on q&a on -- at 8 p.m. sunday night and you can listen on our free c-span now app. >> coming up this morning on "washington journal," gwen moore discusses the latest on the lame-duck session including efforts to extend the expanded child tax credit and priorities for the 118 congress. then california republican congressman talks about the government funding deadline and congressional news of the day and you can join the conversation with your calls, texts, and tweets. "washington journal" starts now. ♪ host: good morning, it's

thursday, december 8, 2022. the senate will make -- meet at 11 a.m. eastern and we will be with you for the next two hours on open the washington journal." we begin with the latest biden push for gun control. during remarks last night on capitol hill earning a vigil for victims of gun violence the president again called for a ban on assault weapons and other common sense gun legislation. we are getting your reaction this morning by as usual political party. republicans, call in at (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. a special line for gun owners morning, (202) 748-8003. that's also the number you can send us a text and if you do please include your name and where you are from. otherwise catch up with us on social media, @cspanwj on

twitter, and on facebook, facebook.com/c-span wj. here's the headline from politico this morning, biden at gun violence vigil shared briefs and other calls to action. this is some of what the president had to say last night. [video clip] >> we have heard the term pain in the purpose and together we have made progress. significant gun laws, the most significant in 30 years, but still not enough. still not enough. [applause] even as our work continues to limit the number of bullets that can be in a cartridge, the type of weapons that can be purchased and sold, and attempt to ban assault weapons. a whole range of things that are just common sense.

just simple common sense. but you know, we did it before. in the 90's we did it, helping the people here let by speaker pelosi in the house and many others. we did it and guess what, it worked. the number of violent and mass murders reduced. significant. a lot of lives were saved. and we can do it again. [applause] the light shines in darkness in the darkness has not overcome it. all of you here tonight, you are the light. literally the light.

your loved ones and friends are the light. it will always be with you no matter what happens. how many of you have asked yourself what would my son or daughter want me to do at this moment? there in your heart. they are always going to be with you. at this national vigil i ask the country to join me in a moment of silence to remember everyone of them. host: that was president biden last night at st. mark's physical church. the first president to attend that vigil for victims of gun violence, honoring more than one million victims of gun violence since the shooting at sandy hook in newtown, connecticut. for 10 years parents, siblings,

spouses and survivors of sandy hook have poured into st. mark's on capitol hill, some bringing the photos of the children they lost that day. they have been joined by other grieving americans over the years, including those who lost loved ones at parkland, florida, and recently the uvalde, texas shooting. president biden making the call last night six months after signing the bipartisan gun bill into law. the bipartisan safer communities act, making the call last night for an assault weapons ban among other what he calls common sense legislation. getting your reaction on ph lines as usual. icans, democrats, independents, and a special line foguowners. that line is (202) 748-8003. patrick, pittsburgh, good morning to you. caller: it's stunning, the level

of absolute complete hypocrisy from the democratically led media cartels that sell all these issues and then turn around, particularly when you look at hollywood. every single solitary movie that you see there is gun violence on top of gun violence on top of gun violence. and yet there is this blame on republicans for gun violence when it has absolutely nothing to do with the republican establishment. this is exactly why i changed political parties. the republican is going to be a huge change player when it comes to the issues of national politics. particularly when it comes to the working class. i just saw these figures about people of color, gay people, everybody switching parties. you can brag about the fact that

republicans didn't have a huge win but let me be clear, the lies of the democratic establishment cartel, these are media cartels, social media cartels, they all sell the lie. you produce mixing -- motion pictures and every one of them has nothing but violence. host: ellicott city, maryland, democratic line. caller: i guess i will respond to patrick. it's not so much that the republican party is the cause of gun violence. but the insincere block on gun policies and gun laws that would curb the violence. what i wanted to say here is that you know, when i got into law enforcement i immediately sold my guns, got them out of the home because i didn't want to raise them with my children. the other thing is that if we

would actually put liability on the gun manufacturers, the gun manufacturers have figured out every way possible to put guns in our hands. think about the tobacco industry. when we realized they were marketing their products aggressively to kids, the federal government, republicans and democrats got together to make meaningful policy to hold them accountable. why can't we hold gun manufacturers accountable with liability claims? if you took your guns and put them in the hands of young folks or folks with mental illnesses, then you should be held responsible. host: to your point, did you feel that way when the bipartisan safer communities act was passed six months ago? it was june of this year when the act was passed. caller: you know, to be shamed

to do the minimum is not progress. i agree that that was a step in the right direction, but we can do so much more. the republicans have claimed that this is somehow, you know, an attack on the average citizen in all these things. the second amendment itself is rooted in racialized oppression. it's always been about race. not necessarily about somehow freedom. but we need to have larger conversations here and i think you need to hold gun manufacturers responsible. host: ellicott city, maryland. reminder of what the bipartisan safer communities act did, signed intoaw back in june after being signed by the house and senate, banding background checks for prospective gun

buyers under the age of 21, giving authorities up to 10 business days to examine juvenile and mental health businessecords so that states could fund iervention programs like mental health and drug courts and carry outhe so-called red flag laws that allow authorities toemporarily confiscate guns from people found to be too dangerous. porting federal money into mental health resources and communities in schools across the country with millions of dollars in school safety and funding laws against the trafficking of guns and straw purchases, closing the boyfriend loophole. preventing people convicted of domestic abuse from owning a gun . these are just some of the provisions of the safer communities act now law. it was signed into law back in june. tom on the line for gun owners. atlantic highlands new jersey, independent, good morning.

caller: hello. that communities act, i mostly agree with it. i'm a gun owner. i have been to court, accused of domestic violence and was exonerated from that charge. i had a crystal math addict girlfriend who use to attack me and then she would go to the police crying foul. not everyone that you hear has been accused necessarily deserves to be stripped of their weapons. she then tried to have people attack me and i was left defenseless without my guns because they were concerned i might be a threat. so it doesn't always work the way one might think it should. but beyond that, if you start taking guns from people, i understand it seems like an almost necessary people. that's why police often carry them. and they don't have local bullets. or, you know, at any rate, if

you take the guns from people, they will use bombs. they will use drones, poison. it will be much more of a weapons of mass destruction type thing. beyond that, you want your civilians, not like your military, not like only the chosen families with the rights to do weapons research, to have access to weapons. that's kind of the whole point. calling it racial is just ridiculous. it is so that we as citizens, as nongovernmental people can do weapons research and we can defend ourselves from being pushed into a subway train or something. host: randy, maryland, independent line, good morning. caller: good morning, c-span. i feel that if you take the guns from the people, start taking the guns, it will be in the hands of the police. just like mike lewis in

salisbury, maryland. he won't enforce the law against the people. it will endanger police. you tight -- you take weapons from people, like ralph nader said, there will be a small revolution if you start taking weapons from people. i don't think it would be small. i think it would be massive and bad for people. it's all these communities that are killing people. look at the statistics in baltimore and stuff. they are shooting each other over a pack of cigarettes, five dollars, stuff like that. add up the mass shootings, the 300 people that die at night. it's not that. host: that wasdy. this is duncan in cocoa, a, good morning. caller: good morning. i'm a member of the national rifle association. i don't agree with what the d of his guns while he hadtting kids.

