then we speak with florida's representive for an update on his district after hurricane ian. later representative gwen moore , joins us to discuss government funding, abortion, and gun violence prevention. "washington journal" is next. ♪ host: good morning, everyone, this friday, september 30. we begin with a double headline. congress set to approve a resolution to avoid a government shutdown. the proposal includes money for disaster relief. and the government is discussing more disaster relief funding for hurricane ian. the storm, after ripping across florida, is now headed back towards the carolinas. we will get your take on all of

that this morning. democrats dial in at (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. florida residents, dial in at (202) 748-8003. all of you can text us at that same number. just include your first name, city, and state. or go to facebook.com/cspan. you can also send a tweet with the handle @cspanwj. we will get your thoughts on congress approving this continuing resolution in washington, d.c. to keep the government funded until mid-december p than they will have to take up the issue all over again. and the senate approved it yesterday. this is the wall street journal. 72-25. it includes money for federal agencies to keep the government up and running. it also includes $12 billion in

aid to ukraine. and the legislation provides billions of dollars in disaster money to help communities recovering from extreme weather and help strengthen neighborhoods against extreme storms. republican leader mitch mcconnell on the floor talking about how lawmakers are dedicated to providing even more money to the state of florida and others impacted by hurricane ian. [video clip] >> the extent of the damage has barely even begun to come into focus. fortunately, the coordinated state and local response led by governor desantis and supported by state agencies are ongoing. our two colleagues from florida led -- to unlock further aid.

i understand the president agreed this morning. the senate is ready to provide further assistance if needed. we will make sure the disaster relief fund is refilled. most immediately, floridians remain at the forefront of the nation's prayers. host: that was the republican leader vowing more funding for the state of florida and others impacted by hurricane ian, shaping up to be the most costly and deadliest storm of u.s. history. the house has to pass -- that was the leader talking about more funding after this senate just approved yesterday this continuing resolution to keep the government funded. the house is set to pass that today, without any hiccups, according to news reports, and that will go to the president's desk. following that, lawmakers say

more money will be needed after hurricane ian. cnn was just showing a headline, fort myers, the island, 90% of it pretty much gone. 700 rescues have taken place. over 2 million people and businesses were without power. the number was at 2.6 million right after the storm hit. that has been lowered to around 2 million people without power this morning. we are getting your thoughts on all of that. let's begin with the top five most costly weather disasters while we wait for your calls. look at hurricane katrina. this is from the national oceanic administration. hurricane katrina in 2005, so far the costliest. $186 billion. hurricane harvey follows that. hurricane maria in 2017. as you know, many people say puerto rico still trying to come back from hurricane maria. than they were hit by hurricane fiona, $107 billion.

$82 billion was the cost for hurricane sandy in 2012. in 2021, hurricane ida, $79 billion. mildred from st. louis, missouri, independent. what are your thoughts? caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i was thinking about what you have already talked about as far as the hurricane relief. but i think, of the states that do not have state income tax, the states that do not want the federal government in their business. yet we, as the whole united states, have to chip in in funding whenever they have a disaster. why don't they have emergency funds like ordinary citizens? and the second point i wanted to make is ukraine.

how much money are we going to continually give them? we need money here in america. that is what we should be focusing on, with inflation going as high as it is. it is hitting all of us. i am a senior citizen. it is heading our pocketbooks really extreme. it is as if we are printing money without any thought. our congresspeople, the senators and representatives, are not looking at the bottom line. we are doomed for disaster ourselves as a nation. that is all i wanted to say. host: mildred, related to what you just said, here's abc news -- what hurricane ian means for food and gas prices. they are reporting that, as elevated oil and gas prices strain households, elevated whether events will cost desks and these costs even higher.

it says in their reporting that americans may not worry about gas prices and gasoline, noting that the path of the storm averted key oil-producing state such as texas and louisiana. the storm will not cause widespread food price hikes either. however, the state is a top exporter of citrus fruits, such as oranges and grapefruits, which could experience price hikes depending on the extent of the damage. let's hear from mike, silver spring, maryland, democratic caller. good morning. caller: good morning. how are you? host: i am well. what do you think about the hurricane, what congress is doing in response? go ahead. caller: you know, ron desantis, when he was in the house, voted against hurricane sandy funding for new jersey, a blue state. and now, i just want to ask the

santos, how do you like socialism now? because all our tax dollars are going down there compassionately, helping, doing what government is supposed to do. so how do you like socialism now? this is where those dollars come from. all of us, all 330 million, we are helping out like what is supposed to happen. host: all right. the new york times reporting desantis wants a -- the florida governor when a congressman opposed relief to hurricane sandy victims -- steve in anaheim, california, republican. hi, steve. caller: hello.

now is not really a good time to get all political and sharpen your knives. there are people out here really hurting. in fact, i am in florida, in melbourne, and went through the hurricane. i dodged a bullet, basically, because i am south of canaveral, cocoa beach. the problem is the insurance companies out here are dropping people left and right, so they will not be able to recover and rebuild their homes or repair their properties. so this cost is going to go up very, very high, especially if you look at some of the damages. and you're not even done yet. you are going into south carolina. i think people ought to reel it back here a bit. -- host: before you go, tell us

what you're hearing from those in florida about the insurance companies and what they are telling residents. caller: they are telling them that they cannot get any flood insurance, that is not part of the policy anymore, because they are underfunded because either they cannot raise their prices enough or the state government is no backstop whatsoever, and the federal government will be the only backstop, and the federal government has not really come in and that up to bolster insurance for it. my house out here, i am going through that problem right now, trying to get insurance just to cover fire and theft and all the other stuff, just the basics. it is a real nightmare, to be honest. host: the insurance you have does not even cover a hurricane? caller: no. no, it does not. just the basics. you are looking at $2000 for nothing, you know.

host: what about storm surge? there was reporting this morning that storm surge is not covered, even if you have some sort of hurricane policy. storm surge is not part of it. caller: no, because the companies that are out here are folding. you may have paid into your insurance, but guess what? we canceled you because we are going belly up. that leaves you with trying to run around and try to find insurance to cover this. it is a real nightmare. host: so where are people turning to, do you know? caller: i do not know. even i am at the same point. i just call one insurance company after another. my neighbor got some insurance from the federal government. i have to talk to her again to find out what she had to go through, but it took her an

entire year just to get that coverage. the worst -- host: can i ask, because some people may be wondering, why do you have a home there then? caller: well, i bought it years ago as an investment. and i buzzed back and forth from one coast to the next coast. i have one in texas. you buy property because you buy property. it looks nice, but you are not aware of "oh my god" until you get into the place. then it is like i got to sell this thing. florida, it is a nice state, but oh my god, it's got its problems. just like california. host: do you try to live in florida for those six months so you do not have to pay income tax? caller: no, no, no. it's just -- you're a rental property, stuff like that.

