tv Washington Journal 11302022 CSPAN November 30, 2022 7:00am-9:00am EST
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workers this morning, especially. that is just one of the topics that president biden met with at the white house. here are some of his remarks. >> there is a lot to do. and congress i think, i think we have to do it. covid and the war in ukraine are all controversial issues. and we have to work together. we will get work done and thank you for taking answers. host: biden at the white house yesterday promising to get work
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done especially when it comes to the looming rail strike and a potential government shutdown. december 16th is the deadline. a few more major headlines this morning. a lot going on on capitol hill. this from punch bowl news, house democrats set to elect hakeem jeffries of new york. a watershed moment. he is the first new leader for house democrats in two decades. nancy pelosi took the reins in 2003. the story notes that he will become the youngest leader at 52 . he is five years younger than the majority leader.
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this also means that all four congressional leaders are set to once again, be men. other stories from capitol hill, if you are watching the c-span2, the senate yesterday. the respect for made -- for marriage act. so republicans joining democrats to vote for. three senators did not vote for the bill. it will not return to the house for an additional vote before it can go to president biden. more on that coming up on our 8:00 our. one other story, pledging $53 million to help their electrical grid from the new york times. they announced to repair the
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grid the commitment came as diplomats and more than 30 countries gathered in romania where the secretary-general made clear that the alliance stands. a lot going on this morning but we are digging down in the beginning of the program on those pledges by congressional leaders and president biden to stall these looming economic issues. the railway strike is the most immediate. but a potential government shutdown as well. a lot to go over but we especially want to hear from you. your thoughts on if you think congress can work together.
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bill from crowley texas. independent. caller: good morning. the only question i have is about the paid time off. from what i heard on the news is the problem the workers have with the new contract. do they get paid time off? what's the problem? host: the contract right now, the negotiation that went on with the white house includes 24% pay increase and an additional day off but the problem is the orders are looking for more days off and congressional leaders are tweeting out their concerns after that announcement. cortez, yesterday afternoon set on twitter that railroad workers grind himself to the bone for this country and produce millions for wall street. they deserve the dignity of paid
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sick days. if congress intervenes here, she says it should be to secure their demands in legislation. that is from aoc. your thoughts. caller: i agree they need the paid time off. i would think there is a federal law that would cover that. as part of their employment. i side with the workers on that. they need the paid time off. host: here's a wrap up from the washington post. for voted a tentative agreement, the deal offers union members that when he 4% pay raise bite the end of between 24 and annual bonuses of $1000. a single additional day, a paid day off and routine doctor
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appointments. but many argue this is from chronic understaffing that prevent them from taking care of emergencies. republican from california. good morning. caller: good morning. i have rotors -- workers and they are also affected by student loans. it gets confused with student loan forgiveness. students don't need student loan forgiveness. rail workers don't lead -- need student loan forgiveness but they do need bankruptcy return. we need that legislation to pass. so i am calling on senator holly
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and their bipartisan co-part, pelosi and schumer to get this to the floor for a vote. it needs to pass this year. host: we will talk more about student loans in the future. today we are focusing on the economic issues, the looming deadlines of the potential railway strike around the holidays and the potential government shutdown if a federal funding bill is not reached. coming up president biden's yesterday -- promise yesterday. and notes that the rare bipartisan promise to act came at some of the -- as some of the
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-- as of the federal government much -- must short-circuit. that it would vote on wednesday for a tentative agreement in a biden administration to help negotiate between the rail companies and the unions earlier this year. that is the wrap up from the new york times. the headlines from the washington times, this is how they put it. rail unions feel betrayal from bidens intervention. workers get left without their six pay. elroy -- without their six pay --sick pay. a call from elroy. caller: what they really have to do is, i want to let you guys know. i can't say what i want to but in the future hopefully congress
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and supreme court will help me be able to get through what i am getting through. host: this is jeff and nebraska, republican. your thoughts on these looming economic crises. caller: good morning. i am a conductor in nebraska. in the largest real -- railyard in the country. we do feel betrayed by the labor endorsed president. and our congress. and those that once intervene. i want to bring up a point that executive order 13706, a seven-day sick day mandatory for federal contractors that have deals with the government and contract with the government
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when we were mandatory with our vaccines back in 2000, or 2020. those vaccine mandates we were forced to have them. to be an employee under a federal contract clause. so this executive order, i believe should be enforced and followed for federal contractors. host: this is the executive order 13706 establishing leave. you can read about it online. as this ongoing battle over paid sick leave plays out, what is fair? what are you looking for? what is important enough to threaten this strike around the holidays for? caller: it is more than fair.
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we are under a policy that forces people to work seven days a week, 24 hours a day, on call with only 10 hours rest in between. and they can force us to work that way. if we had to take a day off for health reasons, we have derogatory notations on our attendance. basically three days off could have you terminated. we have several people around railyard -- bailey yard that have serious health conditions because of the fatigue and sleep deprivation. we have doctors say this is bad cardiovascular damage to your heart and stroke risks, which
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are several things of which could happen. we had a conductor who is called -- who was called on a work trade and was left out at hershey, nebraska for two hours and died on the weight -- on the way to the hospital because management could not get him off the train. these are friends of ours. we had a woman who was 48 years old, not home from a 14 hour shift, and she had a massive heart attack. she has kids and grandkids and it is sad. through the covid pandemic we had several people that are basically medically stricter from the drop and had to -- from the job and had to medically retire for good.
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host: was it an issue before the pandemic? caller: the psr which the remote started -- railroads started, in 2015 and 2016 they started cutting staff. position schedule railroading, they kept the staff. and they cut management staff. whether it was dispatchers or crew management or anybody that assisted us with resources, they walked them out. and basically fired them. and also cut 30% of our workforce. and across the board, electricians and mechanical.