i grew up inhio. both of my parents grew up in a house that naturally had guns in and don't agree with what with what well, i don't think the ban on assaaponis common sense at all. i thi'very, very stupid. host: all right. that's duncan in florida. member of the nra. line for gun owners this morning, (202) 748-8003. otherwise phone lines as usual. the assault weapons ban was something that president biden said we could do, calling for common sense lezz -- measures when it comes to gun control. a reminder, you may remember as a c-span viewer that there was a vote on the assault weapons that

passed the house back in july of this year. never taken up in the senate. but the assault weapons ban was debated on the floor of the house. this was republican jim jordan of ohio on the judiciary committee explaining his opposition to that legislation in july. [video clip] >> the second amendment is as clear as possible and that's their beef. the right to bear arms shall not be infringed but they don't care . the sponsor of this legislation said so in committee. he said "spare me the bs about constitutional rights." they don't care about that fundamental liberty. law-abiding citizens in this country enjoy it. they are coming for your firearms. six weeks ago it was the red flag law. you know, where someone who doesn't like you can report you to law enforcement or to a judge. there is a hearing that you cannot be at, your counsel cannot be present, you haven't

been charged with a crime but they can take your firearm, take your property, take away your second amendment liberties and then you have to petition for a subsequent hearing to get the right back and you have done nothing wrong and have not been charged with a crime. then they passed saying 18 to 20-year-olds can't purchase a funny -- firearm. they can fight for our country but not purchase a firearm? today they are coming for your guns. 24 million of them. that's right, 24 million ar rifles are in the hands of law-abiding americans today as we speak and those individuals will not be able to sell or transfer that property. in the heller case the supreme court made clear that the second amendment protects firearms in common use at the time. during the markup, during the

markup representative bishop asked the chairman -- is that the point of the bill to ban weapons that are in common use in the united states today? the chairman said the problem is that they are in common use. so this is the goal. this is why it's unconstitutional. couldn't be any clearer. democrats don't care what the constitution says. host: that debate happened in july. that was an assault weapons ban the past the house and was never taken up by the senate. this is the text of the legislation. we have talked about assault weapons bands, with questions on how you define an assault weapon . what makes a gun and assault weapon? in that legislation that democrats passed on a partyline vote in the house, here's just a section dealing with definitions

, section two here of the legislation. you can see how long the definition section is of this legislation. when we scroll through it, it goes all the way down to i believe line 50 some, 55 or so that you have to get through before you get to the next part of that legislation. that was all of what we were scrolling through there, just the definition section of what makes a gun and assault weapon. hr 1808 is the legislation if you want to look through those definitions yourself. back to your phone calls, this is doug, gun owner in san jose, california. gun owner, go ahead. caller: let me make three points. assault weapon is a made up fake phrase. assault rifle is a military

weapon capable of fully automatic or semi automatic fire . number two, does anybody actually believe that a criminal with criminal intent will follow the law? they are going to get their weapons illegally. and if they can't get a gun, they will get a knife. look at what happened in idaho. low -- number three most of the gun violence in this country is caused by guns -- by drugs and gangs. we know that people who have committed mass shootings have had criminal records and yet somehow the law failed to stop them from getting weapons. you want to go to a country that has strict gun laws? go to mexico where there are only two stores where you can buy weapons and they are both run by the government. thank you for your time. host: on the issue of assault weapons, fully automatic already

, most americans can't obtain those legally. talking about the assault weapons ban, hr 1808, it shows you just how long it is. just a quick wrap up of what it is, you are talking about semi automatic rifles prohibiting the sale, manufacture, transfer, import of certain kis of those rifles. specifically with a detachable magazine. specifically many of the ar style semi automatic rifle restricting the rifles that would have a fixed magazine that could fit more than 10 rounds. it would not apply to antique firearms, manually operated firearms, firearms used for hunting and sporting. that's the wrap up that large definition but that was how they tempted to define the term assault weapon. you still with us? all right, we will go to maria in atlanta, georgia.

democratic line, good morning. caller: good morning, c-span and mr. john carter. before we get into the gun crimes etc., if they didn't have guns, they would be doing all this. i don't believe in either party when it comes to gun violence. until they have rules like japan where they have about 10 shootings in a war -- in a year and one killing any year, then i will take them seriously. they would not go to black on black or white on white crime if they didn't have all of these guns with open carry. america is a country that just loves guns. i will take them seriously when they have guns like japan. until then, neither party is serious. that's how i feel about the gun violence over and over again, it will never stop until they

change these laws like japan do. host: gary, tennessee, republican, good morning to you, sir. caller: why would anybody care what law they passed when the democrats like to pick and choose which laws they will enforce. we have people running across the border. we don't know who they are, they won't do anything to stop it. so they decide which law we want to enforce in then they want to try to pass a law that stops us from having our legal weapons? a weapon, any weapon, the definition of weapon is assault. what else could it be? here's my last point. the police are very good at drawing chalk lines around dead bodies and excellent at catching

perpetrators. these are people people that have no regard for human life. none. if you don't want to own a gun and protect your family, don't have guns. call 911 and crawl under your bed and tremble and hope the police will come before this guy gets you. i choose not to do that. i am armed and will take care of anybody who comes onto my property and threatens my family, my loved ones. thank you, john. host: that was gary in tennessee. middletown, connecticut, ed, gun owner. good morning to you. caller: good morning, i'm a gun owner whose 93 years old. my father left the house before i was born. there were eight kids. none of the weapons my father

had involved in an accident or a crime. if these people cannot educate their kids look already deadly consequences of handling something as deadly as a weapon, they are the people that should be penalized. not the gun owner. not the people that are law abidin'. i was drafted into the military. good enough to have a gun then. now you question my abilities to handle a gun? i think the big problem is not guns. it's the enforcement of the laws.