and i hate the heat, to be honest with you. [laughter] host: thanks, steve. related to steve is another abc article about the insurance companies. hurricane ian could cripple the home insurance industry. this is what they are reporting. hurricane ian could cripple an already fragile homeowners insurance market. experts say a major storm like ian could push some of those insurance companies into insolvency, making it harder for people to collect on claims. since january of 20 20, at least a dozen insurance companies in the state have gone out of business, including six this year alone. nearly 30 are on a watchlist because of financial instability. that is the situation many floridians face as a some of them, if they evacuated, return home to destruction like you are seeing on your screen now, and trying to figure out what they

can salvage and what they can get for their homes, their boats, their property. let's go to louise in maryland, independent. caller: as an independent, i feel like i do not have a dog in this fight, but i am really disappointed when callers call in and use this catastrophe that involves the lives of people to pull for lyrical gain. we need to stop doing that, need to stop looking for opportunities to divide this country. don't use this event to bash desantis. there are people down there who have died. we do not even know the numbers yet. and this is turning into a political issue. it is an opportunity for some. i was really disappointed in the earlier caller who said "desantis, how do you like socialism now?" this is not the time to be

political. this is the time to help florida. there are people who have lost not only their house but their lives. we need to stop with this political rhetoric. as an independent, i see both sides doing this thing. i get real disappointed in the american citizen whenever we see these types of events as opportunities for political pay. host: all right. the governor briefing flirty ins and the country yesterday evening. to your point, here he is talking about rescue efforts and expected deaths. [video clip] >> i just got back from surveying the damage in charlotte and we counties -- lee counties. some of the damage was almost indescribable. to see a house just sitting in the middle of the bay, literally must have gotten picked up, flown, because of the massive wind speed and storm surge, and

deposited in a body of water. there were cars floating in the middle of the water. some of the homes were total losses. the most significant damage i saw was on fort myers beach. some of the homes were wiped out. some of it was just concrete slabs. of course, there was damage to some of our infrastructure, particularly the sanibel causeway. there were breaks in that in multiple different areas. the pylons on the water, where you have that part of the bridge, that actually was good. it was the point where it was on a sand bar where it got totally wiped away. or, from the mainland, there were breaks there. that will require major, major overhaul and essentially a complete rebuild. they will look at it and see. that is the only way on sanibel island, so the operations to help people there have been mostly by air. all told, search-and-rescue

operations -- it started in the wee hours of the morning, soon as the winds died down enough to where it was safe. you had coast, urban search and rescue teams, the national guard out assisting people. there have been more than 700 confirmed rescues. there are likely many more than that that will be confirmed as more data comes in, people rescued from places like fort myers, fort myers beach, sanibel, marco island. obviously, there was a lot of calls coming in as the storm was really raging yesterday. people who did not evacuate were hunkered down. there was storm surge, there was a lot of apprehension, understandably. when, initially, first responders came this morning, people would wave them down, whether by helicopter, boat, or high water vehicle. now they are finding most of the residents are just waving thank

you for coming, but they say they are fine and i staying put. i think there will be issues with being on some of those islands because they will not have services like we expect for quite some time, given the limitations of transportation. nevertheless, that is a sign that some of the folks who did ride it out are stabilized in their home. first responders are doing targeted searches, going home by home, checking if people are ok, then responding to specific reports if they are missing loved ones. they will, of course, be many more rescues added. we absolutely expect to have mortality from this hurricane. i would just caution people, there is a process by which that is confirmed. i know people have said certain things. in terms of confirmed, that will be made apparent over the coming days. host: republican governor ron

desantis briefing floridians yesterday around 7:00 p.m. eastern time. we expect the governor will do another briefing today at some point as well. you heard him talking about the different areas in florida impacted by hurricane ian. this was a headline about fort myers from usa today -- buildings leveled, homes underwater. fort myers beach is gone after hurricane ian damage. let's hear from eric, in venice, florida. where is venice, florida, and how are you doing? caller: -- host: eric, you with us? caller: yeah, i'm here. i had to leave town because of no power, utilities. but i was there during the hurricane in venice. i want to echo what the previous caller said, that no one, regardless of party, should try to make a political event out of

something that is an act of nature. hurricanes happen, and that is the way it is. we should support, regardless of party, the people suffering. i am suffering somewhat, but now i am ok. i am north of venice, where i have power and utilities. by wanted to say thank you to governor desantis for what he is doing. and i want to reemphasize nobody, in this country, should politicize a hurricane, because they are an act of nature. host: eric, you rode out the storm? where were you? caller: the house where i rent. there was one other person. i was afraid to go near the windows. the winds were 108 miles per hour. i've never experienced it terry of the winds were howling. apparently, a mailbox -- the other person in the house saw a mailbox flew down the street.

i also took pictures the day after that i sent to some people i know which shows moderate damage in venice. right now, as of when i left yesterday, there was -- i am still in the state of florida, just not in venice, because i need utilities and power. there was moderate damage all over the town when i left. host: and how about your home? caller: the home had minor damage, but other homes had more damage. i did not see any severe damage, but i saw trees and branches down. i saw signs that were destroyed or partially destroyed. lots of debris throughout the whole town. and no running water, no power, no internet. host: so while you were in place during those 108 mile per hour wins, what was going through your mind -- winds, what was

going through your mind? caller: i was texting my daughters as it occurred, because the t-mobile towers -- i do not want to say anything negative about t-mobile. they are great. but the storm affected them, too. i could text, fortunately. i couldn't call. i was texting my daughters describing what was happening. there were just very concerned, obviously. so during the event, i was texting my daughters as i experienced things. but i was getting most of the information from the other person in the house who was near the window. we had plywood on all the doors and windows, where there was glass. host: why did you decide to stay? caller: i stayed because i did not really know where to go. most of the relatives i knew in florida were in the path of the hurricane. host: understood.

eric there in venice, florida. best of luck to you. larry in massachusetts, republican. hi. caller: thanks for having me. this is not about politics. we know most storms come through florida and south carolina. those on the beaches will be devastated. this happened in the past. so again, we have done all we can to help people. we know these people will be devastated when the storms come through. we need to build and expand these -- so now these places are devastated. again, we need to stop doing these things. host: and as larry was talking, we were showing the path of the hurricane. it ripped across florida, picked up steam. it was a tropical storm as it went across florida, but now it is back to hurricane and is

headed towards the carolinas. teresa in columbus, ohio, independent. caller: i feel the same way as the last caller. we have to require flood insurance for everybody, whether you have a mortgage on your home or not. unfortunately, i know people have been hurt. and this is not political. but if you live in an area that is going to get flooded, you should be required to have flood insurance. and the federal government needs to make it easier for people to get flood insurance. if a person is in a flood zone, they should -- had to have flood insurance. my heart is out to people in florida affected by this. but it is not fair for the rest of the country to have to pick up the tap for these people who live down there that obviously have quite a bit of money, since

they are boats -- their boats are all floating up in the state of florida, that maybe they could afford flood insurance. thank you and have a good day. host: as we told you, the senate yesterday, 72-25, passing a continuing resolution that would keep the government funded through mid december. it includes money for federal agencies and money for ukraine as well as disaster relief or not just the state of florida but other states. wildfires in the west, etc., other areas that have experienced extreme weather. lawmakers are promising now more money because of hurricane ian. here is democratic senator patrick lahey, chair of the senate appropriations committee, the committee that holds the purse strings of the money, in charge of doling it out on the

senate side. here is the senator discussing how money will fund fema disaster relief and promising bipartisanship on further aid. [video clip] >> the continuing resolution we are about to consider contains $18.8 billion for the fema disaster relief fund to bring available resources and funds to approximately $35 billion to respond to these and other disasters. we likely are not going to know the extent of the damage for several days. so anytime you watch the news, you hear of more damage. but i remind my colleagues that we are the united states of america. i am ready to work with my colleagues to respond to what is needed. i don't care whether a state is represented by democrats or republicans.

you are part of the united states of america. as chairman of the senate appropriations committee, i will work with you in the months ahead to get the funds you need. host: senator flake e -- senator leahy talking about those affected -- funding for those affected. -- rescue in response, which is still happening, and then recovery as well. president biden expected to speak at 11:30 a.m. eastern time today about the federal response to the hurricane. also happening today in washington at 10:45 eastern, speaker pelosi is giving her weekly news conference. this will be the last one before the midterm elections in november.

