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discussed policy issues that impact you. coming up, florida-based republican adam goodman discussing the future of the republican party and governor ron desantis's profile within the gop. anti-defamation league ceo jonathan greenblatt talks about the rise of anti-semitic rhetoric in the u.s.. watch washington journal sunday morning on c-span or on c-span now. join the discussion with your phone calls, comments, texts and tweets. sunday morning nasa's artemis one spacecraft returns to earth after orbiting the moon. watch live coverage of the entry, descent, and splashdown online at c-span.org or the free video app c-span now.

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. order your copy today. it is $29.95 plus shipping and handling as c-spanshop.org. >> good morning, it is saturday, december 10, 2022. this week senator kyrsten sinema announced she is leaving the democratic party. she says she will still caucus with democrats. brittney griner is back in the united states after being held

prisoner in russia for 10 months on drug possession. it is a result of a prisoner swap for a russian arms dealer who had been held in the u.s.. the same-sex marriage bill passed the house and goes to the president for signature. it honors same-sex marriage licenses. those are some of the stories this week. today we are asking you what is your top story of the week. give us a call on our lines by party affiliation. republicans, republicans (202) 748-8001, democrats (202) 748-8000, independents (202) 748-8002. on social media, facebook.com/c-span and twitter and instagram. welcome to "washington journal." i want to show you the top that broke this week.

there is the supreme court election case. the top three and the supreme court election case, the north carolina redistricting case that could reshape elections nationwide. and investigating the january 6 insurrection considering criminal referrals for for individuals and former president donald trump. let's take a look let's take a look at senator sinema's announcement about switching parties. >> we make decisions about what is best for ourselves, our family and our community. if i don't spend a lot of time thinking about is this a republican idea or a democratic idea, is this liberal or conservative. that is not how it was on a thanks. what we think about is what is right for my family. what is right for my family? what is right for my future? there is nothing better than waking up in arizona. nothing. whether you are waking up in

phoenix or press get -- or prescott, you wake up in the morning and you think to yourself, i live in a place where i can be whoever i want to be. i get to hear from arizonans day in and day out. about what is working in washington or more frequently what is not working in washington. i really am grateful to those who trusted me to take back those concerns that they have. i promise that i will be an independent voice for our state. i promised that i would always do what is right for the people of arizona. that is what i have done. i try not to work with the title of independent. it's who i've always been, a reflection of who arizona is, a reflection of the folks that i talked to. it is who we are as a people. we don't line up to do what we

are told. we do what is right for our state and country. i will be the same person i've always been. that's who i am. i will show up to work, i will do my best for arizona, i will continue to deliver results for everyday people. i don't think anything will change for arizona, and i think the arizonans across the state are going to say, yeah, that is the kyrsten sinema we elected, that we sent to d.c. who is doing exactly what we asked her to do and there's nothing that arizonans deserve more than a senator who gets stuff done. host: that was senator sinema talking about her decision to register now as an independent instead of an democrat. we are taking your calls about the top news story of the week and the numbers are on your screen.

here is an article from the wall street journal about senator sinema. it says senator kyrsten sinema helped broker a bipartisan deal and forced changes to major pieces of president biden's agenda. said she was leaving the democratic party and would register as an independent. a move that complicates democrats' narrow control of the chamber. the move sent a jolt through washington days after democrats shared their 51st seat in the chamber with a runoff election in georgia. it raises questions about how closely mrs. sinema was aligned with president biden's agenda and a wrinkle for the 2024 election when she would be up for reelection and democrats are

facing a tough senate map. there is also the story of brittney griner coming back. and here is the article from the new york times about that. a lot of conversation about paul whalen who has not been freed, also an american, a former marine. inside the prisoner swap that freed brittney griner, officials say that moscow has been pushing for the release of a russian a session being held in germany before finally agreeing to release brittney griner for viktor bout. they receive the same infuriating answer, if you want both prisoners we want -- as part of the deal. he is an assassin who murdered a chechen fighter in a park in berlin in broad daylight in 2019. it was a brazen killing that the

german authorities say was committed at the behest of rush's intelligence services. convicted to life in prison in germany, he was not to be traded to russia. either way, how mr. biden came to the swap that freed misses greiner and not mr. whaelen was against the backdrop of a brutal war in which american-armed ukrainians were battling russian invaders. the unpalatable choice of liberating one american while leaving another behind. we want to know what your top stories of the week are. good morning. caller: my big issue was the

passage of the disrespect for traditional marriage. the house and senate passed any state's law on marriage must be respected. that is the one state over 50 states. i know the bill says no polygamy, but the courts can get rid of that or be amended in the future. the united states would not let utah be a state because of polygamy. the prominent mormons now accept gay marriage. they say they want polygamy back again. why does america seek to destroy who we've been? marriage as it has been understood since the founding of america. if it is not one man and one woman it becomes nothing at all than a weird social contract of some sort. the foundation of america and society itself.

this bill would very likely be used to push christians and anyone with a conscience for the way marriage had been. this is a dark day in american history. we will reap if we do not repent and turn back to the god of the bible. host: let's look at an emotional response from the senator from missouri. [video clip] the bill's implications, submit to our ideology or be silenced. this is yet another step towards the democrats' goal of dismantling the traditional family, silencing voices of faith, and permanently undoing our country' is god-woven foundation. this is the democrats' priority. mr. speaker, i will tell you my priority. protect religious liberty, protect people of faith, and

protect americans who believe in the true meaning of marriage. i hope and pray that my colleagues will find the courage to join me in opposing this misguided and this dangerous bill. i yield back. host: asking you about your top story of the week here on this first part of washington journal. next on the democrat's lien in freeport, new york. caller: good morning. i am talking about sinema. i don't trust her. she voted to many times with the republicans and now that he won his seat back for 6 years she wants to become an independent will stop guess what. arizona, watch her.

she voted most of the time with the republicans, and now she is really going to vote with the republicans. what she did is a clever move to show that what she is truly is is a republican, as she disguised herself as a democrat just to get elected. i think she has betrayed the democrats and when she is up for reelection in 2024 the people in arizona need to vote her out, because she is not truthful. young lady, you are beautiful. i love watching you every saturday. you have a blessed day. host: thank you. let's look at what sena schumer said about senator . he sai in a statement from yesterday. senator sinema informeof her decision to change or liatn to independent. she asked me to keep her committee assignments and i agreed. she is an independent, that is how she has always been i believe she is a good,

effective sena and i'm looking forward to a productive session in the democrat majority senate. we will ma our majority on committee and exercise are subpoena power and be able to clear nominees without discharge votes. that was senator schumer of new york. martha is next. naples, new york. independent line. caller: hello. what i want to talk about is the drop of the twitter files that happened and how a lot of folks were blocked in being able to speak free speech, and how elon musk at this point is being harassed by folks. i just want to say that i think he is a true american, and by doing this and showing the country that how many folks were censored, i think it is a shame

that he is being vilified by people. look at what this man has done for our country. how would we get up to the space station if he did not have spacex? that is all i want to say. host: here is an article about that. former new york times columnist barry white releasing twitter files part two from theh ill.com. he released the second installment of the twitter files on thursday night, sharing images of accounts that twitter allegedly placed on various types of blacklist. he posted several images of what appears to be an internal twitter system that marked certain accounts as being under various kinds of blacklists in addition to flagging other information about the accounts. a professor from stanford who opposed lockdowns appear to be put on a black list as was

the right wing of twitter according to the photos. robert from aurora, indiana. republican line. caller: yes, ma'am. thank you for letting me call in. i have never in my life seen a tragedy in this country -- i am 85 years old. you can give everything to these lesbians and homosexuals. make a law that they can get married. god says, "i will destroy them." and hopefully they will soon, because this is garbage we are going through in this country. i have never seen such a president that we've got. he don't know his way off the stage. he is absolutely a joke. host: ok, robert. let's look at a press conference from yesterday. this is senate majority leader

chuck schumer celebrating raphael warnock's win georgia -- in georgia. [video clip] sen. schumer: they say all good things come to those who wait and this outcome is worth the wait. after one year, 10 months, 17 days of the longest 50-50 senate in history, 51, a slim majority. that is great, and we are so happy about it. first and foremost, i want to congratulate raphael warnock , and he will be up here later today, on running a great race. strong, inspiring, unifying, never daunted. i remember calling him the day that the vote came in in the general election. even though he was disappointed that he came close and he would have to run again, he said i'm raring to go and we will win the

runoff. of course, he did by not half a percent or 1% but close to 3%. it was because he did an amazing thing. he was just a person who had great faith. he had great strength. he had great conviction. he had great caring. he is a unique man who has a great future. i was brought to tears last night watching him tell his story and his concluding line in the sentence when he talked about his mom. he said, she grew up in the 1950's picking someone else's cotton and someone else's tobacco. and last night, this is so touching. every time i read it i tear up. last night she helped pick her son to be united states senator. only in america. only in america. host: that was senator schumer

from yesterday. we are asking about your top stories of the week. franklin is next on the democrats line from berlin, connecticut. caller: good morning. am i on the air? host: yes, you are. caller: let me say a couple of things. i am 87 years old. i am a retired marine. i keep hearing about -- i'm talking about the prisoner swap. i keep hearing this guy called a former marine and they blow him up as a marine. in my opinion, this man is not a marine. he received either a dishonorable or bad conduct discharge from the marine corps. that means that they didn't want him there and he shouldn't have been there. so please, this former marine is a bunch of baloney. second, for my republican friends, i am hearing that they should have swapped him instead of the girl. well, paul was taken prisoner in

2018 and the republicans had three years to try to get him out. they never lifted a finger. so, that is enough of that. i just wanted to get the marine-thing. us marines are proud people and when people are thrown out of the marine corps we don't have anything to do with them. thank you for taking my call. host: curtis is next from baltimore, maryland, independents line. caller: how are you doing today? host: good. caller: i was calling because i listen to c-span often. it is my first time calling this show. i'm concerned about the legislation that was just passed for the lgbtq community. i want to be clear that i don't

have anything against anybody who chooses to sleep with whoever they sleep with. that is their prerogative. but i don't think it should have been crammed into a law to make people have to accept this, even though those of us who know the truth will never accept this. my biggest concern is the government. not just the government of this country but the governments of the world. if you are any kind of person that believe in a higher being, god, spiritual being that is higher than us, if you believe in jesus christ, we know that jesus said in his words that the governments of this world are not of my father's kingdom. i does want to put that out

there, because i hear the congress and house praying to whatever god they pray to every morning before they commenced their work in their office or sessions. jesus said, i want everybody to know -- host: all right. new jersey, republican line, jim? are you there? johnny in port orange, florida. johnny? i don't know, maybe -- are you there? port orange? caller: wait a minute. wait a minute. i don't know if i have the right number. who is this? host: this is c-span. caller: yes. oh, yes. host: you are on the air.