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host: are you part of a rail union? caller: yes. host: how long? caller: i have been part of smart for 15 years. host: and working in railroads? caller: no i worked for the entire company before 2006. host: how does this end? caller: i hope it doesn't end like the railroad traffic controllers or did not listen to the -- where they did not listen to the concerns and fire them anyway -- fired them anyway. if they don't get better working conditions they are walking anyway. they are basically signing or not answering their phone anymore or if this goes, they
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take their backpay and they choose their family over the railroads. host: thank you for calling and talking about it. jean is next out of ohio. independent. host: caller: as i understand this, the unions and the workers cannot agree. so congress is going to step in and decide? is that true? host: here is how the new york times puts it. the railroad companies unable to reach an agreement with their unions. mr. biden has decided to force a deal on the party. some leaders back that move as necessary but others said they would be angry and demand a better deal. would be conducting an illegal
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strike and they could then be replaced by the companies. caller: wow. i think if we have to impose, if the government has to impose one side or the other they should impose this side of the workers. the union demand should be upheld because the rail companies have been making record profits. i think everyone should get at least 10 sick days regardless of the job. host: the numbers if you want to join the can -- discussion this morning. the potential railway shutdown and a potential government shutdown later in december. it is (202) 748-8000 four democrats. (202) 748-8001 four publicans. (202) 748-8002 four independents
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. host: back to the white house. this is how mccarthy discussed the real ray -- railway issue. >> it is unfortunate. when the president told us this would fall well before the election and now we find ourselves in the last moments in the last hour. asking us to rush a bill to the floor. nobody wants the economy to fail or for this to happen. this is another situation where the initiation told us one thing just like they said in elation was transitory we found that it was not. this is a negotiation elected by the administration. this was something that was celebrated that with -- it was
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fixed and now right before the holiday season have to rush something to the floor. >> do you think it will pass? >> i think it will pass but it is unfortunate that this is how we are running our economy today. we need an economy that is strong. if you're passing a bill to force the real workers to work, -- rail workers to work, how strong is your economy? we are going into winter and you are wondering if you can afford your winter heat. that is not an economy that is strong. this is what we will focus on for the american people. we will make an economy that is strong. it is not government dictating whether someone can work. it is an economy that workers can work and. we will have an economy where injured -- energy prices are lower.
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we will secure our borders so your kids know they are safe. we will have a government that is accountable. no longer will the initiation look you in the eye and lie to you. host: house republicans, kevin mccarthy. more reaction on the roadway front specifically from members on capitol hill. the democrat from colorado saying they are holding the economy hostage. over 56 annual hours of sick leave. we can keep our economy humming and supply chain open and treat workers with dignity. in this from nicole, the republican from the house, a major rail strike would have a disastrous impact to our economy and supply chain. the whit house must encourage the unions to negotiate a fair deal. we must be ready to intervene should one not be made. that is a reaction from capitol
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hill. here's your reaction this morning. from your tweets and text messages. andy saying i agree with the rail workers that they need more time off. maybe make a shorter workweek to makeup for hiring new employees. larry says, he is against the ective agreements, and that is what needs to be looked at. and ty in florida, the binary choice, talking about issues in china. this is derek and brandywine, maryland. an independent. good morning. caller: good morning. i work for amtrak. i have been there for almost 19 years. it is said that this contract is
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being held up because they don't want to give us sickly. -- sick leave. we had to work through the pandemic and they did not give us nothing extra. it is very rare you do not have sick leave. you have people getting hazard duty pay and we didn't get no hazard duty pay. have people getting fired because they didn't want to get the vaccine. if biden backs them like he says then why are you forcing them to make up for. i am a technician. i met mechanic. -- i am a mechanic. host: what happens if you come down with covid tomorrow russian mark -- tomorrow?
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can you call out? caller: i can call out but i won't get paid. they are even cracking down because people don't have sick leave, you have to use your vacation time. host: how many unpaid sick days have you had to take in the last couple of years? caller: me personally, i have a lot of health issues. at least dose cohort three weeks a year -- at least two or three weeks a year. host: and you are not getting paid for those days? caller: i am not getting paid. it is the element of you get a reprimand or fired. they can fire you.
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and we work on the element. it is not just the hazard of the job, if the deal with the elements of being outside. it is just crazy. host: this is david in flint, michigan. democrat. good morning. caller: good morning. i just heard with the edelman said. i agree with them. they should have some sick days. i just retired from general motors. he had 56 days -- we had five six days --sick days. i think the workers should get five days. i think the union should try to work with biden. he is for the american workers and he has proved that over and over.
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and just like mccarthy got up there, the republican, of course he will say stuff to make biden look bad. the republicans will do anything but start a lot of investigations of biden's son. have a blessed day. host: this is howard in somerville, texas. the. good morning. caller: good morning. i think they should have sick days. they get paid pretty well. they should have sick days and vacation days. i had to work through the pandemic and the job that i have. i don't what -- don't know what the caller was talking about, making the president look bad. he is making him own self look
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bad. he has to step up. host: the contract that was negotiated, an additional paid sick day, but also a 24% pay increase by 2024. that is the contract the white house has been involved in. it seems like that is what they would impose if they go through with legislation. is that fair? caller: the week or two ago i thought the president said he took care of this. host: this was kevin mccarthy's point and just guess in what he just said. caller: yeah. host: anything else to add? caller: no thank you.