the house is going to be, after today, voting on that continuing resolution, they are expected to go back to their districts that these lawmakers, all of them up for reelection in the house, so they can campaign ahead of the november elections. that will be on c-span 2 this morning. c-span.org is where you can find it on demand. or you can download our video at,] -- or you can download our video app, c-span now. ali? caller: i agree this situation should not be politicized. but i remember republicans bashing people during covid, people who are not working. i was one of them. to come now and say, oh, this issue should not be politicized, when that was politicized, i see

hypocrisy. i feel so sorry for those people. i hope they can get help. but hypocrisy is what i cannot stand. host: kathy, grand rapids, michigan, democratic caller. hi. caller: hi. i have to share the same sentiment that your previous caller just did. but also, with the background and sciences -- my heart goes out to anybody suffering. but let's not politicize this or the fact that hurricanes -- i agree, hurricanes happen. but the intensity of hurricanes is getting greater, because we have warmed the oceans, warmed the atmosphere, and that is what gives these even more punch. how many knowledgeable, on the ground people have we heard over the past few days say this is the worst storm we have seen in

florida history? and if these people want to rebuild? no. the discussion should be about managed retreat. i am sorry. that will be difficult for the majority of people, especially on the right, to hear. but we have got to be smarter. we have to show the human species can adapt or learn to deal with complex situations that threaten all our lives. host: all right. the front page of the washington post -- as waters warm, seven superstorm's have lashed the u.s. since 2017. it says as hurricane ian barreled towards florida this week, it did what six other storms have as it approached the united states. it intensified quickly. these factors help account for their shift, including warming waters, fueled by climate change, that give hurricanes more energy to release through

crushing winds and pounding waves. scientists expect the slow movement of storms like ian stems from mobile warming, giving them a greater opportunity to strengthen and destroy as long as day-to-day conditions remain ripe. since 2017, an unprecedented number of storms rated category for or stronger have lashed america's coastlines. they qualify as rapid intensification events as storm speeds increased by at least 35 miles per hour in 24 hours. chris in kentucky, republican. caller: good morning. i would like to say prayers for all the people in florida. host: ok. caller: can i tell you about the waste of taxpayer -- we have a

retired prosecutor in northwest kentucky -- tennessee chasing people at the cost of half $1 million a day. host: all right, i will stop at that point. we will take a short break. when we come back, we will hear from two lawmakers about campaign 2022 and today's vote on the stopgap funding bill, the continuing resolution, which includes disaster funding to ensure the government does not run out of money. midnight tonight is the deadline. the house is coming in at 9:00 a.m. eastern time. up first as republican fred keller of pennsylvania. then later on in the program, democratic congresswoman gwen moore of wisconsin. ♪ >> there are a lot of places to get political information. but only at c-span do you get it straight from the source. no matter where you are from or where you stand on the issues, c-span is america's network.

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on publishing with book tv's podcasts about books. it includes trends through insider interviews. find about books on c-span now, our free mobile app, or wherever you get your podcasts. >> "washington journal" continues. host: joining us this morning is congressman fred keller, republican of pennsylvania, represents the 12th district. let's talk about the stopgap funding bill, the so-called continuing resolution in washington parlance. it needs to get passed by midnight tonight. when the house convenes this morning, how will you vote? guest: i will not support this bill, because when we take a look at what has happened, we have had plenty of time to fund the government and do the right thing by creating a budget that

has the part of every state's representatives and senators. what we see here, spending trillions of dollars without input from both sides. to just do this -- what we should have been irking on for a long period -- what we should have been working on for a long period of time is to responsibly fund the government and how to spend taxpayer dollars coming into the treasury. we have spent along -- a long time discussing bills so people can campaign. if we have good public policy, that should be enough for the people -- to report to the people we represent. host: it was approved yesterday in the senate, and mitch mcconnell spoke about it. [video clip] >> the extent of the damage has

barely come into focus. yesterday, our two colleagues from florida led the state's entire congressional delegation in asking president biden to unlock further aid. i understand the president agreed this morning. the senate must stand ready to provide further assistance if needed. the government funding legislation before us will ensure the disaster relief fund is refilled. and most immediately, floridians remain at the forefront of the nation's prayers. host: congressman keller? guest: well, taking a look at what has happened in florida, our thoughts and prayers are with everybody as part of this disaster, created by this storm. if we want to make sure we provide that relief, i think there is a way we can do that and should have been looking at

doing these things proactively. but let's get the relief to people in florida, and we can go ahead and do that, and then we can keep moving forward. there is certainly -- there is a better way to do things. if we had done proper prior planning, we would not be looking at having to rush this through at the last hour. if we need to do something to help the people of florida, let's get together and do that. but in the meantime, let's also keep in mind we will not be able to help anybody in the future if we do not have a good fiscal house in order. for that to happen, we need to get back to regular order and make sure the appropriations and the budget goes through the regular process rather than just having input from a few select people on projects that, quite frankly, have not been vetted. host: some of your republican colleagues want the continuing

resolution to extend the funding deadline through at least early january, because republicans are hoping you all are then in charge. what do you think about that idea and what would republicans do then? caller: well, let's take a look -- and it does not matter -- if we are doing the right things, we should be worried about doing them all the time. what i think you will see is, when we have a majority -- and i am hoping it will be a majority of people who will take a look at this and say this is the right thing to do -- what we are talking about is not left or right. it is right or wrong. quite frankly, we need to get back to doing the things that are right and proper. and it is for the future of our nation. if we are in a good position financially in our nation -- let's take a look at this. it is like when you are on an airplane and the flight attendant says, in case of

emergency, and the masks come down, put it on yourself first before taking care of other people. if we do not look at what we need to do to take care of america's finances and make sure we have a good financial future going forward, we will not be able to help anybody. if we need to help florida, let's take a look at what we can do to help florida and make sure they get the assistance they need and any other area that may be impacted as the storm comes north, but let's also take a look at what is responsible to do for the people that sent us here to work on their behalf. host: congressman, you're also on the education and labor committee. there is a headline today of six stated -- six states suing over the student debt plan. -- and reduced tax revenues. you have also given your opinion on this, saying you oppose, in a tweet writing i did not go to college, i couldn't afford it. instead, i went to the factory

at 18 and paved the way for my family. joe biden once hard-working americans who do not pay for any student loans to pay for those that have here that is not how america works. explain. guest: when you take a look at what the president wants to do -- a year ago, he and the speaker said he did not have the authority to do it. i am not sure what changed constitutionally. i am not aware of anything that passed to allow the president to do this, so i do not think -- i do not know why they think something changed in the past year to do this. there is a republican plan for this that would take a look at students borrowing for masters or doctorate. there is a plan that would allow students to use pell grant's for shorter educational opportunities, shorter educational opportunities and being responsible in terms of student transparency, that students know what it will cost

and what they will be able to earn once they get into that profession. there are a lot of things in the rubble can plan that make sense rather than going we will take debt that was accumulated by people who signed up for it and make people who did not sign up for that debt, people who may have went to college, worked their way through college, taken out the student loans and repaid those student loans -- what do you tell those people who did it that way and come all of a sudden, they will be paying for people who took out loans and got their education, and now they just want to see them forgiven? i think there needs to be a way looked at this going forward, that our students do not accumulate debt that they cannot afford to repay. and just going and saying transferring the debt from one person to another does not make it more affordable. host: i want to show our viewers the student loan forgiveness plan. 20,000 to pell grant recipients. $10,000 to non-pell grant loans.

