that is a really good question and is a major policy challenge, both at the federal government and the state level. we are seeing a lot of activity of the state level trying to get costs under control, passing legislation to put in place a public option. other efforts at the state level . i would point out in the inflation reduction act, the bill we have been talking about that has been introduced, it does finally address the drug pricing issues and problems we are seeing in medicare and also the commercial market. the bill imposes inflation caps on drugs which limit pricing for drugs every year. inflation caps can apply to medicare and the commercial market. this is expected to dampen

prescription drug price growth. we are seeing a major effort in this reconciliation bill to address the growth and drug prices -- the growth in drug prices people are experiencing, both through out-of-pocket costs with respect to drug cost, but also in premiums they pay. host: for those of you in the eastern and central time zones (202) 748-8000, if you live in the mountain pacific time zones, (202) 748-8001. if you get insurance under the aca, (202) 748-8002. holly in michigan. hello. caller: my question is right along the lines of the other caller working on getting the down for people. i currently reduced my job from full-time to part-time to an early retirement so i could

afford health insurance as my premium was my employer was well over $1000 a month. working for health care myself, i am pretty well aware of insurance incentives to providers. thousands of dollars of year to drum up business, keep your patience in, meet a quota, and get an incentive. to me that is a way of reducing costs to us who have to have health insurance. companies pass on an incentive to insurance companies who pass it on to providers. the more people that get their immunizations, there is another incentive. why are we doing that? guest: you make excellent points

about the highly variable way that we are handling health insurance and health care costs in the united states and we see so much variation. there are administrative costs, there are efficiencies, and then the pricing between commercial insurers and hospitals and other providers, pharmaceuticals often do not bear much relationship to the actual cost of producing services for us. consumer patients bear the burden. they are ultimately responsible for that. we see growing rates of medical debt, problems paying medical bills, people cannot continue to afford the health care costs they are being asked to pay. host: there is another viewer

who offers this off of twitter. the most efficient way of paying for the services as a medical savings account where you build savings to cover a high deductible. your savings build up and then at the end without any serious illness it is a huge retirement fund. the idea of medical savings accounts? guest: more and more people do have them. people who tend to take that option in their jobs tend to be higher income. the tax benefits for health savings accounts are huge towards people with higher incomes. it has been working at savings for people with high incomes as well as for people who do not get a tax benefit and do not have the money to put towards their savings. there are probably more efficient ways of getting the

costs down for people, critically with lower incomes. host: let's hear from john in illinois. caller: i wanted to ask, how much money would we be saving if we had a single-payer medicare for all system? we are talking about how much money we are spending on insurance companies and i know the right wing is usually just going to complaint it is socialism, but would actually save us money in the long run or are we better to rely on security -- on insurance companies to financially screw us over in the end? guest: that is one of the quintessential questions is how if we ensure everybody, how much is it going to cost. the urban institute has shown you can get universal coverage by building on the affordable care act. you can also get universal coverage by a single-payer or medicare for all type option. the thing that matters in both approaches, again the fact of

this price issue, single-payer proposals, getting price down, the prices we pay our providers for their services, medicare rates would save money. the modeling that has been done does save money if those prices come down. it also depends on what is included in the plan and how much people have to contribute, what the cost sharing is. if we build on the affordable care act, what would be important is having an automatic enrollment mechanism for giving people an option such as through the public option where the price issue is what is important. paying providers through that public option would also lower costs. it comes down to the services

covered, the amount people and employers contribute to health care, even under a single-payer system. that is something that was debated heavily a few years ago. host: as we continue with this discussion, i want to highlight some work your organization has done. you offered your state health systems performance rating and looked at states and how well states perform. as far as the top five states, it is hawaii, massachusetts, connecticut and vermont. the bottom five states, missouri, texas, west virginia, oklahoma, mississippi. talk about these rankings. guest: almost every year we rank states in terms of how well health care systems in those states are performing and we ask that people have good access to health care, including insurance

company -- including insurance coverage. how healthy are they? do they smoke? are they overweight? this past year we added new question about how each state manages their covid-19 pandemic. this was a major focus of the other report. we typically use about 50 integrators -- indicators. this year we added about seven more for covid-19 measures, including vaccine rates and hospital capacity and rank the states based on that. what we found this year is the covid-19 pandemic pushed the american health care system to its limit in 2020. this is not news. it did amplify persistent gaps among state health systems as they struggle to manage this virus and it's truly devastating effects.