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host: a real worker --rail worker. go ahead. caller: i have not mentioned what has happened to the workers. i retired in 2015. we used to have four men on a job, three on the ground and one engineer. after i retired they cut down to two switchman. and now it is only one and one engineer. this is very hard for the
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switchman to go from a three-man job down to a one-man job. there is a lot of pressure on these switchman right now. it is not safe to work with only one man on the ground. host: and for those who don't know, what does a switchman do? caller: they work at a yard, they have an engineer that runs the engine and they gather up cars and switch cars out in the ring them -- bring them up. but there is only one man on the ground i himself -- by himself. it is so easy for him to get hurt. host: did you ever see an injury in a switchyard? caller: since i have been
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working,two men died. there was one when i was still working who got killed. host: and that was a time when there were more switchman? caller: yes, but it is a very dangerous job. it takes a big toll on a man working this job. host: out of lake charles, louisiana. a couple papers about what a potential rail strike would mean. it would threaten coal shipments , drinking water, and shipping of goods into holiday season. the economy could lose $2 billion day. one other stat from the new york
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times, the american trucking association, another industry group estimated that relying on trucks to work around the stoppage would require more than 450,000 vehicles calling it a practical impossibility. given the shortage of workers and vehicles. an independent caller. good morning. caller: i have been listening to this and i don't understand how republicans are all of the sudden, big union backers. reagan took down the air traffic controllers. i don't understand it. i am a union man and an operating engineer and i don't get paid holidays or get sick days. it is just the way i -- the way
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it works. when you are building stuff you look for another job. i'm hearing a lot of complaining and it sounds like republicans for clinical points to me. host: you think the real workers are asking --rail workers are asking for too much? caller: no i don't. it is simple. the companies make great profits. they can pay their people well. they can take care of their people, health insurance, vacations, retirement. it has become an economy of straight up capitalism. simple as that. host: talking about congressman in the white house pledging to avert this rail strike and the
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government shutdown. from the wall street general, the leaders to know yesterday that they reach a long-term agreement and that funding remains difficult area democrat said they are seeking a full year that would allow lawmakers to boost spending and allocate money. mitch mcconnell talking about it. >> a robust discussion at lunch and this will continue in the coming weeks. over the way to end the session. with regard to government sending -- spending. it is a difficult choice, frankly. if you are interested and reducing, the best way is a one-year cr.
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if you work in -- if you are concerned about the funding of the ukraine war, you are somewhat hesitant to go in that direction. i have members in a variety of positions on this. i think the way forward is to continue to discuss and see what is in the best interest of the country and how many people we can bring together on both sides of the aisle to figure out how to finish up this year sometime before christmas. host: saturday -- senator majority leader. this morning the houses in at 9 a.m. eastern. and asking you in this first hour about the pledge by president biden and traditional leaders yesterday to avoid that shutdown and avert the railway
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strike. here is a caller from florida, republican. caller: i don't know if the viewers know this but, r workersa doi not pay into social securityl. rail workers do not pay into social security. the employees of the railroads have to pay afica equivalent for their workers. if they want to receive benefits they have to apply, the workers have to apply to a railroad retirement program and and they get there benefits, disability and other things through the retirement board. i have the issue of paying,
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taxpayers pay. congress wants to subsidize the railroad workers. i think they establish something in 1937. they need to get rid of that. every worker has to pay into social security and if taxes taking out of their paycheck, why should i go bailout amtrak and private institutions with an american taxpayer dollars that do not pay into the system. host: do you have family members in the railway system? caller: i elected to do a report
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on the railroads. if you want to learn about it just go look up the assignment program -- retirement program. they are not being honest with the american people. otherwise, we are just bailing them out. how do you know that amtrak are even paying their fair share. this is why they don't have the money to offer their workers what their workers need. i do not want to bail them out. so get rid of that. it is from 1937 and biden always says, i have been writing amtrak --riding amtrak but he neglects to say they are not paying into the social service program.
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repeal that act and make it a level playing field. host: that is a lot of north miami beach, florida. this is joseph out of ohio, independent. caller: i have not gotten to watch too much of this. the last lady that was speaking about the republican party, i believe a lot of what she said. but she doesn't understand that the railroad workers make their own agreement. i am a retired union person. i have seen people that were retired but had to go back to work because they invested.
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and they lost all of their money. they tell you to keep the money in their --there but i have made over eight quarter of a million dollars retired. i think the government needs to stay out of it. i understand that we should not pay to bail them out but i don't understand where the government has any involvement in this at all. i know the economy is all about money but maybe there is more to life than money. thank you. host: that is joseph and ohio. this is jay in florida, democrat. good morning. caller: thanks for taking my call. you played footage with mccarthy earlier. and he was emphasizing that
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biden and the administration knew about these problems long ago and did not do anything and are now being forced to rush something through. first of all, biden did talk to the union's. and one of the biggest issues, and i am retired union. one of the biggest issues is sick leave. i think mccarthy gets a lot of time off of work. they take a lot of breaks and get a nice wage. i don't think he is worried about sick leave as an issue. these railroad workers, work hard and are important to this country. i would like for somebody to put on the screen how much time congress workers take off and get off.
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it seems like they are never they are doing anything and he is worrying about something getting rushed. host: that is j in florida speaking of kevin mccarthy. another meeting from the white house, mccarthy condemns racist guests of trump but won't faulty former president -- fault the former president. and kanye west the provocatuer who has made comments about the dinner. auntie criticized mr. when does --fuentes. >> he has no place in this are public and party. i think president trump came up more times and condemned him and didn't know who it was. >> he didn't say he didn't know
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who it was. >> the president did not know who he was. he knew kanye west but not fuent es. host: it was on capitol hill yesterday. that is senate minority leader, mitch mcconnell. he was questioned about that same meeting. here's mitch mcconnell's response. >> let me say there is no room in the republican party for antisemitism or whites privacy -- white supremacy. and anyone meeting with people advocating that point of view in my judgment are highly unlikely
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ever to be elected president of the united states. host: saturday majority -- senate majority leader, mitch mcconnell -- senate minority leader, mitch mcconnell. getting your thoughts on phone lines for democrats, republicans and independents as usual. we especially want to hear from rail workers. another caller. caller: you had a few people talking about the unions and how they get paid in -- and not paying social security. she left out one thing. also, all the government workers that work gets you opt out of it too if they want to.