applied to the -- to those making under $250,000 a year. a pause on student loans to end -- and a cap at %5 of income. the student loan forgiveness plan, 95% of relief would go to people making under $175,000. guest: take a look at the plan, the. you mentioned the pell grant recipients get $20,000 in relief, and people who do not take out pell grant's are taking -- getting $10,000. it is not taking into account what the earnings are now, is it? you could have someone took out pell grant's because they were on the lower end of the income scale when they applied for college. they have now graduated from college and or earning more than somebody that did not take out the pell grants, right? and they will get twice the loan

forgiveness. i just look at this as a messaging bill from the president and the beaker, to make it look like they are doing something when, in reality, all they are doing is transferring debt from individuals who have signed up for that to people who have not. what do you tell the person who maybe is a plumber or electrician in the trades that did not accumulate that debt, and now they will have to pay higher taxes because somebody that need accumulate that debt needed forgiven or wants to have it forgiven. now the person who is an electrician or plumber or the trades, their kids can do fewer things because their taxes are higher because their money is being used to pay for someone else's college loans that the person paying higher taxes may not have signed up for. host: we are talking with congressman fred keller. he is here for another 50 minutes or so to talk about a

couple issues, the government funding bill, as well as loan forgiveness and the midterm elections. you are just talking about a messaging bill. the messaging chair for the democrats, democratic caucus chair hakeem jeffries had this to say, making his election pitch for democrats. [video clip] >> we have an incredible track record of accomplishment. the american rescue plan, infrastructure investment, and jobs act, gun safety legislation for the first time in 30 years, the inflation reduction act, where we have been able to act in a decisive way, put our -- strengthen the affordable care act, lower health care costs, and drive town the price of lifesaving prescription drugs for millions of americans. that is a tremendous track record of accomplishment. that proves the point that, when

we say we would put people over politics, to fight for better costs and safer communities, weaning it. because we have done it. and we will continue to do it. at the same time, whatever decisions the american people have to make over the next few weeks are not a referendum, it is a choice. it is a choice between democrats, who are putting people over politics, and extreme maga republicans. they are extreme when it comes to reproductive freedom. we believe in it. they don't. they want to criminalize abortion care and impose a nationwide ban. that is what the so-called commitment to america is all about. host: congressman keller, your response? guest: i do not even know where to start with it. but i will start with life. if you're not going to protect one's life, they will not protect anything else of theirs.

the job's decision simply changed the decision wrongly done in 1973. it is a 10th amendment issue. it should be decided by the people of the states. that decision did not change any abortion laws within the states. that is one thing there. we talked about climate. they are concerned about the climate, yet we have countries in europe that are firing up coal-fired power plants and doing other things. if we cared about the climate, we would look at american energy that is done cleanly and better than any place in the world, yet the president does not want to see that happen, and then he goes over to opec and venezuela and other countries where they did not do as well as we do and ask them to produce energy. we hit the paris climate accords when we were not even in that. you take a look at what happens

there with energy. to say that energy is coming down -- home heating oil is 34% higher than it was two years ago . we are going into the wintertime. you can talk about the american rescue plan or the inflation reduction act, all the money they have spent. we have not seen inflation going down. what we have seen is it is 8.3% higher than it was last year, which means americans have had one month of their earnings taken away from them, so they can talk about higher wages. but when you look at the buying power, they are going backwards. that is not helping american families. we take a look at the policies they said there. i will not get into there on labeling any group. i know he talked about maga and

extremist -- i do not label people. we are americans. we should have discussions on those ideas openly without calling names. by that is what you do when your policies are not working. prescription drugs. restriction drugs are only for a certain group of people on a certain amount of drugs. we actually had a plan that would have created transparency and accountability, patent reform, that would have been beneficial for everybody, but it is only a couple government programs that the drugs will be lower from, whether it is medicaid or medicare. but the people who may be taking those drugs not on medicaid or medicare will be paying more for their medications if they are taking similar medications. you can talk all you want about talking points, but the real results are what people see, and we saw that in 2019, when we saw the greatest economy that had ever been built before we got attacked by the virus from china, ok, and created the pandemic.

but use our real wages going up, you all real americans working, and things were going well for everybody. record revenue coming into the treasury, not before -- not because we taxed more and took more but because we took less from them, they kept more of their own earnings, and there were able to spend it and generate an economy. the government does not create jobs. what it does is create an environment where the american people are better than anybody in the world at taking care of people, doing the right things. it released that american ingenuity. that is what we need to get back to. when you look at the commitment to america, it is about freedom for the future. it is not a free america where people have more choices. it is about accountability for government agencies. it is about a strong economy. it is not a safe nation. if being those things are

extreme, you can call me extreme any day of the week. if believing in the american people is extreme, then you can call me extreme. but i believe in the american people -- host: ok. congressman, we have calls waiting for you. laureate in texas, democratic caller. caller: ok. thank you, mr. fred keller, for being on today. i appreciate you coming on. i had to call when i heard you talk about student loan forgiveness. i went to college, four years. i paid my student loans. it is a different day today, just like everything else. planes are different today, the environment is different today. everything is different today. we need to take into consideration what young people are going through today that is different. i believe that we should consider what is happening with them. they do need help. they want to test people for anxiety. there is a lot of problems today

that we need to consider, even with the flood situation in florida. you do not have a problem with what biden will do to give relief, flood relief to the people who need it, make these $39,000? i pay flood insurance in texas. whenever they reach out and help people who have been a victim of the floods, and they did not have flood insurance, guess what? because of all the things you have said, in glorifying helping people and carrying about people and believing in helping people -- you should consider all of that when it comes to people stressing out and having anxiety over student loans, just like -- host: ok. we heard your point. we do not have much time left with the congressman, so i will have him respond. guest: there are a lot of things that happen in life every day, and there are a lot of choices that people make.

i do have sympathy for someone going through some troubles and having difficulties. but just setting the expectation that someone can take out loans and they will be forgiven, that will set up expectations for the future and will create albums for the future. what happens when people cannot afford to make their home payments. we just start forgiving mortgage debt? there are a lot of people who have anxiety -- there are who have trouble buying food, and they will have to pay more because of the student loan forgiveness, something that was not their choice. someone else made a choice. the storm is different. you have a nature event that comes through and decimates that area. it is different from somebody taking out a loan to go to college or for student loan debt. i think the key to our student loan issue, at a lot of issues,

is making sure people have the understanding of what the costs will be upfront, what they are able to earn, and how they will service that debt. when i talk to people -- when i talked to the gentleman from pennsylvania, went into education for criminal justice and worked in that for three years to he said i came here and work on concrete basements. -- it comes to a transparency issue to make sure that students are going into this part of their life with the understanding that they need to have, and that will help alleviate a lot of that anxiety. host: let's go to ogden, utah.

linda, independent. good morning. you are speaking with congressman fred keller. caller: good morning, congressman keller, and good morning, the united states and the world. my question, again, is student loans. i keep wondering if people have not really done a lot of research on student loans. i spent quite a long time researching them. there are seven services out there that service student loans. these are corporations contracted out by the federal government, and they are making billions off student loans. even yesterday, a representative on c-span said the following -- student loans as a way that the government makes money. three, a person cannot take out bankruptcy. four, you cannot change -- universities are making a killing off student loans.

small businesses get loans, and they get forgiven. how are we, who invest in our government through our taxes, do not have the same rights as corporations? host: ok. congressman? guest: i know we are talking about the student loans and how some of that was set up. the federal government did make money on these student loans. when you look at student loan debt, a lot of the student loan debt is held by people who have masters or doctorates. when you take a look at student loan debt for graduate work, you are talking about, on average, $30,000 to $40,000 as student loan debt. which is a lot of money. but when you talk about people with a lot of debt, that is for postgraduate work and people going for masters and doctorates. when you look at the solutions to what the issue may be, it is a matter of taking a look at the whole thing on not just a few

talking points. and how do you accomplish that and make sure that people have the opportunity to succeed? one is transparency. education is another thing, make sure people understand that. also look at what have we done? i've heard people talk about inflation and other things. what are we doing to control the cost of how colleges and universities are increasing their tuition and what they are doing with the money from tuition? maybe some reforms there are much needed, get some transparency in that issue to make sure college tuition does not keep increasing. host: andre in berkeley, illinois, democratic caller. caller: yes, good morning. good morning, mr. keller. guest: good morning. caller: i hear you are talking

about responsibilities, student loans, money -- how come nobody talks about code -- coach's salaries? these college coaches, what they are making, what universities give to the coaches? how come that money can't go to student debt? these guys are doing commercials, endorsements. that is ridiculous. my second point is i would love to see c-span have a two panels of yes and no, where callers can ask a question and that panelists give a yes or no answer instead of filibustering. have a good morning. guest: thank you kate i think that is a good point. what i went back to about tuition costs with these universities. let's take a look at what some of the presidents of universities are making and college coaches and so on.