the watered-down charges. the criminals, you lock them up for 15 years. eventually they will be letting the criminals out and those that want to be criminals will think twice. host: new haven, connecticut, joan, good morning. caller: i see all the guns around new haven here, it's all gangs, all drug-related. the thing is, they have to enforce the law. the law is if you get caught, unregistered gun, any type of weapon, you know, just a gun, you will go to jail for 10 years. send the message that we are not going to tolerate anymore

violence or guns. these people that are carrying the guns are shooting children. babies. host: what about this call from the president last night for an assault weapons ban? how do you feel about that? caller: i think the same thing. if you are capable of using the gun, they should do background checks. i'm not a gun owner. my husband is. i don't know nothing about guns. all i know is that there -- they are outside shooting innocent people who can't defend themselves and it has to stop. what the president had yesterday was all show. it didn't mean nothing. you have to enforce the law. in new york with the stop and frisk, cleaning up new york city ? i don't even want to go to new york anymore because of the violent. they are telling people even

without guns. hitting them with bats and everything else. you know, crime is so high up because the, all the prosecutors, they are not allowing the police officer to do their job. host: got your point. that was joan in new haven, connecticut. this is a two hour washington journal today because the house is coming in at 9 a.m. and we will take you there for the gavel-to-gavel coverage as we always do on c-span. coming up we will be joined by two members of congress. that discussion happening in the next hour. half an hour left in this discussion, president biden saying that we can ban assault weapons, calling for that and other "common sense" legislation

. that victim last night -- the vigil for victims last night in washington, d.c. keep calling in on that special line. phone lines open. this is a topic we will be talking about later today. time is running short for an accord on spending, that's the headline. running out of time to run the government for the full fiscal year. they remain at loggerheads over levels of nondefense spending. or if it's a continuing omnibus legislation. the federal funding bill that is currently in place has run out at midnight, next friday night.

from the obituary pages of the new york times this morning, jim colby, for a decade the only openly gay republican in congress, died over the weekend, 80 years old. the obituary notes that he served in the house from 85 to 2007 and was from a politically moderate area of arizona, known mainly as a low-key fiscal conservative in the house working on agreements in 93 and 96 for the -- the pass of the defense of marriage act, banning the recognition of same-sex marriage, permitting states not recognize same-sex marriage. "the advocate" had planned to publish a story saying he was a closeted homosexual and a few weeks later he beat them to it and he said that he is a gay

person and that has never affected his legislation and will never change his commitment to representing all of the people of the district, defending his vote on the defense of marriage act in an interview with "tucson citizen," saying that he believed individual states should be allowed to determine the laws around same-sex. that story there in the obituary on jim colby, who died over the weekend at 80 years old. then on the issue of lgbt americans, this is from the speaker of the house in the pages of today's "washington post," proud to protect marriage as one of my last acts as speaker, nancy writing that in her first, she declared that they must take leadership in the crisis on aids and we erased the egregious don't act don't tell policy ensuring that gay and

lesbian americans can openly serve their country and that to the lgbtq friends, family, and neighbors, we stand with you and will never rest until you can enjoy the respect, dignity, and safety that you deserve host: speaking of the outgoing speaker, nancy pelosi was at a vigil last night are all victims of gun violence at st. mark's church here on capitol hill. this is some of what she had to say to the family members and friends that were there. [video clip] >> as we say to our colleagues, your political survival is nothing compared to the survival of our children. how could you not know that? how could you not know and have the courage to take the hard

vote? so again what we want to do, as the president said, ban straw purchases. well, this is what we have done in the bill. ban straw purchases, protect mystic violence survivors with extreme protection of laws. you know all about that. as indicated, assault weapons off the streets, require background checks. outlaw untraceable ghost guns, advanced safe gun storage, banning the sale of bump stocks with high capacity magazines. [applause] the president mentioned many of these things and he's been a champion. talking about then vice

president biden with those families, i was thinking about him and the capital. many of you have been there when he has been there and we once again came together, stated our resolve, showcasing our sadness of our survivors so that we can have some inspiration to change the minds some. but that then but -- vice president biden came the day before the vote in the senate for a previous gun bill. he would go in the room with the survivors, none of us, just alone. he is a survivor himself, go in the room and be there for a long time and listen to their stories. and they trusted him. he had lost that child and that wife and another child.

he was in that same sad place where no one wants to be. he had credibility when sharing concern. he brings that to the white house. this is a high priority for him. it's why he was here tonight. host: that was nancy pelosi last night on capitol hill for victims of gun violence. getting your call on biden in the assault weapons ban. no we will go to that line. jimmy, tennessee, good morning. caller: an assault weapon to me

there are kids there, kids who are well behaved. most of the folks that go to the range are responsible. they should be callevery automas in the same category. my favorite thing that i see on facebook occasionally is what comes up for assault weapons. there's a station wagon with woodgrain on it.

your favorite hunting vehicle. then they have the other station wagon with a picture of assault vehicle. you can get the same gun with a kit on it. comfortable stock that goes hunting. a lot of them came out with fiber stocks. you don't have to worry about burning them. they don't take it anymore. nobody appreciates it. host: your point is that the term is too general.

i'm almost 69 years old. -- caller: i'm almost 69 years old. they don't enforce the laws they have. host: tom, hagerstown, maryland, good morning. caller: we are talking about two different things. if you wanted to buy a gun, a pistol or a rifle, a background check, you could get by, no one is stopping you as long as you pass the background check. the thing is, i have a friend who is now deceased who was an engineer for guns. 100 guns.

i don't have your paperwork back. change the category and put them in the same category as machine guns. that way you know who has them and it's no problem. you can get any gun that you want as long as you pass the right background check. thank you. host: illinois, line for independent callers, good morning. caller: when i was young we came in the front door from chicago dinner and my dad's guns, they

killed him and us -- they try to kill him and us when we weren't in the house. most of these people here either shoot guns or they bow hunt. i just killed a deer with a bow. as far as the assault weapons, we need to defend our country, but no one has come to my doorstep in the last 25 years to attack me. so i don't know. i think assault weapons are a good thing. host: antonio, texas, john, good morning. there's a difference between a gun and us assault weapon. a gun is all i need.