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they are not looking out for anybody in this country. as far as the united states in the taxpayers, all these companies time after time, we have homeless veterans, kids with no shoes, people that cannot afford shoes. and people making $30,000 a year have to pitch in and allow. -- bail them out. host: is getting involved in the railway strike, bailing out the railroads? i think we lost caller. another call from louisville, kentucky. independent. caller: i had more of a question. i heard that in new york city,
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the waste leaving, they ship 2.5 million pounds of waste out per day across the rest of the united states to get rid of it. 2.5 million per day just out of new york city alone, that was amazing to me and i wanted to quote on it. thank you. host: where did you read that? caller: on the internet off revolver news. host: maybe a segment to do sometime down the road. but we will focus on the looming economic issues whether it is the railway strike or the government shutdown. another call in pennsylvania. caller: i will answer that call -- that question for the other gentlemen.
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no, don't believe congress bailing out the railroads, i don't believe that. also i believe that the railroad is the back ground of our country. i think they should be giving the five sick day that they want. if not more. they have dangerous jobs like other jobs in this country. and i think they are entitled to what the pay increase that they want. and i heard that one gentlemen say, he has a genders -- dangerous job too and doesn't believe their job is any more dangerous. he went on to say that $2
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billion will be lost if they strike. host: i think it was $2 billion a day. caller: that's right. i was watching different clips and i see a bunch of gentlemen sitting around a table in suits. i will be 70 years old and two weeks -- in two weeks and i think about those workers, working those jobs and how difficult they are. and how dangerous they are. i think about that and i would like to see them take off their suits and go back to work some of those drops instead of sitting -- those jobs. and kevin mccarthy, he just
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complains about everything. i am a democrat but i don't have anything against republicans. host: you talk about the table at the white house. there was a woman at that table too. nancy pelosi. she came out and offered her comments. here's some of what she had to say. >> the president made his statement yesterday. tomorrow morning he asked congress to act. tomorrow morning we will have a bill on the floor. as early as 9:00 in the morning that accepts the original agreement plus the additional benefits gained in further discussion. i salute the president and secretary wash and their leadership.
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we will break that agreement to the floor. it is not everything i would like to see. i think we should have paid sick leave. every developed country in the world has it and we don't. but nonetheless we have an approved situation and again i don't like going against the ability of the unions to strike. but we must avoid a strike. the union jobs will be lost and water will not be safe. we could lose 750,000 jobs. some of then -- then union jobs and that must be avoided. >> and later mcconnell and i agreed, we try to get it done
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asap. and while the actual deadline of the roads being shut down is the eighth, our real deadline is sooner than that. many of the suppliers believe there will be a shutdown. and then will not send their goods. chlorine is considered perishable and cities and towns need that chlorine for their water supply to keep them safe. so the real deadline is sooner and we will try to stop this asap. one other thing on the budget, and on the funding, there was goodwill in the room. that made us feel quite good about it. host: chuck schumer and nancy pelosi after their meeting with the president asking you about your thoughts. your thoughts to
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avoid that railway strike and shutdown. usa today, with a wrap up of the benefits specifically for matters of congress. nevers of congress can be covered with a retirement plan of their choice under the several -- civil service retirement system according to between 19 research report. the lipid -- eligibility based on years served and age, when it comes to paid holidays, they note members are subjected to 10 paid. but there are no designated limits on sick days or vacation days.
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they can choose to spend that time however they like. a director at the incisional -- institute told members that they work pretty hard. especially when they are back home including almost every weekend. typically members will take a week in august and time right after an election but how much time they take is an individual choice. for members of congress specifically. this is rich in long island. caller: basically what it is coming down to is that the workflows -- workforce has been asked to work longer shifts. they want to get 15 sick days and are willing to settle for 45
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--four or five. that is what it is all coming down to. they are willing to negotiate on that. that is basically what the whole argument is about. host: are you in the industry? caller: no i was watching something on the news. or maybe it was bloomberg and i was paying attention while doing stuff around the house and that has -- that is what it has basically come down to. host: what do you think is fair? caller: splitted down the middle. they want 15, give them half. then it will all be taken care of. i don't know why the federal government is getting involved.
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the other thing is, i don't know why they wait until the last minute with the stuff. it should have been going on well before so that they don't wait until the last dam minute. and the other thing is joe biden lie to us. and no one can blame so it is a double standard once again. host: when it comes to congress getting up here is the editorial board of the wall street journal says that biden is right to ask congress to intervene and stop eight damaging strike --a damaging strike. .
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the workers voted to adopt the deal over the summer. congress has often settled disputes after mediation has failed. robert is in the constitution state, good morning. independent. caller: i just wanted to mention, i am in x --an ex postal employee. for 39 years i did not pay into social security. that means i get no benefits. i want to make it clear, that lady made it seem like people are not paying in.
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my munley -- my money was only from the marines and high school. i get $66 per month. that is my comment. if you don't get social security you do not get a big check every month. host: and there is a separate retirement system for the postal service? caller: yes. the new employees have to go in first. i had a choice. the new system and the post office after 83, they have to pay into social security and that helps with retirement. but let's be perfectly clear, if you are under the old system, i get $66 a month only from social security because i did not pay it. have a good day.
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caller: host: this is an. --ann. caller: i wanted to comment on the waste getting sent from new york. you could do a segment on that. i think it would be very enlightening for folks. i think there is a bigger picture here. america lacks against other developed first world countries and taking care of people. it is all boiling down to sick leave. to me that is a sick consideration. if you or your spouse or child is sick you should be able to take paid sick leave just like numbers of congress. and that goes back to people
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going into horrible debt because they have to go be hospitalized or into costly treatment. i put a lot of faith into the younger generations of our country. i think they will be able to turn things around and will be able to save us like they did in the past election. thanks so much. caller: that was and in new york. this is james. caller: we're talking about the workers and government. no one is talking about the ceos. their profit is staying the same and climbing every year. but they don't want to share with the workers who are bringing the provident. -- the prophet --the profit in.