what we found is the states you mentioned, the top five states that enter the pandemic with stronger health-care systems and better primary care coverage, better insurance coverage, performed better during the pandemic for people then states that entered in a much weaker position such as at the bottom of the rankings. alabama, oklahoma, kentucky, mississippi, and georgia ranking near the bottom in terms of covid. states that are weak or vulnerable on a lot of the measures we always look at showed poor performance during this major public health crisis we experienced. host: commonwealthfund.org. sara collins joining us. she is there vice president for coverage and access.

joseph in new york joining us. caller: good morning, c-span. i am happy to be on this call. i am a 73-year-old veteran. i am a senior. retired. i pay over $1000 for my premiums. i have a specific question. how do i qualify for medicaid? i think it involves the question of a spend down. can you help me on that? guest: thank you very much for your question. i am very happy -- if you called me i would be very happy to get an expert on that particular question. i am not an expert on that issue but i would be happy to help you

get an answer. host: commonwealthfund.org if you want to check out how to contact them. let's go to minnesota with duane. hello. caller: presently the subsidy is based on income and there is no acid test -- there is no asset test. it seems unfair. guest: yes. that is true for marketplace coverage. that is true for marketplace coverage. if you think about the people who are getting subsidies through the marketplaces, people -- the majority of people who are getting covered have incomes under $51,000, probably as you go up the income scale fewer and

fewer people are enrolled in the market ways. people higher up are much more likely to have employer-based coverage. we know lower income people tend to have lower savings, so it may be an issue. you raise a very important point about income disparities in the country, both racial and income related. in general i think the majority of people who are getting coverage through the marketplace have relatively low savings, lebanon income wealth. -- low non-income wealth. host: harold joins us from ohio. go ahead. caller: first time caller, longtime listener. my question is -- i do not know who brought this up or anything,

but it used to be, like in october or november or december you would be in the doughnut hole. now all the sudden you are in the doughnut hole from august to september. can you give me an answer on that? guest: that is a great question. the good news is the inflation reduction act addresses this problem that so many people on medicare experience by instituting a $2000 annual cap provision on precision drug costs along with the monthly cap providing true coverage on prescription drugs. this is a change that will help people afford prescription drugs. host: as far as helping people

enroll and what the government does, what is going on concurrently in terms of helping people with enrollment, how is that effort going? guest: we saw a major change between the trump administration and the biden administration. the trump administration stop federal grants to -- thought federal grants to states could help them enroll people in the marketplace and also reduce the enrollment period. what we saw in the biden administration and also at the state level was a big expansion of the time people have to get covered. a big expansion of money to help people navigate the system. this has had an impact. it has contributed to greater enrollment in the marketplaces. host: don is up next in

washington state. go ahead. caller: i just have a comment at a quick question or two. i wanted to mention that when you guys are doing these calls, a lot of times when it is independent, republican, democrat, you need to call out what they are calling for. i am a republican. for the people at home that are counting, because there are counters. host: we are doing the lines regionally today on those who receive insurance. caller: i know you are currently but i do not always get in when that goes down. people do count. greta tried to call a lady out. you're on with our guest -- host: you are on with our guest. go ahead. my question for her is when it comes to the medicare, migrants,

whether illegal or whatever, they are getting 100% medical, food, housing, transportation, subsidies. some of them are lasting up to a couple of years with the extensions, and then with this lady saying she does not understand what a spend down is. that is a joke. i can tell you what a spend down is. it is where they make it you have to see so many different doctors to get up to a certain amount of money spending, whether it is 5000 or 10,000. once you spend that money and you can go back and try to apply for the medicare with receipts in hand that you paid that $10,000. for her to act that she does not know that simple basic thing -- host: we will let her respond to all of that. guest: i am not an expert in the over 65 insurance area.

i have more focus on the under 65 population. host: let's hear from herb in new york. caller: let me ask you this about the proposals in congress regarding these bills. my question relates to most americans do not realize that there are only two countries in the world that permit health care companies to advertise. one is the united states. the other is new zealand. the rest of the world makes it illegal. what i am getting at is the pharmaceutical industry spends more money advertising in the united states than they do for research. that is reflected in the prices we have to pay. is there anything in the legislation that you know of

that is putting us with the rest of the world, outlawing advertising on television and in newspapers for health care products, pharmaceutical products, as well as -- what was my other point? making it illegal to advertise and therefore saving -- my other point was i understand why they are buying all of this advertising, because they are also buying editorial content. there is not any television station that would permit the critical examination of the pharmaceutical industry. otherwise they would be in trouble with all of those paid ads. that is my point. host: thanks. guest: that is a great question. the bill under discussion in

