seat to democracy. >> this morning on "washingn journal" we discse today's headlines d ke your calls, also democratic representative discusses priorities for the 119 colors. then republican representative talks about congressional efforts to avert a government shutdown and national rail strike. d rie jordan discusses the state of u.s. french relations as the white house prepares to host the state dinner for the french president. >> new railroad workers contract is in question -- it will

literally take an act of congress to prevent that. the u.s. house yesterday took the next step. many aren't happy with it. those measures moved to the senate with some urgency to prevent a national rail strike. it is the first of december, 2022 and welcome to washington journal for this thursday morning. people talk about what the house has passed. we will hear from you on your reaction on what is potentially ahead next eight -- week. (202) 748-8001 is a line for republicans. (202) 748-8000 is the line for democrats.

workers are encouraged to text at (202) 748-8003. interesting to hear from you whether it was appropriate for congress to ask in this case -- and how concerned you may be for the potential of the senate not finishing his work and not taking up the measures passed by the house yesterday. the reporting from political this morning on what is going on. " democrats rail strike challenge say the cook -- economy and your ties to unions. and may not survive the senate buzz saw. they may end up with a little more than a symbolic win. the compromise between speaker

nancy pelosi's leadership team and the emboldened lamp ended up with a seemingly un-elegant solution. when the two part arrangements moved away for final passage amid a chaotic negotiation scramble between the congress and the white house, it appeared to satisfy the rest available wing of a soon to it -- expire house democratic majority. call -- majority." the house voter on wednesday to force a deal between freight rail carriers and unions locking i potential strike that is threatening me travel and the busy holiday shopping season. the legislation heads to the senate but leaders of both

parties have bound to act quickly. four of the 12 unions involved have voted down a contract brokered by the white house that let paid sick days are any changes to an attendance policy that rail workers say is punitive. the shutdown of the nation's railway system should cost the economy as much as $2 billion a day. the house voted to 90-137 with bipartisan support on a bill that would force the real deal that was brokered by the white house but the chamber also narrowly approved a separate version of the rail deal, 221-207 to give rail workers seven paid sick days, a move that several democrats have pushed for but senator sanders -- was critical. >> president biden and labor secretary -- worked with the

rail industry and union leaders to come up with a tentative agreement that would -- but this agreement still does not require the industry to provide a single day of paid sick leave to work. -- workers. congress can and must do better. that is why i will be introducing legislation to guaranteed paid sick days for every rail worker in america. i will insist on a roll call vote in the senate on this legislation as part of an unanimous meant -- unanimous consent required to vote on this deal. mr. president, i hope much, and i think we may have bipartisan support for this legislation.

i would hope and i have talked to republicans who indicate that they are appeared to support the workers but i would say to every member of this body, that think long and hard on how you go home to your constituents and say i voted against allowing rail workers in this country seven paid six day -- six days -- second days --sick days. mr. president, let's be clear. those who believe that working conditions on the railroads with no guaranteed sick leave is wrong and inhumane. host: senator benny -- bernie sanders talking about the rail

deal that passed the house and heads to the u.s. senate. (202) 748-8001 or republicans. (202) 748-8000 four democrats. for independents, (202) 748-8002. we also welcome calls from union workers. (202) 748-8003. in this bill, they say that multiple units have balked at this agreement because of the possibility of paid family or medical leave and it it includes one additional compensating day of personal leave with passage of the bill. the house took the first step to compel all 12 unions to accept the deal. this was the first time since the 1990's since the congress use their past -- powers which allows it to regulate -- let's

go to our independent line. good morning. caller: good morning to you. let me tell you about myself. i came to the united states in 1987. the first thing i watched in my you -- news our headlines and when i hear the headlines, i would say that what happened? this is america where individuals have to fight for the rights. we feel sad for our country. workers, the only tools they have to get the right is through strike. if you come and do some legislation and force people, you have no right to strike, how are we different from countries where they don't care about the labor force? i am disappointed that this has

-- legislation. they will have to fight for our individual group right and i am selling -- saddened that the united states is going this way. we should not -- the republicans do not care about hard-working people. host: do you think that congress should not act and prevent that rail strike? should not impose the of -- previously agreed upon solution? caller: this is different. workers rights should be left for union. why should congress get involved with this under national security? this is not a national security issue. this is a right for families, for union members and for all of us. if we don't leave the strike and demand, so what is all right?

how will we challenge systems in america? black lives matter, you cannot stop it. try to do something but do not get involved with our unions or anybody's group or individual rights by legislation. that is dictatorship one-on-one. host: this is reporting from the hill, labor activists grumble as railway leave appears likely to die. most house democrats voting wednesday for president biden's tentative labor proposal while progressives insist that more be done to revive rail workers with paid sick leave. biden, who campaign as a pro union president, proposed something in the fall that will

circumvent a strike. the railroads and some units back there deal put others balked -- but others balked. one criticize the biden administration. here is --here is. -- here he is. >> one was an illegal bribes to college graduates that the court struck down and the second was his unsuccessful rail labor agreement. they failed. they were both lies to win an election. it falls on congress to clean up his mess and avoid a rail strike which would be catastrophic for our economy. it is estimated the rail strike would cause the economy $2 billion a day. the u.s. rail system moves

roughly 467,000 long-haul truck's each day and if you think inflation is bad, imagine what happens when the railroads go off-line and the supply chains would become strained and unpredictable. the cost of moving anything would skyrocket overnight just in time for christmas. our businesses and workers need certainty to operate in the environment and for this reason, i plan on voting for house joint resolution 100. the agreement is supported by rail grade -- railway shippers. every major industry from automobiles to energy would be severely impacted if we fail to act. see -- these are some of the largest drivers in inflation. i would like to point out that this deal is a great deal for

the railroad workers by the end of this deal, the average wages for rail workers will reach $110,000 per year. it is unthinkable that the floor rail board -- railroad unions are holding the nation hostage. host: the railroad feel that the president hopes to impose on the unions. a couple comments on social media and you can send as a text at (202) 748-8003. who fits the bill for additional sick leave? taxpayers already maxed out. it sounds like something has to give.

joe in hartford, kentucky. their only interest is rich and corporations and one more from joan. congress or the president should act when something as is rogers -- like this rail strike will disrupt things. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. independent and others (202) 748-8002. where union workers, -- for union workers, (202) 748-8003. caller: we should have sick days for the rail workers and the sick days allow the railroad

industry to afford if there is another pandemic or disaster, that the system is set up to accommodate sick days because it will happen in the future and the cdc says this is not our first pandemic or the last. what this will do is allow the railroad industry to have a cushion in place to allow people at least to get sick, six days out of the week. it has to be in the money is in going to the 1%. it is going to the people in the country who work. the people on the ground for -- floor who hold up the nation and i don't know the numbers, or what is going to get the sick days and that 24% pay increase over five years, that is not out of line at all. the inflation is growing at that

rate easily. thank you for that time. host: independent line is next. carl in tennessee. hello -- you are on the air. caller: i am also a union worker, a retired union worker. i think the amount of profit that the railroad industry is making is almost outrageous. in the fact that they -- and the fact that they don't want to share very literal -- little of that with workers is outrageous. i beg the progressive caucuses in the senate and the house that said at minimum, they should get the compromise. they are asking 15. seven is a compromise.

with all the profits they are making, they can easily afford it. the ceos might have to take up -- for take that out of their petty cash. i back the workers and the progressive congressman and senators for the seven sick day compromise. host: they are reporting that the sick day part of the measure may be in jeopardy in the senate. the headline for roll call -- the sick leave provision faces uncertain roads. the resolutions, have been deemed necessary by democrats and some republicans and president joe biden. progressives in the senate said they would delay adverse or entity the senate that includes one paid personal day and the resolutions included 12 enact

labor agreement -- that passed 290-137 and the other which would add additional sick leave to amend by archewell of the 12 rail units past. the second resolution is part of a consultative strategy to win from aggression -- support from progressive democrats who insisted on able to add the sick leave may not get enough support in the senate for the sick leave language to leave the president's tax --desk. this is nancy pelosi. >> we are here to safeguard the security of america's families and protect the economy as a continues to recover and a wert a devastating nationwide rail shutdown. for too long, the railroads' on the ship profits on the backs of workers, selling out to wall street and to its outrageous

precision scale railroading, based last jobs and increased hours and cut corners on safety while demanding more from the workers. rather than reinvesting profits into the workers, over the past decade, they have given $150 billion in handouts to corporate executives and wealthiest investors. it is not right. that is why it labor leaders -- that is why relentless labor leaders, among others, alongside our role union president, joe biden and labor secretary marty walsh, fought furiously to negotiate a fair deal. thanks to their months of determined leadership, the tentative agreement that was reached has secured important advances. a 24% pay raise and a $5,000

bonus, no charge and make changes -- and changes in co-pays and deductibles and protecting the two men grew. very important. much more needs to be done for railroad workers. it is outrageous that at -- every developed country in the world has paid sick we accept the usa -- sick leave except the usa. it is progress, the agreement provides -- but what we need is paid sick leave for railroad workers and every american. host: working to avoid a potential december night rail strike passing those two

railroad measures and they go to the senate and senators tweeting about that. senator markey saying rail workers fought on the front rise -- frontlines on the end, and kept the trades on track while receiving zero days of paid sick leave. the senate must take up house passed language to support these workers. rick -- senator rick scott, " only in washington is more government the answer. asking congress to turn its back on workers is insane. the -- the" way to avoid a strike is a new deal that rank and file members will support."

silver spring is next. gregory on the democrats line. caller: good morning. obviously, i support the amendment to endorse the labor amendment. find saying that right but here is my -- if i am saying that right but here is my point. we --the -- c-span, i screwed up. host: i will go to ocean city, new jersey. independent line. ed. caller: the number one need in society is to reduce stress in the workplace for blue-collar workers and the larger issue is vacation time and all these other issues of this can be a teaching moment to help us reduce stress in the workplace

and that will solve all problems, family problems and that can be a plus. host: for the couple of republican senators -- the point of the couple of republican senators -- it is -- is it the ball for units to agree to that? caller: it is both but the government has failed to reduce stress. friendly workplace, more break time, more vacation time. big issue. host: spokane, washington. on the republican line. what is your thought on the potential rail strike? caller: i am calling to get my feedback -- give my feedback as a were employer --as an employer. washington required us to give five days of six-time -- sick time in 2018.