can you mute your tv? caller: i did. i muted it. i want to get on today's program. host: yes, you are on the air, johnny. caller: i'm not johnny. host: you are not? let's go to holyoke, massachusetts. caller: hi mimi, good morning. how are you? i am calling from holyoke, massachusetts. i am 15 minutes from springfield, massachusetts, where the basketball hall of fame is. this is my first time calling, so i am a little bit nervous. one thing i've been paying

attention to and am concerned, on december 7 senator ron johnson had a roundtable in washington, d.c. regarding the covid injection or vaccination. he met with a number of experienced doctors from our nation. dr. robert malone, dr. cole, and a few other doctors. a pediatrician, toxicologist, and so on. it was very interesting to hear everything that they said regarding their concerns with the side effects that a lot of people have been suffering after being vaccinated and how a lot of people don't know the contents in the vials, the

injections. i haven't really heard anything. none of the media networks. i saw a few videos, but i didn't see the whole thing since i worked. this was on december 7, 2022. so, a few days ago. i saw it on a channel that i follow called the vigilant fox rumble, and they had short statements of different doctors speaking of the most important things that we should all know. i haven't heard anything on none of the networks. can c-span provide the audience with information regarding that? host: we hear you. let's take a look at democrat tammy baldwin. she was one of the lead sponsors

of that respect for marriage act. [video clip] >> we are also making a difference for millions of americans. we are taking a step forward in the fight for equality and ensuring dignity and respect for all americans. with the passage of the respect for marriage act, we can put to rest the worries of millions of loving couples who are concerned that someday an activist supreme court may take their rights and freedoms away. we are giving these loving couples the certainty that their marriages are legal and that they will continue to have the same rights and responsibilities and benefits of every other married couple. we are telling these americans that we see them and we respect them. on the senate side, i think we can say we defied political

gravity and earned a dozen republican members' support for marriage equality. host: that was senator tammy baldwin. we are asking you about your top news story of this week. we will check in with our social media followers. this is a tweet from jerry who says, republicans angry that a two-time gold medalist civilian was free and they ignore the fact that trump did not try once jeffrey paul whelan, even though he claimed to be putin's buddy. here's a text from william in middletown, connecticut. top story: movement toward the center is exactly what the political environment needs. christensen's move is in the best -- sinema's move is in the best interest of all americans. many may not agree because it

doesn't fit their agenda. sorry for their selfish stance. sinema used every state to allow herself to be paid off by billionaires. she would have never been elected had people like myself not voted for her. betrayed by greedy humans. donna is next in mount victory, ohio on the republican line. -- don is next in mount victory, ohio on the republican line. caller: thank you for taking my call and merry christmas. my top story is exposing the censorship that has taken place in the collaboration between the government and social media companies. it's fair to say that the social media companies are the major platforms now for information for most people, and for our government to be in bed with them, to do censorship, is appalling.

i am very disappointed that the so-called journalists, many of them for the corporations, do not cover this and are just putting it off to the side. i think it is something that needs to be addressed, because a lot of these topics that people are calling today about has to go with the journalism, digging into the facts and letting the people decide what goes on in our country. i am very disappointed that our journalists take this approach. a good example would be coming up this week we have the defense budget bill. once again, our elected officials at the last moment are going to try to hodgepodge a trillion dollar bill with no information given out to the people, because a few people in a select room have decided what goes into it. host: we are going to be talking about that in the next hour at

8:00 eastern, so be listening for that. next, louisiana, democrats line. caller: the topic, keystone pipeline. this is rhetorical. how does a pipeline that supposedly doesn't exist, because joe biden supposedly shut it down and that was the reason gas was five dollars plus a gallon, but how does this pipeline that does not exist leak i believe 14,000 barrels, almost 600,000 gallons near topeka, kansas? again, that was a rhetorical question. i've got more. host: how about one more, pierce? caller: the fact that the right

probably does not know that kyrsten sinema is openly gay. if they did know that i think she would lose a little support on the side of the right. the only reason that i called democrats instead of independents is because the democrats are not the republicans. thank you. host: massachusetts, independent line. caller: yes, good morning. i want to say that i like you very much as a moderator. i have one comment. and this does not pertain to you and how you are moderating today. but whenever you show something like chuck schumer, biden, or whoever on the democratic side talk about the issues, i think you should give equal time to the republican side and someone speaking from the republican side and point of view so you hear both sides of the

viewpoints and arguments. what you are really doing is promoting the democratic side, whatever that is, and educating your audience about their viewpoint, but you're not educating your audience about the republican viewpoint. host: we try our best, carol. do you have a top news story, what was the big story for you this week? caller: the big story for me this week was, again, the inflation and cost of oil and energy. living in massachusetts i am definitely experiencing that. our gas prices are going up, inflation is going up. i am 89 years old and i'm dealing with this. i am on a fixed income like many senior citizens. my main concern is the amount of money that is being spent our government by a whole array of

different problems, and they are for getting us, the american citizens. just like we can provide hotels to immigrants, but we have people sleeping on the streets and living on the streets. i don't understand how they can overlook our american citizens and their needs and welcome people -- and by the way, these people coming into the country are not vaccinated. i don't know that they are wearing masks. they might be bringing some of these diseases. host: let's look at a republican criticizing the prisoner swap on foxbusiness. [video clip] >> we have the basketball player brittney griner who is on her way home. at the same time, there is a swap with a russian prisoner, an arms dealer, who is going back to russia, we believe. do you think that that is a fair exchange? >> not at all. i think it's wrong. i think joe biden should have

held for different results. he is swapping the merchant of death, the arms dealer. this is right out of their playbook. use american prisoners and swap for something of incredible value for them. glad to see one is coming home, but it is wrong to leave the marine there. host: we are going back to the phones now. brian and fulsome, pennsylvania. republican line. caller: thank you for the forum. in life there are so many slippery slopes. the biggest story to me this week is clearly the suppression of news and selectivity of it. it is anti-right or anti-centrist at best. their are slippery slopes -- there are slippery slopes and

individuals and societies. you can give a child a piece of chocolate and they want the whole chocolate bar tomorrow. if they give an inch they want to be rulers tomorrow. my point is 50 or 70 years ago, the right to life was denied to the unborn. whose right to life will be denied today and tomorrow? also, it is the same thing with free speech. if you deny the right to speak from whatever viewpoints, centrist, right, or left, if you deny that right today -- you can have a right wing government come in tomorrow and deny the right of speech to the left. let's be more open. i am calling this disgraceful

acts by the mainstream media. it is a slippery slope. host: got it. let's look at some of the texts that we got from roger in texas who says that senator sinema has found a way to remain relevant and powerful, which is what washington, d.c. is about. i'm amazed at how quickly everyone sent to our nations capital catches camera fever and begins seeking out starring roles. it's incredible. here's a text from mike in minnesota. the founder of hawaii's proud boys chapter and a texas man were sentenced friday to four years in prison each for their participation in the january 6, 2021 attack on the u.s. capitol. here is a text from kathy in toms river, new jersey. good morning. i admire her independence, we need more people like her in the senate. both parties are still in the swamp.

and harry says that his big story is twitter plus the fbi plus the white house colluding to suppress speech. next in mesa, arizona on the independent line. jeanette. caller: good morning. this is my first time phoning in . and the lady, your employee, i forget her name, beautiful lady. when she joined your program and also moderator, i have also really, really looked up to her. my concern is the lady who just called a couple of calls back. the lady was saying, referencing -- anyhow, in her conversation

this lady, the caller, said "and jesus said." the moderator went on and the call was dropped. i don't know if it was purposely or not. my concern is, there is a truth. it doesn't matter whether we believe in god or not, but there is a truth, and it has reached the point in our nation that if you reference jesus she was cut off. host: i understand you are disappointed. it is just that this is a political show and we are talking about public affairs and the top politics stories that

broke this week. so, we want to stay on topic. tyrone in illinois, republican line. caller: good morning, mimi. it is always nice to talk to you. my big concern is the shortage of amoxil's own. we knew that we had trouble getting our medication from china and our relationship with china is not getting any better. i don't see us doing anything to make sure that our drugs in the united states for our citizens, to make sure that we have the stuff when crises come up. like the flu and the epidemics that we are having back again. i think that we need to start making more stuff here in the united states. pay more attention.

i understand that we are paying good attention to china, but we are not paying the attention that we should. that is my top story. host: president biden's remarks from thursday about brittney griner's release. [video clip] pres. biden: she wrote to me in july. she did not ask for special treatment. we have been working on her release since day one. she requested, "please do not forget about me and the other american detainee. please do all you can to bring us home." we did not forget about britney and we have not forgot about paul whalen. this was not a choice of which american to bring home. we brought home trevor reed when we had a chance earlier this year. sadly for illegitimate reasons russia is treating paul's case different from brittany's. we are not giving up and we will never give up. we remain in close touch with

paul's family, and my thoughts and prayers are with them today. they have mixed emotions today. we will keep negotiating in good faith for paul's release. i said to the family, i guarantee you. i urge russia to make sure that paul's health is maintained until we can bring him home. i don't want any american to sit wrongfully detained one extra day if we can bring that person home. my administration has brought home dozens of americans who were wrongfully detained or held hostage abroad. many of whom had been held before i took office. today we also remember the other americans being held hostage and wrongfully detained in russia or anywhere else in the world. reuniting americans with their loved ones remains a priority for my administration and every person in my administration involved in this. we will continue to work to bring home every american who continues to endure such an

injustice. host: we are asking about your top news story of the week. here are some of the stories that broke this week. senator sinema switches to independent. also, the georgia runoff race was won by warnock. brittney griner was released in a prison with a russian arms dealer. and the same-sex marriage vote passed and is headed to the president's desk. also the supreme court election case about the north carolina redistricting case that could reshape elections nationwide. and the january 6 committee referral. they are reportedly considering criminal referrals for at least four individuals and former president donald trump. we are taking your calls. christina on line.

fredonia, kansas. caller: the biggest story, it is hard to choose. there is so much going on. elon musk revealing the james baker story to the world about how this guy, a former top fbi lawyer who was an employee of twitter, was helping to suppress and shadow ban. everything the republican said was true was true. just like the hunter biden laptop. true. they were suppressing stories and repressing republican candidates. baker is quite the show. the more you read the more you find, if you can find the story. it doesn't seem like cnn or nbc,

abc, cbs are not interested in this at all. this proves exactly what the republicans have been saying for years. host: ok, christina. let's take a look. you mentioned james baker. here is foxnews.com. musk strikes back against twitter deep state and fires james baker. elon musk keeps pursuing transparency as he releases the twitter files and former twitter legal counsel james baker needed to go. we talked about that on washington journal yesterday, so you can be sure to check that out at c-span.org if you missed it on tv. brian? next on the republican line, farmersville, ohio. caller: good morning. how are you? host: good.

caller: obviously, the elephant in the room without question is elon musk and the new reveal. we are trying to hold everybody accountable in the entire country or what you do and say. be an adult. you vote. that makes you an adult, right? it is not politically correct to call elon musk out to say we will watch and surveilled him. the double standard that the democrats are pushing on the country are driving us apart. it's sad to watch the washington journal completely, for a better word, disenfranchised. the lady call talking about ron johnson. all the high, respected medical officials in this country meeting together with congress people talking about the ill effects of the vaccine on the human body. scientifically diagnosed and

documented, you know? and the same-sex marriage highlight reel. that is the kind of problem that the journalism in this country is having a hard time trying to transfer over to. you guys are in your own microcosm and you need to step out into the real world and see both sides of the aisle. you guys have a great day. host: ok, brian. let's look at twitter. here is, by then once again showed weakness and created a security risk for america with putin. it was a disgrace and embarrassment how biden was taken advantage of by putin. every american's less safe at home and abroad because of it. we will go to the phones, back to the phones. thomas in lutherville, maryland.