congress addresses this in an indirect way. it does not outlaw advertising. it does address prices of prescription drugs by allowing medicare to negotiate drug prices for 20 drugs by 2029. that will help. it also closes inflation caps on drugs which will limit drug prices every year to not exceed the rate of inflation. it does address the issue you are raising indirectly through the drug negotiation and medicare and inflation caps and medicare and the commercial market. host: sara collins with the commonwealth fund, their vice president for funding and access. commonwealthfund.org. thanks for your time. guest: thank you so much. host: the conservative kicks off

today. we will have a reporter on in a little bit to tell you what to expect at this year's conference. you can talk about that on this open forum until 10:00. if you want to participate, (202) 748-8001, (202) 748-8000 free democrats, and for independence, (202) 748-8002. we will take those calls went "washington journal" continues. >> live sunday on in-depth, larry elder will be our guest to talk about political correctness, the left, and racial politics in the united states. he is the author of several books including 10 things you cannot say in america, what does raise have to do it, and a lot like me, a memoir about his term -- his turbulent relationship with his father. join in with your calls, facebook comments and tweets.

in-depth with larry elder live on tv on c-span2. >> sees bands the weekly podcast gives you -- c-span's the weekly podcast gives you recordings from our history, comparing the recordings of the past to today. >> we remember kathleen graham -- the skills that brought the washington post executive great media and corporate success in the enormous respect she still has today. >> great leadership is a rare and elusive quality composed of so many different attributes that must come together at the same time. intelligence, courage, high standards, personal presence, the ability to communicate, among others.

host: you can find "the weekly" on c-span now, our free mobile video app, or wherever you get your podcast. >> "washington journal" continues. host: if you want to participate in the open bones or you want to text us, (202) 748-8003. is how you do that. republicans (202) 748-8001, democrats (202) 748-8000, and independents (202) 748-8002. reporting about the death of the indiana congresswoman. this also reported three other people were killed in the crash that took place while she it does to others were driving south on indiana 19 south at 12:30 in the afternoon. it was a car going north that collided with the car. does to others were killed.

it highlights the fact that she was 58, she served indiana second district in the house of representatives since 2013. if you go to the u.s. capital, you will notice flags are at half staff today to mark the passing of the representative. passing away yesterday. when it comes to the legislative effort you heard our previous guest talk about, the inflation reduction act of 2022, rollcall has a story taking a look at where kyrsten sinema, the senator from arizona falls into the potential of its passage or not. reporting yesterday that democrats may need to make changes to the tax portion of their budget reconciliation package turn that support of the arizona senator, including possible removal of a tax increase on investment fund managers and softening a new minimum tax on the biggest corporations. the bill calls undergo other tweaks as the senate

parliamentarian continues her review. changes to the prescription drug prices are already in the works but many pieces of the package have yet to go through the formal birdbath to figure out whether the language complies with rules. this despite all of the work still underway several democratic senators will vote on the motion to proceed as soon as thursday. the beginning of that process and whether senators can offer unlimited amendments to the measure. saying "as soon as possible, but do not count on going home on the weekend." that was michigan senator debbie stabenow saying "get lots of sleep." that is the bill debated on the senate side. a deal between senator chuck shuman and joe manchin on that subject. open forum until 10:00. in georgia, marion, democrats line. caller: thank you for taking my call.

i do question for the lady before but i think it is important question for all of us. on the new bill they are talking about a possible 2000 max being implemented for part d. there has been a lot of talk back and forth, what does that really mean? somebody i respect very much wrote this. it says "wind and if the bill gets implemented, i'm wondering about the $2000 max costa medicines. with this require -- with this apply to medicines insurance companies refused to cover despite doctors prescribing them. several times we've had to pay for complete cost of our medicines because despite having medicare d are needed medicines have disappeared. that happened to me with my very important glaucoma drop."