from my perspective, it doesn't work and it ends up being five additional vacation time -- based because by washington law, we are required to pay that whether an employee is sick or not. i will go to my hotels there is somebody sick behind the desk and i don't want to get other employees sick and why are they here? they don't want to use their sick time because they want to get pay for it at the end of the year. i go across the border to idaho and the ratio of people using sick time is obtain between spokane and carter lang -- cordelaine. if they include that caveat that

the employer is not required to pay for it, it is a good thing but if they don't include that, then it is just another five days in vacation. host: in terms of your business, how much has been met for your bottom line? as i hurt your bottom line -- has it hurt your bottom line. caller: i would not say it has because -- if a sick person comes and they want to get the pay, and get someone else sick, it is not fair to the other employees so i am not calculating that in that way. i don't think it is fair for the employer to pay for it because it is not fulfilling the intention of sick days. host: we will go to brandon in germantown, maryland. go ahead. caller: i am live? host: you are. caller: good morning.

i am fortunate to work for a fortune 4 company. i can't imagine a workforce perp -- pertaining to the railroads and those workers need someone to advocate for the. they have families and are deciding whether or not if they want to return to work. morale and mental health is big and we need to do everything to support congress. i think congress, they want to get it right. i think those who have voices in d.c., and a congress -- in congress can do a lot to support workers as they try to support the american retail businesses to get through a very challenging pandemic. i believe we can use our voice, unite, whether it is boo party already red party to advocate for these railroad workers.

host: here's the reporting of the wall street journal. the house passes legislation to head off railway strike. the bottom of this article, they write that some republicans backed a bill to end a labor standoff i -- while also criticizing the white house for failing to negotiate a deal that unions and management could support. one of those was sam graves. in florida yesterday. >> why are we here and why is congress doing this? the reason is, madam speaker, because the president failed. the administration failed. that is the reason why this was brought to congress. so congress to intervene and move this forward and might i also point out that we are debating, right now, the package we are debating is recommended

by the president's oeb. --peb. the president wants us to quote -- passes package and i will quote the speaker who said sunday, "the house will take up a bill adopting a tentative agreement with no poison pills or changes to the negotiation terms and send it to the senate." they are backing up on that promise and that is what is what is happening. they are backing up on that and trying to read the book -- renegotiate this whole process, that a lot of people have put effort into and there is no reason anymore. why do we even have the system wait -- set up the way it is if congress will come in and make changes to all of the recommendations? host: some reaction on social

media. our text here from breast in -- russ and sandy, california --in santee, california. " i didn't create --biden and saw inflation. -- cannot solve inflation." one more from our reporter. to show you the flip -- split in the vault. two's -- 220-227 to add paid sick leave days. -- and free -- three republicans joined all democrat said yes. -- saying yes.

democrats, it is (202) 7480.ns. for independents and all others, (202) 748-8002. independent line. caller: i don't believe in unions and i will tell you why. they can destroy your company. they could come in and have workers shut it down. the thing is everybody cannot be in a union and they make twice as much is everybody. they can buy what i make because i make 10-12 dollars an hour when i was working. i can't buy the products they make. i don't make enough money. someone has to get their hands

30. -- dirty. the farmers raising food, they don't have unions but they get out and work. seven days a week. host: do you think in this dispute is the problem is with the units are not the railroad companies? -- unions and not the railroad companies? caller: absolutely. somebody has to get there hands 30 and sweat and president bynum is the worst president reit -- we ever had. host: chris in arkansas. caller: how are you? host: fine, thank you. caller: i want to put input on this. i am hearing that we want more paid vacation time.

in my 24 years, i have earned vacation days but i have worked -- to try to make my doctors appointment, it is impossible so we lay off to go to the doctor's appointment and they say we won't give you a vacation day. we cannot do it. what we are needing is to be able to lay off and not incur points under their attendance policy. if you have a doctors appointment on monday, and they follow -- and a follow-up on friday to see a specialist, her job is in jeopardy -- our job is in jeopardy because we had to go to a doctor twice in 90 days. host: how long has the system been like this? caller: date change the attendance policy about three years ago, where we incur points if we have to lay off and they

deny a vacation day or personal leave day. host: what are those points count for or against? caller: you get points for laying off sick and you get 28 points, you are gone. you broke the attendance policy. host: you said you have a working for in the rail industry for 21 years and with this new policy, has a cause you not to make medical appointments, to skip those rpr neighbor to make them a number of times -- skip those or unable to make them a number of times? caller: death of families and we miss everything as it is and christmases and birthdays and because on call and we want this bill, go to the doctor next week, make an appointment and not incur attendance points just

for going to the doctor. host: without giving us your employer, what kind of work do you do? caller: conductor on the train. host: the 24/7-65 availability, has that always been the case in your career? caller: yes, since the day we hired out. host: you knew that coming in but the actual points system holds off the ability to take time off work appointments, is a newer program. caller: per -- correct, and they change the policy three years ago and it is impossible to lay off. host: how did your union vote, when the country was presented to you? caller: we voted down. host: thanks for your insight. two jean in ohio.

democrats line. caller: i would like to say hats off to chris for explaining that point system and anyone can go on google online, as i did yesterday, and find out about the points system but he explained it well. i also googled how many sick days this congress get. do you know the answer? unlimited. there is no number. i do not want to hear what senator rubio or o'connell -- set -- senate court -- senator mcconnell or anyone else has to say about how -- what people working on the railroad is working on -- forgetting unless they put their sick days down to zero. host: next up is in -- larry on the republican line.

hello there. larry in kentucky, by line is that there. -- my line is that there -- stuck there. caller: chris the conductor, i praise him for the hard work that real workers do. our [indiscernible] by rail and it used to be all rail but it changed but i have seen conductors subtract and they are trying to stop. i -- you have to let both sides do what you have to do to work this out but the only problem was congress, the biden administration which made at -- a debacle over inflation and fuel shortages, which we didn't

have to have an the first second of order he had, is to cut the keystone pipeline off at a got the economy in role. -- and it got the economy in a role. railroad workers make good money but they earn it and i am not against that but i don't know anything about it. i was coming in on the other end but it is about collective bargaining and let them work it out. [indiscernible] it is the demonstration that got us into this mess. i think you very much -- thank you very much. host: the new yorker vows to get

things done as first black man in the role. hakeem jeffries, the trio led by hakeem jeffries will be -- being be democratic leaders of the congress, 43 your feet ocular -- geordie three year old pete aguilar -- 43 year old pete secular --aguilar. as the 80 something leaders make way for the next generation -- generation, here is what representative hocking jeffrey said. >> stan on the shoulders of people like shirley -- shirley chisholm and others as we work to advance things for everything -- everyday americans and get stuff done because that is what democrats to --do. that is what our record says.

house democrats committed to fighting hard for working families, middle-class folks and those who -- aspires to be part of the middle-class. young people and seniors and veterans, the poor and the sick and be afflicted in the left behind, house democrats fight for the people. that is our story. that is allegedly. that is our values. that is our commitment as we move forward. get stuff done. make life better for everyday americans. we look forward to finding opportunities to partner with the other side of the aisle and work with the, -- them, with other pop -- whenever possible but we will also push back against extremism whenever necessary. we love this country, we love our democracy, we love the

congress and the house of representatives. the institution designed to be the closest to the people. we will fight hard each and every day we have this honor to serve in congress to deliver. host: that was the democratic leadership selections happening in the same day back house passed the two rail measures. we welcome your calls and comments for (202) 748-8001 for republicans. democrats, (202) 748-8000. (202) 748-8002 is a line for independents. if you are a rail union worker, (202) 748-8002. tim scott, senator from south carolina said -- president biden

take the can down the road in september when he claimed to teach a deal to prevent the rail strike and we went out be facing the crisis if he focuses -- focused on the issue at hand. senator warren says "rail companies break in billions of dollars every years ago telling they can have paid sick leave -- so do not tell me they cannot have paid sick leave." caller: medicare for all is the solution. that doesn't meet the government takes over the health care system. that means the government pays the bills for the health care sector -- system. that's right. we need medicare for all. there are a lot of progressives and the democrats and republicans are not fighting for the common people. republicans are the party of the rich and the republicans are the party of the rich. we have one party with two

greens. we need medicare for all. the government pays the health care cost for the american people. host: to donnie. p is a retired union worker -- he is a retired union worker in louisville, kentucky. caller: i think the congress and the senate, i feel they should have passed, extend the negotiations for another 30 days, and if not, they step in and pass the bill himself -- themselves because the union employees pay union dues for the -- the union negotiator. i did not pay the union bills for congress to the, -- contract plus sick days, the company i worked in, they call on personal days. when you start in guest -- less than a year, you have two personal days and after year,

you have five personal days and if you call in and no 24 hours in advance, you schedule it in they have someone work in your place. if not, and you have an emergency, you take a couple hours and you take a personal day for the unions should negotiate contracts. if congress has to step in come the railroad this not need to have a union. i work for another company -- work for another company -- worked or another company but after i got into the military, i worked at a factory in kentucky for 18 years and there was a union. i have nothing against unions. they always donate to democrats and i don't understand that. there's a link -- reason the

congress should set the bill. they should -- extended for 30 days and go to the negotiation table. host: next up is laverne in texas. caller: first thing i want to say, i want to thank president biden for the price of gas going down, when it was being increased, not with the pandemic. everyone wanted to blame him for everything. i am a daughter of a coal miner and a retired veteran and member -- retired member of the va hospital system. i am appalled that we have people who would say that you cannot have sick days, especially in light of what people in ohio told us, how many sick days are -- congress people

get? unlimited. you have the young men speak about, the one who was on the railroad who was the conductor, speaking about having to miss major life events because if he didn't come to work, you would be penalized. and makes no effing sense. he should be happy that they have rail workers working today with this infrastructure surrounding the railroads, falling apart, bridges, railways. that is where he should be working to make sure that is fixed. we have barons who owned the facilities who are getting rich. i have friends who worked for the railroads, and the 24/7 on

call disrupts families. i am surprised that at this point, other unions have not come in support of these railway workers and say, we are not important? our family is not important? maybe we should do a slow down and see what it is really like if these workers are not allowed to get at least the decency to be able to come to work in a healthy state. host: the new york times writing about the political fallout. " some rail workers feel betrayed. as the -- a long time freight rail rate conductor worked hard to elect joe biden as president. i have blue-collar biden shirts and i not on doors for him for weeks but since monday, when president biden urged congress to impose a labor agreement that

his union had voted down, he has been besieged by furious workers. the white house statement --" the views of those who voted against the agreement but he felt that congressional action was urgent. for many of more than 100,000 freight whale -- rail workers whose unions have been trying to renegotiate a contract, mr. biden's administration amounted to putting a thumb on the scale in the industry. independent line. caller: i am an ex union person. let me say that i am totally against eunice because unions -- unions because unions in my opinion, because a divide between two people who are exactly qualified.