caller: good morning. we all love c-span, but moving to the point, i was a senior army officer with a few iraq deployments and a cognitive behavioral therapist.my top story would be the suppression of stories, elon musk, so on and so forth, what is coming forth. i think what is interesting is the idea that if you disagree with someone's idea it is a strawman argument. you have to go after the individual. i teach conflict resolution for a living, i use to when i was a clinical social worker. what i would recommend is the idea that if you disagree with someone's stance because of your religious beliefs or you think that it lacks reason, the idea of a hate crime you cannot get into someone's mind to find out what drives them. following the second world war they really wanted to prove that

there was something defective in germans that they could take place in such a process. individuals talked about the banality of evil. in some cases people agree or follow authority, but you can say the only way someone can be against homosexuality is because they are filled with hate. these are projections or wait to discredit the marketplace of reason and ideas. let reason prevail. let science prevail. don't use science as a club. host: i got it, thomas. norwalk, connecticut on the republican line. cindy. caller: good morning. a few callers have already made mention of what i was going to comment on about the same-sex marriage bill. you know, i have no problem with people who love each other and want to get married.

but the whole idea of forcing the issue that we all have to tell our kids about their gender in elementary school -- you know, i think that is too far even for the lgbtq community. if we dare to bring religion into it we are all sinners and none of us like the parts of the bible that condemn us. i love everyone, god is the judge, but when we mention god it is not you but a lot of the moderators -- it has nothing to do with politics -- but it does. our country was founded on the judeo-christian faith. you are free to believe or not believe. i don't condemn anyone, but this does have a part in our politics

and our beliefs. you know, anytime the g-word is mentioned the hand does go on the button. it is just an observation. host: i understand that it is important to a lot of people and that influences their politics, but for some people it doesn't. we have to keep that in mind. wilmington, delaware, democrats line. caller: good morning. i just wanted people to understand and recognize that viktor bo, the russian that we traded britty griner four, was reed for allegedly trying to conspire with undercover agents who said that they were going to use these guns to kill americans in columbia. i am no genius, but there were

shootings in uvalde, buffalo, colorado, florida nightclubs. none of those guns were sold by viktor bout. to say that people in america are less safe, let's not forget that the u.s. is the biggest arms dealers. we give it to ukraine, we give it to other countries in arms, and we sell them here. we can't seem to get that together which is why we have all of these mass shootings. jewish synagogues and black churches being shot up. i'm not really worried about viktor bout. welcome home, brittney griner. i wish that we could have gotten the marine but he is convicted in russia of espionage which the russians believe is a bigger offense. host: here's the bloomberg article about the same-sex marriage bill passing the house. it goes to biden for signature. the measure requires states to honor same-sex marriage licenses

and the senate revised the bill to include religious liberty provisions stump it says that the passage of the bill is a victory for democrats who had raised concerns that the u.s. supreme court can reverse rights for same-sex couples after it overturned roe v. wade. it says that the house voted 258-169 on thursday to pass the respect for marriage act, and the house previously passed the measure in july but had to be taken up again after the senate amended the bill to include religious liberty provisions. teresa is next in akron, ohio on the independent line. caller: hi. host: go ahead. you are on the air. caller: i just wanted to say that it is really imperative that we all inform ourselves. i try to watch this show a couple of times a week, and it is really informative as far as

getting a feel for what people are thinking. and people are falling for every little thing. the elon musk thing. this is not a legitimate thing. it did happen, he did release this information, but everybody is skipping over the part that the people who were removed or banned were massive spreaders of disinformation. it will bring the country down. i don't understand what happened to try to focus on the truth. it is like people just want to believe what they want to believe. it is causing division over something that isn't even based in truth. i just want to say, you know, we should all do a better job of informing ourselves. host: that's look at a text from michigan. i want people to understand that biden''s campaign requested that

thepics be withheld from twitter. trump did the same with certain info and he was in the white house throwing his weight around. deborah is next. glen echo, maryland. democrats line. caller: i just wanted to point out that i don't think musk bought twitter to promote free speech. he bought twitter because the court was about to force him to buy twitter. he overpaid for it and now he is trying to drive eyeballs to the site to make up for the advertisers that he lost by promoting disinformation. if he wants to turn twitter into the daily storm i don't care, that is his right. but is also the right of the people who owned it prior to him to turn it in a progressive direction. twitter is not an agent of the government. the government did not order, from anything that we've seen so

far, twitter to publish or not publish anything. republicans are so gullible. i am beyond words. host: let's look at the supreme court argument. you can hear in this exchange amy coney barrett questioning david thompson. [video clip] is your formula stick test a way to try to deal with our president or are you reading that in the constitution itself? you do have a problem explaining why procedural limitations are ok but statute limitations are not. >> your honor, we have tried to craft an argument that is consistent with the court's precedents, but we think there are good reasons why there would be a substantive limitation if not a procedural limitation. we can see this in james madison's remarks. i would refer to the third volume of elliott's debates where james madison lamts

partisan gerrymandering and singles out one state, south carolina, for their partisan gerrymandering. their partisan gerrymandering was found in the state's constitution. that is the rule my friends on the others e advocating for. you can have a partisan gerrymander but you have to pu it in the state's constitution. >> it is not a matter of the text but you are pulling things from the history saying james madison's comments support the procedural substantive line? >> we grounded it in procedure, tax, structure, and history. host: you can hear all of the supreme court's oral arguments on c-span.org/supremecourt. here's a text from ricky from baltimore who wants to comment on what a previous caller said. he said, our country was not founded judeo-christian.

it was founded on religious freedom. stan next in oregon. republican line. caller: i have to mute my tv. are you still there? host: go ahead. caller: i was watching this channel tuesday and wednesday and the democratic presidential primary schedule was on, bylaws and committee members. there were quite a few people there and i guess they are getting a person from each state to represent. donna breeze was there talking about traditions, opening new doors, citizenship, and justice. one member said, they are the people. they are the power. they are the law.

this group picks the rules. she was there --i don't know, it's getting bad. host: paul, chesapeake, virginia, independents line. caller: several of your news stories talked about top news stories. the gay thing, or the lgbtq thing i don't have a problem with. the greiner thing i think was a semi-bad deal. call it conspiracy theorya continuation of being able to fund ukraine whileusa can buy arms through the guy that they released. the big story for me is, having

been a veteran, the ndaa, national defense authorization act, stripped the requirement for the military members to get a covid vaccine. my question is, what is going to happen to all those people who had applied for religious exemption who were being processed out? host: you know what, paul? we are going to be talking about that next. in a few minutes after we end segment -- they segment and the break we will talk about the ndaa and talk about the people who were out processed or in the process of being out processed. stay with us for that. reno, nevada, democrats line.

caller: good morning. i wish everyone a merry christmas and happy hanukkah. i am calling about the legislature, south carolina, at the supreme court. this gerrymandering that they do , that their legislature has passed, the all-republican legislature, about nine republicans and two democrats have gerrymandered it down. they are trying to do it more. i am against that gerrymandering, i am against the legislatures because they are republican and they managed to keep it that way. never will a democrat be able to get into the legislature. they can gerrymander around to

where a lot of the people's voices not even heard on who they want to vote for. host: ricky is in arkansas on the republican line. caller: hi. i am actually in alaska. host: welcome from alaska. go ahead. caller: ok, there is so much to talk about. the big one is that i've heard many people talk about trump had this and that about the twitter files. if you pay attention to the last drop that happened, twitter verifies that trump never did anything. it was absolutely the democrats who did that. i have many others to speak about, but i believe that point there. host: that is going to be our last call for this segment. we will have more time to take

your calls later in the program. next on washington journal, we are joined by john donnelly, the senior writer at cq roll call to talk about the 2023 defense bill that the house overwhelmingly approved this week. in our weekly spotlight on podcasted segment, robert bryce discusses the power hungry podcast and the vulnerability of our electric grids. ♪ ♪ announcer: there are a lot of places to get political information. only at c-span do you get it

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this is as you said the national defense authorization act. or the abbreviation ndaa is often used. it is frequently referred to as a spending bill in the press but it is not actually a spending bill. that's a distinction most people don't know, it authorizes spending which the authority to spend the money is delivered in the appropriation bills and none of the bills have passed. the government is getting by on what they call a continuing resolution, many of your -- as many of your viewers know. which says spend at the level of fiscal 2022 while we were gone this fiscal 2023 spending package. host: and no new starts. guest: good point. that continuing resolution, or cr, expires in december. they will have another

resolution while they continue negotiations. the length of the next one we do not know. i bring that up to make that this takes in between authorizing spending and delivering the guatemala. -- the mula. the when we will focus on today's the ndaa and it would authorize spending $850 billion for national defense. that is mostly like 96% at the pentagon. it also includes the energy department nuclear weapons program, the energy part -- department is the atomic warheads and bombs development and procurement where the delivery systems for those weapons, like submarines, aircraft, missiles, are overseen by the pentagon. host: how much did president biden one and how much was added? and why? guest: so the $850 billion compares to an 813 billion dollar biden request. it is about 5% more than the president requested and 10% more

than the fiscal 20 level of spending. so it is a decent rate -- raise for the defense budget. host: is that typical that congress goes higher than the president? guest: yes, very typical. as we can talk a little bit about how they in many cases provide not just more than the president asks for, the official budget request, but more than the top generals and admirals even ask for in what has become an addendum to the official request called what we call wish lists or officially unfunded priorities lists of aliens and billions of dollars. the pentagon is generally taken care of by congress. host: and to remind everybody, if you would like to call in and if you have a question or comment for our guest's, feel free to do that. call by our lives by party affiliations. republicans, (202) 748-8001.

democrats, (202) 748-8000. an independents, (202) 748-8002. also, we have a line for former and current military members. that line is (202) 748-8003. let's talk about the vaccine requirement. that was in 2021, all troops had to be vaccinated for covid. what is going on with that? guest: all troops had to be vaccinated unless they had a legally allowable exemption if they were say christian scientist or there was a medical reason they could not get the shot. troops get all kinds of vaccines or they have to get all kinds of vaccines for things like anthrax and whatever. and because they go to a lot of places where they need to be inoculated. so it is not unusual for troops to be required to get vaccines. as you pointed out, in 2021, they made this requirement but things have changed since then.