assault weapon? who needs that, that doesn't belong on the street. how do you define -- host: how do you define assault weapon? caller: is for war, it's what they use in the military. the assault weapons are for war. why would anyone out there be shooting protesters, thinking he's a hero? no, he wasn't found innocent. they raised reasonable doubt. he was still guilty of murder. who doesn't know that? host: illinois, republican line, good morning. caller: good morning, john. nice tie you got today. i want to make a couple of points. being a vietnam veteran close to 70 now, i remember back when we were young we had to take a hunters safety course and you

couldn't get a 22 or whatever, your parents, to teach you how to hunt. you would take the gun to school at christmas time to show everybody what you got and nobody questioned it. well, i had a lot of guns. they were all locked up when we were raising the children. now, being senior citizens and not in the greatest of health, now all the kids are gone and all i got our loaded guns. this is to protect my house. the kids have no access to them. my wife don't even like to be near him. i says don't touch him, they are there for a reason and they are all loaded now. they were never loaded before. this assault thing, it's not the gun that kills. it's the people. that's the problem. you got mental health? you got to be cured. if you are a criminal and are a felon you don't have a right to own a weapon.

these simple things have been on the books for years and years. most of us gun owners, please never forget what charlton heston said when he stood on the stage, saying they will take my guns over my cold dead fingers. thank you so much. host: talking about the idea of an assault weapons ban. it's one of the issues that president biden brought up last night at the 10th annual national vigil for all victims of gun violence. had a debate on assault weapons, back in july of this past year. a bill that narrowly passed the house but was never taken up by the senate. a full floor debate on a national assault weapons ban. want to bring you back to that debate. this is john rutherford, florida sheriff, explaining his call on that legislation to ban assault weapons. [video clip]

>> it's not a gun violence problem, it's a human violence problem. across the aisle no one wants to talk about that because then you have to talk about the culture of death we have created in this country. killing 63 million unborn children, denying the sanctity of life. that's the conversation they don't want to have. mr. speaker as a former police officer i have encountered many dangerous people with guns and we stopped them before they hurt themselves or others. we identified the threats they were making and were able to intervene and stop the individuals before they became a shooter. that is what we should be focused on. in the wake of these recent tragedies. give law enforcement the tools and resources to stop those who have shown a propensity to become violent. that is what we should be focusing on. not defunding police.

not delegitimizing police. we should be focused on assisting the police and identifying the individuals who want to commit crimes. host: larry, saint stephen, minnesota. caller: i listen to the liberal mindset. i want your vocal cords. i will trade you my ruger for your vocal cords.

that's an automatic weapon. host: next caller. caller: by the time you put -- pull out a regular gun with an assault weapon against you, you're nothing but lunchmeat. that case about the rittenhouse, if you recall, and i watched that on tv, three of the people he shot were white supremacists and in the state of ohio we have very few laws when it comes to guns. you don't need a background check. in the state of ohio with one of

the most light supremacists why would you want access to that type of weaponry? either way when comes to drugs we know and law enforcement knows is in law enforcement and knows that host of the guns coming into the united states are distributed by white supremacist groups. oregon, diane. chris, independent line. good morning. --in oregon --caller: do you know what elk is? everyone knows.

we believe that gun violence and protection, it's a sad part. a small community college. kids there trying to get some training, right? community college. for some reason in his own mind he decided to go into campus and shoot people. tragic. [indiscernible] kumquat community college. by the time he was done, eight kids are dead. tragic. kumquat community college. look it up. host: gun owners, good morning

to you. caller: good morning morning, how are you? host: doing well. caller: here's my issue i have with this proposed legislation. semi automatics will obviously fire rapid fire as opposed to just an assault weapon where you have to pull the trigger each time. the issue i have is that it's not us the people that are the problem. the problem lies with criminals and criminals will never follow the law, they are criminals. if you pretty much just arm people with automatic weapons, i don't feel like that's a good thing. if i'm protecting my family and i have three or four people in my house and i can only pull the trigger one time, you know, one time and that's it? that's the difference of life and death between my family and

i. so i don't agree with that. and then we the people are not the problem. it's the criminals. criminals are never going to follow the law. doesn't matter what kind of legislation you pass. criminals are criminals for a reason. host: how did you feel about the bipartisan legislation passed in june of this year to expand background checks? to expand funding for mental health and for red flag law implementation? was that worth it? caller: i don't believe in red flag law because of the provisions around it and how it can be abused. i do agree with background checks needing to be more extensive, especially for the mental health of people. that is something that should be put in place. as far as people just being able to call and turn you in and report you, that's just a system that is set up for a lot of

potential room for error. in my opinion. host: sykesville, maryland, independent line, good morning. caller: good morning, john. good morning, america. there are a lot of issues with this. no one ever talks about what guns stop. like rape, robbery, murders. the tragedies, they are tragedies, do not understand me. but this is misleading the american people. keeping them from the enemy. i served in the military 25 years. assault weapon, knife, bat. ar-15 is popular for one reason. it's a vast majority of people.

they are comfortable and familiar with its operating. it's a very, every precaution, you want to be as familiar with the weapon that you can. they are popular. the people in the military are trained. performed to the best of their ability, training others and how to use it popularly. host: that was jeffrey in maryland. we are talking to you about the speech last night and the push for the assault weapons ban. those comments coming during a national vigil on capitol hill for gun violence. there is the president there. we want to keep you updated today on the happenings on

c-span networks. a couple of other issues you might be interested in at 11:30 this morning, c-span3 takes you how, supreme court of the united states. you can watch that on the c-span radio app. c-span2, john kerry, special presidential envoy for climate. you can watch that discussion on the climate agenda. c-span now video app, speaking of c-span2 yesterday you could watch chuck schumer in that press conference.