and two different pay scales. moving on, to hear what nancy pelosi says about the railroad worker who, as i understand, is making an average of 80,000 dollars to $90,000 a year and concerned about their safety, how many railway workers were killed on the job last year as opposed to policeman were killed or shot or injured on the job last year and they don't make anywhere near that kind of money? the average salary for gleason is $50,000 -- policeman is $50,000 and to have a union have a stronghold, especially to try -- try to strike at this time of year, it is criminal. it shows the intent. the country is in a downturn. i could go on for hours but i want to give you my opinion. host: a view from a union

worker. cheryl. caller: good morning. i am from a union family. my family -- grandfather was a rail work -- railroad worker during the 20's and 30's during the depression and my father was a boeing employee. b from carlos -- that put me through college. i was in a union and i retired with a fine pension. i moved to north carolina from the washington state in the teachers here make half of what would -- what i retired at. unions are democracy in action and, coming from a blue state -- still sharp and still. -- steel sharpens steel.

they were able in a democratic fashion, to procure things to make things worthwhile. enough salary and medical benefits and having to move to a right to work state, i see how these things are absent and i see it in the property around me. the divide is huge here. there is no middle class. you are either upper-middle-class or poor and i believe it is because there are no unions here to support each other. host: let me ask you with this case with several unions rejecting the proposed deal in congress, it is -- is it appropriate that congress step in and enforce the deal that was agreed to by several unions? caller: believe the government

has a right to keep the writ -- i believe the government has a right to keep the rails going temporarily while unions continue to bargain. i am not totally thrilled with them imposing the contract, but i do believe congress has a right to keep the rails moving, especially in beast times we have such an -- infrastructure issues. host: president biden released a statement saying," i am grateful to peter posey -- speaker pelosi and house democrats to prevent this shutdown. this makes clear that demo and republicans agree that a rail struck dowd be devastating to our economy and familioss the country. thsete must act urgently. disruptions to our auto supply

chains, ability to move food to the tabl and ability to remove hazardous refineries begin. they must move quickly. " this was the president in september when the deal was tentatively agreed to by several humans evolved. no dog -- pres. biden: this agreement is big for americans. i want to thank leader negotiators, international association of sheet to mail -- metal, and this is a win for rail workers and their dignity and the dignity of the work. during these early and uncertain days of the pandemic, they show up -- showed up so every american could keep going.

they worked tirelessly to ensure our and communities that the deliveries they needed. because of the labor agreement, those rail workers will get at her pay, 24% wage increase over the next five years, improved working conditions, peace of mind around their health care by capping the cost workers will have to pay, and that is about the right to go to a doctor and stay healthy and make sure you are able to have carried you can afford. it is part of this agreement. this is a great deal for both sides. host: let's take a look of -- at social media reaction. albert says ", the fact that -- it is up to congress is deserving."

this one says, " this situation is nothing like the airline pilots in the 80's. at the rebel shutdown -- at -- if the railroad shuts down, a lot of people will lose jobs. " in senate fears -- in center field utah. caller: i am a proud wa member and i am retiring from the -- retired from the cold wind and i stand with the railroad unions and they should have sick days and time off. when i was working, i had five sick days and 16 graduated days. what do they got? they have to go to work whether they want to -- whether they are

sick or not and the government has no right to turn around and say, you have to go to work. would you like to recall that yourself? host: next up is judy in fort lauderdale, florida. democrats line. caller: our legislators are very unfair. i work for the v.a. for 16 years and i took off very few sick days and they accumulated for those years. when i had surgery, i had two months of played -- paid leave from my sick time. for someone in -- when someone in my department needed time, we would give them our time and the congresspeople get the same benefits, but they won't give

them to the public and that is pretty bad. host: other moves from the new york times. sam bankman-fried blames failure for the ftx collapse. he made his first public opinions -- appearance on wednesday since his company imploded. he said he did not know the extent on what was going on with crypto -- this crypto business. coming up, a hearing on the regulation on crypto princi and testifying will be the chair of the commodity futures trading commission. that is live at 10 a.m. eastern. it will be here live on c-span and c-span now and on c-span.org. at 10 eastern, over on c-span3, representative hiring donald's, testifies on the need for fair

access to banking and financial services industry. he will be joined by that national urban league president live on 10 a.m. eastern on c-span3 and live and on our app. cominghis evening, president biden's first state dinner with the president of france. he will hostresident macron and his wife. we wilhave live coverage today 7 p.m. easte on c-span and you can follow it live online and on our app c-span now. mike, rockford in the -- illinois. caller: two points. the union. 12 unions agreed upon -- agreeing upon one package is next to impossible. soon as i heard him trying to sell us -- one package to 12

unions, it will not work. the union in two words means to me, collective bargaining. this is not collective bargaining when congress legislates. that is the first point. the second point is that fatigue is a new weapon of companies -- and employers, where 250 hospitals was nationalized under dot under covid and they use 50 under nurses by getting 12 hour days and that -- to bring them out so the hospitals are empty. there was a patient -- there was no patient that was considered underwhelmed -- overwhelmed and there -- it is the same thing

going on with the railroad employees. we had to call someone and explain how the management walked out under -- over 200 managers from the railroad company and replace them. that is going on with the $250. it is similar to a lot of boards being taken over and a lot of these managements taken over and being host: chuck chris and mafia, louisiana. caller: i want to say to all of us, we just heard the american people from all different walks of life and from all different parties that they are affiliated with and if that doesn't answer all of the questions that we are

talking about then i don't know what else to say but this, here's what i will say. number one, the downturn. downturn in the u.s. since the pandemic, that is what we are dealing with. we are in the down torn. the pandemic has done something to everything, everybody in every business and wall street and everything. number two, god. because we live in the usa and this is our country, american citizens, our president has a right to protect this economy. our congress have a right to watch over the president to make sure he doesn't mess it up. that is our government. the unions, you better be careful about these unions.

you have them in aviation, refinery, amazon, you have them in shipping, tracking and the bottom line is, these unions and these people who own these business like the refineries, they get together at the roundtable and all of you union people strike deals that work for them and they could care less for you y'all. if you don't believe that, ask the refinery workers in beaumont, ask them what happened to them during that last layoff. they laid off all the old guys in hired some young cookies. host: we appreciate all of your views. more of the program coming up. i'm next we will be joined by two congressional guests this morning. texas democrat rep. henry cuellar, we will talk about the

debt ceiling and what he expects from the congress. then we have republican congressman rep. glenn grothman. >> join us today live on c-span for the first official white house state dinner of the biden administration. as president biden and jill biden welcome the president of france and his wife brigitta to washington. celebrate the relationship between the united states and one of its closest allies. john baptiste will perform. watch the white house state dinner on c-span.

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representing texas. joining us from the capital to talk about the state of play in the lame-duck session and what may be ahead in the 118th congress. your new leadership team starting with akeem jeffries. what is your view going in to the 118th with this new team? guest: i've worked under pelosi, hoyer and clyburn. this is the first time that we have had new leadership and i am really excited. jeffries, clark and aguilar are all friends of mine. i support all three of them. i think this is going to be good for democrats to have this new generation of leaders. i look forward to working with them for many years. host: you are currently the

chief deputy whip. what is your position look like going into the 118th? guest: i'm hoping to stay the same place in imap. i hope i can stay the new chief deputy whip with our new web katherine clark. it's up to her. number two, hope to stay in appropriations as defense and homeland security. i am hoping to stay where i am at because i love the two places that i'm might right now. host: will start with what's on deck ahead for the house and senate. the short-term funding measure expiring december 16. you are a member of the appropriation committee, what do you think will happen here? guest: we might have a

short-term extension and hopefully it's only short-term, and extra week or so. right before christmas, i've seen that before. we all want to finish this appropriation. as the new majority comes in, they can come in with their own ideas and they will have to negotiate with us because kevin mccarthy and i expect him to be the speaker. he will have a thin majority and he will realize it will be hard to govern and there are democrats that know him, and skill lease and we know we can work with them on the points that we can agree on. if there are things that are not good for the country for my district or my border, i will be the first person to stand up and fight on those issues. host: speaking of the border,

the republican leader has said he would be in favor of potential impeachment hearings of alejandro mayorkas, what's your view on that? guest: i don't support that. we do have differences on how we see the border. even myself and victor mayorkas. but to impeach someone for different opinions, i don't think that's right. i am looking for bipartisan ideas, what we can secure the border. i worked with john cornyn, and representative gonzales. there are ways we can move forward. just trying to impeach somebody, it doesn't bring any solutions. it doesn't move us one step

closer to secure the border. host: rep. henry cuellar is our guest. here are the lines (202) 748-8001 for republicans, (202) 748-8000 for democrats, (202) 748-8002 four independents. back to the border for a second, cnn politics reporting that the administration is projecting daily migrant border crossings could double when the trump euro policy in later in december. give us a sense of what pressures your district is going through with the migration situation there. guest: with the mayors of washington dc, new york and chicago complain about the number of migrants because of the buses sent over there, it's

only a drop in the bucket as to what we get. we get the large number of migrants that come through the southern border. laredo does not get a lot of crossings. it has not become a point where they get the migrants and then they send them off. we have been sending on a daily basis 25 buses two different places in the state and in the country. we have to do something. but again, the border is a complex place. it is a beautiful place. we haven't open border where people are coming in, yes. is it a secure place? yes. if you look at the crime statistics, my place of laredo is three or four times safer than washington dc. and i'm not talking about the

politics, whether it is murder, rape and assault. if you want to stop drugs from coming in, they are not coming in with the migrants they are coming in through the ports of interest. -- ports of entry. we have to take this rhetoric away and look at the facts and sound ways of securing the border. host: you mentioned senator cornyn, if you look at bipartisan potential solutions, in the short term for the situation we face, what could some of those measures be? guest: he and i have a piece of legislation along with senator sinema and tony gonzalez and what i have done in appropriations. i have added those ideas into

appropriations all the way from adding more immigration judges to making sure that we get people there day in court. you mention title 42. title 42, i support title 42 but let's say it goes away. the bad guys, the smugglers. they will market that saying that the border is open. we can still use title viii which is something that is still on the books for deporting people. we had title 42 under obama and we were able to be compassionate but this person should obey the laws and return people. you have to know who should stay and who needs to be returned. the administration is letting

anybody end and that is wrong. it's a false sense of hope for some of those people asking for asylum. if you put 100 of them before an immigration judge, 10-12% will be accepted. why are we allowing a hundred percent of them in where they develop a false sense of hope for them when at the end of the date they will probably have to be returned. host: let's get to your calls, questions and comments. john is first in taxes on the republican mine. caller: i was born in raven's sville. there are two points that i don't like. but i will give you a solution. i don't like them coming across the border. they are ending up in our school system.