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they're cutting back on the labor but demanding more from us. that is not fair. that is all i have to say. host: this is john from ohio, independent. caller: the people who sit at the wrong and get the people out. they are sick in their head. we have learned from our experience. that is the only thing you can learn.
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, what is your view on solution? guest: they are not reliant on the funding they have. the doj did a report do they suffer under solution. . they were not getting a lot of funding. they have continuing solutions again every year. it is not a new process they have been able to plan for. when you combine evidence from
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gao, it makes me think this is not a legitimate concern. host: is this unusual it would be a big spending? guest: the amendment in the 1930's is a way of cutting down. the constitution says it took two months off of that. traveling from california. the goal then was to reduce the period. you can get policy that reduces accountability. it has become this time where it might not be the political will
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to do. the other problem, you have a lot of these big spending priorities. get their hands in the cookie jar and increase spending. host: when the chamber of congress changes hand, what is the incentive? guest: the democrats have the majority and they are losing house. that is why you are hearing that messaging on the republican side. there are certain things republicans want to see funded. there are other things of a reversal in opinion in the republican party. there is something that people in the republican party want to see past.
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there are certain things where, if you look at their spending record and what they vote for, it shows a lot of bipartisanship. you generally have to have some level of bipartisanship. especially when congress is so close. host: jonathan bydlak is our guest. he is here to take your questions. democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. guest: we try to present a
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limited government perspective and solutions to policies based in washington. we try to make congress a better . to bring congress into the new century. trying to work better together so we get better policies. host: what is spending tracker? guest: it is a site that takes estimates with the voting records of -- it takes estimates and cross-references with the voting records of congress. it is a really great resource. they say one thing and perhaps do something different with their vote.
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given we have a democratic president next year. there is an argument to be made that many of the debt we have gotten is in the context. i don't particularly think of that as a strong argument. the budget control act of 2011 is a great example. we had cap on spending. there were times when the budget cap was raised. there is a lot of evidence we had more response under president obama and a republican congress that we hadn't had that deal in 2010. host: coming out of kentucky, republican, susan, you are on
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the line. caller: when people say there is going to be a government shutdown, how many government people are going to be shut down? guest: there are parts of the government deemed essential and we have increasing amounts deemed essential over time. there are certain times that are shut down and sudden that are not. it is not like everything in washington is immediately shut down. we know from past experience there is this willingness to be a political shutdown. you close national parts -- you close national parks.
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how it plays out in practice, there is more discretion than we would like to admit. host: a christian from tillman on twitter, what is the government seeing as the biggest cost reduction in the last decade? he also wants to know what program has grown the most. guest: when you look at why the national debt has expanded so drastically, one is entitlement spending or direct spending. you have programs on autopilot. they are not voted on by a unified congress on an annual basis so you end up having a significant increase in the national debt. that has been a troubling issue and something i wish members of both sides would come together
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and address. we have had other countries, deal with it and come together. host: how did they deal with it? guest: they imposed fiscal rules that restricted how much they were able to spend based on how much tax revenue they had coming in. switzerland is perhaps the gold standard. switzerland has a great fiscal discipline. they tend to be very responsible with the country's finances. it limits what they are able to spend and not go beyond. there are other portions of the budget, when we think about the budget for the pentagon, we are seeing it is plausible to think
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we would be over a trillion dollars in a short amount of time. that is mind-boggling we will be spending over a trillion dollars on the pentagon in an annual basis. this needs to be addressed outside the mandatory spending. host: rebecca on twitter, the pentagon cannot pass an audit. they have been trying for three years. what is going on with that? guest: before you could go get your spending under control you need to know where it is going. other parts of the government are required to do an audit. it is something people are familiar with. i would much rather, i think it is a great starting point that members from both sides, regardless of the topline budget , the pentagon should be. it brings people together. there generally has been a lot of support on both sides of the
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aisle. there is resistance anytime you're going with an agency to reform. host: independent line, you are on jonathan bydlak. caller: is there any truth the government still gets paid when they have a shut down? guest: it depends. there are certain people who are deemed essential. usually the government always reopens and we tend to go and new people, when the government was shut down. in the short term, they are paying for workers not getting a paycheck.
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they end up getting their money at the end of the day. host: at the end of the year, tax extenders, efforts to extend various tax loopholes, is that happening again this year? guest: a lot of people want to see that kind of stuff. that is plausible. the laundry list of things people want to be addressed is getting longer by the day. the time period is getting shorter. host: what are some of the taxes you have tracked in the past? guest: when you look at why washington has the problem with the national debt we do, it is driven so much more by the spending ledger by -- then by the tax side. when you look at biden's record over the last two years, he has spent more, set in motion more
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spending president trump did in his last two years at the height of the covid pandemic. president trump was the biggest spending president more than president obama or president bush. now you move into the new presidency. president biden has continued the legacy that existed was president trump. a lot of things were covert related in the early stage of his presidency, but we have had other things like infrastructure, the chips act, all these other bills. even the inflation reduction act increases in spending over time. the tax side doesn't affect the budget. reducing revenue has a significant impact on the national debt. the true driver is largely our
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bipartisan willingness to continue to spend. host: the comparison with the trump administration and the biden administration, in the last two years -- guest: in the last two years, about $3.3 trillion in spending. you contrast that now with the biden administration, it is over 3.7 trillion. we are in a much different stage in the pandemic, we don't have the need to be spending in this way. we have had these other priorities. the biden administration so far has borrowed $4.8 trillion. that is because it is not spending that has been voted on in congress. but also executive orders. when you look at loan forgiveness or changes to the snap program, these things are very expensive.