i was allergic to the generic. i had to take the other ones that was not a generic. they dropped it now i pay almost $400 a month for my drops. that is the kind of thing, if the pharmaceutical companies can keep dropping all of the medicines we need, that $2000 cap will not do us much good. that is my question. thank you. host: marion in georgia. the tear from jay in north carolina. republican line. caller: good morning. hope you can let me speak without erecting me this time. the hundredth time. -- without interrupting me this time. the hundredth time. i wonder why american people say the media is the enemy of the country. not democrats. i do not consider democrats americans. you watch the washington journal , every commercial you see january 6 propaganda. do you ever see anything about

the white house being burnt by black terrorists? host: we do not air commercials, they are more promotions than anything else. caller: commercials on this network. host: we do not air commercials because they are nonprofit. caller: you can call them what you want. we see it on this network. host: keep going. caller: i would like to know why you call peaceful protesters that burnt the white house, but if you follow -- if you walk through the capital, we are domestic terrorists and white supremacist. but the cops holding the doors open for us which he refused to show although dozens of people have called in and said can you please show this video, it is never going to happen because you have to propagate hate. host: we do not do that in the least comment as part of the coverage virginia reese asked we do that because congress covers january 6, and when they decide to hold these hearings we decide

to air them. you can watch all of those hearings if you want to see all of the content and comments made in connection to january 6 you can do so by going to our website at c-span.org. all of those genuine six committee hearings available for you to watch at your convenience. you're welcome to do that and make their own determinations. open forum until 10:00. (202) 748-8001 for republicans, (202) 748-8000 for democrats, independents, (202) 748-8002. c-span will cover all three days of the conservative political action conference which will talk about with our guest natalie allison of politico. thanks for joining us. guest: thanks for having me. host: for those were not in the know, what is the conservative political action conference? guest: this is the american conservative union's conservative political action conference. it is not the main one.

the main one took place in february. since then they have held them in hungary and israel, and this is dallas. a gathering of top conservative commentators, it is a place where activists,, place for networking. it will open with a speech from the hungarian prime minister victor or bond, who as your viewers know is a controversial far right leader in the european union and has faced a lot of criticism last couple of weeks for comments he made about not wanting his country to be mixed race. the conference will close on saturday with a speech from former president donald trump, and in between there is a cast of other conservative commentators like sean hannity and mike lindau and elected officials like ted cruz and jim jordan. there will be three days of

that. host: as far as a theme is concerned, i suspect the midterm elections will be a theme of this conference. is there an overarching theme you know of? guest: there is no overarching theme. this year they have been focusing a lot on the midterm elections and what is at stake this fall. at these conferences, the same thing happen in florida, they will hold a straw poll for 2024. they will asked attendees who they want to see as the republican nominee. that was still donald trump but ron desantis put up a good showing and they will ask -- what is notable is people like ron desantis, mike pence, mike pompeo, some of these other potential contenders are not on the agenda for this conference. we saw some of those folks at cpac florida. we have seen some of those folks converge together at the same conference.

the freedom coalition conference. at this one we do not have that. trump has the stage to himself when it comes to potential 20 for republican presidential contenders. guest: 6:30 -- host: 6:30 is when the president is expected to speak. you can see live coverage of that on c-span. back to victor orban, has cpac elaborated on why they invited him in the first place? guest: they have not. the founder of -- the leader of the american conservative union who is running cpac has a close relationship with the prime minister. they started the cpac hungary event. he is one of a number of other figures in the united states on the right who have cultivated this relationship with orban and

his party. tucker carlsen being another person who thinks hungary is a model conservatives and americans -- in america can follow. host: they hold these conferences several times a year. what is the point? what would be the point? guest: in the last decade they have been holding them it has been an important gathering spots for conservative activists , people to meet some of these folks they spent day in and day out listening to, following on tv and social media. it is an opportunity for them to mingle with another -- with one another, to walk down radio road for these conservative media outlets they are listening to. it is a gathering planned. there is nothing quite like it on the democratic side. for republicans this is the place to be if you are republican activist.

you can pay a few hundred dollars for a ticket and have access to people they feel are really important for their worldview and their political ideology. host: who is the average attendee to these events? guest: cpac has traditionally been a place where a lot of really young activists. i was there in florida earlier this year. there were plenty of young people, but you see a number of older people, especially in the age of social media, that has dominated our culture. it is less important to come to a place like this then it was 10 years ago or so. cpac, there are a lot of young people, but it is all different races, ages, things like that. host: natalie allen talking about the conservative political action conference in dallas, texas this year. thank you for your time today. guest: thanks so much.