they don't speak english. in the emergency room, they don't pay their bills we pay those two. the problem is, it's mexico. mexico i know for a fact, you have corruption. the cartels own the government and mexico. why is it that we can't squeeze mexico and say we will not allow the cartels to pay you officials to do what we want. let's punish mexico for that and tell them we will squeeze you, the government of mexico until you get your act together and you steal your side of the border and let nobody come across a border. nobody wants to do that and i want to get your thoughts. guest: thank you so much and again, i love the city that you are from. let me say this.

you have said something i've said something upset for many years. if you listen to most people, they want to play defense on the one yard line at the u.s./mexico border. i think the best defense is to play it on the 20 yard line. do more with mexico, guatemala and the other countries. there are different ways that you can get mexico to work with us. president obama and trump did the same thing. under president obama, they got mexico to stop people. they were stopping and returning more people back into guatemala then the u.s. border patrol was stopping. they were catching and returning more people in mexico and returning them to guatemala. what you said is so true. you don't play defense on the

one yard line, you played on the 20 yard line. that will be the most efficient way of stopping people with mexico and guatemala. we have to be able to convince mexico in a stronger way, it becomes a problem not only to us here in the u.s. but becomes a problem to mexico also. host: as part of the problem, was the policy change by the mexican president? the action you mentioned about transporting the immigrants from mexico back into guatemala? guest: there are different ways you can get the attention of mexico. the u.s. is mexico's largest trading partner. there are different ways you can negotiate with mexico. the mexican president is far to the left but there are ways we

can get their attention to get them to do more. playing defense on the one yard line does not work. anybody who knows basic football will do that. playing it on the 20 yard line is the way to do it. i agree with the denman from texas. host: let's hear from randy in alabama on the democrats line. caller: yes. the way they are acting on the border. joe biden has never been down there even when he was a senator, vice president and while he was president so he has no clue what's going on down there. rep. henry cuellar could do more in congress to help immigration than he does. host: the presence of the

president on the border, is it enough? guest: let me say this, should the president of the united states visit the border? absolutely. i've invited him, the vice president and they need to understand with the border is. if their perspective is it's ok to have this current situation, i think that's wrong. we have laws on the books that say who stays and who goes. you give asylum-seekers their day in court and then return the ones who have to go back. congress can do certain things but what we are seeing right now is what the president can do by negotiating agreements with mexico, guatemala and that's a

key to playing defense on the 20 yard line. i invite the president of the united states to the u.s. border. host: texas congressman henry cuellar talking about the issues ahead. the lame-duck session, the respect for marriage act passed the senate. averting a rail strike, the house of his work yesterday. the defense authorization bill, reforming the electoral count. additional request for covid assistance. if you are in california asks, does congressman cuellar think raising the debt ceiling is important? guest: we should raise the debt ceiling whether it is through the lame duck session or if we do it next year.

the republicans want to wait to next year to leverage those cuts. the bottom line is that the debt ceiling should not be used as a leveraging point. all we are due is raising debt for money that has already been spent under both republicans and democrats. if you think it's only democrats that have added to the debt. president trump raised it in four years as much as obama in eight years. when people say it's the democrats are the republicans, if they use that as the narrative. look at the numbers and is both democratic and republican presidents that add to the debt and the debt ceiling is money that has been spent.

it's used by republicans as a leverage point and they want to use it next year as a leveraging strategy. caller: is pretty traditional that at the midterms the president needs to reassess some of his appointments and then move on from there. in my opinion, there are a couple of appointments and need to be changed. it's nothing personal, is just based on interviews i have seen in the awareness level. number one, is the head of homeland security, he has to go. he is not qualified for that job, he's overwhelmed. number two is jennifer granholm, the energy, she was ineffective

as a governor and she is completely unqualified to handle it. that's nothing unusual to change people who you once appointed politically and now you need someone qualified to do it. host: we will hear from congressman cuellar. guest: those changes would have to be done by the president himself. when you look at military officers, they will do a net assessment as to whether they need to change strategy as they move forward in a particular conflict. i think a president also needs to do a net assessment after the first two years as you mentioned

and assigned, do we change policy or personnel? that's a decision of the president. in my opinion, should we look at different ways, ideas on how we secure the border or how we look at energy? i think we need to look at new ideas. personnel changes, i will leave that to the president. host: there was a report in the wall street journal that says democrat henry cuellar rejected requests to switch parties. what can you tell some about that effort. guest: i am not going to get into personal communications between me and another member. i will say this. it did happen but i am a democrat. a very moderate democrat. i will look for bipartisan solutions to move the country forward when it comes to legislation.

host: do you still feel that there is room in the party for moderate democrat such as yourself? guest: i grew up in texas in the state legislature and this applies to the democratic party in the republican party. that's the big tent theory. what we see now in politics as you see the far left in the far right. the two extremes but there is a lot of us in the middle that are not sent to washington to make political statements. we are sent to washington to govern and sometimes that doesn't sound right with the far left or right that our job is to govern and i follow the words of lbj who said, texan, i'm a

democrat in that order. host: let's hear from rich on the democrats line. fairfax, virginia. caller: thank you for taking my call. i have a fairly simple question and that is, why can't congress try to put together some kind of bill that will allow american families to sponsor families or children or people that are coming here. our taxes to support the school system. my wife and i put two kids through school and they both graduated 20 years ago and we are still paying for it. i called and asked the same question.

i never heard that brought up. i know there are people on the border doing this. i mean truly support these people. hey, this family is your responsibility and they have skin in the game, you have skin in the game. i don't understand why we are fighting over one side and the other when we have all these families that we would more than welcome the men. i just don't understand. guest: under the law when someone comes over they are supposed to have a sponsor. i think we need to pay attention to that part because the sponsor and i put that in quotes,

sometimes becomes a little questionable in the sense are they really responsible for the family that is coming over. i agree with him, you can't let the government do everything. if you have private individuals that want to sponsor and help because that's the way it's supposed to be working. we do know at the end of the day, those kids who end up in school. they will not know english and sometimes, there are languages that they may not have the help teach in a bilingual way. it does become challenging to local entities. host: this is from jeff in pennsylvania. he said that it seems like that one of the biggest headwinds

facing military readiness is the lack of stability and authorization and appropriation from congress. what can be done by the house appropriations committee to a improves the acquisitions process? guest: i think that's an extremely important question. think about any other country that has to go but we through. do they have to pass appropriations? we can have acr, that will hurt our readiness. one of the most important things we are supposed to pass every year is the appropriations bill, why is there all this drama at the end of the year?

december comes in here we are, that is not the way to run government. the appropriations is the most important thing that we need to pass every year. why add drama? i agree with the gentleman, there has to be a better way and we need to stop playing all this drama every december like we've been seeing. host: one more call for you in a moment. i want to hear from you, what do you hope democrats can get done in the 118th congress? guest: we are in the minority in the house, not in the senate. it means can we get both parties to agree? if the far left or far

right think they can get their ultimate prizes, it's not can happen. mccarthy will have to be able to govern and when you have a small majority, it's going to be hard. you can ask paul ryan or john boehner. they had a larger majority. you ask nancy pelosi, say what you want to say about her. she was a master legislature. she was able to get things done. can we legislate as democrats and republicans and put party aside. host: let's hear from thomas and saulsberry, indiana. caller: thanks for having me on. you said that trump spent how many trillions, how much is biden spent this year so far? guest: it certainly is in the

trillions. we don't have those numbers yet. i look at numbers and i have seen george bush, president clinton, obama, trout. president trump was over 7 trillion, president obama was over nine trillion. the last time we had a surplus was under clinton and that is because you had a president who was democratic and congress she was republican. host: congressman henry cuellar will enter his 10th term. guest: if i don't talk to you have a great christmas. host: still ahead, a different perspective.

we will hear later from rep. glenn grothman a republican from wisconsin. but first, the open forum. you can talk about topics we've addressed so far or others in the news. the lines for republicans (202) 748-8001, democrats (202) 748-8000, for independents and others (202) 748-8002. ♪ >> american history tv saturday on c-span two exploring the people and events that tell the american story. at 8:00 p.m. eastern, professor on the early development of slavery in the early american colonies. at 9:00 p.m. eastern

presidential historian john meacham examines abraham lincoln's life and how he governed a divided country. exploring the american story, watch on american history tv and find a full schedule on your ogram guide. or watch online, anytime at c-span.org/history. congress gets back to work in the wake of the midterm election. watch in the next week as the 118th congressakes committee assignments, sets and agenda for january 2023. the outgoing congress uses its final weeks to tackle unfinished business such as defense spending, judicial nominations and funding for the federal government. watch it all live on c-span and c-span now, our free mobile app

or any time at c-span.org. listening to programs on c-span or c-span radio just got easier. tell your smart speaker play c-span radio and listen to washington journal daily and other public affairs events. catch washington tv. tell your smart speaker, play c-span radio. c-span, powered by cable. "washington journal," continues. host: if there's an item in the news or political topic you want away and on, this is your chance to do it. (202) 748-8001 is a reline for republicans, (202) 748-8000 for democrats, independents (202)