we still -- covid to still around but our understanding of the vaccine has changed in terms of it is more of something to keep me from getting really sick but it does not necessarily keep me from transmitting it or keep me from getting it from someone else. so what republicans almost uniformly argued and a lot of democrats went along with it this year was the argument that says if this is a personal choice for an individual member of the military and does not necessarily affect the people around them, then why are we kicking people out if they refuse to get it? at the time when we were having difficulty recruiting people. that argument when the day so the ndaa would rescind the requirement but it would not do anything about people who were already kicked out. host: what i was going to ask you. i was about 8000 service members

that were essentially kicked out of service when the services, some of them, are not meeting their recruitment goal. guest: it was an order they disobeyed so you get why they were discharged, separated from service. but yeah, it is an issue. host: how did secretary austen react to that? guest: i don't know that he said anything himself on the record but spokespeople for both the white house and pentagon were not happy about it. but adam smith, the washington state democrat who chairs the house services committee, was fine with resending the order and he was one of the key negotiators on the bill but getting back to that reinstating people already kicked out, this will i can say definitely be an issue in the next congress, particularly because republicans now are taking the majority in the house so there will be a real push to allow some people

to come back and maybe even give them back pay. host: let's talk about support for ukraine, given the republicans will take the house in january. is there anything in the bill that specifically supports weapons or other military support for ukraine? guest: yeah. indirectly and directly yes. there is authorization to spend $800 million i believe it is for security systems for ukraine, meaning new weapons, new u.s. weapon, and there are a variety of programs, there is an initiative called the european deterrent initiative, which is basically supporting eastern european countries on the front lines against russia and so in a variety of different parts of the budget, there is money to either directly or indirectly support ukraine. that omnibus appropriations package, the president requested

nearly $30 billion more, which would put over $100 billion, the total amount congress would have appropriated to help ukraine. that is so part of that negotiation. i suspect people probably get maybe more than that for ukraine. host: last question before we take calls is about china. there is money in the authorization bill to counter china. how will that money be used? guest: absolutely. so much of what the pentagon does from research to procurement the funding personnel and deploying them and operating and maintaining equipment is about potentially using -- use against china. it is not a one pot of money but there is one pot of money called the pacific deterrent initiative the arm service committees created to focus some of the spending. that is going to get $11 billion i think it is this year. there is also something interesting in the bill retaining to taiwan. for the first time, taiwan would

get a couple billion dollars a year in u.s. money's -- money to spend on weapons that would be spent on u.s. contractors. that is another element of what the bill does to counter china. host: are you ready to take calls? guest: let's bring them on. host: ronald on the independent line. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. john, we just lost over one million american lives to this pandemic and it is more than any country in the whole world and one of the purposes of military is to defend american lives. i think we need to stand up capability in the mid--- stand up capability in the military to stand up against the pandemic, including the current pandemic. is there anything in the bill that would give the military that capability? at least in the military we know that they have a commitment to protect american lives.

right now, the cdc has a priority. guest: the pentagon has provided a lot of support in variety of ways which is medical and whatnot in the response to the pandemic over these many months. there is an interesting pentagon program called the biological threat reduction program that what it does is provides technical support and financial support to laboratories around the world on the front lines and in terms of detecting emerging diseases, that -- the budget was reduced by both trump and inexplicably in the middle of the pandemic but in the latest budget i think you boosted it back. it is a little program but a laboratory in thailand that was supported by program was the first to detect the coronavirus outside of china.

that illustrates how this program is really important because it may not be the last pandemic. experts predict there will be a growing number of new diseases, so it is important to have laboratory -- laboratories supported by the american taxpayer supported in various parts of the world to give us an early warning. host: let's go to max in san antonio, texas, democrat. caller: good morning, john. i have a question about who influences the bill before it is written and as it is written. our brookings and others involved? on the current military officer and i noticed at the senior ranks often i would find surprises and things that were quite controversial or political in the ndaa and i want to just influence that writing besides the committees of the congress. guest: a lot of people influence edge. you mentioned a few think tank organizations.

they definitely have a say on it and many of them are funded by different interests, be it corporations or whatnot and the members themselves that sit on the armed services committees receive campaign contributions from defense contractors and of course there on the armed services committee probably because they have any installation whether it's a production facility or base in their state or district, so there is a lot of self-interest in this whole process. and that is reflected in the outcome. sometimes the programs that have the most high-powered lobbyist are the ones that get the big bucks and things for say maintaining equipment or paying personnel get short shrift did. host: we have a text that came in from ray from colorado saying what is the typical percentage of funding dedicated to military

bases, and other out of country echo guest: that's hard to answer off the top of my head. host: this is a text that says do you know if the military personnel that were dismissed from their military service -- and this is from the vaccine -- were given honorable, general, or dishonorable discharges? as of sure your -- you are aware, this makes a big difference. -- difference in benefits. guest: they were not dishonorably discharged. they were given something other than whether it is general or honorable. that was something that was put in law i think that congress wanted to make sure of. one of the early signs of congressional resistance to the vaccine mandate. host: growl is on the current and former military line.

caller: good morning. i wanted to ask, does the administration and/or congress provide any justification for the expenditure on defending the southern border, which is common knowledge which is basically controlled by mexican gangs and drug lords flooding the country with drugs, illegal aliens, and plain everyday criminals. guest: i do not know the dollar figure but there is definitely money in for the defense department to support civilian border security and law enforcement and there has been, whether it is a republican or democratic president -- host: and the national guard are still there.

guest: it was a bit more of a politicized issue under president trump up president obama and president biden also had troops at the border and that has not been controversial. well it has been more controversial under president trump but it has been an abiding presence there. obviously this is a huge political controversy and not one -- i would not say the defense department is at the center of it at this time. host: scottsdale, arizona is nice, independent line, mark. caller: hello, c-span. let me say one thing first, you got too many journalists guests on your show. i will leave it with that. host: that's all you wanted to say? guest: all right. see you later. host: linda in michigan, democrats line.

caller: hi. i just wanted to shed a little more light on the vaccine. the gentleman said the vaccine does not prevent you spreading it to someone else. it does. initially when the first vaccine came out, it protected 95%. we had the problem in the interim when the new variants, that omicron came out and it was changing, omicron one, omicron two, and all of those. that is when it did not protect because many people had not received the initial vaccine, only the first original virus. so that is both from the omicron. from what i understand i have been following it up, they have found the new vaccine that came out a couple months ago, they have done studies and it does protect between 65% and 85% from

a person getting it. it is obvious this is a completely political decision. i know a lot about many of the -- host: linda, you would prefer the requirement stay for troops? caller: yes, because -- host: ok, let's get a reaction. guest: i was just describing what the political decision was on this and i'm not an expert on vaccine. perhaps you know more about it. it sounds like it than i do. -- it's, sounds like it, then i do. from what i've gathered, the understanding that this vaccine would keep the disease from spreading is not what we originally thought. he said it yourself it is what 65% to 80%? it is not 100% in that either and it sounds like our understanding of the effects of the vaccines is still being revealed, but i was just

describing the understanding it is prevailing right now in congress pertaining to this. host: let's look at house speaker about the ndaa and what it would do for all americans. >> the strength of our nation is of course related to the military might and we recognize that, whether it is in terms of technology and we take our self to a new place and not just old ways of thinking about dissent and that is what this authorization bill takes a giant step to do. but our strength my nation is also measured in health, education, well-being of the american people. certainly our men and women in uniform and families but beyond that. what i love about this but one of the things i like about this bill, scratch the love about the bill, one of the things i like about this bill is it has a major investment in hbcus,

colleges and universities, and other minority serving institutions, to make sure howard to sense have the benefit of thinking of everyone in our community. wherever they are in our society and ethnicity. it is about how you measure our strength and we think our strengths cannot ignore the health education and well-being of the american people. which is what the ndt is about and the nondefense discretionary spending. host: the speaker talked about nine nor -- minority have it serving institutions. what is that about? guest: i'm not actually that familiar with that element of the. this bill is so enormous that there are so many things in it from oceans policy to semiconductor issues. there is a lot of money in their that supports academic institutions. host: there's also an increase

for military pay, 4.6 percent. still under inflation. guest: very much under inflation and not exactly progressive. if you are an officer, especially senior officer, you may make two to three times as much of a raise as the january illicit person. the other thing that has knock on poplar city -- popularity, when the house passed their bill, in addition to the 4.6%, they put 2.4% inflation bonus with lower income military personnel. that was completely ripped out of the bill, that was $600 million worth of money that would have been given to lower income military personnel. there is a huge problem in america but in the military also of hunger. with this inflationary economy, people that do not make that much money -- and that is about half a military that makes small amounts like $25,000 a year -- if that person has a spouse and

children, it is very hard to make ends meet and there was a survey they got little publicity , is pentagon survey, that's a 24% of active-duty troops have low food security and 10% have very low food security meaning they are skipping meals. that works out to about 119,000 military personnel not counting their families that have very low food security. this bill helps but it probably does not do enough to make ends meet with prices the way they are. host: over in grand junction, colorado, republican line. caller: good morning. i was just calling to find out if i've got this right about the percentage of gdp the military budget is, it is around 3.5% or

above that if i'm correct. then i had a comment about the marine that called earlier about dishonorable discharges. that is not public information. their family might know about it as the research, an employer might know about it, or a close friend. i hope the marine that called earlier is telling the truth one way or another. thanks. guest: so do you want me to answer? host: if you would like. guest: i would like to on both. an individual's discharge status is privileged but the policy of whether you will honorably or dishonorably discharged people who refuse a covid vaccine is public knowledge. on the percentage of gdp, that sounds about right. there is an argument among defense hawks that we should spend more of our gdp on defense

and if we are a wealthy country we should spend more of our wealth on defense. that seems like an arbitrary standard. gdp has grown enormously. if you look at a graph since 1960 of the defense share of the gdp, it has shrunk not because of the defense budget shrinking but because gdp has grown so much and the people who argue for that i cannot imagine them saying if gdp goes down, we should cut defense spending. they would not say that. it is an arbitrary argument to justify higher defense spending. host: we have a question from bob, in independent in north carolina, that says, how much typically carries from a prior fiscal year to the next? guest: i don't know what the exact figure is but there are different categories of money. research and development money, procurement money.

depending on what kind of money, they call a color of money, that you are talking about, you must spend it in one year or you have a couple years to spend it. it's a complicated answer but the short answer is in the nonquantitative answer is a lot. there's a lot of money that watches over from one fiscal year to the next. host: we are taking your calls for john connelly about the ndaa. you can call on our lines for republicans, (202) 748-8001, democrats, (202) 748-8000, independents, (202) 748-8002. we have a line set aside for current or former military personnel, (202) 748-8003. you wrote a story this week about how the ndaa would change military -- change the way military justice is conducted. what are those changes? guest: there has been a campaign going on for 15 years and it has

been intense for the last decade , to change the way courts-martial work in the military. his been driven by ever higher rates of sexual crimes in the military. those rates continue to increase, by the way. but the changes affect more than just sexual crimes. kiersten jell-o brand, the senator from new york, a democrat, has been the leader in the senate, jackie spear, the retiring democrat, has been the leader in the house. what they have done -- the concern was a lot of these crimes were being swept under -- swept under the rug or inadequately prosecuted because the system has someone in the chain of command for the person accused overseeing the court-martial. so they have gradually moved authority from that chain of command to independent prosecutors called special trial

councils that will start working theoretically at the end of next year, so the idea is to have people who have professional experience as prosecutors, not people trained to fight and win wars, oversee the process and decide what charges should be filed. it's a big change. last year, a lot of people thought it was the culmination of it but they left a lot of authorities in the chain of command. they fixed that this year so it represents the milestone. host: here's the article from roll call -- rollcall.com. they called a huge milestone of military justice, authority over prosecution of rape and other major criminal allegations would move from commanders. it there resistance in the rank? guest: absolutely. the pentagon fought this tooth and nail and they only came around last year to agree to make the changes for sexual