after expanding his majority in the senate with the wind by rafael warnock in georgia, holding a press conference yesterday morning. this is a little bit of what chuck schumer had to say. [video clip] >> a good number of the non- maga republicans realize that if they follow a maggot direction, there will be a real imperative for them to work with us. reaching out, they won't get everything they want but i think it will work and it is in everybody's interest. democrats, all of us, and a significant number of non-maga republicans to work together. i will pursue that with the same energy with which we pursue the election. host: chuck schumer, yesterday

on capitol hill, speaking about magda and the focus on the former president in the wake of the loss of herschel walker yesterday. these are the headlines from this morning's papers, the trump support of walker is part of why gop lost in georgia from the op-ed pages of "wall street journal,"'s writing that it's trump's final gift to the gop, the walker loss. evidence is overwhelming that the crazy parts of trumpism alienates and divides the gop, denying reality. guaranteeing more needless losses in 2000 24, the conservative editorial board of the "wall street journal." this story is from "the new york times," anti-trump republican voices grow louder and less relevant all the time, the quote attributed to john cornyn of

texas, speaking of the former president. another quote from a republican senator on capitol hill, patrick toom saying that the loss of herschel walker has an overwhelming body of data that the trump obsession is bad for republicans. on the issue of assault weapons, the idea of an assault weapons ban, this is, sin missouri. gun owner. good morning. caller: morning, john. merry christmas. far as the weapon is concerned, anything is a weapon. i could sharpen my spoon and turn it into a weapon. you could use a car. a canned good. anything is a weapon. i like my ar-15. i operate illegally.

always watch my background. the people out there committing the crimes are not going to follow the law. until the mental illness is addressed in this country, it will continue. we are all immigrants. everyone is allowed to come here. and that's pretty much it. i'm just going to have to start sharpening my spoons i guess. host: missouri, joe. scranton, democratic line, thanks for waiting. caller: i'm 100% against assault rifles. they are not needed. all you would have to do is sweep it back and forth to shoot people. a handgun or a rifle, stupid is as stupid does, they always say.

not going to get rid of all the people that are insane or have mental health issues. i'm totally against it. think about it. it's not needed. i had one for over 60 years and i don't need an assault rifle. thank you. host: what is needed? what are weapons you think are ok? caller: handguns are ok. rifle is good. one guy just said he has his guns loaded under his bed. i had grand -- i have grandkids. if i had a loaded gun under my bed, that's ludicrous and stupid. for someone to do something like that, keep a gun loaded in his house? that's frightening. assault rifles, they should at least have it in a gun case, locked.

if you can't unlock that case to shoot the people that come in your house, they are going to get you. it's a stupid thing to have, you don't need it. host: clayton, good morning. caller: first of all i want to say that i work for the government. i'm a democrat. a lot of these, my fellow corrections officers, they are not going after our hunting guns. ar-style rifles? one, the path, a lot of farmers use the rifles and guns for varmint control. coyotes and hogs. the ar style rifle, going after the ruger, i'm not a big fan of ruger, but you can get one that looks like ar-15 and they want to ban the gun, the most popular hunting rifle in america.

so yes they are going after our guns. like the other callers have said , mainly used as a weapon. contributing to hammers and other blunt objects. if we take care of the mental health object, that would do a lot of those things. that begins with our constitutional rights and stuff. going after the criminals, the gangs and all that, that would reduce gun just a few minutes left. this is from maryland, democratic lawler -- caller. caller: there are laws that are not being enforced. we have people all over the country that they have made it legal to carry guns.

that's the entry point for all the insanity we are hearing. i also think that the idea, half the people who call in, all the people who have called in, not one of them have talked about hunting. all these people are carrying guns to protect themselves which is nonsense. people who keep guns in their homes usually have someone getting killed within their homes. host: our last color out of pennsylvania. caller: every time joe biden speaks about weapons he always talks about hunting. hunting is one thing, the gun is a constitutional right and hunting is a privilege. i've paid to have a hunting license. my constitutional right is to

own a firearm and i can own any firearm i desire him to a machine gun. a machine gun you pay an extra tax four. i should be able to buy any gun i want as long as i am a law-abiding citizen. host: that was our last caller but stick around, there is plenty more to talk about including a conversation with two members of congress are first is congresswoman gwen moore. we will talk about the lame-duck session in the effort to expand the child tax credit. and then we will have republican representative tom mcclintock. stick around, we will be right back. >> but tv, every sunday on c-span2 features leading authors

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"washington journal," continues. host: wisconsin democrat rep. gwen moore, a member of the ways and means community. the funding deadline is next friday and that is what we have been focused on for the foreseeable future. how do you think this plays out? will we have a shut down next friday at midnight? guest: i don't think anyone has the appetite for a shut down. we have seen it done. we have seen it done for political manipulation and so we have hope that better angels will prevail. host: the efforts being worked out by negotiators, what are the must haves for any funding deal that comes together?

guest: i think there are things that have to happen. the national defense authorization funding that republicans want as well as democrats. they want to see this authorization past. we are hoping to get beyond the sea are -- cr, i would love to see the child tax credit extended. the child tax credit we had included during covid, during the pandemic. it was an extremely effective way to deal with child poverty. provides benefits to 85% of parents up to single people,

married couples up to 150,000 a year. which really offset some of these inflationary impacts, especially now. we think these benefits are in order. host: the eanded child tax credit booed the child tax credit from $3000, with monthly payments happening towards the end of the year of july 2021 to december. you said that was extremely effective. how do we know that? guest: we have had studies of the impact of a joint economic committee that determined it reduce poverty by 40%.

it was especially effective in ameliorating poverty for african-americans and hispanic families. in addition to reducing poverty, we saw that it buoyed families, when we think about it, we found that people used it on school supplies, nutrition, child care which we don't have a subsidy for and long-term. we always recognize that this is an effective investment.

host: it was not expanded because you do not have enough enough republican support, how do you hope to get it what is something democrats can offer to get republicans included in this? host: we can't stop trying to do this. we can lay that down as a marker. we had the in ways and means committee. host: explain what an extender

is and why this is something that comes up at the end of every fiscal year? guest: people think that the only affordable spending that occurs is discretionary funding. in fact, there are many taxes that corporations experience. we have tax provisions, electric vehicles, other kinds of innovations. sometimes they are put into law for only a short. period of time. we have bills that are related to health care some are things that both

parties really want to see extended and some things we don't. they need to die. both of those things occur during these lame-duck sessions. there is something that republicans will want that we can use as leverage. host: congresswoman gwen moore, the house comes in at 9:00. we will get your calls before she has to get to work in the house at 9:00. (202) 748-8001 for republicans, (202) 748-8000, (202) 748-8002 for independents. we have michael from florida on the independent line. caller: i wonder if the good representative issa where that on the march for our lives rally they announced that they were

going to do a strike of all students. the very next day, that night they got together and did a bill together and there is no mention of the fact that they did that strike in the mainstream or crazy channels. host: what is the strike about? caller: to ban assault weapons and they are threatening of many strike on a daily basis for the next three weeks. just the threat alone, you never got to hear of it. i was amazed that the mainstream media didn't even speak of it. host: president biden called for an automatic weapons ban.