748-8002. host: garland will not say what awaits in the january 6 probe the day after they convicted far right extremist and a plot to unleash violence. merrick garland vowed that his justice department would continue to work tirelessly to hold accountable those responsible for the efforts to overturn the 2020 election. tuesday's trial so the breach of the capital was not an isolated event but a component of wider plotting of extremists who wanted to stop the transfer of power. the jury found oath keepers steward rhodes and kelly maggs partially responsible for staging firearms and preparing

to oppose federal authority. both were convicted of seditious conspiracy, one of the most serious charges levied in the january 6 investigation. here is what attorney general garland had to say. >> during the trial the government's evidence showed that immediately following the election, defendant steward rhodes, leader of the oath keepers began planning to oppose the transfer of power. communicated a plan to travel to washington on or around january 6 2021. the defendants forcefully breached the u.s. capitol wearing paramilitary gear. last

evening, a jury of the defendants peers found each of them guilty of serious felony offenses. as the verdict makes clear, the department will work tirelessly to hold accountable those responsible for crimes related to the attack on our democracy on january 6, 2021. host: let's get to your calls in open form. we will go first to our republican line. jd colling from oklahoma. caller: could you talk to the next representative, the republican and ask him if it's feasible to close down the border to force mexico to do more to keep immigrants out. host: you mean to totally close the border? caller: just close it down for

three days and say, if you will let so many people come through your country to hear, we can shut down the border crossings to force mexico to do more. host: we will go to kenneth in tampa, florida on the independent line. good morning. caller: just like the last caller when the representative comes up. if people are flooding over the border, i would like to know, why hasn't the governor of texas, which is a red state. why hasn't he imposed eminent domain. any other place in america, if they want to do something, especially if it's in the minority area.

they will take these peoples property through eminent domain. why haven't they done that for the border? the reason they haven't done it is because rich white people own the land. asked that republican, since they're so concerned about flooding over the border. take the property through eminent domain and put up a wall. host: open forum on washington journal the line for republicans (202) 748-8001, (202) 748-8000 for democrats, for independents and others (202) 748-8002. volcano corrupting in hawaii. stopping lot but is not easy.

people have tried all of them to staunch the flow as it lumbered towards roads and infrastructure. now, muana loa is directing again. once more, people are asking if anything can be done to stop or divert the flow. it comes up every time there is interruption and there is lava heading towards inhabited areas. some people say board up. humans have rarely had much success stopping lava and despite the world's technological advances, doing so is difficult and dependent on the force of the flow in the terrain. many question the smartness of

interfering with the volcano it all. on the republican line. caller: it's never a good idea to mess with molten earth. my wife is hawaiian and their family has said, just leave it. it goes where it's going to go. the reason i called is just a little bit about the border. i just heard recently the press secretary come on in say joe biden had been to the border since he's been elected. we heard the story that he drove by the border near the election. he did not go to areas that have a consistent problem when you

have been a career politician and you have based some of your prior elections on working with the migration i don't understand the democrats complete flip to lead people in but not el salvadorians. it is pretty sketchy. the whole thing is pretty sketchy. may orcish should resign or they should impeach him. one way or another he needs to go. host: next up on the democrats line. from ohio. shirley, and ohio, hello. we'll try that one more time. caller: hello. ok, thank you. thank you so much for c-span a good morning to you. i just have two things, the

border, that will never stop. as long as americans give other people from other countries and work them here. is not can ever stop. i watched in my neighborhood as people from mexico put a roof on and the person who was in charge was a different race and he was laughing at how fast they could work to get that roof off-and-on. until these people stop get on here and pretend to be against the border wall while they have people working on their homes from the border. it is not can stop. somebody please tell me, why do these people continue to follow an ex-president and continue to

go to prison. there is no man on earth i could get me to follow them to prison. i am 73 years old, do you think i will follow joe biden to prison if he were to do whatever it is he is supposed to have done? i will not follow joe biden to prison and i am a democrat. thank you sir. host: it is open forum on washington journal. this is from the usa today this morning, national democrats tried up in presidents this week as they gather in to vote on a new nominating calendar one which would bump iowa from his first in the nation status. members of the dnc could move new hampshire or nevada into the

top spot. though the outcome is far from certain, few expect iowa which just kicked off the nominating process since 1972 to hold this position after a 2020 caucus in which the party was unable to report results after a tangle of technology failures. the state is too white to represent an increasingly diverse party prompting the committee to review the calendar and which states vote first. out of texas, on the independent line. kathleen, welcome. caller: hello dear. i'm calling to talk about the border. i think everyone in washington has messed up. they have open this country up. we had the virus down so low and

now all of a sudden, since he is been in office, the borders are open. nobody cares. all of the people working there trying to control it with no backup. i think it should all be closed down. the whole border, around texas. anywhere somebody can drop in into our country. they are not being checked. now we have the virus so read on the map that we are so infected with the virus and more strains and more shots that need to be made stronger because it's an epidemic more than it was when it first started. somebody needs to get off their whatever and be a man, woman and make the laws.

call the national guard, the army, the marines, all of our military upon this thing. host: from port charlotte, florida, on the republican line. caller: thank you very much and the woman before me, she has an idea. my idea is let's not be defensive like the representative from texas said, let's go on the offense. we know that mexico is in the cartel's pocket. everybody is trying to come up. let's open it up and let's access, let's take all of mexico all the way to the panama canal. we would only have a couple of miles to defend for our borders. you have russia trying to annex the ukraine. let's and ask all of mexico.

then we have plenty of room for everybody and we can take care of ourselves down there. host: from omaha, nebraska on the independent line. caller: i am sick and tired of these people whining about the border. mostly republicans. our governor-elect in nebraska is under investigation for hiring illegal aliens and then showing them as independent contractors so he doesn't have to pay taxes on them. host: donald, are you there? caller: yes, can you hear me? ok, i'm tired of republicans whining about the border. we had the governor-elect who is under investigations for hiring illegal aliens and then showing

them as independent contractors so he doesn't have to pay taxes on them. we had a young lady killed in iowa by an illegal immigrant who worked on the chicken farm. hello? host: we're here, we're listening. you were telling the story. do want to finish your comment? caller: we had a young lady murdered by an illegal alien and iowa. the owner of the farm said he did not know he was an illegal alien. it just so happened his wife is a big fundraiser for the republican party. host: it is open for for the next 10 minutes or so. (202) 748-8001 the line for republicans, (202) 748-8000 the lines for democrats, (202) 748-8002 for independents.

from the wall street journal, powell signals they will slow the rate of interest rate increases. they are on track to step up half of point. investors have been eager for evidence that the central bank would slow his pace of rate rises and marked as rally after the remarks. dow jones rose 2.2%, enough to put it in a bull market. mr. powell said that overheated labor markets need to cool more for the fed to be confident that inflation would decline toward its 2% goal. here's more of what mr. powell had to say yesterday. [video clip] >> monetary policy affects

economy and the full effects of our tightening so far have yet to be felt. the time for moderating the pace of rate increases may, soon as the december meeting. our progress in tightening is far less significant in terms of how much further we will need to raise rates to control inflation and the length of time it will be to hold policy at a restrictive level. history caution strongly against prematurely loosening policy and i will close by saying that we will stay the course until the job is done. host: back to your calls, elliott calling from waterloo, iowa. caller: the article you are

reading about iowa. i am from iowa. i just don't understand that at all being african-american. i feel like the democratic party is trying to find a way to make it easier for them to control denominations in one way to do that is to get one of the bigger swing states out of the picture when they can use a state like nevada which already has voter problems. problems counting these votes. it's getting to a point the average america doesn't resonate with these democrats. i have been contemplating switching parties. host: do you think that the democrats used the 2020 caucus

count delay because of problems they had with technology. do you feel the democratic party is taking advantage of that, using that as an excuse to make a potential change in iowa's first in the nation status? caller: well yeah, they talk about the machines. you can talk about the machines when you're talking about whether or not they are talking about the integrity of them. it's a double-edged sword. they try to say the elections are the most integrity filled elections to date when we can't really trust the voting machines. host: we appreciate your input. barry is up next from massachusetts. hi there. caller: good morning.

i'm thinking that during open forum you should not be going to things like the hawaiian lava flow in merrick garland. it seems like you should be taking calls. thank you. host: columbus, ohio. matt is on the republican line. caller: hello. host: make sure you mute your volume and go ahead with your comment. caller: ok. sorry. i just wanted to say i'm tired of listening to the democrats trying to distract everyone. why has no one actually filed for an impeachment for all of the crimes that biden has

committed. there is so much evidence out there. is anyone actually working towards it? host: would you support that of the house republicans, you would support that not session? caller: yes. host: from tennessee, it is shelby, go ahead. i am sorry, shelby, go ahead. caller: yes, i am here. thank you. i would like to repeat something that i have said in the past about immigration. i feel like they should pass a bill to stop any immigrants from coming in every 5-7 years with proper documentation and then check them before they are even considered to become a

citizen. i hope the president and congress is listening to this. it is so much-needed. we have enough problems in the usa right now. also on the abortion issue. i am pro-choice because if they are going to take us backwards, women backwards, they need to take something away from the men , something from their liberty. it takes two to make a baby. it is not right. i love men, don't get me wrong. but right is right. that was my main issues. of course, the economy, were struggling. host: thank shelby, on the issue of abortion.

indiana seeks to punish a doctor over an abortion. the attorney general asked them to discipline the doctor who provided an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim this summer. dr. caitlin bernard treated the girl who had traveled from ohio when the state enacted a ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. the state became a case of the abortion debate after the supreme court overturned roe v. wade that established a constitutional right to abortion. it also put a focus on childhood pregnancies and the emerging legal risks to the doctors who provide abortions. mr. rokita began an investigation into dr. bernard. she sued to get him to stop

invading the privacy of her patients. it was called a last-ditch effort. host: on the republican line, be sure to mute your volume and go ahead with your comment. caller: i am an octogenarian, handicapped conservative in central kansas and i have been having a lot of trouble because i hear the tv and radio people talking about all the subjects we have heard this morning. abortion, the economy, immigration, crime, all of those things. i can't get anyone to talk to me about what i think is a major problem. all the talking heads keep talking about a 50/50 senate.