crimes and a few other crimes related. only this year did the congress make sexual harassment one of the crimes overseen by the independent prosecutors. not only did the pentagon resist but members of the armed services committee including democrats were very slow to decide to make this change. so it took a long time, yeah, but it is pretty remarkable that in that span of time a lot of people completely changed their minds on this issue including republicans. but they are not done. now you've got two different prosecution systems, one for 14 crimes, like felonies, and by the way these do not include military unique crimes like desertion, and then you have something like 15 to 20 other major crimes like arson and

perjury that will be prosecuted by a whole different team. so it kind of does not sense right? you should have one professional core dealing with all major crimes. that is something a lot of people are advocating and you will see that unfold in the next year or two, expanding that list of crimes. host: let's talk to curtis in pembroke, georgia, on our line for military. hi, curtis. caller: good morning. trying to stay focused here, there is some was to talk about when you talk about the defense of the country. as far as the enlisted in our military, i'm not being able to provide for their families as far as food or anything else is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. i'm a combat veteran, iraq 2005 through 2006, and i started --

served for 28 years. i experienced everything you could experience as far as pay and everything else and i watched the military throughout 27-28 years of service, and when it comes down to us getting into a situation where we need to use our military to fight a war, it is then they went to spend the money. but we need to always be prepared to fight a war, and i know this without doing the republican/democrat dance, i noticed every time a democratic president gets in office, there seems to be a whacking of the military budget. because you are congress and you got the senate at different times passing laws and budgets and stuff like that but it is just sad that we are not constantly prepared for war right now, with all of our

enemies standing ready to attack. host: let's gain the answer. guest: there's a lot in the package of that comment. i would point out first of all that the defense budget has increased significantly since 9/11. there was a relatively small downturn in 2012-2015, but it has gone back up and as i said earlier, seven of the last eight years it has -- it is one of the biggest defense budgets since world war ii and it has occurred under the watch of both democratic and republican presidents and look at the votes on capitol hill for the defense authorization bill. it is overwhelmingly bipartisan. so there is a significant amount of support for that but i agree, as i mentioned earlier about the hunger and military -- in the military and generally and around the world. to me, it is a first things

first thing. let's make sure we have something to eat -- but i would also say i think this is the most underreported story in america at least right now. the fact not just in the military but in general that we are talking about the military right now that scores of thousands of people are skipping meals because they are not making enough money, so that, to me, is a misallocation of priorities. host: we have a question on taxed from ramsey in michigan. can your guest tell us how much money the military set aside to combat climate change that affects their bases near water, meaning by the ocean? guest: i don't have a dollar figure but it is growing and climate change has become another political football with a lot of distorted facts out

there, i guess distorted facts is may be a contradiction in terms but misinformation and disinformation. the military and intelligence services take very seriously the threat of climate change. for exactly the reasons we were just talking about. hurricanes, floods, and places like norfolk -- in places like norfolk where we have a lot of our ships and submarines and just the dislocations and disruptions that will be occurring around the world, refugee flows, humanitarian crises, these things the military will have to help respond to directly and it will also have cascading effects in terms of stabilities of governments. it's a big deal and the military recognize it and they are spending more and more money on it. host: let's talk to david in south dakota, military line area a lot, david. caller: hello. i was calling about the vaccine

stuff. i was in the service in th 1960's. at that time, as i can remember, you were required to take certain vaccinations. all vaccinations or you did not join the service. at this time, i don't know a lot about the covid. we have servicemembers all over the world, all kinds of diseases and covid isn't really even protected in some parts. i think our servicemen, whether it be 60%, 80%, or whether you get real sick or not real sick, needs all of the protection they can get to protect our country. i realize we have our rights, but i think the military personnel, the generals, the

pentagon should have the say of who they are working with. i feel we should have all the protection we can get for our military personnel. host: got it. guest: he raises a good point, you give up some of your rights when you join the military. and the other thing is, yeah, there is a whole list as long as your arm of shots and -- shots in your arm that you get when you join the military. this one is a safe vaccine, so a lot of people not taking it are not taking it because they do not think it is safe but that is not true. host: tim in virginia, independent line. caller: hi. i have one, and question. the comment is with regards to the vaccine.

most people, it is incredible how many people do not realize this vaccine is entirely different. all vaccines in mankind's history is essentially the same, you take the virus, cripple it, and injected into the body and the body learns to fight it. this vaccine is a chemical set of software that they inject into your body, it gets onto yourselves, tells yourselves -- host: we don't want to get into the vaccine per se, you said you had a question as well? caller: my point is these people are saying this vaccine is safe and you have no idea if it is safe. have you not read the incidence of myocarditis happening in man? are you not aware of it -- men? are you not aware of it? host: donald is calling on the independent line.

caller: hello. thanks. i'm kind of compelled to contact you guys about this and i appreciate any kind of support. i am an honorable retiree and among the violations and atrocities are not getting any support. i kind of look at all of the spending that is putting people between the veterans affairs complex, there involved with the problem. host: any comments about vets? anything in the nda about supporting vets -- ndaa about supporting vets? guest: it's mainly the veterans affairs issue supporting veterans. not so much about veterans in the ndaa. host: there's a question, text,

from larry in alexandria virginia. to have to consistently fail -- how much is funded for audits this fiscal year and is there anyone held accountable for these failures? guest: once again, i do not have the exact dollar figure but it is -- they are spending over anyway billions of dollars on these audits. they were -- i remember -- i'm old enough to remember the chief financial officer zach of 1990 think it was that required the federal departments and agencies be able to conduct an audit. so the pentagon has been working on it since then. that is a long time. it's also a hard job. they just did not have the systems in place to do this kind of thing. it is a very difficult task. they are working hard at it but it is important because you need to know what's going on, where

are your financial -- not just financial but inventories. there are a lot of examples in the time i have been covering the defense department duplicate of ordering, ordering stuff sitting in a warehouse somewhere but you do not know about it or when something is unsafe that you need to recall, you have difficulty recalling because you don't know where it all is. it is a huge deal but to the credit, they are working on it but it has been a huge endeavor and a costly one but i do not have the exact dollar figure. host: i want to ask about inflation because that has hit everyone's budget and the pentagon budget. the money does not by what it used to. is that addressed in this bill? guest: definitely. the 5% increase above the president's request, a substantial amount of that is for addressing inflation and it is scattered in various different places.

for military personnel, it is things like reducing prices and providing more in housing allowances and things like that. but there are amounts of money sprinkled throughout the procurement and r&d parts of the budget to promptings up so they have a little more cushion to deal with inflation. host: last question before i let you go, the houses going into republican hands, what are we expecting as far as the defense budget from the house? guest: i think there will be a little more upward pressure as a result in the house but it will have to get through the senate. it will still be a bipartisan endeavor. what you will see more of his things like hearings and investigations and reports on issues like the withdrawal from afghanistan and china policy and

the vaccine and reinstating those troops who have been kicked out. so those are some of the issues but there will be lots more. a few more fireworks maybe in the house. host: john donnelly, a writer for cq roll call, thanks for being on the program. guest: thanks for having me. host: later in our podcast segment, robert bryce, a journalist and host of the power-hungry podcast joins us to talks about the security of america's power grid in the structure following an attack on two north carolina substations this week first it is open for them. you can start calling now. we will be right back. ♪ announcer: listening to programs on c-span through c-span radio just got easier.

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both political parties, the government accountability office, and center for defense information. announcer: winslow wheeler on this episode a book knows plus, book notes plus available on the c-span now free mobile lab or wherever you get your podcast. ♪ announcer: middle and high school students, it is time to get out your phone and start recording for your chance to win $100,000 with the grand prize of $5,000 by entering c-span student video documenry contest. for this year's competition, students are asked to picture yourself as a newly elected member of congress and tell us what your top priority would be ny. create a five minute to six minute video showing the importance of your issue from opposing and supporting points of view. be bold with your documentary. don't be afraid to take risks. there is still time to get started.

the deadlines january 20, 2023. for rules and tips on how to get started, visit our website at -- studentcam.org. announcer: there are a lot of places to get political information, but only as c-span do you get it straight from the source. no matter where you are from or where you stand on the issues, c-span is america's network, unfiltered, unbiased, word for word. if it happens here or here or here or anywhere that matters, america is watching on c-span, powered by cable. announcer: "washington journal" continues. host: welcome back to "washington journal." it is open form so i would be interested to hear what is on your mind regarding politics or public policy. you can give us a call by party affiliation, republicans, (202)

748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. real quick, before i start taking your calls, the ftx cryptocurrency exchange, the founder, sam bankman-fried, agrees to testify at u.s. house hearing on tuesday. he is a crypto executive and agreed to appear before the house financial services committee after cnbc reported representative maxine waters would not be pursuing a subpoena and will be following that you can check the website, c-span.org, for programming. let's go to samuel in yuba city, california, democrat. hi, samuel. caller: good morning. i was looking at mr. john donnelly and i did not get the ring in to speak with him but i would like to know, is it

possible for this country to pay the lowest ranking military volunteers when they volunteer $50,000 a year? $50,000 a year is the base pay for tax for all of the new people, the low strength the military eliminate the food insecurity and possibly 20 years ago, rather than saying 30%, 50% of the enlisted people in the military where getting food. i think it is a disgrace for the well this country in the world to have people in the military who are food insecure. host: brian is next. oregon, independent line. caller: good morning. thank you for the program. i wanted to say something that i think all of us are thinking about and we are challenged with

many different things, especially the diseases going around, and i heard mr. donnelly say something i really -- i really kinds of gets my attention. we do not exactly know what is going on and there is more investigation that needs to be done and we are really not listening to all of the medical voices out there. there's a lot of people who have a lot of experience, and as we find out with twitter experience, a lot of those people got shut down, so i'm not advocating anybody specifically, i'm just saying when we face these challenges in the united states and in the world in general, i believe we really need to take everyone's opinion into consideration, especially people who specialize in the problem. for anybody, including mr. donnelly for that matter, to say vaccine is safe or anything is safe or not save, either way, i

think we need to be careful with that. you don't know. if your mother, father, cousin, or a friend drop dead from the vaccine, which is definitely happening -- i don't know the numbers because they are being secretive about this stuff -- you gotta be careful about saying things are safe. host: got it, brian. judy is next in asheboro, north carolina. democrats line. judy, are you there? caller: yes i am. thank you. they for c-span. i was in the military during vietnam and the commentary prices at fort bragg are outrageous. there is no excuse for our military to be without food. they need to do something about that desperately. thank you for your time. host: all right. take a look at this article. i wanted to show you it from the

washington post. the headline is "u.s. troops are back in somalia and scrambling to help in special forces after -- forces." after trump's palau, the regime grew in strength and size. there scrambling to make up for lost time after biden reversed his predecessors order out of the country and return them to the fight. the decision by president donald trump in the final weeks of his administration to withdraw troops help to the militant movement grow in size, hampered u.s. ability to provide operational intelligence and air support to somalia troops, and delay the construction of military facilities such as a clinic and training site u.s. and somali officials said. richard is next in boston,

massachusetts. independent line good morning. caller: good, c-span. i am -- i just wanted to comment on the vaccine for the troops. i am an honorably discharged veteran and i served as a nonuniformed personnel in the middle east. but for everyone's information out there, within two weeks of my pfizer vaccine, and i'm relatively healthy individual, you well, exercise, i had a heart attack. i did not know i was having a heart attack, just felt symptoms, went in, they did a blood test, it show that i was having a heart attack and i was kept at mass general for two weeks what kind of odd with the myocarditis and the inflammation going around. the jury is still out and people are having heart issues over this vaccine but i follow the signs and one of the things i

would like to say is when i went into cardiac rehab, at the v.a., the edmonds were attempting all the patients -- testing all the patients what they were not testing the people that were working at the v.a.. there was no science behind that but anyways, stay safe out there. host: all right, richard. i'm glad you're feeling better. angie is in california, republican line. caller: hi. i would like to talk about student loan debt. and how virtually the only people that cannot escape from student loan debt -- excuse me, it is early here -- virtually the only people that cannot escape from debt and bankruptcy are student loan borrowers. there is really no good reason for us to be excluded.