what are your thoughts a new push for an assault weapons ban? guest: we did in the past and we can do it again. the saver act which was a modest build toward the principle of gun regulation. i admire the children that walked out. i was that child decades ago. it has impacts down the line on what policies are going to be taken up. we saw the passage -- we saw youth turnout, it was substantial. gen z and millennials are standing up and speaking out in the powerful way.

their concerns are going to have to be addressed and you are right, there was a turnaround of 24 hours. our first gen z member of our legislation. i think we are going to continue to see that trend. host: on the issue of children, can you touch briefly on the momnibus act? guest: it is a package of bills design to address the high maternal mortality in this country, it's woefully

inadequate. it was a bill put together by representative dr., adams and former nurse underwood from illinois. it was a package bill to protect women who are incarcerated, providing and promoting vaccinations and i have a particular piece in the bill dealing with increasing the prenatal workforce making sure there are physicians assistants and nurses and a pathway for people to pursue occupations in a culturally sensitive way. to make sure that more women who are at risk like african-americans and native

women are steered into these professions and are provided support to do it. this is an important bill that will have a major impact. we think this is a strategic way that women and babies enter the world safely. host: a question from our social media pages, if the child tax credit, how will it be paid for and will any benefits need to be capped? guest: we did look at limiting the child tax credit. it did not really help the most

vulnerable children. so we decided to make it refundable. the benefits are distributed through the tax bill and it's an expensive program that it's an efficient program. more efficient than providing corporations money so they can do stock buybacks. those worried about inflationary impacts of bill, this is the way of dealing with our most precious commodities in this country and that is her children. most so-called wealthy countries provide some sort of child subsidy, this is not a novel idea. the payoff is great.

host: some breaking news for you, within the last couple of minutes. this is the nbc news stories, brittney griner is free today after the biden administration negotiated her release from a russian penal colony in exchange for a russian arms dealer. biden signing off on that trade even though it meant leaving behind paul whelan. this is one of the most high profile prisoner swaps and so cold war. guest: she was wrongfully imprisoned.

it was our understanding she was suffering tremendously in this penal colony and work camp. i am so delighted that the biden administration stuck with this. this is a promise kept. this is hopeful. i'm disappointed we cannot get paul whelan home. host: how much were you and your colleagues involved here and did congress plainly role here? guest: i think this is another effort from the people. there was great sentiment that she was inappropriately imprisoned and we saw a ground swell of public support.

this is something that was purview of the executive branch. i think it created the atmosphere for the president to continue this course. host: the president expected to give remarks within the hour on that so we will keep you updated. the power of the purse, democrats in full control, for less than four weeks. on january 3, the republicans will take over the house. when it comes to the war in ukraine, will we see more funding for ukraine as part of this omnibus effort? where does that stand right now? guest: we do need to stand up

our support for ukraine. this omnibus, that is where we really need to do something. i think it's really important to demonstrate to all of our allies that we are serious about being in the fight for democracy. i am very concerned and worried that they will allow the 117th congress to expire. the republicans will not be as steady with their support as democrats have been. there are folks who don't necessarily want to fund during lame. we ought to take advantage of it. host: we invite you to take a

part in the conversation (202) 748-8001 for republicans, (202) 748-8000 for democrats, (202) 748-8002 for independents. from social media, does the house plan to have another trillion dollars spending plan before republicans take over and with that not just add to inflation? guest: we are all concerned about inflation which is why we passed the inflation reduction act. there were $300 billion plus in paying down our debts. i want people to understand that even though we have inflation you cannot stop supporting and standing up the function of

government in order to say we are just going to reduce inflation. that's why it's important to prioritize spending. i hope that we don't pass the republicans, don't provide another tax code the wealthiest americans without paying for. when i talk about the child tax credit, that's a decision to spend money. i am hoping that the republicans don't take charge and go through some of their threats by reducing social security benefits, and medicare benefits to the american public.

i think it is stuck on stupid to use this argument of inflation and to plunge people into utter poverty. there are balances. those millionaires, billionaires pay their fair share is a more measured way of reducing inflation. certainly all of the stock buybacks, the low interest rates, this is contributed greatly to inflation and nobody ever mentions that. they only want to mention four-year-old kids who receive money as the cause of inflation. host: to chatham, new jersey, mike, and independent. caller: i think it's great news that ms. griner has been

released. what i don't understand and the prisoner exchange, paul whelan has been imprisoned for far longer. the question that i have, was there some preferential treatment given to griner because of her race. host: the president is expected to speak on the release within the hour. perhaps, there is more the president can tell us. is there anything you want to add? guest: i don't know what the negotiations have been. i think russian prison is a hardship for anybody. you mentioned she is 6'9" and i am really relieved that she has

been released. i am hopeful that something can be negotiated around getting paul whelan home. i will be waiting eagerly to hear what president biden has to say about it and i don't know if there were choices are not about which prisoners would be able to come home. i don't know that he chose her over paul, we don't know. host: from california, on the lines for republican. caller: thank you for being on the show and i appreciate it. i just wanted to make a couple of comments and then ask a question. the woman that is being released from the russian prison. i understand that she was not

very patriotic towards america so i'm sure she will be after this. i am sure she will be happy to be an american after coming home. it was my understanding that she was critical of our country and i hope she has a better appreciation when she gets back. i wonder if you could speak on the most recent 64% of the black community not having a father in the home. i think that is a troubling part of our society now and i think it was something that herschel walker was trying to address. i am wondering if you could address it? guest: i think it is really sad that marriages in america among

all groups are breaking down. we know that stable two-parent homes are better positioned economically to support a family. i do think the dearth of fathers in the home, the willingness to incarcerate african-american men at a higher rate. the war on drugs, the drug policy. people use drugs at the same rate but african-americans are incarcerated at higher rates. i do think that as we look at the problems that disadvantaged certain groups, i don't think

any child is better off in the family that is breaking down. women and men go and their separate directions, sometimes that decision is made and made wisely. i don't know what the data is in regards to other races. i would say, we need more family-friendly policies. one of the things that i remember from our welfare policy is that we would deny women money to provide for their children if the man were not working. if he was still in the home.