there are only 48 registered democrat senators. only 48. there are two independents from maine and bernie sanders. we do have 50 republican senators. why is that the majority republicans? i can't get anyone to explain this to me. i heard rumors that the two independents caucus with the democrats so we count them. well, they are not part of the majority. it doesn't matter who they caucus with. if you are a registered democrat, you're a registered democrat. if you are not, you are not. there are only 48 of them. you cannot change them. host: that's a very good point robert.

senator king and senator sanders, they are independent and they caucus with the democrats. which means they meet with and the setting of the rules and memberships and committees. they are counted as democrats. that is what gives the democrats majority. but neither senator has given up their independent status. they are both still independents. caller: the rule of the senate says the majority of the registration is what the majority is in the majority is republicans not democrats. it doesn'tthere are republicanse voted with the democrats, but that does not make them democrats. there are only 48 democrats and 50 republicans. it does not make any difference who you caucus with. i cannot get anybody to do

anything about it. appreciate -- host: appreciate you raising that point and i'm sure people will follow up with that call. deeper in the senate rules weeds will be able to answer that point. pennsylvania is next. tom on the independent line. caller: i have a radical idea for how to solve the immigration problem. we have people in central and south america constantly running to this nation, running across the border. i suspect we could gain some traction solving the problem if we would notify these corrupt political people in their nations like guatemala, el salvador, etc..

if we would tell them to get their act together and stop abusing their own people and chasing them up here or we will come down and do it for you and kick your corrupt butts out of power. host: appreciate that call and all of your calls. up next will be joined by wisconsin republican congressman glenn grossman to talk about the fiscal deadlines. later president biden post the french president at a state dinner. we'll hear more about that in the state of u.s. french relations with the atlantic councils marie jourdain. >> join us live on c-span for

the first official white house state dinner of the biden administration as the president and his wife welcome emmanuel macron and his wife. grammy award-winning artist jon batiste will perform during the dinner. watch the white house state dinner live today at 7:00 p.m. eastern on c-span, c-span now, or online at c-span.org. middle and high school students come it is time to get out your phones and start recording for your chance to win $100,000 in total cash prizes for grand prize of $000 by entering the student documentary contest. we are asking students to picture yourself as a newly elected member of congress and tell us what your top priority would be and why. great a five to six minute video

showing the importance of your issue from opposing and supporting points of view. be bold with your documentary, do not be afraid to take risks. the deadline for entries is january 20, 2023. for competition rules and tips on how to gettarted, visit our website at studentcam.org. >> preorder your copy of the congressional directory for the 118th congress. it is your access to the federal government with contact information for every house and senate member. important information for congressional committees, the president's cabinet, federal agencies, and state governors. sc the code on the rig preorder your copy today. every purchase help support our nonprofit organizations at c-span shop.org. >> "washington journal" continues. host: up next congressman brent

-- glenn growth been from wisconsin -- glenn grothman from wisconsin. the issue ahead for spending for fiscal year 2023 and the current short-term measure that ends december 16. how concerned are you for the government running out of money. guest: i'm fairly confident that something will get done prior to that time. as far as the bill for next year , i would be happy with a continuing resolution. the big thing the press autofocus on is congress raining and spending, which is the underlying problem we have with inflation. during the obama years we had something called sequester going on, what we call the spending affected by the appropriation

bill, discretionary spending. we were going along with an increase of 1% or 2% per year. are we going to get back to that or are we going to go along 80% or 9% per year, which will keep the inflation going. interest rates have gone up as well. there are a lot of republicans who want to spend more money. we'll have to see what happens. host: in terms of the 118th congress, how do you think you will approach that discretionary spending? what sort of think you think republicans to make a dent in reducing that spending? guest: it will have to be across the board. in the past what has happened is if defense goes up nondefense goes up so they will go up and down together. historically congress is spend money for military procurement that the military did not necessarily want, being at

something in a powerful congressman's district, you never know what other influences or ability contractors have to influence congressman. usually defense and nondefense formulae agreed to go up together and you're going to have to look at every line of that budget and go down to a zero or 1% increase. host: use it as the ranking member of the committee -- the subcommittee on national defense with a house oversight. when you look at the proposal made by the administration for aid to ukraine, $38 billion, is that too much? guest: the dollar amount does not concern me as much as what the administration is doing to wrap things up. if for 38 billion dollars the ukraine war would end tomorrow

it would be money well spent for stability of the globe and to end the chance the united states would be sucked into the war. my big problem with the biden administration is i do not think they are trying to end the war. every war has to end eventually, but the longer the workers on the worse it is for the economy and is more likely that europe gets more sucked into this or that we get sucked into this. now china is beginning to weigh in, which is kind of scary. somehow the biden administration , they cannot negotiate this directly, we should maybe have the french or the turks or the israelis negotiate a way to get out of this. for whatever reason biden does not want to do that. people are dying and we risk of global catastrophe. it is very frustrating. of all of the bad things joe biden is doing, the open border

would have to be number one, but right after that -- when i talked to his people, this is what they think. they would be perfectly satisfied if this war went on another two or three years which would be a disaster for the world and could result in a war of horrific proportions. when i decide if i will vote for more or not, it will not be based on the dollar amount as is the biden administration using that money as leverage towards ending the war or they just satisfied to have this go on forever, which i am a little bit afraid they are. host: representative glenn grothman is with us until about 9:30. (202) 748-8001 is line for republicans, democrats use (202) 748-8000, and for independents and others, (202) 748-8002.

he raised the issue of the border. in the 118th congress, how do you think house republicans will address the issue? guest: i am sure we are going to and what the public refers to as the budgets, try to force the biden administration to do something to cut off this unlimited illegal immigration. we cannot afford all of these people. it is unfair to the people who come here appropriately. we have far too big of a population now. last year for the first time ever we swore in one million immigrants legally. and at the time we are swearing in one million legally we have to take in others as well? we have a fentanyl problem where americans die from illegal drugs. it is embarrassing we have to leverage the biden administration to care at all about the border for these

illegal drug deaths and that is exactly what is going on and has to be the number one priority for the republican negotiators. a public commitment from joe biden, you almost cannot trust the guy. host: use it on the oversight committee and the likely incoming chair says there'll be a number of high-profile oversight hearings. karl rove, former presidential advisor, and a columnist in the wall street journal has a piece this morning, house oversight has two meetings. he says republican should remember there is a risk investigations could swamp their legislative agenda. the goal for oversight is to advocate for reforms american see a sensible and reasonable. how do you balance what is likely to be the busywork of your committee and getting legislation through on the house floor? guest: i intend to be a member

of three committees. two of my committees will not be doing investigating. we have about 18 committees that send legislation to the floor. of the 18 committees, 16 will not be doing any investigation and the does committees that are investigating judiciary and oversight will also be doing work on individual bills. our major concern is not that we will not be spending time on other issues, our major concern is the liberal mainstream press who wants to make us look bad and does not tell the public what is going on in the other 16 committees. i and all of the other congressman and congresswomen, we have to do it weekend to try to get a fair shake. is it a danger that some of the liberal mainstream media is going to try to push the narrative we are not tried to solve america's problems and we are just dealing with

investigations? yes. that is a problem. the mainstream media is always a problem. we have to look to alternative media sources and hopefully get a fair shake. host: let's hear from our callers. angela calling on the democrats line in maryland. go ahead. caller: i have one question on social security and medicare as far as the republicans ideas i have heard floating around. before i asked that one question let me give a few seconds to preface my questions by talking about the first generation that would affect, which would be my generation, generation x, we are between the ages of 42 to 57. they called us the generation that stood for nothing. now they cause the sandwich generation because we are taking care of boomers and gen z. generation x has been voting republican lately.

what i heard being floating around about republicans proposals on social security and medicare will raise our age to 70 for social security, 67 for medicare, and take it out of the mandatory funding, the guaranteed benefit, and move it into the discretionary funding so every year our benefits might change. the -- do you think you will lose generation x in one block the? guest: i have never heard a serious proposal we would do that and i've never heard the phrase sandwich generation. i they we should do memo changes to social security. on medicare the cost of health care is going up everywhere. i think we will find a way to get a handle on those costs. too much of the american medical

establishment is taking advantage of the situation to do more than they have to do. you can help us, the democratic party can help us and say social security is number one. it is not something we have any business cutting, and they're all sorts of other things the government is doing you could say are unconstitutional under the 10th amendment. the federal government is involved in all sorts of things the founding fathers never anticipated, and we have to realize if we are going to keep social security going in its current rate we have to pare back on these other programs with i am prepared to do. host: next is christina in glendale, arizona. republican caller. caller: i am calling to ask you to help with all americans regarding student loan borrowers. all of those student loans are unconstitutional, they lack any form of bankruptcy rights and protections and therefore it has

opened every student loan borrower, up to 45 million people, to predatory lending by the lenders, department of education, there are student loan stock options. it is price gouging that might be affecting the medical field as well because as more people try to afford to go to school, to become doctors, nurses, other support staff and services that are necessary, prices might be going up in medicine because the cost of schooling is going up. i wanted to remind you that student loan borrowers are not these young up-and-coming. now there are more people over 35 and heading into retirement. and also in those generations where they're having to raise very young children, but they're also having to take care of

aging parents. there is bill s2598 that will help mitigate those constitutional rights being uniquely stripped from student loan borrowers, having the opportunity to have some of those rights restored so we can get the lenders under control with their antics and overcharging and price gouging and putting people in financial slavery. guest: i will agree that the current system is entirely broke and college administrations have taken advantage of the ignorance of the youth to overcharge -- first to encourage them to take out loans in some cases and secondly to have tuition which is too high.