this is a republican issue because allowing huge government to limit who can access bankruptcy protection is not ok. there is a new documentary coming out on sunday, world premiere on msnbc, called lone wolves, that talks exactly to the reasons and how bankruptcy got strip from student loans. it is an important one and also interviews senator durbin and senator schumer and representative presley on this issue. and there are two bills in the senate and house right now, hr 9110 and sr 25 98, companions of each other, and they would

return bankruptcy to student at borrowers. you can discharge anything in bankruptcy almost combat excessive gambling, shopping -- host: but not student lows. caller: not student loans. ftx is filing for bankruptcy, they can get a discharge. host: are you in favor of the loan forgiveness from president biden? caller: this is not loan forgiveness. i'm not in favor of president biden's loan forgiveness, but i am in favor of putting the constitution back in student loans. host: got it. let's go to ron next in alton, illinois, democrats line. caller: good morning. host: good morning. caller: i would like to comment

on the brittney griner return home. donald trump was in power for two years when the marines -- marine one captured, why didn't he free him? host: whelen. caller: yeah. maybe they can talk and get him home, but i think these republicans need to stop hating on her and this is really why there has been no red wave in the midterm because they're so full of hate. let's stop it. we are all americans, let's try to work together. host: cincinnati, ohio is next, independent line, alan, good morning. caller: how are you doing? i want to ask -- can i ask one question or three questions? host: go ahead and ask. caller: why don't we model our

public schools like private schools, wear uniforms and things like that and have more security? that's the first question. number two, a growth form has been used for our navy seals, used in russia's navy seals, our navy seals. i thing you need to expand use of human growth hormone's. it is very safe. three, as far as people ready for congress and things like that, why don't we up the standards for people to be a congressman? make it physical, psychological, and more educational background like a phd, law degree. i think the standards are too low for senators and congressmen. host: who would set the psychological exam? caller: i don't know, i'm just posing the question. we do that for military or if you want to work with the fbi, they give you lighted your tests. if you want to be secret service. also i think there should be term limits or make them take a physical when they start getting

68, 70, 80, make them take a physical and let us know that they can still do the job. host: what would the physical entail? would you have to run a mile or what would you think? caller: i would like to see a cardiology workout, maybe a stress test to make sure they will not have a heart attack and i, things like that. maybe something like the military. i want them to be super lark, i with the youngest and best to lead us. just like they do the military, we could do this with our civil service as well. -- civil servants as well. host: paul is next on the democrats line. caller: good morning. i'm calling because the republican party's can have two parts in this country, democrats and republicans. rubble of -- the republicans are

mostly a white party and i think it started with jim crow and segregation and they never got over segregation and jim good morning my name is arbery. i am calling because we have only one party and now. and there are other results and i feel nostalgic for jim crow. they never got over segregation of jim crow. just a lot of racism going on in the country. host: all right. let's look at arizona central this is an opinion piece by lori roberts that says a senator -- cinemas switch is a come to jesus moment or arizona

republicans. it offers arizona republicans a chance to reassess the views they used to own. first they need a full on makeover. she says that she has cleared away for republicans to reach a senate seat. that is if republicans have learned the lessons of 2018 and 2020 and 2022. and let's face it, that's a big if. that is a piece in arizona central. marianne. high. hi. caller: the so-called vaccine is listed in the cdc papers. there are problems that arise from that and they admit to that. it is not something you just get over and the other thing i am calling about is this season is

for jesus christ our lord as much as you want to deny him he is still there. i hope that everyone would start to realize that -- host: i did not say i want to deny him that is an unfair statement. chris on the democrat line. caller: it was interesting and me to learn that $2 million in military aid will be offered to taiwan. taiwan is a wealthy country. if taiwan has purchased military equipment from the past, it seems to me that kirk

host: ok. james is next you called from the alabama independent line. caller: yes i was talking about the person before you but said servicemen i want to tell you something i got in was jimmy carter. and i had 40 years eight months and two days. i have seen grown men throw their money away get tattoos and

ladies of the night. and i've had guys come and borrow money from me so they could buy drugs for their family. you live well in the military and of never known anybody to be hungry because you have 20 meals at the base. you know. host: and where you enlisted or were you in the office? caller: i was enlisted i spent active duty in the reserve that is why a spent 40 years in the military. we got paid good money. when i was in iraq i have $3000 almost every two weeks. host: so i am curious what about when you were not deployed? when you were on active duty? caller: i would drive a truck an 18 wheeler. and i made good money then.

host: that is in we -- when you were in the reserve though? caller: i was in the reserves i was in the air force reserve when i was last discharged. but we got paid good money. i cannot understand why these people are saying they are hungry. they live above their means is what it is. i know i have seen guys live above their means. host: all right. let's look there is news coming out that is still developing. this is the wall street journal. prominent soccer journalist grant wall dies while covering the world cup in qatar. it says he was one of the most prominent chronicles of american soccer of over 20 years and a longtime writer for sports illustrated. he died yesterday while covering the world cup in qatar. he was 48.

he was at the quarterfinal match between argentina and netherlands in the north of doha when he severed cardiac arrest married -- arrest. his death was condemned by the u.s. soccer federation -- confirmed by the u.s. soccer federation. they offer a statement on social media saying we offer our deepest condolences to his family friends and colleagues in the media. his family is saying that this is a shock and he was very healthy. that is still a developing story. adam is in flower mound, texas. independent line. caller: good afternoon and good morning. i just have a quick comment about the student loan crisis.

i think there should be some kind of meccas that -- mechanism bipartisan law that allows us to have loan forgiveness on these loans. host: ok. let's go next to susan who is in north platte, nebraska. democrat line. caller: yes, hello, are you there? host: i am how are you susan? caller: i'm fine. we had a line up on the phone number of republican democrat and independent i wonder if you go alphabetically or numerically it should be democrats first and then republicans and independents. host: we switch that every month actually. caller: we have biden not giving sick lead -- leave and

republicans voted no on sick leave on the rail rotors. goodbye. host: senator kyrsten sinema switching from the democratic party to independent says she is still caucus with the democrats, but here is her announcement. >> we make decisions about what is best for ourselves, family, and community. we do not spend a lot of time thinking about if this is a republican idea or democratic idea. if it is liberal or conservative. that is not how arizona and think. what we think about is what is right for my family? what is right for my community? what is right for my future? there is nothing better than waking up. whether you wake up in bisbee, phoenix, or prescott, you wake up in the morning and you think

to yourself, i live in a place where i can be whoever i want to be. what i love about serving is that i get to hear from arizonans day in and they out about what is working in washington, or more frequently, what is not working in washington. i am really grateful that folks have trusted me to take back the desert -- concerns they have. i will have a voice for our state. i promised i will always do what is right for the people of arizona. and that is what i have done. registering as an independent and showing up to work with the title of independent is a reflection of who i have always been. it is of for -- reflection of who arizona is. it's a reflection of the people who i talked to at the grocery store and hear from at the park. we do not line up to do what we are told we do what is right for our state and country. i will be the same person i've

always been that is who i am. i will show it to work i will do my best for arizona, and continue to deliver results for everyday people. nothing will change for me. and i don't think anything will change for arizona. i think arizonans across the state will say, yeah, that is a kiersten wheat elected. that is who we are sending to d.c. and she is doing exactly what we ask her to do. there is nothing that arizonans deserve more than a senator gets stuff done. host: it's open forum i am taking your calls for the next five minutes or so. anthony is up next in eastern pennsylvania. republican line. caller: yes. i am calling in regards to the statement that the president took that marine.

he did not take the marine he took the basketball player. i am obsessed about that decision. i would like to know where the generals are in this country for political reasons are not saying a word. i cannot believe what is going on. what is your take on that? host: i did read an article from the new york times about the background of the negotiations that they tried hard and the russians insisted on getting a murderer that was being held in germany. and that the administration asked germany if they would be willing to release him and the germans refused. so, i don't think -- caller: it is the russians was in it? host: the germans are holding

the service man that they want. yes the administration also wanted paul whelan in addition. and the russians refused. caller: they claimed that they had a choice between the basketball player and the marine. host: no, the russians did not give that choice that is what the new york times is reporting. caller: not cnn which one do you believe? host: all right. we have a guest in greenbelt, maryland. independent line. caller: the defense authorization act is gone. host: yes it is just me. sorry. caller: [laughter] ok i was open

to speak with him but i will have a quote from the open forum. a person said that it seems to be reserved for the people of this country i their conduct and response of whether people can govern themselves by reason and choice or whether they forever faded in their political fortunes to be governed by force and chance. the election on our part should be general -- of mankind. that to me is the first articulation. and what we do matters. the world is watching and lets lane into the better of our nature. host: it is good to hear from our founding fathers. wilber in virginia. democrat line. caller: good morning everyone.

i would like for the world to see when the fbi goes down and arrests president trump. we want him to come out of the house and him to put his hands behind his back and let the whole world to see how a justice system in the united states of america. and make sure that he does a perp walk where all the republicans believe in justice. and they put the handcuffs on this person. thank you and have a beautiful day. host: we have anita on the republican line. caller: i was calling in i come from a military family. i have concerns about them with the military people from not taking a backseat. saying that they were disband with orders to not take a backseat. -- a vaccine. they should have a choice of if they want to take that or not.

even in the military, they should be able to decide or not if they want that. host: so i have a question for you. should all the vaccines they are required to take be a choice? caller: that is what i was going to bring to your attention. when they sign in the contract that they have to take these other vaccines, if the vaccine we are required to take after covid it is not in the contract they should not have to take it. host: but if it is you do believe that. caller: if it is required then yes and it not it should be a choice. just a woman with an abortion it is your body she should be allowed to get an abortion because it is her body. it should be the same with the military of if you want to get a vaccine or not. it is their body it is their choice. host: got it let's go to tom in trenton, new jersey. peloton. caller: good morning how are you? host: i am ok.

caller: i want to say everyone across the country we have to keep our heads about us. not go off one end or the other end. just maintain who we are. we are americans. do not let anybody get between us. do not let anybody aggravate this side or this side. we are americans. and e biggest thing they want to do is fight each other. that is all you look great today, honey, by the way. host: that will be it for this segment of open forum. up next on washington journal washington bryce journalist of the power-hungry podcast discusses the vulnerability of our electric grids and the attack on to north carolina substations this week. we will be right back. ♪

announcer: sunday on q&a journalist reports men is the author of still broke. he talks about walmarts efforts to transform itself as a company known for business practices and low wages to the forum of capitalism. >> my peak into walmart showed me this is a company that has made a good-faith effort in its own context. it has done a lot. again, at the end of the day, the average walmart worker is still making less than $29,000 a year. that is not a living wage. what it shows me is that corporate america left on its own will never move far enough or fast enough to reverse the wage crisis that we have in the country. with so many working people working hard and not being able to make ends meet. announcer: rick cordesman with his book still broke. sunday night at 8:00 p.m.