a lot of our policies promote family breakdowns. there is no reason to want a man away from the family but i do think you for bringing this up. host: from florida, we have al, a democrat. caller: good morning, can you hear me? guest: i can hear you out. caller: i want to ask you about the debt and i don't understand why the democrats don't talk about this. there were two presidents that got us out of debt and one was truman and the other was eisenhower. they both got us out of debt by taxing the rich and 91%.

nobody talks about that. i think it is because we live in an oligarchy where the rich tell the democrats what to say. the same thing with republicans except the republicans are more prone rich. they passed that tax bill in 2017 that relieve taxes on the rich when it should've been the other way around. host: i want to give the congresswoman a chance to respond. guest: can you imagine a 91% tax rate? that would really increase the revenues that we have. you talked about to presidents that obliterated our debt. i would like to talk about presidents that increase the debt. we have had continuous wars that were not paid for.

they sold war bonds and did other kinds of things to pay for the cost of wars. we had policies under republican presidents were not only did they have unpaid wars but at the same time, they provided tax cuts for the rich. that set a foundation for an unsustainable budget. you can't give money, provide tax subsidies for the rich and not pay for it and then expect to have a balanced budget. host: we will have to ended there but we will look for you down the road. congressman gwen moore, member of the ways and means committee. of, and our last 30 minutes

before the house comes in, another member of congress rep. tom mcclintock, a member of the judiciary committee. stick around for that discussion, we will be right back. ♪ >> american history tv exploring the people and events that tell the american story. on lectures in history, professor richard loftis.

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continues. host: rep. tom mcclintock is with us, the senior member of judiciary and budget committees. let me just start with that news from about a half an hour ago. wnba star brittney griner released from russian custody. your quick reaction? guest: my first reaction that's great, my second reaction is who is this arms dealer and is in this and the best interest of the united states. host: let me move back to capitol hill, there is a lot of work to do but let me jump to the 118th congress in your first vote on january 3.

will you be voting for kevin mccarthy? guest: absolutely, yes. host: will he have enough votes? guest: he has the majority given to the congress, whether that majority acts like a majority is yet to be seen. i believe in the end it will. host: you believe he will have the 218 votes needed? he met with republicans to talk about rules and how they will run the conference in the 118th congress, you made some suggestions for changes. what did she suggest? guest: i introduced a motion to ban earmarks, the practice to direct money to their pet projects in their favorite supporters. that was a practice that created widespread corruption in the

1990's and 2000. it promotes logrolling which makes it difficult to control overspending. it was brought back in the last session and i was disappointed in my am republican colleagues. host: why was it brought back? guest: it was very convenient for members to direct money to their pet projects and favorite supporters. a local company makes a product that the pentagon neither wants or needs, what do you do? you get your local congressman to write a build and that the pentagon is going to buy this product and then you repeat the process. that is the source of the corruption. worse than that, it turns the federal budget into a grab bag for local pork projects.

traditionally, projects that benefit local communities are paid for by local communities. when they say they want this earmarked they say that this project is so low we don't want to use our own taxpayers money, but if you can find other taxpayers to pay for it, were all for it. host: when they ask about earmarks they say it helps get things done on capitol hill. it put skin in the game and helps them to work together more. guest: you put local earmarks and bill that a member would never think of supporting, suddenly this bad legislation becomes a local imperative he dare not vote against. that distorts the judgment of congress and it promotes the

kind of massive spending bills that the earmarks then greece. host: does it help to get things done in a time when people complain that congress can't get things done? guest: through a competitive bidding progress not by doling out to his favorite projects and groups. were 30 projects don't require earmarks. they do well in a competitive evaluation. host: what will get done here and congress and the next few days before a potential shutdown ? guest: i know what i would like to see and that is a short cr that gets us into the new congress when the will of the people as expressed in the last

election can be expressed. his unprecedented, the amount of debt that is driving the worst inflation of the last 40 years. republicans will have to be stubborn and produce the word no. host: the wall street journal, phil gramm one of the co-authors of the column, the republican house can restrain spending. it is the only sentry at the gate. what is keeping this majority from restraining that's pending? guest: i think we have to get stubborn about grants. they are consuming half a trillion a year and federal money. it is consuming $4000 of an average family's taxes a year.

we are throwing money at people and telling them to go out and do good things. there's is very little follow-up. very little accountability and very little results. this is now the third largest expenditure in the federal budget behind social security and national defense. we have to address that. if the government needs a service that the government cannot produce it should put out a request for bids, get competitive bids. that's the way it needs to be done. this business of throwing money around the country is just killing us. host: (202) 748-8001 four

republicans, (202) 748-8000 for democrats, (202) 748-8002 for independents. rep. tom mcclintock is with us until the house gavels and. from new berlin, a republican. caller: a quick comment, it's great that brittney griner has been set free. i guess i wonder, there is a man that has also been held prisoner for a number of years and several others. my only concern is why, just because she is an nba star, did she get priority over others? let me start by saying, i feel horrible for the millions of people who live in poor countries and want to come here for economic opportunities.

i understand that we are required by international law to accept as many people that come here and claim to need asylum. even though they can't prove it right away. as every other country in the world required to take an unlimited amount of people seeking asylum and what is the difference between asylum and refugees? guest: the premises wrong. there is no international authority that requires the united states to do anything, let alone except refugees. we accept caps on refugees and additionally we provide asylum. asylum is supposed to be limited to those who are fleeing a government that has targeted them for oppression because of their membership in specific groups, religious groups,

political groups, ethnic groups. that is what asylum is supposed to be. once you cross your first international boundary you have separated yourself from the government that has suppressed you and you have a right to claim asylum in that country. what we see in this administration we see something different. we have collapsed our borders and allowed 4.1 million illegal border crossings since the administration took office. we know at least one million got away, evaded capture as the border patrol was overwhelmed. that is having repercussions in every community in america. i asked mayorkas how we can

improve education by packing classrooms? how can we help working families by flooding the market with cheap, illegal labor? how do we help americans by consuming our social services on this unprecedented illegal migration and he had no answers. host: this is jimbo from baker's bill, and independent. caller: good morning john, good morning congressman. congratulations on being elected but i think you will have the reputation of being the first congress to default on the national debt. the reason i think that is going to happen as i don't think