we have far too many people in our university systems who have jobs other than teaching. over time it has gone through the roof. how will we deal with it? i have cosponsored bills and altered bills -- and authored bills to allow refinancing of student debt, to lower the interest rates, and i think going forward we have to clampdown on the amount of student debt that people are able to take out. you raise an interesting point that bankruptcy is mentioned in the constitution and i never heard that argument so i'm glad you're bringing it up to me. we will see whether the biden administration would listen to that argument rather than just forgiving the student loan debt. host: we will go to mary in

wisconsin, also on the republican line. go ahead. caller: good morning. i worked hard working as an lpn to get my registered nurse degree, i do not own a car, do not have furniture, but i knew education was important so that is where i put my priorities. when we had children we save money to put them through school because we knew it was a priority. people need to be responsible for their own actions and be held accountable if they make a mistake, to fix the mistake and do not repeat that behavior. also i wanted to find out, they were talking about the 10-year-old girl from ohio, why don't they find out why that guy was living with her in one of they prosecute the mom for allowing this man to rape her? host: she is talking about a story we read on the 10-year-old

who had an abortion. guest: that is up to district attorneys in ohio. i have no idea what evidence they will have. as far as take responsibility, a problem we have with the student loan debt situation is because it is not dischargeable in bankruptcy i think you have the educational establishment taking advantage of 18-year-old or 19-year-old kids -- 18-year-old kids, young and dumb is a long repeated phrase. they take out these huge student loans because the university implies they would get something worthwhile and they do not get something worthwhile and that is the issue we have to deal with. perhaps a mistake was made years ago when they establish the system that allowed lenders to lend so much to these kids knowing it is not going to be discharged.

as a result there were some responsible people and there are way too many americans who are spending more than they should be spending. host: let's hear from josephine in livingston, new jersey. independent line. caller: my concerns are regarding when the republicans do take control of the house. i want you to win for one reason, so that your colors will be shown as to what you really stand for. you are good about saying things but reality is a different point. let's begin with ukraine. you're saying biden should negotiate. you seem to forget we are not dictatorial. there is zelenskyy and there is vladimir putin, those are the players. we are not fascists, we are not dictators. pell grant's.

these people, the woman saying you should be responsible, that is not what this is about. it is like when you take a loan out on your house on a certain interest rate and all the sudden they tell you i do not like that interest rate, i will raise it higher, so most of these people who have gotten loans have paid the loan off, but find out because of the raised interest rate they are ending up paying more and they should have been finished. it is predatory. the other thing i will add, the idea with bankruptcy. the republicans past that long ago where they said they could not get rid of that loan. if you have a loan and you do not pay for it, there are so many people on social security paying student loans. thank you very much. guest: i think the amount of money people take out on student

loans is too high. they should've cracked down or made the universities and colleges as far as being able to give up more loans a little bit conditional upon how well their students are doing in the first place because quite frankly there are too many people getting loans who may not be going to college in the first place, never had a chance to go to college in the first place, and then the universities were happy to take the tuition and make the money and it became a bad deal for the students. as far as ukraine is concerned, it is our business. united states is a superpower who has taken humanitarian ownership of what is going on around the world. the united states has already given huge amounts of money to ukraine and i think we will keep giving that money it should be conditioned upon actors trying to wrap things up.

i am amazed at the callousness of the caller that she does not care if we go on another year and tens of thousands of russians or ukrainians die. there are people around here who would not involve -- it would not mind if u.s. troops get involved, which would be a complete disaster. it is america's responsibility not only to the humanitarian needs of russia and ukraine, not only to the economic imperative for the entire world, but to prevent this war from falling over into other countries, becoming a world war. i am amazed the number of people that sound like joe biden, somebody who apparently does not care if this goes on for three or four years and have to watch this happen. i do not accept that. host: back to the border issue. anthony riverside sends this question.

will the representative send legislation to the senate to reform immigration and control the border? guest: we have to leverage the biden administration to go back to the state of mexico policy. there is a reason you go from five to 15 people crossing the border every month. right now people are able to cross the border and just say i want asylum. then you wait years for a hearing and you are already in the united states for two or three years and people will say you cannot take them out, that is the problem. when president trump had his remain in mexico policy we did not have this problem. it is one of the good things president trump did and one of the major pollen policies of -- the major foreign policy disasters of joe biden.

this is one of the reasons i think he is the worst president we have ever had. host: waterloo, illinois, republican caller. caller: i am kind of disappointed in republicans at the moment. for the rail unions, what we are fighting for is the ability to be able to take sick leave. currently we do not have any sick time whatsoever. i keep seeing reports about increase in sick time. there is no increase. we currently have none. if i've to take off work for me or my family because we are sick, i do not get paid. it requires seven days for me to miss before i ever start to get paid from railroad retirement. sick time, we are not asking for a lot. every other american has the ability to take off work and still get paid if they are sick.

guest: how much vacation time do you have? caller: your first year yup to work 120 days to get two weeks. after that you do not get three weeks until you been 12 years, he did not get four weeks until you've been 17 years, you do not get five weeks until 25 years. guest: first of all, a majority of republicans voted against the bill in the house to put an end to the possibility of a strike. i happen to be one of the republicans who voted with the democrats to wrap this thing up and prevent there from being a strike because it would have been a disaster for the american economy. i thought it was irresponsible

for so many republicans to be willing to shut down the trains because the economy would have brought to its knees within weeks if not days. as far as the minutia of your contract, i am not that familiar with it. i know that eight of the 12 unions did sign off already, which would indicate it is not that bad. i was pleased to vote to make sure we do not have a strike. host: let's get one more call. democrats call. michigan, joel, go ahead. caller: first of all, i would like to talk about trump's economy. all we hear was how good trump's economy was. we have the republicans to back that up. my point is we do not have people like paula krugman to back that up.

they totally disagree with that. i asked how was trump going to repay that tax cut. you just have the republicans were that says it was good. the gentleman should know who paul krugman. host: a long -- guest: a long discredited economist from "the new york times. caller: he is a nobel prize-winning economist. guest: that says something about the nobel prize committee. caller: it says something. we have a republicans word on it. we have 22% of the republicans that are on record saying they would have a hold a hearing for

supreme court justice during the election year. that is why merrick garland did not have his one. they pushed amy coney barrett through during the elections process. host: congressman, final thoughts? guest: i would say merrick garland has proven how unsatisfactory he would've been as a supreme court judge. i would ask your listener to reread the u.s. constitution. it is a tremendous document. i think the fact we have more and more judges appointed by democrats or appointed by bush type republicans, david souter is one who comes to mind, o'connor comes to mind, who have respect for our constitution or think our constitution has changed is the scariest development, the development our

forefathers would've been the most disappointed in. i do not have a problem in amy coney barrett becoming a supreme court judge and i think it is a good thing merrick garland is not a supreme court judge. you ought to reread our constitution, what a great document is, and i hope in the future we get judges who respected. the purpose of the constitution is to guarantee individual freedom, financial freedom, and there are a lot of people who own their -- who apparently disagree with that in wish we had a government more likely european government or sometimes the chinese government. host: thanks for being on the program this morning. guest: glad to be on the show as always. host: up next, president biden welcoming french president emmanuel macron to the white

house and their first state visit and state dinner in the biden term. up next, joining us to discuss the state of u.s. french relations will be the atlantic council's europe center's marie jourdain. your calls are welcome as well. >> preorder your copy of the congressional directory for the 118th congress. it is your -- important information for committees, the president's cabinet, federal agencies and state governors. scanhe code on the right to order your copy. every purchase help support our nonprofit operations at c-spanshop.org. >> live sund on in-depth,

chief new york times white house correspondent peter baker and new yorker staff writer susan lasser will be our guests to talk about russia, the trump administration, and u.s. foreign policy. the husband-and-wife team have written three books together. kremlin rising, the man who ran washington, and the divider: trump in the white house, 2017 to 2021. during the conversation with your phonealls, facebook comments, texts or tweets. in depth with peter baker and susan glasser live on book tv on c-span2. >> middle and high school students, it is time to get out your phones and start recording for your chance to win $100,000 in total cash prizes, for the

grand prize of $5,000 by tering the studentcam documentary contest. for this year's competition we are asking students to picture yourself as a newly elected member of congress and tell us what your top priority would be and why. great a five to six minute video showing the importance -- be bold with your documentary. do not be afraid to take risks. the deadline for entries is january 20, 2023. for competition rules and tips on how to get started, visit our website at studentcam.org. >> "washington journal" continues. host: marie jourdain is with us, visiting fellow at the atlantic center and co-author of peace and foreign affairs magazine about the historic visit between emmanuel macron, the state

dinner. an article you did with your colleagues. you're also with the atlantic council, the europe center visiting fellow. your headline says it is a historic opportunity. the french president was most recently here in the trump administration. how has the scene changed? what is different in u.s. relations now than it was during the visitor during the trump administration? guest: i think the state has dramatically changed in the past four years, partly because of the strategic environment between france and the united states. in 2018 of the conversation was about the middle east, middle eastern issues, about the war against isis in syria and iraq, about the iran nuclear deal, and

also climate, which remains a big issue. the environment changed, and you have on top of this the war in ukraine, the threat of war in europe and a lot of work being done through nato between france and the u.s. in supporting ukraine and a lot of consultation after the deal, which was a big diplomatic crisis between france and the u.s.. despite all of these changes, you had france and united states willing to work together and to advance their interests because both countries need each other to address other challenges they face. host: you served in the defense ministry for france. explain the fracture in the

relationship between the u.s. and france over this deal, this alliance between the u.s., the u.k., and australia. what was france's reaction? caller: it was in september -- guest: it was in september of last year following the afghanistan withdraw. you had two issues. you had the deal itself which was kept secret from france. it came as a surprise. for france it was a lack of trust and confidence. the second part is what does that mean for france as a partner with the u.s. in the pacific? something the french diplomats usually put emphasis on is france is not just a european country but they have a lot of interest and engagement there, what was the message from the u.s.? you want france to be more active in the region?