host: you can watch those proceedings on c-span. you can see that at 4:30 on c-span and c-span now. our app if you're interested. back to your calls on this open forum. this is from alexandria, virginia. we hear from aaron. caller: good morning and great job as usual. since cpac is coming up i want to hit the republicans to a term they use, whether it is woke or wokeness, they are using the term long as if they were using dope long. to be woke is to have awareness of the systematic disparities that exist in our political systems, education, housing, so on. when they say the woke left it sounds funny because they are saying the conscious left that

understands there are systematic disparities involved. it makes it sound like they are saying the ignorant right. i want to help you guys out. stop using woke. it sounds crazy. that is my only point. just trying to help these republicans out. host: that is aaron in virginia. when it comes to oil, cnn saying the world's oil exporting countries have agreed to a tiny increase in output. allies said it would produce an additional 100,000 barrels a day in september. it was the first opec meeting since president joe biden visited saudi arabia last month. the president urging the country to start pumping more. for months prices have climbed as embargoes on oil have limited supply.

those have helped the world's biggest oil companies reap record profits. when it comes to the demand-side yahoo! reporting on their finance -- this is a bloomberg story, saying americans are officially driving last than they did in the summer 2020, that one pandemic travel restrictions all but halted movement. the four week average of u.s. gasoline consumption is now more than one million barrels a day before pre-covid seasonal norms. that is according to the energy information administration. the drop suggests demand recovery was fleeting, but prices have fallen for 50 straight days. it is not enough to lure drivers back to the road. that is when it comes to oil prices and related issues. bobby in florida, good morning. host: good morning -- caller: good morning and thanks for having me on. i will ask the same question.

what happened to the $500 billion trump took in march of 2020 when he signed the first covid relief bill? no one seems to know where that money went. there was an inspector general assigned to oversee the spending of that money. trump fired him and said in a press conference he would be the overseer of that money. i contend that is the only reason trump is relevant today is because people are following the money. everything else is a diversion. $500 billion. that is a five with 11 zeros behind it. what did trump and steven mnuchin do with that money? is that why the republicans are falling in line behind him? did trump by the rnc with that money? is that why the rnc is paying all of trump's legal bills? why is the washington journal not investigating this? host: let's hear from gilbert in alabama.

independent line. caller: i would like to express my disdain and displeasure for the house speaker nancy pelosi's visit to taiwan. i think is a disservice to the american public as well as more geopolitical dangerous. with all of the word games is playing now, the chinese communist government, it could be said of america provoked what is going on. as an independent i think propaganda comes from the left and the right is the side of the two hit it point. both of them preaching propaganda while the world is watching america destroy itself. it behooves me to the utmost to see her go to china with the way the world is going now and the war in ukraine and nobody wants to say anything about it on cnn,

msnbc, they think it is cute. i do not think it is cute. host: there is a related story in the wall street journal. china's leading electric vehicle battery maker putting up plans for its first north american plant as political fallout from the speakers visit further complicates business ties to the world's two biggest economies. a contemporary technology company was aiming to announce a plan as soon as this month for a plant in north america. people familiar with the matter said it decided to hold off over concerns of making such an announcement as the u.s.-china tensions rise would drop public criticism and it adds the company did not respond to a request for comment. beverly in casper, wyoming. democrats line. caller: hello. i just called because a man had mentioned you have commercials.

host: i said we have promotions. caller: now you're putting me on mute. host: you are still on the air. go ahead. caller: you just cut me off. i was wondering what was going on. when they send people to protest against other people, they send their goons and bring them over here and i seated on c-span. i do not know if that is a commercial or what you call it. host: let's go to john on our republican line in new york. hello. caller: thanks for taking my call. sorry. i have watching c-span for a while. free covid you always had two

guest and had opposing opinions or ideologies. they would sit across the table and discuss an issue. the moderators would just sit back, callers would call in. the other person would have a chance to rebut and you had perspectives. that service was wonderful for the american people because these were the experts in their fields and when you are giving your point of view, you are not giving all of the facts. you're telling the truth but you're not tongue the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so the other person can fill in some of the gaps and then you can get his opinion to see where he is coming from. sometimes when you are undecided and you say i can see where he is coming from, and then even if you are in agreement with the right or the left side of the coin, you can say i never looked

at it from that perspective. c-span could do a big service to the american people to stop some of the division. without the two guest, you get calls from both sides of the aisle and they are so mean to each other. they use such derogatory terms and they call each other names. that promotes this revenge attitude. you say someone he is a white supremacist, he is left-wing progressive. we do not want to hear that. host: just to let you know, over the years we sometimes put those two people side-by-side to debate issues, sometimes we have had solo guest. we have done that a variety of ways. i've seen all of those variations on a theme as far as the way we present guest. i know you are not averse to talk about having two people and