congressman mccarthy has the votes to pull off raising the debt ceiling. i think there is going to be way too much overreach. i think you will use it as a marketing token when you should not. i think you have members of your own party who will not support it. i just wanted to bring forth the fact that i think you will have that with you. thank you for the opportunity, brian lame you're my hero. guest: when republicans had the majority, we had two sessions that protected us from default in the event that there is an impasse on a budget bill. it allowed interest to be paid notwithstanding the debt limit. unfortunately, the democrats killed it in the senate. host: from pennsylvania, a

democrat. caller: thank you for taking my call. there were two questions i have. why do they make it so hard that people with flood damage, we can't get our money. we have to go through so much paperwork to get our money. if another country has an earthquake or mudslide, they send money right away. we still have not gotten money from ida that was due to us that we are fighting were. with social security, you can only do one term and you get a pension. we have to work 60 years to make a few dollars and you want to cut that away from us. i don't know why you can't give us cost-of-living each year just like you get one. guest: congress has not had

a raise since 2008. as far as a lifetime pension, members of congress get the same federal pension as any other federal worker. it does best after five years. that's the only difference. host: fema was the other question. guest: i have been so frustrated with that agency. we had the caldor fire in my district. it took out the entire town of grizzly flats. we had one earlier, fema denied individual assistance to both of those communities. when donald trump was president, he change that. he overrode fema and release those funds.

joe biden promised full federal assistance and has not yet fulfilled that promise. despite many requests, that's a great frustration. host: about 10 minutes before the house comes in. we will take you there when they do. from georgia, we have date, and independent. caller: i used to have a paper and premise from hildale college and it was a real eye-opening paper about what happened to the filibuster. in 1975 by a democrat that put in the two track system. you can filibuster over a telephone call and that is it.

can you explain to the people, the two track system and why it screwed up the filibuster so badly and also, i believe we should have 25% import taxes on every item. thank you tom. guest: i'm surprised you remember that paper. i just went over the history of the filibuster. it rises from a parliamentary principle that if a significant minority wants to continue a debate that debate should continue. that's the purpose of the legislative body is to deliberate.

that is what is at the heart of the filibuster. that principle assumes there is a real debate among real people over the issue at hand. that was changed in the 1970's by mike mansfield to avoid all the fuss and bother of actually debating a bill and actually pretend you are debating it and that is what we are dealing with today. i took that to mitch mcconnell when we were in the majority in both the house and senate and had the white house and i said we need to reform this. his response was, it's useful to stop bad legislation when we were in the minority. my argument was, you are in the majority right now, you will not

be a successful majority with this process in place. that is what the democrats are arguing now in the senate. i have to say, he was very resolute that he could've changed it but he did not. it has save the republic. they have been clear about packing this supreme court, packed the senate with new states. rig election laws like the way they are in california. without the philip buster that can be done with the majority vote. the fact that his held means that perhaps mitch mcconnell was right on that one. host: let me come back to the relief of wnba star brittney griner.

this is just about a minute of his remarks. [video clip] >> i spoke with brittney griner. she is safe, she is on a plane on her way home after months being unjustly detained. she will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones and she should have been there all along. this is a day we have worked towards for a long time. she did not ask for special treatment. we have been working on her release from day one. she just asked please don't forget about me and the other american detainees. we never forgot about britney. we have not forgotten about p aul whelan. this was not a choice of which american to bring home.

we brought home trevor reed earlier this year. sadly, russia is treating paul's case differently than britney's. and while we have not yet secured his release, we will never give up. host: that was president biden from the white house, any thoughts? guest: i want to know more about this arms dealer that we have traded her for. i know nothing about this arms dealer. host: vladimir putin has been trying to get him back. guest: my concern is that sounds like a very dangerous individual and i would be concerned if he resumed his activities after we have now released him for brittney griner. a lot of people could die. but i will look into it. host: ukraine, russia, what are

your thoughts on additional funding for ukraine and the war against russia? guest: we have already given about 55 billion. i supported that because i think it is very important that ukraine prevail or make such damage that every other rogue nation thinks twice before doing the same thing. i look at the eu, they have only given about $16 billion. this is not yet an american security threat, this is an european threat. they have only contributed the third of what the united states has provided. granted, their gdp is half of ours but this is a much more important issue to them than it is to the united states. i will not support more aid until we see the european union match what we're doing.

i would also like to know where all of that money went? and finally i want to be sure there was not undue influence on this administration because of the bidens families dealings with burisma. host: we have tom, a republican. caller: thank you for your work. i've a couple of quick questions, do you believe the new republican majority will vote for more regular order on the appropriations bills? to highlight the spending issues and try to get a grip on the spending and signaled to the american people some of the waste as well as some of the excessiveness in the spending bills so that the people can have a better understanding as

to what is taking place in the appropriations process which is been badly damaged. as a side note, and reference to the supreme court case yesterday, in reference to the legislatures in the state supreme court's ordering new congressional maps, i have always felt that it is wrong for judicial body to draw the congressional maps. it is one thing to rule that the congressional maps meet voting rights standards but to actually draw them, i think it would be helpful if the u.s. supreme court would stipulate the legislature should be drawing the maps. guest: that is what the constitution says. they will be chosen by a manner by state legislatures. the issue the supreme court is hearing as to what extent do

other institutions within a state have a say in this. legislatures are a creature of the state constitutions. it becomes a legal question. there were a number of provisions offered, one was to have the governors elect a president. the delicates felt that was much too small of a group. they discussed having a president elected from the entire country but they have the problem with rural areas being ignored. they ultimately created a good system. the question before the court is whether or not a legislature is also bound by other institutions created by the same state constitution.

we will wait to see what the court has to say on it. host: when republicans get to regular order? guest: one of the great mortal perils facing our country, there are two of them. one is our collapsing border but the other is our collapsing finances. history is warning us that countries that have bankrupted themselves aren't around for very long. the ability for our country to do so is coming into question. we have to get back to regular order and that means follow the budget process meticulously. the budget act of 1974 lays out a brilliant, logical process to control spending. the problem is, it has not been followed any of the years i've

been in congress. we need to honor it to the letter and to follow it. whether we do or not remains to be seen. it's a tall order because we have a wide gulf between the house and the senate in its attitude toward spending. host: rep. tom mcclintock will be a senior member of the budget committee in the majority of the hundred 18th congress. we appreciate your time this morning. guest: is my pleasure. thank you. host: the house is getting ready to gavel and. we will be back here at 7:00 a.m. eastern, 4:00 a.m. pacific. we take you now to the floor of the house.