host: this is "washington journal," for sunday, october 2. congress has left washington until after election day, now just 37 days away. for the next hour, we want to hear from you. what grade would you give congress for their session so far. have democrats delivered on public policy issues important to you? we want to know what you think.

republicans, dial (202)-748-8001 . democrats, (202)-748-8000. independents, (202)-748-8002. you can also text us at (202)-748-8003, find us at facebook.com/c-span. we are also on twitter and instagram. i want to bring up a recent article from the washington post, polling conducted by the post in conjunction with abc news. they asked voters if the election for the u.s. house of representatives was being held today, would you vote for the democratic candidate for the republican candidate in your congressional district? of the people polled by the washington post and abc news,

47% of respondents said they would choose the public and pinard -- republican candidate. 46% said they would choose the democratic candidate. you can see it is very evenly divided. we also have some recent polling on president biden's job approval rating. that polling shows that 43% approve of president biden's job but when asked how they consider his handling of the economy, 59% disapprove. when asking if the country is heading in the right or wrong direction, 65% said the country is heading in the wrong direction. that is from real clear politics.

the average of polling on that question. that shows president biden on average according to all the multiple poles that have been out recently, 43% job approval rating. so again we want to hear from you. congress just left. they are not back in washington until after the election. we want to know how you think they are doing so far. i'm going to promote those phone lines one more time. republicans, (202)-748-8001. democrats, (202)-748-8000. independents, (202)-748-8002. before we get to your calls,

let's hear from house republican leader kevin mccarthy on thursday right before the house adjourned. he and his colleagues held an event on the capitol steps to talk about the commitment to america plan. here is a portion of that. [video clip] >> in 40 days, americans have a decision to make. to they want an economy that is strong that will make america energy independent, slow the growth of inflation? to they want a nation that is safe that will secure their border, not defund the police but add to it? to they want a future that is built on freedom, or you have a bill it -- for you have a parents bill of rights and a say in your kids education? do they want a government that is accountable, a check and balance? that is our commitment to you, a commitment to america. if you entrust us with the majority, that is exactly what we will do. 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 go after you. that is the difference with the new majority. . host: that was house republican leader kevin mccarthy. let's hear from house democratic caucus chair hakeem jeffries. he spoke on how democrats are making the election -- and he criticized the republican commitment to america plan. [video clip] >> an incredible track record of accomplishment. the american rescue plan, the infrastructure and jobs act, the chips and science act, gun safety legislation for the first time in 30 years. the inflation reduction act. we've been able to act in a decisive way in terms of addressing the climate crisis and put our planet on a sustainable path forward and strengthened the affordable care act and drove down the high

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 will put people over politics, and fight to lower costs for better paying jobs and procedure communities, -- safer communities, we mean 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 and putting people over politics , and extreme mag are 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: that was hakeem jeffries, the democratic caucus chair of the u.s. house. we are ready to get to some of your questions and your answers now on the question what grade would you give congress for the session thus far? before we go to the calls, we do have a comment on facebook from jim. he answers the question this way. how can you give them anything else but an f? inflation out of control, rising interest rates, and invasion of our southern border that we may never get under control. the bottom line is this congress has done nothing to rein in this current white house while chasing the ghost of the last president. let's go down to stephen in minnesota. stephen you are on the republican line. how do you answer this question? caller: [inaudible]

these government are a bunch of fake phony lying -- i don't know how to say it, i would never trust the u.s. government for anything it stands for. get these folks out the door. you've got to talk to people. these sanctions do not solve a thing. host: that was stephen. let's go now to tyrone in new york city. calling on the democrat line, what do you think about congress and how they have done so far? caller: i think congress is struggling to take care of the people that donate money to them and the mass population. it is very difficult to take care of both. if you take money out of

politics, maybe we will have a better congress, a better presidential candidate, but because we have money dictating how congress operates and who they operate for, we will continue to have this problem and i hope that the republican stops this anti-american attitude. we need to understand that we need government. they know it now in florida. they need the same government that you pay your taxes to, the same government that you need to help you out when there is a hurricane situation. it is the same government that you call -- that you are calling to make small enough to drown in a bathtub. it is our government. we need it, we need to make it stronger, make it more responsive to the mass population. this is not america for only

certain people, it is for all of us. stop calling for the destruction of your government, please. host: that is tyrone in new york city. our next caller is shea in maryland. you are also calling on the democratic line. how do you think about congress has done so far? caller: i'm going to just say on the democratic side, i'm going to give them a flat out f. i think when you look at joe biden, and it is pretty clear that he is leaning more right than left and the issue is that but i don't understand but the democratic party is they represent over 40 million voters in this country but they don't govern like it. until we get a president that is going to play hardball with those maga republicans, i feel

like if a progressive president was in, we would get the policies that are needed to get this country in the forward direction. people like sinema and manchin, i would have kicked them out of the party. you have to hold them accountable in your own party to get legislation passed because it is so partisan right now. politics has become a zero-sum game which is all or nothing. thank you very much. host: our next caller is lauren in texas, calling as an independent. what do you think about how congress has done so far? caller: let's say this. everybody is entitled to their own opinion but nobody is entitled to their own facts. the true facts of the matter is,

as an american, a black american, i give the biden administration and f, but most important, i give the congressional black caucus an f, and i give the talking heads in the democratic party who are black a double f because check this out. i'm from flint, michigan originally. they don't even have clean drinking water in flint. they don't have clean drinking water in mississippi in a lot of urban areas. we are not tackling the issues that affect america as a whole, and black people are like the canary in the coal mine. if you look -- if you let black america die, all of america will die and the democrats are engaged in an insidious game of social engineering. how can you let people come across the border illegally, give them jobs, innocence and

everything? we've got homeless people, sleeping under bridges, we've got places like philadelphia, just flat out disaster areas. we've got so many things affecting workers in america and biden and the democrats are playing this race baiting game. there is no daylight between a black american worker, a white american worker, and hispanic american worker or for that matter, any working person in america. they are playing this race card the extent where it is really laughable. host: we will move on now to loretta in cleveland. good morning, you are calling on the democratic line. what is your answer to the question this morning? caller: good morning to you and good morning to america.

i'm very optimistic. i think that people should stop complaining. the people calling in have more money than the rest. especially the poor. i don't understand what all of this talk about the border. people complaining about folks seeking a better life, which is what america was built up for, it was set up for immigrants. what is it that people don't understand that? those latino people are coming back across the border because they want to claim their land. people need to open up a history book and look back into the 1800s and a little further, and they would find that latino people were expelled from their

land. they were expelled from new mexico, arizona, texas, florida, all of those southern -- even california. they kicked all of the hispanic people out, put them down in mexico and started up with all of this other stuff, and this racism -- that guy was not a democrat. people are acting like democrats , calling in on the democrat line but that guy is not a democrat. anybody who is supposed to be a christian, i can't believe how people are calling in and expressing these ugly attitudes on the air, and if they think that -- if they believe in god and he is going to let this go by, at could be a question when

you show up at the pearly gates, what did you do for the poor, and if you didn't do anything, if you didn't feed the needy, if you didn't clothe people, if you didn't go visit people in prison, this is what jesus asked you to do. host: that is loretta. let's go now to cedric in texas. you are calling on the republican line. how do you think congress has done this year? caller: african-american republican. i am stunned with people like loretta. we have to have borders in this world. you don't see people rushing to russia, china, canada, mexico. they are all coming to the united states. why? not because of the government but because of opportunity. she is right about that. a capitalist system is a great system. there are going to be winners and losers. the problem of the democratic

party -- i used to be a democrat back before ronald reagan and now i am in my 60's and i became a republican because common sense rules the republican party. donald trump is not the main factor as far as republicans go. he pushed himself into office and i hope that he will not be able to return. we have so many good nominees out there and one of the problems with democrats is it is just a bunch of special interests. the consul he tell african-americans how terrible they have it. if you stay out of trouble, you can do well in america because america has opportunities for everyone. i cannot understand that it is a party that spins and spins and then we recently found out $280 billion was stolen from covid relief. how does that happen?

african-americans need to wake up and understand we have to use common sense approaches to government and until that happens, the government is not the answer to our problems. host: to remind you, the question today is we want you to call in and tell us how you would grade congress for the session thus far. members have gone back to their districts and they will not return to washington until after the midterms. we want to know how you think they have done thus far. republicans, your number is (202)-748-8001. democrats, (202)-748-8000. independents, (202)-748-8002. let's get some more calls in. darlene is calling from oregon on the democrat line. go ahead. caller: i give congress an f.

i am calling because i believe that we should have term limits. these congressmen have turned this into a profession. they spend too much of their time trying to get reelected but i specifically believe there should be no lifetime appointments, even on the supreme court. these judges should have term limits also and we should have an opportunity to bring new blood in. most regular people cannot afford to compete against these millions and billionaires congressman and particularly i want to point out joe manchin. he seems to be a republican in a democratic hate -- democrat haze. he wants people to believe he is a democrat as he sits on his yacht at his $200,000 suits.

term limits will do it for us. host: that was darlene in oregon. our next caller is marshall in tennessee, you are on the republican line. what do you think about how congress is doing? caller: unfortunately, and this is not just happening right now, this has been for decades. congress always gets an f. they have about a 9% approval rating. whether it is breaking the law or abusing their power, they don't do what the american people want, they do what their party wants them to do and that is across-the-board, republicans and democrats. we now have a government that does not represent the people. our country needs to proudly say of the people, for the people and by the people but now it

seems to be of the government for the government and by the government. and i am not calling for violence. until the american people stand up and go and stand on the steps of washington and say no more, it is going to continue on because they have gotten too much power. host: our next caller is timothy in ohio. you are on the independent line. let us know what you think. caller: i think congress knows what they are doing by now. they have reasons for taking the time that they do, the process isn't new. host: turn down your tv and then keep going with your thoughts.

timothy? caller: we have all this political stuff going on and mr. biden is doing what he can for us. mr. trump had other ideas. the way i see it is, instead of worrying about all of what congress is doing and the joint chiefs of staff and stuff, we should be more concerned with america. host: that is timothy in union city, ohio. we are asking you to grade congress this session. call us. republicans, your number is (202)-748-8000. democrats, -- republicans, your number is (202)-748-8001. democrats, (202)-748-8000. independents, (202)-748-8002. we want to hear from more of

you. our next caller is eric on the democrat line. how do you think about how congress is doing? caller: i think congress is doing great and another thing, president biden has been in washington and he knows washington and i think we should -- he should run again for president, because he is somebody who is on top of everything. donald trump, i heard the last caller say -- he didn't do nothing, which is true. so i'm voting in a congress and president joe biden. host: that was eric in louisiana. let's bring up now harry, in vermont. you can let me know if i

pronounced your name correctly. what do you think? caller: thank you. i am a democrat and i am very disappointed in them, ever since they put bad candidates up like hillary and now they have candidates like rafael warnock or john fetterman. i've never been so disappointed in my party. we can find gaffes that the white house has to clear up every day. he said a dead woman was alive and tried to talk to her. he is not on top of anything. in disappointed. i want results over rhetoric and while i didn't like what president trump said when he was in office, the results were obvious, they were undeniable.