i think there's a lot of improvement and so on. host: let's hear from mike, crescent city, florida, independent. welcome to the conversation. caller: hi. i keep hearing republicans talking about how they are mad about the student loan cancellation. but they never talk about how many foreign countries have the cancel billions of dollars of debt on. they seem to have no problem with that. we have lost billions. and another point you made about this health care. you are always talking about this big, beautiful health care plan you had. you held congress for the first two years of a trump administration -- no health care plan got passed. so what are you talking about, this health care plan? guest: i would say, it was hr 19, this health care plan, which dealt with prescription drugs. it actually had a lot of bipartisan measures in it. but it was about selling insurance across state lines, about transparency, about

accountability, about choices. when you have patent reform, when you shed a light on what is happening to make sure there is transparency, people have choices, make choices, and that competition drives theand you de escalation of prices and more people can enforce -- can afford it. there was a plan and one person put the kibosh to that, and that was senator mccain. host: republican, of pennsylvania, congressman fred keller. thank you, we appreciate you talking to our viewers. the house is coming in at 9:00 a.m. eastern time to vote on that continuing resolution to keep the government funded until mid december. we will take a short break and when we come back you will be in open forums, any public policy issue on your mind. and then after that, democratic congresswoman gwen moore of wisconsin talks about government

funding deadlines and the issues dominated -- dominating the election cycle. we will be back. ♪ >> c-span now is a free mobile app featuring your unfiltered view of what is happening in washington live and on-demand. keep up with live streams of floor proceedings and hearings from u.s. congress, white house events, the court, campaigns and more for the world of politics, all at your fingertips. you can stay current with the latest episodes of washington journal and scheduling information for c-span's television networks and radio. c-span now is available in the apple store store and google play. downloaded it for free today. c-span now, your front row seat to washington any, anywhere. ♪ c-span's campaign 2022 coverage

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your top priorities and why. make a five to six minute video that shows the importance of your issues from opposing and supporting perspectives. do not be afraid to take risks. be bold. among the $100,000 in cash prizes is a $5,000 grand prize. videos must be cemented by january 20, 2023. as our website at studentcam.org. we also have tips, resources, and a step-by-step guide. >> washington journal continues. host: we are at open forum until the bottom of the hour getting your thoughts on any public policy issues including the government passing that continuing resolution to keep the government up and running until mid december as well as the federal and state response to hurricane ian. before we get your thoughts

joining us on the phone is a congressman representing the 12th district, the tampa area district of florida. congressman, your governor has described this as historic, a 500 year flood event. what is it like where you live? guest: well, we were fortunate. thank you for having me on by the way, y'all provide a great service. we were very fortunate in the tampa bay area, however the neighbors down south, fort myers, was not as fortunate as we were. so, tampa bay you know, we had some trees down, but very minor flooding, but we have the emergency operations centers and i believe they are the gold standard in each of our counties. now, again fort myers was not good, the flooding, i mean you

see the tv, the pictures and i am going to go down there and try to help and get in touch with the congressman down there. but people have lost their homes , of course their cars, you know, they are really destitute now, and they need us now more than ever. so the disaster declaration will be very helpful, and i and -- and unfortunately i think the governor was right, it is a 500 year storm. in the tampa bay area we had something like this in 1921, can you imagine? we were very fortunate. our neighbors down south were not. and then it went into central florida, the orlando area and all the way through. again, flooding is just horrible and i really feel from these

people, catastrophic. >> we are seeing headlines like fort myers is gone and 90% of it. this is not your district, so i am curious about what you are planning for in your district where you just missed and what is it say about future planning and fort myers. guest: i believe folks in fort myers and the vast majority and even in tampa bay area i believe they took the storm seriously. you know, if we had a direct hit it would have been very similar to fort myers and things will be underwater, so we actually abided. majority of decisions abided and evacuation zones, they cleared and went to their loved ones or

some of the shelters that we have available. so again, it is the gold standard in the tampa bay area as far as emergency operations and i believe that people complied. now, i am just so very sad that this occurred, but we will recover. we will recover. host: what will those recovery efforts be like, what will be needed as far as money? >> we will need the federal government as far as the emergency disaster declaration and need federal funds immediately. i've been talking to people and there will be some funding and probably the last lame-duck session. we will have some funding for florida. and it is going to take a wild, it is going to take some state funding as well and again, we

have some wonderful people down here, but all over the country is pitching in with funds. the funding, and the inconveniences horrible. it is something that we understand happens in florida, as you said and as the governor said, we have not had a direct hit like this in centuries. host: what about the insurance situation where you live and the surrounding area. we have heard from a viewer who has a residence in venice and could not get insurance before the storm hit, not even basic insurance. let aside hurricane insurance. guest: we have citizens and you know, we do need, i have always talked about this. we do need a national flooding declaration back insurance on

the federal level, and this proves this. now we have disasters all over the country, not just hurricanes so it is not specifically just for florida. in fact the hurricane is headed to south carolina now as a category one. so, we need this assistance on a regular basis. and we are going to continue to work legislatively to get it done, but yes, it -- there is an urgency, not just in this storm, but we are not clear. hurricane season ends in november. but better planning, but i will tell you this. we updated the codes when i was in the legislature many years ago in the early 2000's under governor jeff -- jeb bush. a lot of our buildings are pretty safe, but again when you

get on the water or in the coastal areas and you have something similar to this, category four, you know it is a disaster, and what you said, fort myers is pretty much gone and will to be rebuilt again. host: we appreciate your time. thank you. guest: thank you very much. host: we will turn to open forums, any public policy issue on your mind as vladimir putin gets ready to formally announce the annexation of certain areas, russian occupied areas of ukraine. putin to hold a formal ceremony at this time, 3:00 p.m. moscow time declaring ukrainian lands independent in a major escalation of conflict is the headline. samuel in columbus, georgia, hello. good morning. caller: good morning.

i am fine. in morning. host: what is your public policy issue? caller: i am calling primarily to make a comment or suggestion about the program. when i frequently listen, i hear too often only complaints whether they are democrats or republicans, they always have complaints and this is not right and that is not right and this is wrong and etc.. i would suggest that the most rheem -- recent comment about the student loans, there is great problems with the student loan program but there are no comments with the democrats or the republicans who will come on and speak about the problems. there are no suggestions or proposed recommendations for improving, it is only just destructive comments and criticisms.

i invite criticism, they are great teachers, but we have to look at them and learn. but one who gives criticism should be prepared to offer a recommendation or a proposal to the problem. host: got it. kelly ant clemons, north carolina. republican. caller: how are you doing? first of all, i want to give prayers to everyone in florida as my family, almost all of my family was in the path of the storm. and my mother-in-law was down in venice, right below service so to. and right above pond gorda -- ponta gorda. they are all safe and made it through.

secondly i want to say as a policy thing, we have a organization that is part of our government called h.a.a.r.p. i would like to ask my fellow americans to look it up. it is weather engineering and it has been going on since 1950. no one ever talks about it but it is there and based in alaska. also, china also has a weather engineering saying -- thing too. and they can end droughts and they seed clouds all the time. and they also have private companies now and you can look them up online. and they also do weather engineering.