eastern on c-span's q&a. you can listen to this and all of our podcast on our free c-span now app. ♪ announcer: listening to programs on c-span radio got easier. tell your smart speaker play c-span radio and listen to washington journal at 7 a.m. eastern. and weekdays at 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. eastern catch washington today for a fast-paced report for stories on the day. listen to c-span anytime just tell your smart speaker play c-span radio. c-span powered by cable. announcer: it is time for middle and high school students to get out your form -- phone and start recording. you could have a grand prize of 5000 dollars by entering c-span

studentcam video 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. create a 5-6 minute video to show the importance of your view from supporting and opposing points of view. be bold with your documentary do not be afraid to take risks. the deadline is january 20, 20 for rules and tips on how to get started visit our website at studentcam.org. announcer: preorder your copy of the congressional directory for the 118th congress. it is your resource for the contact information for every house and senate member. important information for the president cabinet, it federal agencies and others. you can preorder your copy today it is $29.95 and shipping and

handling. you can scan the qr code on your screen or shop at c-span.org. announcer: washington journal continues. host: welcome back to washington journal. it is our weekly spotlight on podcast. and we are joined by john donnelly. we -- he has a podcast that discusses power and electricity and all kinds of other things. good morning. john: i would like to remind my viewers if you have a comment or question for our guest. our lines are republicans (202) 748-8001, democrats (202) 748-8000, and independence (202) 748-8002. the attack on the substation

there and losing power. tell us what happened. guest: there was attack in north carolina and a day or two ago there was another one on a substation in south carolina. these are similar to a attack on the -- in santa clara, california that have been almost a decade ago in 2013. i wrote a piece for the hill on tuesday saying this is another example of how werner wrobel electric grid is. they are the most complex and most important energy network. it is vulnerable to all kinds of things. cyber attacks, gunfire is another one of them. so my latest book is about electricity and my latest documentary is about electricity. it is something that is worrisome it. it will be biddulph -- difficult. that we have a key vulnerability which is the power grid. host: and i will show them and

add he published for the hill it says the attack on north carolina substations spotlights the electric grids werner ability again. and what is the state of the electrical read in the united states? i take it it is not very resilient. guest: what we are seeing, i live in texas, in austin, i was blacked out for the five hours here in texas the most energy rich province in america. but yet our energy provided by -- is not that resilient. but it is unfortunate because the resilience and reliability of the american grid is declining. not a little bit but we've seen a massive increase in the number of blackouts. we can see this by the surge in sales. people are buying standby generators because they are concerned about this lack of reliability. more importantly, i think

reliability and affordability go hand in hand. we see a big decline inaffordability. rates across the country are skyrocketing. one of which we are put -- spending too much on renewables and not enough on reliable sources of generation in particular nuclear power. i am pro-nuclear. we had a lot of investment in the nuclear grid here in the u.s. with california being a clear example. host: before we talk about renewables i want to go back to the substation how protected are they? physically protected. in the case of moore county somebody was able to get in and shoot up the transformers. guest: the problem is these substations are dispersed around the country. we cannot protect everything and every vulnerability in society. the grid is a prime example of that. most of these substations are only surrounded by change fences

-- chain-link fences. they will not block bullets. and i spoke with the former fbi agent who was a security expert in the public service of -- commission. this is been an issue since 2013. a need to put barriers particularly around the high-voltage transformers. those are the most difficult to replace. i did not want to be an alarmist but i do think we do not need to ignore this vulnerability. around important substations that are part of a high-voltage transmission system we need to pay a lot more attention to that vulnerability and how we harness those. -- guard vose. -- those. host: and there is malvern nobility. -- more werner ability. vulnerability.

guest: cyber attacks are one of the easiest ways for miscreants to attack the power flows. we have the need for reliable electricity. something i have written about a lot when the grid fails, people die we saw that clearly in puerto rico and texas. in a widespread blackout that last for more than a few hours would be a total calamity for the u.s.. host: wouldn't the solution be to rely on more renewables? i know you say you are nuclear but what about the other ones? guest: our system overall is dependent on natural gas. but it is a just-in-time fuel. what are resilient systems? when it comes to the grid, the ultimate mark of resilience is

having on-site fuel. that is key. renewables are growing there is no doubt about it i have solar panels on the roof of my house, but we cannot rely on them. this is another lesson we have here in texas and that is not a story being told by big edf outlets. but here in texas there was 66 billion spent on solar and wind power. all the wind and solar with ted cruz were not available. it is we need to be clear about where we spend money and lying. a lot of the tax credits have been distorting the investment in the grid. we need resilient, reliable forms of generation regardless -- and we have -- that is the key. host: who oversees the electrical grid system? it is -- visit the federal level or state-level level or private companies? guest: yes [laughter] all of the

above. that is what makes this issue so difficult. you have the federal energy regulatory commission looking at parts of the grid and then you have regional transmission organization like in texas or california. and then we have most diffused ownership than in the electric grid in the world. there's more than 3300 electric providers. in the u.s.. i am all about public ownership of the assets but the ownership and governance is so diffused so it is hard to say we just have one policy because the policies affect different states and different public service commissions and local cities like austin energy. i live here in austin, texas and the city owns it own utility. to get everyone to march to the

same tune takes years. that is why these ideas that we are going to change over to renewables is that we will deal carbonized the grid and we will do it by 23rd -- 2035. and i say no you do not understand how complex the system is. host: there is a article on white house announces 13 billion dollars in funding to modernize power grids. that is last month. what you think of that? do you think the grid needs to be modernized? that that is a wise use of government month -- funding? guest: one of the lessons that is clear from the texas issues that we need robust government oversight. we cannot just leave the electric grid to the marketplace. electricity is not a commodity we treat it like a commodity but it is a service and a critical

service. if the service fails, calamity ensues because the market depends on it. the electric grid is our most critical network it is the network on which all of our networks depend. the idea of modernization it is a good word but what are they talking about? it is clear we are constrained when it comes to high-voltage transmission capacity. we need more? yes. but not in the way a lot of motors are saying we need this to promote more renewables. i think the way forward if we are serious about co2 emissions i think the u.s. government needs to be bold and strong in supporting nuclear power and use the existing transmission grid. replacing the coal plants with nuclear's is an obvious way to do that. host: what would you specifically like to see lawmakers do? guest: bipartisan support for nuclear energy development in america.

in the wake of russia's invasion of ukraine we see a global energy crisis. we are seeing a massive surge of coal use in india and china and europe because gas is so expensive. there is a game of foot now and what is possible is that foreign countries will steal the march on the invest we develop nuclear energy better than any country in the world. we need to do that again. we need to do this the same in the 21st-century. but we need to reform the nuclear regulatory commission. and we need that in congress and more particularly we need leadership from the white house as well it is critical. host: let's take calls from viewers. jeff is from indianapolis, indiana democrat line. caller: good morning.

i totally agree with this gentleman. that seems like the result of the attack in north carolina i did not know if they confirmed or that this may be a result of a domestic terrorism especially those that are far right. i don't know if there is anything talked about, but also, if i may, from your last segment, paul whelan the in russia was captured in 2018. host: ok we are off the subject they are go ahead on the message. guest: there is no motive that has been established here. there have not been arrest or suspects identified. i see that there is warrant issued to get cell phone data of those that are near the substation but that is the latest i have seen. in the mid-cap substation attack

in 2013 the assailant used ak to 14 they shot 120 rifle rounds into the substation. none of them had fingerprints they wiped their boot tracks and tire tracks. no one has been charged or arrested that was a decade ago. that was a thorough investigation. i'm not trying to be an alarmist but we have to be clear about how we may never know who attacked the substation. host: samuel is next on the independent line. caller: good morning. your guest i would like to ask what is the critical infrastructure hardening being done by the government? and for the manufacturing of transformers, where is that done? who makes it? and what is the availability of

that? guest: all take the last question first. the utility sector the head of the american public power association i was in the conference a few weeks ago where they identified the supply for transformers for all kinds of utility kits. there is a supply-chain problem for those commodities and pieces of equipment across the utility sector. they been appealing with the department of energy to bolster the supply chain to make sure we have enough of the small transformers. but the bigger transformers and high-voltage ones they are custom made. many of them are made overseas. that is one of the critical vulnerabilities that has been identified many times by authorities. we need a stockpile of these high-voltage transmissions and transformers. because they are critical to the

system. you do not order them from walmart, they take time a year or more to build and deliver. so, this is something we need to pay more attention to because the electric grid is important to everyone in the country. host: linda is in missouri republican line. caller: thank you for taking my call. i was wondering if the guest could talk a little bit about what would happen to our electrical grid if we had what is called a electric magnetic poles -- pulse what would happen to be united states? this was written eloquently in a novel and that was quite some time ago about how we needed to harden our infrastructure around

electrical because there is a possibility we could at sometimes experience that. i will take my answer off-line. thank you. guest: that's a great question i've read the book it is scary it is called one second after by sort -- forsyth. these electromagnetic -- poole says is our the idea that some terrorist organizations would detonate a nuclear device over the united states. the pulse width short-circuit any electronic device on the ground that is hit by this. it would be absolutely devastating. there's been a lot of focus on that, but when i talk about sue -- talk to security experts about this they say we are not worried about it. if somebody has a nuclear weapon that is a more important issue ahead of the possible

consequences of the electric red. remember that the possibility is that this could be something from this alessio. and that it pulls from the sun as well. it is not just the possibility of terrorism it could also be a natural event of electromagnetic pulse that could affect the grid. there are things we can do to do -- put electric cages around them. and you put them over critical equipment to shield them from these. but it is a real concern no doubt about it. host: we have a question from you with text in mission valley, texas saying will scale power type plants ever be adopted for power grade use? guest: is a great question. i paid a lot of attention to this. i went to the nuclear energy institute conference on new

nuclear. this is the big question. i alluded to it already. will the u.s. be able to lead the next generation to the weight of small module reactors or smr. we need a new fleet of reactors that are smaller, faster, lighter, denser, cheaper to use the title of my fifth book. we needed to be cheaper and safer. you mention new scale. these are one of the companies that went public earlier this year. they trade a particular smr. it is remarkable that we have up your leg nuclear company -- have a pure play nuclear company. so cairo, ex energy, there are a number of paper reactor companies. they have great designs now we have to build and deploy them. but one of the problems is the regulatory commission.

it is not clear that this bureaucracy is nimble enough to regulate and do so in a timely manner the deployment of the new reactors. some of the new scales have an advantage of the light moderate design which is the kind we see and we are familiar with. some of the other ones are molten salts. the key messaging i heard ndc when i was there a couple months -- about six weeks ago. the big issues are regulatory and financing. we need to solve the regulatory issue here. and the u.s. could lead to, but it would take an act of congress that would strip our authority of this. and we can move more quickly to commercial deployment. host: tom is calling us from forests, north carolina the independent line. caller: yes can you hear me now?