i just can't believe it. i am a christian and i believe that science says there were only two genders and abortion is murder. i want to believe science, but everybody only wants to believe political science. as for violence on january 6, i also remember that when president trump was elected, his people were attacked and kept from going into the inauguration, when all the democrats protested. his people were attacked. host: that was harry in vermont. he did mention a recent gaffe by president biden during an event on hunger at the white house. he asked for a representative who had recently passed away. she was an advocate for the issue that was being discussed that day.

this is an npr article on what happened it says president joe biden mistakenly called out for the late representative, the indiana republican who died in a car crash in august, while giving opening remarks at a white house conference on hunger, nutrition and health. she was one of four cosponsors on a bill to fund the conference and had been an advocate for reducing hunger in america. that was a recent misstatement by president joe biden. let's get to more of your calls. michael in warrenton, north carolina on the independent line. how do you rate congress? caller: i rate congress as bad. number one, people have to understand one thing. everybody -- everyone coming here with columbus is immigrants

and on that steve miller hanging with trump, he went down to the south and got people to come up here. trump is nothing but the antichrist. people that don't know their history, they need to go to their history books. when they wrote the constitution and every thing about was going on, they wrote it for them. for the white people. who died and left the white man king of this world? host: that is michael. let's bring up deborah in racine , wisconsin. you are calling on the republican line. what is your thought on congress? caller: where do i start? i believe that we are fighting

the devil. to me, the democrats lie, cheat, steal, they will do anything. look at biden's son. he is a drug addict, a sex fiend and biden does nothing about it. stealing money. they don't care about people. host: let's talk to kathleen in minneapolis, minnesota. you are calling as a democrat. whatever -- what are your thoughts this morning? caller: i was tempted to call as an independent because my issue with letter grading the congress is that they deserve a b plus for bribery. the level of bribery in congress that we don't really see and is not really investigated is very serious. as a political group, it deserves a d-because the level of cooperation, compromise and

producing legislation has nothing to do with what washington wanted and what john adams wanted. my single moment of legislation is something the criminal would have been happy to call the secure act. pruden took ukraine and calls it his. the secure act took legislation and called it secure and people know that their roth ira has been removed? senator roth had a very good concept. many people including lots of teachers, teachers are long-term planners, so many teachers and middle-class people who are long-term planners have money in the ira and their grandchildren can't stretch it out and who decided that the roth ira shall

be shrunken? it works for the insurance company, it works for the banks, and it denies everybody's privileges. host: that was kathleen. we are now going to go to debbie in williamsburg, ohio. you are calling as an independent. what is your grade for congress? caller: i would give them a d-. i actually used to be a republican and that kind of denounced both parties now, and i'm hoping that through our voting that we can actually reclaim our congress for our people in the united states. i agree that we should have not life term terms for our congress people because after they get

in, they are not actually with the lobbyists and the big money and everything, they are actually controlled by not the common people anymore but the people that run big business worldwide which also shows influences with our allies. we are not represented -- the people are not represented in this country anymore. there are a few politicians in office and their hands are tied because of the politics. congress should not be a political, it should be more a system that actually governs our people the way that our constitution was written to. host: that was debbie.

next up, let's talk to lauren in pennsylvania. you are calling on the republican line, how would you grade congress this year? caller: i would like to thank you for letting conservative people have a voice this morning. you sometimes cut us off. i would give them an f. democrats when they have a chance to talk, they are reading from a script. none of them has the talent to talk on their own. i am sick of the lies, the whole world is watching and half the people that call into this channel are convinced -- i'm convinced work for you guys. i am so sick of the lies being told to the public because you guys found the bull hone and you own all the news channels and the ap and everything. i haven't been able to read the

newspaper for the last couple of years because it is nothing but lies and i'm sick of it. host: so again, we are talking to you this morning and we want to hear your grade for congress this session. before we get to more calls, i want to bring back up this washington post and abc news poll. one of the questions it asked the folks that pulled was which party do you trust more to handle major issues and you see here on this chart, on crime, republicans have the advantage, same for the inflation, the economy. it was more evenly matched when it came to immigration, education and schools. on the issues of abortion and climate change, the respondents to the poll gave democrats the advantage when it comes to which party do they trust to handle

some of the major issues of today. the question for you this morning is what grade do you give congress now that they are back in their district until the midterm elections? the number for republicans again is (202)-748-8001. democrats, dial (202)-748-8000. and independents, (202)-748-8002 . let's get to more of your calls. gloria in ohio on the democrat line, what are your thoughts? caller: i think this country is in trouble. people need to go back to school and learn history.

you don't realize as far as republicans are concerned, they do nothing for the people of this country, period. when has trump ever offered to do anything? what has he done as far as people in this country? he has done absolutely nothing. he is an ignorant person and he has no idea how the country is supposed to even run. he is going to be another putin. the people are losing all of their rights in this country right now and they don't realize how much they are losing and it is not only for the blacks, it is going to be for this country nationwide. the people in this country are going to be losing the right to vote. you won't be able to do anything , and it'll be like puttin has his people -- putin has his people. they only watch the propaganda and that is what this country is going to be like. fighting wars with each other or

destroying the country completely because the only thing that has kept this country running properly right now is the democratic party. host: that was doris in lawrence, ohio. let's bring up more of the comments you are leaving on our facebook page. we have a comment from derek, who responds a++, with the slim majority, democrats have gotten some very important things done. i still want nancy to do legislation that prevents direct trading from members of congress in the stock market. scott writes f, i actually gave them a d last year with the infrastructure bill being passed but this so-called inflation reduction act is just a giveaway to rich people that want to buy an electric car. what is confusing is why they didn't take that money and offer

a subsidy to pay off student loans instead of loan forgiveness. at least students would have had to prove a need first. we also have a comment from steve. a+ 100% in bankrupting the country and ushering in a recession. and finally, from jeff b, a, done in spite of the republicans. let's go to more of your calls now. this is robert coming up on the republican line. go ahead. caller: good morning. unfortunately i give both parties a d or an f. they are not really taking care of the american people anymore it seems. the amount of money that we spend and giveaway and waste is a shame.

just about every single person in this country could be very well taken care of, but we seem to waste so much money and steal so much money and divert money into these special causes which is basically theft. term limits have got to be in place. having people in power for 50 or 60 years, when they become senators, they are just modest normal people but when they retire from congress, everybody is always a multimillionaire and it is basically off of the backs of us american people. we don't take care of our veterans, we don't take care of -- that have fought for us. we allow these illegal people into this country with no covid inspections whatsoever. we give them housing, we give them food, we give them phones,

we give them everything. i don't understand what we don't take care of the american people this way. i blame both parties. that is my comment and i hope everybody has a nice day. host: let's go to crystal in pennsylvania. you are on the democrat line. what are your thoughts this morning? caller: good morning everyone. i want to give the democrats a b and the republicans and f. i say this because the republicans, all they do every single day all day is complain. at least the democrats have done stuff, done things for the american people. and republicans, they want to talk about what they can do and what they will do and the border has been open for years. every election cycle they bring

up the same things to scare people and let me just say this, as an african-american, i have eaten good and i've eaten bad. the prices of food, that will go away. what will not go away is democracy. i want democracy, i want to be able to vote. i want to be able to say what i can and cannot do with my own body. if you don't want an abortion, don't get one. that is the way i feel, but the republicans, i will not vote for them. they are liars. they huddle with people like the oath keepers. the guy talking about how they throw racism around. it is the republicans every year that is scaring people and they want to talk about defunding police? republicans are saying defund the fbi? what is the difference? they are offices of the law.

congress people and not for themselves, and desantis threw away $12 million that he could have had for his state and he voted against it when he was in -- he voted against new jersey getting that money and now florida is begging for money. i could never ever vote for a republican and i never will. thank you so much. host: that was crystal in pennsylvania. our next caller is robert, calling from michigan, and robert is calling on the independent line. how do you grade congress? caller: thanks for having me on. i grade congress a d because congress has been spending without cause, uncontrollable spending and the reason i say this is because i think that

spending has increased inflation and has caused a mediocre man and woman who have stocks to have a faltering stock market and it has decreased our wealth and security, and i blame both democrats and republicans for spending beyond our means and spending without thinking and that has caused inflation. of course the president agreed to the bill and it doesn't matter if you are a democratic person -- democratic president or a republican president, they just want to spend to make themselves popular among the people and as a result of this, we have high inflation and it is

causing all of our 401(k)s to be depleted, and that is my comment. host: that was robert in michigan. our next caller is lori in pennsylvania. you are on the democrat line. how would you rate congress? caller: if i had to give them a grade right now, i would give them an i for incomplete. all branches have made some errors that they should have been able to correct. the executive branch is able to give the authority to go to war without congress, so congress members don't get chopped at home when people vote for them. the judicial branch brought in dark money, allowed it and the legislative branch started the red map. they re-drew their own district lines and they did it with such technology, it was like a knife.

host: did we lose you? caller: sorry, i had the tv off so i could not hear myself. in 2010, they redrew the district lines and used a new technology that was never used before. both parties have gerrymandered but this took it to a new level. it definitely infringed on the democracy and the way we are supposed to vote. in 2020, the lines are going to be different, so we will see what happens, but it is incomplete because they need to learn. they should have learned from these errors, if we want this to succeed. i have worked hard to give my daughters a better life, to educate them and send them to college. i don't want to see their rights being taken away when i've worked so hard to give them a better life and they have worked very hard every day to make a

living and make things good in america and that is the american dream. i also think that the republican party really left people down -- let people down because they miss lead their base, they misled their own voters. they knew that this election wasn't stolen because they were definitely in contact with the election workers in their home states, and they were telling them that the numbers weren't coming right, that trump was losing and they stuck to it, they stuck to it all the way to the end and they ran afraid when these people attacked their own place of business. host: thank you for your comment. we will move on now. i will go to the next caller, this is april in rock island, illinois. you are calling as a republican. what do you think about how congress is doing? caller: my goodness.

it could not be worse. literally straight down the middle. it can't get worse. it makes me really sad because they have a -- i have a 34-year-old son who called me the other day and he asked me if we were going to have a civil war and i said i hate to say it but we probably will. it won't be a violent one, but the united states of america if we keep going this way, we won't be the united states of america in 50 years. we will literally be two different countries because -- i told him, 30 years ago, it did not matter who was in the congress and had the power. 70% to 90% of the votes passed stuff.