and like if you are having a party or wedding or something you want a sunny day, if you have enough money you can pay for it. host: danny in arlington, tennessee. democratic carl or. caller: good morning. i wanted to speak to the previous congressman on the student loan. host: he is not with us but that is ok. caller: i noticed that he is gone. it just kinda bugs me that -- how he talks about and all of the republicans talk about they did not take these loans and they went to school and how they paid their loans. well, i did not take any ppp loans neither and i did not live in florida without flood insurance. i am just trying to understand why they are so upset with poor

people getting loan forgiveness when they give billionaires loans, permanent loans and they give state senators and congressmen, and senators loans. there are a lot of congressmasn and senators -- congressmen and senators who had ppp loans. are you telling me that we should forget about that and not worry about the student loans? that does not sit well with me and i am terribly upset. so if we can sue the government for forgiving student loans we can certainly sue the government for forgiving billionaires' loans. host: fred. independent. caller: thank you for taking my call. i would like to say something about immigration and it is unfortunate that too many people fail to understand that immigration is an environmental issue because people who live in

advanced industrialized country like the united states use up a lot more of our natural resources and people who live in less -- than people who live in less-developed countries. we do not need more people in the united states and the american people get that and that is why the birth rate is the way it is. but as people company legally and so many more, in through the southern borders. they claim that they are seeking amnesty, but that is because they have been told what to say. i do not believe that is true for most of them. and our natural resources are under strain. lake powell is drying up, lake mead is drying up. these people coming in who remain in the united states, i suspect most of them will, we are going to lose a lot of our open-space and our natural

resources will be depleted. there is a big debate on this issue a few years ago. unfortunately the people who fairly recognized that immigration is an environmental issue came out ahead, and i suspect the reason is that they get a lot of financial support from people like bill gates. so he uses a lot of immigrant labor. host: steve in vienna, west virginia. independent. we are in open form getting your thoughts on policy issues, go ahead. caller: good morning. i wish people would tell you common sense and logic, but i will make a prediction, maybe a couple. i think in 2023, kamala harris will be the president.

our president is a little -- and donald trump, thank you. host: freddie in georgia, independent. caller: hello, good morning. there are a couple of issues that i would like to bring forward. i would like to start with that movie woman, it is an insult to american blacks. we were brought here as slaves to this country, and that tribe portrayed in that movie was a tribe of people that were capturing lack people -- black people and selling them to the europeans in this country. that movie should be boycotted. the other issue i would like to bring forward is this pipeline that was blown up.

that is a very dangerous situation. and i understand that the security council is having a meeting on that today. i have been looking on c-span to see if they will present that because that is an active war against the german people and the russian people. so that is a very dangerous situation and i wish there was more information about that. host: erica in maryland, democratic caller. caller: hello, i was calling basically to get an understanding as to why we do not have funding or we have -- we are having such a hard time getting funding approved for covid research, covid treatments , and also to continue providing funding to hospitals for staffing needs and things and the very idea that it is the

recommended -- it has been recommended that hospitals lift the mask mandates. and people are still out here catching covid. and i am just surprised that we have so much funding for other issues in the country, war, things like that, but we do not of funding, the necessary funding available for covid. and it is still here, it is still going on and it is not as high as a level in the pandemic, but it is according to scientists and doctors and things like that, we are still under pandemic conditions. host: lawrence in laurel, maryland. democratic caller. caller: i just want to make a comment about the governor of florida.

he was given pandemic mommy -- money and was given to researchers and -- host: you are talking about the governor? caller: the governor. so now that his state has been impacted by the her occasion he wants to take money from the federal government. why cant we say no, because people do not even need the money because they have very rich people but the government will have to come out and help them 100%. they should say do not give money to them because it is free money that will cost -- that will cause inflation and all of this stuff. another thing i want to say is to immigration through the southern border. all of the people, i am from cameron.

all the people gave $1200 to the border patrol agents before they let them in. i talked to every one of them. so the person who is working as an agent between the border patrol agents, they are immigrants coming and they give 1200 and one person gave $2000, why can't the government investigate this and know that this is what is going on? because those who are there do not have money. those have money who cross, and that is what is encouraging them to come here. but i want to complain that people are coming here and they are making money from it. host: michael in pennsylvania. republican caller. michael, it is your turn. caller: i would like to remind americans about obama and biden

when they were in office and they had the infrastructure plan and the shovel ready plan and they asked them where they was and they laughed in their face and i do not know what happened to that money. now they are trying to get money to do it again and they did not do it the last time. can someone explain that to me? host: ivan, independent, cape cod, massachusetts. hello. caller: i just want to say my heart goes out to the people of florida. my policy is i am very concerned about our president. everybody has seen what has happened at this event where he mistakenly asked to bring up a dead congresswoman. if that had been donald trump, it would be 24/7, the media would be in absolutely a panic

because this man has the codes for the nuclear button. he has the one that decides if we go after putin and launched nuclear missiles. and he is clearly out of it. he should be in a that she should be in assisted living. it is obvious to anyone. we thought that was the case, but unfortunately our worst fears are true and i do not understand why this is not a bigger issue with the media. thank you. host: paul. cedar hill, texas, a democratic caller. caller: good morning america, it is really disingenuous to hear the republican party speak. they always have a plan when they were out of office. when they were in their nothing happened except paying a lot of people full and lobbyists. going back to the schools. when we were trying to go to school in the state of texas they were born -- they were boycotting the fact that you

were had -- if you had an academic scholarship and you were of color. but any time the republican off the -- the republicans are out of office they have a plan. the border has been broken inside will have been alive and they just use it as a talking point. host: michigan, joe is watching there. an caller: independent caller:. what do you have to say. you do -- you do a great job, the republicans were in charge but they did not have the ability to override the filibuster so they did not want -- so they did not yet they bills they wanted passed. what i called about was the student loan situation. what is -- what has happened is that these colleges and

universities have been given a license to steal by letting you take a course of study that you cannot pay your tuition with the wages that you are going to receive after you get your degree. they let you borrow $200,000 to take eskimo dance interpretation when you live in puerto rico and there are no eskimos to interpret. they need to use their endowments to loan the students money, that way they will treat the money as if it was theirs, and they will only loan people the money in occupations that will allow them the wages to pay those debts off. they put out all of these new feel-good degrees, they put out degrees that do not have high wages correlated with them, and

the people then are no longer able to pay the bills. now we are going to take and tax bricklayer and the guy pushing the lawnmower and the guy who works in a car wash drying cars off, and we are going to tax the butchers and all of the working people to pay for the debts created by the people that went to school and studied theater or poetry that does not afford them a living. host: joe "the wall street journal" six states are suing over the student debt plan. republican attorneys general are suing and one attorney representing iowa governor kim reynolds, also republican filed suit on behalf of their states. they are seeking the relief since the biden administration has indicated it will start rolling out debt cancellation program in early october.

the conservative legal challenges are expected after the administration makes a formal move towards cancellation such as releasing an application for borrowers to report their incomes. that story developing and that is in the "wall street journal if you care to read. let us go to mark in massachusetts. independent. good morning. go ahead. caller: good morning, it is marston's mills. host: thank you. caller: i want to talk about the hurricane. i live on cape cod and so we are coastal and at the mercy of the ocean. i have noticed in the south ever since hurricane katrina and i lived in new orleans and miami so i know well. i moved to miami after hurricane wilma in 2005 which was overshadowed by katrina.

but in the past, ever since then in the past 15 years i have noticed continued construction right in miami and south florida and they continue to build condos and houses on the water at sea level where the houses around here, few and far between are built on the water and they are made to meet a minimum 18 foot high tide surge. the first floor has to be 18 feet above high tide, and it is ridiculous. i would like to see what percentage florida has used a fema funds in the past 20 years as opposed to the whole u.s. and other states. host: mark in massachusetts. we will take a break and when we come back gwen moore of wisconsin joins us, a top member of the ways and means committee and we will talk about the government funding deadline and midterm elections coming up. ♪