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you have this very significant spending legacy. inflation is a concern for the majority of americans. this fiscal policy is not the only part of that, but is a significant policy of that. you want the fiscal policy to be working together with monetary policy. we have the federal reserve raising rates in washington still spending -- that creates a disconnect. host: john in pennsylvania, democrat, good morning. go ahead. you're on with jonathan bydlak. caller: yes, democrat. host: what is your question or comment? caller: i would like to see the -- facing public tax. they boast about military. host: for the rich to pay more
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taxes? caller: their fair share, not more. host: what do you consider fair share? caller: i pay federal taxes every week out of my paycheck. i don't know. the american people would like to see some of that. host: jonathan bydlak what is a fair share? guest: the irs came out last week on who was paying taxes. for the first time in our nations history, the top 2% of wage owners paid more than 50% of income taxes in this country. the 2% is paying more than 50%. there is a little bit of a disconnect between what people think and what they may actually be paying. most of us agree there is a rationale for a progressive tax system.
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the spending, the expenditures we have ours so dramatic. there is only so much squeezing of the income -- that you can do. you have a choice that is going to become increasingly important. it either you have to start to go and restrain and be more responsible on the expenditure side or you are going to have to raise taxes not only on the wealthy but the middle class. to be able to go and pay for a lot of these programs. sometimes the perception to what the actual tax base looks like is radically different from what it actually is. host: jonathan bydlak. democrats, if you want to join the conversation, (202) 748-8000 . republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002.
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social security depletion date is -- what should occur and what politician or party wants to address it? guest: the reality is, nobody wants to address it. there are other countries that have similar arrangements. that have actually managed to go and get their fiscal house in order. when you see cases where social democrats have been able to come together in those places and make the kind of reforms that are necessary, unfortunately in this country we have had to do so because the issues are third rail. there are a lot of things. we could talk for hours on it. in the health-care space, that is one of the areas government is the most heavily involved. there is a lot of evidence to be
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less involved to have an impact on health care costs. health care spending in general is going up dramatically. many of the things the government is involved in the most are the things we are seeing in areas where prices are going down, it seems to be less involved. on social security, it is largely a money in and money out problem. like many other things, we only have a couple of choices. it is either raise taxes or change the way and if it's are being paid out. the latter is probably the better way to go. the reality is that social security was not intended to be a source of income for 40 plus years when it was instituted. that is a reason we are having a lot of these challenges we are having now. unfortunately not raising the retirement age, there is no way
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to do that without substantial increases in payroll taxes. host: to the evergreen state, this is evan, democrat. it good morning. caller: i want to talk about this discussion this morning. you said republicans want more military spending. but it is ok to spend on ukraine. republicans are huge hypocrites on that. 50% more on social spending than the united states does. the difference between united states and france is france can make -- guest: it is important to recognize the united states is generally much wealthier than any european country. there is a trade-off. if you have more generous social spending but generally speaking,
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people in europe are worse off economically speaking that they are in the united states. that is not to say there is not a huge hardship. generally speaking we are in a better position. the trade-off we have made as a country, with respect to the pentagon budget, i agree with you. we should be applying the same kind of fiscal responsibility in other parts of the government to the pentagon is well. there has generally been this attitude that spending on the pentagon and resulting in making a safer international defense outcome. i don't think that is true. i would argue imposing a budget constraint forces you to more stringently consider what your priorities are and to weigh those trade-offs more effectively. talking about the farm bill or the department of education, as well as the department of defense.
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it was something that people wanted for a number of purposes. they didn't scope it out as well as they should have. many of these programs the cost has increased dramatically. now we are in this bucket where on the one hand, it is far more expensive to start over. we are constantly dealing with a claim that cannot -- a plane, tongue-in-cheek, that cannot fly. that is a classic example where we really need to go. the planning at the front end is so important to ensure these cost overruns don't happen. host: democrat line, good morning. caller: good morning. how are you this morning?
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host: good, go ahead. caller: there is a pie chart in the back of the federal income tax book. personal income tax, social security, medicare and unemployment taxes bring in a 45% of our income. income tax is only 3% of what we take in. how come corporate income tax is not higher? guest: sometimes people look at the corporate income tax and they think, people are here and corporations are over there. the reality, in many cases, corporate tax passes along to consumers. it is not clear we would be better off by raising the corporate tax. we have many businesses now that can choose where they are based.
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the ability to be competitive on the world stage is driven by your corporate tax rate. there are a lot of other factors to consider beyond the short-term. it is not obvious over the long term raising the corporate income tax, would ultimately result in more money to the government if you had more businesses moving overseas or the ability to pass those taxes off to consumers. host: jonathan bydlak is the director of program at the -- institute. appreciate your time. up next, the respect for marriage act passed in the senate yesterday. stick around, we will be right back.