now they just all vote on the party line, end of story and nothing is getting done. host: that was april. before we get to more of your calls, i want to bring up some video of seven -- senate democratic leader chuck schumer, last week. he spoke on the senate floor about a choice between democrats and republicans that voters face in this year's midterm. [video clip] >> the contrast is not hard to grasp. the choices between the parties run deep and the consequences to our country enormous. we have many challenges left to overcome as a nation but the choice is now between the party that will build on the progress we have made or one that will undo everything we have worked to accomplish. between a party that will protect our freedoms and a party that will conspire to take them away. between a party that believes

america is at its best when we invest in all people or a party that will only look after the ultrarich. remember their major compass met when they had the majority was tax cuts for the very wealthy. i am confident that americans will know which party is fighting in their corner. i want to thank my colleagues for their excellent work over the past two years and i look forward to building on all of that work we have accomplished to set america on a path to prosperity in the 21st century. host: let's go back tomorrow your calls. we are asking you to grade congress so far this year. the reminder -- as a reminder, the number for republicans is (202)-748-8001. democrats, your number is (202)-748-8000. independents, dial (202)-748-8002. our next caller is bill in north carolina on the independent line. what do you think?

caller: i would grade the congress and our system as a complete and total f for failure. our borders are completely open, drugs are rampant, coming across the border. in one of our president elections years ago, i think the question was, if the economy is stupid. if you look at your 401(k) now and see how things are going, we have a spendthrift government. we have got to get a hold on the spendthrift. we can continue to give and give and give, and we are just giving our country away. the congress and the senate are fighting more against a man, donald trump instead of fighting for the american people. host: that was bill.

our next caller is in indiana. you are on the democrat line. how do you grade congress? caller: i grade congress with an a. they are for the american people, they are constantly trying to pass bills that will benefit not only the rich but the people who are struggling the most and this country as a country of immigrants. we are the most powerful country in the world and our pledge of allegiance is one nation under god, it is not just for the rich. it is also for the poor, the immigrants, the blacks and the whites. i think we need to get back to

civics in our schools to teach our children how the constitution and the branches of government and how the country operates. i think people think that the president is the most powerful person and he is responsible for everything and that is not the case. we are a country that has rules and laws and everybody must abide by them and that is what makes us the most powerful country in the world. we have guidelines and that as americans we are spoiled. if we went to these other countries that are struggling, i think we would not be so ungrateful and understand that we don't have it bad and i grade congress with an a because they

have passed several different bills to help us. donald trump is a lunatic and the republican party are corrupt and they want a fascist country. host: that was cory in indiana. let's bring up howard now in pennsylvania. howard, you are on the republican line. give us some thoughts about congress. caller: good morning america. i will give congress a zero. 535 do nothings. all they are interested in is the 174 thousand dollars a year salary plus all they can beg, borrow and steal. they are not for the american people. host: that was howard in

pennsylvania. let's bring up bernie now, calling from pennsylvania on the independent line. go ahead. caller: i would like to compound that zero. the reason why congress earns a zero is because they don't represent the american public. they represent globalists, special banking interests and the war industrial military complex with big pharma and they act as a mafia to govern and overstep our rights. people have to wake up. congress is supposed to represent us, not special interests, not what they think is best for us. they are supposed to represent us. right into your congress, do they respond to you?

they will give you a generic thank you letter saying they will consider and review. there is no accountability. this is why they don't represent nobody. it is just the special globalist interests. host: that was bernie. let's bring up rich in robbinsville, new jersey. on the democrat line, how do you grade congress? caller: i rate them with an f for failure. the problem is the republicans will vote straight against a bill when the democrats vote for the bill. there is no reason. we are not voting for the people, we are voting for the party. the other thing is our representative in this district is chris smith.

i've been calling for 10 years to get a constituency meeting with this guy and he refuses to do it. i called the office to tell him or ask him why he voted against a bill. you never get an answer back. they said oh we will tell chris what you said and the other thing is the supreme court, the supreme court also has failing grades. they are a political thing, it is a political party in the supreme court nowadays and they just don't have the power to do anything right. thank you for your time. host: next caller is nancy in longview, washington. you are calling as a republican. how do you grade congress? caller: i don't think congress has been doing a very good job at all. i am really tired of hearing

people bash president trump when he did more for our country than any other president has ever don . we've got open borders. we've been in a war with foreign countries, with chemical war for a long time. host: nancy are we losing you? caller: i think so. host: ok. caller: we've been in a chemical war for a long time. we've got drugs pouring across the border. with president that was stopped. host: that was nancy in washington. our next caller is molests in georgia, on the independent line -- is melissa in georgia, on the

independent line. caller: i had a biracial son at the age of 19 -- but the family came together because we don't believe in abortion, because that is murder and god does not like murder. when i see president trump, i salute him because i see a businessman, a man that puts his country first. he didn't take anything back from his country because he is not greedy. every bit of money he has made, he has put into the whole world and that is what god does. god wants everyone to come under him, one nation under him, because at some point we all have to talk to god.

these people committing suicide and everything else, it is like a lot of the churches say that is a sin. what i would like to ask them is what did somebody do to them as a christian to make them want to take their life? as christians, when will we start looking at ourselves and saying what can i do better for the next man? god is love. he is tired of the hate, he is tired of the race war because if you look at my family, my son of my daughters, i had a white man i was married to for 22 years but at the age of four, my son was adopted. that is what god is. my family sees no color. host: let's bring up some of the comments we are getting through social media. this is deborah on twitter.

she says a-plus for biden and the democrats and thank you to the brave republicans who voted on infrastructure and gun legislation. our next message says veronica escobar gets a. republicans are afraid of brown and black migrants so what did they intend to do with the unwanted american babies? josh mullins writes on facebook a,+ for republicans keeping the authoritarian unconstitutional gun ban from reaching the floor. let's go to another caller. mark in illinois. on the republican line, give us your thoughts. caller:-- caller: i'm on the democrat line.

i'm happy to give my thoughts. host: go ahead. caller: we all complain about the bipartisanship and that it isn't there and everything is so fractured. but we buy into all of these narratives that paint a catastrophic picture and we have little consideration for the other side. we feed into this narrative that has created the monster we deal with. it is either all bad or all good and i think that is always a mistake. that is not how it is supposed to be. to my conservative friends, i say they bring us the federalist papers all the time. having read the federalist papers, they are so not condemning of the other view that when you read it, you understand it is not about -- i

have to have my way. we have to let other people live the way they want. the idea that we, a life is sacred is a religious idea. we have to separate those personal ideas from what would be good in the public square, the discussion for what is good in the public square has been lost. host: we will take a quick break. coming up next is heritage foundation visiting fellow, adam kissel, who will discuss legal challenges to the biden administration's plan for student loan debt forgiveness. after that, abby, deputy director of tufts university center of research for physics will talk about how millennials could impact the 20 midterms. -- 2022 midterms.

♪ >> live today on in-depth, author, tv host and abrams media founder and ceo dan abrams will be our guest, talking about u.s. legal history, and the american legal system today. he is the author of several books including lincoln's last trial, kennedy's adventures about the trial of jack ruby and alabama versus king. martin luther king and the criminal trial that launched the civil rights movement. join into the conversation with your calls, texts and tweets. on book tv and c-span2.

>> the u.s. supreme court returns this week for a new term, continuing with livestreamed oral arguments. it follows a year of decisions that have had significant public policy implications. follow the court including oral arguments at c-span.com/supreme court. for a look at some of the most high-profile rulings, download c-span's landmark cases podcast, which explores the issues, people and places involved in some of the most significant supreme court cases in our nations history. the landmark nations podcast is available on c-span's website. >> middle and high school student, it is your time to shine. you are invited to participate in c-span's studentcam

competition. nature yourself as a newly elected member of congress. what is your top priority and why? make a five to six minute video that shows the importance of your issue from opposing and supporting perspectives. don't be afraid to take risks with your documentary. be bold. among the $100,000 in cash prizes is a $5,000 grand prize. videos must be submitted by january 20, 2023. visit our website at studentcam.org. >> washington journal continues. host: heritage foundation visiting fellow adam kissel is here with us this morning to discuss the biden administration's plan for student loan debt forgiveness. good morning. guest: good morning. host: first of all, describe the

work you did for the u.s. department of education and higher education programs and how much of your portfolio in that job dealt with the areas of student loans? guest: i was the deputy assistant secretary for higher education programs. we managed about $1 billion to $2 billion in federal programs. $1 billion in hbcu capital finance loans. i did not directly work with student loan debt but i have learned a lot about it since. host: got it. what is your position? president biden has announced a plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student loans for a lot of folks who have federally backed student loans. what is your position on that? do you think it is the right or wrong thing to do? guest: it's the wrong thing to do. it is blatantly illegal and it is very expensive. it is unfair because we have 100

million taxpayers paying debt. many of whom have a college education. the 100 million who are paying for anybody else are paying for people who are better educated and more able to pay their debts. if you have a younger sister who gets zero dollars and the older sister is getting $20,000 because of arbitrary cutoffs, that is also pretty unfair. on the illegal side, there are three lawsuits explaining a number of different ways -- in terms of expense, we are talking about $2000 per taxpayer, may $1 trillion with all of the gimmicks they have. at least $3 billion or $5 billion by the department of education -- department of education. others have said $5 billion. this is an expensive, besides

unfair and illegal, set of ideas. host: we have adam kissel and we want to get to your thoughts about president biden student debt forgiveness plans, your questions for adam, so you can go ahead and start calling now. if you have student loan debt, the number is (202) 748-8000. if you have paid off your student debt, call (202) 748-8001. all others, the number is (202) 748-8002. i want to bring up, earlier this year, the white house economic council deputy director explained what the biden administration used to justify the offering of debt relief to those in higher income brackets, how they set up the cutoff that you mentioned.