a lot of questions were raised, and i think with the biden administration following engagement on these topics, and a lot of work since then. host: how much wasn't helped by france's participation in the nato effort in ukraine? guest: i think there are two different issues. at the end of last year you had a lot of confrontation between the countries and i think that helped to prepare for the war in ukraine and have an answer. regarding ukraine specifically, you have what is happening within nato, which is more about coming to support balkan states like romania and eastern europe countries, and then what you can do to help ukraine, which is more nations driven with the u.s. leadership but also with the eu and european union with a

strong coordination about nato and the eu and all this requires a strong coordination between the two countries. host: a lot of issues to cover. marie jourdain is visiting fellow at the atlantic council european center. emmanuel macron arriving at the white house. we welcome your calls and comments at (202) 748-8001 for republicans, democrats use (202) 748-8000, and independents and others, (202) 748-8002. what is top priority for the french and top priority for the u.s. into these meetings here in washington? guest: the first for both of them is the importance of the relationship for both countries, like the willingness to continue to engage.

that would be the shared objective. on the french perspective, i think one of the biggest issues, more than economic ties, about the consequence of recent american legislation, especially in the chips act, which from the french perspective because a number of issues for the ability of europeans to compete, and everything related to how to make european stronger as an actor and security provider in europe, what does that look like from the european perspective? on the u.s. side, one of the biggest elements and priorities regards the strategy to adapt towards china, because france is a very important actor in europe to raise concern and awareness about china's activities and

behaviors. at the same time france does not want to be the stated ally with united states. how can you increase coordination on this issue? host: in your article come in foreign affairs, you write "if the french are hoping from a push in the united states on european defense, americans are hoping for a closer alignment from fans -- from france on china in its effort to outcompete beijing -- the biden administration aims to close the gap between american and transatlantic priorities and yet the administration seems comfortable with france making its own policy decisions regarding china." guest: i think it can be a plus. if you look at chinese media, they will say the europeans are just vessels of the united states and they do not have their own strategic mindset.

having their own strategy and saying as europeans and not as allies of the united states, as europeans we have a problem with the way we behave. it proves the point that it is not an american/chinese issue. it is national order, it is defensive models. it can reemphasize this issue. at the same time, one of the difficulties is to navigate with french policy that is not necessarily from the u.s. perspective as sufficiently strong towards china. host: great backgrounds on the issues involved in marie jourdain's article in foreign affairs at foreignaffairs.com. we have a call from san antonio, texas. democrats line.

caller: thank you very much for taking my call. i am a muslim american living in the united states. -- i am living in the united states. i wonder if the u.s. has any interest in human rights in africa. the french are violators of human rights in africa. they do not care what they do there. they have a different set of rules for citizens in france and a different set of rules for citizens in africa because they think they are half human beings. the french colonized cameroon. [indiscernible] a lot of minerals, a lot of soil

, they're discarding away the timber. people are very poor. the french are happy doing that. all of these human rights abuses. host: is that likely to be raised by the united states? guest: africa in general might be addressed during the state visit, especially because the united states is hosting a u.s.-africa summit in a few days and franch -- and france is elaborating its own policy towards africa because of what is happening in the sahara region. the main military operation of france has ended. a lot of the strategies and france will be focused not so much on the military dimension but on human rights. a lot of the work is also going

through as the united nations. france and united states are working on a daily basis on these challenges. human rights is definitely going to be on the table, and how to move forward from colonization, and you have a real partnership between the europeans and africa. host: president macron is also going to new orleans to meet with the governor about climate change, the effects of climate change. what is france's position on how the world should respond to climate change? guest: he came to the cop 27 in egypt. climate change is definitely a hot topic in france, especially for young collectors -- for young electors.

one of his priorities is how do you collectively answer to the crisis of climate change, meaning not just in france and europe, but the global south. i think a lot of the work has been he just announced a conference next june in france to also find solutions financially to help the transition and to adapt because it is not just about fighting climate change, it is about ways to adapt. for example france's south pacific region when you have territories, which is the main challenge in that region and in that regard there's a lot of opportunities for france in the u.s. to work together. host: matthew is in new york, democrats line. caller: bonjour.

ca va? as you probably noticed, there are a lot of people in this country trying to gain because to the far right, as there is in france with marine le pen. what things are the french people or you yourself or the media doing to keep her pinned down. going to the far right is not a good choice, as you have seen in our elections just recently. any suggestions? thank you. host: may be just broadly, what is the political status for the french president? guest: emmanuel macron is in a different position than the

first five years because he lost his majority, he has to contend with other political parties. regarding the far light -- regarding the far right, they have a large group in the national assembly, which creates a lot of difficulties with transformation on the left side. i think a lot of the french citizens, it is an opportunity to have more consensus and to reinforce the legislative branch because the president and the executive branch is actually very strong in france under our constitution. i think the far right rise is also something you find in other european countries and the u.s. so it is also something you can address. to go back to information because a lot happens on social

media, how can we better inform our own citizens to convince them of policies that will benefit them? host: your calls are welcome for marie jourdain. guest 2: is the rep -- (202) 748-8001 is the republican line, (202) 748-8000 for democrats, and (202) 748-8002. the washington post headline, what is a state dinner again? what is your impression on why president biden stows france for this first state dinner? guest: it is a big complement to france. he could have chosen another ally. i think it demonstrates two things. the first, how france is important ballot speaking.

on space or on climate. the second element of why france is a recognition that france is very important when you want to address european issues. if you want to have a joint strategy to keep unity on the war in ukraine but also within the european union, within nato, you need france on board. this honor is not just about having a dinner and the protocol, but also demonstrating how the french-american relationship can deliver on europe. host: john kirby, the spokesman for the national security council, briefed reporters ahead of time on what they hope to accomplish during the bilateral talks between the french president. here is some of what he had to say. >> a long pole on the tent for

president biden's foreign policy is the strength and power of alliances. our alliance is something no other nation in the world can match. france is our oldest one. if you look at what is going on in ukraine, look at what is going on in the indo pacific at the tensions with china, france is at the center of all of those things. president macron has been a dynamic leader inside the g7. the president felt this was the most appropriate country to start with for state visit. host: as we come back live, live look at the south portico balcony as president joe biden and emmanuel macron and his wife, the meetings underway shortly. our guest is marie jourdain, visiting fellow at the atlantic council. an extended piece in foreign

affairs. you heard the comment that this is america's oldest alliance. guest: exactly. it is not just a saying that france is the oldest alliance and the u.k. is a special relationship, whatever. i think it means that we are so used to work together despite our differences between france and the united states and how important -- when joe biden came into office he made a point on how he wanted to restore the vitality of the alliance and how you need this alliance to address the challenges, especially from china and russia. something they do not have, this network of allies. there has been update effort in restoring that, especially for the past year. france as our oldest ally has this habit and responsibility to

work together. host: did emmanuel macron get along well with donald trump? guest: it is not about who is in the oval office. the u.s. and france had common interests and they have to work together, whoever is in the office. i think there has been an attempt to have a good working relationship with donald trump. despite that you had a lot of differences on many issues, especially on how europe and the united states should work together. i think it is easier with joe biden because you have the shared values reaffirmed, and also because the world dramatically changed. both countries are under threat for the shared values and models they have been promoting. host: here is james in

connecticut. good morning. caller: good morning. bonjour. je suis etudiant a american college in paris. i want to ask about what students in france are learning about the relationship of the united states. our own students no longer understand that the statue of liberty came from france. our ideas of freedom around the world have the genesis from the french revolution that were popular in america. i am concerned our students in america are no longer understanding internationally that there are these democratic countries like france that have a special relationship, and valuing them as we try to buttress against the world of communist terrorism happening in

russia and the absolute horrific things the chinese communists are doing to their own people, the genocides as well as the takeover of the world. i would like you to speak to what is happening in the university system in france educating french young people to understand there is this joint mutual interest. our american universities are failing. guest: it is a bit hard for me because i have not worked on this issue specifically in the later years. what i would say is one of the discussion of emmanuel macron with joe biden regards the cooperation between the rare cities and france and the universities of the u.s. and the promotion of the french language , because you need to speak french to be enrolled in the french system. i think with these exchanges and

trying to increase the exchanges between france and the united states, he will have a common understanding between the shared values like you mentioned before. host: headline from the washington times on the visit, state dinner to come with tax credit beef. mr. biden will be forced to defend his 740 billion dollar tax, climate, and health care law on thursday when he hosts emmanuel macron for the first visit and state dinner of his presidency. what is france is concerned about that measure that passed this year? guest: it was this summer. it is not just a french concern. it is shared among the europeans. basically you have a lot of concern about protectionism. the inability for the europeans

to compete because of the american act, and also because europe is taking a lot of the blow economically of the war in ukraine. there is a lot of concern that by privileging u.s. jobs you may hurt your partners and it is not about the concept of -- that janet yellin was advocating for. there are misunderstandings on how we could work better together, although i will say france is welcoming more investment in the transition -- the energy transition. there is a lot of opportunity there. there has been a lack of consultation before hand. host: they see it as a form of protectionism? guest: from the french point of view, yes. it has been one of the issues. the concern that some american

investments for the transition will be back on the u.s. side, which is not necessarily what we wanted to have. host: let's hear from roseann in wisconsin rapids. good morning. caller: good morning i came in and this interview a little bit late and i do not know if you've talked about it yet. i'm interested in knowing about your health care system in france and how you take care of your elderly citizens. if you could expand on that that would be wonderful. thank you for taking my call. guest: in france you have a social welfare state, which is sometimes criticized in the united states. we have a lot of taxes, may more than in the u.s., but we allow our elderly to be able to go for

free, basically the whole french population. all of the priority during the covid pandemic was to protect them. there was some political difficulties regarding the sustainability of the system, especially because the hospitals took a hit during the pandemic and they are struggling to have enough nurses and also retirement homes where you have some cases of people being mistreated. this is about domestic issues. it is not a perfect state, but i think all of the french citizens from the far left, center, far right, whoever you are, they defend their welfare state, which is something we all grew up in. host: we appreciate you coming by to give us a preview of the emmanuel macron visit. marie jourdain, visiting fellow

at the atlantic council's european center. read her piece in foreign affairs. thank you for coming by. guest: thank you so much. host: that will do it for the program. we are back tomorrow morning at 7:00 eastern. we will take you live next to the senate agriculture committee. they are holding a hearing on the ftx cryptocurrency collapse. their main witness is the chair of the commodity futures trading commission. it should be getting underway momentarily live here on c-span. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2022] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]