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>> live, sunday on in-depth, chief correspondent linda baker and susan plaster to talk about russia and u.s. foreign policy. the men who ran washington, former secretary of statend trump in the white house 2017 to 2021. join in the conversation. facebook comments, texand tweet. in depth, with peter baker and susan glasser live sunday on book tv on c-span two. congress gets back to work in the wake of the election. watch as the 118 congress
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greeted members and sets an agenda for 2020 three. the outgoing 117th congress uses final weeks to tempora unfinished business. follow it all live on the c-span network and at c-span now, our free mobile video app or anytime on demand at c-span.org. middle and high school students it is time to get out your phone and start recording for your chance to win $100,000 in total cash prizes. the grand prize of $5,000 by entering c-span's studentcam video documentary program. this year's competition picture yourself as a newly elected member of congress and tell us what your top priority would be and why. create a five to six minute video showing the importance of the issue -- your issue from
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marriage act and to talk about other issues impacting the lgbtq community, the director of the lgbtq task force. what exactly does this legislation do? guest: it makes sure those who have gotten married, that right is respected at the federal level and the state level. government recognition and acknowledgment of marriages between all people, including same-sex. host: how does it do that? guest: it creates an opportunity for interstate recognition. it creates an opportunity for if the supreme court overturns windsor, it puts a protection in place that says regardless of
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what happens, these marriages are protected. ho: repealed the 1970 mayor jack. it does that overturn the defense of marriage jack? -- marriage act? guest: it doesn't overturn but it makes it inoperable. basically insurance to ensure if the supreme court does decide to try to go there, these marriages and these families are protected. host: if the supreme court were to decide to go there, and this marriage act were not signed into law, what would happen? guest: at that point the states decide if they are going to allow marriages between two same gender loving people and whether or not they are going to recognize those. without the respect for marriage act, these marriages wouldn't be
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respected. these marriages would not be accessible to those couples. host: the religious liberty protections, explain what those were about. guest: some of the amendments offered, there is already language in the respect for marriage act that protects religious freedom. it doesn't change any constitutional rights related to religious freedom. that is why we saw so much support for this bill in the first place and why we saw these amendments host: along the way. host:host: phone numbers to call in in this segment, (202) 748-8000 democrats,. republicans, (202) 748-8001.
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independents, (202) 748-8002. in a special line for those who identify as lgbtq, (202) 748-8003. 12 republicans joining democrats to pass this legislation. this is where senator chuck schumer was on the floor talking about the legislation. [video clip] >> today's vote is deeply personal for many of us in this chamber. it is personal for me, it is personal to many of my colleagues and their staff and their families. while we still have a few more votes to take today, it is joy and relief. let's remember nothing about this process was certain. remember, mr. president, it was our original plan to act on the respect for marriage act in september, shortly after the house voted to pass this bill over the summer with a
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surprising 47 republicans voting for the act. we knew this bill was top-tier. we knew it was the right thing to do. what we did not know was whether or not we had enough support, 60 votes to pass this bill through the senate. maybe the votes would materialize if we were forced to vote on the floor, but that was highly unlikely. for a great number of us, for so much of america, this bill was too important to risk failure. back in september, when i met with the leaders of this bill in my office, they recommended i hold off on a vote because they believed they could secure enough support for this bill. many questioned if it was the right thing to do. many on my side of the aisle. sometimes they say that is the way to go.
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but at the end of the day, my number one priority is to always get : legislation passed through the senate so i made the decision to take the risk pushing respect for marriage over the finish line at patience, persistence and today it is paying off. host: senator chuck schumer on the senate floor yesterday. guest: we are basically waiting for this bill to go to the house. we have our fingers crossed. a whole bunch of prayers going up in hopes to see the house passes this bill. once that happens it goes to the president. we are getting there. host: kierra johnson into -- is
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our guest. executive director of the international -- of the national lgbtq task force. guest: we work for the rights of lgbtq people around the country. host: in maryland, line for democrats, you are on with kierra caller: johnson. caller: i am really happy about this decision. i understand there are folks out there that use religion to say it is not right. you are entitled to your opinion. but we all have someone that is lgbtq. you might not know it, but at this point, we have a friend,
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sister or something. we don't want to see them suffer. it is not perfect that i am trying to not let perfect be the enemy of this. host: what is not perfect about it, what would you like it to be? caller: there is a lot of nuance around it. there could be loopholes and that scares me. host: kierra johnson, loopholes in that? guest: we are now in political time where we have to fight battles we thought we had already won. that caution is valid and real. and i agree with you with not letting perfect get in the way of the good. vice pres. harris: vice pres. harris: vice pres. harris: we have got8 homework to do. 8 caller: discrimination. shows up in other places other than
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marriage. pres. biden: we have got work to do78 to further nondiscrimination vice pres. harris: vice pres. harris: across the country and show that host: lgbtq people who are not married are able to enjoy and reap the benefits of their full human and civil rights. host: what is the next piece of legislation your group would like to see past? guest: the equality act. we have been talking about the rise in violence across the nation, targeting of lgbtq people. specifically trance and non-binary use. -- specifically trans and non-binary youth. we have seen the equality act as the next big step. host: what does the equality act to do? guest: it expands the rights of lgbtq people but also women and
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people of color, including some of these public accommodations that did not exist when nondiscrimination policies were originally formed or passed for places like uber and airplanes. and just everyday society. when we are talking about housing and health care. those places it is ongoing discrimination that is affecting our community daily. host: from colorado, this is keith. you are on. caller: it is time for america to celebrate. if we think about the bush administration filing briefs in the large view texas case, where
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the government tries to enter the bedrooms of lgbtq people, that was 2003. the amazing thing is the societal evolution and education of the american people. conservatives, you fight tooth and nail and eventually you come along. you deserve credit for that. i know there are religious implications for evangelicals particularly. keep in mind, lgbtq people are religious as well and have faith. it is a time for america to celebrate. let's keep the progress moving forward. guest: thank you so much for that. my heart goes out to all of those in colorado.
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i used to live in colorado. i lived there during columbine. i really appreciate what you are saying about one, people of faith are also a part of the lgbtq community. it is often rocket science for folks to understand and believe that. we have our very drunk network of faith leaders and people of faith. advocating and doing community work within the religious community within their lgbt community, it is important to talk about gun violence. there is policy waiting to be passed that protects our society , including our lgbtq community by passing real laws. gun control is an lgbtq issue. that is a policy i am hoping we
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can make forward movement on soon. host: republican line, good morning. caller: i believe in god and i wouldn't want nothing to happen to any gay people, but in the bible, it says that god destroyed sodom and gomorrah because of this. and it is being taught to our children. if you want to live that way, you can live that in secret, not out in the public. the church should be allowed to marry people of the same sex in churches. guest: the beauty of this country is freedom of religion. how we practice, how we praise, how we are in community in our faith traditions are diverse. it is important that we should be respecting faith traditions.