>> as you noted, nearly 90% of the benefits go to people making under $75,000 a year. our view is that folks that you mention, under 120 $5,000, are middle-class families. they would widely be considered as such. i want to be totally clear about this. >> $250,000, would you view that as a middle-class family, people who make under $250,000? >> absolutely. look, it is extremely consistent with what the president has said on the tax side. he said nobody making under $400,000 a year should be paying for tax inquiries. there has been a relatively small sliver of folks who have done extremely well. the top 1% or top 5%. our goal was to make sure that

people below that, the bottom 95%, get a little bit more relief and breathing room. that is what this policy does. by the way, targeted more narrowly than that, primarily, overwhelmingly, the people making under $75,000 a year. host: you heard the case from the case from the biden administration. what are your thoughts about the income cut they set? guest: $75,000 a year is far above the medium income for a number of states in this country. in west virginia, the medium income is $60,000 a year. to have the idea that $75,000 is a good benchmark for who is getting how much money is incorrect. then, if you look at the $250,000 cut off, that is four times the median family income in a bunch of states. the national median family income is $80,000 at last -- or

less. it is pretty crazy to use that kind of number. the administration or that person even admitted that people up to the 94th percentile of income will be getting money. tell somebody who is a low-wage worker that they have to pay for the 94th percentile income worker, that is not right. host: let's get into the lawsuits you mentioned. last week, the biden administration was sued, there are several. walk us through that. you said there are three yucca guest: there are 3 -- host: you said there are three ? guest: there are three lawsuits. the first was by frank, who works for an indiana nonprofit. the bailout does nothing for him because he will have his loans forgiven at the end of 10 years of payments, anyway. he is on income driven

repayment, which means his income drives his repayment amount. the bailout gives him no benefits, because regardless of what his balance is, he will have zero change in his student loan debt repayment. he pays the same amount per month. what does happen to him with forgiveness is he now has a tax bill from the state of indiana. he has to pay $1000 worth of state tax. in the other two lawsuits, other states do state tax different leap. if your loan is forgiven before 2026, you don't pay any of that in your federal tax. since the states are connected to the federal tax code in a bunch of states, that means that they are losing out on the tax that they would have gotten for loan forgiveness from peoples who -- people whose loans are forgiven. there is a reason these other six or seven states have shown

harm. the court idea is that there is a major equestrians doctoring. it says executive agency can't find new, broad power to do something did not have power for before. that is what the executive branch has done. nancy pelosi, joe biden and the previous education department all agreed that the heroes act of 2003 does not, which is what they are using, does not give them authority to have these loans in an arbitrary and capricious way, the government is using that law to usurp the power of the legislative branch in forgiving debt. host: i want to remind our viewers and listeners we want to hear from you on the issue of student loan debt forgiveness. call us at 202-748-8000. if you have paid off your student loans, (202) 748-8001 is

the number for you to call. all others, dial (202) 748-8002. you just mentioned these three lawsuits on different angles. which one do you think has the most teeth and is the most likely to perhaps bring changes to the biden proposal? host: the one from the six states led by missouri. that is because they have a number of very good arguments, not only about separation of powers and things like the appropriations clause, but also because they have definite harms that their states are facing. missouri, for instance, the student loans, a lot of them are held by an old program. you can bundle up the loans in social security. you can use that for pensions like nebraska does or use it to

earn money and give out new loans in missouri like missouri does. by encouraging people to get out of the loans and re-consolidate into forgivable loans, the first ones were private loans in the new ones are public loans. if you do that, all of that money comes out of the field program. you can't use that for pensions or additional security making. what is interesting about the first lawsuit is that the federal government has changed the rules. you can opt out of that $1000 payment just by not having your loans forgiven. the only improves the case for the second lawsuit. it shows the government is making political decisions instead of tying their decision to the heroes act of 2003 and say when you have a lot of arbitrary decisions, you are violating the administrative procedures act. and these states will be able to

show there is no relation between what the government is doing and the law that they are relying on. host: i brought up an article in cnbc that talks about how there are 700,000 people who, according to new guidance from the department of education, will no longer qualify for loan forgiveness, because, according to the new guidance, followers would no longer be able to of time one time debt relief due to consolidation and would only get forgiveness if they applied for -- be qualified for forgiveness if they applied for consolidation before september between ninth. -- september 29.

we have miranda. what do you think? caller: i applied president biden for tackling student debt. i am of the state of mind that education should be free. call me socialist all you want. but i agree, education should be free. you go to college, it should be free. children should not come out of college with all of this debt. [indiscernible] this person sitting here, i don't agree with nothing he says. i agree that education should be free. these parents shouldn't have to take their hard earned money to pay for college. it should be free. host: there are people who say student debt forgiveness is part of a bigger push to make college more affordable read what are your thoughts on that? guest: this round of student loan forgiveness does not

address the real problem. it is a one-time thing. instead of addressing head on student loan debt, which is around 1.7 trillion dollars, we are seeing these things around the edges. it is not addressing the real problem. when you look at what the far left wants, they want a lot more debt forgiveness and the right wants a lot less or zero debt forgiveness. this was a politically risky move because it is not satisfying either side. host: let's bring up andrew in new jersey. you called on the line of general responses, you have a question or comment, andrew? caller: for mr. kissel, i want to know your background. you are a fellow on higher education, do you have an educational background? guest: i have taught at major universities and i understand. i had a $2 billion portfolio in

education. i know what i'm talking about. host: thank you very nationally -- caller: thank you. these colleges keep raising tuition year after year after year after year. in new jersey, we have state colleges that the lottery and casinos are supposed to subsidize. but yet, at the state colleges, the situation -- the tuition keeps going higher and higher every year. is this about pensions for professors? and are they being taught something they will carry on in life? because most of these kids that graduate from college, they don't go into fields and they can't get a job in a field that they studied. thank you. host: any thoughts? guest: bill bennett had the bennett hypothesis, which is when you subsidize tuition, tuition goes up. it makes sense.

if you make something easier to get, you get more of it. colleges are happy to have something like loan forgiveness because it encourages more people to take on more debt. especially in the hope they will get more debt free in the future. colleges will raise tuition, which will take the student debt problem in the wrong direction instead of the right direction. the right answer is to do something more fundamental. host: let's hear from barbara in durham, north carolina. you paid off your loans. what do you think of the biden plan? caller: i think it is a great idea. because why not show people now? if you look at high school now, there are opportunities for kids that they can go to typical schools for free. there are opportunities for kids where they have early college and you only have to pay for two years of college. why wouldn't we help our students and our fellow americans? there are all kinds of subsidies

the government gives out for everyone. there are food stamps, there is housing. i don't see nothing wrong with any of it. if we can send money to ukraine, we can help fellow americans. people like this man who gets on tv and say no, we shouldn't do this, what do you suggest we do? inflation is high now. why shouldn't we help our people now? host: let's let our guest respond. guest: i appreciate that question. it is valuable to have people go into two year programs. what i hoped would happen is we transfer a lot of the spending on four year programs to two year programs and apprenticeships so people can get into well-paying jobs sooner. it is true we have a spending problem. we spend a lot of money around the world and domestically and from my political perspective, we should do a lot less of that so that people have money in their own pockets to spend on

what they want. host: let's talk to cher in indiana. what are your thoughts on biden's student debt forgiveness? caller: yes, my question was for mr. kissel. his title is visiting fellow on higher education reform. i want to know what his or his foundations plan was to help reduce student loan debt. they are obviously against the biden administration's approach. do they have another idea to help reduce the cost of college? host: adam? guest: i appreciate that question. from where i sit and where the heritage foundation sits, plan a is to abolish the u.s. department of education. plan b is to privatize student loans. when you privatize student loans, what happens is that the interest rate of loans rises up to near or at the level of the

current market. and that will right size the number of people who choose to go to college. it is one of the smartest ways do it, let the market decide rather than the government intervene. host: our next caller is mark in glendale, new york. you have paid off your loans. what are your questions for our guest? caller: good morning. two points. i understand that mr. kissel said the gentle men in indiana has filed a lawsuit because he has to pay $1000 in state taxes rather than a $10,000 loan. i didn't go to harvard business but last i checked, $1000 is less than $10,000. secondly, as someone who paid off his loans, grateful that i did, i'm the first person in my

family to graduate from a four year college. i find it interesting that mr. kissel seems to have a problem with this -- i guess we call it some sedation -- some sedation -- some sedation -- subsidation. i don't own an oil company. i don't own a tech company which -- nasa developed it. i don't see complaining about that. united is the first word. the united states of america. we are not red states of america or free-market states of america. we are united states of america. it is right there in the constitution. host: let me but in an let's let adam respond to some of the points you made. guest: we might agree that

government is spending too much on subsidies. on the first question, this particular individual is on the public service loan forgiveness and income driven repayment plan. his student loans will be forgiven no matter what the balance is. whether it is $10,000 or $20,000 or $50,000 or zero, he is still being penalized that $1000. host: our next caller is cheryl. we hope you're doing ok after the storm in florida. you have paid off your debt. let us know what your questions or comments are. caller: thank you for taking my call. it is about responsibility. mr. kissel, you have it right. the government messes everything up. student loans should be

privatized. people should take responsibility for themselves. i worked my rear end off to pay off my student loans. i wouldn't dream of asking another hard-working american to pay my debt to take over my responsibility. that is the problem with the younger generation. it is me, me, me and what can the government do for me? there are over 11 million jobs out there. go get a job, stop making excuses, stop expecting everybody else to pay your way. if you want to get a college education, the government is not fixing what needs to be fixed. the cost of colleges and universities is outrageous. that is what needs to be fixed privatizing student loan, get the government out of it. the government messes everything up. they waste their money on everything. take responsibility for yourself, children. the government will not be able to fix your problems forever. they will eventually run out of money.

i get it. i worked so hard to pay off my loans and i'm proud of that. i never took anything from the government. host: let's let adam respond to that. guest: i agree with much everything the callers -- pretty much everything the caller has said. for some, it is not about responsibility, it is about what the government is doing for people who don't need the help. host: i want to remind you, adam kissel is here from the heritage foundation. we are talking about president biden's student debt forgiveness program. we want to hear from you. if you have student loan debt, call us at (202) 748-8000. if you have paid off your student loan debt, the number is (202) 748-8001. everyone else, please call us at (202) 748-8002.

this is eric in texas. you have debt. what are your thoughts or comments? caller: thank you for taking my call. i have student loan debt. i am a teacher. i host at a title ix school. those are poorer schools. there are certain things that are being done to help take the debt off working in the center. one of the things i have a question about, -- i believe that is part of the problem with joe biden's plan, most of the people that are holding the money for these loans are private companies if i'm correct. a lot of people that are calling, the older generation that is calling, talking about

their loans and how they have to pay those off, they did not pay the astronomical amount to go to college that we are paying nowadays. it is a completely different ballgame. i kind of felt like the government can help. host: let's let adam respond. guest: hype reshape those points. while servicers are often private companies -- i appreciate those points, while servicers are often private companies, i believe i see in arizona, the asla and in nebraska, there is one that is a public body servicer. servicers have to do what the government makes them do. right now, they are facing tons of additional compliance costs, which is part of one of the

lawsuits because the government keeps changing the rules. host: i wanted to have you respond to something that came up this week. the congressional budget office put out a price tax for student debt forgiveness. i'm showing an article from politico that says joe biden's plan to cancel student debt for tens of millions of americans will cost the federal government roughly $400 billion according to a new analysis. the report by the nonpartisan congressional budget scorekeeper is the first official cost estimate of bidens student debt plan, issued by a government agency. it adds new fuel to the contentious debate over whether the loan is justified or an irresponsible use of taxpayer dollars. we know you are not a fan of this plan.