i would like to share that my two degrees in electrical engineering from m.i.t. helped me analyze the brownout and blacks out -- blackout in texas. 20% of the wind turbines failed by the other 10% were up and they put out 30% more electricity in the zones where they did not freeze. the statement that all of them failed, someone led them on a bad path because that is not true. 50% failed 30% were in output. and the 50% that failed only failed because texas politicians deleted the turbine order electrical blade warmers. they would have stayed up because across minnesota, iowa, the entire north those wind

turbines stay up during snow. they do not fail. the reason they failed was political because they created the -- blamed the turbine warmers but only 50% failed and 30% were in output. host: let's get a reaction. guest: to be clay i did -- clear i did not say all the wind determines failed. but when my lights went out here in austin, and the grid was teetering on the edge of collapse before -- according to the former ceo, they were four or five minutes away from the complete collapse of the grid which would have been a total disaster. that output from solar was zero and the output from wind was near zero. what we have seen since then the problem with wind energy i am a longtime critic of wind energy. i've seen the destruction that

this has had on people in america and people are forced out of their homes because of the noise from these. but the problem is you cannot count on them. some days they can be near total capacity and a few hours later dropped near zero. that is what we see during period of cold weather. the wind drought. these are the key issues we could point to in europe as well. the reason we see a swing in wind prices as well in europe is because of drought. it has been going on in europe even before russia's invasion of ukraine that caused calamity in the electricity market. we cannot depend on wind. this is a big fallacy we cannot make our most important electric dependent on the weather. that is a big mistake. host: let's talk with robert. on the democrat line.

caller: my question is with the vulnerability around the electrical grid and the alternative technology, shouldn't houses going forward in the u.s. built with with the old big wood-burning fireplaces? instead of electrical fireplaces we see going up in the apartments and homes? before you answer the question, i want to say the host is gorgeous. i to do every weekend. host: [laughter] thank you for that. guest: what about this no love for me? i know she is pretty but, on. you make a good point but you it is a critical one about energy security. churchill said energy security relies on diversity and diversity alone but for homeowners and consumers we need

more than one grid we need to be able to rely on more than one form of energy. california has been reading this to ban the use of natural gas and homes and businesses. they are pushing for a similar and nationally that will force people -- or prevent people from buying gas furnaces in their home. they are not pleasing. my broader point is that natural gas on our btu basis sells about a fourth of the cost of what electricity is for heating. we need a resilient system which means having more than one source of energy for consumers. the move to electrify everything i am adamantly opposed. it is a tax on the poor and middle class and it is a problem for energy security. host: let's go to gainesville,

new york. kathy, good morning. caller: good morning. i have question about the energy situation. i live in the middle of windmills having seen them built and what it takes are they really green? when you look at mining and manufacturing and delivering him -- them in huge trucks on roads. and i have a big question, how much is the right amount of co2 in the atmosphere? we talk about it but trees and plants need at and we need them to eat. did anybody do a study on what we have in the atmosphere? and are there pros to co2 as well? guest: good question i will take the last one. carbon dioxide could -- does add to greenhouse gases but i do not know how much.

greenhouse gases are a concern and we have to balance our ideas around co2 emissions. as far as wind energy, it is not green. small footprints are green. i've written about this a lot. power density is key. we should promote nuclear energy for a lot of reasons that the main reason is nuclear density. thousands of watts per square meter that is the flow we can give. but problem with wind energy is that it requires massive amounts of land. we see a push back across the country against the encroachment of the wind and big solar. i discussed this on my website robert bryce.com. we have 83 projections of energy since 2015 across the country. in this year 43 townships in

ohio this year have rejected a restrictive wind energy or solar energy or both. they are politically popular. people like the idea of wind and solar. they just don't want to live with it. host: we have could kill new york speaker next. caller: first of all i want to thank you for spending so much of your time on nuclear power. you put dozens of nuclear powers around the country you have not spent a second talking about what will happen with the waste and dangers that it creates. not to mention the dangers of focus imo -- and other disasters hit with nuclear power. if we think we ended we solve all problems with that. well you could be right if we look at fusion. that is fixed. we have a fusion reactor that is

operating 93 million miles away which is perfect. and the latest of the installed capacity of new energy in the country is 80% renewable energy. some place got it right. thank you. guest: i am happy to address that. the nuclear waste issue is not a scientific problem it is a political problem. you see the waste you live in new york that indian point plant in canada has been shuttered. i think it was a criminal act that it was the pre-shuttering of that act. the waste from that plant for 60 years of operation fit on an area size of two tennis courts. it is small. the dry cast and storage and work -- the alternative energy and ngos have been so rapid in their hyping of the danger of radiation that they made nuclear

waste of bogeyman that cannot be resolved. but it can be resolved if we have a note political support to resolve this. the french have handled this fine. but states like nevada say we cannot have it here. we can solve the nuclear waste problem is not a waste problem it is a political problem. as far as your criticism of me and criticism of wind and solar you are right i will remain a critic. i do have solar panels on my house but there is an idea that we will rely on incurably independent sources of energy that depend on the weather is a source of disaster. and look at what is happening with the solar panels that are imported from china that have been fabricated using slave labor. we call it genocide solar panels. chinese genocide solar panels.

the u.s. government has identified the problem in china and the repression as genocide. host: and they also ask about when it comes to nuclear power about safety because a lot of people here nuclear and remember three mile island and others. guest: that is a great point. nobody died of radiation there. they drowned -- the two the died drowned. the danger of radiation has been more dangerous than the actual radiation that came from fukushima. jerry thomas i had her on my podcast. she has been the head of the chair at the imperial college, london. she is aware of the danger of radiation that we have heard over again far exceeds the danger to human life. there is indication that radiation is good for us. we think we get x-rays and mri's

we do not think about the radiation we get from that. but the height of the danger of what happened with fukushima and chernobyl is completely out of the spectrum of what it is. host: high how are you? i just want to -- i worked three mile island as a reactor operator. and i was in the original three mile island unit two that had the accident and was one of the first people in there to d fuel the core. we actually poured into the core. under you want to stay with what you're saying it is a political thing but it is also for the storage of nuclear waste more

than just political. because we are sitting here now with all of the sites around the country. you talk about the dry cast. well, what is the real security around those since we have issues around transmission being attacked. what is the security around dry cask storage once we actually have the uranium and plutonium and bright product -- byproduct now. guest: that is a good point but i have seen the dry cast. i've been right next to them. i think it is in holland they have dry cask storage and they let tourist walk among these things. they weigh 100 tons in the idea someone will lift them up or osama bin laden will come back from the dead and court one off. that is not how it works.

the idea it can be used by miscreants is wrong. i disagree that this is a problem. we have to overcome decades of fear that has been in gold in the general public about ngos that want to push the myth of renewables. we have to move past fat. i will not pretend that is easy. i appreciate your point that you worked at three mile island. that is awesome. we have 14% of fuel from our mystic row actors -- our domestic reactors from russia. the point is a new fleet of reactors in the u.s. will not be easy. it will cost billions of dollars and we have to solve the waste issue and regulatory issue from permitting. but we also need to resolve the fuel supply chain. we need to have the uranium and process it into enriched uranium

so we can make it into -- safer and cheaper reactors. host: mike is next on the republican line in gillette wyoming. caller: i think you need to be an alarmist to get people to wake up with this. if the power grab -- grid goes out in the u.s., i have heard bill more say being interviewed and stuff it is clear -- scary when the power grid goes out. it does not matter whether it is terrorist or solar cme that marks -- knocks everything out. we will not have anything. there will be no electric heat for sure. and there will not be any natural gas heat. because you have your electricity to run through the stations and stuff. there would be no water. nothing. in a year, they would claim that 90% of people in america would be dead because we have nothing

to eat and nothing to drink for water and stuff. hang in there, but it seems like congress up there does not want to address this. host: alright let's get a response. guest: you make a good point. your mention of electricity and gas compressors is an important one. that was one of the issues here in texas. i believe it was the texas society -- chapter society of civil engineers i wrote about this in a piece i wrote for forbes this year. others have also pointed out that they have a lack of gas generation during the times where we had electricity shortages and backout -- blackouts. the generators were running on electricity instead of natural gas. for decades that -- compressors were using fuel but because of

air quality requirements from federal requirements in the epa many of the stations were required to be using electricity as the fuel for their compressors. again, we need to think about this resilience the societal resilience for that energy and power networks in a new way. if the network stays down for more than a couple days it will have calamity ensuing. host: my kinda guest you bring on for your podcast? guest: thank you i am thrilled to talk about it. i launch the power-hungry podcast about 2.5 years ago. i released episode 151. we had a huge increase in downloads. i interviewed robert rapier talking about refining a diesel fuel a couple weeks ago.

i had daniel juergen, michael sharon berger, and others. the tagline for the episodes and i mentioned this the power-hungry podcast we will talk about energy, power, innovation, and politics. we get to talk about a lot of things. my hurdle for the podcast is who is this person do i think they are interesting? do i want to talk to them for an hour? it is not always guided by the how many twitter followers they have it is about me scratching my own it should and curiosity to find out what these guys are doing. and there is a book called the fabric of civilization. i have great fun but i do not have sponsors or commercials. it is me talking and i have fun with it. host: was talk with erin next in independence, huntsville arizona. caller: i have a question with

regard to the emp again. could the towers that went up during the pandemic could be used in weaponry? guest: i have no idea i've seen a lot of speculation around the 5g thing. i did not know anything about that. it is new to me area host: robin is in rochester, new york the democrat line. caller: about six years ago we had hurricane windstorm that was in the dead of winter time and we lost power for about a week. the whole county lost power for about a week. i am wondering, will the united states try to hearted their -- hard and they to prevent -- hardened their infrastructure to try to prevent the reliance on

weather situation. guest: that's a good question and i will answer this. i was in puerto rico after hurricane maria they had sustained wind of 140 miles per hour. you could tell which direction the wind was blowing is on the upwind side the trees were completely stripped of leaves. it is impossible to have a grid that is 100% online. data centers and small buildings can have backup generators and make sure that they are backed up with reliability. but electric grids can be frail. because they rely on wood poles they break over time. i hear what you're saying, but in severe weather events earthquakes would be devastating. it is difficult to make sure the system is 100% reliable. and would be impervious to other

natural disasters. host: mike is in georgia republican line. caller: thank you for the opportunity for free speech. and for trying to use that. technically i am an independent but i call because of the governor the outcome are along my personal views. i wanted to make a few comments and i believe our power grid and sustainable power is a political issue not a technical issue. as our speaker has said. i have an proponent of adding nuclear to our base. plus the small module reactors. the issue and nuclear waste policy act. one of the viewers mention the nuclear waste policy act. host: we are running low on time.

robert, you ask one of your previous guests on an episode is the u.s. energy independent? what is the answer to that? guest: no it won't be and hasn't been. one quick point vocal three started feeling the plant in georgia which is a positive step. i am glad to see that finally coming online. the u.s. like everything and energy with many things we are interdependent with the rest of the world. i think that is fine. we are producing as much crude as we need right now but we ask a lot and in a lot of crude. the russian invasion of ukraine has proven that we are dependent. host: alright robert bryce.