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regardless of how people feel about religion, regardless of what their faith traditions are, we are a country that has to be about protecting everyone in our country. i don't have to agree with who you are or what you do 100% of the time to fundamentally and deeply believe that you reserve respect, dignity and full health and the ability to thrive in our democracy. host: the line identified for lgbtq, this is christopher in cumberland, virginia. good morning. caller: good morning to you both. the bill that has been addressed, does it at all do
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anything about, because clarence thomas was talking about addressing there are two married men or two married women and they are in a state that is overturned -- they overturned texas, is there anything in that bill that would take to two married people in a state that no longer recognizes that marriage? that doesn't perform that marriage but wants to reenact sodomy laws? guest: i think you are asking if a marriage performed in another state would be recognized in another state even if they don't legally perform marriages for same-sex couples or recognize them in general.
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the answer to that is yes. the respect for marriage act ensures in every state marriages that have happened legally are recognized and federally they are recognized. that is why this protection was so needed. host: this is jerry and mississippi live it for democrats. good morning. caller: when we educate ourselves in voting, voting is the key. we can get a lot of good things done, but we must get our people registered, get our people out to vote. thank you and god bless america. guest: you are fired up and ready to go. i felt it and agree. host: npr, the question they
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address, the historic numbers of lgbtq in the midterm election. can you speak to that? guest: one of the things many people were waiting to see during the midterm was this so-called red wave or tsunami. the reality is that that didn't happen. a large part of that had to do with the number of lgbtq people who turned out to vote but also young people who turned out to vote across the country. lgbtq issues but also access to reproductive health care and abortion really catalyzed a lot of folks to get out there and have their voices heard. host: in ohio, republican line. good morning. caller: before, talking about
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our budgets and how our budgets can stay under control, right now we are about to change the definition of men and women. it is one thing to say it is ok to get married. it is a whole another world to say we are going to pay for everything because of that change. there are laws right now. the other thing talking in the united states, talking about the world, suddenly the constitution has men and women. we are going to change all of that. we don't know what this is going to cost us. a couple trillion, 4 trillion on health care. host: what are you worried about paying for? caller: it is one thing to say, get married. it is another thing, who is going to be responsible for health care costs. people around the world getting married to the opposite sex, it is going to cause a lot of
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problems in our system. our health care may go up because if there is someone in the world who says let's get married and by the way, the u.s. will pay for it. host: kierra johnson, is there an economic cost to the respect for marriage act? guest: i don't see any economic cost except a positive one for costs saved by married couples. they are not having to put forth a whole lot of legal fees to ensure they can support their partners if they are in the hospital. they don't have to put forth a lot of legal fees to have access and joint parentage to the children they may choose to parent together.
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it is just about honoring the relationships with the benefits that come along with that. we do have to have a conversation about how do we make sure all people, regardless of marriage have what they need to thrive in our democracy? health care access, that should be accessible to all people. is there a benefit in being married? sure. it is a right that should be accessible to all people. it is something we should be talking about. i don't see any impact of cost. host: the line for those identifying as lgbtq, this is --. good morning. caller: kierra, thank you for being on today. i have had this issue of marriage equality come up in my family. in respect to my father i asked
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him about what he thought about this issue and he knows that i have been dating the same man for 41 years. he quoted to me a passage in the bible from matthew 19 that says there are some men that shouldn't marry. and i said i know what st. matthew fuels but i want to know what you feel. how do you feel about me and my boyfriend getting married. host: what did he say? caller: he didn't say anything. he sat there stone cold, tightlipped and had no answer. i also asked him, if i was to as -- if i was to marry him, how would that take anything away from the three marriages that you had in your lifetime?
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he is 83, i am 63. william and i have been together for 41 years. it really hurts. your family says they love you and accept you for being out and open but when it comes to marriage equality it gets real personal for me. i thank you again, kierra. you are a beautiful expression of life. thank you for being on c-span. have a blessed day. guest: so honored to be here and so appreciative of the vulnerability you shared. my father was 41 years older than me and it was not easy coming out. but if a 73-year-old black man that can shift and evolve, then i truly believe so many people can. by being in community, being in
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family, when people witness our love and our family and how much we invest in our community, in our schools, it changes hearts and it changes minds. sometimes people have to deal with their barriers within to get them to loving they really want to be doing. good luck with you and take care of your head and your heart. host: live gavel-to-gavel coverage, this is sean in washington, d.c., good morning. caller: i wanted to address three misstatements this lady just made. number one, she supports this -- she supports religion. if there were a baker that didn't want to do a cake for a gay copper, i am sure she would oppose that. a caller was talking about transgender person changing their gender, the cost associated with that. she said there is no cost associated with that.
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the federal government is on the hook to start paying for that as it does other types of surgery. it will be tens of thousands of dollars for each surgery. a family economically poor person, it is a shift in values away from helping the poor and disenfranchised. the average married couple earns over 150 thousand dollars according to the federal government. at the same thing applies to lesbian couples. this has been a shift in priorities helping disenfranchised people. i am very sad to see this happen in my lifetime. goodbye. guest: there were so many things in there. around a shift from supporting poor or low income
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the respect for marriage act doesn't support no income people who are lgbtq who decide they want to be married, but i also agree with you. we have got to be paying attention to what the needs are of low income people and low income people with disabilities in terms of broad access to health care, jobs, and stable and quality homes. we can do the both/and. as far as religion goes, we are focused on acknowledgment by the federal and state government. it does not force private entities or individuals to recognize or provide services and goods for same-sex marriages, which is disappointing for some of us, but those are the facts of the bill. host: we will have to end it
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there this morning. the house is getting ready to come in. kierra johnson his executive director of -- kierra johnson his executive director of the national lgbtq task force. thank you. we will take you live to the house of representatives for gavel-to-gavel coverage and be back here tomorrow morning tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. eastern, 4 a.m. pacific.
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