what was your reaction when you saw those numbers? guest: they are probably about right. at the university of pennsylvania, they did an estimate, finding as much as $500 billion of cost. when you have the federal government saying $400 billion and the u.s. the permit of education saying $305 billion. we are talking about one of the most expensive executive branch decisions we have ever seen. host: let's go for back -- let's go back to the phones. we have thomas in missouri. what are your questions or comments? caller: yes, good morning. my question or comment would be the military gets all the money they want, open checkbook, whatever they need. florida right now, governor

desantis cried that people should pull their own weight and pull themselves up by the bootstraps but he is the first one waiting in line to get those federal funds. why can't we take the americans and screw the corporations? host: senate leadership chuck schumer and elizabeth warren put out a joint statement. i'm sure you are familiar with it after the cbo score dropped. they said in contrast to president trump and republicans who gave giant corporations $2 trillion in tax breaks, president biden delivered transformative middle-class relief by canceling student debt for working people who need it most. nearly 90% of relief dollars will go to those earning less than $75,000 per year. we don't agree with all of cbo's

assumptions that underline this analysis but it is clear the pandemic payment pause and student cancellation are policies that demonstrate how government can and should invest in working people and not the wealthy and billionaire corporations. we had a caller reference that, what are your thoughts about that argument that folks say it is working? guest: congress tried and failed to pass student loan forgiveness more than once. if congress wants to do something, they can spend the money. the executive branch can't find authority it doesn't have to spend the money. it is not comparable to say that congress passed a law when the executive branch just made a decision. host: would you be more of a fan of it if it was a law and not something the president did as an exec of order? guest: it would still be expensive and unfair but it would not be illegal. host: we are going to michael in

baltimore, maryland. he has student debt. caller: the far right, marco rubio and ron desantis voted no to help new york when they were in the same situation. now, they are going to joe biden for the same thing he denied other states. we should all help each other. it is crazy to watch the interview he had. his constituents who vote for him want no government help for nothing. if florida can't absorb what happened, that is what the federal government is for, thank you. host: your thoughts? guest: i hope we all agree we should help one another. the question is whether it should be voluntary i people

having charity for one another or mandatory by forcing people who don't need help or we don't want to help. i don't think it is fair to compare a natural disaster to student loans that people voluntarily took out. host: let's talk to mary in ohio, you paid off your debt. what are your thoughts? caller: i think the government has spent way too double a much money on themselves. you have the big shots in government who have paid off student loans for people that are in government. i just think that the little people should be able to get help. money is going to everything else that is unnecessary. people are putting money in their pockets, the big shots. and it is time to help the american people who really need it. you had young kids that got loans. they have no parents to tell them not to. now, they are struggling to pay debts off because they are making $30,000 to $40,000 a year

and i think we need to help them. host: adam, go ahead. guest: i appreciate that comment. the income driven repayment option, which is available to, if not everyone, almost everyone, means what it says. it is repayment driven by your actual disposable income. the in disposable income like housing and food does not count. we only pay -- you only pay a percentage of what you actually can afford. by definition, student loans are affordable to everybody. host: penny, you are calling from new york. you have paid off your debt. what are your thoughts or your questions to adam? caller: full disclosure, i am a professor for the last 28 years at a state university. i get to see the students who are struggling to pay tuition and working really hard and

working and going to class at the same time and all of that. i think that we agree that the cost of higher education has gone up significantly since i was working on my bachelors, masters and phd. my question is, i mean everyone is so upset. saying it is unfair. then you are alleviating the notion of accessibility. we live in a society that is not fair. why not increase or expand accessibility to higher education to those people who don't have funds or whose parents could not afford to set aside money for their education and because they were living from paycheck-to-paycheck? that is one thing. the other thing, in terms of privatizing the loan, we have been down that road. when i was in school, the bank

handled the loans and the subsidizer was the assure of the loans. i don't know that privatizing loans is going to solve the problem. the other thing, and i agree with the other caller who said we are so willing to subsidize certain things but when it comes to things that will have a direct impact on people, everybody starts worrying about spending. nobody is worried about spending until it has a direct effect on the middle class or people who are less fortunate. my question is how can we address the high cost of education in general? host: let's go to you, adam. guest: the federal reserve did a study on what is happening in

tuition because of easing money from student loans. colleges raised tuition by $.60 for every dollar of subsidy. we have this huge, unintended negative consequences of trying to make it easier to go to college. because of the easy money, we are making it harder to go to college. one of the ideas that i think is worth considering is increasing accessibility by making it easier to get a two year degree which is already free for some any people or an apprenticeship and taking some of that subsidy from the four year colleges and giving it to the two-year programs so that we can increase accessibility. lots of people would be able to go to college for much cheaper that way. i think if we privatize and shift that funding, we will have good, positive results. host: i did want to ask you, the caller mentioned that there were changes to limit the amount of loans that were backed by private banks because there were some issues. can you talk about that and if

there are more private backed loans, how can we avoid the issues that came up in the past with that? guest: i'm not so sure that was a bad situation. i believe it was the obama ministration -- administration 10 years ago that federalized that area of student loans. congress decides what the loan programs are supposed to look like. the real problem is the easy money is too easy. it encourages far too double a many people to go to expensive colleges to raise tuition. that is what has led to the one point $7 trillion in federal debt between private and public holders. host: let's bring up another caller. this is heather in atlanta. what are your questions or thought? guest: i was part ash -- caller: i was part of the betsy

devos lawsuit. thank biden wiped out my debt -- thank goodness biden wiped out my debt. biden did the right thing. my daughter graduated from college. i hope she gets the $20,000 in relief. we are a low income family and i'm about to go into retirement. her adam to sit up there and say that these loans shouldn't be forgiven because some people don't want to pay taxes, i don't want to pay taxes on a lot of things, but do i have a choice? folks, everybody listening who is about to call in, the heritage foundation is fake news. they will always come out with some sort of agenda that is morally corrupt. thank you and have a good day.

i will hang up now. guest: i appreciate the comment. of course, i disagree with it. there is the idea of concentrated benefits and dispersed cost. the rest of us should say that is unfair and should be something our country does. host: our next caller is rex in indiana. you are calling a somebody who has paid off their loans. what are your thoughts? caller: it is a complex -- i told the screener hybrid, i am a hybrid caller in a way. my wife and i a few years ago had her own debt and we worked to pay that off over the course of seven to eight years. college was much more affordable when we went to college. we had three children go to school and they all had debt and we had debt for all three children.

i wanted to approach this with adam that you hear a lot of people saying they want this and they want that. i worked two jobs for over 10 years to try to ease the burden of the debt and help pay debt back for us and the children, along with paying their own debt back. so, you know, maybe some people scoff at the idea of working hard to pay your debt back. but that is the way we approached it. and it seems like, as the government goes forward here, that really means nothing to the government. i think a lot of the public is starting to approach the idea of that as meaning nothing, that you should just be able to go about it however you want. so, i do agree -- any caller that calls in and talks about the cost of education and the value of education versus trades or companies promoting their own educational positions, which i

know a company i work for, that is what they have resulted in doing in a lot of cases, it seems like the education system needs an overhaul, especially at the upper level. i think we need to expect more from people in education, including the children at the younger level. i think it is no secret, america falls behind at five years old. host: thank you. any thoughts, adam? guest: i think people ought to work to pay off their debts if they can, especially the ones they voluntarily took up. there are probably a lot of people have worked hard to pay off their debt and they have to pay more for somebody else pasta and they see what is wrong with this plan. host: let's bring up mary, mary is calling us from cincinnati. what are your thoughts this morning? caller: good morning. i was wondering what you all

mean when you say the government . who is the government? it's the people. and you have to remember that. it is not just some building that doesn't talk back. this is about the people. and our country is so great in that we need to be able to help each person who wants to go to college. they need this forgiveness and it should not cost them, like my nephew, $27,000 for their freshman year, no. we have to get control over how wonderful our country is and why , why is it so great? that is because we do reach out and love one another and we are not going to be nitpicking on this, that or the other over -- i got my student loans paid. you have to get together and

understand so much more. host: all right. let's get some final thoughts from adam as we wrap up today's segment. guest: a half trillion dollars is a lot more than nitpicking. the people elect members of congress to pass laws. people on the executive branch, other than the president, are not elected, other than the vice president. when you have the executive branch doing what congress is supposed to do, that is why you get into court. host: we have been talking about president biden's student forgiveness program with heritage foundation visiting fellow, adam kissel. guest: thank you for having me. host: we will talk with abby kiesa, w director of tufts innovat -- decorative director of tufts university.

>> tonight on q and day -- q and a, the author of alito discusses alito, a memoir. traveling through near impossible and treacherous conditions across guatemala, mexico and the sonora desert. c-span's campaign 2022 coverage continues in october with live debates on c-span, including the arizona senate debate between mark kelly and challenges blake master and mark. in wisconsin, ron johnson

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don't miss a moment because you can take us with you on the go on c-span go, our free mobile video app. -- state-by-state maps and charts. c-span's campaign 2020 your unfiltered view of politics -- 2022, your unfiltered view of politics. >> there are a lot of places to get political information. 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. it happens here or here or here or anywhere that matters. america is watching on c-span, powered by cable. >> washington journal continues. host: we have with us now abby

kiesa, the director of tufts universities center for information and research on civic learning and engagement. she is here to discuss youth voting and help millennials could impact the 20 midterms. morning, abby. guest: good morning to you. host: can you start off by reminding us what your center, what is -- which is known by the acronym circle, what the mission is? caller: circle is part of the civic life at tufts university. it is used to create more access and more opportunity for young people regardless of where they live in the united states, to have a part in a role in -- and a role in u.s. democracy. host: i want to bring up some of

the research you guys have been doing at circle. you recently released new data on voter registration. it shows 18 states have already surpassed their total voter registration for people ages 18 through 24. since the last midterm in 2018, including battlegrounds places like kansas, nevada and north carolina, we are showing the chart now. states on the right shows the youth voter registration, the difference in those who register has gone up. in the red states, it has gone down a little bit as far as the percentage of the overall voting population. tell us what factors are driving these voter registrations. particularly in states where we see it going up. guest: absolutely. this is another election cycle,

where we are seeing young people really showing their political power and the potential that they have to lead on issues as well as lead in influencing elections. you mentioned the 2018 election. there is important context. the 2018 election was historic for one significant reason. gen z, roughly 18 to 24, aging into the electorate at that time with some of the younger millennials, come out at a rate that was higher than any young generation did in midterm elections. they voted at a rate higher than boomers did in the 1970's and gen x did in the 1980's. in our research, this was largely because of young people leading. when we look at this election

cycle, we see that, as you said, there are 18 states out of roughly 42 that we have data for where youth registration is already above the november of 2018 levels. they are above a level at a historic election cycle. that is a great deal. younger people, whether or not they are saying they will vote is roughly at the same place as it was prior to the 2018 election. this includes places like michigan, kansas and about a, where according to our research, -- and nevada, where according to our research, -- there is one caveat. we were talking about 18 to 24-year-olds. one thing we also look at is 18 to 19-year-olds. these states also have higher

rates of youth voter turnout compared to november of 2018 for 18 to 19-year-olds. this is significant because 18 and 19-year-olds have aged into the electorate since the 2020 election. there are 8.3 million of them and half of them are people of color. this is a group that usually gets ignored by campaigns and ignored by folks who are looking at partisan ends. the fact that these states have mobilized to register these young people at higher rates than 2018 is significant. and it is one type of effort focused on young people who just aged into the electorate or people who preregistered to vote to prepare young people so that when they turn 18, they are ready to go. we believe that will create a robust, inclusive democracy and