>> there are a lot of places to get political information but only at c-span do you get it straight from the source. no matter where you are from or where you stand on the issues, c-span is america's network, unfiltered, unbiased, word for word. if it happens here, here, here, or anywhere that matters, america is watching on c-span, powered by cable. ♪ >> middle and high school students it is your time to shine. you are invited to participate in the c-span studentcam documentary competition. in light of the upcoming midterm elections feature yourself as a newly elected member of congress and we asked the competitors what is your top priorities and why? make a five to six minute video that shows the importance of your issue from opposing and supporting perspectives. do not be afraid to take risks.

be bold. amid the $100,000 in cash prizes is a $5,000 grand prize. videos must be submitted by january 20, 2023. is it studentcam.org for competition rules, tips, resources, and a step-by-step guide. ♪ listening through c-span radio just got easier. tell your smart speaker play c-span radio and listen to washington journal daily at 7:00 a.m. eastern, important congressional hearings throughout the day and weekends at 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. eastern. text washington today for a fast-paced report of the stories of the day. listen to c-span any time and just say play c-span radio. c-span, powered by cable. ♪ >> live sunday on indepth,

author, tv host and abrams media founder and ceo dan abrams will talk about u.s. legal history and the american legal system today. he is the author of several books including "lincoln's last trial" and "alabama versus king: martin luther king jr. and the civil trial that marched -- that launched the civil rights movement." join in with your calls, texts, and tweets on indepth on booktv on c-span2. >> washington journal continues. host: back with us is congresswoman gwen moore, democrat of wisconsin representing the fourth district, the milwaukee area. congresswoman, you face a midnight deadline to pass the

continuing resolution to keep the government up and running to avoid a partial government shutdown, how will you vote? guest: i will absolutely vote to fund the government. good morning. host: tell us why. guest: well, i think that is our responsibility to the country and the taxpayers to keep the government open. we have thousands of workers, you know, i am thinking right off the top of my head, the tsa, people who keeps -- to keep us safe in the air, and our ability to meet our obligations and i think it is ridiculous that we are brought to this ring summon ship all of the time -- brinksmanship all of the time over politics. the continuing resolution does not really add a whole lot of additional funding. it simply continues the government and level funds

everything with some exceptions. most notably the funded moneys provided to ukraine for their defense as an example. we must meet our obligations in a responsible way to the american people and our global responsibilities. host: the senate approved this measure yesterday and the house is slated to vote this morning coming in in less than 25 minutes to do so. what do you say to our earlier caller who said why is there so much money for ukraine? why are we continuing to give billions to them when there are issues at home? how will the american, the average american benefit from passing the continuing resolution? guest: well, we are not isolated in this world. the united states is a powerful country, perhaps the most

powerful country on earth, but we are not an island. i think what russia has done with invading ukraine, directing -- restricting their independence is a threat to not only all of europe, but a threat to democracy. and i think that we lead in democracy and democracy is the best form of government except for autocracy, which we see in countries like russia and like hungary, and we recognize the importance of preserving people's right to personal freedom and the rule of law, not having plutocrats, rich people, run the country. and we are fighting for a type of governance that benefits all people. and we are not putting boots on the ground in ukraine. and the least we can do is to

provide them a way to secure themselves. host: we are just weeks away from the midterm elections and kevin mccarthy gathered his gop colleagues on the house steps yesterday before the cameras talk about their commitment to america if you win the majority. i want to shower viewers and how do you respond. [video clip] >> in 40 days americans have a decision to make. do they want an economy that is strong? to make america ended energy independent, lowering their gas prices, slow the growth with inflation. do they want a nation that is safe and will secure their border. not defund the police, but add police. do they want a future that is built on freedom, we have a parent bill of rights where they have a standard -- a say in their kid's education.

we want a government that is accountable, with a check and balance that there will be a difference, and that is our commitment to you, a commitment to america. if you entrust us with the majority that is exactly what we will do. and on the very first day, our very first bill will repeal the 87,000 irs agents. [applause] because your government should be here to help you, not to go after you. that is a difference with the new majority. [end video clip] host: congresswoman, your response. caller: first of all there is a lot of hypocrisy if i can just recall everything. he talked about wanting people to have freedom and independence, how does that square up with their initiatives to create a nationwide ban on women's right to choose and

abortion? how does having -- talking about freedom, how does that square up with their consistent effort to deny people the right to vote and to continue to put together suppressive voter suppression initiatives. how does helping people -- how does independence and helping people deal with their daily lives and the economy, how does that square with fighting against lowering the cost of prescription drugs and lowering the cost of insulin to only $35 a month. how does securing our economy and lowering the cost of inflation, how does that jive with their 100% vote against providing chip technology so we can provide and produce our own

components in the united states? how does that square with those declarations that he has made. he wants us to trust the republicans with this, but what we have seen is that they are unable to reduce the cost of prescription drugs, unwilling to provide everybody with health care. we have seen this -- i think i have lost count of times i have tried to repeal the affordable care act, i stopped counting at 60. energy independence is laughable. when they will not vote at all on anything to reduce costs and climate change is bearing down on every community. we are seeing it with not just hurricane ian, it is all over the country. and yet we cannot get any support from republicans on providing energy independence as

it relates to moving away from fossil fuels and the entire world is trying to do that. we are allowing china to take the lead in reducing fossil fuels because the world knows that in order to save the planet that is what you have to do. all of these are republican talking points, and all of it, how? how will it help the average americans when we have seen that their agenda has failed to create huge tax break -- when their agenda has created huge tax breaks for wealthy people and squeeze the middle class and poor people? it does not add up. host: robert in illinois, independent. you are talking with congresswoman gwen moore. go ahead. caller: i want to comment on two things. number one is talking about a bill, the first thing the senators and all of these things, pass a bill that will

say once any one of these people, whether it be city, township, county, state or federal employee becomes indicted for any kind of use of -- misuse of funds or bribery, and even, how do i want to say this? and plea-bargain down below that they automatically lose pensions. secondly, the next thing, i want some representative khanna congressman, or senator to pass a bill that once any members become a -- i am losing my train of thought. host: i think we understood. congresswoman? caller: i really appreciate your passion about wanting to say that, i do not know if you're talking about members of

congress or other people, what i think the principal of no one is above the law is something that everybody should agree with. which is not to have exceptions for people who commit crimes, and yet they are allowed to ignore the benefits of a democracy and community. if you're talking about members of congress specifically, we have had bills that i have voted for in recent times that would make sure that there are no conflict of interest that we are not able to use the information that we receive to get benefits for ourselves with stocks, for example and we do have an ethics committee that very rigorously governs what happens to us as members. and you know, i do not know whether you agree with me or not, but that should include former presidents of the united

states as well. host: richard. brentwood, maryland. good morning. caller: good morning host and congress lady. your rebuttal is adequate but i do not see the same thing in the democratic campaign ads that are being portrayed through media, tv and the like. this commitment to america is just warmed over codfish by the republicans. they do not have the historical footprint for believability, this is what they ran in 2010 against obama. we will do a jobs bill and an after him, the gentleman from wisconsin and they never produced what they post and promise. and i just think, i do not know if this is jamie harrison's fault or the dnc, but your campaign ads to me just falls short. one last thing is that kevin mccarthy just out of his own mouth admitted that he is not

for accountability by promising to repeal irs agents. he is basically saying, we are for cheating. that is not -- that is not flipped and thrown back at the republicans, and i am just mystified. i thank you for what the democrats have done in the last two years in righting the ship and if we let republicans get control again, it -- we are done. host: i'm going to have the congresswoman respond. caller: the short response is amen. when i am thinking about what you said, we are not as aggressive as republicans are and we want to tell the truth and explain to people, and they are willing to just lie, just like the senator from my state, ron johnson who says that he wants to help social security and medicare and the reality is that he wants to take social security and medicare and put it on the chopping block and have