sometimes we do. sometimes it is for the purposes you talk about. thanks for watching long enough to know how we have done things over the years and suggesting that. that is john from new york. just to let you know, when it comes to the radio talkshow alex jones, the latest concerning his trial in "new york times" saying in a brutal cross-examination that took place wednesday, a lawyer for sandy hook parents produced text messages showing he had withheld key information and defamation lawsuits brought by the families for live spread about the 2012 school shooting. the messages were sent in error to the family's lawyers by mr. jones legal team. mr. jones, did you know 12 days ago your attorneys sent me an entire digital copy of your entire cell phone? the parents lawyer asked mr. jones if the text messages were significant because mr. jones

had claimed he had searched his phone for texts about the sandy hook cases and found none. let's go to dawn in new mexico. caller: i would like to make a suggestion for programming on c-span. in the past you've had programs that deal with the oil industry in their production of oil, but most of the oil produced in mexico and west texas is produced through fracking. in fracking they use 4 million gallons of water for each well and on a yearly basis they use 150 billion gallons of water. what i would like to suggest is you have hydrolysis do a discussion on the use of water in fracking, and also the water

they use in fracking cannot be reused. right now at the university in las cruces is they have been doing studies on how they can reuse that water. i think that would be a worthy product. the second point is frequently you have callers that call in and they are just grievance callers. my suggestion is this. what many of the host have done is try to discuss with them. i think once you do that -- my suggestion is you simply say is we stand behind our editorial judgment. and if they hear that, you can get suckered in trying to rebut them. he just say we stand behind our editorial judgment. i think that would be a productive way of handling that. host: we invite all callers to

have this conversation with us over the course of the years we have been doing this and give them a forum to talk about, much like we are doing now, letting people engage in topics they feel passionate about. thank you for the suggestion nonetheless. "washington times" front page takes a look at the reconciliation bill being debated, particular the role the irs plays. he writes the rs is about to get "a lot more dozy. the package would add $80 million to the rs which much of that going to enforcement. the result would be a supercharged tax agency with funding to investigate, audit, talk to come and collect from americans." it quotes the republican from the house ways and means committee saying democrats resolve the proposal to send 87,000 new agents after you and your family on the believe everyone is a tax cheat. one republican analysis figures

nearly half of the rs new audit work would be a bit taxpayers with incomes of $70,000 or less. adam in ohio, independent line. caller: hi. something i wanted to bring up that depends on what source you go to whether it gets talked about or not. this strategy, i believe james carville talked about on cnn, of democrats promoting far right candidates like marciano in pennsylvania. i just wish instead of relying on the strategy that could backfire extremely badly, we just tried to serve our constituents with resources and

services that could benefit their lives rather than saying if you pick this guy it would not be a sensible decision so you have to pick us. people will make decisions that you do not think our sensible when you present them with an extreme choice like that. host: that is adam in ohio. a few minutes left in this program. as far as what you will see next on this network, there is a hearing for the senate judiciary committee on fbi oversight. the key person testifying his christopher wray, the fbi director. you can see that right after this program. watch for it on our c-span now app. other things to keep you aware of. there will be a hearing taking a look at china, particularly china's presence in the middle east. this will be before the senate

foreign relations subcommittee. 10:30 is when you can expect that the start on c-span2 as well as the app, then if you're interested in british politics there will be a debate this afternoon taking a look at those trying to replace boris johnson. rishi soon act -- rishi sunak and liz truss will debate each other. colleen up next in florida, democrats line. caller: i just want to say we ought to start working together and that goes for the senate and our congressman. i do not understand why they are letting the country boulevard. i do not understand why they are punishing working people or seniors, which i am, 73 years old. we look like an embarrassment and we have to shape up. let's start working together,

let's quit holding grudges. host: what you mean by that specifically? caller: democrats vote democrats and republicans vote republican. they are not looking for us. they are not taking care of us. we do not have to pay over four dollars for a gallon of gas and they know it. we should be going in kind of slowly. i'm just hoping host: what did you want congress to do specifically? caller: i would like congress to quit asking for money. heard a man calling in earlier about the covid money that is sitting there or where has he gone? --it gone?

the linking of the veterans great --bill. host: the fbi director testified before the senate on fbi oversight issues. we will take you to that hearing. it starts momentarily. >>'s hearing of the senate judiciary hearing comes in order. we will hear from christopher wray.