emerging multiracial society, which is what we are working on. host: you mentioned, i said millennials in my intro but we are talking about gen z, younger than the millennials, in the 18-24 bracket. guest: this election cycle, we are. host: we want to get to some of your calls. if you are in the gen z population, 18-24, we want you to call at (202) 748-8000. if you are ages 25 to 64, you can call us at (202) 748-8001. if you are 65 plus, your number is (202) 748-8002. again, go ahead and start calling those numbers now. abby, i wanted to ask you another question about this

chart of voter registration for that age 18 to 24 bracket. what states are a hind in voter registration for young people? what -- are behind in voter registration for young people and what factors into that? are you expecting a turnaround? guest: that is a great question. there is so much potential in all of the states, especially some of the states that were greatly below 2018. in states where there is same-day registration or a later registration deadline, there is still so much time for young people to be able to register and cast a ballot. one of the things that we have done is looked at, and i have mentioned, where young people are particularly --

among those states, there are several states where the voter registration numbers are just below the november 2018 numbers, and that includes places like ohio. it also includes, i'm trying to bring up my data, it includes laces like arizona. and georgia. for example, florida and pennsylvania. those are some really significant, politically, states where young people have just not gotten information and support yet. in some of these places, there have been some confusing politics changes. that is a significant factor in getting more and more diverse young people to register to vote. because, if you are new to the system and the system is changing, you need more support in navigating that system. this is one of the things we keep talking about in our circle growing voters framework, which

we released in june. that is talking about how do we help young people? how do we support young people? to be part of our democracy, even if they haven't been part of an environment or a household that talks about elections and voting. those are the young people who we need to focus on. unfortunately, some of the political incentives related to elections are those of the young people we are least likely to be focused on. places like libraries and youth organizations can reach out and play a huge role in increasing these numbers. the other place that can have a significant impact in effecting some of these numbers are schools. nonpartisan education in schools, combining things like rotor -- voter registration is something we are committed to figuring out how more schools can do that, regardless of their

zip code and what state they are in. but that is one way to reach young people before they reach 18 and help them and support them with learning, skills and knowledge that they need in order to be robust, lifelong democratic actors. host: let's go to the phones. our first color is marked in scottsdale. -- mark in scottsdale. what was your question or,? caller: hello, c-span. thanks for having me on. the youth vote is usually crazy and democratic. just from my own experience. as you grow older, you tend to become more conservative. you tended to become more

conservative once you start having children and having a mortgage payment to make, and you are paying more taxes. so it is easy to be a liberal activist or just an activist when you are young. but it gets harder to think that way as you get older. excuse me. i think that has been proved by the data. it is not similar to a generational thing, it is more like, as you grow older -- host: respond to that. have you looked at patterns as young voters grow older, do you think that plays out? guest: thanks so much for calling in with this set of comments, this is something we hear quite a bit.

we were talking about the millennial generation before. the millennials have really shifted this dynamic a little bit. millennials that were in 18-20 nine age bracket when president obama was first elected, and when he was reelected. we have seen that generation actually stay pretty democratic. not quite followed the trends that mark was talking about. so, i think we are in a moment where a lot of different things have happened when millennials and gen z have come of age, and those things have a pretty profound mark on people's political ideology and worldview as they age. so, i think we are going to see some different things, with respect to aging and political ideology dynamic that mark is talking about. i also would be remiss if i did not share, young people start

working at a young age. a significant group of young people are working while they're putting themselves through school, while they are putting themselves through school and have children and taking care of family members. so, the experiences young people under 30 have are profoundly important to figuring out solutions to some of the problems that have been plaguing our communities. young people are the answer. we have seen a lot of this leadership and trying to make the democracy stronger and make our community stronger, and we absolutely need to invest in that first leadership, investing in people's role in the future of our country. host: you next caller is laura in texas, calling as a 65 and older viewer. go-ahead.

caller: ok. i wanted to say, i started voting democratic when i was -- are you there? host: yes, go ahead. caller: yes, when i was 21. you had to be 21 when i started voting. for many years, i voted for hillary clinton the first time she ran, believe it or not. then, i began to look at things and realized democrats are not necessarily for the best -- being a little more conservative and holding onto what we've got, rather than trying to change everything into something that is totally radical and all. this business with abortion and all, i have four children. i could have had 10, 20, because i was very fertile. but instead of abortion, i chose prevention.

abortion was a very secretive thing back in those days. but i chose prevention instead of abortion, and i think that is what we should be pushing instead of my body, you cannot say what i do with my body. that is not the problem. the problem is, teach them to prevent pregnancies rather than trying to abort pregnancies. host: your thoughts? guest: well, i think there is a couple of things happening. thank you so much for calling in and sharing your personal experiences. the change in the stuff laura is thinking about and wrestling with individually as an example of the type of personal reflection that is so important for people to be able to have the knowledge and have the skills to be able to go through that process of thinking about what they stand for.

this is what we are talking about in the spaces that are so important for young people in this country. to be able to learn, what is a democrat, what is a republican? what do the party stand for? this is something we see in the data, especially a survey we did in 2020. not all young people have the opportunity to really wrestle with some of these issues and learn were different party stand. that is one of the core challenges we have to building a robust and inclusive democracy and emerging multiracial society is providing all young people, regardless of race and ethnicity, regardless of family background, with the skills and ways to think through what they stand for that they can use for the rest of their life to deal with all of these issues we faced as a country and play your role, an active role, in them. host: we are talking with abby kiesa, she is discussing youth

voting and how gen z could impact the 2022 midterms. we want to hear more from you, especially those 18-24 that make up those young voters. your number is (202) 748-8000. if you are between 25 and 64, call us at (202) 748-8001. 65 plus, your number is (202) 748-8002. we have a text message from missouri, she writes, do the 18 to 24's know where their precinct votes? this age group moves around a lot, do they know how to contact the county clerk's office? what work do you guys do or suggest as far as making sure young voters, once they are registered, know how to move forward in the process and cast a ballot? guest: this is such an important

question, thank you for asking. you are right, a lot of young people are moving around and the precinct may change. it is one of the things that is so important for communities to help young people navigate. so, this is why we see a lot of young people, a huge percentage of young people who are registered cast ballots, but many young people need really concrete information to be able to make that connection and make the jump deb is talking about. registration is critical. as we talked about, we have seen that it is up in the united states, compared to the last midterm. but this last time period before the election is critical. young people need concrete information about, what are their options for voting? is there early voting? can they cast a ballot by mail or put in a dropbox? that is especially important, as my colleague peter has alluded, for asian americans in places

like georgia that foot by mail. but where his my -- vote by mail. but where is my precinct? there are youth organizations on the ground, like the alliance for youth organizing or the civic center, i could name so many more. the campus vote project. the students learn, students vote coalition. we are trying to help youth groups provide this concrete information, because no one should not be casting a ballot because they do not have that basic information. it is an important role for election administrators and election offices to make sure people have that information, because it is not enough to provide it to people who have voted before. we need to expand the electorate in order to have a robust and inclusive democracy. the expanding electorate means getting information about how to vote in the hands of people who have not yet voted before.

host: let us hear from miriam in texas, calling on the 25-64 line. your thoughts this morning. caller: well, my first thought is -- i voted democrat, because the democratic party is the one that provided funding for education. that is why i went to school. they are pro-education. so, i am a democrat because -- i totally believe in the freedoms they give us, that they provide for us. unlike republican women that like to be controlled by the government. other women, we will not tolerate that. turning to the youth issue, i am a teacher. i noticed that four years ago, i would try to cross the border.

-- i live right across the border. we had a lot of hispanic students. i would hear little chats with the kids, they resented the way trump would speak about mexicans. as a teacher, you stay over and listen to their conversations. i am a reading teacher, in my mind i am thinking, i wonder if the kids know about how the legislation works? those are the basic cons across us, because a lot of kids do not know how the laws work. they get a little glimpse of it in eighth and seventh grade, then they go to high school. they are kids. they are mostly more involved in their daily lives, whether struggles are, but their parents are struggling with. that's what their struggles are, what their parents are struggling with. they do not how laws are

affecting them. i did notice that once there are issues -- right now, there are issues about banning books, lgbtq -- there are laws being created today to infringe upon those rights for the lgbtq. those kids are coming up for the other kids, just a video clip you showed, that shows that kids are smart. they are not going to be as involved as other adults, unless it is affecting them. host: let us let abby respond. are they engaged? are the kids aware? is it leading them to be active in the political process? guest: first of all, thank you for calling in and thank you so much for your role as a teacher. it is clearly really, really important work and really value you sharing your experience with

that. we are seeing a lot of young people engage, especially on issues that are affecting their communities. from climate to gun violence to things like reproductive rights. this is something where we have actually seen from 2016 to 2020, this is been increasing. there is a strong connection, often in our research, we found a strong connection between young people doing advocacy on issues and electoral participation. that is one thing i think is important to make that specific connection that leaders have been making. one of the things i think is important to point out, miriam hits to it, not only young people see the opportunities for participation. that is something we need to deal with in our communities. one of the things that is so

important to what we call our framework. making sure a young person, regardless of race and ethnicity, zip code, has opportunities -- we're in welcoming opportunities -- to be a part of solving -- clear and welcoming opportunities -- to be a part of solving. there are a lot of community groups that do this work. schools can really help do the nonpartisan angle of that work. i mentioned the survey in 2020 finds opportunities are not afforded to young people. in many ways, other political inequalities in the country. this is one of the reasons why we have to focus on building more support and access for young people. the opportunities for them to have an impact on issues they care about. specifically related to school.

regardless of partisanship, not being able to talk about history or current events is concerning an harmful to a strong and inclusive democracy. young people are talking about current issues, as miriam mentioned. that can have a detrimental effect. supporting issues in an educational context can increase the rigor of the conversation and put into perspective, we know what young people may be able to do in the future on those issues. this information is critical and discussion is critical to be positive factors and coke creating the communities, solving problems like we are meant to do in a democracy. host: let us talk to john in maryland, you are calling on the 25-64 line. what is your question or comment? caller: back in 76, i joined the army and voted for jimmy carter the same day.

i made a sinuses veteran offers energy. -- sign that says veteran offers energy. i have given a chance to vote, along with verified untruth and equality. those are the only two things i can say about voting. i have voted every time ever since. do not lose our rights. god help us if you do. you can help us all alone. grow up and do it. host: it sounded like he was not a fan of youth voting. do you run into that align your research, that older voters are skeptical of young voters -- a lot in your research? guest: we hear a lot of myths about young people and young voters quite a bit, actually. one of the biggest myths we hear

is that young people are all democrats and all liberal. while nationally, the trends certainly are that young people have been voting more democratic and more progressive than the older generation, that looks different in different communities in states across the nation. in both the 2016 and 2020 election, there are six or seven states were president trump won the votes from young people. i would encourage people in appropriate situations to talk to young people and understand where they are coming from. young people are dealing with a lot these days. there is so much we can do, as communities and representative democracy. to create situations and spaces where young people can learn more and explore more and seek leadership in our communities. that is one of the big myths that we hear quite a bit.