us vote on it every year, like right now, with this cr, if this does not pass by midnight under senator johnson's planned people would not get their social security check, october 1. and so you are absolutely right, we are not as aggressive as we are. we spend too much time explaining i guess instead of laying it on the line like they do. you are very right about the irs agents. you know that applause about how we are going to repeal the 87,000 irs agents. republicans when they have been in charge, they have constantly bled the irs of its workforce, and it is not just to go after tax cheats which is an extremely important job but to give people basic service. if you try to call the irs right now i guarantee you that you will be on hold and on hold, and

on hold, and on hold. the reality is that there are billions of dollars of revenues that are due the government and this enables and endure -- and in errors -- and appeals to the people. if you make $100,000 a year i will guarantee you that you will not be a tax cheat because you will get the money. if you inadvertently got a child tax credit when you were not deserving of, you know, the current system will catch you. if you are very wealthy, you can hire slick lawyers and get out of it because we do not have the expertise in the irs to bring those revenues in. as a democracy, we are all part of one community and we need to fund our military, our

environmental efforts, and our ability to be the greatest country on the face of the earth. host: you are on the ways and means committee and serve on the social security and subcommittees have brought up social security. what is the prospect for solvency? guest: you know, the republicans, their main tool in the arsenal is to scare people. you know, there were compromises made in the 80's that made it more solvent. and right now we have two funds, old-age age and survivors insurance. and the disability insurance. disability insurance is solvent up to 2096, the end of the millennium. the old age and security insurance is -- has some challenges.

we will say about 77% benefits after 2035. we need to make changes, but proposals like senator johnson's tub just put it on the chopping block and subject it to the appropriations process every year, not make it mandatory spending, grandma gets her check that everyone has gotten for the next two years is ridiculous, it is not a serious proposal. back in the 80's, when there is a bipartisan compromise they made some changes. as an example, they no longer provided cuts to people who had been deported because they were nazis. go figure, that was a good bill. it was much more controversial to cut minimum benefits. they cut benefits for students who were in college, but they

made these cuts on a bipartisan basis. we need to continue to work in a bipartisan manner, but we cannot take proposals like senator johnson's seriously. host: what about a cost-of-living increase, do you expect one? caller: i do not know if we can expect the colo, because it will help seniors and disabled people deal with the inflationary costs, and we should do that. host: michael in crosby, texas. democratic caller. you are next. caller: ok i am a veteran on social security now, i went to school, i finished, i paid off the government and my commitment to the military.

they don't keep their promise to the veterans, they do the same to the disability. the people with your parents, they say go over to a company and come back, we will pay you. caller: thank you so much -- guest: thank you so much with your military service, i had some trouble hearing you with my earpiece, and thank you for your service. by the way, veteran spending is also mandatory. and if we were to go along with senator johnson's proposal, that would be on the chopping block and i think that would be egregious. we have a voluntary arm service where people lay their lives on the line and put themselves at

risk and senator johnson is the leading spokesperson for enabling us to cut the benefits. and i thank you for your call. and i thank you for your service. we are going to make sure that you continue to get your benefits. host: linda in texas, independent caller. your question or comment. caller: how do you feel about all of the money that the governor of texas has sent -- has been sending the immigrants up north? host: i do not know if the congress moment hear that. but she was talking up sending immigrants up north. guest: what is a laughable thing to me is that martha's vineyard is a wonderful place and they have received these people and treated them with dignity. these people were fleeing the oppression of communism.

they were fleeing from repressive governments, seeking asylum and our constitution, and our laws enable this to apply for support and help during these times. it was a shame, and there are investigations and lawsuits pending regarding his behavior. he him and florida governor desantis' move to do this is human exploitation, and of course i have worked very hard on human trafficking. i would put this in the same category as human trafficking. for political purposes. host: a republican in tennessee. you are next. caller: hello, thank you for taking my call. i would like to talk about the flat tax. i see that you are in the ways

and means committee, and you talk about plutocrats but yet you're committee lives off of plutocrats. a flat tax would do away with your committee, it would take power away from politicians and take money and the donations away. of the big donors. host: let us talk about the flat tax. guest: flat tax is a flat idea, it is like flat earth. you know because 10% of a person's income who makes $16,000 a year working at $7.25 an hour as a whole lot more money than taking 10% of someone like jeff bezos and people who make billions of dollars. there is no way that they would miss 10% of their income. it is unfair. we have had what is called a progressive income tax system, which is not progressive enough

as far as i am concerned. it enables people to pay what they are able to pay. i hear an awful complaints from republicans about people who pay no taxes. well why would we tax someone into poverty? why would we tax somebody who is struggling taking care of two kids off of $7.25 an hour due to unwillingness to raise the minimum wage. there is not a house, apartment or -- that you can afford anywhere in america whether it is in rural mississippi or central park new york you can afford for seven dollars 25 cents an hour and let you would want to take 10% of zero and require people to pay it. it is the flat earth argument. and thank you for your comment. host: democrat, evansville, indiana. good morning jimmy. caller: good morning.

i would like to ask why they are discarding the poor with high prices and votes coming up in november and they are just not doing anything for the low income or no income. can you please explain why? guest: it is really not true that we are not doing anything for the low or no income. i thank you for this disc -- for bringing this discussion not because lower income people need to recognize the difference between democrats and republicans. during the pandemic which we are not through with yet, with all due respect to president joe biden. we rescued people who had maxed out their credit cards trying to live. we rescued people who were not able to go to work with the child tax credit to provide money to people so that our most vulnerable citizens would not go without food. we rescued people who were being

evicted from their apartments and from landlords who had renters who were unable to pay their rent, and so that they could continue to maintain their property. i mean, and without a single loan from the american rescue plan. we rescued restaurant workers and restaurants during the pandemic. we rescued small business as that were unable to thrive during the pandemic. and thank you for t-ing this up. we are the party that tries to equalize and create some equity and try to get the rich to pay more taxes so that they can in fact fund programs to help the very poor. we are the party that has supported the affordable care act, so-called obamacare.

during the american rescue plan, we were able to include a few million more people who were eligible for health care. and again, i will repeat something i said earlier, we were the party that is making sure that we lower prescription drug costs. this bill that we recently passed, with the inflation reduction act, not a single republican vote will enable us to move into an energy economy that is going to lower energy costs for heating and transportation not by november but in the long run by $1800 a month and move us toward more energy independence. i hope, sir, that you tell all of your neighbors that democrats are the one who care about low income and poor people. thank you for your call. host: before we let you go

because the house will come in shortly that you all can vote on this continuing resolution to avoid a partial government shutdown. what is your prediction for the november elections? what are you concerned about? guest: you know, we hear all the pungents talk up -- pundits talk about history. so people really have the choice, do you want to go back in history or do you want to go forward into the future? history is when women did not have the right to choose an abortion. history is when only wealthy people could vote. we are faced with a republican majority should they win of people who will deny people the right to vote. we will not expand good jobs by making sure that people have the

right to organize and be able to get good paying jobs. we want to fight climate change because we know that hurricane en is just one episode -- hurricane ian is just one episode of the story in our planet being destroyed by fossil fuels. we want to tackle gun violence. we know that republicans are a party that are wedded to the national rifle association. we are the party that wants to save women's reproductive rights. so this is a choice election. you can choose history, or -- democrats or people losing during the mid terms with the president and power, or you can choose the future. thank you. host: congresswoman, thank you and we appreciate your time. and the house is about to gavel

in. live coverage on c-span. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2022] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker.