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president xi jinping and the state of u.s.-china relations. join the conversation with your phone calls, facebook comments, text messages, and tweets. shane from the military times to talk about military veterans and the midterm election results. how many veterans were running the cycle? guest: almost 200 veterans, the largest field we have seen since 2012. it shows some of these younger veterans are starting to come into politics, work their way up through state races and local races and put an impact on the national scene. guest: what issues were they running on? guest: it's funny. this is a big part of their campaigns and identity but

veterans don't usually run on that many veterans issues or military issues. it's another line in the resume. quite a few campaigns talked about v.a. care and access. the pact act, the toxic exposure legislation was a key point in a lot of materials. for the most part they are running on the economy and public safety, the same issues we are seeing other candidates run on. it's a matter of getting to tell people i also served. that's an experience line that shows unqualified to be in office. host: how many one their seats? -- won their seats? guest: we are looking at 94 veterans at the start of next year. that would be the biggest we have seen since 2017. the first time we saw a substantial increase since 2017 as well. a good sign some messages are

resonating. this younger generation of veterans, the war veterans are starting to come into their own and take a position in congress with their issues and experience. host: is that 94 total including incumbents or just new members who are veterans? guest: that is 94 total. incumbents andy veterans and -- and veterans and sitting members who did not have races this year. it is not a huge number. it is a good portion of what congress is, but it was as high as 200 in the mid-90's. about 400 in the 1970's. that's a reflection of the demographics of veterans in our society for the volunteer military in the 1970's. almost 75% of congress was a veteran. the military. as we shifted away from that, as

a smaller portion of america has served and lived the military life we have seen the numbers slowly drift down. guest: you see more women elected since those years, etc. guest: this will be the larger class of women's veterans we've had in congress. only seven, but it's been a steady uptick in recent years. we have five incumbents. three just one reelection. -- won reelection. two new female veterans are coming in. those are more viewpoints we have not seen in the past. we have been male veterans with military expense. now women are moving into some of those jobs that used to be closed. issues like sexual harassment, sexual assault. talking about what it's like to be a woman in the military and how to recruit and retain those individuals. host: how many of those running

and won are democrats versus republicans? guest: pretty tilted towards the republican side attitude one ratio. -- at a two to one ratio. there are more republican veterans than democrats. i did not get the count last night but somewhere around 25 or 26 are democrats and the rest of republicans. one of the selling points for veterans on the campaign trail and among the advocates pushing for veterans and congress is the party labels should not matter as much. they have worked on a mission. they can sort of put their heads down and get the work done. we have seen that anecdotally but we have seen some of the polarization of congress play in there too. quite a few republicans ran this

year where folks who questioned the election results of 2020. 55% of the veterans he ran said they voted against certification of the election or had public statement on the campaign trail questioning biden's legitimacy. it does not isolate you from those political whims but the hope is there is common ground on military issues, veterans issues and the unity of american issues. they can work together when they get to congress to find some sort of joint answer or common ground. guest: what are pressing issues congress needs to deal with when they come back to finish out this term and the new congress, the 118th congress? guest: the defense budget, the veterans budget in the rest of the federal budget. that will be a fun fight if there will be a changeover in power of the house and senate. will republican control want to

make any decisions now before they have the control of the agenda next year? the big veterans issue is the pact act. this is $300 billion in spending. it could impact one in five veterans in america. the implementation starts in january. we have seen smaller portions, some screening about exposure injuries, health care issues. we will see tens of thousands of new disability claims hit the v.a. starting in january. they will need to start working through that. oversight of that, their real scrutiny if the v.a. is executing the new authority right, if they're getting claims done in a timely manner, that will be the focus of lawmakers when they get back. host: leo shane follows these

issues for the military times. militarytimes.com. you can follow on twitter. >> congress returns for legislative rk on monday. lawmakers will continue their talks on the house and senate floors to find the government through next year. current funding is set to expir next month on december 16. sit -- the senate continue debate on 2023 defense programs and poli legislation and vote on more of present biden's judicial nominations. you can watch on our free video app, c-span now, or online at c-span.org. >> listening through c-span radio just got easier. tell your smart speaker, play c-span radio, and listen to washington journal daily at 7:00

a.m., catch washington today for a fast-paced report on the stories of the d. listen to c-span anytime. tell your smart speaker, play c-span radio. c-span, powered by cable. >> middle and high school students, it is your time to shine. you are invited to participate in this year's c-span student documentary competition. in light of the upcoming midterm elections, picture yourself as a newly elected member of congress. we ask this year's competitors, 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. do not be afraid to take risks with your documentary. be bold. amongst the $100,000 in cash prizes is a $5,000 grand prize. videos must be submitted by january 20, 2023.

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