the other myth that we hear is that young people are apathetic. i cannot tell you how many times we have had to respond to that question, we have started to already in this conversation. we've been doing the research for 21 years, and it is abundantly clear from the rigorous research we and others have done that the issues, with respect to people voting slightly less than older adults is not having to do with apathy. it has to do with access. it has to do with access, creating supportive environments, creating cultures where young people can feel a meaningful connection to elections and participation. there is a range of different environments for young people to find that. this is a core challenge we have for our constitutional democracy, creating those pathways for young people, regardless of who they are.

multiple pathways in different communities. that will help us lead to a robust and inclusive democracy and our emerging multiracial society. host: we are talking this morning with abby kiesa, the deputy of circle at tufts university, about the youth vote and its impact on the 2022 midterms. we do want to hear from you. those numbers are (202) 748-8000 if you are age 18-24, if you are ages 25-64, call (202) 748-8001. if you are 65 plus, you can call (202) 748-8002. the next caller is suzanne in south carolina, 65 and over. good morning. what is your question or comment? caller: i have two comments. one is i have been a social

justice community activist for probably 45 years. i am 69. i've been registering voters every saturday for the last five years. a lot of this discussions i've had are so much of what you were talking about. the one thing i have not heard you talk about and would love to hear your comment on this is, when i talked to young adults, voting age, they tell me they are afraid to vote because they are afraid they are going to make a mistake when they go to vote. like a test, and they are going to get it wrong. i teach them what to do, when you walk in. so that is one comment i have, i would love to hear your thoughts about that. it is very similar, i was working with a group of very

elderly people who did not have the right to vote. they also talked about how nervous they were about first-time voting, because they were afraid they were going to fail. they did not know how to actually do it. operate the machine. when i talk to twentysomething voters, or people who have not voted on the what they tell me is they are afraid they're going to vote for the wrong person. other than the presidential election, they do not know who these people are. some of them have told me they do not vote because they do not know who they are voting for. like in the midterm election, it is not a presidential election. we are just confused. so i spend a lot of time empowering them and telling them it is not a test, they are not going to get it wrong. but there is some fear, people

who have never voted, fear of the actual process. they may be registered, but once they get into the ballot box, they are afraid they're going to do something wrong. host: what is your response to those comments? guest: thank you for your work supporting young people, it is such important work. thanks for doing it for the past five years. what you are talking about in terms of young people being afraid to make a mistake, that is something that we hear in our data a good bit. young people are selecting themselves out of voting, because they do not feel qualified. obviously, that is something that we need to shift. the experiences they have are really important and can inform how they vote, but also we have a lot more work to do in providing young people with

information and support they feel like they need. people potentially like suzanne, who are willing to sit with people and ask questions. the roles for different stakeholders in this work. there is a role for election administrators and making sure people understand what their ballot will look like. organizations like ballot ready or doing that for people, even down to local elections. you can do research ahead of time and look at what is going to be on your ballot, which is important. the other thing that is important, really cool simulation opportunity is trying out a voting machine ahead of time. some election officials allow young people to try to do that ahead of election day and not casting a real ballot, but try out the machine so you are not nervous. talk about what it is going to be like going to a polling location, that can be intimidating. i think there is a big potential role for outlets, making sure

local news organizations are covering the local and state elections. that is a unique role for local news outlets and midterm elections like this. we've seen young people in the past to listen surveys that local news is particularly important for them to understanding how they were going to vote in the election cycles. we see that for the past few election cycles. there are things we can do to address this, we need to have some sort of intentionality behind it. there is more than young people who are dealing with things like this. i voted in a primary in maryland, because we had to spend a lot of time looking for information on some of these candidates. some of these things are things that all people need to, but especially young people who are really brand-new to the system. so, thank you for your service. i hope other people will help to

the work of voter registration and supporting people to figure out the system and answer questions for them, that is abundantly clear that is needed across the country. host: let us hear from john in michigan, calling on the 25-64 line. caller: good morning to both of you. i was wondering, does your institution -- do you guys teach constitution and what the founders of the country intended for this country, and how does that go with the voting? it sounds like you are just going to vote for these two parties. host: abby, go ahead and respond. guest: this is such an important point, thanks for bringing it up.

it is one of the reasons why teaching civic learning in schools and elections and voting is critical. there is a lot of contextual information that is important to learn in a constitutional democracy. you know, as we have learned about our country evolving over time and shifting, we need to learn what has happened with that. some of that history. also, learn about current events and how they relate to history in order to put things to a larger perspective. this is not just about two political parties. it is about us as a country co-creating where we are going and her future. our emerging multiracial society. there is important to liberations and discussions to be have. young people should be a part of

those conversations, regardless of where they live. that is why having conversations like we are having this morning across ages into thinking about people's experiences in the past is really important, thinking about how do we want our country to welcome young people into democratic participation? they have to learn about what has worked and has not worked. we have a lot of work to do to make our democracy stronger. host: i want to bring up some responses we are getting on twitter. we have one that comes from a user that says, please explain how to motivate young people to vote in the face of things like this. it makes to a study this as members of congress do not always respond directly to public opinion. so, they want you to explain how to motivate young people when confronted with the fact that perhaps congress is not always

listening to their constituents. guest: thank you for bringing this up. we hear a lot about the solution meant -- disillusionment, regardless of age. there are significant disillusionment with where we are as a country. that is reasonable. one of the things that i think is important to say is that, we are talking about voting today. but there is a significant number of ways that people can be involved in how decisions are made in local communities, how they are made at the state level and the federal level. voting is not the only way. this is one of the things that we've been seeing in young people, using a lot of different strategies, including activism in contact with elected officials. even running for office. we have new researcher by the increasing young people interested in running for office. one of the things i think is

important to this dynamic is talking about issues that affect people's lives. talking about examples of where young people have had significant impacts on how the issues are dealt with at the local, state and federal level. those should be able to exist across the country. if we look at gun violence prevention, there is a significant buildup at the federal level -- the outcome. going back so far and including organizing that was done in the 2018 election that helped to fuel the historic engagement at that level. regardless of where you live, there are issues that are affecting young people's lives that can really connect to how do we make community stronger? how do we make lives easier? that is one thing we see drawing in people to the ballot box. even though we live in this

society where we focus on national election so much, there is so much that happens at the local level that has an influence on our daily lives. those elections are often close and not many votes are cast. even though someone might be disillusioned by the federal level, i would encourage you to really talk about asking in person questions they care about. make connections to local government. in my town, the last election in 2021, there was one race decided by 22 votes and one decided by one vote. young people in different communities can have a profound impact on elections at the federal, state and especially local level. host: let us bring up diane in kansas. your question or comment? caller: good morning. this is a really important issue. the last shaman called, i was

calling about the same type of thing that gentleman called, i was calling about the same type of thing. i checked online, only nine states and this trip of columbia currently require one year of civics education. maybe one year is not necessary, but one semester is. i have civics education when i was in high school, i do a whole lot more -- i knew a lot more about the system then young people do today. the second thing i would like to comment on his parents. i have got two granddaughters, my daughter made sure that her daughter's new -- knew about where to vote, how to vote. she accompanied my youngest 19-year-old to the polls this last primary season, they announced it was her first time voting and the crowd applauded. it was cute.

anyhow, that is my basic comment. i think we have gotten away from some of the basics of what our country is all about and civics should have a place in our children's education, that should include voting. host: anything you wanted to add? guest: diane, thank you for bringing this up. i have spoken to the importance of civic education and making sure that met. if you're interested there's a national effort called educating for american democracy which is a group that's come together to look at how we can strengthen that in schools. one of the things you brought up that i do want to talk on his parents and families role. so money people all grow up in

an environment where there's lots of people talking about elections and voting or you may have a household member who is an activist and might bring you to a protest or participate in a community meeting and that can have a significant import -- influence on modeling and normalizing being engaged. those are things that stick with young people and stick with people over time. so the role of parents or other family members, especially the role of friends, think about the young people who may be in your lives and whether or not that's conversation you can have with them because one of the things we often hear is young people aren't being asked what they think about things. maybe having a person in your life who you can ask what they think and these of the small things we can do as a community or household to really think together about the future we want to create and this is one of the things -- one of the sequel to groups we are talking

about as part of this effort to build a robust and inclusive democracy in our emerging racial society. thank you for the thoughtfulness you are giving to it. host: we want to thank you so much, abby for joining us this morning. deputy director of tufts university center for information and research on civic learning and engagement. thank you again. coming up after a quick break, we will take your calls and comments, it is open forum, you can start dialing in now. republicans 202-748-8001, democrats 202-748-8000. independents 202-748-8002. ♪ >> be up to date in the latest

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tell your smart speaker play c-span radio. c-span, powered by cable. >> washington journal continues. >> host: we are back in open forum and we want to hear your calls and about any topic of the day about politics or whatever is on your mind. republicans, your number is 202-748-8001. democrats, 202-748-8000. independents, 202-748-8002. first we want to get to a few headlines of the day and it comes to the russian invasion of the ukraine, of the new york times on the front page this morning has a couple of articles , one article talks about food and claiming an area in the ukraine and the ukrainian army taking a day prior.

there's also an article that has the headline nuclear talk revival of cold war. and same for the first time since the cuban missile crisis in october 1962 top government leaders in moscow are making explicit nuclear threats and officials in washington are gaining out scenarios since president boudin decided to use a tactical nuclear weapon to make up for the facts of russian troops in ukraine. that in the new york times. we also know coming up, the u.s. supreme court is going to resume, they have a session that begins on monday. we have the new justice ketanji brown jackson who will be joining the court and there are a lot of high-profile issues. this is from this morning's washington post newspaper with the headline supreme court set to resume as approval takes a beating. the article says this version of the court seems steadfast on

allowing more restrictions on abortion, fewer on guns, and raining in governmental agencies. again that's referring to the current 6-3 conservative majority on the u.s. supreme court as they plan to begin a new session of deliberation and of course the big news this week has been hurricane ian and the death toll right now is at least 66 people have died because of that storm that passed through florida and also made a second landfall in south carolina. let's listen now to some comments for florida governor ron desantis yesterday. [video clip] >> we were at one of the bridges that got knocked out and we met with folks.

as i'm driving through one of the communities, publix was opened yesterday morning. you have these gas stations open and there was trying to think when has there been a category five hurricane that has hit and in less than 48 hours later you have the supermarket opened in one of the areas that was the most hardest hit? i think that's what happened -- what's happened in florida as you had great state and local coordination but then over the years the utilities have now pre-staged for the storm. i was just a waffle house in charlotte. avon emergency management plan and disaster response plan that they execute because when the waffle house is open again the means life may be getting back to normal. they are feeding first responders and the fact publix was doing that. i think there are some in southwest florida that have not yet opened but the vast majority have opened. that is a huge thing and so we are really proud of the whole

effort, and not just government but in the private sector as well. >> that was florida governor ron desantis talking about the efforts to reopen. we want to hear your calls paid it is open forum. the news of the day, whatever topics are on your mind. republicans 202-748-8001. democrats 202-748-8000. independents 202-748-8002. let's go now to the phone lines. our first caller is marion las vegas. mary is calling on the democratic line. what do you want to talk about? caller: i have a few things. desantis is a disaster. he misappropriates $12 million of state money to pull some stunt on immigration which has been a problem my entire voting life.

they have a problem with immigration how about parking their spots in a chair and putting some legislation and bringing it up for a vote in the senate. and now he doesn't like mickey mouse, they are banding -- over 800 books are being banned. it's called the dumbing down of america. we only want kids to learn what we want them to know. and then let's go to the supreme court. leonard leo put about a quarter of a billion dollars to put these extreme right-wing justices on the supreme court that had to go back 400 years to overturn saddled law. 50 years of settled law and they are not stopping there. when you corrupt the supreme court, all is lost. there is an autocratic agenda going on in the conservative --

in the so-called republican party. they have two fascists. at their cpac hearing for three days prayed where he think we are headed? they are taking our freedoms and rights away. and then social security, medicare, medicaid, it's all on the chopping block. listen to ron johnson, senator scott from florida who was part of the largest medicare fraud in u.s. history. they want to get their hands on our little trust fund. they do not give a dang about us. ask steve bannon for the money he pocketed for the wall. listen to historians and get off fox news because i feel like i'm watching russian tv when i put that channel on. host: that is marion las vegas prayed our next caller is dorothy in minnesota.

dorothy, your calling as an independent. what would you like to talk about this morning? caller: i think there's too much emphasis on abortion. we have a lot more problems. and i -- and also -- [indiscernible] a couple weeks. a couple of days before the election. republicans want to get rid of -- but i think it's very -- www.c-span.org your call is -- host: we are you -- we are

losing you a little bit. give us a call back when you have a little bit better phone line for us prayed let's bring henry in georgia. henry on the republican line, good morning. caller: how are yawl today? host: doing great. caller: i think the bickering and fussing between all parties they all do to be slowed down some. that's all they do for the last 10 or 12 years. congress hasn't done nothing. just a back-and-forth all the time. that's my comment for today. host: richard is calling from missouri on the democratic line. what are your comments? caller: that lady talking about the youth vote. i was raised in a republican family just like some people are

raised in a catholic family. your brainwashed when you're young. when you grow up you all the tendencies till you die. if you really look at the but different party stand for, that has to change. my parties become the old southern democrat party. i'm a democrat now. i could change back of things happen. but the supreme court, i am afraid -- the pope tells us we can have to eat meat on fridays the supreme court, tell us we can eat meat on friday. that's about the way they operate. mary was right, she told her just like it was. thank you. host: our next caller's marshal in florida on the independent line. let us know how you are doing this morning and share whatever

else you would like to talk about. caller: i'm doing fine, the weather up here is great. i'm not down with the storm hits. i feel bad for all the people down south, it's truly devastating down there. they need all the help they can get. what i'm calling about is about biden giving kootenay warning about the united nations, warning him working with them. right now we don't have the troops like we should have in the military. now they took the tanks out of the marine corps. i don't know why they did that but i think it's a bad thing for our troops if we had to go to war, the united states is going to be in trouble because everybody i talked to tells me that the military is so far

understaffed that it's unbelievable. there's people getting out right and left. they are letting people go because they didn't get the covid shot. it's a sad thing that america is going this way. and as far as the hurricane goes, i hope and pray for everybody down south. we have some people down south that we know very well. they are having trouble getting in and out. on praying for everybody to be ok. very devastating down there. host: thank you, marshall. we wish of course everyone in florida all the best. let's speak now to carol in pennsylvania, calling on the republican line. caller: high there. i would like to let your viewers know if they don't already know about eric which is an

organization called electronic registration information center. they partner with over 30 states and they are paid to clean up the voter rolls and am noticing mainstream media hasn't covered this, but louisiana is the first to terminate their relationship with eric because of the actually dirty voter rolls that are appearing on our voter rolls and i happen to be a committee person and i'm finding their people who died as long ago as 2015 and there are thousands of people who moved out of state still on our voter rolls. this has to be addressed, it is an emergency and needs attention soon. and you need to deep dive because it isn't in the google results, it isn't on the mainstream but you really need to deep dive. do research because there are many lies that are still

hovering in our country today. host: our next caller is nina in florida. nina is calling a democratic line. were you in the line of the storm, let us know how you are doing. caller: no. we were north and actually our water got sent down to south florida. people were walking out on our bay because the water got receded because of the power of the storm. so my prayers are with all of those down there. i had two comments. one on the youth vote. i don't think the youth have anybody to choose from anymore. it's just the same families, the same older people. i'm old as well but i've seen in my whole life. there's nobody that excites the youth anymore and we need some more young up-and-coming, not

too far right or left, just wanting our lives and being americans. i second comment was mary, she needs to stay in las vegas, that's all i have to say and she needs to mind her own business about us down here in florida. thank you and have a wonderful rest of the weekend. host: let's talk to bob in milwaukee. bob you are calling on the republican line. with morning and what do you want to share with us? caller: hello. republicans are about strengthening social security, medicare and medicaid. all you are getting now is democrat midterm propaganda, that's all your calls from now until election day will be. nobody cares but rick scott or any single other republicans

that brought up the issue. republicans have many chances for the house and senate if they had any desire or education that they would do anything about that. i'm getting tired of this constant day after day of democrats and their midterm propaganda and fear mongering. host: all right. that's bob in milwaukee. our next caller is josh in gresham, oregon. you are on the democratic line, good morning. caller: good morning. i was thinking about just as the entire nation is becoming privatized in the money is becoming two -- two separate. our economy is shrinking. we no longer manufacture things other than debt.

i really miss having good social security, being secure about it. i'm 59 and i feel like by the time i retire, social security, it is so precarious. it seems like year after year there's nothing secure about it anymore. when i was a kid, my mom collected welfare and we were able to make rent in santa monica and i look at the old place we lived data and there's a mansion there now. and there's just no -- i live in my car and i work 40 hours a week and there's just -- i've given up even looking for rent. there's just no affordability anymore. and now they're raising the interest rates to get everybody -- the interest rate is being raised so there will be a higher

unemployment so that people can even start to demand higher wages to fight against the rising inflation. i mean, used to make $36 an hour and that was because it's not like we were making outrageous money. we were getting a 3% of your cost-of-living adjustment. everybody should be making something in that realm and they are not. that's it. >> let's go now to marietta, california. on the independent line, what are your thoughts this morning? >> i was watching your voting thing earlier and i don't think the young kids nowadays know what it's like to live in the real world when there's kids up

to 30 and beyond still living with their parents. they don't know what it's like to have mortgage or have to pay rent or pay the bills or buy food or buy gas. their parents are buying everything for them. or pay for their cell phone. if you don't know what it's like to live in the real world and you don't know what is behind the candidates your voting for, then, you know, what are you voting for. you see people on the right, people on the left constantly angry with each other and free speech seems to have gone out the window. if you say part of a sentence in your cut off and somebody will just shout you down. i'm just so distressed about the

state of the way things are right now and i wish these politicians would wake up, maybe go to the grocery store, go to the gas station to find out what is actually like to live in the real world instead of the washington bubble. host: let's hear now from don in north carolina. don is calling on the democratic line. what are your thoughts? >> thank you for taking my call. i'm still -- and i wonder if this is an issue to a lot of people. i just noticed the national archives said it still missing some records from trump officials and if that's true, then i wonder what's happened to those documents and shouldn't we be investigating some more into why these documents are still missing. i thought trump officials said

they had given back all the documents and that was the reason for the search. but there's document still missing. i was wondering if something if areas happen to those documents, maybe that's the reason trump is stalling and throwing up the smokescreens to keep the investigation at bay. thank you. >> don just mention the national archives did over the weekend, they did tell congress that some trump administration records are still unaccounted for, this is an article from axios about that. it says the national archives records administration told the house oversight committee saturday that some records had yet to be recovered. the disclosure comes as trump's legal team in the justice department weighs a protracted legal battle over the president's alleged breadth --

dr. into supposed to turn over to the archives upon leaving office. the archives didn't speak to whether the documents are in trump's possession citing the permit of justices probe into the matter. so again they are saying some documents are missing but they are not saying if they think the documents are still in former president trump's possession. let's take more of your calls now. we are an open forum. this is patrick in naples, florida. you are in the line of the storm, how are you and your loved ones doing this morning? caller: thank you for asking. we are doing ok, we are getting better. nothing compared to those up on the barrier islands and that's what i want to speak about. why do santos and his lieutenants here on the west coast didn't evacuate more people sooner.

they dropped the ball. now they are saying how they are going to get the power on and everything but somebody needs to be held accountable about this. too many people died that did not have to. and as far as the guy talking about the democrats going after social security and all the commercials. you live in florida. if you listen to the news or watch tv, it's the democrats are the devil and to santos is some kind of little god. that's all i've got. thank you for taking my call. host: be well. i want to read. cnn wrote an article about florida governor ron desantis's response and he was asked whether lee county officials acted appropriately when they issued their first mandatory evacuation on tuesday less than 24 hours before hurricane ian made landfall on the state.

in the day after several neighboring counties issued their orders. here is his response. you remember people were looking initially at the panhandle on sunday the governor told reporters in fort myers on saturday referring to where the storm was expected to hit. "then monday came and people thinking north of tampa bay. woman went monday night people were saying this is a direct hit on tampa bay worst-case scenario for the state as that shifted south of the computer models the next morning, they, referring to lee county leaders called for the evacuation. the open shelters and responded quickly to the data. fort myers enables on sunday 72 hours out they weren't even in the call. they followed very closely. florida governor ron desantis. let's talk to john calling from

oklahoma. on the republican line. go ahead. caller: thanks. first i just want to say i think it's pretty shameful the way people are politicizing and exploiting the crisis that's going on in florida right now. my heart goes out to the victims down there. never let a crisis go to waste. and it has nothing to do with politics let's try and leave it out of that. but to the question on lowering the voting age. as the saying goes, if you are not a socialist, a.k.a. democrat before your 25 you have no heart. if you're socialist after 25 you have no head. so when it comes to -- host: we've lost john and that

will be our last caller today. this will do it for us on today's edition of washington journal. we will return tomorrow at 7:00 a.m.. again, enjoy your day and thank you for watching washington journal. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2022] >> c-span's washington journal, every day we take your calls live on the air on the news of the day and discuss policy issues that impact to you. coming up monday morning, kimberly robinson discusses the start of the 2022 termth